Author: damazah@gmail.com

… Spotlight financial inclusion, others as sectors poised for exponential growth Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has hosted another impactful edition of its quarterly UBA Business Series, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, innovators and business leaders to explore how customer insights and technology is shaping Africa’s next generation of high-growth businesses. Held at the Bank’s corporate headquarters in Lagos under the theme, “Building for Africa’s Realities: Turning Consumer Feedback into Technology-Driven Solutions,” the event examined how African entrepreneurs are leveraging data, consumer behaviour and innovation to build scalable businesses tailored to the continent’s unique realities. A major…

What will European leaders make of Andy Burnham, the seventh UK prime minister they have had to deal with in a decade of chronic political instability in London unleashed by the fateful 2016 referendum vote to leave the European Union?The “king of the north” is largely an unknown quantity in continental Europe and has given priority to a domestic agenda of devolving powers to regions and cities and extending state control of vital industries rather than to foreign policy. He may initially spend less time on diplomacy than his predecessor, Keir Starmer, whom critics branded “never here Keir” for his…

Science correspondent Nicola Davis investigates the strange story of Tam O’Braan and his attempts to grow tea in Scotland.In episode one of this mini-series first broadcast in October 2025, Nicola looks back on her first meeting with O’Braan while working on a feature about tea plantations in the UK. He was selling his award-winning Scottish-grown tea to some of the UK’s finest hotels, but something didn’t quite add up. And Nicola wasn’t the only person taking an interest in his story

Sadie Sink‘s role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day remains a mystery ahead of the film’s premiere. A new video teased Sink revealing three things about her character in the Sony Pictures production, but left audiences with the same doubts. “Since the trailer dropped, I’ve seen so many theories about who I’m playing,” Sink said in the Instagram clip. “To match your incredible energy, I’ve decided to give you three exclusive, confirmed answers right now.” Starting off the video, Sink said, “I can confirm I am not Spider-Man.” She continued to joke and said, “I am not Aunt May,” the character…

Mary Nnah The 9th Lagos Leather Fair closed recently with a clear roadmap for the continent’s leather industry: comply with global standards, adopt artificial intelligence, and build for export. Over two days, LLF2026 positioned Lagos as the center of African leather, bringing together international buyers, policymakers, tech innovators and artisans to confront the barriers limiting growth. The fair opened on Saturday June 27th with a focus on regulation. In a panel on exportation and compliance, legal experts and CITES auditors explained why African brands have been shut out of Western and Asian markets. Their message was direct. Traceability, ethical sourcing…

Says FG generated N21.6trn tax revenue in six months, external reserves hit 17-year high Senators raise concerns over rising debt, poor budget implementation despite higher revenues•Monguno warns failure to implement Appropriation Act could amount to impeachable offence Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, yesterday mounted a robust defence of President Bola Tinubu’s borrowing record, insisting that contrary to widespread public perception, the administration had not borrowed anywhere near the N75 trillion to N80 trillion being attributed to the present administration. Instead, he explained that the sharp increase in Nigeria’s…

The ferry, MV Barima, departed from the capital, Georgetown, on Saturday afternoon local time, headed for Port Kaituma, in the north of the country. The 40m-long (131ft) vessel was built in 1939, according to a listing on VesselFinder.A survivor, Elena Moonsammy, told local news site Kiskadee Watch, external that the ferry had tilted after being hit by a large wave, with water quickly rushing in. It started to take on water within seconds, she said. A distress call was received at 23:01 (03:01 GMT Sunday), triggering a search operation involving government teams and privately owned boats.Moonsammy said she had survived…

By Yinka Kolawole The Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China’s Linyi Wholesalers Federation and TTC Hydra Limited to strengthen bilateral trade and attract new Chinese investments into Nigeria’s manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. The agreement, signed at the NACCIMA Infrastructure Conference (INFRACON 2026) in Abuja, provides a framework for trade cooperation, investment promotion and supply chain integration between businesses in both countries. Under the arrangement, NACCIMA said its members would gain direct access to Chinese manufacturers and supply chains, while Nigerian exporters would receive support to penetrate…

The track world, I discovered, has coined a name for this much-discussed phenomenon of kids getting ultra-fast: trackflation. In June 2025 at the New Balance Nationals, an annual championship that draws around 6,000 top youth athletes, more than 100 kids beat previous meet records. “There might now be a hundred kids that run under 4:10 in the full mile,” says Will Rodgers, who ran track at the University of Alabama in Huntsville in the early 2010s and now co-owns RunningLane, a coaching and events business. “Back when we were competing in high school, it might’ve been like 20 at max.”I…

A previously recorded slowdown in Arctic sea ice decline has ended, according to a new study, with the largest year-to-year wintertime reduction ever recorded.In a study published last summer, researchers found that melting sea ice in the Arctic had slowed down over the past 20 years, with no statistically significant decline in its extent recorded between 2005 and 2024.Given the increase in global temperatures during this period, the finding was surprising.However, the researchers said natural variations in ocean currents that limit ice melting probably balanced the rise in global temperatures. They said this was only a temporary reprieve and melting…