Author: damazah@gmail.com

Iyke Bede The recent opening of Ibis Lagos Lekki has renewed concerns over the difficult funding environment facing private-sector projects in Nigeria. Ibis, an international hotel franchise, has opened its second property in Lagos, years after its first property was established in Ikeja in 2013. The 120-room hotel is located in the heart of Lekki, one of the state’s fastest-growing business and residential areas. Chairman of HDV Nigeria Limited, Olufemi Okenla, said efforts to drive private-sector investment would depend partly on creating funding conditions that give businesses enough time to develop their projects. “The funding system in the country is…

Fadekemi Ajakaiye Generator and solar energy technicians in Lagos have called for a coordinated framework to support the transition from the traditional genset economy into the rapidly growing solar energy sector. The call was made at a Solar Technicians Town Hall held at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in Lagos as part of a four-month action research project examining the transition from genset-based livelihoods to solar employment in the state. The initiative is being undertaken by researchers from ODI Global/African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC) and De Montfort University (DMU), with support from the University of Lagos (UNILAG)…

Trump’s son-in-law and special envoy says the US will not ‘restrict Israel’s right to defend itself’ as strikes on Gaza continue.Published On 17 Aug 202617 Aug 2026United States envoy Jared Kushner has stressed that the administration of President Donald Trump will not allow reconstruction in the devastated Gaza Strip until Hamas gives up its weapons.Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, but the meeting did not produce a breakthrough to implement a roadmap for Gaza that Hamas already agreed to.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“We have a plan to rebuild Gaza, but…

Nigeria’s aquatic products have secured zero-tariff access to China’s market of about 1.4 billion consumers under a new protocol, as bilateral trade between both countries reaches $18 billion in the first half of 2026 (H1’26). The development is expected to boost Nigerian exports and foreign exchange earnings, with Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, disclosing that Nigerian exports to China rose by 80 per cent in the first half of the year. The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, who received the Ambassador during a courtesy visit and reception following the signing of the Nigeria-China Aquatic Products Protocol, urged Nigerian exporters and…

ABC News has officially introduced Searched, a livestreamed show that highlights stories people are discussing on social media and searching on the web, as reported earlier by Variety. Though the network just announced the show now, Searched began airing on the ABC News Live streaming channel in April, which appears on both Disney Plus and Hulu.In the press release, ABC News says Searched “pulls real-time data from the top search engines and social media platforms to provide topical news for the audience.” A recent episode of Searched highlighted an Illinois Powerball winner, NBA star Russell Westbrook’s retirement, and Tropical Storm…

Hundreds of thousands of children would be tipped into poverty and destitution under plans unveiled by Reform UK to slash £50bn a year from the UK benefits bill, campaigners have warned.The warnings came after Reform published plans to drastically reduce disability payments, ban non-UK citizens from claiming benefits and introduce compulsory 20 hours a week unpaid workfare for thousands of long-term unemployed people.An overhaul of the sick pay system would require employers to cover an employee’s benefit payments for the first two years of their illness, the plans propose, while the two-child benefit limit scrapped by Labour last year would…

DRC’s health ministry declared an outbreak in Ituri province on 15 May, though sequencing shows it had begun in February. It has since spread to five other provinces and is on track to overtake the 2014-16 west Africa outbreak as the largest in history.As of Sunday, 2,325 people had died and the number of confirmed cases stood at 4,945, according to DRC government data. “Ebola is winning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” the UN humanitarian affairs chief, Tom Fletcher, said on Friday. “We cannot let the virus outrun our response.”Neighbouring Uganda, which recorded 20 cases and two deaths,…

The 2026 NFL regular season gets underway in just over three weeks with the kickoff game on Wednesday, Sept. 9. With Week 1 of the NFL preseason now in the books, the time has come for Fantasy football owners to lock in on draft preparations. Veterans like Josh Allen, Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs and Ja’Marr Chase all headline the 2026 Fantasy football rankings, and will likely be among the top players on most Fantasy football draft boards. The key to Fantasy success remains finding sleepers and rookies who outperform their Fantasy football ADP, and avoiding drafting players that end up…

You may scoff at celebrity-fronted documentaries, but there’s no need to moan about Buried With Michael Sheen, an investigation into how toxic “forever chemicals” were dumped in Welsh quarries in the middle of the 20th century. Much of our knowledge of the subject comes from a filmed interview given nearly 10 years ago by the environmental campaigner Douglas Gowan, who, after decades of trying to raise awareness, had only weeks to live and wanted to divulge all he had learned. The person behind the camera and asking the questions? Sheen.The actor and director is a little coy about how or…

Federal police to investigate leaked melon-gate memoThe Australian federal police has told Liberal shadow defence minister, James Paterson that it will review the leak of a memo sent by Japanese diplomats to the Australian government over melon-gate.Just when you thought that story was all over …Last week it was reported that a memo from Japan had downplayed the PM’s appearance on the Bush Deep podcast, and said they didn’t believe Anthony Albanese’s comments or hand gestures were done with “ill will”.Paterson and shadow foreign minister, Ted O’Brien, then referred that leak to the AFP.The AFP has responded in a letter,…