Author: Alade Adisa

….Wins CPAC straw poll with overwhelming majority United States Vice President JD Vance was the overwhelming choice of Grand Old Party (GOP) activists to be the 2028 Republican presidential nominee, according to the annual straw poll of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). In results released Saturday afternoon, Vance was the choice of 61% of CPAC attendees. Former Trump counselor and conservative activist, Steve Bannon came in a distant second with 12%, while Florida Gov. and one-time Trump rival, Ron DeSantis came in third with 7% support. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and incoming UN ambassador Elise Stefanik both had…

Pope Francis is in a critical condition after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen, the Vatican has said. Francis, 88, who has been hospitalised for a week with a complex lung infection, also received blood transfusions after tests showed a condition associated with anemia, the Vatican said in an update today. ‘The Holy Father continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday. At the moment the prognosis is reserved,’ the statement said. Earlier, doctors said Francis was battling pneumonia and a complex respiratory infection…

Two leading broadcasters in Nigeria, Africa Independent Television (AIT) and Channels Television, have issued apologies to the Department of State Services (DSS) over their coverage of the recent events at the Lagos State House of Assembly. On Monday, February 17, 2025, AIT broadcast a news item reporting the presence of DSS operatives at the Lagos State House of Assembly. However, the station has since acknowledged that aspects of the report may have been incomplete and could have misrepresented the agency’s presence. In an official statement, AIT stated, “AIT News wishes to apologise to the Department of State Services (DSS) for…

·The Trump administration’s efforts to normalize relations with Russia are causing concern in China, which has a strategic partnership with Russia. ·China fears that a U.S.-Russia rapprochement could diminish Moscow’s dependence on Beijing and potentially weaken their alliance. ·Washington aims to disrupt Russia’s ties with China, Iran, and North Korea as part of its strategy to manage long-term competition with China. The quick pace of U.S. diplomacy around ending the war in Ukraine and steps by Washington to normalize relations with Moscow have sparked fears in Kyiv and European capitals about being sidelined and saddled with a peace deal that…

A federal judge on Friday paved the way for the Trump administration to move forward with plans to remove thousands of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) workers from their jobs. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols denied a request from labor groups to issue a preliminary injunction after the Trump administration said thousands of USAID employees would be placed on administrative leave and ordered agency personnel abroad to return to the U.S. within 30 days. “Weighing plaintiffs’ assertions on these questions against the government’s is like comparing apples to oranges. Where one side claims that USAID’s operations are essential to…

The Federal Government has reduced the proposed hike in telecommunications tariffs from 50 percent to 35 following relentless pressure from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). Sources said this decision came after a meeting between the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) officials, government representatives, and labour leaders at the National Security Adviser (NSA’s) office on Friday, February 21, 2025. According to those in the know, the meeting, which lasted for about three hours, saw NLC officials strongly opposing the tariff increase, and after persistent demands, the government and the NCC agreed to lower the proposed hike by 15%. An official announcement confirming…

…As family of murdered Shiri Bibas give update Hamas is set to free six more Israeli hostages today (Saturday) from the Gaza Strip, in return for more than 600 Palestinian prisoners. The six Israeli men set for release today are expected to be the last living hostages freed during the ceasefire’s first phase. They include Eliya Cohen, 27; Omer Shem Tov, 22; and Omer Wenkert, 23. All three were abducted from a music festival during the Oct. 7 attack. Tal Shoham, 40, who was taken from the community of Kibbutz Beeri, is also set to be released. As well as…

….Reveals even the players didn’t know who was making the decisions ·The defender departed Old Trafford last summer after his contract expired·He has opened up on his experience at United and pointed out a host of flaws Raphael Varane made a brutal comparison between Manchester United and Real Madrid as he laid bare the problems from top to bottom at Old Trafford. Varane departed United last summer after his contract expired and won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup during his three-year stay, having joined from Madrid in 2021. The defender won no less than four Champions League trophies and…

…Musk calls judge enemy of free speech, criminal Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice, Alexandre de Moraes ordered X to pay 8.1 million Brazilian reais ($1.4 million) in fines for failing to comply with judicial orders, according to a judicial ruling. The ruling, signed on Wednesday and made public by the court on Friday, said the social media platform refused to provide registration data for a profile attributed to Allan dos Santos, an ally of former President Jair Bolsonaro accused of spreading falsehoods. In July 2024, De Moraes ordered both X and Meta to block and ban the account and provide the…

Voletta Wallace, the dedicated mother of the late great rapper, The Notorious B.I.G. and protector of his legacy, died Friday morning. She was 78. Monroe County Coroner Thomas Yanac confirmed her death Friday to The Associated Press, saying she died at her home in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, after a stint on hospice care. She died of natural causes. A representative for the estate of The Notorious B.I.G. did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Notorious B.I.G., one of the rap’s greatest performers, was shot to death at age 24 in Los Angeles in 1997. The case remains unsolved.…