Forces from Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region have captured swathes of territory from Islamic State during a weeks-long offensive they hope will draw increased international support, according to officials and Reuters reporters. The advances come against an IS faction that has gained in importance and was the target last week of the first air strikes of U.S. President Donald Trump’s new administration. Before those strikes, Reuters reporters who gained rare access to the village of Balidhidin, which IS controlled for a decade, saw Puntland security forces patrolling and residents circulating on foot near the carcasses of army trucks destroyed in recent fighting. The village is…
Author: Alade Adisa
The Bank of England’s predictions follow its decision on Thursday to cut its main interest rate for the third time in six months. The bank now predicts that the British economy will only grow by 0.75% this year, down from its previous forecast of 1.5% just three months ago. In a statement, the bank’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) lowered its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.50%, taking it to its lowest level since mid-2023. That decision was widely expected by the financial markets. What wasn’t expected was the scale of the growth downgrade…
Judge issues temporary order restricting access by ‘Doge’ to multitrillion-dollar system Elon Musk’s crusade to slash US government spending suffered setbacks on Thursday after a federal judge barred the Treasury department from handing data from its payments system to outsiders and one of the billionaire’s staffers was forced to resign over racist social media posts. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly put the temporary order in place after Musk boasted that his team at the “Department of Government Efficiency” (Doge) was “rapidly shutting down” Treasury remittances. They apparently gained access to the system that disburses trillions of dollars, including social security payments and…
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees and contractors are contemplating potential lawsuits targeting the unprecedented attack on the federal agency by President Donald Trump’s administration, according to four sources familiar with the talks. As a matter of fact, some federal workers associations in the United States have asked a federal high court in Washington to stop the Trump administration from shutting down the agency. The lawsuit was filed by the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees. The workers hinge their suit on the argument that USAID is a creation of Congress, which the executive…
The kidnappers responsible for the abduction and murder of Hon. Justice Azuka after collecting a ₦100 million ransom has been arrested. This was revealed in a viral post by an X, formerly known as Twitter user, Olaudah Equiano. NEW DAILY PRIME reported that the lawmaker representing Onitsha North state constituency was kidnapped on December 26, 2024, and later killed despite the ransom payment. He was reportedly shot twice in the head. Reports said that it was one of the culprits that led law enforcement agents to the dump site of the corpse of the late legislator. Further details indicate that…
For sometime now,the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has been having a running battle both with the Kaduna State House of Assembly over his indictment by the lawmakers ,and same for the presidency for his recent criticisms of the APC -led administration. In this analysis, Damilola Olufemi examines the possible links between the ongoing imbroglio and the 2027 presidential race. Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, has been embroiled in a controversy surrounding a ₦423 billion indictment by the Kaduna State House of Assembly. The lawmakers had in 2024 accused El-Rufai’s eight years- led administration of…
The Federal Government has announced plans to phase out all Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) and Senior Secondary Schools in the country and introduced a compulsory 12-year uninterrupted basic education model. With this development, the government is seeking the abolition of 6-3-3-4 education system and replacing it with 12-4. Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa disclosed this on Thursday at the 2025 extraordinary meeting of the National Council on Education (NCE) in Abuja. The event was graced by commissioners for education in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), agencies and parastatals under the Ministry, and development partners. According to…
Ukraine is using a new type of drone capable of destroying Russian gas pipelines—and unlike kamikaze drones, they can be used multiple times. For several months, Kyiv has been targeting infrastructure, refineries, and ammunition depots on Russian soil with next-generation drones. On Thursday, Ukraine struck the Druzhba oil pipeline, located near the Belarus-Russia border, and the extent of the damage was visible from space, including through NASA imagery. According to Forbes, a new type of drone has been deployed—one that first drops a bomb on its target before crashing into it. This Ukrainian technological breakthrough allows for greater destruction of…
Nigeria’s U-20 teenage prodigy, Kpaboro Arierhri, has revealed why he snubbed Aston Villa and Olympique Lyonnais to sign for Norwegian side, Lillestrøm SK. The 18-year-old striker was a part of the Beyond Limits Football Academy team that won the 2024 Viareggio Cup in Italy. Arierhri scored against C.N Brazzaville in the tournament’s final to gift his side the trophy, as they made history, becoming the first African team to win the prestigious trophy. Arierhri’s rise at Beyond Limits saw him linked with several local and European clubs, but he already had a pre-contract in place with Lillestrøm last year, and…
In what critics are calling a “bonfire of rainbow tape,” President Donald Trump has launched a sweeping and aggressive campaign against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives across American institutions. From the private sector to federal agencies, DEI programs are being defunded, dismantled, and, in some cases, weaponized in what appears to be a purge targeting perceived ideological opponents. Since signing a series of executive orders aimed at eliminating DEI efforts, Mr. Trump’s administration has pressured corporations, suspended federal workers, and moved to erase policies designed to promote diversity in hiring, contracting, and leadership. A Corporate Retreat Major companies—including Google,…