Author: Fatimah Idera

Thames Water has been fined £122.7m for breaching rules relating to its wastewater operations and dividend payments. It is the biggest ever penalty issued by the water regulator Ofwat. The regulator said the fines followed its biggest and most complex investigation and confirmed it would be paid by the company and its investors, not by customers. A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We take our responsibility towards the environment very seriously.” The fine issued by the water industry watchdog has ordered Thames Water to pay a £104.5m penalty for breaches of rules connected to its wastewater operations. That is on top…

According to a U.S. State Department cable issued on Tuesday, embassies and consulates worldwide, including those in Nigeria, have been instructed to pause scheduling any new appointments for student (F, M) and exchange visitor (J) visas until further notice. “The department is conducting a review of existing operations and processes for screening and vetting of student and exchange visitor visa applicants,”the statements reads. With new guidelines on expanded vetting expected within days. This development comes at a time when Nigerian students already endure notoriously long wait times for U.S. visa interview dates, some delayed by months or even over a…

A bill requiring Apple and Alphabet’s Google to verify the age of users of their app stores could become law in Texas.

The National Public Radio (NPR) and three Colorado public radio stations are suing the Trump administration over the president’s executive order to cut federal funding for public broadcasting. U.S. President Donald Trump’s order against NPR and fellow public broadcaster PBS earlier this month barring the use of Congressionally appropriated funds violated the First Amendment, it said. Read also: Trump moves $4bn media firm shares into son’s trust The NPR CEO, Katherine Maher, said in a statement that ” the intent could not be more clear as the Executive Order aims to punish NPR for the content of news and other…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has departed Abuja for Lagos to lead the 50th anniversary celebration of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The event marks a continuation of the golden jubilee activities, which were officially flagged off last month in Accra, Ghana. The disclosure was contained in a statement issued on Monday by the State House and signed by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. It stated that the President will participate in a series of commemorative events, including a symbolic reenactment of the 1975 founding declaration of ECOWAS at the Nigerian Institute…

Equities meandered Tuesday as investors awaited the latest developments on Donald Trump’s trade war.

A Japanese plane headed from Tokyo to Texas made an emergency landing after a passenger attempted to open one of its doors during the flight. All Nippon Airways Flight 114 was diverted to Seattle due to an unruly passenger. According to the Port of Seattle police, they received reports of a man trying to open the exit doors mid-flight. The individual, who hasn’t been identified, experienced a medical crisis and was restrained by fellow passengers and the flight crew. He was taken to a hospital after landing, and it’s unclear if charges will be filed. “The safety of our passengers…

Difficult economic conditions, exacerbated by the U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, and persistently weak demand for many products have forced companies across Europe to freeze hiring or cut jobs. According to a report by Reuters, some of the layoffs announced since the beginning of April are as follows: Stellantis: The automaker agreed with trade unions to implement up to 200 voluntary redundancies at its Termoli plant in central Italy on May 8. Additionally, it plans to cut 500 jobs through voluntary exits at its Melfi assembly plant in southern Italy. On April 3, Stellantis temporarily laid off 900 workers at…

The White House has said it is monitoring the case of Lucy Connolly in an escalation of free speech tensions with Sir Keir Starmer. State department officials are examining the treatment of Connolly, the wife of a Conservative councillor, who was jailed for 31 months over a social media post about the Southport attacks. Judges threw out an appeal brought by the 42-year-old last week, meaning she will not be released before August. Campaigners raised her case with Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, as part of a wider effort to challenge what they regard as draconian hate speech…

A Federal Judge has ordered Trump administration on Friday to facilitate the return of a gay Guatemalan man who said he was deported to Mexico despite fearing he would be persecuted there, after officials acknowledged an error in his case. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston issued the order days after the Justice Department notified him that its claim that the man had expressly stated he was not afraid of being sent to Mexico was based on erroneous information. The Justice Department said last week that upon further investigation, officials were unable to identify any Immigration and Customs Enforcement…