Author: Olaoluwa Vincent Ajayi

US President Donald Trump has said security guarantees aimed at ending the war in Ukraine are “95 per cent done” following high-level peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Speaking after the meeting, Mr Trump said a deal to end the conflict was “a lot closer” after an afternoon of negotiations with Mr Zelensky and a subsequent phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He suggested a final agreement could be reached within “a few weeks”, adding that a trilateral meeting involving Ukraine and Russia was likely. “I think we’re doing very well. We…

Swansea University has opened applications for a fully funded PhD studentship in Welsh and Sociolinguistics, focusing on understanding and supporting adult motivation to learn Welsh. The studentship, reference RS917, is open to UK applicants only and will begin in October 2026. The project is jointly funded by Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and Swansea University’s Postgraduate Research Office through its central Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) funding. Funding is provided for three years, covering full tuition fees, an annual UKRI-rate stipend (currently £20,780 for 2025/26), and additional research expenses of up to £500 per year. Swansea University  Research Focus Despite high…

The University of Manchester, Department of Chemistry, is inviting applications for a fully funded 3.5-year PhD studentship in Adaptive Kinetic Spectral Deconvolution, within its internationally recognised NMR Methodology Group. The full-time PhD programme, based in Manchester, will commence in October 2026 and focuses on the development of advanced methodologies for analysing time-resolved nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data. The research combines experimental NMR spectroscopy with computational approaches to better understand how complex chemical mixtures evolve during chemical reactions. Funding and Eligibility The studentship is jointly funded by the Department of Chemistry Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) and JEOL (UK) Ltd. It provides:…

Nigeria’s political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections is set for a significant realignment as the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is expected to formally defect to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, in Enugu. The move is expected to end months of speculation over Obi’s political future as preparations intensify for the next general elections. Obi is said to be defecting alongside serving senators and other lawmakers elected on the platform of the Labour Party (LP), as well as some remnants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-East. Sources told…

The administration of Donald Trump has banned two British citizens and a former European Union commissioner from entering the United States, accusing them of undermining free speech by pressuring social media companies to censor content. Those affected include Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), and Clare Melford, head of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI). Ahmed now faces deportation from the US, while Melford’s visa is set to be revoked. The US State Department said it would also deny visas to three other individuals, claiming they were involved in efforts to “coerce” American technology platforms…

A Special Offences Mobile Court sitting in Oshodi, Lagos State, on Monday sentenced a 48-year-old man, Makinde Rasaq, to 13 months of community service for illegally dumping refuse on Lagos Island. Rasaq was arrested while driving a Honda SUV loaded with waste and later pleaded guilty to seven charges. The offences included breach of public peace, indiscriminate dumping of refuse, failure to patronise approved waste collectors, illegal transportation of waste without a valid licence, and obstruction of government officials while carrying out their duties. The court ordered that all the sentences be served as community service at the Kirikiri Correctional…

After weeks of harsh rhetoric that brought relations close to breaking point, President Donald Trump has shifted Washington’s approach to Nigeria, moving away from threats of military action and towards a sweeping multibillion-dollar health partnership. Barely two months ago, Trump warned that the United States could step in with “guns a-blazing” to confront what he described as an existential threat to Christianity from Muslim militants in Nigeria. The remarks sparked outrage in Abuja and unease among diplomats, who feared that America’s most important security partner in West Africa was sliding towards an unprecedented confrontation with Washington. Now, in a striking…

The United States has been quietly carrying out intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November, signalling heightened security cooperation between Washington and Abuja, according to an exclusive report by Reuters. The report, published on Monday, cited flight-tracking data as well as current and former U.S. officials, noting that the precise purpose of the surveillance missions could not be immediately and independently confirmed. The development comes weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump warned in November that Washington could consider military intervention in Nigeria over what he described as the government’s failure to stop violence against Christian communities. In…

Fresh violence has rocked Orelope Local Government Area in the Oke-Ogun axis of Oyo State, following an early-morning attack by suspected Fulani herdsmen that left three farmers dead. The victims, Aderoju Mukaila, Olawuwo Saka, and Ojeniyi Ojebayo, were reportedly attacked on Monday after confronting herders who were grazing cattle on their farmlands. The confrontation allegedly escalated when the farmers resisted the destruction of their crops, leading to a violent assault in which they were hacked. According to a report by Vanguard, the injured farmers were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment but later succumbed to their injuries despite medical…

Nigerian naira traded within a relatively narrow range against the United States dollar on Monday, offering a measure of stability after a year marked by sharp fluctuations and sustained pressure on Africa’s most populous economy. In official trading at Nigeria’s formal foreign exchange window, the naira exchanged at about ₦1,460 to the dollar, according to market data. The rate reflects cautious optimism among traders as year-end liquidity patterns and reduced speculative activity ease short-term volatility. However, the currency continued to trade at weaker levels in the parallel market, where the dollar was sold for between ₦1,480 and ₦1,500, highlighting the persistent…