Author: News Room
Eleven Nigerian soldiers have been released, 10 days after being detained in Burkina Faso. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, confirmed the development to The PUNCH on Wednesday night. “The soldiers have been released. I just confirmed with our Head of Mission in Burkina Faso,” he said. It remains unclear when the soldiers are expected to return to Nigeria, as their travel plans could not be verified. The soldiers were held by Burkina Faso’s military authorities after their aircraft made an unscheduled landing in Bobo-Dioulasso on December 8. The landing followed a technical issue shortly after departing Lagos…
Multiple explosions on Wednesday rocked Auchi, the administrative headquarters of Etsako West Local Government Area in Edo State The News Agency of Nigeria correspondent reports that multiple explosions occurred in three different areas of Auchi at about 6:30pm on Wednesday. NAN observed that the first blast occurred along Igbei Road, the second at the Igbo Shade area near an AP filling station, while the third explosion occurred along the Auchi–Okene Road, close to Winners Junction. Properties worth millions of naira were reportedly destroyed, including buildings and shops, across the three affected areas. As of the time of filing the report,…
The experts at the financial and economic intelligence platform, Proshare, have warned that 2026, being a pre-election year, will test the strength of recent economic reforms and shape the country’s medium-term growth trajectory, even as it projects a cautious path to recovery. The assessment is contained in Proshare’s Economic Outlook Report 2026, titled ‘Hope and the Politics of Economic Recovery’, which examined global, continental, and domestic economic trends and outlined the policy discipline, structural reforms, and political stability required to sustain Nigeria’s ongoing macroeconomic adjustment efforts. The report noted that the globe is transitioning from a multilateral global order toward…
Rayan Cherki’s stunning strike put Manchester City on their way to the League Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Brentford on Wednesday. Ahead of the hectic festive Premier League schedule, Pep Guardiola could afford to give Erling Haaland the night off as his side secured a sixth consecutive victory in all competitions. Haaland was left on the bench among seven changes by Guardiola at the Etihad. Abdukodir Khusanov was one of those handed a rare start and the Uzbek defender was lucky just to see a yellow card for chopping down Kevin Schade when the German looked set to…
Meta has “paused” its program to license its VR operating system to other hardware companies so they could build their own headsets using the platform, as reported by Road to VR .With the program, announced in April 2024, Meta announced that it would be licensing the Quest OS headset — which, at the same time, it also renamed to Horizon OS — to hardware makers like Lenovo and Asus. In a blog post at the time, Meta said that the program would give “more choice to consumers and a larger ecosystem for developers to build for.” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said…
The Competition Commission of India, the regulatory body responsible for promoting fair competition in the country, has approved Coinbase acquiring a minority stake in cryptocurrency platform CoinDCX.In a Tuesday notice, the regulator said it had approved Coinbase Global’s minority stake acquisition in DCX Global Limited, the company behind CoinDCX. Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal confirmed the news in a Wednesday X post, saying it deepened the exchange’s “long-term partnership with one of India’s most established and trusted digital asset platforms.” Source: Paul GrewalNeither the regulatory announcement nor Grewal’s post included information about the percentage of Coinbase’s stake in the…
Jason Bateman dodged a dig from David Letterman at former child star Ricky Schroder while discussing “bratty” behavior he saw on set over the years. During the Tuesday, December 16, episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, host David Letterman asked Bateman, 56, about his experience on set as a child. Bateman shared his favorite moments from working on Silver Spoons, which aired from 1982 to 1987. Bateman specifically shared several stories of adventures he had alongside Schroder, 55. He was subsequently asked about the potentially negative aspects of being an actor as a child. “I thought I was…
A Delta State High Court in Orerokpe has issued an interim order, restraining the Nigeria police from enforcing the tinted glass permit policy, which the police authorities had said would commence on 2 January. Justice Joe Egwu gave the order on Wednesday, 17 December, following an exparte motion filed by, Israel Joe, the applicant, against the Inspector- general (IGP) of police, the Nigeria police, and the commissioner of police in Delta State, who are the respondents in the suit marked HOR/FHR/M/31/2025. A Lagos-based rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, posted a copy of the court order on Facebook on Wednesday. The court…
Image credit: Transcend Media Service. …Fanon’s legacy for African journalism is a call to a higher purpose. Reflecting on his life, I see that he gives us not a strict rulebook, but a “weary road to rational knowledge.” This path needs bravery, clear vision, and a commitment to report the truth, even when it is uncomfortable. He lived this himself, from his editorial desk to the pages of his books. A Fanon-style journalism would listen to ordinary people, and treat them not just as sources of quotes but as experts on their own lives. I missed the Frantz Fanon Centenary…
Nigeria’s preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations received a major lift on Wednesday as star striker Victor Osimhen arrived in camp, completing the Super Eagles’ 28-man squad in Egypt. Osimhen’s arrival means head coach Eric Sékou Chelle now has his full complement of players available as Nigeria enter the final phase of build-up for the tournament in Morocco. The Galatasaray forward had been the only absentee since camp opened in Cairo last weekend. His presence now adds pace, goals and leadership to a squad already brimming with experience and attacking options. Camp now complete With Osimhen’s arrival, all…
