Author: News Room

Paga, the fintech company behind the Doroki merchant platform, has entered into a strategic partnership with Leadway Assurance to provide comprehensive insurance solutions for users on the platform. Leadway Assurance stated on Tuesday that the partnership is designed to help merchants protect their businesses from daily risks and bounce back swiftly from unexpected setbacks. Under this partnership, Doroki merchants will gain access to tailored insurance solutions designed to protect the critical components of their day-to-day operations, thereby safeguarding their income, assets, and continuity of operations. Beyond offering coverage, this initiative is built on a holistic approach to risk resilience. Doroki…

Nigeria’s basketball administration has been plunged into uncertainty after congress members of the Nigeria Basketball Federation petitioned the International Basketball Federation, seeking formal approval for fresh elections and accusing the board of illegally remaining in office beyond its constitutional tenure. In the petition made available to The PUNCH and signed by Maxwell Kumoye on behalf of Nigeria Basketball Stakeholders, the congress members warned against allowing what they described as beneficiaries of illegality to profit from the crisis. “We must not allow beneficiaries of illegality to profit from the crisis they created,” the petition stated, as Nigerian basketball awaits FIBA’s response…

Nollywood actress Ajara Lasisi, popularly known as Aunty Ajara, is dead. Her death was announced on Thursday by Nollywood director, Tobi Oladele Teemony, also known as Tee Mony, in a statement shared on Instagram. “With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of our beloved actress, Aunty Ajara. She passed on overnight after a long and courageous battle with illness,” the statement read. Teemony said the late actress received “immense love, prayers, and financial support from kind-hearted people across the world” during her illness. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who stood by her with prayers, contributions, encouragement, and compassion,” he…

Google parent Alphabet on Wednesday reported blockbuster earnings, its revenue climbing as it invests massively in cloud computing services enhanced with artificial intelligence. The tech giant said revenue jumped 18 per cent year-on-year in the quarter, and overall annual revenue topped $400 billion for the first time at the company founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998. But Alphabet said it will nearly double its investments this year in the technology arms race gripping Silicon Valley. The company expects capital expenditures between $175 billion and $185 billion in 2026, double its 2025 spending, to meet customer demand for…

The creator of Incognito Market, the online black market that used cryptocurrency as its primary payment rail, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after blockchain transaction analysis cited by US authorities linked him to the platform.The Justice Department said on Wednesday that a Manhattan court gave Rui-Siang Lin three decades behind bars for owning and operating Incognito, which sold $105 million worth of illicit narcotics between its launch in October 2020 and its closure in March 2024.Lin, who pleaded guilty to his role in December 2024, was sentenced for conspiring to distribute narcotics, money laundering, and conspiring to…

Tracy Spiridakos and Jesse Lee Soffer are finally returning to Chicago P.D. after their respective exits led to Upton and Halstead’s shocking split. NBC announced on Wednesday, February 4, that Spiridakos, 37, and Soffer, 41, are reuniting in the three-part One Chicago crossover special. According to the synopsis for the Wednesday, March 4, episode, Upton “returns to her former stomping grounds, but this time on the federal level as a Special Agent of the FBI.” She “joins her former P.D. allies after a drug enforcement task force case out of her Detroit field office leads her back to Chicago.” Halstead,…

The Lagos State Government has announced a six-week traffic diversion to facilitate repairs on the Apongbon Bridge and adjoining service lanes. In a statement posted on X on Wednesday, the Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, said the Federal Ministry of Works will fix failed asphalt sections of the ramp linking Inner Marina to Apongbon Bridge, as well as portions of the bridge’s inbound and outbound carriageways. The works will commence on Thursday (today), and run until 19 March. To ensure safety and smooth execution, the statement said sections of the affected roads will be temporarily closed, with alternative routes mapped…

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Bayo Ojulari, has addressed recent debates surrounding the newly launched Nigeria’s Gas Master Plan (GMP) 2026, particularly concerns over export parity pricing. Speaking during a fireside chat at the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) on Wednesday, the NNPC chief pushed back against claims that the framework is unworkable. “When people talk about export parity, I laugh a bit, because today we have domestic customers paying more than export prices,” he said. Last week, PREMIUM TIMES reported that NNPC unveiled the Gas Master Plan 2026, a policy…

A global study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and its cancer research arm, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), has revealed that nearly four in 10 cancer cases worldwide could be avoided through preventive measures. Published on the WHO website on 3 February ahead of World Cancer Day, the analysis estimated that 37 per cent of all new cancer cases recorded in 2022, around 7.1 million cases, were linked to preventable causes. Key risk factors identified The study examined 30 modifiable risk factors, including tobacco use, alcohol consumption, high body mass index, physical inactivity, air pollution, ultraviolet…

Nollywood in Hollywood has revealed the three films selected for the 2026 edition of its annual Nigerian film showcase, scheduled for 6 and 7 March in Los Angeles. The titles, Stitches, When Nigeria Happens, and To Adaego With Love were announced during a preview screening of My Father’s Shadow at the Norris Theatre, University of Southern California. Nollywood co-hosted the screening in Hollywood. My Father’s Shadow previously made history as Nigeria’s first film chosen for official selection at the Cannes Film Festival and was also submitted by the United Kingdom in the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th…