Author: News Room

Bitcoin and the broader digital asset market got a taste of “not-QE” this week — and liked it.The price of Bitcoin (BTC) jumped more than 23% toward $79,000 and Ether’s price crossed $2,400 after the US Treasury moved to double certain long-dated bond buybacks, adding fuel to an increasingly important question for digital asset markets. If Washington keeps finding new ways to support liquidity without technically embarking on quantitative easing, could Bitcoin and other risk assets become some of the biggest beneficiaries?That question is already shaping business decisions across crypto. Standard Chartered sees Bitcoin heading toward $100,000, Metaplanet is taking…

Michelle Pfeiffer is clearing up rumors that she’s ready to call it a day. The Oscar nominee, 68, recently said she’d happily forgo starring in another movie because she’s found so much joy acting in television shows like The Madison and Margo’s Got Money Troubles. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, August 20, host Jimmy Fallon pointed out that some news outlets reported her remarks as a retirement announcement. (“Michelle Pfeiffer hints at Hollywood retirement,” read one headline shown by Fallon.) “It’s the most ridiculous thing. They’re always saying that I’m retiring. I never…

The National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA) has welcomed the Federal Executive Council’s (FEC) approval of the revised National Biotechnology Policy 2026. In a statement issued on Friday in Abuja, Toyin Omozuwa, press secretary of NBRDA, said the revised policy would harness biotechnology more effectively for Nigeria’s economic and national development. She said that the revised policy was approved at Wednesday’s FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu, to update Nigeria’s 2001 biotechnology policy after 25 years of scientific and technological advances. The agency said the policy would strengthen biotechnology research, development, application and commercialisation across agriculture, healthcare,…

Aisha* once relied on free antiretroviral therapy (ART) from a clinic in Maiduguri, north-eastern Nigeria, funded through the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programme. The treatment kept the HIV in her body suppressed. That changed when US President Donald Trump ordered a halt to PEPFAR funding in January 2025. “When I went to the facility and was told the drugs were no longer available for free, my heart sank because I couldn’t afford to pay for them out of pocket,” Aisha* told SciDev.Net. Although PEPFAR partially resumed its activities in February 2025, the programme was subject to…

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, belongs to his political camp, while declaring that they all belong to President Bola Tinubu. Wike made the statement on Friday while speaking with journalists during an inspection exercise in Abuja, as he commented on Adeleke’s recent visits to him and President Tinubu amid political realignment ahead of the 2027 elections. The FCT minister said the 2027 presidential election would be characterised by extensive political alliances, insisting that more politicians and groups would join the coalition supporting Tinubu. Wike said some members of the African…

He hates weigh-in days. My cat Pablo is a voluptuous boy. His primordial pouch, originally thought to protect cats’ squishy insides, hangs low and wobbles to and fro. Once, when he was five or six, a vet sternly sat my spouse and me down, gravely stating, “He’s simply too young to be this fat.” Pablo didn’t care, but we were traumatized. Now that he’s 10, the vets have repeatedly scolded us. All 20 pounds of his rotundity, they say, cannot continue. The specter of diabetes and kidney problems, and the fact that his obesity combined with a too-small pee-pee hole…

Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships. We receive compensation when you click on a link and make a purchase. Learn more! Like a lot of moms, I usually have an assigned list of school supplies to stock up on before the school year starts. And yet, there are always those back-to-school supplies you don’t realize your kids need until they’re in the thick of the school year. With three kids enrolled in preschool through elementary, I’ve amassed a collection of unexpected must-haves that I swear are just as important as pencils, paper and crayons. Amazon curated a thorough back-to-school edit, so…

The federal government has declared Tuesday, 25 August, a public holiday. Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who announced the declaration, said the holiday was to mark this year’s Eid ul Mawlid. The Eid is marked by millions of Muslims worldwide to celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad. According to a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Magdalene Ajani, Mr Tunji-Ojo congratulated Muslims and urged Nigerians to learn the values associated with the life of Prophet Muhammad. He also called on Nigerians to pray for peace in the country. READ ALSO: 2027: Ondo lawmaker lauds Tinubu, interior minister…

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has committed $4.17 million to four research projects examining whether existing Ebola vaccines can generate immune responses against the Bundibugyo virus. The studies, according to a news release on the CEPI website, will analyse stored blood samples from thousands of people previously vaccinated against Zaire ebolavirus, including recipients of the Ervebo vaccine. This will help to determine whether the vaccines could offer some protection against the different Ebola virus species. The research comes as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to battle the outbreak caused by Bundibugyo ebolavirus. The World Health…

Women farmers in Kaduna State are among the key beneficiaries of the state government’s latest free fertiliser distribution, as the Governor Uba Sani administration seeks to reduce production costs and strengthen the capacity of smallholder farmers. The intervention, which began with the distribution of 500 truckloads of fertiliser and the deployment of tractors, targets 150,000 smallholder farmers across Kaduna’s 23 local government areas. Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES Hausa at the Babban Dodo fertiliser redemption centre in Zaria Local Government Area, the Supervisory Councillor for Agriculture and Forestry, Nuhu Dogara-Malami, said the programme marked the third consecutive year of the administration’s…