Author: News Room

With the 2025 CAF Africa Cup of Nations heading into its final stage, the race for the Golden Boot remains one of the tournament’s biggest talking points. PUNCH Online compiles a list of top contenders in the Golden Boot race ahead of Saturday’s third-place playoff between Nigeria and Egypt, as well as Sunday’s final between host Morocco and Senegal. Morocco’s Brahim Díaz continues to lead the charts, while several stars remain within striking distance. Although he failed to score in Morocco’s semi-final victory over Nigeria, the Real Madrid winger remains top scorer with five goals in six matches. Díaz will…

Residents, customers and passers-by were thrown into panic on Thursday morning after a petroleum and cooking gas filling station along the Bukuru Expressway in Jos was engulfed by fire, triggering widespread fear among residents and motorists. The affected filling station, located a short distance from the Jos South Local Government Secretariat, was reportedly engulfed in flames that started around the main underground petroleum discharge tank, raising concerns about the potential scale of damage. Eyewitnesses said no firefighters were present at the early stage of the incident, as staff of the filling station were seen making frantic efforts to contain the…

Africa’s public health crisis is not new, but the stakes have never been higher. Despite decades of donor investment, health systems across the continent remain under-resourced, fragmented and dangerously dependent on external actors. The United States’ decision to channel billions of dollars directly to African governments marks a dramatic shift in global health financing. It places responsibility squarely where it belongs: in national institutions. The future of African public health now hinges on whether governments can turn this moment into meaningful reform. For years, African health systems have been shaped by a persistent contradiction: billions in donor funding, yet chronic…

The Board of Directors of United Capital Plc has announced the appointments of four highly experienced infrastructure investment experts as independent members of the Investment Committee of the United Capital Infrastructure Fund. According to the firm, the appointments have been confirmed following the ratification and clearance by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The United Capital Infrastructure Fund is an SEC-licensed, N150bn closed-ended fund designed to finance and support infrastructure and related projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. The fund targets key sectors, including agribusiness, industrial recycling, renewable energy, gas infrastructure, healthcare, and manufacturing. UCIF is committed to delivering competitive returns to investors…

There have been 32 Africa Cup of Nations finals, and AFP Sport selects five of the most memorable ahead of the 2025 title decider between hosts Morocco and Senegal in Rabat on Sunday: Ethiopia 4 Egypt 2 The final with the most goals, and plenty of excitement, as 1962 hosts Ethiopia equalised twice against defending champions Egypt, then scored twice in extra time for their only AFCON title. Mengistu Worku was the hero in a match watched by a 30,000 crowd crammed into an Addis Ababa stadium. He snatched the second equaliser with six minutes of regular time remaining and…

Ethereum network activity has shown a sharp increase in new users, with “activity retention” almost doubling over the past month, according to crypto on-chain analytics platform Glassnode.Month-over-month “activity retention” shows a sharp spike in the new cohort, “indicating a surge in first-time interacting addresses over the past 30 days,” Glassnode reported on Thursday.It added that this reflects a notable influx of new wallets engaging with the Ethereum network, “rather than activity being driven solely by existing participants.”New activity retention, or new network addresses, has spiked from just over 4 million to around 8 million addresses this month. Activity retention measures how…

Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships. We receive compensation when you click on a link and make a purchase. Learn more! We love a good sale, especially when it’s hosted by a Taylor Swift-loved brand! Hunter Bell, the Southern-centric designer whose gorgeous green gingham set was worn by Swift last summer, is hosting an online warehouse sale from Jan. 15 to 20 — with discounts of up to 80% off their gorgeous 2025 inventory. Coming from someone who has attended their in-person warehouse sales, I can promise the hunt is worth the effort. The deals are insane, the pieces are stunning…

Abubakar Atiku Abubakar, son of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and declared support for President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid. Mr Abubakar was received into the APC on Thursday at the National Assembly by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, alongside other party leaders from the North-east geopolitical zone. Introducing himself during the event, he said: “My name is Abubakar Atiku Abubakar, but everyone calls me Abba. I am here today to formally announce my exit from my former party, where we worked in 2023, and…

Ese Oruru Nearly a decade ago, Nigeria erupted over the abduction and alleged forced conversion of Ese Oruru, a Christian girl, to Islam. Today, a Muslim girl is alleged to have been abducted, raped, and forcibly converted to Christianity by a state security operative. Will this case attract the same volume of condemnation? The same moral panic? The same international attention? Or will it be quietly processed because it does not fit a preferred narrative? I have always resisted being dragged into ethnoreligious arguments. Not because the issues are trivial, but because many of the loudest voices in such debates…

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has reiterated his administration’s commitment to improving the welfare of families of deceased soldiers who paid the supreme price in the service of the nation. The governor made this known during the special parade and wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day, held at the Arcade Ground, Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta. Abiodun also pledged the continued support of his administration for veterans of the Nigerian Army in recognition of their selfless service to the country. Represented by his deputy, Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele, the governor said fallen heroes and war veterans deserved…