Author: News Room

Recently, the concept of so-called covenants has received renewed attention as Bitcoin development and protocol discussions underwent a renaissance. Covenants could enable and facilitate a wide range of applications, including new trustless and scalable layer 2s, fully non-custodial vaults with more complex spending logic, and more efficient payment channels. However, most paths to implementing this functionality require a soft fork of Bitcoin’s consensus rules, a process that would likely spark debate within the community.With the recent diversification of consensus clients into Core and Knots nodes, reaching agreement on such a change has become less likely. In spite of recently pushing…

Former Pro Bowl defensive end Aldon Smith gave a chilling interview just days before his shocking death, telling celebrity barber Tee Maultsby that he has “had better days.” Smith died at age 36 at a San Jose hospital on Saturday, June 13, after a friend found him unresponsive in his car. “I’ve definitely had better days,” Smith said on the June 8 episode of Maultsby’s “Laced Up” YouTube show. “It’s along the lines of something I think I’ve been dealing with my whole life, and I’m just struggling with accepting how it’s playing out right now. That sounds like a…

The Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Caucus in the House of Representatives, Afam Ogene, has accused Adams Oshiomhole of distorting historical facts in his criticism of former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi’s handling of security challenges during his administration. Mr Ogene, in a statement issued on Monday, was responding to recent comments by the former Edo State governor during a podcast interview in which Mr Oshiomhole claimed that the state (Edo) recorded better security outcomes under his administration than Anambra did under Mr Obi. The senator representing Edo North had questioned Mr Obi’s capacity to address Nigeria’s worsening…

Following persistent calls to Arewa PUNCH by family members seeking assistance over the disappearance of their son, Gombe correspondent Chima Azubuike investigated the disappearance of Anthony Isabor, who allegedly left Nigeria for Belgium in search of a better life. “This June makes it 11 years and three months that Anthony Isabor has remained incommunicado. Anthony Isabor is my elder brother. He was working as a teacher at a Nursery and Primary School before he travelled. “I have petitioned the Belgium embassy in Abuja they didn’t acknowledge my letter. I got in touch with the National Agency for the Prohibition of…

A 33-year-old man, Ifechukwu Okechukwu, has been arrested by the Anambra State Police Command for allegedly killing his 23-year-old girlfriend and secretly burying her in Nkpor, Anambra State. The suspect was among four other suspects nabbed over alleged murder and child abuse in separate incidents committed across the state. The suspects were arrested following trending videos and credible information from concerned members of the public. This was disclosed in a press statement issued by the Command’s spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, on Monday. Ikenga said the command intercepted a trending video of the exhumation of a corpse in Nkpor and that…

Of course, I didn’t have an idea what it meant, but it was always there at the top of our chalkboard at the Baptist Primary School, Oke Ako Ekiti, my primary school. The one-line sentence simply read: “Apartheid is a crime against humanity.” Years later, at the AUD High School, Ikole Ekiti, Ekiti State, I understood the statement but not the implications yet. Not yet! As I journeyed higher in life, it was hard for a young man to understand an official system which imposes segregation of all sorts against blacks in South Africa, in their own fatherland, where they…

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria said it has commenced an official investigation into the circumstances surrounding the allegation of gold smuggling involving its staff members. FAAN staff in the Aviation Security section, Ali Baffa, was arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for allegedly attempting to smuggle gold worth N4.4bn out of the country in connivance with two other persons at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano. The EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, announced the suspects’ arrest in a statement issued on Thursday, the same day the suspects were arrested. Earlier, when…

Patrick Ocheme delivered the moment of the night, knocking out Cameroon’s Octave Ayinda with a stunning punch-and-flying-knee combination to send the Lagos crowd into a frenzy as the Professional Fighters League made its historic debut in Nigeria at the Eko Convention Centre on Saturday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports. The co-main event ended in spectacular fashion in the first round when Ocheme, patient and composed throughout the early exchanges, exploded with a short check hook that hurt Ayinda before measuring him for a double-clutch flying knee that landed flush on the jaw. Ayinda slumped against the fence, unconscious, as the home…

Students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, have emerged winners of the 2026 University Duel and Smart Challenge competitions sponsored by MTN Nigeria, earning a total of N4m in prize money and scholarships. While the winners of the University Duel received N3m, the Smart Challenge champions were awarded N1m. A statement by the founder of the STEM Africa Initiative, organisers of the competitions, Oladapo Ojo, said the contests brought together students from universities across the country and were designed to promote excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education. According to him, the participants were tested in Applied Mathematics, Data…

Crypto exchange Bybit will offer eligible customers access to tokenized bond funds managed by PIMCO and China Merchants Bank International, expanding its push into real-world assets through partnerships with Plume and DigiFT. Bybit’s new RWA Earn platform launched with two tokenized bond funds: the PIMCO Dynamic Income Opportunities Fund (PDO), which invests across fixed-income assets including corporate debt, mortgage-backed securities and government bonds, and the CMBI Investment Grade Bond Fund, which focuses on investment-grade credit in Asian and global markets.According to Monday’s announcement, the funds are tokenized through DigiFT, a digital asset exchange regulated in Singapore and Hong Kong, while…