Author: News Room

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s bid for the presidency in the 2027 general election took a major hit after the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the deregistration of five political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the party he recently adopted to run for president again. Delivering judgement on Monday, Justice Peter Lifu directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties for failing to meet constitutional requirements for continued registration. The other affected parties are the Accord Party (AP), Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), and Zenith Labour Party…

Egypt and Cape Verde added to Africa’s positive start at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Monday, earning valuable points against highly fancied European opponents in their opening group matches. After Morocco held Brazil to a 1-1 draw and Côte d’Ivoire secured Africa’s first victory with a 1-0 win over Ecuador, Egypt battled Belgium to a 1-1 draw while debutants Cape Verde frustrated Spain in a goalless stalemate. In Group G, Egypt produced one of their most disciplined performances in recent years to deny Belgium victory. Midfielder Emam Ashour gave the Pharaohs a deserved lead in the 20th minute with…

One person has been beheaded and seven houses razed at Ogute-Oke community in Estako East Local Government Area of Edo State after a quarrel broke out over a girl. The incident happened shortly after the community celebrated its Olimi festival and a party to celebrate the burial of a popular chief in the locality. Several people were said to have fled the community to avoid arrest by police. A source who pleaded anonymity on Monday, said, “Trouble started in the community during a party to celebrate the burial of a popular chief in the locality. “A guy became annoyed that…

Belgium and Egypt drew 1-1 in their World Cup opener on Monday after a second-half Belgian equaliser spoiled Mohamed Salah’s 34th birthday. Emam Ashour opened the scoring early in the first half in Seattle, before Romelu Lukaku came off the bench after the hour to force Egypt’s Mohamed Hany into an own goal. With the draw, seven-time Africa Cup of Nations champions Egypt’s wait for a first victory at a World Cup goes on. This is their fourth participation in the global showpiece, and with Group G fixtures to come against Iran and New Zealand, they will hope to break…

For months, Big Tech’s Washington lobbyists have chased after the holy grail of pro-AI legislation: preemption. This would be a comprehensive federal law, passed in Congress and signed by the president, applying one set of AI rules across the entire country and overriding the legally messy state-by-state approach to regulation. For months, lobbyists have run into roadblocks and incurred nationwide political blowback, and they now face the possibility that after the midterms, Congress will flip to hostile Democrats unwilling to work with them.But their final, most desperate attempt at preemption is coming with new baggage, related to an entirely different…

Kraken on Monday launched perpetual futures trading for eligible US users through Bitnomial, expanding its domestic derivatives offerings months after acquiring the federally regulated exchange.The products are available through Kraken Pro and include contracts tied to major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP (XRP), Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC) and Avalanche (AVAX).According to Monday’s announcement, the contracts share the same futures wallet as Kraken’s existing CME-listed crypto futures products, allowing traders to manage both positions from a single account.Source: Kraken ProKraken said perpetual futures, a type of derivative contract with no expiration date, generated…

The Love Island franchise has mourned the deaths of some of the show’s most beloved islanders over the years. Love Island, which premiered in the U.K. in 2002, follows a different group of singles every season who pair off in order to stay in the show’s luxury villa. The franchise has since expanded worldwide, with spinoffs such as Love Island USA. The contestants — who are referred to as Islanders — live in isolation in a villa and are under constant video surveillance. They must be coupled up to remain on the show and to stand a chance at receiving…

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, on Monday dismissed a Federal High Court judgement ordering the deregistration of the Accord and other four opposition political parties, insisting that the ruling would not affect his participation in the 15 August off-cycle governorship election in the state. The court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister five political parties; Accord Party (AP), African Democratic Congress, Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), over their failure to meet constitutional performance thresholds required for continued registration. Mr Adeleke, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the…

A former senator representing Ogun Central, Iyabo Obasanjo, has returned to the Peoples Democratic Party barely a week after resigning from the All Progressives Congress. Obasanjo, daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, rejoined the PDP on Monday during the unveiling of the party’s deputy governorship candidate in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The former health commissioner, who recently returned from the United States, was received with cheers by party members at the PDP secretariat. Speaking shortly after the presentation of former Group Business Editor of The PUNCH, Alhaja Yemi Sowunmi-Kolapo, as the party’s deputy governorship candidate, Obasanjo expressed confidence in the chances…

The Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja, on Monday dismissed an application filed by a former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Farouq, seeking to set aside the bench warrant and warrant of arrest earlier issued against her. Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie held that Farouq failed to provide a valid reason for her absence from court and ruled that the law empowered the court to issue a bench warrant where a defendant deliberately fails to appear in a criminal proceeding. Farouq is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alongside Bashir Nura Alkali and Sani Nafiu Mohammed…