Author: News Room

Nigeria’s ambition to raise crude oil production has received a boost from the growing contribution of newly introduced crude grade streams, Utapate and Cawthorne, Saturday PUNCH reports. The crude grades, introduced in 2024 and early 2026, represent the latest additions to the country’s basket of crude oil grades aimed at expanding export streams and strengthening oil revenues. Based on the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s monthly crude and condensate production data analysed by our correspondent on Friday, the Utapate crude grade produced a total of 8.75 million barrels between January and May 2026, while the newly introduced Cawthorne blend contributed…

South Africa captain Ronwen Williams has expressed disappointment at what he described as a lack of support from fellow African nations following Bafana Bafana’s 2-0 defeat to co-hosts Mexico in their opening 2026 FIFA World Cup match on Thursday night, Saturday PUNCH reports. The result leaves South Africa with work to do in Group A as they pursue a place in the knockout rounds. Speaking after the match, Williams admitted he was surprised by the volume of African football fans who appeared to back Mexico rather than an African representative on the global stage, and called for greater unity among…

Bitcoin (BTC) is gaining buyers’ interest after setting a new yearly low at $59,000 last week. Order book data and liquidity suggest a rally is pending and more than $2 billion in short liquidity is concentrated near $65,000. BTC’s bid-ask ratio has remained positive since last Friday. The shift in positioning and sentiment also aligns with a bullish chart pattern targeting the $67,000–$70,000 range. BTC bulls attempt to regain control near supportBitcoin’s recent rebound to $63,500 followed a bullish divergence between the price and the relative strength index (RSI) on the four-hour chart. The price printed a lower low during the early-June…

Elon Musk just became the world’s first-ever trillionaire. The accomplishment came on Friday, June 12, moments after Musk’s company SpaceX hit the stock market. Shares for the aerospace brand were initially listed at $135 but began trading at $150 instead. SpaceX’s stock increased after trading began. The value rose to $168.75 a share and was then traded at $158 a share. It rebounded again and reached $176.52. SpaceX raised $75 billion which valued the company around a record $1.77 trillion total. From that, Musk, 54, earned an estimated $690 billion. In addition to his stake in SpaceX, the tech founder…

Traditional rulers in Yorubaland are considering invoking ancestral deities and deploying other indigenous spiritual mechanisms to combat terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes, Saturday PUNCH has learnt. The development comes amid persistent insecurity across the South-West, where communities continue to grapple with rising cases of abductions and violent attacks Some of the monarchs, who spoke with Saturday PUNCH on Thursday and Friday, said the move was being considered as a complementary measure to support conventional security efforts against terrorists, bandits and kidnappers operating in the region. The development followed a call by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi,…

The strongest tell-tale sign that a man has begun to “chop and clean mouth” is not suspicious phone calls or unexplained absences, but his neglect of the emotional and physical needs of the woman he has at home. Nobody is more emotionally insensitive to their spouse than a man who has begun to have an affair. And nobody is unhappier than the wives of such men because there is a certain attitudinal recklessness on the part of these men that can make a woman question her worth. A woman who shared her marital experiences with me recently talked about how…

New Nigerian record holder in the men’s 100m, Kayinsola Ajayi, will be gunning for his first NCAA title on Friday when he competes in the final of the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA, PUNCH Sports Extra reports. Ajayi overcame a slow start to win his semi-final in 9.94 seconds (-1.1m/s), holding off LSU’s Jaiden Reid, who equalled the Cayman Islands national record with a time of 9.95s. It was Ajayi’s ninth legal sub-10-second performance, and the fastest time overall in the semi-finals as he booked his place in the 100m final. The 21-year-old will be joined in…

The Board of Trustees of the Kennedy Center is taking steps to keep President Donald Trump’s name on the building. The board voted to seek a stay of U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper’s May 29 ruling that said Trump’s name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center, the Associated Press reported. In the filing, the Kennedy Center said the court should grant a stay of the judge’s order, because it has “strong arguments to raise on appeal,” and that removing Trump’s name would be “both wasteful for the Center and confusing for the public.” Cooper previously ruled that only Congress…

Leaders of the Ijaw and Urhobo ethnic nationalities in Delta State’s Warri Federal Constituency say the restoration of previously suppressed state constituencies by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) does not address the core dispute fueling tensions over electoral representation in the oil-rich area. This position follows growing uncertainty over the implementation of INEC’s recently completed ward delineation exercise in Warri Federal Constituency and the commission’s failure to respond to multiple media enquiries seeking clarification on the process. On Thursday, INEC announced the restoration of several constituencies in Benue, Delta, Jigawa and Kogi states following court judgements. The commission also…

The Aviation Ground Handlers Association of Nigeria (AGHAN) has lifted its suspension on services to Max Air, less than 24 hours after halting operations over unpaid debts. The association said the decision followed progress in discussions with the airline, including the payment of a “substantial amount” of money out of its outstanding obligations to handling companies. In a statement issued on Friday, AGHAN said the suspension was lifted after Max Air re-engaged with its members and committed to resolving its debt profile. “We have to lift the handling suspension on Max Air after it commenced negotiations with our members and…