Author: News Room
Despite failing to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Nigeria’s footballing influence will still be highly visible at the tournament kicking off on June 11 in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The Super Eagles missed out after a painful playoff defeat to DR Congo on penalties, marking back-to-back absences from football’s biggest stage following their failure to qualify for Qatar 2022. Yet, as the expanded 48-team tournament gets underway, approximately 15 to 16 players with Nigerian roots, by birth, parentage, or ancestry, are expected to feature across multiple national teams. This diaspora presence highlights the depth of Nigerian…
The Hashgraph Group and Merck have integrated the German tech maker’s product authentication technology with TrackTrace, a Hedera-based digital product passport platform introduced in February, as businesses seek to comply with new European Union supply-chain transparency and traceability requirements.Under the arrangement, Merck’s M-Trust technology embeds security markers into products and packaging that can be verified with a handheld scanner. Authentication data is then recorded on The Hashgraph Group’s TrackTrace platform, creating a digital record linked to a product’s Digital Product Passport.The companies said the integration combines physical product authentication with blockchain-based traceability, allowing businesses to verify both the authenticity of…
Grace Gummer is standing by her portrayal of Caroline Kennedy in FX’s controversial series Love Story two months after Jack Schlossberg criticized her performance. “All I can say is, I really can’t imagine what it’s like to see your life portrayed onscreen,” Gummer, 40, said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Saturday, June 6. “My goal was to play her with honesty and compassion and delicacy.” The actress added, “I have an immense amount of respect for her.” Schlossberg, 33, previously spoke out about Gummer’s portrayal of his mother during an April 15 appearance on Next Question with…
The police command in Ebonyi State has said that no part of the state is under attack by bandits, contrary to social media reports. The command’s spokesman, Joshua Ukandu, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abakaliki and made available to reporters on Monday. Mr Ukandu, a superintendent of police, dismissed the reports on social media that bandits and herders invaded the Nguzu Edda Community in Edda Local Government Area of the state. He described the report as “false, misleading and capable of causing unnecessary panic among residents.” The spokesman stated, “Operatives acted swiftly upon receiving information about a viral…
The Senate Committee on the South East Development Commission (SEDC) on Tuesday took the Managing Director of the Commission, Mark Okoye, to task over the alleged mismanagement of N16.6 billion received from the 2025 budget allocation. The committee, chaired by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North), specifically frowned at N153 million the commission claimed it spent to rent a one-room liaison office in Abuja and N2.5 billion categorised as “implied expenditure.” Trouble came for the MD and other top management staff when the committee reviewed the financial report submitted during an investigative hearing. Irked by the MD’s failure to account…
The New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, has alleged that its former presidential candidate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is still meddling in the party’s affairs despite his exit. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ogini Olaposi, made the allegation in a statement on Tuesday. Olaposi said Kwankwaso has continued to wield influence within the party through loyalists allegedly left behind after his departure. “Kwankwaso is not only trying to hijack political power in NDC Kano, he has continued to drag the NNPP for reasons best known to him. “Some members of the Kwankwasiyya Movement are the ones he left behind to continue the…
There was tension as one person was killed and seven others injured after an Improvised Explosive Device, IED, exploded along the Bagega–Anka road in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State. The incident occurred when a commercial Golf 3 Wagon conveying passengers from Bagega to Anka ran over the explosive device. The IED was allegedly planted by suspected bandits operating in the area. When contacted contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Yazid Abubakar, said the explosion occurred on June 8, 2026, and resulted in one fatality and seven injuries. The police spokesman noted that security forces responded swiftly after…
Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has clarified the reasons behind Portugal’s choice to play against Nigeria in an international friendly, emphasizing that this decision is not influenced by rankings or comparisons, but rather by playing style and physical intensity. Portugal intends to utilize this high-profile friendly as part of their final preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will take place in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, with Nigeria being selected as one of their African opponents for this preparatory match. During the pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Chelle asserted that there is no disrespect in comparing…
A commercial driver has lost his life in a multi-vehicle collision that occurred along the Lagos-Apapa Expressway. PUNCH Metro learnt from a statement on Tuesday by the spokesperson for the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Adebayo Taofiq, that the incident involved a commercial minibus and a Toyota Tundra vehicle. According to Taofiq, the driver died from the injuries sustained during the accident. He stated, “Preliminary investigations conducted by security personnel at the scene revealed that the driver of the commercial minibus sustained grievous injuries and died instantly due to the devastating impact of the collision. “LASTMA operatives, who were on…
The Zamfara State Police Command, in a joint operation with other security agencies, has repelled a bandit attack during a two-hour gunfight along Gadar Manya in the Anka Local Government Area of the state. A statement by the spokesperson for the state police command on Tuesday disclosed that the armed confrontation, which occurred on Monday, followed an encounter with a group of bandits attempting to cross the highway. According to the command, the criminals, who opened fire upon sighting the security team, were forced to retreat into the bush with suspected gunshot wounds, leaving behind two motorcycles recovered at the…
