Author: News Room

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced that 196 companies have qualified for the commercial bid stage of the 2025 oil licensing round, whilst 13 of the 50 oil blocks initially offered failed to attract bids and will be returned to the government’s licensing basket. The NUPRC Chief Executive, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this whilst delivering her opening remarks at the Commercial Bid Conference in Abuja on Tuesday. She stated that only 37 of the 50 blocks attracted bids during the technical evaluation stage, with 140 companies submitting 196 bids. “At the end of the exercise, we had 50…

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged African governments to strengthen national hepatitis programmes and expand access to vaccination, testing, and treatment, warning that millions of people across the continent continue to miss out on life-saving services despite the availability of effective interventions. In a statement issued ahead of World Hepatitis Day, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, said viral hepatitis remains a major public health challenge across the region, even though new hepatitis B infections declined by 25 per cent between 2015 and 2024. Mr Janabi noted that while effective vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments are available, many…

MTN Nigeria has launched the second season of its music reality competition, Next Afrobeats Star (NAS), increasing the grand prize to a ₦225 million recording deal and a brand-new car. The telecommunications company announced the competition on Monday, confirming that entries opened on 18 July and will close on 17 August. Produced in partnership with Ultima Studios and ONErpm, the initiative seeks to discover and develop emerging Afrobeats talent across Nigeria. Enhanced grand prize According to MTN, the winner will receive a recording deal valued at ₦225 million, which covers music production, marketing, distribution, and accommodation, in addition to a…

Troops of Operation FANSAN YAMMA have rescued kidnapped victims, foiled an attempted abduction and arrested suspected terrorist logistics suppliers transporting 10 motorcycles in separate operations across Zamfara, Katsina and Kebbi states. The Joint Task Force (North West) disclosed the successes in a statement issued on Tuesday by its Media Information Officer, Lt. Col. Aliyu Danja. According to the statement, the operations were carried out on July 19 and 20 as part of sustained efforts to dismantle terrorist networks and deny criminal groups freedom of action across the North-West. In Zamfara State, troops responded to a distress call from residents of…

Bitcoin (BTC) passed one-month highs on Tuesday as price action defied the odds to top $66,000.Key points:Bitcoin broke through resistance to hit $66,000 for the first time in more than a month.Traders see as much as 6% BTC price gains if further nearby upside targets are reached.Month-end derivatives positioning underscores crypto risk confidence slowly returning.BTC price 6% upside could come “very quickly”: TraderBTC/USD hit highs of $66,306 on Bitstamp, according to TradingView data. That’s a level last seen on June 17.BTC/USD one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingViewA series of rejections around the $65,000 mark had failed to quash traders’ enthusiasm, with calls…

NFL legend Aaron Rodgers reunited with his family after at least a decade of estrangement, though one member of the Rodgers clan was seemingly missing. On Monday, July 20, Aaron, 42, shared an Instagram carousel of himself posing with his parents, Ed and Darla Rodgers, and older brother, Luke Rodgers. While the family was all smiles in these new photos, Aaron’s younger brother, The Bachelorette star Jordan Rodgers, was noticeably absent. “Another bonding week,” Aaron captioned the carousel. Aaron’s rift with his family reportedly dates back at least a decade. When Jordan, 37, competed on future wife Jojo Fletcher’s season…

Rabiu Kwankwaso, the vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has stated that Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate, signed two agreements committing himself to serving only one four-year term if elected in 2027. Mr Kwankwaso explained that the documents comprise a formal agreement involving the political party and a separate personal accord between himself and Mr Obi. The former Kano State governor disclosed this information during an appearance on Channels Television’s *Politics Today* on Monday, 20 July. According to Mr Kwankwaso, the agreement stipulates that the presidency will return to Northern Nigeria in 2031 upon the completion of…

Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has apologised to the Igbo community for the role the state played during the Nigerian Civil War, saying the people of Plateau were “deceived” into participating in the conflict. Speaking during an interactive session with Igbo leaders from the 17 local government areas of the state at the Government House, Little Rayfield, Jos, Mutfwang urged both sides to put the painful chapter behind them and strengthen the bonds of unity. According to a report by The Guardian on Monday, the governor commended the Igbo community for its contributions to Plateau State’s socio-economic development, describing them…

HowHow does AI make you feel? Are you excited to “vibe-code” your smart home? Or anxious about all the added pollution and billions of gallons of water used by data centers? Dig a little deeper and you’ll start to question the actual value of the GPUs that underpin all the leaps and promises of generative AI.Sidebarby Sean HollisterGPU stands for graphics processing unit, and it originally had nothing to do with AI at all. GPUs were designed to be a companion to a computer’s CPU — or central processing unit — to offload the hard work of rendering computer graphics.…

The Scrubs revival will look a little different in season 2 following multiple cast exits. Multiple outlets confirmed on Monday, July 20, that Joel Kim Booster, who played Dr. Kevin Park in season 1, will not return. X Mayo, who recurred as Charge Nurse Raymond, is also not set to be back in season 2. 16 cast members are confirmed to be back — including returning stars Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke and Donald Faison. Out of the new group of interns introduced in season 1, Ava Bunn has been promoted to series regular. The rest of the actors playing interns…