Author: News Room

Nigeria is working to increase military cooperation with Benin and Niger as jihadists from the Sahel encroach on the country’s northwest, the Nigerian defence minister told AFP on Thursday. Africa’s most populous country has been battling homegrown militants since 2009, in a conflict that has been reshaped recently by the growing presence of armed groups from the wider region. The United States has launched strikes against Islamic State Sahel Province in northwest Nigeria, while analysts are also worried about the presence of the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM). “We’re opening another sector to cover the…

Chris Larsen, co-founder and executive chair of Ripple Labs, was reportedly among those backing the financial venture of US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s son as negotiations over a significant piece of crypto-related legislation continue in the Senate.According to a Thursday Politico report, Larsen was one of a handful of investors backing the American Perpetuals Exchange Corp. (APEC), founded by Theodore Gillibrand. Although Larsen’s exact contribution was not included in the report, the majority of investors contributed between $5,000 to $10,000 each into the derivatives platform, which reportedly raised $30 million.The investment comes as the New York lawmaker is involved in negotiations…

If the reports are indeed correct, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce won’t be the first couple to get married inside New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Swift and Kelce announced their engagement in August 2025, subsequently playing coy about plans for their big day. “I think the wedding is what happens after [my Life of a Showgirl promotional tour] in the scheme of the planning, but I’m so excited about it,” Swift said on the Graham Norton Show in October 2025. “I know it’s gonna be fun to plan because I think the only stressful weddings are the ones where…

The African Group of Negotiators Experts Support (AGNES) has urged the Nigerian government to accelerate the nationwide implementation of clean cooking initiatives. The call was made on Thursday by AGNES Nigeria Country Director David Awolala during the official kickoff workshop for the project, “Integrating E-Cooking in Nigeria’s Clean Cooking Policy Implementation Plan and Funding Proposals.” The project is being implemented in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Presidency’s National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), the Federal Ministry of Power, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The group argued that scaling…

President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated what the Federal Government described as West Africa’s largest lithium processing plant in Nasarawa State, stating that Nigeria must shift from exporting raw minerals to processing them locally to create jobs and drive industrial growth. The facility, located in the Endo community, Nasarawa Local Government Area, has a daily processing capacity of 6,000 metric tonnes and an annual capacity of 3,000,000 metric tonnes. The President, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the inauguration on Thursday, said the plant reflects the government’s commitment to developing the solid minerals sector through local value addition. According to…

President Bola Tinubu has charged Team Nigeria to surpass the country’s best-ever performance at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. He also urged the athletes to compete with integrity, discipline and patriotism. The President gave the charge on Thursday through his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, during the Presidential Send-off Ceremony at the State House, Abuja, ahead of the team’s departure for Glasgow, according to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. Tinubu urged the athletes to make Nigeria proud through fair competition, describing them as worthy ambassadors of the…

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is all in on AI as the new social media, and he’s previously described a vision of how users could use AI to make interactive experiences and share them with people. The launch of Pocket appears to be one manifestation of that idea, and it follows Meta hiring engineers from a company called Atma Sciences Inc., which made an app called Gizmo, as Business Insider reported in March. Meta got a non-exclusive license to use the company’s technology, and based on screenshots of Pocket on Google Play, the app looks to be pretty similar to Gizmo.“Scroll…

Ondo Finance is adding shareholder voting rights to its tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through a partnership with financial infrastructure provider Broadridge, addressing one of the key limitations of blockchain-based securities.The companies announced Thursday that holders of more than 250 tokenized securities issued through Ondo will be able to participate in proxy voting and access corporate communications, including regulatory filings and other shareholder documents.The integration uses a Web3-enabled version of Broadridge’s investor communications platform, allowing users to authenticate with blockchain wallets while accessing governance services typically reserved for shareholders in traditional markets.The move comes as tokenized equities gain momentum…

Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships. We receive compensation when you click on a link and make a purchase. Learn more! Many people spend $40 on a serum and 20 minutes layering it correctly, but only $4 on a manual toothbrush and 30 seconds using it. The result? The skin around your mouth gets more attention than what’s inside it. If your skincare regimen is dialed in but your toothbrush is still the freebie from your last dental visit, here is a worthwhile upgrade. The ARU electric toothbrush is a sonic brush built around clinical proof, and the brand leans on…

The Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has asked the National Assembly to revisit the bill seeking to establish state police, with a view to making it independent of the federal government. Rising from its caucus meeting on Thursday in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the group specifically urged the National Assembly to place state police on the Constitution’s concurrent list. It stated its position in a communique sent to journalists after the meeting. Both chambers of the National Assembly recently passed a bill to establish state police to tackle Nigeria’s lingering security challenges. The constitutional amendment bill will, however, require the…