Author: News Room

New finalists from Katsina, Ekiti and Taraba have emerged as the biggest talking points ahead of the 26th edition of the Nestlé MILO Secondary School Basketball Championship, underlining the growing reach of one of Nigeria’s longest-running grassroots sports development platforms. Twelve teams — six boys’ sides and six girls’ sides — from across the country’s four regional conferences will converge on Lagos from Friday for the national finals, with defending champions Father O’Connell Science College of Niger State leading the field in the boys’ category. However, the emergence of states making their first appearances at the national finals has added…

A mouthwatering duel between in-form goalscorers Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland will take centre stage at the World Cup on Friday as France face Norway in a crucial Group I decider. Real Madrid star Mbappe and Manchester City striker Haaland have started the tournament in blistering form, neck-and-neck on four goals apiece in the race for the Golden Boot, just behind leader Lionel Messi on five. On Friday, the two forwards will meet in a heavyweight collision at Foxborough, outside Boston, at 3:00 pm local time (2000 GMT), with top spot in the group up for grabs. France, who looked…

Akwa Ibom State High Court, sitting in Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, has sentenced a mother of four one Uwakmfon Jonah, to life imprisonment over the attempted murder of a 12-year-old girl. The convict, a 36-year-old hairdresser and divorcee from Ikot Obong in Afaha Clan, Essien Udim Local Government Area, was sentenced on a one-count charge of attempted murder contrary to Section 276 of the Criminal Code, Cap 38 Vol. 2, Laws of Akwa Ibom State, 2022. The presiding judge, Justice Winifred Effiong announced the sentence while delivering judgment on the suit on Thursday. The court…

The Bank of Agriculture has unveiled a strategic roadmap aimed at modernising its operations, expanding grassroots financial inclusion and accelerating agricultural transformation in line with the Federal Government’s food security agenda. The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Ayodeji Sotinrin, disclosed this in a statement issued on Friday, saying the institution is implementing operational upgrades and forging strategic partnerships to improve the delivery of agricultural intervention programmes and empower smallholder farmers across the country. According to the statement, the BOA is strengthening its agricultural delivery architecture by expanding collaborations with state-level delivery platforms, licensed input suppliers and…

A highly anticipated rematch between boxing legends Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao has been postponed indefinitely, Pacquiao’s camp in the Philippines said on Friday. The news followed ESPN reporting that a planned Mayweather exhibition in Greece had been called off after an events company connected to the Pacquiao bout had sought an injunction. The two Hall of Famers, whose 2015 bout drove 4.6 million pay-per-view buys, have been at loggerheads since Mayweather stunned the boxing world by declaring a rematch announced by Netflix for September would only be an exhibition — something bitterly contested by Pacquiao. On Friday, the Pacquiao…

US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded their largest daily net outflows of June on Thursday as Bitcoin fell below $60,000.Spot Bitcoin ETFs shed $696.3 million, surpassing the previous monthly high of $519.2 million logged on June 2, according to SoSoValue data.The latest withdrawals pushed June’s total outflows to $3.61 billion, bringing year-to-date net outflows to $4.6 billion.Monthly flows in US spot Bitcoin ETFs as of Friday. Source: SoSoValue The ETF outflows coincide with signs that other large sources of institutional Bitcoin demand are also slowing. Strategy, the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder, has reduced its accumulation pace in June, prompting…

Footage of Tom Sandoval’s heated altercation with Victoria Lee Robinson and her dad, Will Robinson, has emerged. The video, which was shared via Reddit and reportedly first posted by Will in a Facebook group on Thursday, June 25, shows Sandoval, 44, pushing Will after the Vanderpump Rules star accused Victoria, 33, of recording him without permission during an argument. Initially, Sandoval can be seen arguing with Victoria and Will, who were sitting around a fire pit at their home. Sandoval becomes increasingly animated with his hand gestures in the footage as he voices his strong disagreement after Will accuses Sandoval…

Troops of Operation Enduring Peace have rescued eight kidnapped victims during a military operation in Pandam Forest in the Qua’an Pan Local Government Area of Plateau State. The operation was carried out in the early hours of Wednesday following credible intelligence, the military said in a statement on Friday by the Media Information Officer of Operation Enduring Peace, Chinonso Oteh. “Troops are currently on pursuit to apprehend or neutralise fleeing kidnappers,” Mr Oteh said. According to the statement, troops of Sector 9, deployed in Namu, launched the offensive operation at about 3 a.m. after receiving intelligence on the presence of…

Providus Bank Limited and Unity Bank Plc have announced plans to commence operations as a single entity following the successful merger of the two financial institutions. The development was disclosed in a statement posted on Providus Bank’s official X handle on Friday. The bank noted that the successful merger will position the institution to better serve customers, support businesses and contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s economic growth. Their joint operation came after the Supreme Court, earlier in June, dismissed a suit challenging the merger between Providus Bank Limited and Unity Bank Plc, bringing an end to legal disputes over the consolidation…

Nigeria has gone through countless reform agendas since independence. In the democratic dispensation, successive administrations have anchored their political successes on promises of reform in one aspect or another of the Nigerian polity. Nigeria is, of course, not alone in this pattern. The Brexit campaign in the United Kingdom fundamentally altered British politics and led to the exit of David Cameron as the Prime Minister, while the “Make America Great Again” movement reshaped American political discourse and ultimately returned President Donald Trump to office for a second term. President Tinubu campaigned on economic reforms and repeatedly urged Nigerians to brace…