Author: Opalim Lifted

The United States, US advanced to the World Cup knockout stage with a dominant performance against Australia on Friday, an early own goal and an Alex Freeman header giving the co-hosts a comfortable 2-0 win despite missing talisman Christian Pulisic. Just as they had in their 4-1 victory over Paraguay, the US forced an own goal to open the scoring, with Cameron Burgess the unfortunate defender. Freeman nodded in the simplest of headers just before the break, the goal initially ruled out for offside but given on review, prompting the US bench to flood the pitch in celebration. “It was…

A kidnap victim, Aisha, has narrated how bandits in Zamfara State compelled her to bury her three children after they died while in captivity. Aisha, who was abducted alongside her children while travelling through the state, said she was the only member of her family of four to survive the six-month ordeal. Bandit attacks, kidnappings, and other violent crimes continue to plague communities across Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto states, with residents frequently subjected to killings, displacement, and illegal levies imposed by armed groups. Speaking in an interview with DW Hausa, Aisha recounted how gunmen intercepted the vehicle she and other…

The Federal Government has told Nigerians that the current administration never promised instant miracles to solve the nation’s challenges but rather a structural and deliberate path to sustainable development. Senate President Godswill Akpabio stated this while representing President Bola Tinubu at the official inauguration of a newly constructed seven-kilometre access road and bridge bypassing the second runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. Speaking at the event, Akpabio noted that the Renewed Hope Agenda of the current administration is focused on implementing strategic policies that will deliver long-term progress rather than temporary fixes. He emphasised that the government…

The Federal Government has urged Nigerian journalists to reduce the visibility of terrorist and criminal activities on newspaper front pages, calling for reporting that strengthens national stability. The appeal was made on Thursday in Abuja by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, during a two-day national security summit organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists in collaboration with the Department of State Services. The summit, themed ‘Media and Security Agencies as Partners in Nation Building’, brought together media leaders, security chiefs and policy stakeholders to discuss the role of communication in addressing insecurity. Idris said the government…

Iran has announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz once again, citing the continued presence of United States forces in the region and Israel’s military operations in southern Lebanon, according to a report by the New York Post. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) disclosed the decision via maritime radio channels on Friday, warning vessels to avoid the strategic waterway. The IRGC accused the United States of breaching a memorandum of understanding signed between Washington and Tehran earlier in the week by President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. It claimed that key conditions of the agreement included…

Toyin Abraham, Nigerian filmmaker and actress, has shared details of the financial difficulties she experienced during the early years of her career. In a recent video, the 43-year-old movie producer disclosed that despite spending roughly 25 years in the industry, she only started making “real money” about eight years ago. “I just started making money. I have been in the industry for about 25 years, since 2001. I started making money, I don’t think it is up to eight years. Then, I was making it, but it was peanuts, just what to eat,” Abraham said. This is not the first…

Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, vice-president of Equatorial Guinea, has announced the federal executive council’s (cabinet) resignation after it failed to meet performance targets. In a recent X post, Mangue, who is also the son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, said the cabinet quit after achieving “barely 10 percent” of its goals. “The rule is simple: public responsibility has to come with results,” he said. “The state puts significant human, material and financial resources at the disposal of the government to address the needs of the population. “So the degree of execution achieved is clearly insufficient in relation to the…

A district head in Gwande District, Safron Samuel Alaket, has been killed following a suspected armed ambush in Bokkos Local Government Area, Plateau. The incident reportedly occurred at about 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday along the Sha–Daffo axis, near the boundary between Sha District and Daffo community. Residents said the traditional ruler was returning from the popular Tuesday Market in Daffo after earlier attending a traditional council meeting in Bokkos. Eyewitness accounts indicated that gunmen ambushed his vehicle, leaving him critically injured. He was rushed to a nearby clinic for emergency treatment but was later confirmed dead. A community member, Mr…

Substitute Johan Manzambi scored twice as Switzerland beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 4-1 in a chaotic final 20 minutes to edge towards a place in the World Cup last 32. Manzambi met a knockdown in the penalty area with a first-time volley past Bosnia goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj in the 74th minute, just two minutes and 46 seconds after he came off the bench. It was only the 20-year-old’s fourth touch. With Bosnia down to 10 men following Tarik Muharemovic’s straight red card for bringing down Breel Embolo when clean through on goal, Ruben Vargas doubled Switzerland’s advantage with a precise curling finish into…

Benue state income and expenditure commission of inquiry has uncovered N139.8 billion in unaccounted public funds income and expenditure between 2015 and 2023. In February 2024, Hyacinth Alia, governor of Benue, inaugurated two commissions to probe the management of the state’s resources and assets under the administration of Samuel Ortom, former governor of the state. The two panels are the judicial commission of inquiry into the income and expenditure of the Benue state government (from May 29, 2015, to May 28, 2023) and the judicial commission of inquiry into the sale/lease of government assets, companies and markets (both state and…