Author: Opalim Lifted

The UK Home Office has announced a sweeping increase in visa fees for people seeking to visit, study, work, or settle in the United Kingdom, with changes taking effect from April 8. Under the new structure, visa charges will rise by as much as £222, as part of broader government efforts to curb migration and tighten border controls. The policy shift comes alongside stricter measures targeting asylum seekers and migrants. Authorities say failed asylum seekers could receive up to £10,000 to voluntarily leave the country, while those found working illegally risk losing access to taxpayer-funded accommodation. In addition, the government…

The Ethiopian government has directed all public institutions to send non-essential employees on annual leave in an effort to cushion the impact of a fuel shortage disrupting transportation across the country. The war in Iran has worsened the fuel crisis in the East African nation, with long queues sometimes involving hundreds of trucks, buses, and cars forming overnight at fuel stations. The government said placing public workers on leave would help reduce demand for transportation and fuel. In the long term, authorities plan to rely on electric vehicles (EVs). A document published by the Ministry of Finance and the Ethiopian…

Suspected bandits have attacked a wedding celebration in Kahir village, Kagarko LGA of Kaduna state, killing 13 people and abducting 28 residents in a late-night raid. The attackers, said to be heavily armed, stormed the venue at about 11pm on Saturday, opening fire on guests gathered for a bachelor’s eve party. Emmanuel Musa Kahir, a resident and former special adviser to the Kagarko council chairman, said the gunmen arrived in large numbers and shot indiscriminately, leaving 13 people dead at the scene. Seven others sustained injuries during the attack. Six victims are receiving treatment at the general hospital in Kagarko,…

A major shipment of KitKat chocolate bars has been stolen while in transit across Europe, raising fresh concerns about supply chain security. KitKat, owned by Nestlé, confirmed that 12 tonnes of its products were taken during transportation from its factory in central Italy to Poland. The company disclosed the incident in a statement on X on Monday, noting that the goods were intercepted before reaching their destination. While details remain unclear, Nestlé said it is working closely with law enforcement agencies and logistics partners to investigate the theft and recover the missing products. Despite the scale of the incident, the…

A 50-year-old grandmother from Tennessee spent more than five months behind bars after an AI facial recognition system wrongly linked her to bank fraud cases over 1,000 miles away in North Dakota. Angela Lipps was arrested on July 14 after authorities in Fargo issued a warrant accusing her of multiple fraud-related offences. At the time, she says she had never even visited the state. The case centres on the use of facial recognition technology by the West Fargo Police Department, which relied on software from Clearview AI. The system flagged Lipps as a “potential suspect” based on similarities with an…

Pope Leo XIV has condemned the widening gap between the rich and the poor during a high-profile visit to Monaco, describing inequality as a threat to justice and global peace. The pontiff made the remarks on Saturday during his first trip to Western Europe, choosing the wealthy Mediterranean principality as a symbolic backdrop for his message on economic imbalance. Arriving by helicopter from Rome, Pope Leo was welcomed by Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene at Monte Carlo’s heliport under clear skies. Speaking in French from the balcony of the Prince’s Palace, he criticised what he called “structures of sin”…

VAT does not know who drinks what. Every time news breaks of Hisbah, Kano State’s moral police, smashing bottles of beer, millions of people mostly in the South erupt in rage. Band A rage, that is. Most of the anger, I believe, is expressed by people who identify as Christians and who see the Muslim North as bad news. The comment sections, especially on Facebook, burn hottest. The question that comes up again and again is: why should states that ban the consumption of alcohol receive VAT from alcohol? I used to think this was a clever gotcha, but I…

More than $1.2 billion in unclaimed tax refunds from the 2022 tax year remains uncollected, with over 1.3 million taxpayers yet to file, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The agency said individuals who did not submit a 2022 tax return may still be eligible to claim refunds but must act before the April 15, 2026, deadline. Taxpayers typically have a three-year window to claim refunds, after which the funds become the property of the US Treasury. Failing to file a return does not only mean losing withheld income; it may also prevent taxpayers from accessing refundable tax credits,…

President Bola Tinubu has announced plans to donate all his salaries since assuming office to a special fund aimed at supporting Nigeria’s armed forces and their families. In a personally signed statement on Sunday, the president said the initiative forms part of activities marking his 74th birthday, while also recognising the sacrifices of military personnel across the country. “On this my 74th birthday, I celebrate the valiant men and women of our Armed Forces,” Tinubu stated. He revealed that he has directed the Accountant-General of the Federation to establish a dedicated account to manage the fund, which will cater to…

At least 28 civilians have been killed in fresh drone strikes in Sudan, as the country’s brutal conflict continues to claim lives despite repeated international warnings. The latest attacks struck two locations hundreds of kilometres apart, a crowded market in Darfur and a major road in Kordofan highlighting the widening danger posed by drone warfare in civilian areas. Health workers, speaking via satellite communication due to an ongoing blackout, confirmed the deaths on Thursday. In North Darfur’s Saraf Omra, a drone strike hit a busy market, killing 22 people, including an infant, and leaving 17 others injured. Eyewitness Hamid Suleiman…