Author: Opalim Lifted

The United States government has announced plans to intensify enforcement against parents who owe more than $2,500 in unpaid child support by revoking their passports. In a statement released Thursday, the US Department of State said the move is being implemented by the administration of Donald Trump in collaboration with the US Department of Health and Human Services. According to the department, the policy is aimed at ensuring that parents who fail to meet their financial responsibilities to their children face “real consequences”. The statement noted that US law already requires citizens to comply with child support obligations before obtaining…

Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has said she served during a period she described as the Nigerian Senate’s finest era. Speaking during a recent event, the former senator reflected on her time in the National Assembly, noting that lawmakers across party lines worked more closely together and placed national interest above politics. Remi Tinubu represented Lagos Central Senatorial District for three consecutive terms before leaving the Senate in 2023 following the election of President Bola Tinubu. The First Lady said the atmosphere in the chamber during her tenure encouraged cooperation, mutual respect and productive debate among lawmakers. She also praised…

The United Kingdom (UK) has imposed fresh sanctions on Russian-linked networks accused of recruiting Africans and Middle Easterners, including Nigerians, to fight in the war in Ukraine. In a statement released by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the UK government said 35 individuals and entities had been sanctioned over activities linked to Russia’s military operations and drone production. Among those sanctioned is Polina Alexandrovna Azarnykh, who the UK said was backed by the Russian state and involved in facilitating the movement of recruits from countries such as Nigeria, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Syria and Yemen into Russia before deployment to…

Colombian pop star Shakira has unveiled her official song for the 2026 World Cup. The 49-year-old, behind hits such as Whenever, Wherever and Hips Don’t Lie, teased Dai Dai on Thursday as the anthem for this summer’s tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada. Shakira posted a one-minute video on Instagram from Brazil’s Maracana stadium to tease the track that is out on 14 May and also features Nigerian singer Burna Boy. It marks Shakira’s second official World Cup anthem after Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) for the 2010 tournament in South Africa. She also had the second theme…

Freiburg are through to their first European final after beating 10-man Braga in Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg. Leading 2-1 from the first leg, the visitors were reduced to 10 men when Mario Dorgeles – scorer of Braga’s last-gasp winner in Portugal – was shown a straight red card for a professional foul on Jan-Niklas Beste. Freiburg soon made their numerical advantage count, taking the lead on the night when Jean-Baptiste Gorby’s attempted clearance rebounded off Lukas Kubler’s knee before trickling over the line via the inside of the far post. The opening goal may have been slightly fortuitous,…

Crystal Palace created club history as they defeated Shakhtar Donetsk in the Conference League semi-finals to move into their first ever European final. The Eagles led 3-1 after the first leg a week ago in Poland, and thought they had stretched their advantage when Yeremy Pino raced through and slotted a calm finish into the net. However, the winger was ruled offside following an extremely tight offside decision when he collected Jean-Philippe Mateta’s flick-on. But, at a raucous Selhurst Park for the second-leg tie, Palace took the lead in the 25th minute. Adam Wharton’s powerful 25-yard strike was pushed away…

Aston Villa demolished Nottingham Forest’s hopes to charge into the Europa League final and edge closer to ending a 30-year major trophy drought. John McGinn’s late double added to Emi Buendia’s penalty and Ollie Watkins’ opener to complete Villa’s comeback against Nottingham Forest after last week’s 1-0 first-leg defeat. The hosts booked a final against Bundesliga side Freiburg, who beat Braga 4-3 on aggregate, in Istanbul on 20 May. Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery is chasing his fifth Europa League title, having joined the club as a serial winner of this competition. His team will be looking to lift…

Nigeria is rapidly becoming a major centre for humanitarian response operations as insecurity, violent conflicts and mass displacement continue to worsen across the country, the Nigerian Red Cross Society has said. Speaking during the World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day activities in Abuja, the National President of the organisation, Oluyemisi Adeaga, disclosed that about 3.7 million Nigerians have been displaced due to rising insecurity and violent clashes across different parts of the country. Adeaga warned that the growing humanitarian emergencies are stretching the organisation’s capacity, as the number of vulnerable people in need continues to rise without corresponding increases…

China has sentenced two former defence ministers, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu, to death with a two-year reprieve over separate corruption convictions. The sentences were handed down on Thursday by a military court in Beijing after investigations that lasted nearly two years. Under Chinese law, a death sentence with a two-year reprieve is reserved for some of the country’s most serious offences, including major corruption and violent crimes. In most cases, the sentence is later commuted to life imprisonment if the convicted person does not commit further offences during the reprieve period. According to the court ruling, both Wei and…

The World Health Organization (WHO) has assured the public that the hantavirus outbreak linked to the MV Hondius is not the start of another global pandemic. Speaking during a press briefing on Thursday, WHO officials stressed that hantavirus spreads very differently from COVID-19 and currently presents a low global public health risk. Maria Van Kerkhove said the situation should not be compared to the coronavirus outbreak. “I want to be unequivocal here. This is not SARS-CoV-2. This is not the start of a Covid pandemic. This is an outbreak that we see on a ship,” she said. Van Kerkhove explained…