Author: Opalim Lifted

Google Maps has renamed Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for users in the United States, following President Donald Trump’s decision to rename the body of water. The change was visible on Google Maps in the US on Sunday, while users in Canada will continue to see the lake’s traditional name, Lake Ontario. Google said the change reflects the US Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the federal database used for official geographic names in the United States. “Since we update Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources, which is GNIS for the US, people using Maps in the…

The Federal Government has approved N10 billion for the 2026 National Research Fund (NRF) grant cycle of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). TETFund announced the funding in a call for concept notes signed by its Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono, on Saturday. The fund will support research projects across 30 priority thematic areas, covering humanities and social sciences, science, engineering, technology and innovation, as well as cross-cutting areas. The 2026 grant cycle follows the completion of the 2025 programme, under which TETFund awarded more than N6.09 billion to 174 research projects. According to TETFund, the application process will begin with…

Chelsea maintained their perfect start to the new Premier League season as they held on to defeat Brighton in an entertaining match at Stamford Bridge. Romeo Lavia’s first goal in a Chelsea shirt handed the Blues a dream start in Xabi Alonso’s first home league game in charge. Brighton were made to pay for a costly error inside four minutes as Mats Wieffer did well on the goalline to block Joao Pedro’s header from a corner but goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen then fumbled to allow an easy tap-in for Lavia. Their lead was doubled 10 minutes later when Morgan Rogers got…

A fire has destroyed several shops and goods at Chida Plaza, a building materials market in Jabi, Abuja. The fire broke out in the early hours of Sunday, prompting traders to rush to the market as they tried to rescue their goods and belongings. Footage from the scene shared by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) showed shop owners removing goods from some affected shops while the fire raged through the plaza. An eyewitness said the alarm was raised at about 3am after his brother-in-law, who owns two shops and a packing store at the plaza, received a distress call from…

President Bola Tinubu will begin a three-week leave on Sunday, with London, United Kingdom, as his first stop, according to Bayo Onanuga, his presidential spokesperson. Tinubu is expected to depart Abuja later on Sunday for Europe, where he will spend the period on what the presidency described as a “working vacation”. “His first stop will be London, United Kingdom,” Onanuga said. The president is expected to return to Nigeria after the break and join preparations for the January 2027 election campaign. Tinubu also took a 10-day annual vacation in September 2025, spending the period in the United Kingdom and France.…

Bola Oyebamiji, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the Osun governorship election, has accepted the outcome of the poll and urged party members to unite ahead of the 2027 general election. Ademola Adeleke, the Accord candidate, was declared the winner of the August 15 governorship election. In a statement on Saturday, Oyebamiji thanked APC members for supporting his campaign, commending their “sacrifices, resilience, prayers and unwavering belief” in him. He also appreciated President Bola Tinubu, Bisi Akande, former governor of Osun, and Adegboyega Oyetola, minister of marine and blue economy, for their guidance and support. While accepting the election…

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have urged the National Assembly to immediately reject the Foreign Aids (Regulation, Transparency and Disclosure) Bill, 2026 (SB.1034), warning that it could undermine civic space, media freedom and democratic participation. In a joint open letter dated 29 August 2026 and signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare and NGE General Secretary Onuoha Ukeh, the organisations called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to withdraw the bill. The bill, sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo (PDP, Gombe North), proposes mandatory registration and…

Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle claimed his first Premier League victory with goals from Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa at Tottenham Hotspur, who lost their second league game of the season. There had not been a goalless draw between these clubs since the top flight was rebranded as the Premier League in 1992, and Elanga broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute. New signing Nico Gonzalez, making his Magpies debut following his £52m move from Manchester City, started the move with a superb crossfield pass to Amar Dedic, who headed the ball into Elanga’s path. The Swede, who also scored in…

Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, will begin charging businesses for customer-service messages sent through the WhatsApp Business Platform from October 1, 2026. The company will also introduce charges for utility messages sent in response to users within an open 24-hour customer-service window. The changes mean businesses that rely on WhatsApp for customer support and automated communications will face additional operational costs. According to a notice on the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta said it would introduce per-message charges for service messages, which have been free since November 1, 2024. “Effective October 1, 2026, Meta will charge on a per-message basis…

President Bola Tinubu has asked a United States court to block the further release of FBI and DEA records concerning investigations allegedly involving him, arguing that the documents are protected by privacy laws. Tinubu, who joined the case as an intervenor, filed the response on Friday before the US District Court for the District of Columbia. He urged the court to reject Aaron Greenspan’s motion for summary judgment and allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to retain redactions and withholdings in records already released. Greenspan, founder of PlainSite, filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)…