The Federal Government has announced a landmark initiative under the Renewed Hope Agenda to deliver 77,400 social housing units across Nigeria and launch new Renewed Hope Cities in Lagos, Abuja, and Kano in a move to tackle the country’s housing deficit. The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Ata,says, “The primary mandate of the ministry is to provide mass housing for Nigerians, and welcomed potential collaboration with Ms Allen Le and Partners International Investment C...
Jun 05, 2025•1 min
The Trump administration and congressional officials are scrutinizing a deal between Apple and Alibaba that would bring Alibaba-powered AI features to iPhones sold in China. The New York Times says White House officials and members of the House Select Committee on China have asked Apple executives directly about the deal, with questions focused on what data would be shared with Alibaba and whether the company was making any commitments to Chinese regulators. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi de...
May 23, 2025•1 min
OpenAI is poised to help develop a staggering 5-gigawatt data center campus in Abu Dhabi, positioning the company as a primary anchor tenant in what could become one of the world’s largest AI infrastructure projects. The UAE project, developed in partnership with G42 — an Abu Dhabi-based tech conglomerate — is part of OpenAI’s ambitious Stargate project, a joint venture announced in January that could see OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle build massive data centers around the globe stocked with power...
May 23, 2025•1 min
Ethiopia's main opposition party has condemned a ban on its activities, saying it posed a serious threat to the 2022 peace deal that ended two years of conflict in the northern Tigray region. The Tigray People's Liberation Front has called for the African Union to mediate with the federal government after the electoral agency revoked its legal status as a party. The decision follows months of political tensions in Tigray and comes ahead of nationwide elections that are due to take place by June ...
May 23, 2025•1 min
The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Yu Dunhai, has reaffirmed China’s commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation with Nigeria, particularly in the solid minerals sector, through the establishment of electric vehicle factories and increased industrial collaboration. Ambassador Dunhai emphasised the strategic importance of Nigeria in China’s foreign policy adding that Nigeria is a great country blessed with tremendous natural resources. Chinese companies are already deeply involved in Nigeria’s ...
May 23, 2025•1 min
President Bola Tinubu has approved the issuance of critical regulatory licenses for the Kolmani Integrated Development Project. The project is a multibillion-dollar oil exploration initiative located between Bauchi and Gombe states. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) says the development was revealed during the flag-off ceremony for the construction of the permanent site of the Bauchi Oil and Gas Academy in Alkaleri Local Government Area. The Kolmani Integrated Development Proje...
May 23, 2025•1 min
Nigeria’s Central Bank, in collaboration with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System launched a platform to make it easier for Nigerians living abroad to get their Bank Verification Number (BVN) remotely. Nigerians abroad are expected to get a Non-Resident Bank Verification Number and they are required to pay ₦80,000 ($50). The launch of the NRBVN platform is part of a bigger push to drive remittance inflows— money sent from workers abroad back to their home country—and strengthen Nigeria’s fo...
May 23, 2025•1 min
The Federal Government has concluded key legal and governance frameworks required for the operational rollout of the African Energy Bank as preparations for its official launch enter the final phase. The Special Assistant on Media and Communications to the Minister, Nneamaka Okafor says the meeting assessed progress on the bank’s establishment and confirmed that critical milestones had either been completed or were progressing on schedule. He added that the review confirms that every critical mi...
May 23, 2025•58 sec
The US and China will give details of “substantial progress” touted by Washington on trade talks aimed at ending a devastating tariff war launched by US President Donald Trump that has wiped billions off equities and brought chaos to international commerce. US Treasury Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and international trade representative Li Chenggang for closed-door talks in Geneva on Saturday and Sunday. Both sides sounded an optimi...
May 13, 2025•1 min
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed direct negotiations in the coming days to end the conflict in Ukraine but did not address a 30-day ceasefire proposal drawn up hours earlier by European allies of Kyiv, reportedly with US backing. Putin proposed direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on May 15 — hours after Kyiv and the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Poland had called for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire to start on Monday. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators held direct talks in ...
May 13, 2025•1 min
Safaricom Ethiopia, the subsidiary of Kenya’s largest telecom operator, narrowed its losses by 65% to $165.7 million in 2024. The group company posted an 11% jump in 2024 full-year profit to $540 million, buoyed by stabilising losses from its Ethiopian expansion and steady growth in mobile money and data in Kenya. Safaricom is laying the rails for mobile money dominance in a country where 90% of transactions are still cash-based. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podca...
May 13, 2025•55 sec
The Taliban government in Afghanistan has banned chess until further notice due to fears the game is a source of gambling. Officials says the game has been prohibited indefinitely until its compatibility with Islamic law can be determined. Atal Mashwani, the spokesman of the Taliban government's sports directorate, says chess in Islamic sharia law is "considered a means of gambling". He says there are religious considerations regarding the sport of chess adding that until these considerations ar...
May 13, 2025•55 sec
South Africa has criticised the US as reports emerge suggesting Washington could receive white Afrikaners as refugees as early as next week. South Africa's foreign ministry described the purported move as "politically motivated" and designed to undermine South Africa's "constitutional democracy". Trump earlier described Afrikaners as victims of "racial discrimination" in an executive order, opening up the prospect for them to resettle in the US. The South African authorities says they would not ...
May 13, 2025•1 min
The Kebbi State Government has announced the release of over N266 million for the payment of tuition fees for 100 students of Kebbi origin studying in India. Kebbi State Commissioner for Higher Education, Isah Tunga, described the efforts of the governor as a significant step towards taking education to greater heights. “The Kebbi State Government, under the able leadership of Governor Nasir Idris, the education promoter, has approved and released the payment of tuition fees of N266,964,560 for ...
May 13, 2025•1 min
Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate the alleged criminal diversion of the $3.4 billion loan obtained from International Monetary Fund by Nigeria to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Falana asked the IMF board to probe alleged deliberate refusal of its management to ensure that the emergency funds were used for their intended purposes. He further urge...
May 13, 2025•1 min
US President Donald Trump says he was ordering new tariffs on all films made outside the United States, claiming Hollywood was being devastated by a trend of US filmmakers and studios working abroad. The announcement comes as the White House is coming under mounting criticism over its aggressive trade policies that have seen Trump impose sweeping tariffs on countries around the globe. Trump authorised the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin th...
May 06, 2025•1 min
Donald Trump says he is directing his government to reopen and expand Alcatraz, the infamous former prison on an island near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. President Trump says that for too long America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat criminal offenders". The reopening of Alcatraz - once notorious as one of the US's toughest prisons - would serve as a "symbol of law, order, and justice," he said. Leading Democrats said the proposal was "not a serious one". The maximum secur...
May 06, 2025•1 min
Kenyan commercial banks have rejected the Central Bank’s proposed loan pricing model, arguing it risks reintroducing interest rate controls through the back door. The Central Bank wants lenders to price credit using the Central Bank Rate plus a regulated premium known as “K”—but banks prefer a market-driven benchmark like the interbank rate. The CBK aims to make interest rates more transparent and better aligned with monetary policy however the banks say the new formula could limit their ability...
May 06, 2025•1 min
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a judicial inquiry into allegations of political interference in the prosecution of apartheid-era crimes. The announcement comes three decades after the end of white-minority rule - and after a group of survivors and victims' relatives sued Ramaphosa's government over a perceived lack of justice. A presidential statement says Ramaphosa is determined that the true facts be established and the matter brought to finality. Plaintiffs include the ...
May 06, 2025•1 min
Oil prices slumped on Monday after eight OPEC+ members announced a sharp increase in production, adding to fears of oversupply of crude. OPEC+ member countries announced that they would increase oil production in June. Saudi Arabia, Russia, and six other members of the oil-producing countries will implement a production adjustment of 411,000 barrels a day in June, up from May’s 137,000 barrels. The group says the decision was after the eight OPEC+ countries, which previously announced additional...
May 06, 2025•1 min
A court in Tunisia has sentenced former Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh to 34 years in prison on a raft of terrorism charges. He is the latest high-profile critic of the president to be jailed as campaigners slam "sham trials" in the country. Laarayedh was charged with setting up a terrorist cell and helping young Tunisians travel abroad to join Islamist fighters in Iraq and Syria. Laarayedh has consistently denied any wrongdoing and said the case was politically motivated. Rights groups say these ...
May 06, 2025•1 min
The Minister of Housing, Ahmed Dangiwa, says the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development will collaborate with the German Development Cooperation to pilot a Green Mortgage Scheme in Nigeria. Dangiwa says they see strong potential to adapt a similar green mortgage model within the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria under the National Housing Fund Scheme. The plan is to drive the supply and uptake of energy-efficient affordable homes under the Renewed Hope Housing Programme. Dangiwa noted ...
May 06, 2025•1 min
Kenyan Wall Street reported that the country’s central bank is looking to add gold to its foreign exchange reserve in hopes of giving its struggling reserves some buffer. Gold hauled in over 180% in the last month, summing up an impressive rally that started in January to cross $3,000 for the first time in decades. Gold (in ounces) now costs $3,218. Trump’s inspiring policy-making and the ongoing will-they-won’t-they situation with China. This drove up a gold cash grab, with investors backing th...
May 02, 2025•1 min
A senior figure from South Africa's ruling ANC party has defended his country's sovereignty amid growing tensions with the US over race relations and a new land law. ANC National Chair Gwede Mantashe says they are a free country not a province of the United States and that sovereignty will be defended. US President Donald Trump has hit out at South Africa's new expropriation law, signing an executive order in February stating it was a means to which the government could "seize ethnic minority Af...
May 02, 2025•1 min
The United States government has faulted Nigeria for the continued delay in approving import permits for American agricultural products, describing the situation as a longstanding trade barrier that has hindered access to the Nigerian market. The Office of the United States Trade Representative says that despite repeated efforts to secure market access, Nigeria had not acted on several pending requests concerning food and agricultural imports from the US. The Nigeria Customs Service however coun...
May 02, 2025•1 min
Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission slammed the tech giant with a $220 million fine, last year accusing it of exploiting user data and enforcing unfair privacy policies through Facebook and WhatsApp. Nigeria’s Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal ruled against Meta, upholding the fine and rejecting its arguments of “technical infeasibility. In the ruling, the tribunal noted that Meta “cannot threaten regulators” just because compliance would be inconvenient. ...
May 02, 2025•1 min
A top Chinese economic official says Beijing was on the right side of history in its gruelling trade war with the United States. US President Donald Trump has imposed 10 per cent tariffs on most US trading partners and a separate 145 per cent levy on many products from China which Beijing has responded with 125 per cent tariffs of its own on US goods. Senior economic planner Zhao Chenxin says Beijing was on the right side of history adding that the United States play cards out of thin air, bully...
May 02, 2025•1 min
South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority has slapped African Bank with a $38,000 fine for false advertising after a December 2023 social media campaign blurred the lines between loans and investments. The ads, featuring a popular South African celeb, pitched personal loans with the tagline: It’s not debt, friend! It’s an investment The FSCA says this marketing move misled consumers by painting a credit facility as an investment product, violating section six of its conduct standards tha...
May 02, 2025•1 min
Kenyan Wall Street reported that the country’s central bank is looking to add gold to its foreign exchange reserve in hopes of giving its struggling reserves some buffer. Gold hauled in over 180% in the last month, summing up an impressive rally that started in January to cross $3,000 for the first time in decades. Gold (in ounces) now costs $3,218. Trump’s inspiring policy-making and the ongoing will-they-won’t-they situation with China. This drove up a gold cash grab, with investors backing th...
May 02, 2025•1 min
Nigeria will join senior diplomats from BRICS countries to meet in Brazil to present a united front in the face of threats emerging from US President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade policies. The meeting comes at a critical moment for the world economy after the International Monetary Fund slashed growth forecasts over the impact of the American leader’s sweeping new tariffs this week. Brazil’s BRICS representative, Mauricio Lyrio, says the ministers are negotiating a declaration to reaffirm the...
May 02, 2025•58 sec
