Author: Opalim Lifted

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Director General, World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and a former president, Nigeria Bar Association, Olisa Agbakoba, among other notable Nigerians proffered solutions to the challenges facing the country. They spoke on Saturday at the 113th anniversary of King’s College. The anniversary lecture titled, ‘Building the Nigeria of our dreams,’ was organised by the King’s College Old Boys’ Association. Obasanjo, who led the King’s Week 2022 colloquium which was held at the Kings College, Lagos, said Nigeria as a country was poor, insecure, and had other challenges because of its choice of leaders. ‘‘We are…

Egypt will apply to host the Summer Olympic Games in 2036, the Egyptian youth and sports minister said in a statement on Saturday, a bid that if successful would make it the first Arab or African nation to host the event. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi gave the green light to apply, Minister Ashraf Sobhi added during a reception for International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach in Cairo. The statement, issued by the Egyptian cabinet, quoted Bach as saying Egypt’s sports infrastructure was capable of hosting the event. The summer Olympics will be held in Paris in 2024, followed by…

African teams to make history at World Volleyball Championship. Kenya and Cameroon are aiming to make history at the Women’s Volleyball World Championship, which got underway in the Netherlands on Friday. Both teams are targeting a place in the second round, something no African side has ever previously managed. Yet they are also keen to seize the chance to learn and develop, as they come up against the best in the world. “It’s a great opportunity for our team to be facing such a great level – we’re going to be trying to break the ceiling in the future,” Kenya’s…

The Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency has said that flooding has affected no fewer than 361,000 persons in eight out of the 13 Local Government Areas in the state. The Executive Secretary of NASEMA, Zachary Allumaga, on Thursday said that Nasarawa was among the states the Nigerian Metrological Agency predicted would experience serious floods in the months of September and October. The Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency has said no fewer than 361,000 persons have been recently displaced by floods in eight out of the 13 Local Government Areas of the state. The affected LGAs are Nasarawa, Toto, Doma, Awe,…

Adds Solar space in Nigeria “becoming one of the most exciting in the world” VP advocates for energy companies, restates Debt-for-Climate swaps More private sector participation in Nigeria’ transition to green energy is crucial as it would help the country achieve its objectives in the implementation of its Energy Transition Plan, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. Prof. Osinbajo stated this on Thursday night in Lagos while delivering the keynote address at the 60th Anniversary Dinner of the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). Speaking on the topic: “Nigeria: Transitioning to…

Veteran CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour cancelled an interview with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi after he demanded she wear a headscarf for their meeting in New York. Amanpour pointed out that no previous presidents had requested this when she interviewed them outside Iran. She says a Raisi aide told her it was because of “the situation in Iran”. The death of a woman detained in Iran for allegedly breaking headscarf rules has sparked violent unrest there. Mahsa Amini, 22, fell into a coma last week, hours after morality police arrested her. Officers reportedly beat Ms Amini’s head with a baton and…

President Muhammadu Buhari has described the United States as Nigeria’s main trading partner and one of ‘‘our most important diplomatic partners.’’ This, he said, underscored the need for concerted efforts to increase the volume of bilateral trade. Mr Femi Adesina, the President’s spokesman in a statement, said Buhari atated this at a meeting with the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) at the Nigeria International Economic Partnership Forum, the meeting was held on the margins of the 77th UN General Assembly in New York, on Thursday. The Nigerian leader told the gathering that in 2020, Nigeria exported over $1.69 billion…

Nearly one year after Microsoft launched its flagship Windows 11, the tech giant has officially rolled out its first major update to the operating system. The update, which is available for free for current Windows 11 users, was released in more than 190 countries on Tuesday. Many of the new features hone in on Microsoft’s vision for the future of hybrid work. “We have formed new habits; and they stuck,” Panos Panay, the EVP and chief product officer of Windows and Devices at Microsoft, wrote in a blog post announcing the update. “Our work is never done to ensure Windows evolves and…

At least 19 people were killed in a flare-up of fighting between nomadic herders and sedentary farmers in south Chad last week, authorities said. Deadly inter-communal conflicts are relatively frequent in Chad, mainly between herders and local farmers who accuse them of grazing animals on their farmland. Chad, a regional power and ally of the West against Islamist militants in West Africa, has been in turmoil since ex-president Idriss Deby was killed on the frontline against rebels in the north last year. The latest violence broke out in the southern rural region of Moyen-Chari, more than 480 kilometres (298 miles)…

Countries on Wednesday pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in additional aid for the Horn of Africa as they sounded the alarm on a drought in the region and looming famines in Somalia and other countries. The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years and experts say the region is on track for a fifth consecutive failed rainy season. The United Nations has warned that parts of Somalia will be hit by famine in coming months. The projection is more severe than in 2011, when famine killed more than a quarter of a million Somalis, around…