Author: Amina Mohammed

During a visit to Tokyo on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted that ties with Japan were stronger than ever, days after President Joe Biden blocked Nippon Steel’s takeover of US Steel. Business groups say the move could have a chilling effect on Japan’s standing as the biggest foreign investor in the United States, just as Washington seeks closer relations to counter China. Two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, and with Marco Rubio slated to replace Blinken, the top US diplomat recalled that he came to Japan on his first trip in 2021. The visits at…

Retired military personnel on Tuesday barricaded the entrance to the Ministry of Finance in Abuja with canopies and chairs, demanding the full payment of their long-overdue entitlements. This protest follows a similar action in December, during which the retirees shut down the ministry over the government’s failure to settle their claims. For months, the retirees were told there were no funds to clear their entitlements, despite an official approval for payment. They are owed a 20% to 28% salary increment covering January to November 2024. The retirees are also demanding payments for other outstanding benefits, including Palliatives for the period…

The United States Congress has officially certified Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, clearing the way for his return to the White House on January 20, 2025. The certification, which took place during a joint session of Congress on Monday, marked the final step in validating the Electoral College results from November’s election. According to Al-Jazeera, Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic rival in the race, oversaw the proceedings. The ceremony was brief and without incident, a stark contrast to the events of January 6, 2021, when a violent attack on the Capitol disrupted the certification of Trump’s…

A devastating earthquake in China’s remote Tibet region killed at least 53 people and collapsed “many buildings” on Tuesday, state media reported, with tremors also felt in neighbouring Nepal’s capital Kathmandu and parts of India. Videos published by China’s state broadcaster CCTV showed houses destroyed with walls torn apart. Rescue workers waded through rubble strewn across the ruins in the aftermath of the earthquake, footage showed, while some gave locals thick blankets to keep warm. Surveillance images published by CCTV showed people running through a store’s aisles as shelves shook violently, sending objects like toys tumbling to the ground. In…

Full-time Higher National Diploma graduates who previously completed part-time National Diploma programs have voiced strong opposition to the proposed exclusion of such graduates from the National Youth Service Corps scheme. This protest comes as the registration for the second stream of Batch C mobilisation began on Monday, January 6. The affected graduates gathered at the NYSC secretariat in Lagos early Monday morning, holding placards with messages like ‘Say No To Discrimination in NYSC’ and ‘Equal Rights for All,’ calling for their inclusion in the NYSC mobilisation process. Majaro Temitope, who completed his HND program at Yaba College of Technology, spoke…

National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu; a Nigerian-born British politician and leader of the UK Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch; and Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), have been recognised among the 100 Most Reputable Africans for 2025, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported. The list which was released on Sunday, by Reputation Poll International (RPI), in partnership with the Global Reputation Forum, had the names of other notable Nigerians and African leaders. The list featured men and women from diverse sectors across the continent that had excelled in technology, creative industries,…

British novelist David Lodge, who was shortlisted for the Booker Prize twice, has died at the age of 89, his publisher said on Friday. The English author was best known for “Small World” and “Nice Work”, which were nominated for the prestigious literary award in the 1980s. He died “peacefully” on New Year’s Day, Penguin Random House said, without giving a cause of death. “His contribution to literary culture was immense, both in his criticism and through his masterful and iconic novels which have already become classics,” Lodge’s publisher, Liz Foley, said. Lodge’s family said they were “very proud” of the…

US President Joe Biden will travel to New Orleans next week to meet the families of victims of a deadly truck-ramming attack that killed 14 people, the White House announced Friday. On Monday, the president and his wife Jill “will grieve with the families and community members impacted by the tragic attack on January 1 and meet with officials on the ground,” the White House said in a statement. The southern city was sent into a panic on New Year’s Day when a US army veteran, who the FBI says pledged loyalty to the Islamic State jihadist group, used a pickup…

Fire has razed a two-storey building at Abike Suleiman Street in the Lekki area of Lagos State.  A statement by the Permanent Secretary Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA), Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the agency had received distress calls and immediately activated the State’s Emergency Response Plans and its Response Team from Lekki Base. Upon arrival of the LASEMA Shark Response Team at the incident scene, it was discovered that a one-storey building was engulfed by fire. Although further investigations at the incident scene could not ascertain the cause of the inferno at the time of this report, however, no casualties…

World food commodity prices declined by 2.1 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year, the FAO said on Friday, but they remain considerably higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s overall Food Price Index averaged 122.0 points — 2.6 points or 2.1 percent lower than the average value in 2023. However, food prices increased over the course of the year, with the index climbing from 117.6 points in January to 127.0 in December. The index rose 6.7 percent from December 2023 to 2024, with meat, dairy and food oils accounting for the increase.The United…