Author: Festus Adeloye

Bill Gates has confirmed his relationship with Paula Hurd, describing her as his “serious girlfriend.” In a recent interview, the 69-year-old Microsoft co-founder shared his happiness, saying, “I’m lucky to have a serious girlfriend named Paula. We’re having fun, going to the Olympics, and enjoying many great experiences together.” Hurd, a philanthropist and developer, was previously married to former Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, who passed away in 2019. Gates and Hurd were first seen together in 2022 and went public with their relationship in early 2023. They’ve been spotted together at several high-profile events, including the Paris Olympics, the Breakthrough…

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) have welcomed President Bola Tinubu’s approval to extend the retirement age for doctors and healthcare workers from 60 to 65 years. The NMA confirmed the development in a statement on Wednesday. Dr Mannir Bature, the association’s National Publicity Secretary, said the move would address the gap in Nigeria’s healthcare workforce. He added that the Coordinating Minister for Health, Professor Muhammad Pate, would present the approval to the Council on Establishment for final approval. This follows a meeting on Tuesday in Abuja with various healthcare stakeholders,…

US President, Donald Trump has signed an executive order banning transgender women and girls from competing in women’s sports. The order threatens schools with the loss of federal funding if they do not comply. The order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” was signed on National Girls and Women in Sports Day. It fulfils a key campaign promise to address concerns over transgender athletes. The order instructs the Education Department to revise its interpretation of Title IX, a 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded schools. Schools that fail to comply risk losing federal grants. “From now…

Kenya Airways has apologised to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority over the mistreatment of Nigerian passenger, Gloria Omisore, and for issuing a misleading statement on the incident. The apology followed a meeting between the airline’s management and NCAA officials in Abuja on Tuesday. The NCAA’s Director of Consumer Protection and Public Affairs, Michael Achimugu, disclosed this in a post on his official X handle. “Their team has apologised for the obfuscation of facts in their earlier statement. They also admitted that phone call or not, it was the airline’s fault for failing to identify the issue before airlifting the passenger…

Nollywood actress, Pat Ugwu, has passed away at the age of 35. Her colleague, Emeka Okoye, announced the development in an Instagram post on Wednesday along with a funeral poster detailing her funeral arrangements. “Rest in peace sis. Pat Ugwu. @patpat_ugwu so we no get to work again? Death whyooo? God please. Rest in peace PAT. May your soul rest in the bosom of the Lord,” Emeka wrote, expressing his grief. He also voiced his fears over the recent spate of losses in the industry, saying, “God please protect all my colleagues especially those am close to. This unusual Death…

The Akwa Ibom State High Court in Uyo has sentenced Professor Ignatius Uduk of the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) to three years in prison for electoral fraud during the 2019 general elections. The case was brought against him by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with three charges filed. However, Justice Bassey Nkanang of Uyo High Court 5 acquitted him of Count 1 but found him guilty on Counts 2 and 3. He was sentenced to three years in prison for each of the two counts, but the sentences will run concurrently, meaning he will serve three years in total.…

President Bola Tinubu has raised the proposed 2025 budget from ₦49.7 trillion to ₦54.2 trillion, citing additional revenues generated by key government agencies. The President conveyed the budget adjustment in separate letters sent to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, which were read during plenary today by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. According to President Tinubu, the increase was driven by ₦1.4 trillion in additional revenue from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), ₦1.2 trillion from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), and ₦1.8 trillion generated by other government-owned agencies. Following the announcement, the Senate President has referred the…

Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, has approved over N542 million for the payment of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and other internal examination fees for students in public schools across the state. The Commissioner for Education, Wemi Jones, disclosed this during a press conference on Tuesday in Lokoja. Jones said the funds would cover registration fees for the 2025 Basic Six and Common Entrance Examination, Basic Education Certificate Examination, and UTME. “A total of N145,476,984 has been allocated for 25,100 pupils for Basic Six and CCE; N215,220,000 for 30,500 students under BECE; and N181,719,800 for 18,734 students’ UTME/JAMB fees,…

The United States Government’s humanitarian agency USAID on Tuesday announced it was placing its staff in the US and around the world on administrative leave as it moved to recall employees from overseas postings. The agency said in a statement on its website, which reappeared Tuesday that the staff leave will begin shortly before midnight on February 7, 2024. The administrative leave will hit “all USAID direct hire personnel… with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.” “Thank you for your service,” the statement read. The move is part of Trump’s–and his…

Australia has banned DeepSeek from all government devices as it seeks to block “an unacceptable level of security risk” presented by the Chinese artificial intelligence program, according to an official order Tuesday. “After considering threat and risk analysis, I have determined that the use of DeepSeek products, applications and web services poses an unacceptable level of security risk to the Australian Government,” Department of Home Affairs Secretary Stephanie Foster said in the directive. As of Wednesday all non-corporate Commonwealth entities must “identify and remove all existing instances of DeepSeek products, applications and web services on all Australian Government systems and…