Author: Akintayo Adams

A passenger plane crashed on take-off in Kathmandu on Wednesday, killing all 18 aboard except the pilot, who was rescued from the wreckage, Nepali police reported. The Saurya Airlines flight carried two crew members and 17 staff members. Police spokesman Dan Bahadur Karki stated, “The pilot has been rescued and is being treated. Eighteen bodies have been recovered, including one foreigner. We are in the process of taking them for post-mortem.” The Civil Aviation Authority identified the deceased foreigner as a Yemeni citizen. A news release from the airport explained the aircraft “veered off to the right and crashed on…

Meta Platforms Inc. has removed 63,000 accounts linked to the “Yahoo Boys” scam group, known for financial sextortion and blackmail. The company dismantled a network of 2,500 accounts targeting U.S. men with fake identities. Meta identified and disabled these accounts using advanced detection and investigations, stating, “Financial sextortion is a borderless crime, fueled in recent years by the increased activity of Yahoo Boys.” Meta also deleted 7,200 assets in Nigeria, including 1,300 Facebook accounts, 200 pages, and 5,700 groups. These assets were offering scam-related scripts and resources. The company noted, “We’ve removed around 63,000 accounts in Nigeria attempting to target…

A rise in prices of Beans, Tomatoes, Irish potatoes, Garri, Yam and other food items was experienced in June 2024. This is contained in the latest report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). According to the NBS report on Selected Food Prices Watch report for June 2024 released in Abuja on Tuesday, the average price of 1kg of brown beans increased by 252.13 per cent from ₦651.12 recorded in June 2023, to ₦2,292.76 in June 2024. “On a month-on-month basis, 1kg of brown beans increased by 14.11 per cent in June from the ₦2,009.23 recorded in May 2024,” the…

The Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Government has scheduled an emergency meeting on Wednesday in response to a planned nationwide protest slated for August 1, 2024. This is according to a circular signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Affairs Office, Richard Pheelangwah, dated July 23, 2024, titled, ‘Planned Nationwide Protest.’ It read, “I am directed to invite you to attend a meeting with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on the above subject slated as follows: July 24, 2024, Time: 10 am prompt, Venue: Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Conference Room.” The meeting…

President Brice Oligui Nguema of Gabon has offered the President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Aliko Dangote the chance to invest in cement and fertiliser production in Gabon. According to a statement on Tuesday, President Nguema made the call during Dangote’s visit to Gabon, where he engaged in discussions with the president and other top government officials. The talks focused on how Dangote Industries could contribute to Gabon’s economic growth by establishing cement and fertilizer plants, which are vital for the country’s infrastructure development and agricultural productivity. Nguema expressed enthusiasm about the potential partnership, highlighting Gabon’s…

The President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio has said Nigerian employers can’t pay their staff below ₦70,000. He made the declaration while passing the new minimum wage bill into law on the floor of the senate. “If you’re a tailor and you employ additional hands, you can’t pay the person below 70,000. If you have a housemaid, you cannot pay them below ₦70,000. If you hire a driver or a gateman, you cannot pay them below ₦70,000,” he said. This follows Tinubu’s approval of ₦70,000 as the new national minimum wage after several meetings between the Nigerian government and organized labor.…

An explosion at a factory producing Jose Cuervo tequila in Mexico killed five people on Tuesday, local authorities reported. “So far, the deaths of five people are confirmed, workers of the company,” the civil protection unit in the western state of Jalisco said in a statement. Two others were injured, one seriously, the statement added. The cause of the blast in Tequila municipality is not yet known, but the company stated it occurred during maintenance work. The explosion impacted four containers, each with a capacity of 219,000 litres, two of which collapsed, said Victor Hugo Roldan, state director of civil…

Northern Philippines experienced non-stop rainfall on Wednesday, triggering flooding in Manila and landslides in mountainous regions as Typhoon Gaemi intensified the seasonal monsoon. In the densely populated capital, rescuers were deployed across the city to evacuate residents from low-lying homes after downpours turned streets into rivers. People clutched flimsy umbrellas as they waded through thigh-deep murky water or used small boats and shopping trolleys to move around. Government offices were shut, classes suspended, and over 70 domestic and international flights cancelled due to the weather. “Many areas are flooded, so we have rescuers deployed all over the city. There is…

The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Education, has announced a 12.7% reduction in allowances for foreign scholars stranded in Russia, Morocco, Algeria, and other countries. This decision is attributed to ongoing economic crises. Nigerian students in these countries, studying under the Federal Government’s Bilateral Educational Agreement (BEA) Scholarship, have lamented eight months of unpaid stipends. The BEA scholarship facilitates educational exchange between Nigeria and partnering countries, overseen by the Federal Scholarship Board under the Federal Ministry of Education. The allowance cut was detailed in a memo signed by Ndajiwo H.A., Director of the Federal Scholarship Board, on behalf…

The House of Representatives Committee on Basic Examination Bodies detained four officials from the West African Examination Council (WAEC) during an investigative hearing at the National Assembly on Tuesday. The detained officials included Amos Dangut, Head of National Office, WAEC Nigeria; Senior Deputy Registrar, Angus Okeleze; Acting Director of Finance, Victor Odu; and Deputy Director of Finance, Segun Jerumeh. The committee’s decision followed a motion by Hon. Uchenna Okonkwo, prompted by Dangut’s assertion that WAEC is not a government agency and thus not accountable to parliament. This statement sparked a heated debate with lawmakers insisting that WAEC Nigeria, created by…