Meta has unveiled its first proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) image generation model, Muse Image, marking a major step in the company’s push to expand generative AI capabilities across its ecosystem. The new model is being integrated into Meta AI and will power image creation features on WhatsApp, Instagram and the standalone Meta AI app, while Facebook and Messenger are expected to receive the functionality in the coming weeks. The launch comes under Meta Superintelligence Labs, the company’s AI division established to accelerate development of advanced AI technologies and strengthen its position against rivals in the rapidly evolving generative AI market.…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has issued a flash flood alert for Sokoto and 25 other states, warning that heavy rainfall expected between July 1 and July 10 could trigger flooding in vulnerable communities across the country. The agency urged residents in flood-prone areas to remain vigilant and take precautionary measures, noting that the warning forms part of its early weather advisory aimed at reducing the impact of flooding during the peak of the rainy season. List of projected states According to NiMet, states likely to experience flash flooding include Sokoto, Taraba, Borno, Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, Adamawa,…
Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, also the President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), and the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations, Paul Richard Gallagher, have called for deeper collaboration between Muslim and Christian leaders to promote peace, tackle hate speech and fake news, and reinforce moral values across Nigeria. The appeal was made on Monday during a meeting at the National Mosque, where the Sultan hosted Archbishop Gallagher and a Papal delegation comprising Vatican officials and leaders of the Catholic Church in Nigeria. According to a statement issued by the Deputy Secretary-General of…
The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) or Doctors Without Borders has concluded its emergency diphtheria intervention in Kano State with a mass vaccination campaign conducted in collaboration with the Kano State Ministry of Health (MoH), marking the end of three years of support during one of Nigeria’s largest recorded diphtheria outbreaks. Since the start of the response in early 2023, MSF has treated more than 14,707 children in MSF-run and supported treatment centres, providing both facility-based and home-based care. Beyond medical care, MSF strengthened referral systems, disease surveillance, and data management; conducted community engagement activities; and supported mass vaccination campaigns against…
Dangote Cement Plc has unveiled a robust sustainability scorecard that underscores its commitment to responsible growth, positioning environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles at the heart of its drive to become Africa’s most sustainable and globally competitive cement manufacturer. The company reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable industrialisation before its shareholders and other stakeholders, while outlining sustainability strategies aligned with the broader Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) Vision 2030. Presenting the company’s 2025 Sustainability Scorecard at its 17th Annual General Meeting in Lagos, the Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, Emmanuel Ikazoboh, highlighted how sustainability has evolved within the company from a compliance…
The West African Health Organization (WAHO), a specialised institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has announced the harmonisation and finalisation of 58 training curricula and trainers’ guides for health science educators across member states. The initiative is aimed at promoting standardised health education and strengthening the region’s health workforce by ensuring uniform training for healthcare professionals. WAHO Director-General, Dr Melchior Aissi, disclosed this on Saturday in Ibadan during a workshop to validate the trainers’ guide and competency framework for teachers of health sciences in the ECOWAS region. The workshop brought together participants from ECOWAS member states,…
Sokoto State Governor Ahmed Aliyu has explained why his administration has moved from distributing fertilizer free of charge to selling it at subsidized rates, saying the new approach is meant to ensure that genuine farmers get the benefit directly. Why the policy changed The governor explained that the state had earlier distributed fertilizer free to farmers on three occasions, but later shifted to a subsidised sales model after discovering that middlemen and other “unpatriotic” actors were diverting the benefit from intended farmers. He said the government is now tightening measures to block such diversion and warned that security agencies should…
A social investment and entrepreneurship expert, Dr. Umar Buba Bindir, has attributed Nigeria’s slow pace of industrialisation and institutional growth to the absence of a coherent industrial policy framework, warning that the country risks repeating development cycles without achieving lasting economic transformation. Bindir stated this while delivering the Founder’s Day lecture at the 8th Combined Convocation Ceremony of Sokoto State University (SSU) on Thursday in Sokoto. Speaking on the theme, “Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship and Investment for Sustainable Development,” he argued that Nigeria’s numerous development programmes over the decades had yielded limited results because they were not anchored on a clear…
The Vice-Chancellor of Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), Professor Sa’adatu Hassan Liman, has reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to strengthening global partnerships aimed at advancing innovation, sustainable mining and technology-driven development across Africa. Professor Liman pledged while receiving a delegation from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), led by the Assistant Secretary-General, Director of the UNDP Africa Bureau and Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on African Affairs, Madam Ahunna Eziakonwa, during a visit to the university. The visit focused on the University’s Mine-Tech Unipod, an innovation hub established with UNDP support to promote sustainable mining practices, technological innovation and entrepreneurship.…
The Network of Journalists for the Promotion of Agro-Sylvo-Pastoral and Fisheries Systems in West Africa and the Sahel (ReJPAH-AOS) is taking part in a July 1-3 workshop in Saly, Senegal, focused on dialogue and collaboration between farmers’ organizations and the media under the Family Farmers for Climate campaign. Workshop focus The president of ReJPAH-AOS, Gilles Esssonana Podjoley, joined the president of the West African Farmers and Producers Organizations Network (ROPPA), Ibrahim Coulibaly, for a panel discussion on the visibility of family farms in the media, the financing constraints facing small producers, farmers’ resilience to climate change, and ways to improve…