A recent study led by Chinese scientists, published in Nature Genetics, identified a key susceptibility gene called GSL5 linked to clubroot disease, often described as the “cancer” of cruciferous crops. The research, conducted by the Oil Crops Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, shows that GSL5 is hijacked by the pathogen Plasmodiophora brassicae, which causes the disease. This hijacking suppresses immune responses in the plants, enabling the disease to proliferate. The researchers used genome editing to knock out the GSL5 gene in cruciferous plants, which resulted in broad-spectrum and high-level resistance to various pathotypes of the pathogen…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has begun the automation of excise administration with the launch of its Automated Excise Register System (ERS). A statement by the National Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Maiwada, said the Service concluded a pilot phase after carrying out user acceptance testing, system validation, and training for Customs officers and factory staff. The ERS has now gone live at three pilot factories—British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) Plc in Oyo State, International Tobacco Company (ITC) Limited in Kwara State, and Leaf Tobacco & Commodities Nigeria Ltd in Kaduna State. Conducted between July and August 2025, the pilot phase…
The Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) 2025 opened on a high note with heads of state, policymakers, and global leaders in attendance. Yet amid the celebration, AGRA President Alice Ruhweza delivered a sobering message at the opening plenary, urging Africa to move beyond rhetoric and translate commitments into tangible progress. “We still have millions of people going around hungry, we still have malnutrition,” Ruhweza lamented, stressing that Africa continues to undermine its own potential by importing over $75 billion worth of food annually. While acknowledging these challenges, she highlighted a promising shift — the growing involvement of young Africans in…
President Bola Tinubu is set to inaugurate a new 6,000-metric-ton lithium processing plant built by Chinese investors in Nasarawa State, Governor Abdullahi Sule has announced. Sule disclosed this after a closed-door meeting with the President on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The facility, located in Nasarawa Local Government Area, is the second lithium plant in the state and is twice the size of the 3,000MT plant commissioned in 2023. Although no specific date was given, the governor said the inauguration would take place after President Tinubu’s return from his official trip to France. “The Chinese investors have just concluded…
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, has raised concerns that 37 countries have yet to submit one or more mandatory Paris agreement reports under the transparency framework. Speaking at the Global Transparency Forum in Songdo, Republic of Korea, on Wednesday, Stiell described the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) as “a vital enabling tool” for stronger climate action, not just technical reporting. Transparency drives action According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the ETF helps governments attract investment, design more ambitious climate policies, and accelerate progress on clean energy. So far, over 100 countries have submitted their first…
Google has been ordered to pay $425 million in damages after a U.S. federal jury ruled that the company violated user privacy by collecting data from people who had opted out of certain tracking settings. The class-action lawsuit, which began in 2020, accused Google of continuing to gather information between 2012 and 2020 from users who had disabled the “Web & App Activity” feature. According to the complaint, the company still harvested data through third-party applications and services, despite users believing they had stopped such tracking. Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that the breach affected millions, covering an estimated 98…
This year’s Africa Food Systems Summit 2025, in Dakar, Senegal, focuses on Africa’s smallholder farmers – and youth and women, and how they can lead collaboration, innovation, and the implementation of agri-food systems transformation for a stronger and more resilient food value chain. It is estimated that some 500 million smallholder farmers around the world produce 35–46 percent of the world’s food, helping feed just over 8 billion people living on our fragile planet. Smallholder farmers are crucial for global food security. But how can their agricultural practices become more sustainable and safer—reducing contamination of food and feed with mycotoxins…
The QS World University Rankings 2025 have underscored a shifting balance of power in global higher education, with Asia and the Middle East making significant gains, even as Europe and North America continue to dominate the top tiers. The rankings, released by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, evaluated over 1,500 institutions worldwide based on academic reputation, employer reputation, research impact, internationalization, and sustainability. Asia: China, Singapore, and Hong Kong cement leadership Asia’s universities are consolidating their position as global leaders. Peking University (China) and Tsinghua University are now firmly in the global top 20, joining National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang…
The latest QS World University Rankings 2025 have reaffirmed South Africa’s dominance in African higher education while exposing Nigeria’s struggle to gain global visibility. South Africa retains the crown South Africa remains Africa’s academic powerhouse, with two universities securing strong global positions. The University of Cape Town (UCT) leads the continent at 94th worldwide, sustaining its reputation for research excellence and global partnerships. The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) follows closely at 147th, cementing its role as a continental hub for science, technology, and health research. Stellenbosch University, though ranked outside the top 150, remains among Africa’s most respected institutions…
XConnect, a Somos Company and provider of world-class numbering intelligence solutions, has launched DNOCheck™ to help carriers fight robocalls and robotexts while complying with regulatory requirements. DNOCheck is the latest addition to the XConnect RiskALERT™ product suite. It combines XConnect’s Global Number Range (GNR) and Do Not Originate (DNO) data to ensure traffic does not originate from invalid, unallocated, or unused numbers. The solution aims to eliminate illegal robocalls and robotexts by delivering visibility into the validity of numbers, safeguarding brand reputation and customer trust, and protecting against costly fines for non-compliance. It provides accurate, up-to-date insights via download or…