Japanese authorities say they have seized a Chinese fishing vessel that tried to flee when ordered to stop for an inspection, in a move that may further fuel tensions with Beijing. The boat was in Japan’s exclusive economic zone off Nagasaki Prefecture in the south-west when it was intercepted and its captain arrested on Thursday, according to the country’s fisheries agency. “The vessel’s captain was ordered to stop for an inspection by a fisheries inspector, but the vessel failed to comply and fled,” the fisheries agency said. The seizure is the first time since 2022 that the agency has seized…
Author: Newsdesk
Morocco’s largest telecom operator, Maroc Telecom, reported a net profit of $760 million for 2025, a 288% increase compared to 2024 when a legal settlement with a competitor nearly wiped out its earnings. It had to pay rival operator Wana Corporate $695 million to settle a dispute over network access, which severely impacted Maroc Telecom’s financial performance. When we exclude the settlement effects from both years, the situation becomes clearer. The adjusted profit actually decreased by nearly 5%, down to $617 million, as the company invested heavily in the rollout of 5G infrastructure across Morocco. Capital expenditures also gulped 25.6% of…
The Kwara State Government on Friday commenced a walk-through implementation and enumeration exercise across the 16 Local Government Areas of the state. In a statement issued in Ilorin by the Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Prof. Nusirat Elelu, the exercise will run for 10 days and end on February 22. According to her, the programme is designed to generate accurate data on nine-year-old girls eligible for routine immunization. “The immunization is on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and is also targeted at children under five years, pregnant women, and women of childbearing age. “The data generated…
ActionAid, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders have urged the Federal Government to invest in reliable technology infrastructure, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), result viewing portal, and network systems. They said such investment is needed to support effective electronic transmission in the few blind spots. The call was made at an expert meeting and citizens’ town hall on “Electoral Act Amendment” organized by ActionAid on Friday in Abuja. Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Mr Andrew Mamedu, said the meeting was to deliberate on the National Assembly’s recent amendment to Clause 60(3) of the Electoral Act. Mamedu said the…
The Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA) has urged residents to enroll in the Lagos State Health Insurance Plan, popularly known as ‘Ilera Eko’. Permanent Secretary at the ministry, Dr Emmanuella Zamba, made the appeal on Friday in Lagos at the close of a two-day capacity building for journalists. The training focused on the Lagos State Social Health Insurance Scheme and was organized by LASHMA in collaboration with the International Society of Media in Public Health and EngenderHealth Consortium. Zamba described Ilera Eko as a “guaranteed health” initiative and urged residents to embrace the scheme to enhance their quality of…
The Nigerian Youth Congress (NYC) and the Nehemiah Foundation, an NGO, are partnering to empower no fewer than 10,000 Nigerian women and youths with agribusiness skills and other training. Engr. Jethro Annum, NYC President, and Mr Emmanuel Nehemiah, Executive Director of Nehemiah Foundation, announced the partnership during the signing ceremony in Abuja on Friday. Annum said the occasion marked the beginning of a significant milestone for youth structures globally, starting with Nigeria as the focal point. He noted that youths cut across every sphere of life—graduates, non-graduates, and diverse backgrounds. “We see this partnership between NYC and Nehemiah Foundation as…
The Health Sector Reform Coalition Nigeria (HSRC) has criticized the non-implementation of the 2025 federal allocation to the health sector. HSRC Chairman Mr Mohammed Lecky made this known at a news conference in Abuja on Friday. He noted that only N36 million was released from the N218 billion 2025 capital budget, representing about 0.016 per cent. Lecky quoted the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate, as highlighting this during the 2026 budget defense before the House of Representatives. He said budget appropriation without corresponding cash backing undermines the credibility of Nigeria’s planning frameworks and poses a threat…
Some traders and managers of the burnt Great Nigeria House (GNI) on Lagos Island have urged the Lagos State Government to ensure transparency in the ongoing enumeration exercise. They spoke with reporters on the sidelines of the enumeration for victims and occupants of the building on Friday in Lagos. Mr Obinna Stanley, a manager on the second floor, described the fire incident as devastating, saying lives and property were lost when parts of the structure collapsed. Stanley said firefighters tried their best, but the inferno spread rapidly, trapping occupants and destroying goods. He appealed to the government to ensure only…
The Federal Government has launched an emergency intervention programme to tackle Tuta absoluta and African Sugarcane Borer, pests threatening tomato and sugarcane production in Nigeria. The Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, disclosed this in a statement. He said the initiative aims to sensitize farmers and extension workers, provide approved pest control inputs, and offer technical guidance on integrated pest management. Abdullahi noted that the programme underscores the government’s commitment to food security, farmers’ welfare, and sustainable agricultural pest management, particularly in frontline states such as Kano. “Tomatoes are widely grown and consumed in Nigeria and are a…
The Civil Society—Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) has called for urgent and sustained investment in nutrition to save the lives of Benue children. The appeal was made by the Executive Secretary of CS-SUNN, Mr Sunday Okoronkwo, during a press briefing and media roundtable held on Friday in Makurdi. He described malnutrition as a critical public health and development challenge in Benue, a state widely known as the “Food Basket of the Nation.” “In spite of its vast agricultural potential, the state continues to record troubling indicators of child malnutrition and widespread household food insecurity. “Recent data presented at the…