Author: niyidaram

Foreign nationals working as prison officers in the UK have been granted a temporary exemption from new visa salary rules after warnings that jails were facing a severe staffing shortfall. UK prisons have increasingly relied on overseas recruits, particularly from Nigeria and Ghana, to fill officer roles. However, changes to immigration rules introduced in July raised the minimum salary for a skilled worker visa to £41,700, well above the typical starting pay for prison officers, especially outside London. Unions and prison officials warned the change could force more than 2,500 overseas prison staff out of the system, risking what the…

Elon Musk has moved significantly closer to becoming the world’s first trillionaire after a court reinstated his multibillion-dollar Tesla stock options. According to Forbes’ real-time billionaires index, Musk’s net worth surged to $749 billion on Friday, making him the first person in history to surpass the $700 billion mark. He now sits roughly $500 billion ahead of the world’s second-richest individual, Google co-founder Larry Page. The jump follows a ruling by the Delaware Supreme Court restoring Musk’s 2018 Tesla compensation package, which includes stock options now valued at about $139 billion. The package had been voided in 2024 by a…

James Ransone, the actor best known for playing Ziggy Sobotka in The Wire, has died at the age of 46. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, Ransone died by suicide on Friday, December 19, in Los Angeles. His cause of death was listed as hanging, and his body has been released. Ransone was a married father of two. His wife, Jamie McPhee, shared a fundraiser supporting the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) on her social media following his death. He rose to prominence for his role as Ziggy Sobotka, the troubled son of dockworker Frank Sobotka, in…

President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has issued a seven-day ultimatum to Kaduna-based businessman Kailani Mohammed, demanding a public retraction and apology over alleged defamatory statements or face a ₦100 billion lawsuit. In a letter dated December 20, 2025, served through his lawyer, Dr Ogwu James Onoja, SAN, Dangote accused Mohammed of making libellous claims during an interview aired on TrustTV on December 17, 2025. The remarks were reportedly made in reaction to Dangote’s petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) against the former CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk…

An image that appeared to show President Donald Trump has been removed from the Department of Justice’s online “Epstein Library,” raising questions about transparency around the released files. The image, previously listed as file EFTA00000468, showed a desk with framed photographs and an open drawer containing additional pictures. One of the photos appeared to include Trump alongside Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and others. It was among the few items in the released documents that referenced Trump. As of Saturday afternoon, the DOJ website shows a gap where the image once appeared, jumping directly from file EFTA00000467 to EFTA00000469. No…

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was met with boos and insults as he arrived at a vigil for victims of last week’s deadly gun attack at Bondi Beach, reflecting public anger over what critics say is a failure to adequately address rising antisemitism. Albanese was jeered when his name was announced on stage, while New South Wales Premier Chris Minns received cheers and a standing ovation. Minns was praised for his visible support of the Jewish community, with speakers thanking him for attending funerals, synagogue services, and community events in the days following the attack. The vigil formed part of…

A total of 803 migrants crossed the English Channel on Saturday in 13 small boats, marking the highest daily figure in nearly two months, according to official data. The latest arrivals push the total number of people who have made the journey in 2025 to 41,455. Saturday’s crossings were the largest since October 8, when 1,075 people arrived in one day. The figure also appears to be the highest daily total ever recorded in December, based on data dating back to 2018. December is typically one of the quietest months for Channel crossings due to colder temperatures, poor visibility, shorter…

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has summoned billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote to appear before its investigators in Abuja on Monday over a corruption petition he filed against Farouk Ahmed, former Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), a senior ICPC source confirmed that a special investigative panel has been constituted to handle the petition, following directives from the Commission’s chairman, Dr. Musa Aliyu, SAN. Dangote is expected to appear in person or be represented by his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, SAN, and present…

The administration of President Donald Trump has ordered the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to suspend the processing of green card and citizenship applications filed by Nigerians and nationals of other countries newly added to the expanded US travel ban, citing national security concerns. According to a report by CBS News, the directive follows a proclamation signed by Trump on Tuesday, December 16, which further restricts entry into the United States for countries deemed high risk due to what the White House described as serious failures in immigration screening, vetting, and information sharing. Nigeria is among 15 additional countries…

Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit is expected to undergo a lung transplant after a significant deterioration in her health, the royal household has announced. The 52-year-old wife of Crown Prince Haakon, heir to the Norwegian throne, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018. The chronic condition causes scarring of the lungs and limits the body’s ability to absorb oxygen. In a statement, the palace said medical examinations carried out over recent months showed a clear decline in the crown princess’s health. “It has not yet been decided when the crown princess will be placed on the transplant waiting list,” the statement…