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Kenya’s former Prime Minister and veteran opposition leader, Raila Odinga, has died at the age of 80.

Family sources confirmed that Odinga passed away on Wednesday while receiving medical treatment at a hospital in India.

According to Indian police, he was walking with his family and personal doctor when he suddenly collapsed. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

For weeks, there had been speculation about his health, though his family and political allies had repeatedly dismissed reports that he was critically ill. Following news of his death, tributes have poured in from across Africa, including a message of condolence from Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

A towering figure in Kenyan politics, Odinga was known for his fiery spirit and unshakable belief in democracy.

He contested the presidency five times but never won, often alleging that the polls were rigged against him. In 2017, Kenya’s Supreme Court agreed with his claims of electoral irregularities and annulled the election.

The 2007 disputed election, where he claimed victory was stolen by then-President Mwai Kibaki, sparked widespread violence that left 1,200 people dead and displaced over half a million.

The crisis ended only after a peace deal brokered by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, which saw Odinga appointed Prime Minister in a unity government.

Throughout his career, Odinga earned deep respect for his resilience and commitment to public service. To his millions of followers, he was ‘Baba’ (Father), ‘Agwambo’ (Act of God), and ‘Tinga’ (Tractor) nicknames that reflected his strength and enduring popularity, especially in western Kenya, where he hailed from.

Even in defeat, Odinga remained a unifying voice. After losing the 2022 presidential election, he later joined hands with President William Ruto in what was described as a ‘broad-based government’ aimed at promoting national unity.

Daniel Bernard, the estranged husband of Australian singer Sia, has demanded that the singer pays a monthly sum of $250,000 (£187,000) as spousal support.

The duo who tied the knot in 2023 announced their divorce in March 2025, noting that they were separating due to ‘irreconcilable differences’.

Bernard, however, told the court that he needed monthly allowance to maintain the lifestyle he lived during the marriage.

He also revealed that he was financially dependent on Sia, after he quit his job in the medical field to run a business with her.

The couple share an 18-month-old son.

Captain William Troost-Ekong said on Wednesday morning that the Super Eagles will give the CAF Play-Off Tournament for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Morocco next month their very best shot, as the group continues to quietly delight in the 4-0 win over Bénin Republic in Uyo on Tuesday that sent Nigeria to the play-off tournament, which precedes the intercontinental play-offs scheduled for Mexico in March next year.

‘We are quite happy to have that opportunity. It is a long route but it is a route afterall. We would have loved to get the automatic ticket but it didn’t happen and we take what we have. For us, we will remain strong and tough and ready to confront every challenge on our way as we search for the ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

‘It was a wonderful team effort on Tuesday evening. Everyone contributed; each person played their part. If the other match had gone in favour, we would be with the automatic ticket now. But that’s life. You take what you get and run with it, and make the best of it.’

Nigeria got their best result of the campaign on an inspired night in the Akwa Ibom State capital, with Victor Osimhen netting a hat-trick and midfielder Frank Onyeka, who came in as a substitute, rifling in with the clock on 90 minutes to send the three-time African champions to the CAF Play-off Tournament.

With the result they earned, the Super Eagles should have picked up the automatic ticket from Group C, but once more, Rwanda’s Amavubi failed to hold things tight for Nigeria at the crucial hour, crumbling like a pack of cards to South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in Nelspruit.

It was November 2005 all over again, when all the Amavubi needed to do was hold Angola to a draw on the final matchday at home in Kigali, but they conceded a late goal by Fabrice Akwa to render Nigeria’s five-goal rout of Zimbabwe in Abuja inconsequential, instead sending Angola to their first FIFA World Cup finals.

In the CAF Play-offs, Nigeria will take on Gabon’s Palancas Negras in a ‘first semi-final’ on Thursday, 13th November, with Cameroon taking on the Democratic Republic of Congo in the ‘second semi-final’ on Friday, 14th November.

The two winners clash on Sunday, 16th November in the ‘final’, with the winner to proceed to the Intercontinental Play-offs scheduled for the Mexican cities of Guadalajara and Monterrey in March next year.

At the International Play-off Tournament, six teams will battle for two tickets. The teams are Africa’s winner, Bolivia, New Caledonia, winner of Asian play-off between Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, and two of Jamaica, Costa Rica and Panama.

Former Presidential Aide, Sen. Ita Enang, has called on the Federal Government to drag the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) to court for contempt for demanding payment of unpaid salaries among other demands.

Enang, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said this in an interview on Wednesday in Abuja.

He said that ASUU’s demand was in contravention of a court order obtained in 2023, which stated that the union was not entitled to salaries while on strike.

It would be recalled that ASUU had proceeded on strike on Oct. 13 to press home for some of its demands on agreement reached with the federal government with regards to staff welfare including funding and autonomy of the universities.

Enang said: ‘They are going on strike to compel federal government to disobey court order.

‘If you want to go on strike, you have to agree that under the law, which is existing, which governs you that you have to forfeit your salaries for the period.

‘In the US and in the UK, there is a Strike Fund, the money that the union pays members from during strike because at such periods they are not entitled to salaries from their employers.

‘My advice to ASUU is to call off the strike and go back to work while they continue with negotiations with the Federal Government.

‘The middle ground is for the federal government and ASUU to know that the same responsibility that the federal government owes to it as a trade union and employees, is the same responsibility that the federal government owes to the students.

‘The innocent students whose academic calendar and academic life have been truncated and prejudiced.

‘So, the academic staff union should know that those who want to go on strike should be prepared to lose their salary according to law and they should read the judgment.

‘Particularly, paragraph two in that judgment because one of the things we claimed in that judgment was that the period that the workers were on strike should not be counted’.

According to Enang, all the issues raised by ASUU have been passionately addressed by the Ministry of Education and the federal government, wondering what ASUU was looking for in ordering fresh strike, insisting that the strike constitute contempt of Court.

The former lawmaker made reference to the relevant sections of the International Labour Organisation, which supported the lack of salaries for workers who embarked on strike.

He insisted that the ‘no work, no pay’ directive of the Federal Government was in tandem with domestic and international Labour Laws.

Enang said paying striking workers amount to contempt of Court by the Federal Government, stressing that the Federal Government must not be seen to be in contempt of Court like the striking ASUU.

He said: ‘The question we asked the court is to determine on page two of the judgment was to interpret the provisions of Section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act, Capt. 8, Laws of the Federation.

‘It is titled Special Provisions with Respect to Payment of Wages During Strikes and Lockouts, specifically dealing with the rights of employers and employees and workers during the period of any strike or lockout’.

‘I have listened to the statement by Dr Alausa, the Minister of Education, saying that the Vice-Chancellors should not pay the salaries and that they should honour the policy of no work, no pay.

‘I want to urge the Minister that he doesn’t need to do that but should rather charge ASUU for contempt of Court’, he maintained.

The Association of Lagos State Retired Heads of Service and Permanent Secretaries (ALARHOSPS) has renovated the Oke-Odo primary health centre in Agbado-Oke Odo local council development area as part of activities to mark its twelfth anniversary.

A statement signed by the Association’s Publicity Secretary, Sir Olusina Thorpe, quoted ALARHOSPS President, Otunba Nurudeen Ojora-Adejiyan saying ‘the renovated primary health centre was given a facelift due to the significant role it plays in providing the much-needed health services to residents of Oke-Odo and its environs’.

Otunba Ojora – Adejiyan said, ‘By renovating the primary health centre, its capacity to provide medical services, especially to pregnant women and newborn babies, will be greatly enhanced’.

Items donated to the hospital include medical equipment to aid child delivery in the labour wards such as blood pressure monitors, maternity beds, baby cots, and mattresses.

In addition to the equipment, the exterior walls and perimeter fence of the facility were also painted to give the facility a befitting facelift.

The President disclosed that the anniversary will run from Tuesday, 14th to Sunday, 19th October, 2025 with activities including a visit and donation to the Correctional Centre for Boys in Oregun, a Walk for Fitness /Health talk, Christian and Muslim thanksgiving services and the Quarterly General Meeting. The Association’s Constitution will be reviewed at the meeting.

ALARHOSPS has a practice to annually review the needs of institutions in the education and health sectors to make donations as part of giving back to society.

In the last three years, ALARHOSPS has rehabilitated the Assembly Hall of Epe Grammar School, as well as the first primary school in Nigeria – St. Thomas Anglican Primary School, Badagry.

The Association on its eleventh anniversary last year also renovated 18 toilet facilities at Ebute-Elefun Senior Secondary School on Lagos Island.

Earlier this year, the association held its annual summit, discussing topical issues on good governance and selfless public service delivery, with relevant contributions made towards State and National development.

Zenith Bank Plc’s Founder and Chairman, Dr. Jim Ovia, CFR, accompanied by the bank’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON, on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, carried out the prestigious closing gong ceremony at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), marking a significant milestone in the bank’s continued partnership with the capital market and the official closing of the trading day. The ceremony highlights Zenith Bank’s strong relationship with the NGX and its commitment to transparency, accountability, and bolstering investor confidence.

While speaking at the Nigerian Exchange, Dr. Umeoji expressed her delight in participating in the closing gong ceremony, acknowledging the NGX’s visionary leadership and innovative initiatives. ‘We are delighted to be here today to perform the closing gong ceremony – a symbol of shared progress and enduring partnership,’

Dr. Umeoji said. ‘The NGX’s leadership has been very creative and innovative, and their electronic trading platform – X-stream played a pivotal role in the success of our recapitalization exercise, which achieved a 160% subscription. The bank’s stock price has doubled since the recapitalization exercise, from N36.50 per share to N68. Zenith Bank has also reported impressive financial results for the Half Year (H1) of 2025, becoming the most profitable bank in Nigeria and paying the highest dividend in the industry for the half year.’

‘We are committed to creating value for our stakeholders and will continue to partner with the NGX to boost the Nigerian economy,’ Dr. Umeoji added. ‘Our expansion strategy is focused on following our customers’ businesses and ensuring that we go to countries and economies where we can scale and provide more returns for our shareholders.’

She stressed that the bank plans to make good on its promise of being investors’ delight by paying quantum dividends to its shareholders by year end.

According to her ‘For us in Zenith, we are looking forward to paying more based on the confidence the market reposed on us. We are working assiduously to ensure that we do not disappoint the Market. We are going to continue to be the investors’ delight, and we assure the market that we would continue to pay enhanced dividends come end of the year.’

Also commenting, the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama emphasised the role of the NGX in creating value in the Nigerian economic space.

He said, ‘I want to thank you all for making the market what it is. Without you, the market wouldn’t have seen the leap that it has achieved in the last one-and-half year. I spoke earlier that at my assumption of office, market capitalization stood at N55 trillion, today it is hovering around 89 trillion and 93 trillion. That was not done by a spirit, it was done by you. Your ability, tenacity, courage, vision and transparency have moved the market where it is. Our vision is that by next year, we will have the market at 200trn.’

The Doyen of the NGX, Alhaji Rasheed Yusuf while giving his remarks, lauded the Founder and Chairman, Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, CFR for his vision and leadership. He ended by referring to him as the ‘Doyen of the Commercial banking sector’.

Zenith Bank remains committed to creating long-term value for its stakeholders while driving economic development in Nigeria. As the bank continues on its growth trajectory, it has its sights set on global expansion. The bank intends to strategically leverage the capital raised from the Market to enhance its scalability and deliver enhanced services to its valued customers.

The Bank’s track record of excellent performance has continued to earn the brand numerous awards, including being recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital for the sixteenth consecutive year in the 2025 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking, published by The Banker and ‘Nigeria’s Best Bank’ at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025.

The Bank was also awarded Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards for 2020, 2022 and 2024; Best Bank in Nigeria from 2020 to 2022, 2024 and 2025, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best Bank for Digital Solutions in Nigeria in the Euromoney Awards 2023; and was listed in the World Finance Top 100 Global Companies in 2023.

Further recognitions include Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria for five consecutive years from 2021 to 2025 in the World Finance Banking Awards and Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria in the International Banker 2023 and 2024 Banking Awards. Additionally, Zenith Bank has been acknowledged as the Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria, in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards for four consecutive years from 2022 to 2025 and ‘Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa for four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023 by the Ethical Boardroom.

The Bank’s commitment to excellence saw it being named the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria in The Banker’s Top 500 Banking Brands for 2020 and 2021, Bank of the Year 2023 to 2025 at the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, and Retail Bank of the Year for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022 and 2024 to 2025 at the BAFI Awards. The Bank also received the accolades of Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best Innovation in Retail Banking, Nigeria, in the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards.

Zenith Bank was also named Most Responsible Organisation in Africa, Best Company in Transparency and Reporting and Best Company in Gender Equality and Women Empowerment at the SERAS CSR Awards Africa 2024; Bank of the Year 2024 by ThisDay Newspaper; Bank of the Year 2024 by New Telegraph Newspaper; and Best in MSME Trade Finance, 2023 by Nairametrics. The Bank’s Hybrid Offer was also adjudged ‘Rights Issue/ Public Offer of the Year at the Nairametrics Capital Market Choice Awards 2025.

Nigerian singer and actor, Idowu Adeyemi, popularly known as Yhemolee, has expressed frustration over the way social media is being used by Nigerians.

According to him, many people have now turned online platforms into ‘begging sites’, constantly asking for money from strangers.

Yhemolee noted that social media has become a breeding ground for professional beggars, saying that the only difference between them and those on the streets is that the online beggars have internet data.

‘It’s no longer news that social media isn’t social media anymore. It’s now a begging site,’ he said.

‘The only difference is that unlike the beggars on the road, the beggars on the internet have data.

These days, when you post a picture, the first ten comments are account numbers. My major problem is those who have a PhD in begging. Please omit all those begging from my own picture.’

The entertainer, who rose to fame with his hit song ‘Mon Cheri’ featuring Chinko Ekun and Asake, as well as roles in Nollywood blockbusters like ‘Gangs of Lagos’ and ‘Alakada: Bad and Boujee,’ said the trend is becoming disturbing.

The Department of State Services (DSS) has confirmed the arrest of two former personnel, Barry Donald and Victor Onyedikachi Godwin, who were earlier dismissed from the Service for allegedly using the agency’s name to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.

A statement released by the DSS on Wednesday noted that the two individuals had been engaging in ‘unscrupulous activities’ and were cloaking under the Service to perpetrate fraud. Their apprehension comes after the DSS had previously issued public disclaimers warning citizens against dealings with them.

The Service stated that the culprits will face prosecution according to the law. The DSS also announced plans to publish the names of other dismissed personnel in a bid to prevent potential criminal activities by former staff members.

‘The Service has further resolved to publish the names of other personnel, who were dismissed in the past, to prevent citizens from falling victim to possible criminal intent of any of these individuals,’ the statement added.

Barry Donald and Victor Onyedikachi Godwin had previously been flagged in separate disclaimers issued by the Service, which cautioned Nigerians against being defrauded by the duo under the pretense of DSS affiliation.

The arrests are part of ongoing efforts by the DSS to clamp down on impersonation and fraudulent activities by former staffers.

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has given the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) seven days to resolve their dispute and stop another strike from crippling academic activities across the country.

In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its President, Olushola Oladoja, NANS warned that students would not accept any disruption to the school calendar after enjoying two uninterrupted academic years under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Oladoja said the recent threat of a strike by ASUU could erase the progress made in the education sector.

‘It is in this spirit that NANS appeals to both ASUU and the Federal Government to find a lasting solution within the next seven days. Many students studying through education loans cannot afford further delays or disruptions,’ the statement read.

The student body praised President Tinubu’s reforms in education, citing the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, removal of tertiary institutions from IPPIS, and TETFund interventions as key achievements.

However, Oladoja blamed poor communication and delays in implementing agreements with ASUU for the renewed crisis.

‘Our findings show that a meeting earlier called by the government to address ASUU’s grievances was not attended by the union due to procedural issues. Both sides have now agreed to return to the table once the meeting is properly reconvened,’ he said.

NANS urged the Federal Government to quickly reconvene the meeting and called on President Tinubu to personally step in to prevent the situation from escalating.

‘We urge President Tinubu to intervene now to safeguard the stability already achieved in the education sector,’ Oladoja said.

ASUU began a warning strike on Monday after its 14-day ultimatum to the government expired.

The union is demanding the implementation of the renegotiated 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, payment of withheld salaries, revitalisation of public universities, and sustainable funding for tertiary education.

Other demands include payment of salary arrears, promotion arrears, and the release of cooperative deductions.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has directed university vice-chancellors to enforce the government’s ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy for lecturers who joined the strike.

The ongoing strike has already disrupted examinations in some universities, leaving students and parents anxious about another prolonged academic shutdown.

Professor Richard Robson has won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for helping create molecular scaffolds known as metal-organic frameworks – crystal-like structures so advanced they can pull water from desert air, trap carbon emissions, and clean our planet’s air and water.

The 88-year-old professor of Chemistry at University of Melbourne’s discovery has opened new frontiers in sustainable chemistry.

‘My name is Richard Robson. I’ve been at the University of Melbourne since 1966,’ he says, with the casual precision of a man who has lived most of his life in one place. The image is homely and immediate: a long career, a kitchen table, a phone call, the India Today reports.

According to the online magazine, Robson remembers the night the Nobel committee rang – ‘I did finish my fish. It was a bit cold, but I got there. And then I had to do the washing up,’ he said – and the domestic detail does more than amuse. It pins an extraordinary moment to the ordinary rhythms that shaped it.

Robson shares the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Susumu Kitagawa and Omar M Yaghi ‘for the development of metal-organic frameworks’ – a type of material built like a microscopic scaffold, with lots of empty space inside.

Imagine a building made of tiny corridors and rooms that only molecules can enter. By changing the parts used to build the scaffold, chemists can make the rooms act like traps, filters or tiny reaction chambers.

That flexibility is what makes these materials useful: they can hold gases, pull water out of dry air, catch pollutants or help speed up chemical reactions in ways that ordinary materials cannot.

Robson tells how, in the 1970s, his teaching duties included making wooden models for first-year lectures: spheres with precisely drilled holes, connected by rods to show atomic geometry.

As he assembled those models, ‘the thought arose, what if we used molecules in place of the balls and chemical bonds in place of the rods? And everything else follows from that.’

The leap was simple to picture: replace the wooden balls with specially shaped molecules, and the rods with chemical links, and the same geometry would appear at a molecular scale.

The spaces inside those molecular lattices are like tiny rooms – too small to see, but big enough to hold gas molecules or small liquids. That throwaway sentence is the origin story – a leap from physical model to molecular architecture.