US excludes Nigeria, UK, others from 2025 visa waiver (Leadership)
The United States has released the list of eligible countries for its 2025 Visa Waiver Programme (VWP), with notable exclusions, including the United Kingdom and all African nations.
While the UK was left out of the programme, it remained eligible under specific conditions. Similarly, countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa are not included, as no African nation has been granted visa-free entry under the updated list.
A key highlight of the 2025 update is the addition of Romania, reflecting the US government’s evolving approach to diplomatic relations and border security standards. The latest revisions also emphasise enhanced security checks and a focus on countries with strong diplomatic ties. Read more
Natasha Akpoti to face Senate’s disciplinary committee after seat row (Punch)
The Senate has referred Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to its Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions for disciplinary review following a dispute over seating arrangements in the chamber.
The committee, chaired by Senator Neda Imaseun, has been given two weeks to investigate the matter and submit its findings.
The decision was reached after a voice vote on Tuesday, as lawmakers revisited the controversy surrounding Akpoti-Uduaghan’s altercation with the Senate leadership over her designated seat. Senators stressed the importance of upholding parliamentary decorum and adherence to established rules. Read more
Rapper Odumodublvck debunks car accident reports (Nation)
Rapper Odumodublvck has debunked reports of his involvement in a car accident on social media.
In his message, the rapper clarified that the pictures circulating online are old and were taken at different times.
“These are old pictures…,” Odumodublvck wrote. Read more
Ministerial Snub: ‘It’s time to move on’, Bayo Onanuga tells El-Rufai (DailyTrust)
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, says Nasir El-Rufai, former Kaduna State governor, is disappointed for being left out during the President’s ministerial appointment.
In August 2023, the Senate withheld the confirmation of El-Rufai as a ministerial nominee, citing security reports from the State Security Service for the action.
With the fallout of the ministerial appointment, El-Rufai has in recent times become critical of the Tinubu administration and the All Progressives Congress. Read more
Lagos begins full enforcement of e-call up on Lekki-Epe axis (Guardian)
The Lagos State Government has commenced full enforcement of the E-Call Up System, introduced to streamline and regulate truck activities along the Lekki-Epe axis of the state.
The technology-driven e-call-up system has been in the pipeline for over two years in anticipation of large vehicular traffic that will be generated by trucks accessing the Lekki Deep Seaport, Lekki Free Zone, Dangote Refinery, and other industries within the axis.
The state government, in a statement posted on its website on Tuesday, encourages truckers to adhere to the system now that enforcement is fully underway. Read more
Nigeria’s GDP grew by 3.84% in Q4 Of 2024, says NBS (Channels)
Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) had a 3.84% increase in growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2024.
This is according to a GDP report published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. It said the growth rate is higher than the 3.46% recorded in the third quarter of 2024.
Tuesday’s figure for Q4 of 2024 is also higher than the 3.46% reported in the fourth quarter of 2023. Read more
USAID withdrawal not North’s biggest problem – Aliyu (NewTelegraph)
Former Governor of Niger State, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, on Monday, said the withdrawal of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is not the biggest challenge facing Northern Nigeria.
New Telegraph recalls that United States President, Donald Trump, after his swearing-in as the 47th American President announced the shutdown of USAID, alleging that the agency is a criminal organization.
Reacting to the development, Aliyu who spoke at the 11th annual Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Lecture and Merit Awards in Bauchi, where he chairs the event warned that internal conflicts and worsening poverty posed greater threats to the region’s stability. Read more
Beyoncé reinvents classic 1991 commercial in new Levi’s ‘pool hall’ spot (HipHopDx)
Beyoncé has released another new ad spot with Levi’s Denim in their ‘Reimagine’ series, this time adding a new twist on their 1991 ad, ‘Pool Hall.’
Baring the same name as the original, the new commercial features Bey in a full denim-on-denim outfit, putting her pool skills on display alongside actor Timothy Olyphant.
In a statement, she said: “Denim-on-denim has often been seen through a male lens, so this reimagining campaign, which celebrates the iconic female perspective, is important to me. I look forward to exploring innovative ways for our visions to align in empowering women and honoring their strength.” Read more
Senegal signs historic peace deal with Casamance separatists (AfricaNews)
Senegal has reached a landmark peace agreement with the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), ending one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts.
The deal, brokered by Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, was announced at a joint press briefing in Bissau alongside Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko. The Casamance conflict, which began in 1982, has claimed thousands of lives and disrupted the region’s economy.
The agreement marks a crucial step towards lasting peace in Senegal’s southern region, which is separated from the north by Gambia. Prime Minister Sonko conveyed President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s gratitude to Guinea-Bissau for mediating the negotiations, which had been ongoing for three days. “We had to close the work on the negotiations between the MFDC and the state of Senegal,” he stated. Read more
‘People will starve’ because of US aid cut to Sudan (BBC)
The freezing of US humanitarian assistance has forced the closure of almost 80% of the emergency food kitchens set up to help people left destitute by Sudan’s civil war, the BBC has learned.
Aid volunteers said the impact of President Donald Trump’s executive order halting contributions from the US government’s development organisation (USAID) for 90 days meant more than 1,100 communal kitchens had shut.
It is estimated that nearly two million people struggling to survive have been affected. Read more
Content creator arrested after videos of her urinating on grocery products surface (ABC)
An online content creator has been charged with criminal mischief for allegedly making “disturbing” videos of her contaminating store products by urinating on them, spawning an investigation and a product recall dating back four years ago.
The investigation began on Feb. 14 when the Keene Police Department in New Hampshire received an anonymous tipoff regarding a woman – later identified as 23-year-old Kelli Tedford – who had “posted disturbing videos to an internet site” of her “contaminating items in a local business with her urine,” according to a statement from the Keene Police Department released on Friday.
Police immediately launched an investigation in cooperation with the local grocery store, the Monadnock Food Co-Op, and the affected items were removed in coordination with the health department, officials said. Read more
Vatican says Pope Francis shows ‘slight improvement’ on 11th day in hospital (CNA)
Pope Francis’ condition remains serious but has shown “slight improvement” as he continues treatment on his 11th day in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, the Vatican said Monday evening.
The 88-year-old pontiff is still receiving oxygen therapy through his nose, though at a slightly reduced flow and concentration, according to the Holy See Press Office.
Doctors reported no further episodes of respiratory distress following a “respiratory crisis” on Saturday. Some of the pope’s laboratory tests have improved, and his “mild kidney insufficiency” remains under observation but is not a cause for concern, the Vatican said. Read more
6 children die of hypothermia amid freezing conditions in Gaza (AlJazeera)
At least six Palestinian infants have reportedly died from hypothermia during a severe cold spell in the Gaza Strip, medical officials said.
Dr Saeed Salah, medical director of the Friends of the Patient Charitable Hospital, said Tuesday that three newborns, aged between one and two days, died shortly after being admitted.
He also confirmed the death of a 60-day-old baby, who froze to death inside a tent in al-Mawasi, Khan Younis. Two more children later succumbed to the cold, medical sources told Al Jazeera, bringing the total to six. Read more
Ouadri, Mescheref battle for ITTF World Cup tickets in Tunis (Guardian)
The stakes are incredibly high at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup, where the continent’s best table tennis players are set to clash at the El-Menzah Sports Hall in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. They are competing for prestigious continental titles and coveted tickets to the ITTF World Cup.
Starting today, the competition for the continental slots in the Men’s and Women’s World Cup will be intense. The semifinalists will earn their places on the flight to Macao, China, in April.
In the men’s singles, 29 players will compete for four coveted spots in the global tournament in China, while 21 players will vie for the four tickets in the women’s singles. Read more
Osimhen under attack for supporting club’s ‘anti-racist statement’ against Mourinho (Punch)
Nigerian and Galatasary forward Victor Osimhen, faced backlash on Monday from netizens for supporting his club’s “anti-racist” statement against Fenerbahce manager, Jose Mourinho.
Galatasary had issued a statement to discredit Mourinho’s claim at his post-match interview after their Monday’s 0-0 draw.
In the interview, Mourinho welcomed the decision to bring in a foreign referee for the game and also praised Slavko Vincic of Slovenia for a “top performance.” Read more
South Africa prop Steven Kitshoff retires from all rugby (AfricaNews)
South Africa prop Steven Kitshoff announced his retirement from all rugby Tuesday because of a serious neck injury that he said in an interview last year left him “two millimeters” from death.
Kitshoff announced in a statement from his South African domestic team, the Stormers.
The 33-year-old front-rower played 83 tests for the Springboks, winning back-to-back Rugby World Cups in 2019 and 2023. His last test for the Boks was the 12-11 win over New Zealand in the World Cup final in Paris two years ago. Read more
Emma Raducanu offered up to 5 extra security guards after ‘stalker’ incident (Metro)
British tennis star Emma Raducanu has offered up to five extra security guards to play at Indian Wells after being targeted by a ‘stalker’ in Dubai.
Raducanu is eager to move on from the ‘terrifying’ ordeal, which led to her breaking down in tears and hiding behind the umpire’s chair during a clash against Karolina Muchova at the Dubai Tennis Championships last week.
It later emerged that the 22-year-old became distressed when she spotted a man displaying ‘fixated behaviour’ in the crowd, who is alleged to have followed her over four countries and approached her before the match. Read more
‘Over my dead body’ – Arteta won’t quit title race (BBC)
Arsenal will not stop fighting for the Premier League title despite slipping 11 points behind leaders Liverpool, says Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners lost further ground on league leaders Liverpool last weekend following a 1-0 defeat by West Ham at the Emirates.Only three teams in Premier League history have closed a gap of 11 points or more to become champions by the end of the season. Read more