WHATSAPP is preparing to roll out two new disappearing message timers for its Android beta app, according to tech site wabetainfo.com. The update will introduce 1-hour and 12-hour expiry options, adding to the existing choices of 24 hours, 7 days and 90 days. The new feature is still under development and has …

Burkina Faso and Russia are considering opening direct air links as part of their expanding partnership, officials confirmed last week. The move, which would connect Ouagadougou to Moscow, underscores a deepening geopolitical realignment in West Africa and Moscow’s efforts to counter isolation under Western sanctions. Aristide Tapsoba, Burkina Faso’s Ambassador …

Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery has for the first time sourced crude from Ghana, underscoring its push to diversify supplies and stabilise production as Africa’s largest refining complex edges closer to full capacity. Ghana joins feedstock mix The $20bn facility has incorporated Ghana’s Sankofa grade into its intake, data from market tracker Kpler shows. The …

THE US Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank) has approved $66 million in financing to support the construction of Cote d’Ivoire’s second national data centre, in a move aimed at strengthening the country’s digital sovereignty and expanding its fast-growing technology sector. The announcement was made in Washington last week following meetings between …

The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has rejected allegations by former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, that the Federal Government offers payments and incentives to bandits. In a press statement issued on Monday in Abuja, ONSA described the claims made by El-Rufai during a television interview on Sunday …

A strong earthquake in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border has destroyed numerous villages and caused extensive damage, killing more than 800 people and injuring at least 2,800 others. The earthquake late Sunday hit a series of towns in the province of Kunar, near the city of Jalalabad in neighbouring …

  The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has cautioned that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention, scheduled for November in Ibadan, Oyo State, may not hold due to unresolved internal disputes. Speaking at his monthly media briefing on Monday, Wike stressed that the problem was …

Päijät-Häme District Court has sentenced Simon Ekpa to six years in prison after finding him guilty of terrorism-related charges. The court ruled that Ekpa had participated in a terrorist organisation and had publicly incited crimes for terrorist purposes. The charges relate to Ekpa’s alleged activities aimed at re-establishing an independent …

It has been disclosed how former Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), clashed with the Department of State Services (DSS) over the refusal of the agency to obey a court order for the release of Omoyele Sowore during the Muhammadu Buhari administration. This disclosure was contained in a new book …

Liverpool and Newcastle have agreed a British-record transfer for striker Alexander Isak. Liverpool will pay a fixed fee of £125 million for Isak, who is now expected to complete his move to Anfield on Deadline Day. Isak is set to sign a six-year deal with Liverpool and begin his medical …