Category: News Stories

Meet Africa’s Creative Trailblazers

Pitcher Awards Announces 2026 Winners, Marking a Landmark Year for Pan‑African Creativity Mozambique Makes a Big Debut with 1 Grand Prix and 4 Gold Wins The Pitcher Awards, the pan‑African benchmark for creative excellence, has announced the winners of its 2026 edition, celebrating groundbreaking work from across the continent and beyond,an official statement issued in Lagos,Saturday disclosed. This year,the statement noted,marks a historic milestone as the festival welcomed entries from Mozambique and the United States of America for the very first time, underscoring its expanding global reach and commitment to celebrating creativity without…

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Beefing up Military power Competitive edge…Algeria gets Russian Su-34M fighter jets

Olamilekan Okebiorun,First Published,27 May 2026 12:50 PM Africa’s second most powerful military, Algeria, ranked 27th globally according to Global Firepower, has finally gotten its hands on Russia’s advanced Su-34M strike fighter jets amid a growing military buildup and strategic rivalry across North Africa. Algeria, Africa’s second most powerful military, has received its first batch of Russian Su-34M strike fighter jets, marking a major step in its military modernization. The delivery follows years of speculation about the deal and is part of a broader Algeria-Russia weapons agreement signed seven years ago,…

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Climate action key to affordable housing, but buildings decarbonisation stalls

Buildings’ operational emissions increased by 1 per cent to 9.9 GtCOâ‚‚ in 2024 Globally, buildings are becoming more energy efficient, but progress is too slow to meet climate goals USD 5.9 trillion in investment in energy efficiency is needed by 2030 Decarbonisation of the buildings and construction sector has slowed, leaving it both a major emissions source and increasingly vulnerable to climate impacts and energy price shocks, according to a new report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC). The tenth edition…

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Apple legend Steve Wozniak makes history again: Actually gets applause talking about AI at commencement speech

By Joshua Wolens,First  Published,22 May,2026 If you’re set to give a university commencement address in the near future—and I know some of you are—here’s a PC Gamer tip: don’t hype up AI. Turns out modern grads just don’t want to hear your paeans to LLMs, whether you’re the real estate exec who got heckles for calling AI “the next industrial revolution” or ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who drew loud boos when he sang hosannahs to how AI is surely going to transform every aspect of our lives. Instead, you should probably try to be…

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Rendeavour appointed as AfCFTA inaugural implementation partner

Rendeavour becomes the African Continental Free Trade Area’s inaugural implementation partner for African industrialisation and trade infrastructure The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has partnered with Rendeavour, Africa’s new city builder, to support the implementation of the AfCFTA through infrastructure-led industrialisation, integrated economic zones and trade-enabling urban development across the continent an official statement in Lome,Friday,has disclosed. Through the partnership, the statement said,Rendeavour will support the AfCFTA Secretariat across three priority areas: advancing the role of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) as drivers of industrialisation, mobilising private capital for trade- enabling infrastructure,  and…

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31st IRENA Council Ushers New Era of Global Energy Transition

More than 300 delegates to discuss the expanding role of renewables in powering energy security, resilience and digital economies. The thirty-first Council meeting of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has started in the United Arab Emirates(UAE) in a hybrid format according to an official statement issued in Abu Dhabi,Thursday Over 300 government representatives,the statement said, are attending the meeting at IRENA Headquarters in Abu Dhabi, both in person and virtually. Over the course of two days,it said, the Council will review progress on the Agency’s work and discuss collective…

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Australia’s First-ever Islamic Bank Launch on Course

Story: Mohammed A. Abu Islamic Money Australia Pty Ltd’s Chief Executive Officer, Dean Gillespie,promoters of the country’s first-ever fully fledged Islamic bank has assured potential customers in the country and potential investors worldwide that everything is still on course. In a February  official progress update,Mr.Gellespie assured, his company was  continuing to work on launching Australia’s first-ever Islamic bank and we are hoping to launch home finance soon in 2026.  We’re aiming to launch the full bank in 2027. Meeting the Minimum Capital Requirement  “We always knew when starting this business…

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Russia To Expand Islamic Banking Services

First Published,May 19, 2026 Russia is to expand a pilot Islamic banking program as demand for Sharia-compliant financial products continues to grow, according to the country’s largest lender, Sber. Islamic banking follows Sharia principles that prohibit interest-based lending and speculative transactions. Instead, it relies on mechanisms such as leasing, installment sales, profit-sharing arrangements, and asset-backed financing. It also restricts financing for sectors such as gambling, alcohol, tobacco, and weapons production. Russia launched the pilot initiative in 2023 in four predominantly Muslim regions, including the Republic of Tatarstan, and later extended…

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Goodbye Plastic? Scientists Create New Supermaterial That Could Transform Modern Manufacturing

By Rice University,First Published,May 19, 2026 A newly developed bacterial cellulose manufacturing technique could lead to strong, multifunctional materials capable of replacing plastics. What if the next generation of high-performance materials did not come from a factory filled with petroleum-based plastics, but from living bacteria? Scientists at Rice University and the University of Houston have developed a new way to turn bacterial cellulose into an ultra-strong, multifunctional material that could eventually replace plastics in products ranging from packaging to electronics. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, describe a scalable manufacturing process that guides bacteria to…

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Seychelles-Greece Reaffirm Bilateral Relations…As Prez receives Ambassador Designate

The President of the Republic of Seychelles, Dr. Patrick Herminie, received the Letters of Credence of His Excellency Mr. George Psiachas, Ambassador-Designate of the Hellenic Republic of Greece to Seychelles an official statement issued in Victoria,Teusday,has disclosed. The accreditation ceremony the statement said,was held in the morning at State House. During their discussions,it added, President Herminie congratulated the new Ambassador of Greece and highlighted that Seychelles and Greece have enjoyed warm and longstanding f relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties in July 1980. The President further expressed Seychelles’ appreciation…

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