The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), led by its president-general and Sokoto’s ruler, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has declared Saturday, March 1 the country’s official day of the Ramadan fast.
In his declaration speech, Sultan said, “I urge all Muslims in this country to dedicate the entire month of Ramadan to full worship of Allah. Tomorrow, March 1st, 2024, is Ramadan 1 1446 A. H.” pray for all of our citizens, our leaders, and our country.
The historic N54.99 trillion 2025 Appropriation Bill, which is a 99.96 percent increase over the N27.5 trillion budget from the previous year, was signed by President Bola Tinubu on Friday.
After increasing from the initial N49.7 trillion as requested by President Tinubu, the bill was approved by the National Assembly on February 13 and signed at a brief ceremony at the State House in Abuja.
There are statutory transfers of 3.65 trillion, recurrent (non-debt) expenditures of N13.64 trillion, and total expenditures of N54.99 trillion in the budget for 2025.
There are a total of 23.96 trillion dollars for capital expenditures, 14.32 trillion for debt servicing, and 1.52 trillion for deficit-to-GDP ratio.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, and Donald Trump, his counterpart in the United States, had a heated exchange at a press conference.
On Friday, Zelenskyy arrived at the White House to discuss a proposed deal to give the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, while pushing for US security assurances.
The tension quickly waned as the two leaders sat down for a press conference in the Oval Office, with Trump yelling at Zelenskyy and apologizing for US support.
Trump told Zelenskyy, “You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out.”
Shortly after the close of the meeting, Trump released a statement on social media, seeming to withdraw the US from negotiations with Ukraine and eject Zelenskyy from the White House. In the end, no agreement was reached.
If America is involved, “I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace,” Trump wrote. “He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. When he’s ready for peace, he can return.
Ukraine has endured territorial incursions from Russia for more than ten years, leading to a massive invasion that first broke out in February 2022.
The international community has largely denounced Russia’s actions as illegal, and the US has been a pivotal partner in Ukraine’s defence, committing $65.9bn in military assistance since the start of the war three years ago.
Since Trump took office in January, that support has been questioned. Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and US ambassadors in Saudi Arabia earlier this month, without the help of Ukraine or Europe, to negotiate a peace deal.
Zelenskyy and other European leaders have denounced those proceedings as sidelining their interests.
Trump has since heightened tensions, calling Zelenskyy a “dictator” for holding wartime elections and accusing him of profiting from the “gravy train” in the United States.
Zelenskyy, along with Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, and Keir Starmer, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, made his week-long visit to Trump. But unlike those leaders, who took pains to praise Trump, Zelenskyy openly contradicted Trump and called Putin a “ killer and terrorist”.
What can we learn from their meeting in particular?
There were rumors that the meeting would be prickly right away when Zelenskyy arrived at the White House.
Trump greeted Zelenskyy with a handshake and a joke about his outfit, which he donned as a military uniform, as a sign of his accomplishments during the war.
“He’s all dressed up today”, Trump said aloud, pointing at Zelenskyy’s outfit.
Trump used his usual phrasing as the leaders rolled into the Oval Office as they made their first press conference of the day, praising the agreement’s access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
Trump said, “We’re going to sign the agreement at the conference in the East Room in a little while right after lunch.”
“ We have something that is a very fair deal, and we look forward to getting in and digging, digging, digging and working and getting some of the rare earth”.
However, it quickly became clear that the leaders had disagreed on the subject of the deal.
Zelenskyy emphasized that any agreement must contain genuine security guarantees for Ukraine, something that Trump has so far avoided.
“I hope that this document, first document will be first step to real security guarantees for Ukraine”, the Ukrainian president said. Our country’s people and our children are truly counting it.
Trump also praised his ongoing discussions with Putin, claiming that they had “very good discussions” and would bring the conflict to a close.
Before Russia began seizing Crimea and Donetsk, the US president had previously stated that it was “unlikely” that Ukraine would revert to its pre-2014 borders. He also asserted that Ukraine’s , attempts to join the NATO military alliance were a non-starter.
Trump’s comments were accused of making early concessions toward Putin. And Zelenskyy put forth on Friday that it would be crucial to upholding Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
“I really count on your strong position to stop Putin”, Zelenskyy said. I’m hoping we can stop him together. However, for us, protecting our nation, our values, our freedom, and democracy is extremely important. And of course, no compromises with the killer of our territories”.
Trump, on the other hand, argued that Zelenskyy’s animosity toward Putin was the cause of the stalining peace negotiations. He also used his position of “peacemaker” and “arbitrator” between the two conflicting factions.
“ You see the hatred he’s got for Putin. It’s difficult to come to terms with that kind of hate, Trump told the reporters while gesturing to Zelenskyy.
He also disputed his claim that Ukraine would have to sacrifice something for peace with Russia, saying, “I believe you’re going to have to always make compromises.” You can’t do any deals without compromises”.
The Ukrainian leader responded, saying that the conflict was not a clash of personalities but a violation of his nation’s sovereignty.
Putin has declared that he will never stop. And he’ll go further and further”, Zelenskyy said, as tensions started to boil over in the room. He despises us. Not my concern. He hates Ukrainians. He believes that we are not a country.
Trump began to criticize Zelenskyy and the reporters, pressing him to decide whether he could trust Putin to keep a potential ceasefire as the news conference turned into open aggression.
“ What if anything? What if something bombs your head right now? Trump yelled at a reporter before making a vehement, particularly sympathetic defense of Putin.
He appeared to frame Putin as an ally in his political rivalry with the Democrats. Trump cited the federal investigation into allegations that Russia had intervened on the Republican’s behalf in 2016.
Putin and I went through a lot, they said. He went through a phoney witch-hunt where they used him and Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia. Have you ever heard of that agreement?” Trump questioned and claimed that the investigation was a Democratic con. “He had to go through that”.
The Trump team repeated well-worn accusations that the administration of his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, was responsible for allowing the war in Ukraine to start in the first place.
US Vice President JD Vance slammed Biden for “thumping]his] chest” to put an end to the conflict as the tensions began to mount. He added that the Trump administration was more focused on diplomacy than that.
But Zelenskyy took issue with that assessment and questioned what kind of diplomacy with Putin would be even possible, given that the Russian leader had already broken a 2014 agreement to stop the fighting in Donetsk and Luhansk.
The ad hominem attacks actually started at that time.
Vance responded, “I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end your country’s destruction.” I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media”.
Trump reacted furiously when Zelenskyy claimed that Vance had never visited Ukraine and had not experienced the effects of the war.
Don’t explain how we’ll feel, please. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t explain how we’re going to feel, he said.
You’re gambling with millions of people’s lives, you say. You’re gambling with World War III”, Trump continued, speaking over Zelenskyy. You’re gambling on World War III, and what you’re doing disrespects this nation in particular.
Zelenskyy repeatedly tried to make it clear that he did indeed hope to end the war, but Trump glared and berated the Ukrainian leader for not showing any interest.
“You have to be thankful. The cards are not yours. You are buried there. Your people are dying. Trump said, “You’re running out of soldiers. Without the United States, I believe you would be a tough guy because I gave you that power.
Within minutes, the meeting was at an end.
No deal on rare earth minerals was signed that afternoon. Later in the day, a second news conference was postponed. As a line of Ukrainian delegation representatives walked out of the White House shortly after, Zelenskyy was spotted exiting in a dark vehicle.
The war of words soon shifted to the internet, where each leader offered remarks on what transpired in the Oval Office.
Under such fire and pressure, Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social, “Much was learned that could never be understood without conversation.” However, he refuted Zelenskyy’s claims that he had “disrespected” his workplace.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, offered a brief, more neutral acknowledgement of the meeting, focusing on his gratitude for US support.
America, I appreciate your support, and I appreciate your visit. The Ukrainian leader credited the US president with “Thank You @POTUS, Congress, and the American people” using the US president’s social media handle. “Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that”.
With the fate of the US-Ukraine alliance in the air, Zelenskyy now travels to London for a meeting with European leaders.
Russian leaders praised Trump and Vance’s performance immediately following the meeting.
“How Trump and Vance held back from hitting that scumbag is a miracle of restraint”, Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, wrote on Telegram.
Trump’s remarks were endorsed by prominent Republicans, including Senator Lindsey Graham. However, Zelenskyy’s supporters included numerous Democrats and prominent European figures.
“Dear Zelenskyy, dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone”, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk quickly posted on social media.
Analysts speculate that the historic meeting may not yet be the end of the two allies’ negotiations, especially as the US searches for sources for rare earth minerals to compete with China.
According to Samuel Ramani, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in the UK, “I don’t believe that this means the termination of the deal.”
“I think that the deal has shown a lot of flexibility. More than $500 billion in minerals was originally the US’s goal. The Ukrainians were able to sort of reshape the situation so that it resembled a reconstruction agreement rather than just being used as collateral for the previous military assistance.
Katie Price revealed that she miscarried after becoming pregnant.
The TV star and former model has declared her desire to raise their five children without being revealed. The 46-year-old shared her IVF journey with her ex-boyfriend, Carl Woods, in a documentary released just last month. Katie and Married At First Sight UK star JJ Slater, both of whom had a pregnancy, were pregnant over the Christmas holiday. Interestingly, the couple’s baby loss was discovered during scans, leaving them devastated.
The actress has now collaborated with Tommy’s, a pregnancy and miscarriage charity, to raise awareness for mothers who have experienced the same grief as she has. Katie has revealed that she only had a 1-percent chance of conceiving naturally. She said, “I was just really depressed because we went from being happy and relieved that I could naturally become pregnant,” to confusion, heartache, and sadness.
After being informed that she was perimenopausal, Katie explained to JJ that they were not trying to parent. She did, however, discover that she had missed a period on Boxing Day, which was unusual for her. She immediately began to show symptoms, including bloating, feeling nauseous, and having sore breasts.
She told The Sun, “I had numerous pregnancy tests because I wanted to be certain, and JJ kept asking if it was real. He was incredibly excited. The model explained that, given what she already knew from her previous pregnancies, the lines on her tests weren’t getting darker. She explained, “I started worrying.”
The baby was discovered dead at the clinic after we went there for blood tests and a scan, which revealed where the baby was. It has been devastating. Katie previously experienced a devastating ectopic pregnancy and three miscarriages.
Katie revealed that she would look into IVF or a surrogate when she talked about wanting more children. Katie stated to the hosts of the Netmums Podcast that she does want more children, and how many. The TV host exchanged a update, saying, “I still want more. She continued, “I want more kids at that point. More is what I want. And I don’t want to be told that I can’t have more, either. I am aware that I haven’t finished. I would like to have two more children.
Katie continued to claim that she may be pre-menopausal, despite the fact that she “may act young and look younger.” She continued, “I do want more kids, and I’m at that point,” she said, “continuing.” I didn’t realize until I did the IVF that when you are born, you are born with a set of eggs, and you know you get rid of them every period. So now mine are quite old.
Katie and her sister Sophie revealed earlier this month that she might be going through menopause. She claimed that she had been having a cold and trouble falling asleep. Something is going on because I’m not sleeping at night and am normally a really good sleeper, she said.
She continued, “I’m just going to get my blood test because I’m having my period, maybe I’m having an early menopause,” but I’m still having my period. She was seen showing off the results of her most recent cosmetic enhancements on February 11 at the Agora Fertility Clinic in Brighton, according to the report.
The Miscarriage Association offers support and advice if this story has affected you. You can reach them at 01924 200799 or email info@miscarriageassociation.org. uk
Renters in Lagos are suffering a lot as a result of Nigeria’s economic crisis, as landlords continue to subside the costs of spiraling inflation, pushing residents further away, ending education for children, and making commutes for workers already notorious.
The sprawling, ever-growing economic capital, which has a population of more than 20 million, has for years struggled to keep up with the demand for housing, adding about 3, 000 people to its population every day.
However, the economy has been shocked by government-led economic reforms, including the elimination of a fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira currency.
Rents are rising in Lagos on both the cheaper — mainland and the wealthy, in a city with millions of informal workers calling home.
Yemisi Odusanya, a 40-year-old cookbook author and food blogger, said, “I might just have to find a way to plead with my landlord.”
Even after her landlord in Lekki increased the rent by 120 percent, she has no idea where else to find a better deal for her family of seven after giving birth to twins last year.
Transportation worker Bartholomew Idowu remarked with force, “I’m planning to pack out,” despite not knowing where his and his children would move.
The landlord of the mainland resident’s landlord imposed a 28-percent increase in the amount of rent, which increased from 350, 000 naira ($232) annually to 450, 000, which is a significant sum for a nation with an $835 GDP per capita.
Read more about “Not For The Poor: Indonesians In Capital Face Housing and Commute Woes.”
Official year-over-year inflation in January decreased from December’s 34.80 percent figure to 24.48 percent as a result of a recent revision in the government’s inflation data.
That has provided little comfort to regular Nigerians.
According to journalist Dennis Erezi, “the way out at the moment is to look for a way to pay,” adding that moving is still less expensive than paying his 31 percent rent.
When his landlord’s rent more than doubled to 2.5 million naira a year and a half ago, personal trainer Jimoh Saheed was forced to leave his one-bedroom apartment in a middle-class Ikoyi neighborhood.
Since they no longer live close enough to their classes to walk to them, their two children had to switch schools and now have to pay for transportation because of his relocation to the mainland.
His new landlord increased his rent by 25% in the spring of last year.
The 39-year-old said his earnings have not kept up with the pace of inflation despite putting in more work, and that “this is affecting me emotionally, it’s affecting me mentally, and in fact, physically.”
According to attorneys, rent increases are supposed to be negotiated between parties and cannot be unilaterally imposed.
Attorney Valerian Nwadike, who noted an increase in tenant-landlord disputes in the previous year, told AFP that laws are rarely enforced without the threat of a lawsuit.
Nigerians have endured the worst economic crisis in a generation for almost two years, despite the government’s hope that its economic reforms will eventually pay off.
According to housing analyst Babatunde Akinpelu, high interest rates leave the majority of people with mortgages and a bureaucratic regulatory environment as structural issues at play.
An unending stream of people are poured in from Lagos, where an overwhelming number of jobs are located.
Many new developments are targeted at the high-end market, including foreigners, Nigerians in the diaspora, or oil sector workers, many of whom make a lot of money as cranes and construction sites whirr through the city.
According to economist Steve Onyeiwu, the result is a bifurcated housing market where the luxury sector’s increased supply doesn’t trickle down to the rest of the housing stock.
Even as the naira’s value has dropped, a director at Island Shoreline, a property management company, said that the majority of (Lagos’s) landlords are subject to dollar-denominated expenses, such as loans or mortgages for properties abroad, adding that his own landlord has recently attempted to raise his rent 100%.
He noted that there is currently a “snowball effect” of rising prices, and that improved public transportation, such as the new rail line connecting Lagos and Ibadan, should ease pressure. He requested that his name not be used because rent increases are sensitive.
Both landlords and renters try to bargain a good deal to prevent inflation because leases are typically paid upfront for anywhere between one and three years.
Real estate agent Ismail Oriyomi Akinola, who noted 20% increases on the wealthy Victoria Island, called the current spike in rents “alarming.”
Every person should have good shelter, he said. Not just for the wealthy, though.
Since Harry Styles’ Harry’s House by Harry Styles, Sam Fender has the biggest opening week for a British album.
The Official Charts company has confirmed that the 30-year-old North Shields singer-songwriter’s third studio album, People Watching, has soared to number one. With his most recent album racketing up 107,100 chart units in its first seven days, the star’s album is currently at number one on the UK albums chart.
The rest of the chart is full of talent from outside the UK, and this is the first time an artist has sold more than 100, 000 units since former One Direction singer Styles managed 113, 000 units with his third album in its first week in May 2022. Taylor Swift, Adele, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Styles, Take That, Abba, and Arctic Monkeys are the only other artists to have sold more than 100, 000 copies in the first week of an album. Sam is only the ninth artist in UK chart history to do so.
The British singer also sold 43, 000 physical records, making it the fastest-selling British band’s vinyl album this century. Sam said, “This is completely overwhelming,” after dominating the UK albums chart. Thank you to everyone who has backed us and listened to the album this week.
Fender is nominated for both the best rock or alternative act at the Brit Awards on Saturday as he prepares to perform. Tate McRae, who had a career best number two on her album So Close To What, was defeated by him to take the top spot on the albums chart.
The top five were made up of Ed Sheeran’s + – = Divide X (Tour Collection), Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N’ Sweet (three), Partynextdoor and Drake’s Some Sexy Songs 4 U (four), and Partynextdoor’s Partynext X (those three). Drake’s diss track Not Like Us, which Drake had previously surpassed Chappell Roan’s Pink Pony Club, set the record for her first UK number one single.
McRae’s Sports Car (3), Lady Gaga’s Abracadabra (4), and Benson Boone’s Beautiful Things (3), made up the rest of the UK singles chart. Fender started his career in 2013 with three UK singles and three UK singles, and he is most well known for his songs, Hypersonic Missiles, Seventeen Going Under, and Homesick, which Noah Kahan co-produced.
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