Author: starconnect
Admin I Friday, June 19, 2026 PORT HARCOURT – The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, says that the shift from traditional fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources, particularly natural gas, creates economic opportunities for the Niger Delta region. Speaking during a courtesy visit by the Coordinating Director of the Decade of Gas Initiative, Mr Ed Ubong, at the NDDC’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, Ogbuku, said that the Commission was harnessing the Niger Delta region’s abundant natural resources to drive economic growth and sustainable development. The Managing Director stated that the Commission has…
BY SCM REPORTER I 19 June 2026 A MONSTER stepmother who scalded a defenceless five-year-old girl to death in a hot bath has finally been jailed for 12 years—after a staggering 48-year wait for justice. Evil Janice Nix, 67, thought she had got away with the perfect crime after the horrific 1978 killing of little Andrea Bernard was originally ruled a tragic accident. But the wicked stepmother’s web of lies collapsed after Andrea’s brave older brother Desmond shattered nearly half a century of silence. He came forward to expose the sickening abuse they suffered behind closed doors, triggering a dramatic…
By SCM Foreign Desk TEHRAN — In a major operational step toward unwinding a monthslong maritime standoff that threatened global energy markets, Iran announced late Thursday that it will completely waive transit fees for commercial vessels passing through the strategic Strait of Hormuz for the next 60 days. The move, directed by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and reported by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), marks the first tangible implementation phase of the newly minted “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)” signed electronically this week by U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Under…
By SCM Foreign Desk WASHINGTON — The United States has formally lifted its intense maritime blockade on all commercial traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports and coastal areas. The operational shift, announced by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), serves as the first major implementation step of a freshly signed framework agreement between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending weeks of devastating regional warfare. In an official statement released on X, CENTCOM confirmed that American naval forces have ceased all blockade enforcement efforts in the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. ”Today, U.S. forces lifted the blockade on all maritime…
By Digital News Desk Published: June 19, 2026 JERUSALEM — A high-ranking Israeli military officer and three additional soldiers were killed early Friday morning when an explosive drone or anti-tank missile struck their vehicle in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces announced. The deadly cross-border incident underscores the persistent volatility along the frontier and threatens to upend delicate, high-stakes diplomatic efforts between Washington, Jerusalem, and Tehran aimed at stabilizing the region. The military identified the fallen officer as Lieutenant Colonel Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, 32, from the northern Israeli community of Beit HaShita. Lt. Col. Ben Simhon was a…
Admin I Friday, June 19, 2026 IJEBU-ODE – The crisis rocking the process of picking a new Awujale of Ijebuland has widened, as the Afobaje Council on Friday lambasted the Olisa of Ijebu Ode, Chief Rasheed Adesanya, for sending a letter to the state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun and referring to himself as the head of the Council. The Olisa had in a correspondence to the state governor, signed the letter as the head of ilamuren kingmakers. The Council led by Chief Sunny Kuku, however dismissed that notion, saying that the Council has not conferred any such rights on…
Admin I Friday, June 19, 2026 LAGOS, Nigeria – Union Bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer sat with 30 of Nigeria’s most promising young leaders for a frank conversation on character, relationships and the discipline of growth. Out of 25,000 applicants, only 30 earned a place. That single figure tells you how rare the room was when Yetunde B. Oni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank of Nigeria, recently sat down with a cohort of the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy. The Academy, a Lagos State Government initiative established in honour of Alhaji Lateef Kayode…
By Our Special Correspondent at the Estadio Guadalajara The World Cup exploded into life in Guadalajara last night, leaving an army of forty-five thousand, five hundred and twenty-two fans in green shirts screaming themselves hoarse. Co-hosts Mexico became the very first nation to officially punch their ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32, but they owed it all to a moment of pure, unadulterated madness from South Korea’s goalkeeper, and a late display of breathtaking defiance from their own teenage sensation between the sticks. Luis Romo was the man who administrative history will record as…
BY OUR MAN AT THE BC PLACE CO-HOSTS Canada rewrote the history books in Vancouver, clinical star striker Jonathan David firing a magnificent hat-trick to spearhead an emphatic six-nil demolition of a chaotic, nine-man Qatar. It was the tournament co-hosts’ first-ever victory at a men’s World Cup finals, matching a feat not seen since Geoff Hurst in 1966 by netting a treble on home soil, though the joyous celebration before a roaring crowd of 52,497 was severely soured by a sickening, tournament-ending leg injury to midfielder Ismaël Koné. Jesse Marsch’s rampant Canucks laid down an early marker after being…
Titus Eleweke I Friday, June 19, 2026 AWKA, Anambra – The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has indefinitely suspended the Office of the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra and the position of Director of Radio Biafra, both previously held by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, until further notice. In a statement issued by the Head of the Directorate of State of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Chikadibia Edoziem, the DOS said the indefinite suspension was intended to safeguard the movement’s operations and mission, protect IPOB family members worldwide,especially those in Biafraland and prevent any security breach or emergency…