“This misbegotten Obidient rat also doesn’t know that the fire from GNI building had greater negative impacts on Yoruba traders in the market. The mosque sat adjacent to the GNI building,” he said. Unsafe practices by traders in Lagos marketsAjetunmobi then listed the unsafe practices common with shop owners in Lagos markets and other reasons for frequent fire outbreaks in the state. “Anyone who now claims these market fire tragedies were deliberately planned against only Igbo traders or anyone else is simply crying wolf. The Guardian reported that Governor Sanwo-Olu once again visited the scene of the GNI building fire on Lagos Island, confirming eight dead.

The Benue State Police Command has intensified efforts to curb cult-related violence across the state after two people were killed in a violent confrontation between rival cult groups in Gboko. The Command said it received a distress call at about 4:15 am on Saturday, 3 January 2026, reporting a deadly clash between rival cult factions in Gboko town. According to the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, the clash resulted in the deaths of two adult males. “The Benue State Police Command will not tolerate cult activity or criminality in any form,” the CP warned. The Command reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring peace, security, and order across Benue State.

Revised front and rear endsNo mechanical updates expectedThe Tata Punch Facelift is set for a 13 January, 2026 showcase. Expected to receive few feature enhancements, barring cosmetic updates, here’s all exterior highlights seen in the latest teaser. The DRLs look sharper and more aggressive, but this design language doesn’t look overdone. To the rear, Tata has done away with Y-shaped tail lights. Mechanically, the Punch Facelift will mostly remain unchanged, carrying over the same 1.2L, three-cylinder NA petrol motor (87bhp/113Nm) paired with 5MT/5AT systems.

His government accused the United States of an “extremely serious military aggression” which follows a months-long campaign of increasing military and economic pressure by Trump. Proof of lifeVenezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez on Saturday called on the United States to issue “proof of life” of leader Nicolas Maduro, who was captured by US forces, according to President Donald Trump. Trump said Maduro and Flores had been captured by US forces and flown out of Venezuela. Russia also demanded “immediate” clarification about the circumstances of the reported US abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during an attack ordered by Trump. Russia, Iran and other countries had also condemned the US strike, with Spain offering to mediate for a peaceful settlement.

Trump’s announcement came hours after a lightning attack in which special forces grabbed Maduro and his wife, while airstrikes pounded multiple sites, stunning the capital city. In another surprise, Trump indicated that US troops could be deployed in Venezuela. Although the operation is being framed as a law-enforcement action, Trump made clear that regime change and Venezuela’s oil riches are the major goals. Maduro, 63, and his wife “gave up” without a struggle, and there was “no loss of US life,” he said. Maduro — in power since 2013 after taking over from leftist mentor Hugo Chavez — long accused Trump of seeking regime change in order to control Venezuela’s huge oil reserves.

Operatives of the Ondo State Police Command have arrested a mother and her son for allegedly attempting to use a 10-year-old boy for money rituals. The suspect, Maria, 53, who is the mother of Adewale, 28, was nabbed in Ile-Oluji, headquarters of the Ile-Oluji/Oke-Igbo Local Government Area of the state, along with her son. Abayomi stated that, “Preliminary investigations revealed that Maria conspired with her son, Adewale, to engage the services of an herbalist to use the victim for a money ritual. “Commending the operatives for their swift response and professional conduct, the Commissioner of Police, Ondo State Command, CP Adebowale Lawal, psc(+), mnips, emphasised the critical role of intelligence-led policing in proactive crime prevention. He reassured residents of the Command’s unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety and security of lives and property across the State.

RulesIt might be helpful to believe in absolutes when you’re first writing fiction. I’ve taught creative writing for 35 years, longer than I’ve been publishing books, but I believe in modes of thinking, not rules. At heart, as both fiction writer and teacher, I’m an aphorist and a metaphorist. Real writers write every day – that’s what the director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop told us at our first-day picnic. If the author and characters know a secret and only the reader is left in the dark, that’s a needless mystery.

Suspected political thugs on Friday night invaded a popular hotel in the Orazi axis of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, disrupting a live television interview being conducted by Arise TV on the political situation in the state. Sources said the assailants were specifically searching for Dr. Nwibubasa and the Arise TV cameraman. An Arise TV cameraman, identified simply as Promise, said several broadcast equipment were stolen during the incident. “I had just filed a report from an earlier assignment and immediately started the live interview when two men stormed the place and disrupted the programme,” he said. Confirming the incident, Dr. Nwibubasa said he was safe and credited the timely intervention of the police for preventing further escalation.

Nigeria’s spending on medical tourism recorded a significant decline to 96.2% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to the latest data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria covering January to June of both years. The report obtained by our correspondent on Saturday showed that in the first six months of 2024, medical tourism spending stood at $2.38m, driven largely by a sharp outlay in January. A comparison of both periods shows a sharp contraction of $2.29m, representing a 96.2 per cent decrease in medical tourism spending year-on-year between the first halves of 2024 and 2025. The sustained decline suggests a major shift in outbound medical travel patterns, potentially reflecting tighter foreign exchange conditions, increased domestic healthcare utilisation, or policy and economic pressures limiting overseas medical spending. Overall, medical tourism spending declined by $2.29m, falling from $2.38m in the first half of 2024 to just $0.09m in the corresponding period of 2025, highlighting a pronounced slowdown in Nigerians’ overseas healthcare expenditure.

A former Governor of Enugu State, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, has denied apologising to former Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, in any form or shape. This was after reports (not by The Guardian) surfaced that the former Enugu governor apologised to Obi over previous comments. In a statement in Abuja by his media office, Senator Nnamani described the reports as fabricated, untrue, and having no single iota of truth, but are mere misinformation. At no time, in any forum—public or private—did Senator Chimaroke Nnamani make such an apology or utter the words being attributed to him. “Senator Nnamani does not engage in political revisionism, nor does he apologise for exercising his right to free expression within the bounds of democratic discourse.

Gunmen attacked a village in Plateau State’s Qua’an-Pan Local Government Area, killing seven people and injuring several others on Friday night. Eyewitnesses told PUNCH Online in Jos on Saturday that the incident occurred in Bong village, Doemak District, where the assailants launched a house-to-house attack, targeting women, children and the elderly. Residents described the attackers as heavily armed, while survivors reported that the victims were mostly those who could not escape in time. The attack on Friday is the latest in a series of killings carried out by gunmen in Plateau villages in recent times. Gunmen had, on Christmas Eve, attacked the Bum community in Jos South Local Government Area and killed seven persons as well.

Tunisia, led by their 1998 World Cup player Sami Trabelsi, are yet to display the form that enabled them to qualify with relative ease for this summer’s World Cup. Photograph: ReutersSouth Africa v Cameroon, Sun 7pmHugo Broos, the South Africa coach, led Cameroon to their last Afcon triumph, in Gabon in 2017, so the Belgian is acutely aware of what his team will be up against. “We must learn to have concentration,” Broos said after Bafana-Bafana’s unconvincing 3-2 win over Zimbabwe in their final group match. “This is going to be a big game, a fantastic game for our country,” Rohr told the Guardian. It took a near defeat against Gabon, in their final group game, to shake his players out of complacency.

Dining in the House of Lords canteen just after Labour came to power, one Labour adviser found themselves sitting opposite two Tory peers. In particular, the pair were fuming about the forthcoming abolition of hereditary peers. “Each time it is more or less the same people,” one Labour peer said. Every stage of the bill to abolish hereditary peers Lords has resulted in considerable disruption in the Lords, as well as demands in private meetings for compensation for removed peers. But the Tories will lose 44 hereditary peers at the end of the session in May.

2026 Tata Punch Facelift Teased Ahead Of January 13 Launch | V3CarsTata Motors have released the first teaser for the upcoming Tata Punch 2026. 2026 Tata Punch Facelift Exterior Design UpdatesThe teaser video shows the Punch 2026 with a redesigned grille with horizontal slats, sleeker LED DRLs, and newly shaped LED headlamps inspired by the Punch EV. 2026 Tata Punch Facelift Interior And Feature UpdatesAlthough Tata Motors are yet to reveal the interior of the Punch facelift, previous spy shots have given us a glimpse of what we could expect in terms of upgrades. 2026 Tata Punch Expected PowertrainWe expect the Tata Punch 2026 to retain the current set of powertrain options, which include a 1.2L normal petrol engine with the choice of a 5-speed manual and 5-speed automated manual transmission and a 1.2L CNG bi-fuel option with the 5-speed manual. Tata Punch 2026 Launch, Bookings And Delivery TimelineSo far, Tata have confirmed the Punch facelift will make its debut on January 13.

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has announced it will resume its total and indefinite comprehensive strike from January 12, 2026, following the Federal Government’s failure to implement agreed welfare demands. “NEC resolved to resume TICS 2.0 tagged ‘No Implementation, No Going Back’ with effect from 12th January 2026 by 12:00 am,” the statement read. The association also announced a series of protests to accompany the strike. “NEC has also directed centre-based protests from 12 to 16th January, 2026,” the statement said, adding that regional protests would follow before a national protest organised by the National Officers Committee. As of press time, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare had not issued an official response.