President Bola Tinubu has forwarded the names of three non-career ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation.
The nominees are Kayode Aare (Ogun State), Aminu Dalhatu (Jigawa State), and Ayodele Oke (Oyo State).
The letter was read during plenary by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
Akpabio has, therefore, directed the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs to review the nominations and report back to the chamber within one week.
This is the first list of ambassadorial nominees sent to the Senate by Tinubu since he became the President on May 29, 2023.
There had been calls on the President to appoint ambassadors and high commissioners for foreign missions.
Concerns over the non-appointment of ambassors were reignited in the wake of the threat by
A former Nigerian External Affairs Minister, Bolaji Akinyemi, had argued that, despite internet access to information, diplomacy still required personal ambassadorial contact.
“I believe credible appointments should be made to the vacant ambassadorial posts. We need to fill them,” Akinyemi said during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today in September. (Channels)
The twenty-four schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, in Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, have been rescued.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed this in a statement issued on Tuesday.
He said the President commended the security agencies for their efforts in securing the freedom of the victims and called on them to intensify operations to rescue students who are still in captivity.
“I am relieved that all the 24 girls have been accounted for. Now, we must urgently deploy more boots on the ground in vulnerable areas to prevent further kidnappings. My government will provide all necessary support to achieve this,” the statement quoted the President as saying.
PUNCH Online had reported that bandits stormed the school hostel last Monday, abducting 24 female students.
Following the attack, Tinubu ordered the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to relocate to Kebbi to coordinate rescue efforts, commended security agencies for the series of releases but warned that the job was not yet done.
In the days that followed, gunmen struck a Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, abducting 38 worshippers during a vigil, while another gang raided St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Agwara LGA of Niger State, seizing over 300 pupils and teachers, according to the police and the Catholic Diocese of Kontagora.
The attacks sparked national outrage and renewed calls for stronger protection of schools in rural areas, especially in the North-West, where banditry remains widespread. (Punch)
At least eight people have been abducted during a late-night raid on Biresawa village in the Tsanyawa Local Government Area of Kano State, leaving the community and its neighbours gripped by fear and uncertainty.
Locals described the attackers as heavily armed, storming the village between 11 pm and midnight on Monday.
“They came as usual, and from our findings so far, two males and six females were taken away by the bandits. Up till now, there is no news on their whereabouts,” a community source said.
One of the victims’ relatives, Kabiru Usman, recounted that the bandits approached from neighbouring Tsundu village.
“They came on foot, armed with guns. They kidnapped my wife, Umma; my 17-year-old daughter, Fati; my brother’s wife; and two other women. We tried to stop them, but our weapons were no match for them,” he recalled.
Usman added that residents had alerted security agencies after noticing unusual movement.
“Before the attack occurred, we received a report that they were heading towards us, and we notified the police and military in advance,” he said.
Other communities, including Sarmawa, Yan Chibi, and Gano villages, also experienced attacks. A Yan Chibi resident narrated how dozens of motorcycle-riding bandits stormed the area.
“About 50 bandits riding motorcycles came into our community, shooting in the air. We all ran for safety and later discovered that they had abducted some people, mostly women. I can’t tell the exact number, but over 10 people were taken,” he recounted.
A member of the local vigilante group said they had been alerted to the presence of “strange faces” in the area and mobilised in anticipation of an attack.
However, after the abductions, the bandits escaped into neighbouring Katsina State, forcing the vigilantes and residents to retreat.
“Many families have adopted the strategy of not sleeping in their homes at night,” the vigilante added, highlighting the climate of fear that now grips the region following recent attacks in Shanono and Bagwai LGAs.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Kano, Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, confirmed the incident, noting that investigations are ongoing and the exact number of abducted victims has not yet been officially determined. (Channels)
Ukrainian sumo wrestler Danylo Yavhusishyn said Monday that he had surprised even himself by becoming the first from his country to win a tournament in the ancient Japanese sport.
The 21-year-old, who fled the war in Ukraine three years ago, is set to be promoted to sumo’s second-highest rank this week after winning the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament.
The victory earned Yavhusishyn, who is known by his ring name Aonishiki, his first title in only his 14th tournament.
He did it by beating Mongolian grand champion Hoshoryu on Sunday.
“To be quite honest I wanted to win the tournament but I didn’t really think that I could,” he told reporters in Fukuoka. “I’m really happy.”
Yavhusishyn was born in central Ukraine and took up sumo at the age of seven, becoming a national champion at 17.
His age meant he narrowly avoided Ukraine’s military draft for men aged 18 and older after Russia invaded and he sought refuge in Germany, before moving to Japan.
His parents stayed in Germany and he arrived in Japan knowing nothing of the language.
Yavhusishyn said he spoke to his parents after winning the tournament and that he had also received messages from friends in Ukraine.
“I’ve had lots but I haven’t been able to reply to them all yet,” he said. “It will take time to reply to them all but I’ll start doing them one by one after this.”
Yavhusishyn became the second Ukraine-born professional sumo wrestler when he made his debut in July 2023, following in the footsteps of Serhii Sokolovskyi, better known as Shishi.
Yavhusishyn’s promotion to sumo’s upper divisions was the fifth fastest since the current system of six tournaments a year was introduced in 1958.
He kept his title hopes alive at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament by beating Hoshoryu on the penultimate day, then triumphed over the Mongolian again to clinch the title.
“It was the last tournament of the year, so I wanted to give a good account of myself so that I wouldn’t end the year with any regrets,” said Yavhusishyn. (JapanToday)
The Bauchi State Police Command has confirmed the death of five officers and the neutralisation of several bandits following an ambush in Sabon Sara village, Darazo Local Government Area of the state.
This was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil.
According to Wakil, the incident occurred on November 22, 2025, when combined police tactical units, acting on intelligence, embarked on a visibility patrol to prevent and manage farmer–herder conflict around the Sabon Sara axis.
He said a distress report from a Good Samaritan earlier alerted the Command that personnel from the Rapid Response Squad; 10 PMF, Bauchi; the Anti-Kidnapping Unit; and the State Intelligence Department had been ambushed by unidentified Fulani youths during the operation.
The ambush led to the death of five officers: Ahmad Muhammad (SID), ASP Mustapha Muhammad (10 PMF), Inspector Amarhel Yunusa (10 PMF), Inspector Idris Ahmed (10 PMF), and Corporal Isah Muazu (AKU).
“The injured are currently receiving medical attention, while the bodies of the fallen officers have been deposited at the mortuary.”
He added that efforts were underway to track and apprehend the attackers, assuring the public that the police command remained committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Wakil noted that the Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, had visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment and commiserated with the families of the slain officers, while restating the command’s resolve to uphold its mandate of protecting lives and property. (Punch)
Everton survived an astonishing moment of madness at Old Trafford on Monday when Idrissa Gueye was sent off for slapping teammate Michael Keane to beat Manchester United 1-0.
The Senegal midfielder was shown his marching orders by referee Tony Harrington in the 13th minute after putting his hand to Keane’s face following an angry altercation.
The home crowd anticipated waves of attack but United failed to take advantage of their numerical advantage, proving toothless against David Moyes’ battling team.
Instead it was 10-man Everton who found the net, taking the lead courtesy of a wonderful strike by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the 29th minute.
Dewsbury-Hall received the ball and surged towards goal, beating Bruno Fernandes and Leny Yoro before bending the ball into the top corner.
United huffed and puffed for the rest of the half, with Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford clawing away a Fernandes shot from distance as the half-time approached.
Ruben Amorim, marking the first anniversary of his maiden game in charge of United, brought on Mason Mount for Noussair Mazraoui at half-time but his team created little despite dominating possession.
Amorim threw on midfielder Kobbie Mainoo and Diogo Dalot for Casemiro and Yoro in the 58th minute but still United looked blunt.
Pickford kept out a powerful Joshua Zirkzee header with just over 10 minutes of normal time to go and Everton hung on for a famous win.
United came into the match at Old Trafford on the back of a five-game unbeaten run.
Everton suffered a big blow in just the 10th minute when they lost captain Seamus Coleman.
But worse was to follow three minutes later with the scarcely believable bust-up between Gueye and Keane.
Gueye is the first Premier League player to be sent off for fighting with a teammate since 2008.
The Premier League Match Centre posted on X: “The referee’s call of red card to Gueye for violent conduct was checked and confirmed by VAR –- with the action deemed to be a clear strike to the face of Keane.” (JapanToday)
A total of 201 documentary features, 86 international features and 35 animated features are eligible for Oscar recognition this season in the best documentary feature, best international feature and best animated feature categories, respectively, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Friday.
The only time more documentaries were deemed eligible — 238 — was the year in which the pandemic led to an extension of the period of eligibility from 12 to 14 months (Jan. 1, 2020 to Feb. 28, 2021) and docs that did not play in theaters were considered.
This year’s list of eligible documentary features includes titles that have dominated at the doc community’s precursor awards, including Netflix’s The Perfect Neighbor and Apocalypse in the Tropics, Apple’s Come See Me in the Good Light and Neon’s Orwell: 2+2=5. It also includes two acclaimed films made by celebrities about their famous parents, HBO’s My Mom Jayne and Apple’s Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, which were directed by Mariska Hargitay and Ben Stiller, respectively. And there are several titles related to recent turmoil in the Middle East, including Hemdale/Metallux’s Torn: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on New York City Streets and the self-distributed Coexistence, My Ass!, Holding Liat and Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk.
This year’s list of eligible documentary features includes titles that have dominated at the doc community’s precursor awards, including Netflix’s The Perfect Neighbor and Apocalypse in the Tropics, Apple’s Come See Me in the Good Light and Neon’s Orwell: 2+2=5. It also includes two acclaimed films made by celebrities about their famous parents, HBO’s My Mom Jayne and Apple’s Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, which were directed by Mariska Hargitay and Ben Stiller, respectively. And there are several titles related to recent turmoil in the Middle East, including Hemdale/Metallux’s Torn: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on New York City Streets and the self-distributed Coexistence, My Ass!, Holding Liat and Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk.
The most glaring omission from the list: The Eyes of Ghana, a documentary directed by the two-time Oscar-winning documentarian Ben Proudfoot, which is still seeking distribution. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that a late decision was made to hold the film for next awards season. Other high-profile docs that were expected to be on the list but are not, either because they were not submitted or because they failed to meet the eligibility requirements, include A24’s Marc by Sofia, Oscar winner Sofia Coppola’s portrait of Marc Jacobs, and Oscar winner Questlove’s Hulu film Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius).
The list of eligible international features includes five widely lauded films that are being distributed in the U.S. by Parasite backer Neon and could conceivably all earn nominations: Norway’s Sentimental Value, Brazil’s The Secret Agent, South Korea’s No Other Choice, Spain’s Sirāt and France’s It Was Just an Accident. It Was Just an Accident, which won the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, was directed by Jafar Panahi, a filmmaker from Iran but does not reflect well on the country; as a result, Iran submitted the much lower-profile Cause of Death: Unknown, while France submitted It Was Just an Accident, on the basis that much of the film’s financing was French.
Other countries that made interesting submissions include Japan (GKIDS’ Kokuho, a film about Kabuki performers, which is now the highest-grossing non-animated film in that country’s history); Iraq (Sony Classics’ The President’s Cake won two prizes at Cannes); Belgium (Music Box’s Young Mothers could bring the brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne the first Oscar noms of their distinguished careers); and Taiwan (Netflix’s Left-Handed Girl, which was co-written by Anora Oscar winner Sean Baker).
Meanwhile, at least three countries submitted acclaimed documentaries for best international feature consideration: Ukraine (PBS’ 2000 Meters to Andriivka, a doc about a Ukrainian platoon’s fight to retake a city from Russian invaders, which was directed by Mstyslav Chernov, who won the best doc feature Oscar two years ago); North Macdeonia (Nat Geo’s The Tale of Silyan, from Tamara Kotevska, whose 2019 film Honeyland was nominated for best international feature and doc feature Oscars); and Denmark (Mr. Nobody Against, a film about Vladimir Putin’s propaganda efforts, which is still seeking U.S. distribution).
And the list of animated features includes giant blockbusters like Crunchyroll’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, which is now the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time and the highest-grossing international film in the U.S. of all time, as well as the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2025; streaming hits like Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, which is now that streamer’s most watched film ever; acclaimed indies like Neon’s Arco, a French-language critics’ darling that counts Natalie Portman among its producers; and highly-anticipated forthcoming titles like Disney’s Zootopia 2.
Among the animated films that were expected to contend but are not on the list of eligible titles, either because they were not submitted or because they failed to meet the eligibility requirements, are A24’s Ne Zha 2, Sony’s Paddington in Peru and Paramount’s Smurfs.
The documentary feature and international feature categories are winnowed down to shortlists before nominations, while the animated feature category goes straight to nominations. Shortlist voting will span Dec. 8-12, 2025, and the announcement of the shortlists will come on Dec. 16. Nominations voting in all categories will span Jan. 12-16, 2026, and the announcement of the nominations will come on Jan. 22, 2026. (THR)
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola says he regrets losing his cool with a cameraman in the aftermath of Manchester City’s 2–1 defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday.
The City manager stormed onto the pitch at St James’ Park, angered by what he believed were multiple contentious decisions, a denied penalty, a handball shout, and a marginal offside, all of which went against his side.
According to BBC Sport on Monday, the Spaniard marched onto the pitch at the end, speaking with referee Sam Barrott, while he also pulled the headphones off of a cameraman to say something into his ear.
“I apologised. I feel embarrassed, ashamed when I see it. I don’t like it. I apologised after one second to the cameraman. I am who I am.
“After 1,000 games, I’m not a perfect person; I make huge mistakes. The reason why is I want to defend my team and my club,” Guardiola said of the incident, but did not reveal what was said.
There were flare-ups involving the players, too, with City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma being ushered down the tunnel and Magpies midfielder Joelinton being held back by his manager, Eddie Howe, while Guardiola also had words to say to Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes.
Guardiola added: “We have known Bruno for many, many years, and every time after the game, even at the Etihad, we talk in the tunnel or wherever we talk, always. I don’t know what happened.
“Our paths always cross, and I always have a good relationship with him. I love it. I’m an emotional guy, I love to talk and move my hands and my arms and everything.” (Punch)
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has officially joined the coalition party, the African Democratic Party (ADC), just 17 months to the 2027 general elections.
The 78-year-old politician disclosed this in a short post on his official X handle on Monday, attaching pictures of him holding the party’s membership card with the brief caption, “It’s official.”
Prior to him joining the coalition, the former VP had been a high-profile member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He, however, resigned from the opposition party on July 16, citing irreconcilable differences that have emerged within the former ruling party.
Atiku explained that he found it necessary to part ways due to the current trajectory the party has taken, which, according to him, diverges from the foundational principles it stood for.
Though Atiku, in July, led the adoption of the ADC as the coalition platform for opposition figures to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027, he and other prominent opposition figures, such as Peter Obi and Babachir Lawal, had delayed their formal registration with the party.
Atiku and some other coalition leaders were conspicuously absent at the unveiling of the ADC National Secretariat in the Wuse area of Abuja.
Their absence had fuelled speculation, suggesting the unseriousness of the coalition leaders to sack the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the next general elections.
The opposition coalition officially adopted the ADC as its political platform on July 2, 2025, to contest the presidential and other elections in 2027.
The coalition said it was set to rescue the country from collapse and rebuild its democracy.
“Let it be known to all that this coalition of national political opposition groups goes beyond gaining political power. It is a concerted effort to rebuild the crumbling pillars of Nigeria’s democracy.
“The mission is clear: Rescue Nigeria. Rebuild Nigeria. Return power to the people,” said ADC Chairman and ex-Senate President, David Mark. (Channels)
Arsenal moved six points clear at the top of the Premier League after a 4–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, with new signing Eberechi Eze scoring a brilliant hat-trick at the Emirates Stadium.
Eze, who joined Arsenal from Crystal Palace in the summer, was the star of the derby. Leandro Trossard opened the scoring in the first half after controlling a pass and finishing into the far corner. Minutes later, Eze made it 2–0 with a powerful right-footed shot from the edge of the box.
Just 35 seconds into the second half, Eze struck again, placing another low shot into the bottom corner to give Arsenal full control.
Tottenham pulled one back when Richarlison spotted goalkeeper David Raya off his line and scored from long range. It was Spurs’ first shot of the match.
Arsenal later restored their three-goal lead as Eze completed his hat-trick with another composed finish, becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in this derby in nearly 50 years.
The win gives Arsenal 29 points from 12 matches. They have now won nine games this season and are level with Manchester City on the most goals scored (24). Tottenham sit ninth with 18 points after suffering their fourth defeat of the campaign.
Arsenal will face Bayern Munich next in the Champions League on Wednesday before travelling to Chelsea in the Premier League next weekend. (Punch)
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