DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Nigeria's Tinubu has unassailable lead in provisional election results - Reuters tally
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LAGOS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Nigeria's ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu has an unassailable lead in the presidential election held over the weekend, a Reuters tally of provisional results from all 36 states and the federal capital Abuja showed on Tuesday. Tinubu of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) of outgoing president Muhammadu Buhari got about 35% of the vote, trailed by Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) with 30%. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, an outsider popular with the youth and educated voters, got 26%. Tinubu's potential victory extends the All Progressives Congress party's (APC) grip on power in Africa's top oil producer and most populous nation, though he inherits a litany of problems from outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari. Reporting by Hamza Ibrahim in Kano, Ahmed Kingimi in Maiduguri, Anamesere Igboeroteonwu in Onitsha Tife Owolabi in Yenagoa, Tim Cocks and Macdonald Dzirutwe in Lagos; Writing by Tim CocksOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Partial results of disputed Nigeria election show Tinubu in lead
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAGOS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Provisional results from Nigeria's disputed presidential election over the weekend showed Bola Tinubu from the ruling party in the lead, a Reuters tally of votes in 25 of the country's 36 states showed on Tuesday. Electoral commission results from the states showed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress party (APC) was ahead with about 36% or 7 million of valid votes counted, with Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) trailing close behind with 30% or nearly 6 million valid votes. Peter Obi of the smaller Labour Party got 20% or about 3.8 million votes. More results were expected to show the winner later on Tuesday. INEC had promised to upload results directly from each polling unit to its website in the election to replace outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari, but most were unable to do so immediately.

☆ Nigeria's Peter Obi wins in Lagos state in presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LAGOS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi, whose campaign attracted young people and urban voters fed up with corrupt politics, won most votes in the commercial hub of Lagos state, where Africa's biggest city is located. Nigeria's electoral commission began announcing state-by-state results in the national elections on Sunday, though it is not expected to name a victor in the race to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari for several days. Obi of the Labour Party got 582,454 votes, just ahead of 572,606 for former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu for the governing All Progressives Congress party, electoral commission data showed on Monday. He was most popular with the youth, but especially urban, relatively educated voters with access to smartphones and social media. Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nigerian parties criticise slow pace of weekend election count
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Macdonald Dzirutwe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAGOS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Nigeria was to resume announcing presidential election results on Monday amid complaints of irregularities as opposition parties criticised the slow pace at which the results were being uploaded on to the election commission's website. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has so far released official results from only one of 36 states. By 0830 GMT, INEC had uploaded results from 52,236 polling units out of a total 178,846, its website showed. "We take full responsibility for the problems and regret the distress that they have caused the candidates, political parties and the electorate," said INEC. In northern Kano state, police said suspected thugs had attacked a campaign office for a smaller opposition party and set the building on fire, killing two people.

☆ Factbox: Results so far from Nigeria's presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LAGOS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Nigeria's electoral commission has announced the following results following the country's presidential election, with the final tally expected within five days of the close of voting on Sunday. Below are tallies for the top three candidates - Bola Tinubu from the All Progressives Congress party (APC), main opposition leader Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Labour Party's (LP) Peter Obi. EKITI STATEBola Tinubu (APC) 201,494Atiku Abubakar (PDP) 89,554Peter Obi (LP) 11,397Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Tim Cocks; Editing by Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Voting scheduled to start in Nigeria election, delays seen
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LAGOS, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Voting was scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) in Nigeria's presidential and parliamentary election, though Reuters reporters in several locations across the country saw polling stations that did not open on time, and in some cases queues of voters with no election officials in sight. In past Nigerian elections, voters in some areas complained that polling stations opened hours late or did not materialise at all. Reporting by Abraham Achirga and Hamza Ibrahim in Kano, Temilade Adelaja and Seun Sanni in Anambra, Tim Cocks, James Oatway and MacDonald Dzirutwe in Lagos Writing by Estelle Shirbon Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nigerians vote for new president, delays seen at some polling stations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Anamasere Igboereteonwu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/8] People looks for their names on voters list put up on a wall at a polling unit, during Nigeria's Presidential election in Agulu, Anambra state, Nigeria February 25, 2023. Polling stations were scheduled to open at 8:30 a.m. (0730 GMT), though Reuters reporters at locations across the country saw a mixed picture, with delays of several hours in some places while voting got underway more swiftly at others. In the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the vice presidential candidate from the ruling party, Kashim Shettima, arrived to cast his ballot but was unable to do so as his designated polling station had not opened. In another northeastern city, Yola, opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar was able to vote, surrounded by a chaotic scrum of media and supporters. Vote-counting will begin as soon as polls close and results will be posted outside polling stations, according to the Independent National Election Commission (INEC).

☆ Ahead of Nigeria elections, residents stock up on food, essentials
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Abraham Achirga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In past elections, violence has flared in Kano, a largely Muslim state, after results were announced. [1/3] Vendors selling fruits and vegetables are pictured in a market, ahead of Nigeria's presidential election in Kano, Nigeria February 24, 2023. Widespread insecurity is a major concern for voters, although the army and police have promised a peaceful election. Ejike, 22, was among last-minute shoppers before markets closed in Anambra's capital Awka but was unable to buy what she wanted. "We just place it in God's hands although we know that there is definitely going to be killing."

☆ Nigerian soldiers patrol ahead of election, land borders shut
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Camillus Eboh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Internal movements have been restricted to the polling units. There will also be no movement of persons across national borders," the ministry of interior said in a statement. The candidate for Enugu East district and the driver of a campaign minibus belonging to another party were killed in coordinated attacks in Enugu State in the southeast. "Materials already delivered for the senatorial election will remain in the custody of the central bank in the state until the new date for the election," Yakubu told a news conference. Flanked by the head of the police, Yakubu said INEC was on guard against possible attacks on its electronic system.

☆ Ukraine War, Global Tensions Lift European Arms Makers’ Orders, Share Prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Alistair Macdonald | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON—Europe’s defense contractors are boosting orders and enjoying surging stock market valuations, lifted by higher government spending and the expectation of more sales to come as the Ukraine war grinds on. BAE Systems PLC, Europe’s largest defense contractor, was the latest in a parade of big arms makers to post a large jump in annual orders for 2022. It joined peers such as Sweden’s Saab AB and Norway’s Kongsberg Gruppen ASA in benefiting from generally higher military spending around the world—particularly from some European countries—amid the Ukraine war.

[1/6] Godwin Nnamdi, 27-year-old fitness trainer and first-time voter, poses for a portrait at a gym in Lagos, Nigeria February 15, 2023. But his active social media campaign and promises to break with Nigeria's gerontocratic past have endeared him to many younger voters. The young and tech-savvy, first-time voters rallying around Obi call themselves the "Obi-dients" - a somewhat incongruous choice for an anti-establishment movement. The former banker has promised jobs, skills training and funding to young Nigerians, but so too have Tinubu and Atiku. If Obi loses, Ndukwe said he would join the wave of skilled Nigerians leaving the country in its perpetual brain drain.

☆ Ukraine’s Troops Came From Antarctica and Ballet, and It Still Needs More Fighters
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Alistair Macdonald | Oksana Pyrozhok | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BAKHMUT, Ukraine—A scientist who swapped Antarctica for Bakhmut, a famed ballet dancer and the actor who dubbed Captain America into Ukrainian all left stellar careers to fight on the front line. All three ended up hospitalized or dead, highlighting that while ordinary Ukrainians are committed, fighting with an improvised army poses danger not only for combatants but also for Ukraine’s prospects on the battlefield as it mobilizes fresh volunteers and conscripts.

☆ Ukraine’s Troops Came From Concert Halls and Antarctic Labs, and It Still Needs More Fighters
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Alistair Macdonald | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BAKHMUT, Ukraine—A scientist who swapped Antarctica for Bakhmut, a famed ballet dancer and the actor who dubbed Captain America into Ukrainian all left stellar careers to fight on the front-line. All three ended up hospitalized or dead, highlighting that while ordinary Ukrainians are committed, fighting with an improvised army poses danger not only for combatants but also for Ukraine’s prospects on the battlefield as it mobilizes fresh volunteers and conscripts.

☆ Exclusive: Guyana aims to reclaim, offer 20% of Exxon oil block
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The group's contract allows Guyana to reclaim unexplored portions this year, Jagdeo said in an interview from the country's capital. Guyana is pursuing a multi-pronged strategy to lessen the consortium's grip on the country's oil resources, Jagdeo said, and spur new oil production. The decision to reclaim existing Exxon blocks signals urgency to speed development. Guyana also has development areas outside the soon-to-be-auctioned 14 blocks, and is prepared to offer them to "these countries on a bilateral level." The PSA draft will go through public consultation through March 8 and is expected to be finalized before an April 14 auction, Jagdeo said.

☆ Nigeria's Buhari grants 60-day extension to turn in old banknotes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Felix Onuah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nigeria's central bank decided last year to start circulating newly designed 1,000 ($2.17) 500 and 200 naira notes. The deadline to turn in old notes has already been extended once to Feb. 10, after which they would no longer have been legal tender. Buhari said in a television broadcast that old 200 notes would continue to circulate in the economy alongside new 1,000, 500 and 200 notes until April 10. But the old 1,000 and 500 notes could only be swapped at the central bank and "designated points", he said. The comments contrasted with last week's Supreme Court interim ruling that said all old notes remain legal tender until it hears a challenge brought by some state governments.

☆ Fact Check-Claim that ABC ordered to pay $208 million to Roseanne Barr stems from satire
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A story about ABC being ordered by a jury to pay $208 million to Roseanne Barr for “stealing her show” originates from a satirical website, but users online are sharing the claim as if it were true. A tweet said: “ABC was ordered by The Jury to pay $208 million to Roseanne Barr for stealing her Show...” (here). Some of the posts link to a story on Freedom Fictions that says Roseanne Barr won “a huge court case against ABC” for “stealing her show, ‘The Conners’” (archive.ph/jp4tH). Reuters has reached out to Roseanne Barr and ABC’s The Conners for comment. A story about ABC being ordered to pay Roseanne Barr $208 million originates from a satirical website.

☆ Explainer: What is at stake for investors in Nigeria's election?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Rachel Savage | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Multiple exchange rates, widespread insecurity and low oil production due to massive crude theft are all problems that worry investors. Another focus is soaring fuel subsidy costs that devour government revenues and drive up debt. "No investor's going to want to buy into a market where you can't sell stock and get your money out," he said. Foreign investors held 16% of shares on Nigeria's stock exchange last year, sharply down from 58% in 2014, Nigerian Exchange Group data showed. Many investors, however, were cautiously optimistic that Nigeria would see improvements, whoever wins on Feb. 25.

☆ Opposition supporters attacked in Nigeria ahead of rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LAGOS, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Nigerian presidential contender Peter Obi of the opposition Labour Party said his supporters were on Saturday attacked and injured ahead of a rally in the commercial capital Lagos, a stronghold of the ruling party. Previous elections in Africa's most populous nation have been fraught with violence between supporters of rival parties and a number of instances of political violence have occurred ahead of the Feb. 25 parliamentary and presidential vote. "We cannot continue to tolerate attacks on members of the political opposition, often fuelled by the incendiary rhetoric of political leaders," Obi said in a statement, urging police to investigate. At the rally, Obi told supporters he would reform the police to make it more professional, end the oil thefts that have hobbled production in the Niger Delta, and improve security to allow farmers to boost agriculture output. Obi will face Bola Tinubu, the former governor of Lagos and the ruling All Progressives Congress candidate, and former vice president Atiku Abubakar from the main opposition People's Democratic Party.

☆ Olaplex customers just filed a lawsuit alleging hair loss. See how other consumer suits have played out.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Olaplex has been sued by customers who alleged its products damaged their hair and scalp. Companies like Thinx, P&G, and Unilever have set aside millions of dollars to settle consumer suits. The suit's allegations follow a pattern familiar in other consumer lawsuits, which have also targeted companies' advertising and the ingredients in their products. In that case, customers said Devacurl's curly hair products contained ingredients that released formaldehyde and caused skin irritation, and said the company had quietly changed ingredients and formed a committee to handle negative publicity. Devacurl has said on its settlement website that it "vigorously denies" claims of health problems like hair loss and scalp problems.

In part due to disruptions in supply stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, street drugs are increasingly laced with toxic or unknown ingredients, resulting in drug users overdosing and dying. Police in British Columbia file thousands of drug possession charges annually. Canada faced the challenge of an adulterated illicit drug supply before the United States did and has been quicker to adopt harm reduction tools to address drug overdose cases, said Lindsey Richardson, a research scientist at the B.C. Some of them still buy street drugs. 's latest plan is of no help to him because he runs the risk of taking something deadly each time he buys street drugs.

☆ Eco-friendly Nigerian artist turns plastic flip-flops into portraits
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Nigerian artist Eugene Komboye creates artworks using discarded plastic flip-flop sandals in his studio in Abeokuta, Ogun state, Nigeria, January 21, 2023. REUTERS/Seun SanniABEOKUTA, Nigeria, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Eugene Komboye, a Nigerian artist, is turning discarded plastic flip-flop sandals into colourful portraits in an effort to help clean up the environment in a country where plastic pollution is prevalent. Flip-flops are the footwear of choice for many Nigerians andKomboye, 30, sources his material mostly from dump sites, landfills and river banks. Some customers come to his studio with photographs which he will use to create a personalised portrait. Reporting by Seun Sanni, writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe, editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Afghan women prosecutors once seen as symbols of democracy find asylum in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Afghan prosecutor S.M., who left her 4 years old daughter with her grandmother in Afghanistan while escaping to Peshawar, looks down in Islamabad, Pakistan, September 22, 2022. "Most Afghan women and girls that remain in Afghanistan don't have the right to study, to have a social life or even go to a beauty salon," Sharar said. due to fears over her safety and who specialised in gender violence and violence against children said, "I was the only female prosecutor in the province... The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was not in a position to comment on specific cases. "The Government of Pakistan has not agreed to recognise newly arriving Afghans as refugees," UNHCR said in a statement.

☆ Ukraine Denounces Western Executives at Russian Companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Alistair Macdonald | Ben Dummett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A street in Moscow. Kyiv says it is asking Western governments to talk to foreign executives about their continued role in Russia. Ukraine is ratcheting up pressure on Western executives who have retained posts at Russian companies, saying their presence is indirectly supporting Moscow’s war effort. Many Western executives cut ties with Russia after it invaded Ukraine last year, sometimes in opposition to the war or to comply with Western sanctions. Others remained for various reasons, including saying they had a fiduciary duty to their investors, a responsibility to local employees or yearslong ties to Russia that were hard to break.

☆ Factbox: Nigeria election 2023: what you need to know and what's at stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Here is what you need to know about the election. Tinubu and Atiku have significant powerbases across Nigeria, while Obi is banking on frustration over the economy and insecurity to turn voters against the two major parties. Obi, who left the PDP last year and was Atiku's running mate in 2019, casts himself as a reformist willing to overhaul Nigeria's political system. But on policy, there is little separating the main candidates. Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by James Macharia Chege, Gareth Jones and Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nigerian artist uses AI to re-imagine life for the elderly
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Angela Ukomadu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] An undated handout picture by Nigerian artist Malik Afegbua, created with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), shows elderly models walking on a runway, as part of his Elder series. Courtesy of Malik Afegbua/Handout via REUTERSLAGOS, Jan 30 (Reuters) - A Nigerian artist is using artificial intelligence to re-imagine life for African elderly people by showcasing near real-life pictures and videos of them walking down the fashion ramp and on the beach. Malik Afegbua, who is also a film maker, said because many elderly people were marginalised in society, especially in the fashion world, he began to imagine how they would look if they were models. He said the idea to explore a different world for old people came when his elderly mother fell ill. Using an artificial intelligence app, he started creating content showing a brighter side of old age.

Search resuls for: "Macdonald"

25 mentions found