In 2024, private equity firm Verod Capital invested in i-Fitness, a Nigerian gym chain founded in 2015 by the entrepreneur Foluso Ogunwale. Verod co-founder Danladi Verheijen describes the business as one of his favourite investments. Despite operating only around 30 outlets, i-Fitness is already seven times the size of its nearest competitor in West Africa…
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway once carrying roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas, remains effectively closed after the United States and Iran imposed competing blockades. Naval blockades are one of the oldest weapons in warfare, requiring no ground troops or invasion, just the ability to cut off what an enemy…
The US-Israel strikes on Iran have launched one of the most dramatic conflicts in the Middle East in living memory. Aside from military targets, Iranian forces have attacked commercial shipping and infrastructure in the region. The objective is simple: to disrupt oil exports and weaken its opponents’ economies. While the oil market is perfectly capable…
EXPLAINER The dawn-to-dusk fast lasts anywhere from 11.5 to 15.5 hours, depending on where in the world you are. Listen to this article | 3 mins info Published On 15 Feb 202615 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share The Muslim holy month of Ramadan is set to begin on February 18 or…
Banda Aceh, Indonesia — Sharia police caned a couple 140 times each in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Thursday for having sex outside marriage and drinking alcohol, likely one of the severest such punishments since the deeply conservative region adopted Islamic law. Sexual relations between an unmarried couple are strictly outlawed in Aceh, the only place…
During times of conflict, access to healthcare is sometimes one of the first basic needs to go unmet. The consequences of humanitarian crises include severe disruptions to healthcare, such as acute shortages in the healthcare workforce and inadequate health infrastructure. The displacement caused by conflict can be further exacerbated by the fallout of the climate…
Vapes and e-cigarettes have 3,000 times more germs than the average toilet seat. The discovery comes from a new analysis by BioLabTests in Coventry, which found that after just three days of use, the mouthpiece of a strawberry-ice Lost Mary vape contained around 150,000 colony-forming units (CFUs) – “as many as 3,000 times more than…
U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to announce an agreement with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (not pictured) between the two countries, at Chequers at the conclusion of a state visit on Sept. 18, 2025 in Aylesbury, Britain. Leon Neal | Via Reuters A federal judge in Tampa, Florida, on Friday dismissed President Donald Trump‘s $15…
A US federal judge has struck down Donald Trump’s $15bn defamation lawsuit against the New York Times newspaper, citing issues with its contents. US District Judge Steven Merryday in his ruling on Friday said Trump had violated a federal rule requiring applicants to outline in a “short and plain statement” why they deserve relief from…
US President Donald Trump has said he will sue the New York Times for $15bn (£11bn) over what he called defamation and libel. “The New York Times has been allowed to freely lie, smear, and defame me for far too long, and that stops, NOW!” Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, on…
