Author: Prima News

Asian utilities are boosting coal-fired power generation to cut costs and safeguard energy supply, ​industry officials say, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran chokes liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments and soaring prices threaten to suppress LNG demand. Asia spot ‌LNG prices have doubled to three-year highs in the second major supply shock in four years, as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has all but stopped and No.2 global exporter Qatar has halted shipments. In South Asia, Bangladesh is increasing coal power generation and coal-fired power imports in March, daily government data shows. Pakistan, meanwhile, aims to further boost power…

Britain, Finland and the Netherlands are looking at teaming up to jointly finance and ​procure weapons, munitions and military equipment, given the ‌increasing threat level across the world, with war in Ukraine and in the Middle East. The three countries said that ​together with other unnamed partners they were exploring ​setting up a new mechanism by 2027 which ⁠would speed up investment and boost demand for ​defence kit, a statement from Britain said on Tuesday. The ​plans come as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy are due to meet in London later on Tuesday, ​with NATO…

 U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric against Cuba on Monday, saying ‌he expected to have the “honor” of “taking Cuba in some form” and that “I can do anything I want” with the neighboring country. The threatening statements come even as Cuba and the United States have opened talks aimed at improving their largely adverse relations, which have reached one of their most contentious moments in the ​67 years since Fidel Castro overthrew what had been a close U.S. ally. “I do believe I’ll be … having the honor ​of taking Cuba. That’s a big honor. Taking Cuba in some form,”…

Israel’s military has targeted Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani, four Israeli officials ​said, adding that it was not immediately ‌clear whether he was killed or injured. Larijani was one of the targets of strikes carried out by the ​Israeli military last night across Iran, ​the officials told Reuters. Iran has not yet commented ⁠on the report. If his death is confirmed, ​he would be the most senior Iranian official ​to be killed after the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died on the first day of the war. Larijani, ​a former nuclear negotiator and a close ally ​of Khamenei, was…

U.S. President Donald Trump’s request to delay the planned summit in Beijing with Chinese ​leader Xi Jinping casts a shadow over mutual ties that have been stable since their last meeting in October, but is unlikely to cause a major setback, analysts ‌said. Trump’s move shows how the Iran conflict has upended his foreign policy agenda and added war to trade and Taiwan among the spectrum of issues separating the world’s two biggest economies. The delay hits pause on the retooling of bilateral relations just as both sides concluded high-stakes trade talks in Paris on Monday to lay the groundwork for Trump’s Beijing trip, originally slated…

The finding comes in the updated joint Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA5) issued on Monday by the Government, the World Bank Group, the European Commission and the United Nations. It was released as the full-scale Russian invasion enters a fifth year on 24 February, with direct damage now reaching over $195 billion – up from $176 billion in the previous assessment published last February.  “This devastating war is a stain on our collective consciousness and remains a threat to regional and international peace and security,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement, reiterating his call for an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire as a first step towards lasting peace.Rebuilding the nation RDNA5 covers the period from February…

The last time a Nigerian leader paid a state visit to the United Kingdom, 70 per cent of Nigeria’s current population were not yet born. That 1989 visit by military President Ibrahim Babangida went as expected – a grand event hosted by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Thirty-seven years later – and 66 years after Nigeria gained its independence from the UK – it has fallen upon President Tinubu to be received at Windsor Castle by King Charles and Queen Camilla. He will be the first Nigerian leader to be hosted at Windsor Castle; all four previous leaders were received…

In the fictional nation of Beryllia, the 2026 World Chalice Games were set to begin as the country faced an unrelenting heat wave. The grid, already under strain from the circumstances, was dealt a further blow when a coordinated set of attacks including vandalism, drone, and ballistic attacks by an adversary, Crimsonia, crippled the grid’s physical infrastructure.This scenario, inspired by the upcoming 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, was an exercise in studying how utilities can prevent and mitigate, among other dangers, physical attacks on power grids. Called GridEx, the exercise was hosted by the…

President Tinubu has sworn in Taiwo Oyedele as Minister of State for Finance and redeployed Doris Anite-Uzoka. NewsOnline Nigeria reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sworn in Taiwo Oyedele as Nigeria’s new Minister of State for Finance. The brief swearing-in ceremony took place on Monday at the State House Abuja. Oyedele replaces Doris Anite-Uzoka, who has been redeployed to the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning as Minister of State. The redeployment marks her third ministerial portfolio since the beginning of the current administration. The Nigerian Senate had earlier confirmed Oyedele’s appointment on March 11, 2026, just 24…

Nigeria is set to attract up to $200m in investment to develop defence technology, cybersecurity capabilities, and satellite infrastructure following a strategic partnership between Nigeria-based Nigus International Investment Limited and UAE-headquartered Elmirate Investment LLC (Elmirate Capital). The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a next-generation technology and advanced manufacturing platform in Nigeria aimed at strengthening domestic defence production, expanding space technologies, and building digital security systems. Executive Chairman of Nigus International Investment Limited, Prince Malik Ado-Ibrahim, said the initiative reflects Africa’s growing recognition that technological capability is increasingly linked to economic strength and national security. “Africa is…