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NDLEA intercepts N5 billion drugs, destroys 20,234kg cannabis in Osun

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  The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted illicit drug consignments worth more than N5 billion at seaports in Lagos and Rivers States and destroyed 20,234 kilograms of cannabis in Osun State. Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy at the NDLEA, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday, October 4, 2026. The seizures and arrests covered a series of operations conducted between September 27 and October 2, including activities at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos seaports and several states across the country. N5 Billion port drug seizures Some of the biggest seizures were recorded at the Apapa and Tincan Island ports in Lagos, as well as Onne Port in Rivers State. At Apapa Port on September 3, officers recovered 161 parcels of Thai Loud weighing 124kg and valued at N372 million from a container shipped from Bangkok, Thailand. At Tincan Island Port on September 29, operatives recovered 2,595 parcels of Canadian Loud weighing 1,297.5...

CBN mops up N17.5 trillion through OMO in September, injects N10.9 trillion

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  The N17.51 trillion allotted was about 2.7 times the cumulative N6.4 trillion initially offered, but large repayments during the month meant that a significant portion of the liquidity absorbed through new sales had first been returned to the financial system through maturing OMO bills. Maturities offset 62% of OMO Sales: Five OMO maturities worth approximately N10.89 trillion were recorded during September, equivalent to roughly 62% of the N17.51 trillion in gross sales. This left the CBN with net liquidity absorption of about N6.62 trillion, or 38% of the total amount sold. The CBN repaid N62 billion on September 7, followed by N3.07 trillion on September 8. Another N3.06 trillion matured on September 15, while N2.27 trillion was repaid on September 22. The final major maturity came on September 29, when N2.433 trillion was returned to the financial system. Against these repayments, the CBN recorded OMO sales of N2.88 trillion, N4.40 trillion, N3.29 trillion, N2.255 trillion an...

There are rules that distinguish sparkling wine from Champagne

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  Your smart aleck friend who says “aaaaactually…” every time you call any bottle of bubbly “Champagne” is, unfortunately, probably right. French law, recognized by over 130 countries including the EU, dictates that any drink branded as Champagne must be made with grapes grown in France’s Champagne region, known for its cool climate conducive to concocting crisp wines. It must also be aged for at least 15 months and fermented in the bottle. The trade group Comité Champagne has pursued legal action against ads that even jokingly reference the word to promote products that aren’t from the region. Champagne is where it all began A local 17th-century monk with the now-famous name Dom Perignon developed the signature taste by corking wine for in-bottle fermentation and using refined grape material. Protections for the fizzy libation have been around for over a century: Champagne winemakers were popping bottles when the 1891 Treaty of Madrid gave them the ability to sue their foreign c...

Public outcry over Cornell rape case is getting louder

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  Widespread criticism and accusations of investigative mishandling are mounting against Cornell University and its local officials this week, after a former student filed a lawsuit as Jane Doe accusing seven university fraternity members of gang-raping her two years ago after pressuring her to take drugs. Online uproar over the alleged assault began last week, after the university’s independent student newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun, reported on the lawsuit, which alleges that Cornell temporarily suspended the defendants in 2024 and gave them the chance to write essays to lessen their punishments. Since then… Local District Attorney Matthew Van Houten announced on Monday that he reopened the case and is considering seeking criminal charges. He said his office didn’t do so in 2024 because it believed Jane Doe’s sworn statement described consensual actions. CBS then reported that it obtained a transcript of Jane Doe’s initial interview with campus police, in which she told the...

“Choosin’ Texas” sets the record for most weeks at No. 1 spot on Billboard 100 chart

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  If you haven’t been “Choosin’ Texas,” well, someone has. Country Singer Ella Langley’s two-steppin’ song recently set a new record for most weeks at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. The hit, currently in its 24th week at the top of the chart, unseated previous record holder Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”—despite everyone online claiming they’ve never heard Langley’s song. “Choosin’ Texas” was more of a slow burn. The song debuted last November at No. 39, and didn’t break the top 10 until January, eventually reaching No. 1 in February. It dropped from the top spot in May, but clawed its way back up in July, and has remained there ever since. That’s a pretty big feat for a country artist: Between 2000 and 2023, only four country songs occupied the top spot. Two of them were Taylor Swift songs. Is this a psyop? If you have no idea who or what is doing the song’s choosing, you’re not alone. Folks are developing a slew of theories as to how a song can get...

America posts a surprise job market slowdown

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  Relatively few Americans had to come up with a fun fact to share with their new coworkers last month. The US added an underwhelming 29,000 jobs in September, the government said yesterday—a figure below the 84,000 economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected. Government data released yesterday shows that last month: Even healthcare, typically the all-star job-creating industry, disappointed, gaining just 17,000 workers, compared with the 33,000 jobs it added in an average month over the past year. Construction and manufacturing added a modest 11,000 and 9,000 jobs, respectively. AI-exposed industries like business services and the information sector shed jobs. The summer’s strong job creation may have been a mirage: Government statisticians revised down July and August jobs numbers by a combined 60,000. The job market is still chugging along Though the unemployment rate notched up from 4.1% to 4.2% last month, that’s still low by historical standards. That uptick is largely due t...

Is caviar losing its status as an elite delicacy?

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  You haven’t really experienced luxury until you’ve sliced open a sturgeon and smothered a potato chip in its beady little unfertilized eggs. And yet, the high-end delicacy caviar is currently facing an identity crisis, as Chinese caviar floods the wholesale market and direct-to-consumer retailers, fast food chains, and even a sweater company get their hands on the once-rare topping. But first, some history. Caviar wasn’t always so hoity-toity. It used to be so cheap and undesirable in the US that bars in the 1800s would serve the salty morsels for free, like peanuts or popcorn. By the turn of the century, however, caviar’s luxury status in Europe and Russia started to spread to the States—and so did demand. Sturgeon, which produce the eggs used in caviar, were overfished worldwide, especially in the Caspian Sea. By 2006, bans from the US and the United Nations had effectively halted the import and export of wild-caught caviar. The industry goes DIY Following the ban and the dep...