Schools, libraries, and parks were closed on Monday in Valencia in eastern Spain after heavy rains prompted a red alert and fears of a repeat of deadly floods that hit the area last year.
Spain’s national weather agency, AEMET, warned of a “very complicated situation” in the Mediterranean region.
The overnight downpours caused localised flooding and a ravine to overflow in Aldaia, one of the towns hardest hit by October 2024’s floods that killed more than 230 people. No injuries have been reported.
AEMET warned of “extraordinary danger” in the provinces of Valencia and Castellón, as well as the province of Tarragona in the neighbouring region of Catalonia.
Schools and universities will stay closed in the city of Valencia on Monday, as well as public spaces including libraries, parks, gardens, markets, and cemeteries, local officials said.
Last year’s disaster sparked public anger over warning systems and emergency response, fuelling tensions between Spain’s left-leaning central government and conservative regional authorities.
Residents continue to protest, accusing officials of failing to provide timely alerts.
Because a warmer atmosphere holds more water, climate change increases the risk and intensity of flooding from extreme rainfall.
The National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency has assured Nigerians of the health safety of genetically modified organisms
The Director-General of NBRDA, Abdullahi Mustapha, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
Mustapha gave the assurance against the backdrop of ongoing debates and conversations around GMOs, which he described as based on general misinformation.
According to Mustapha, the agency remains committed to bridging the gap of ignorance through evidence-based engagement, sensitisation, and research-driven advocacy.
Mustapha added that the agency’s core mandate is to promote and conduct innovative research in agriculture, health, industry, the environment, and other strategic sectors, based on a commitment to humanity.
“Our top priority is the well-being of Nigerians. We will never compromise public health or safety in the pursuit of innovation,” he said.
Mustapha said GMOs were globally recognised as safe for human health and the environment.
According to him, the approval of GMOs in Nigeria is subject to strict biosafety regulations by the National Biosafety Management Agency.
“It is important for Nigerians to know that GMOs are safe. Around the world, they have been researched for decades, regulated by rigorous international standards, and tested extensively.
“Here in Nigeria, no GMO product enters circulation without the full approval of the NBMA, which subjects every product to thorough risk assessments,” he said.
Mr Mustapha said that the NBRDA has intensified efforts to sensitise and engage stakeholders, including farmers, policymakers, scientists, youth, and civil society, about biotechnology.
He said that through training programmes, community outreach, open forums, and field demonstrations, the agency was rebuilding public confidence and countering misinformation with facts.
German airline group Lufthansa said Monday it will cut 4,000 jobs, nearly four percent of its workforce, underscoring the slump gripping Europe’s largest economy.
Lufthansa said the majority of the job cuts would be in Germany and take place by 2030, targeting administrative rather than operational positions.
The group, which employs around 103,000 people, includes Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines, as well as the recently acquired Italian flagship airline ITA Airways.
Germany is facing a second straight year of recession, with unemployment at a decade high.
The downturn has hit some of the country’s corporate giants hard, squeezed by Chinese competition, high energy costs and slow adoption of new technologies.
Lufthansa’s announcement comes just days after another major German company, industrial giant Bosch, said it would cut 13,000 jobs, or three percent of its global workforce.
“The Lufthansa Group is reviewing which activities will no longer be necessary in the future, for example due to duplication of work,” the company said in a statement.
“In particular, the profound changes brought about by digitalization and the increased use of artificial intelligence will lead to greater efficiency in many areas and processes,” it said.
Lufthansa set new financial targets for 2028-2030, including an adjusted operating margin of eight to 10 per cent.
Nepal has imposed travel bans on ousted prime minister KP Sharma Oli and four former senior officials as part of an investigation into deadly unrest earlier this month, the interior minister said Monday.
Youth-led protests that began on September 8 over a brief social media ban, economic hardship and corruption quickly morphed into nationwide fury after a deadly crackdown.
Two days of violence left at least 73 people dead, the parliament and government offices were burned down, and forced the government’s collapse.
In addition to Oli, travel bans have been placed on former home minister Ramesh Lekhak, former head of the National Investigation Department security agency, Hutaraj Thapa, and two other senior bureaucrats.
Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki, who is leading the Himalayan nation until elections in March 2026, set up a commission to probe the violence.
The restrictions were recommended Sunday by the commission.
Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal told AFP on Monday that the ban is “already in effect.”
Commission member Bigyan Raj Sharma said in a statement on Sunday that the five men must obtain permission to even leave the Kathmandu Valley as they “may need to appear for investigation at any time”.
The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) estimates the private sector, including automobile, hotel and retail industries, endured losses worth $600 million.
Former prime minister Oli has blamed “infiltrators” for inciting bloodshed and alleges rifles used in the protests came from another source.
Ex- Manchester United captain, Wayne Rooney says the spirit and identity of Manchester United have disappeared, and he has no confidence in manager Ruben Amorim’s ability to turn the situation around.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Wayne Rooney Show on BBC Sounds, United’s all-time leading goalscorer described the club as “broken” and admitted he now attends matches expecting them to lose.
According to BBC Sport on Monday, Manchester United’s 3-1 defeat at Brentford on Saturday meant they have collected 34 points from Amorim’s 33 league games in charge and have still to win successive matches.
The club are said to remain supportive of their head coach despite the damaging loss which left them 14th in the Premier League table.
But Rooney added that some current players “don’t deserve to wear the shirt”, the side “needs a new engine” and supporters are “waiting for the club to crumble”.
“I am not seeing anything which is giving me any confidence, there needs to be big changes in my opinion,” said the former England striker, who won five league titles during 13 years at Old Trafford.
“Manager, players, whatever that is. Whatever it takes to get Manchester Untied back,” Rooney said.
No fewer than 5,000 students of the University of Benin risk being barred from writing the second-semester examinations scheduled to commence on Monday, for failing to pay their school charges.
In a memo signed by the Registrar of the institution, Mr Ademola Bobola, the university announced the strict enforcement of its “no payment of school charges, no examination” policy, insisting that repeated reminders to defaulters had been ignored.
“The university management is in receipt of the list of students who have failed to pay their school charges despite repeated reminders.
“These students have also failed to subscribe to the students’ loans being provided by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND),” Bobola said.
The registrar said all efforts to encourage the affected students to either pay their fees or access the NELFUND facility had yielded no positive response.
“With the second-semester examination set to begin on Monday, Sept. 29, these students shall be barred from writing the examination if they fail to pay their school charges or subscribe to the students’ loan by NELFUND,” he said.
Bobola disclosed that the Senate had directed provosts, deans, directors, and heads of departments to publish the list of all defaulters by 8 a.m. on Monday.
According to him, this measure is to enable affected students to confirm their status and make last-minute payments before the examinations commence.
He added that an enforcement task force headed by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) had been set up to monitor and ensure strict compliance with the directive.
“Management expects full cooperation and compliance by all stakeholders to maintain the university’s high standards,” he stated.
Similarly, on April 10 2025, PUNCH Online reported that the Rivers State University, Nkpolu-Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, had begun and implemented a “no school fees, no exam” policy. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, disclosed this during a pre-first semester examination roadshow around the main campus in Port Harcourt.
Zeb-Obipi also warned students to resist the temptation of diverting the school fees given to them by their parents to gamble or related acts, thereby making things difficult for themselves and their sponsors.
American rapper Cardi B has made history as the only female rapper to debut her first two studio albums at number one on the Billboard 200 chart.
Her sophomore album, Am I The Drama?, debuted at the top spot with 200,000 equivalent album units in its first week, following the groundbreaking success of her debut project, Invasion of Privacy (2018), which also launched at number one.
The accomplishment was confirmed by Billboard on Sunday, in an official post on Instagram, which read, “ Cardi B scores her second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as ‘AM I THE DRAMA?’ debuts atop the tally. ”
“With 200,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States, according to luminate_data, it marks 2025’s biggest week for an R&B/hip-hop album by a woman.”
“’AM I THE DRAMA?’ is Cardi B’s second full-length studio project, and follows her chart-topping debut, ‘Invasion of Privacy,’ in 2018.”
Beyond this historic feat, Am I The Drama? also recorded the biggest first-week sales of 2025 for a female hip-hop/R&B artist, fueled by massive streaming figures and strong physical sales from multiple vinyl and CD variants.
Cardi B is expected to embark on an arena tour in February 2026 to promote the album.
In addition to her chart-topping success, Cardi B also earned a Guinness World Record for the most drone deliveries in one hour. On September 19, 2025, she partnered with Walmart and Wing Drone Delivery to distribute 176 signed CDs of Am I The Drama? across the Dallas–Fort Worth metro area in Texas.
The official Guinness confirmation stated, “Most deliveries by UAV drones in one hour: 176, by @iamcardib, @AtlanticRecords, @Wing & @Walmart at multiple locations today across the Dallas–Fort Worth region, Texas, USA.”
The initiative marked a groundbreaking moment in music marketing — the first time an artist has tied a world record to an album release using drone technology. Cardi B described the rollout as “a special moment for my fans and a crazy new way to drop music.”
The Ogun State Government has berated Senator Gbenga Daniel over his criticism of Governor Dapo Abiodun following a stop-work order on the ongoing rehabilitation of the 260-metre Paddy Arikawe Oye-Igbimo Road in Sagamu.
The government described the senator’s comments as “reckless and misleading,” accusing him of deliberately distorting facts and inciting the public with false claims.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the Special Adviser on Media to the Governor, Kayode Akinmade, the state government said Daniel thrives on stirring controversy instead of respecting due process.
“Only a mind bent on mischief will describe adherence to due process as obstruction.
“The same contractor has since accepted the government’s recommendations, which makes Daniel’s claims even more misleading,” Akinmade stated.
The state government argued that Daniel remains the only federal lawmaker in Ogun State constantly embroiled in disputes over constituency projects.
“It is ironic that Senator Daniel, who spent years undermining state institutions while in power, now pretends to seek collaboration.
“A genuine statesman would comply with established processes rather than attempt to impose shoddy and unsafe engineering works on the people,” Akinmade said.
The state government further recalled what he described as Daniel’s history of disregard for the law, including a previous standoff over property verification in Sagamu.
“Daniel, who is currently under suspension by his party’s state executive, has made it a pastime to attack the government at every turn.
“He complains about roads, yet how many did he construct as governor? Meanwhile, the present administration has built over 1,000 kilometers of roads across the state,” the aide added.
He concluded that while the senator may continue his “media war,” the Abiodun administration would not compromise the rule of law.
“Daniel may continue to play to the gallery, but we will never endanger the public simply to satisfy the whims of a single individual,” Akinmade stressed.
PUNCH Online had reported that the face-off follows a September 17 letter by the Ogun Ministry of Works directing contractor Minim and Tonye Nigeria Limited to stop work on the road project for failing to obtain the requisite approvals.
Daniel’s camp, however, accused the state government of sabotage.
His media aide, Steve Oliyide, described the stop-work order as “counterproductive and premeditated acts to deny the people of the state from enjoying the fruits of good governance under President Tinubu.”
“This is not the first project the state government has stopped. The Sagamu-Aiyepe road already has a budgetary approval, signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and no sooner than the contractors were mobilised to site than the Ogun State government moved in,” Oliyide said.
He also cited similar clashes over projects in Ijebu Ode, alleging a deliberate attempt by the Abiodun administration to frustrate federal interventions in Ogun East.
“If the state government continues like this, they are just deliberately sabotaging the efforts of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu towards impacting the lives of the people positively.
“It is a sabotage of the Federal Government’s efforts and an attempt to portray the President in a bad light before the people,” Oliyide added.
The Federal Government on Sunday assured Nigerians that there would be no disruption in the supply of refined petroleum products, following concerns over the Naira-for-crude oil arrangement and disputes involving the Dangote Refinery.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance after a meeting of the Steering Committee of the Domestic Crude Oil and Refined Products Sales in Local Currency Initiative, the government stressed that energy security and stability in the downstream oil sector remained a top priority.
The committee, chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, said the recent reports of a suspension of the Naira-for-crude oil deal by the Dangote Refinery had been “amicably resolved.”
The statement added, “For the avoidance of doubt, the committee reassured that the crude oil for the Naira initiative will continue. It also assured that all outstanding issues, particularly the dispute between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and Dangote Refinery, are being addressed with urgency and in good faith.”
Also present at the meeting were the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Zacch Adedeji, who also chairs the Technical Committee; representatives of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Central Bank of Nigeria, Afreximbank, and the Dangote Refinery.
The government insisted that Nigerians should not expect scarcity or price instability.
“The Federal Government remains fully committed to ensuring energy security, protecting consumers, and maintaining stability in the domestic petroleum products market,” the statement noted.
By addressing labour concerns and reaffirming the continuity of its local currency crude oil sales initiative, the committee sought to calm growing public fears of another fuel crisis.
The PUNCH earlier reported that the Dangote refinery said it has resumed the sale of fuel in naira.
In a memo sent to marketers on Saturday, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent, the refinery said this was due to the intervention of the naira-for-crude technical committee.
“Following the intervention of the Naira for Crude Technical Committee Chairman, we are pleased to inform you of the resumption of PMS sales in Naira commencing immediately.
“You may kindly proceed to place your orders in naira for both self-collection and free delivery of PMS to the earlier advised locations across the country. Thank you for your continued patronage,” the memo read.
In an earlier memo on Friday, the refinery announced the suspension of petrol sales in naira, effective from Sunday, September 28, 2025, citing the exhaustion of its crude-for-naira allocation as the reason.
However, the intervention of the Federal Government committee in charge of the naira-for-crude deal was said to have resolved the differences.
The PUNCH also reported that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria instructed its members nationwide to withdraw their services following the alleged mass dismissal of over 800 Nigerian workers by Dangote Refinery.
In a circular issued after an emergency National Executive Council meeting on Saturday, September 27, 2025, and signed by General Secretary Lumumba Okugbawa, the union accused the refinery of violating Nigeria’s labour laws, the Constitution, and International Labour Organisation conventions by dismissing workers for joining the association.
The NEC alleged the refinery had replaced the dismissed staff with “over 2,000 Indians,” calling the action “an affront to all workers in Nigeria.”
To press its demands, PENGASSAN directed members in field locations to down tools from Sunday, and ordered a total nationwide shutdown across offices, companies, institutions, and agencies from Monday.
The NEC further announced 24-hour prayer vigils and appealed for government intervention, declaring the strike will continue until the dismissed workers are reinstated.
However, with the intervention of the Federal Government, the strike might be called off.
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria on Sunday placed its members on strike notice over what it tagged as “anti-worker” policies currently being implemented by the management of Dangote refinery.
The TUC also placed its members on alert for a nationwide strike should Dangote refinery fail to reinstate its sacked workers and issue full apology to its workers.
The TUC in the statement signed by its General Secretary, Dr Nuhu Toro, reads, “The TUC strongly condemns the recent anti-worker actions of the management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, particularly the unjust termination of workers for exercising their constitutional right to freedom of association and unionisation.
“We stand in full solidarity with the affected workers and with their union, our affiliate PENGASSAN, whose members have been victimised merely for declaring membership.
“Such actions amount to a direct assault on Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution and on Nigeria’s obligations under International Labour Organisation conventions.”
The TUC in the statement demanded, “Immediate and unconditional reinstatement of all affected workers; Public apology from Dangote management with firm assurances against future victimisation; An independent investigation involving the Ministry of Labour, ILO and stakeholders into the refinery’s labour practices.”
“Congress hereby places all affiliates on stand-by for a national industrial action if Dangote management fails to comply with these demands within a reasonable time.
“No corporation, regardless of size or wealth, will be allowed to trample on the dignity and rights of Nigerian workers. The TUC stands united and ready to act decisively in defence of our members and the Nigerian workforce.”
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has instructed its members nationwide to withdraw their services following the alleged mass dismissal of over 800 Nigerian workers by Dangote Refinery.
In a circular issued after an emergency National Executive Council meeting on Saturday, September 27, 2025, and signed by General Secretary Lumumba Okugbawa, the union accused the refinery of violating Nigeria’s labour laws, the Constitution, and International Labour Organisation conventions by dismissing workers for joining the association.
The NEC alleged the refinery had replaced the dismissed staff with “over 2,000 Indians,” calling the action “an affront to all workers in Nigeria.”
PUNCH Online reports that this particular clash began when Dangote refinery, in a letter dated September 24, 2025, ordered the sacking of some staff over alleged sabotage that it said threatened the operational safety of the 650,000-barrel-per-day facility.
PENGASSAN put the number of sacked staff at around 800, and called on the labour unions, relevant government agencies, and other stakeholders to intervene, describing the matter as one of “urgent national importance.”
But Dangote refinery denied the mass sacking. Management said the company was conducting an internal reorganisation to improve efficiency and insisted that the majority of its workforce remained Nigerian.
PENGASSAN’s action, if fully observed, risks disrupting supplies to the refinery and could have broader implications for downstream operations linked to the plant.
