Changan CS55 and Kia Seltos clinched top honours at the 2025 Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) International Auto Awards, winning ‘Midsize Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) of the Year’ and ‘Compact SUV of the Year’, respectively. The winners were unveiled at the 18th edition of the awards ceremony, which brought together key stakeholders across Nigeria’s automotive value chain to celebrate excellence, resilience and innovation in the industry. Changan vehicles are marketed and assembled in Nigeria by Mikano Motors, reinforcing the growing impact of local assembly in the country’s automotive sector. In the Compact SUV category, Kia Seltos emerged as the winner, beating notable competitors such as the Toyota Prado, Changan CS55 and Chery Tiggo. NAJA Chairman Theodore Opara, described the awards as a benchmark for performance in Nigeria’s evolving automotive ecosystem.

Even if the Islamic Republic were overthrown today, it would take at least 50 years to rebuild. Either the country gets sold off so the Islamic Republic leaves and then it’s finished that way. Our kids are full of brilliance, full of talent, sharp and intelligent, but in isolation, they’ll never flourish.”Hasan, 29, gold market traderHasan works in the gold market inside Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, where the protests first started in December. View image in fullscreen AshkanHe says the Islamic Republic will be finished by the end of this month. He’s been saying for a long time that the Islamic Republic is doomed and that they will go.” He says his father’s businesses have not been affected by the strikes.

The former vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has dismissed reports suggesting that he recently declared his intention to contest the presidency. “I never declared to contest the presidency two days ago,” he said. The clarification comes after widespread media and social media reports claimed that Baba-Ahmed was positioning himself for a presidential run ahead of the next general election. Explaining further, Baba-Ahmed said, “Two days ago, what I did was simply say that I remain in the Labour Party. I never declared to contest the presidency, even though there could be a possibility of that happening.

What has the Nigeria Revenue Service ever done for her that the National Union of Road Transport Workers hasn’t done better (or worse)? While the new Nigeria Tax Act rightly raised the threshold for small companies, it also sparked panic over the possible reintroduction of physical tax stamps on goods. As the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria rightly said, this would be a costly, bureaucratic nightmare that “could erode the gains of the Nigeria Tax Act 2025”. Success won’t be measured in quarterly revenue reports from the Nigeria Revenue Service. Nigeria’s tax gamble, informed by data but challenged by history and instinct, is the gritty, complicated, and deeply fraught front-page story.

Prices to be announced on 13 JanuaryBookings to commence soonThe Tata Punch facelift is set to make its India debut on 13 January, 2026. Ahead of this, the automaker has revealed the colour options for the updated compact SUV. The Punch facelift will be offered in six exterior paint schemes. Cyantafic, Caramel, Bengal Rouge, Daytona Grey, Coorg Clouds, and Pristine White are the colour options available with the new Punch. That said, the new Punch will be offered across seven variants, including Smart, Pure, Pure+, Adventure, Adventure+, Accomplished, and Accomplished+.

(Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)Russian strikes on Ukraine’s capital and its suburbs killed at least three people, Kyiv’s mayor said Friday as the air force issued a countrywide missile warning. Three of them were hospitalised,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko posted on Telegram. Ukraine’s air force warned “all of Ukraine is under a missile threat” after confirming Russian bombers were airborne. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had echoed the rare warning in his evening address. Hours before the attack, Moscow had slammed a post-war plan for European peacekeepers to be deployed to Ukraine and branded Kyiv and its allies an “axis of war”.

Victor Osimhen is the talisman, the attacking arrowhead of Nigeria’s Super Eagles at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, his three goals offering a warning to Algeria before Saturday’s quarter-final. Osimhen’s volatile temperament, displayed in a spat with his teammate Ademola Lookman during Monday’s 4-0 win against Mozambique, has grabbed the headlines. Osimhen’s first major public spat was in 2022, with the former Nigeria and Monaco striker Victor Ikpeba, who won the Afcon in 1994, then Olympic gold and the African Footballer of the Year title in 1996. Osimhen did not take kindly to that and referred to Ikpeba on Instagram as “Pundit Isonu” (Isonu, in Nigeria’s Yoruba language, means useless). View image in fullscreen Victor Osimhen has scored three goals during Nigeria’s run to the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals.

To be offered in six variants and six coloursWill bring along design updates, new features, and a turbo-petrol engineThe Punch facelift, ahead of its launch scheduled to take place on 13 January, has started arriving at local dealerships across the country. The updated B-SUV will bring along a host of changes inside and out, along with a new engine option. As seen in the images here, the Tata Punch facelift is finished in a shade of Coorg Clouds, a new offering and one of the six paints that will be available with the model at launch. The car here is fitted with two CNG cylinders in the boot, a feature that is offered on multiple Tata cars. Under the hood, the Punch facelift will be offered with a 1.2-litre petrol engine in naturally aspirated and turbocharged forms.

Tata Motors is preparing to introduce the Punch facelift in the Indian market on January 13. To begin with, the brand has revised the design of the Tata Punch facelift, keeping the silhouette the same. With the new design, the Punch facelift has also gained new colour schemes. Like the exterior, the interior of the Punch Facelift has received major revisions. Talking about new additions, the Tata Punch Facelift will have a new turbo petrol engine.

Earlier, Minister of Works David Umahi had promised to clear verified arrears owed to federal contractors before the end of 2025. However, only partial payments were made amid revenue constraints, prompting the inclusion of the N1.7tn line item in the 2026 budget as a catch-up mechanism. They want to shift us to 2026; that 2026, they are going to pay,” he alleged. “In the last quarter, we did pay contractors over N2tn to settle outstanding capital budget obligations. Tinubu directed the setting up of a committee to verify all claims from federal contractors.

The United States has formally withdrawn from 66 international organisations, including several key climate and UN-related bodies, under orders from President Donald Trump. The withdrawal, announced in a memorandum signed on Wednesday, affects 35 non-UN entities and 31 UN-related organisations. Framework Convention on Climate Change, widely regarded as the “bedrock” climate treaty and the parent agreement of the 2015 Paris Climate Accord. “Today, President Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from 66 international organisations identified as part of the administration’s review of wasteful, ineffective, and harmful international organisations,” he said, adding that the review is ongoing. “What started as a pragmatic framework of international organisations for peace and cooperation has morphed into a sprawling architecture of global governance, often dominated by progressive ideology and detached from national interests,” Rubio said.

The national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples’ Party, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said he would only consider aligning with a political party ahead of the 2027 general elections if it offers him either the presidential ticket or the vice-presidential slot. Kwankwaso made the disclosure while speaking at a Kwankwasiyya gathering at his residence in Miller Road, Kano, where he addressed ongoing political realignments ahead of the next general elections. “At the national level, we are looking for a political party to align with,” he said. The former Kano State governor also criticised the style of politics under President Bola Tinubu, arguing that numerical strength within a party does not necessarily translate to electoral success. Arewa PUNCH reports that Kwankwaso’s remarks have further fuelled political discussions over possible alliances and realignments ahead of the 2027 elections.

A 46-year-old Nigerian man, Osemwengie Irorere, has been shot and killed inside a bus at the Yorkdale GO Bus Terminal, located on the Yorkdale Road and Allen Road area of Toronto, Canada. Confirming the incident on Wednesday, the Toronto Police Service said a 40-year-old suspect, identified as Tyrel Gibson, has been charged with first-degree murder. In a statement, the police said, “On Sunday, January 4, 2026, at approximately 7 p.m., police responded to a report of a shooting at the Yorkdale GO Bus Terminal in the Yorkdale Road and Allen Road area. “It is alleged that the victim and the suspect both boarded a GO bus at the terminal, where the suspect shot the victim before fleeing the area on foot. “The suspect was located and arrested by officers a short time later, and a firearm was recovered.

(FILES) Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks during the presentation of the 2026 fiscal year budget at the National Congress in Caracas on December 4, 2025. (Photo by Pedro MATTEY / AFP)Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez insisted Thursday her country was not “subjugated,” despite US President Donald Trump’s claim to be in charge there after removing her predecessor Nicolas Maduro. “We are not subordinate or subjugated,” Rodriguez said during a ceremony for the 100 Venezuelans that her government says were killed during the US assault. “Nobody surrendered. There was fighting for the homeland” when the US forces attacked on January 3, she said.

Trump went on to call the War Powers Resolution, the Vietnam-war era legislation Congress passed to stop presidents from conducting unapproved wars, “unconstitutional”. Previous war powers resolutions proposed in both chambers failed – albeit narrowly – to garner enough support from the Republican majority to advance. Johnson added: “President Trump is a strong president who takes decisive action, and that sends an important message to other dangerous people, terrorists and tyrants around the world. “President Trump campaigned against forever wars, and I strongly support him in that position. Shortly after the Senate vote, a group of House Democrats introduced a similar war powers resolution dealing with Venezuela in that chamber.