President Bola Tinubu has congratulated six Nigerians named by President Joe Biden among the 400 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in the United States.

This recognition, established by former President Bill Clinton in 1996, is the highest honour bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers.

This year’s awardees, announced by Biden on Jan. 14, are employed or funded by 14 participating United States government agencies, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Spokesman, said in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

The Nigerian honourees include Azeez Butali, Gilbert Lilly Endowed Professor of Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Iowa; and Ijeoma Opara, Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences), Yale School of Public Health, Yale University.

Others are: Oluwatomi Akindele, Postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; and Eno Ebong, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biology at Northeastern University;

The rest are: Oluwasanmi Koyejo, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University; and Abidemi Ajiboye, Executive vice Chair of the Case School of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Case Western Reserve University.

Tinubu commended the awardees for their achievements in science, technology and engineering.

He noted that recognising the talents of the awardees underscored Nigerians’ vast potential to excel both at home and on the global stage.

Tinubu looked forward to the honourees sharing their multidisciplinary expertise to benefit Nigeria’s development efforts under the Renewed Hope Agenda. (more…)

SpaceX founder Elon Musk congratulated his rival Jeff Bezos on the successful maiden test-launch of his heavy-lift rocket New Glenn on Thursday.

“Congratulations on reaching orbit on the first attempt’’ Musk wrote on X, the social media platform he owns, tagging Bezos in his post.

Amazon founder Bezos established his rocket company Blue Origin nearly 25 years ago.

But he has seen Musk’s SpaceX come to dominate the U.S. commercial space industry and obtain lucrative government contracts.

SpaceX’s unscrewed mega rocket Star ship, developed to carry astronauts to the moon, failed during its first two launches in 2023.

But the spacecraft has now made it into Earth’s orbit on several occasions, and the next test launch is planned for later Thursday.

Our priority must be to ease the tremendous suffering caused by this conflict, says UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

He said this in a statement following the announcement of a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza by Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani.

Guterres commended Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S. for their dedicated efforts as mediators in brokering the deal, adding that their unwavering commitment to finding a diplomatic solution was critical in achieving the breakthrough.

He said the UN stood ready to support the implementation of the deal and scale up the delivery of sustained humanitarian relief to the countless Palestinians who continue to suffer.

According to him, the deal is a critical first step, but all efforts must be mobilised to also advance broader goals, including the preservation of the unity, contiguity, and integrity of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

“It is imperative that this ceasefire removes the significant security and political obstacles to delivering aid across Gaza so that we can support a major increase in urgent lifesaving humanitarian support.

“The humanitarian situation is at catastrophic levels. I call on all parties to facilitate the rapid, unhindered, and safe humanitarian relief for all civilians in need.

“From our side, we will do whatever is humanly possible, aware of the serious challenges and constraints that we will be facing. We expect our efforts to be matched by other humanitarian actors, the private sector and bilateral initiatives.”

The UN chief said Palestinian unity was essential for achieving lasting peace and stability.

On his part, ending the occupation and achieving a negotiated two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security, in line with international law, relevant UN resolutions, and previous agreements remain an urgent priority.

According to him, only through a viable two-state solution can the aspirations of both peoples be fulfilled.

Guterres paid tribute to civilians who lost their lives in the 15-month war, including UN personnel and humanitarian workers.

“The United Nations is steadfast in its commitment to supporting all efforts that promote peace, stability, and a more hopeful future for the people of Palestine and Israel, and across the region,” he said.