Vice President Kashim Shettima is scheduled to present Nigeria’s national statement at the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday, representing President Bola Tinubu.

According to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the address will take place between 3:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. local time in New York. The statement is expected to highlight multilateral cooperation, UN reforms, climate action, and restructuring of global financial systems, among other issues.

At last year’s UNGA, President Tinubu used the same platform to call for permanent African representation on the UN Security Council — a proposal currently under review.

Earlier on Tuesday, Vice President Shettima attended the Assembly’s opening session where U.S. President Donald Trump officially welcomed global leaders. He also held a bilateral meeting with Namibia’s President, Nandi-Ndaitwah, who pledged to pay an official visit to Nigeria.

The Namibian leader, who took office on March 21, 2025, commended Nigeria’s diplomatic contributions to her country, saying: “All the Nigerian diplomats were basically Namibians, helping in so many ways.” She further noted that UNGA provided an opportunity to engage directly with Vice President Shettima, adding: “I will still find time to come physically and introduce myself to the President.”

Responding, Shettima reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to stronger ties with Namibia, stating: “We are all Africans, and the Nigeria–Namibia relationship should be taken to the next level, beyond where it is now.”

The bilateral session was attended by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar; Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim; and Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, along with senior Namibian officials.

In another engagement, Vice President Shettima met with a delegation from the Gates Foundation led by CEO Mark Suzman. He expressed gratitude for the Foundation’s work in healthcare, agriculture, and financial inclusion, while urging for expanded investment in Nigeria.

“In the Gates Foundation, we have a partner that we trust and believe in. If all high-net-worth individuals made even half the investment Bill Gates has made, the world would be a better place. Kindly convey the highest regards of my boss, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to Mr Gates,” Shettima said.

He emphasized Nigeria’s ambition to achieve annual economic growth of at least 7% in the coming years, anchored on stability, productivity, and targeted investment in key sectors.

Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, also called for greater focus on education. He urged the Foundation to expand support into technology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. “Now I think there is more focus on education, so I am seeking enhanced support in that area to bolster our foundational education. We don’t have adequate support at all,” he said.

Responding, Suzman assured of the Foundation’s continued partnership, noting its recent progress in digital identity and financial inclusion initiatives in Nigeria. “Nigeria is really one of our strongest partnerships on the African continent, and I’m looking forward to hearing from you about where and how we might be more helpful while assuring you of our continued support,” he said.

He added that new grants had been signed with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to support related projects. Other senior officials from the Gates Foundation, including Rodger Voorhies, Uche Amaonwu, and Paulin Basinga, were also present at the meeting.

At least 10 people have lost their lives after torrential rains battered Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, marking the heaviest downpour in nearly four decades.

Authorities confirmed that nine of the fatalities were linked to electrocution after floodwaters submerged several parts of the city.

Since Monday night, homes, shops, and major roadways across Kolkata and surrounding towns have been inundated. Rail traffic has also been severely disrupted, leaving thousands of commuters stranded and forcing many to walk through waist-deep water.

The timing has worsened concerns, as the city was preparing for Durga Puja, one of the most significant cultural and religious festivals in eastern India.

Weather officials reported that 251.4mm of rainfall was recorded in less than a day, the highest single-day total since 1986 and the sixth-largest in the state’s history over the last 137 years. The meteorological department attributed the downpour to a low-pressure system over the northeast Bay of Bengal.

Authorities have warned that more rain is expected through the week, keeping the city on high alert.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee admitted she had “never seen such rain” and expressed sorrow over the deaths, pledging financial assistance to affected families.

Because most of the casualties resulted from electrocution, power supply was deliberately cut in many neighborhoods to reduce further risk.

Rescue teams and civic workers have been deployed, with efforts underway to clear waterlogged areas and restore essential services.

A U.S. district judge on Monday directed the Trump administration to reinstate almost $500 million in research awards to UCLA, restoring most of the university’s grants that were placed on hold.

At the end of July, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy froze roughly 800 grants about $584 million in total, after letters from federal agencies cited concerns including antisemitism, alleged unlawful affirmative action practices and “allowing men to participate in women’s sports.”

U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin found that roughly 500 NIH grants should be put back in place because the termination notices failed to include “grant-specific” explanations, her order says. The ruling also reinstates funding across the University of California system from the Departments of Defense, Transportation and Health and Human Services.

Earlier, on Aug. 12, Lin issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily restored about 300 NSF awards; she concluded the NIH actions violated a June order that barred further cancellations. In her writing, she said the UCLA funding freezes “differ from a termination in name only.”

The judge’s decisions are part of a broader lawsuit filed by University of California researchers challenging actions by President Donald Trump and several federal agencies over grants that “have been or will be terminated, denied, suspended, or reduced.” Neeta Thakur, a UC San Francisco scientist whose award was cancelled, is the lead plaintiff whose suit prompted Lin’s earlier injunction.

The UC Office of the President did not reply immediately to requests for comment.

In a separate September ruling, a federal judge found the administration’s move to cut Harvard’s research money unlawful and observed there is “little connection between the research affected by the grant terminations and antisemitism.”

At last week’s hearing, both sides invoked the Supreme Court’s Aug. 21 decision in NIH v. American Public Health Association, which limited district-court review of NIH grant terminations. Jason Altabet, arguing for the Justice Department, said he agreed with that decision and maintained the dispute belongs in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

Plaintiffs’ lawyer Elizabeth Cabraser told the court the researchers “They are victims of viewpoint discrimination,” and urged judicial relief.

UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk said the campus is arranging short-term support to keep projects running by creating “bridge funding” for affected research and warned the suspensions have halted “life-saving and life-changing research.”

UC President James Milliken said the system is working with elected officials at both state and federal levels “to evaluate every option” to recover the funding, warning that the federal actions pose a system-wide threat. “This represents one of the gravest threats to the University of California in our 157-year history,” he said.

NATO has issued a strong warning to Russia after three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated Estonian airspace last week, saying it would use “all necessary military and non-military tools” to defend itself against what it described as Moscow’s “increasingly irresponsible behaviour.”

Estonia reported that the jets breached its airspace for 12 minutes before being escorted out by Italian fighter aircraft operating under NATO command. Western officials said the incursion was likely intended to test the alliance’s readiness and resolve.

The incident followed the entry of around 20 Russian drones into Polish airspace earlier this month, some of which were shot down by NATO jets.

“Russia bears full responsibility for these actions, which are escalatory, risk miscalculation, and endanger lives. They must stop,” the North Atlantic Council (NAC) said in a statement on Tuesday.

The NAC, which brings together ambassadors from NATO’s 32 member states, convened at Estonia’s request under Article 4 of the alliance’s founding treaty. The article allows allies to consult whenever a member feels its security, political independence, or territorial integrity is threatened.

This marks the ninth invocation of Article 4 in NATO’s history, and the second this month following the drone incidents in Poland.

“Russia should be in no doubt: NATO and Allies will employ, in accordance with international law, all necessary military and non-military tools to defend ourselves and deter all threats from all directions,” the statement added.

NATO also reaffirmed its commitment to Ukraine, saying allies “will not be deterred” from supporting Kyiv in its fight against Russia’s “brutal and unprovoked war of aggression.”

Hong Kong came to a standstill on Tuesday as Super Typhoon Ragasa, the world’s strongest tropical cyclone this year, closed in on the city. Authorities urged residents to remain indoors while most passenger flights were suspended until Thursday.

Panic buying set in as supermarkets were stripped bare, with residents stockpiling food and essentials amid fears shops could be shut for days. Windows in homes and businesses were taped up in an effort to minimise damage from shattered glass.

The Hong Kong Observatory said Ragasa, with winds of up to 220km/h (137mph), poses a “severe threat to the coast of Guangdong,” the Chinese province bordering the city. The storm is expected to make landfall along Guangdong’s coast between midday and late Wednesday after battering the northern Philippines.

Authorities in Guangdong evacuated more than 370,000 people, according to state news agency Xinhua. In Hong Kong, Typhoon Signal 8, the city’s third-highest storm warning, was issued at 2:20 p.m. local time, forcing most businesses and transport services to close. More than 700 flights were disrupted across Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

The observatory warned of hurricane-force winds, flash floods, and dangerous sea surges comparable to those seen during Typhoons Hato (2017) and Mangkhut (2018), which caused billions in damage. Coastal waters in Hong Kong are expected to rise by about two metres, with maximum surges of up to five metres in some areas.

Nepal’s interim government, led by former Chief Justice Sushila Karki, has established a panel to investigate the deadly violence that erupted during anti-corruption protests earlier this month, leaving 74 people dead and more than 2,100 injured.

The protests, initially driven by young Nepalis frustrated with corruption and unemployment, quickly escalated into the nation’s deadliest unrest in decades. Demonstrators torched the main government complex housing the prime minister’s office, Supreme Court, and parliament building, along with malls, luxury hotels, and showrooms allegedly linked to politically connected elites.

Finance Minister Rameshwore Khanal announced that the three-member panel, chaired by retired judge Gauri Bahadur Karki, has been given three months to complete its inquiry. The committee will examine the causes of the unrest, loss of life and property, as well as alleged excesses by both security forces and protesters.

Former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, who resigned following the protests, has also called for a thorough investigation. In a statement, he insisted that his administration did not authorize security forces to open fire, claiming that “outsiders” infiltrated the demonstrations and that police did not have access to the type of weapons used against the crowd.

Gauri Bahadur Karki, who previously chaired Nepal’s special court on corruption, is widely regarded as a judge of integrity and is expected to bring credibility to the investigation.