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Trump wants 50% U.S. ownership of TikTok

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday told his supporters that he wants Chinese-owned short-form video app TikTok to be at least 50 per cent owned by U.S. investors.

On the eve of his swearing-in, Trump told a rally in Washington that he would allow the app to continue operating in the U.S., “but let the United States of America own 50 per cent of TikTok.”

“TikTok is worth nothing, zero without an approval,” to operate, Trump said.

“If you do approve, they’re worth like a trillion dollars, they’re worth some crazy number.

“I’m approving on behalf of the United States, so they’ll have a partner, the United States, and they’ll have a lot of bidders and the United States will do what we call a joint venture,” Trump added.

The popular app blocked access for U.S.-based users for about 12 hours on Sunday. This was due to a new U.S. law mandating TikTok either be sold by its current Chinese owners, ByteDance, or else be banned in the country, was set to come into force.

The app came back online after Trump, who is set to take office on Monday, said that he would issue an executive order reinstating the platform in the U.S.

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MTN and Meta Improve WhatsApp Call Quality

Nigeria is the first country to roll out these enhancements, and early results show a 50 percent improvement in key performance indicators, signaling a major boost in user experience for MTN Nigeria customers.

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MTN Group says that its partnership with Meta has significantly enhance the quality and reliability of voice and video calls on real-time apps like WhatsApp.

CTO of MTN Nigeria, Yahaya Ibrahim, said that the collaboration spans 12 MTN markets and aims to elevate user experience through smarter, more efficient network performance.

He explained that the initiative focuses on optimizing how mobile networks and real-time calling apps interact, resulting in more stable and high-quality calls.

“Since MWC 2024, MTN and Meta engineers have worked together to identify performance gaps and deploy targeted network upgrades using data analytics and extensive testing.

Nigeria is the first country to roll out these enhancements, and early results show a 50 percent improvement in key performance indicators, signaling a major boost in user experience for MTN Nigeria customers.

“This rollout underscores our commitment to delivering innovative digital experiences.

We’re excited about the improvements our users are already seeing in call quality,” he said.

Meta’s Head of Network Ecosystems Engineering, Diego Marí, added that ‘this partnership demonstrates how we can deliver superior real-time communication while continuing to optimize network efficiency.

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CBEX: Nigerians lose N1.3tn as digital trading platform crashes

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Nigerians have taken to their various social media platforms to lament their losses after a digital asset trading platform, known as CBEX, allegedly swept over N1.3 trillion from investors’ accounts on Monday.

This comes as CBEX, operating without legal approval from the Nigeria Securities Commission, crashed on Monday after the money in their investors’ wallets vanished.

The digital platform also locked its Telegram channels and postponed withdrawals while offering investors the option of $2,000 for $200 verification and $1,000 for $100 verification.

The development has sparked condemnations from Nigerians on X.

Explaining the CBEX crash, cryptocurrency expert and security analyst Taiwo Owolabi said the total volume of stolen investors’ funds so far in USDT is $847 million and likely to increase.

Owolabi questioned why Nigerians would invest their money in a digital platform that is unregistered by the SEC with the promise of a 100 percent return on investment.

They designed the weak website to convince people in the future that it was a security breach that affected them.

Apparently, when you make payments, you pay them into a TRX account, and then, immediately, they move it from that TRX wallet, gather it, convert it to USDT, and then to ETH. So, when you are logging into your account, there is literally no money on your profile.

“What you see are just numbers. All the daily activities you do to ‘trade’ increase your money. All the AI trading is fake. When it’s time for withdrawal, they will send you another person’s money,” Owolabi explained on an X space.

Similarly, Steve Fred, a user on X, wrote on Tuesday:

“Are we not just fantastically stupid in Nigeria?

“Nigerians are as gullible as their leaders. How many times will they be scammed before they have sense?

“How can a company like ‘CBEX’ just appear from thin air and promise you 100 percent ROI in 1 month, and you begin to invest?”

Another user, known on X as Oku, reacting to the CBEX crash, said: “The smaller the profit, the more I TRUST YOU.

“You have no business doing a business that promises you 50 percent to 100 percent ROI.

”The development comes after the SEC recently warned Nigerians to stay clear of unregistered trading platforms.

The SEC particularly pointed out that, in accordance with the ISA 2025 recently signed by President Bola Tinubu, it is now an offense for any entity to operate an online forex trading platform or provide related services without prior registration with the commission.

“By virtue of this act, it is an offense in Nigeria for any entity that is not registered by the commission to carry out the business of online foreign exchange trading platforms or related services.

“Any business entity planning to set up a business in any of these areas is advised to visit the HOD DRM Department of the commission for further direction on how to register with the commission to avoid sanctions,” it added.

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Nigeria, Trinidad & Tobago Sign Direct Air Connectivity Agreement to Boost Trade

The agreement grants designated airlines from both countries the rights to operate passenger and cargo flights, establish commercial agreements, and access the other’s territory under agreed terms.

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The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo

The Federal Government of Nigeria and Trinidad and Tobago have signed a Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) to boost trade, tourism, and air connectivity.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and his counterpart, the Minister of Works and Transport, Rohan Sinanan, signed the agreement on behalf of both countries at the Piarco International Airport, Trinidad and Tobago.

The agreement, according to a statement by the Media Aide to the minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Tunde Moshood marks the official commencement of direct air links between both nations.

The agreement is the culmination of diplomatic and technical conversations that began during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Keyamo commented: “Today’s signing not only fulfills a long-standing bilateral vision initiated during President Obasanjo’s time but also represents our commitment to expanding Nigeria’s global aviation footprint.

This agreement will enhance trade, tourism, cultural exchange, and connectivity between Nigeria and the Caribbean region.

”The agreement grants designated airlines from both countries the rights to operate passenger and cargo flights, establish commercial agreements, and access the other’s territory under agreed terms.

It is expected to strengthen economic and people-to-people ties.Sinanan expressed optimism about the potential of the agreement to boost cooperation and expand aviation opportunities for Caribbean and African carriers.

The agreement adds to Nigeria’s growing list of strategic international aviation agreements and reinforces President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s commitment to improving air connectivity, promoting regional integration, and strengthening diplomatic relations through aviation diplomacy.

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