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Mandela, anti-Apartheid Icon is Dead
Nelson Mandela, whose successful struggle against South Africa’s apartheid system of racial segregation and discrimination made him a global symbol for the cause of human rights and earned him the Nobel Prize, died Thursday. He was 95.
There are many thousands of political prisoners but in the last 50 years only one of them, Mandela, turned his imprisonment into a tool to create political change and national liberty.
The South Africa’s first black president and anti-apartheid icon, led South Africa’s transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison.
The BBC reported that Mandela had been receiving intense home-based medical care for a lung infection after three months in hospital.
In a statement on South African national TV, Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s president, said Mandela had “departed” and was at peace.
“Our nation has lost its greatest son,” Zuma said.
He said Mandela would receive a full state funeral, and flags would be flown at half-mast.
BBC correspondents said Mandela’s body will be moved to a mortuary in Pretoria, and the funeral is likely to take place next Saturday.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was one of the world’s most revered statesmen after preaching reconciliation despite being imprisoned for 27 years.
He had rarely been seen in public since officially retiring in 2004. He made his last public appearance in 2010, at the football World Cup in South Africa.
“What made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves,” Zuma said.
“Fellow South Africans, Nelson Mandela brought us together and it is together that we will bid him farewell.”
US President Barack Obama said Mandela achieved more than could be expected of any man.
The greatest father there ever was: this is how South Africans will remember the man who brought an end to apartheid and delivered the nation from the brink of civil war.
Social networking sites are abuzz with messages of condolences and messages of gratitude to the late statesman. He had been in and out of hospital in recent years and had become increasingly frail but many South Africans had continued to express their unreadiness to lose him.
As he did in life, his passing has brought unity amongst South Africans as black and white speak of their love for him. Many here will be drawing on that same spirit for strength, that “Madiba magic” over the next few days and weeks as the nation left with the great burden of honouring Mandela’s legacy, mourns his passing but also celebrates his life.
“He no longer belongs to us – he belongs to the ages,” Obama said, saying Mandela “took history in his hands and bent the arc of the moral universe towards justice”.
Obama, the first black president of the United States, said he was one of the millions who drew inspiration from Mr Mandela’s life.
FW de Klerk, who as South Africa’s last white president ordered Mr Mandela’s release, paid tribute to the man he called a friend.
“He made a unique contribution not only to the establishment of our constitutional democracy but also to the cause of national reconciliation and nation-building,” he said in a statement.
He said Mandela’s example would live on.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron also paid tribute, saying “a great light has gone out in the world”.
Earlier this year, Mandela spent nearly three months in hospital with a recurring lung infection.
He was moved to his home in the Houghton suburb of Johannesburg in September, where he continued to receive intensive care.
Born in 1918, Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1943, as a law student.
He and other ANC leaders campaigned against apartheid. Initially he campaigned peacefully but in the 1960s the ANC began to advocate violence, and Mr Mandela was made the commander of its armed wing.
He was arrested for sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964, serving most of his sentence on Robben Island.
It was forbidden to quote him or publish his photo, but he and other ANC leaders were able to smuggle out messages of guidance to the anti-apartheid movement.
He was released in 1990 as South Africa began to move away from strict racial segregation – a process completed by the first multi-racial elections in 1994.
Mandela, who had been awarded the Nobel Prize in 1993 jointly with white President FW de Klerk, was elected South Africa’s first black president. He served a single term, stepping down in 1999.
After leaving office, he became South Africa’s highest-profile ambassador, campaigning against HIV/Aids and helping to secure his country’s right to host the 2010 football World Cup.
He was also involved in peace negotiations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and other countries in Africa and elsewhere.
A look back at the life of Nelson Mandela
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News
Yahoo Mail Halts Free Storage Service, Caps at 20GB

Yahoo Mail has announced a major shift in its storage policy, slashing the free email storage cap to 20GB and rolling out a new subscription model starting at $1.99 per month for 100GB.
The change, which takes effect immediately, marks a significant downgrade for many long-time users who have grown accustomed to Yahoo’s previously generous storage offering.
In a notice sent to users on Tuesday, the company urged account holders to review their current storage usage and consider paid upgrade options to avoid disruptions.
“Once you reach the 20GB limit, you will no longer be able to send or receive emails unless you either delete existing messages or upgrade your account,” the notice warned.
While access to inboxes will remain intact for now, users will be forced to clean up their accounts or move to a paid tier to maintain full functionality.
Yahoo has unveiled two new storage plans which are 100GB for $1.99/month and 1TB for $9.99/month.
For those seeking a more premium experience, Yahoo is also offering Yahoo Mail Plus, which includes 200GB of storage, an ad-free interface, and additional features. However, users opting for the 100GB and 1TB tiers will still be served ads, a move likely to frustrate those paying for expanded capacity.
To ease the transition, Yahoo is rolling out new tools to help users manage their inboxes more efficiently. These include real-time storage tracking, a usage dashboard, sorting options for large emails, and an attachment manager to help clear out space-consuming files.
Despite the enhancements, the abrupt downgrade has sparked concerns among users, particularly those with email archives spanning more than a decade. Critics argue the change could pressure many into paying for what was previously free, without a proportionate upgrade in value, especially considering ads remain in place for all but the premium Plus tier.
Yahoo’s new model brings it closer to competitors like Gmail, which offers 15GB of free storage shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. Google’s paid plans also begin at $1.99/month for 100GB, but offer additional benefits such as photo backups and expanded cloud services. Gmail also provides a cleaner experience, with minimal ads even on its free plan.
Yahoo Mail’s new 20GB limit applies exclusively to email storage, a slight advantage for users who don’t rely heavily on broader cloud services. But the real test will be how users respond to the newly imposed constraints and whether the value proposition is strong enough to convert them into paying subscribers.
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CAC to Delist 100,000 Dormant Firms After 90-Day Compliance Window

Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Nigeria has announced a significant move to strike off approximately 100,000 dormant companies from its register due to their failure to file annual returns for over a decade.
This initiative, aimed at cleaning up the nation’s business registry, was confirmed in a statement released by the CAC on Tuesday, 29 July 2025. The commission has granted these companies a 90-day grace period to submit all outstanding annual returns or face permanent removal from the database.
The CAC’s action is grounded in Section 692 (3) (4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) No. 3 of 2020, which empowers the commission to delist defunct or inactive companies.
The statement, published on the CAC’s official website, urges affected companies to file their overdue returns and notify the commission via email at activation@cac.gov.ng to avoid being struck off.
The commission has also made it clear that it is illegal to conduct business under the name of a delisted company, as such entities are considered dissolved.
Registrar General Garba Abubakar previously noted that nearly 90% of registered companies in Nigeria are dormant, highlighting the scale of non-compliance. This crackdown is part of a broader effort to enhance transparency and ensure a robust business environment in Nigeria.
The CAC has advised stakeholders to verify the status of companies before engaging in transactions, warning that dealing with a dissolved company could lead to legal repercussions. Only a Federal High Court order can reinstate a delisted company, underscoring the gravity of the process.
The list of affected companies, numbering around 100,000, has been published on the CAC’s website, allowing businesses to check their status. Companies that have already filed complete annual returns but find themselves listed have been instructed to provide evidence of compliance by emailing compliance@cac.gov.ng within the 90-day window.
This initiative follows earlier warnings from the CAC, including a December 2024 announcement to delist 91,843 companies and a subsequent removal of 80,429 companies in November 2024, which included notable names like Innoson “Vinod” International Limited and Jolly Food Industries Ltd.
The 90-day grace period, starting from 29 July 2025, offers a final opportunity for these companies to regularise their status.
The CAC’s decisive action signals a commitment to fostering accountability and compliance within Nigeria’s corporate landscape, raising important questions about the operational challenges facing thousands of registered businesses.
As the deadline approaches, the commission’s efforts are expected to reshape the country’s business ecosystem, ensuring only active and compliant entities remain on the register.
News
InfraCredit, AMDA Sign Partnership to Unlock Local Financing for Africa’s Mini-grid Sector

InfraCredit, a specialised infrastructure credit guarantee institution, has entered into a strategic partnership with the Africa Minigrid Developers Association (AMDA) to boost access to long-term local currency financing for mini-grid and distributed renewable energy (DRE) projects across Africa.
The agreement aims to strengthen market development and address long-standing financing barriers in the mini-grid sector, especially in Nigeria and other underserved African markets.
The collaboration is aligned with InfraCredit’s Clean Energy Funding Programme (CEFP), which offers credit enhancement, due diligence support, and technical assistance to renewable energy developers.
“With an estimated 86 million Nigerians, alongside hundreds of millions across Africa—still living without electricity, bridging this energy access gap demands a pipeline of investment-ready, well-prepared projects that can unlock scalable capital and accelerate financial close,” said Chinua Azubike, CEO of InfraCredit.
“This partnership creates a practical pathway to scale the impact of our Clean Energy Funding Programme by equipping more developers to structure commercially viable mini-grid and DRE projects that qualify for long-term local currency finance,” Azubike added.
Through the agreement, both InfraCredit and AMDA will work together to facilitate technical assistance, share toolkits, and deploy credit modelling frameworks, including InfraCredit’s Distributed Renewable Energy Lending Toolkit (DRELT) and DRE Credit Rating Model. These tools aim to enhance the bankability of projects and improve developers’ ability to secure patient capital in local currency.
AMDA, which represents mini-grid developers operating in over 20 African countries, brings deep sector expertise and a strong network of DRE operators to the partnership.
According to Lamide Niyi-Afuye, CEO of AMDA, the collaboration addresses one of the most persistent challenges in the sector.
“We are pleased to collaborate with InfraCredit to address one of the most persistent barriers in the minigrid sector, access to affordable, long-term local currency finance,” said Niyi-Afuye.
“By aligning AMDA’s advocacy and technical support efforts with InfraCredit’s proven models and tools, we aim to accelerate the deployment of resilient, decentralised energy solutions that deliver tangible socioeconomic benefits in Africa. We view this partnership as a blueprint that will be used beyond borders, paving the way for broader regional impact,” he added.
The partnership will also support the development of transaction-ready pipelines, capacity-building initiatives, and investor-developer forums aimed at improving market transparency and accelerating the roll-out of commercially viable mini-grids.
By facilitating access to domestic blended finance and strengthening project preparation, the partnership hopes to unlock greater private sector participation, mobilise local capital, and expand clean energy access across unserved and underserved communities in Africa.
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