Saudi Arabia has rejected Nigeria’s request for an increase in its 2027 Hajj allocation, leaving the country’s quota unchanged at 50,000 pilgrims despite rising demand from intending pilgrims across the country. The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) said it formally approached the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to seek additional slots after receiving…
Japan’s yen-pegged stablecoin issuer JPYC has temporarily suspended issuance reservations on the Ethereum and Polygon networks after a glitch affected its issuance process. JPYC announced the disruption on September 17, saying reservations for new JPYC issuance on Ethereum had been paused while the company investigated the cause. The suspension was subsequently extended to Polygon. The…
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), working with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the Metropolitan Police, has taken enforcement action against three London premises suspected of operating illegal peer-to-peer cryptocurrency businesses. The operation, carried out on September 10, targeted locations believed to be involved in P2P crypto trading without the required regulatory registration. Authorities…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has granted temporary, conditional regulatory relief to platforms seeking to trade tokenized U.S. stocks on blockchain-based infrastructure. The SEC announced the move on September 17, introducing what it calls the “Innovation Exemption.” The framework allows qualifying Tokenized Securities Venues (TSVs) to facilitate permissioned trading of certain tokenized National…
New York Life Investment Management, which oversees approximately $807 billion in assets, has launched its first tokenized investment fund on the Avalanche blockchain, marking another major step in the growing adoption of blockchain technology by traditional asset managers. The fund, known as HYB, is a tokenized version of NYLIM’s actively managed U.S. high-yield corporate bond…
Ireland will not participate in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, with national broadcaster RTÉ confirming that it will also refuse to broadcast the competition because of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israel’s continued participation in the contest. RTÉ announced the decision on Thursday, September 17, saying its position on Eurovision participation “remains unchanged”…
Nigeria’s gross external reserves have climbed above $54 billion, reaching their highest level since December 2008 and giving the country a substantially larger foreign-exchange buffer. Latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that gross external reserves stood at $54.61 billion as of September 14, 2026, compared with $45.57 billion at the beginning…
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is set to attend a White House state dinner hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump for Chinese President Xi Jinping next week. OpenAI confirmed Altman’s attendance on Wednesday, September 16, ahead of Xi’s planned visit to Washington on September 24. The dinner is expected to bring together prominent American business leaders…
Operations around Nigeria’s Lekki Deep Seaport are facing growing pressure as worsening traffic congestion along the Lekki-Epe corridor continues to disrupt the movement of trucks and other vehicles serving the port. Stakeholders operating around the Lekki port axis say the persistent gridlock is beginning to affect cargo evacuation and could further undermine port operations if…
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published final guidance explaining which cryptocurrency activities will require regulatory authorisation under the country’s incoming cryptoasset regime. The guidance was released on September 16, just two weeks before the FCA’s new authorisation gateway opens on September 30, 2026. The new regulatory framework is scheduled to come fully into…
