News
Meet David Alayande, 17-YearOld Whizkid Who Topped 2024 UTME In Nigeria

In an exclusive interview, David Alayande, one of the joint top scorers in the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), shares his journey to success.
Alayande, a 17-year-old student of Zamani College, Kaduna, scored 367 in the UTME, making him one of the top performers in the exam. He shares his primary and secondary education experiences, preparation for the UTME, and reaction to his result.
“I had my primary education at a private school in Barnawa, Kaduna South Local Government, Kaduna State. I remembered that I went away with all the prizes during graduation,” he said.
Alayande’s journey to success was not without challenges. He recalled feeling temporarily worried when he wasn’t coming first in his class at Zamani College. However, he had a rethink and decided to put in more effort and shun distractions.
To prepare for the UTME, Alayande did a lot of pre-mock and mock exams in his school from SS1. He also attended JAMB classes and tutorial sessions, and reviewed past questions. “I did a lot of past questions review. I did the JAMB mock exam as well and I scored 67 in English being the lowest score in that mock. After that experience, I decided to treat one English past question per day during my past time.”
When asked about his reaction to his result, Alayande said, “When I checked my result and saw my scores, I screenshot it and shared it with my friends first as a joke. However, I showed my parents and they were happy and said they were proud of me. That was emotional and I was grateful to God.”
Alayande plans to study Software Engineering at Nile University, citing his love for mathematics and creativity. “I like making things. I also want to study a course where I can work remotely. So, I can say I found all my interests in Software Engineering.”
He advises those coming behind him to be prayerful, determined, and hardworking, emphasizing the importance of setting targets and achieving them with God’s guidance and the right attitude. “They should be prayerful and act on their prayers because that is what helped me. We should pray for the spirit of excellence because when I was reviewing the grades, I was ahead of the second and third positions with just two marks.”
News
Air India Crash Investigation Takes New Turn as Cockpit Voice Recorder Recovered

Investigators probing the deadly Air India crash that killed at least 270 people have recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), a crucial step in determining the cause of the accident.
The CVR, along with the flight data recorder (FDR), forms the “black box” of the plane, which is designed to survive crashes and provide vital information for air crash investigations.
The London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed soon after taking off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport last week, killing most of the 242 passengers and crew members on board.
The investigation is being led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), with assistance from teams from the US and the UK, including the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The recovery of the CVR and FDR is a significant development in the investigation, as these devices capture crucial data and audio from the cockpit, including pilot conversations, alarms, and ambient sounds.
The analysis of these recorders will help experts reconstruct the flight’s final moments and determine the cause of the incident.
A high-level committee set up by the Indian government to examine the reasons behind the crash is expected to hold its first meeting soon.
The committee will submit a preliminary report within three months and propose new standard operating procedures (SOPs) to help prevent similar incidents in the future.
As the investigation continues, families of the victims are still grappling with the trauma and pain of their loss.
The process of identifying the victims has been slow and painstaking, with many bodies badly burned in the crash.
Over 90 victims have been identified through DNA matching, and 47 of the identified bodies have been sent to their families.
The former chief minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani, was among the identified victims. His funeral will be held with full state honors in Rajkot city.
The investigation into the Air India crash is ongoing, and officials are working to determine the cause of the accident and prevent similar incidents in the future.
Diaspora
Jamaica to Host 49th CARICOM Heads of Government Meetings

Jamaica will host the Forty-ninth (49th) Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) from July 6-8 in Montego Bay.
The Meeting will be held under the chairmanship of Dr. the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica.
Media partners interested in covering the Meeting are invited to apply for accreditation through the CARICOM registration link: https://register.caricom.org/view.php?id=46900.
The deadline for accreditation is Monday, June 23, 2025.
The Meeting will bring together regional leaders to discuss key issues affecting the Caribbean Community.
The Conference provides a platform for CARICOM Member States to share ideas, collaborate, and make decisions that promote the region’s development and prosperity.
The 49th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM is expected to strengthen regional cooperation and pave the way for a more prosperous and sustainable future for the Caribbean Community.
News
Iran Warns Trump, Dares Him to Strike Country

Iran Warns Trump, Dares Him to Strike Country
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Wednesday in a post on X that his country does not fear President Donald Trump’s threats and “absurd rhetoric.” In a separate television address, he vowed that Iran “will not surrender” and said any U.S. military intervention in the conflict would bring “irreparable damage.”
Trump is weighing whether to strike Iran, and the Pentagon has built up U.S. military forces in the Middle East in recent days. On social media Tuesday, Trump demanded “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” from Tehran without detailing what that would mean, and he described the supreme leader as an “easy target.” Israel and Iran continued to trade fire on Wednesday, the sixth day of the direct conflict.
Explosions were heard in Tehran early Wednesday as Israeli warplanes continued to hammer Iran. The Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for another district as the exodus from the Iranian capital continued. Israel said it attacked a centrifuge production site and several weapons manufacturing sites overnight.
Iran launched two waves of missiles at Israel overnight and said it used its hypersonic Fattah-1 missile for the first time. There have been no reports of casualties in Israel Wednesday.
The number of missiles Israel has faced in each retaliation barrage appears to have decreased over the past two days. Iran has not explained the decline, but Israel said it has destroyed more than a third of Iran’s missile launchers.
“The battle begins,” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, posted on social media early Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trump described him as an “easy target.”
As Trump mulls U.S. involvement, Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with Al Jazeera that “any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.”
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