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Are you visiting Turkey? Everything you need to know about flight safety is provided here.

By
Havilah N. Ajayi
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With its historic cities and stunning coastlines, Türkiye remains one of the most popular holiday destinations for European travelers.

In 2025, the country welcomed 63.4 million visitors, with Russia, Germany and the UK the top markets for inbound travel.

Despite geopolitical tensions elsewhere in the wider region, and Türkiye’s geographic proximity, some travelers may be reconsidering planned trips to the country during the busy Easter and summer holiday seasons.

As a member of NATO, Türkiye is well defended and its military strength makes it one of the safest countries in the region. It will also ensure that tourism is not affected by regional tensions, protecting one of the country’s key economic drivers.

Türkiye does share borders with Syria to the south and Iran to the east. However, the main tourism hubs in the west and center of the country are located far from these areas. This means the “daily reality for tourists remains largely unaffected”, PA Turkey reports.

Flights from European cities to major Turkish airports, including Istanbul’s two main commercial airports and Antalya Airport, are continuing to operate according to schedule. Flag carrier Turkish Airlines has only cancelled services to select locations across the Middle East and the Gulf.

‘Business as usual’

Popular destinations such as Istanbul, the Turkish Riviera and the capital Ankara “continue to operate normally”, PA Turkey said. Chris Bazos, travel specialist and president of Travelogues, told the website that “all is well, and it’s business as usual”.

Istanbul, Türkiye’s largest city and a major tourism gateway, lies in the northwest of the country, thousands of kilometers from areas currently experiencing tensions. The Turkish Riviera – including well-known holiday resorts such as Antalya, Bodrum and Marmaris – is located along the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts in the southwest.

In a statement issued to Austrian newspaper Heute, the Austrian Travel Association said that travel to Türkiye “will be possible without restrictions”, and there is “currently absolutely no reason not to book a holiday on the Turkish Riviera and look forward to it”.

What is the official travel advice?

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to “within 10km of the border with Syria due to fighting and a heightened risk of terrorism”.

The US Department of State advises travelers to “exercise increased caution” if planning trips to Türkiye. It also says to not travel to southeast Türkiye.

Most travel insurance policies are unlikely to cover cancellations made purely as a precaution. In practice, this means travellers who choose not to go ahead with their trip may not be eligible for a full refund from airlines, hotels or tour operators.

Those considering postponing their holiday are advised to contact their travel provider and insurance company directly to discuss the options available under their specific booking conditions and policy.

Jigawa First Lady provides 600 poor residents with food assistance throughout Ramadan.

By
Havilah N. Ajayi
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The First Lady of Jigawa State, Hajiya Hadiza Umar Namadi, has distributed Ramadan food support to about 600 vulnerable residents across communities in the state as part of efforts to ease the burden of families during the holy month.

The distribution exercise took place on Thursday, March 12, where beneficiaries received food items to support them throughout the fasting period.

Speaking during the event, the First Lady urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the items and embrace the true spirit of Ramadan, which she described as a period of compassion, generosity and care for one another.

She expressed hope that the support would help ease the challenges faced by many families and enable them to observe the holy month with comfort and dignity.

Hajiya Umar Namadi also prayed for Allah’s mercy and blessings upon the people, asking that He grants everyone a safe return to their homes and counts them among those who will receive His mercy and be among the freed servants in the blessed month of Ramadan.

The First Lady appreciated the people of the state for their continued unity, cooperation and support, noting that their encouragement and prayers inspire the government to keep serving the communities.

She also thanked the Governor of Jigawa State, Mallam Umar Namadi, for his continuous support, encouragement and commitment to the welfare of the people.

According to her, the administration remains committed to initiatives that support the wellbeing of residents and strengthen community solidarity across the state.

She prayed that Almighty Allah accepts the acts of worship of Muslims during Ramadan and grants peace, blessings and prosperity to every home.

SIENNA SPIRO’s new single, “The Visitor,” is incredibly vulnerable.

By
Havilah N. Ajayi
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0

SIENNA SPIRO has today come through to unveil brand new single ‘The Visitor’, a long-awaited track by her fans.

The staggeringly vulnerable ballad draws its power from a show-stopping vocal, lyrics that cut to the bone, and a twenty-piece string orchestra led and arranged by Oscar-winner Peter Rotter (Oppenheimer, The Last Repair Shop).

SIENNA explained the history behind her new single: “It took me nine tries to write ‘The Visitor.’ I’ve felt like one my entire life — I’m terrified of impermanence, of things ending, of people leaving. It took me years to find the right words for that feeling. This song isn’t just a love song; it’s an ode to my life. A request to not be just a passing experience in someone’s life and learning to live with impermanence.”

 

Kentucky Is Shut Out of Gators Women’s Tennis

By
Havilah N. Ajayi
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0

Florida Gators women’s tennis grabbed another conference win against the Kentucky Wildcats at home Thursday. The Gators shut out the Wildcats 4-0 to improve their all-time record against their league rival to 25-5.

“Every win is important in this conference,” Gators associate head coach Axel Damiens said. “We took care of business today.”

The start of the match was delayed by an hour to dry the courts after the rain earlier in the day.

The Gators (9-3, 4-2 SEC) put on a clinic in doubles once the match started.  Their Court 3 pair of Lucie Pawlak-India Houghton made quick work of the Kentucky (8-7, 0-6) opponents in a 6-2 win.  Their Court 1 duo of Nikola Daubnerova-Xinyi Nong followed with a 6-3 win to grab the Gators’ the first point of the day.

Florida kept up the momentum in singles by winning the first set on five out of the six courts.

Daubnerova and Brooke Black swept their first sets.  Houghton lost the first game of her first set before winning the next six to take it. Pawlak won her first set by the same score.

Gabia Paskauskas took a little longer but still pulled out a 6-3 victory.  The lone Gator to lose her first set was Valery Gynina, who fell 6-3 to Julia Zhu, Kentucky’s highest-ranked singles player.

Daubnerova was the first to finish her match.  After her opponent, Donna Le Roux grabbed her first game of the match in the first game of the second set, Daubnerova won six of the last seven to take the set.

“I just try to come out as sharp as I can,” Daubnerova said. “You have to take care of business on your court and that’s the best way you can help the team.”

Pawlak finished next, taking a 6-3 victory in her second set against Asuncion Jadue to bring the Gators just one point from victory.

Paskauskas jumped out to an early 5-3 lead and got to match point in her ninth game.  At the same time, Zhu had match point on Gynina with a chance to break up Florida’s shutout.

While Paskauskas took a couple tries to get that last point, Gynina came back and took her game to keep the shut out intact, earning a big reaction from the crowd.  Paskauskas scored shortly afterward to complete Florida’s 4-0 shutout.

The Gators’ next match is at 11:30 a.m. Saturday against No. 11 Tennessee (8-3, 4-2) at home.

Max Verstappen sets a new F1 low while Red Bull issues an apology for the disastrous Chinese Grand Prix.

By
Havilah N. Ajayi
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0

Max Verstappen hit a new low in F1 on Friday as Red Bull were forced to apologies for a disastrous day at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The four-time world champion has been critical of the sport’s sweeping new regulations throughout the build-up to the new season, but the Sprint Qualifying session at the Shanghai International Circuit was his worst moment yet.

Verstappen managed only P8 as he trailed a staggering 1.734 seconds behind Mercedes pole sitter George Russell.

It was a dreadful session for the 28-year-old Dutchman, who has even talked about potential retirement given his dislike for the sport’s new cars. He wasted no time in unloading his feelings on team radio.

“I just can’t accept this,” Verstappen fumed, adding: “This is unmanageable. We’ve never seen anything this poor.”

It wasn’t just Verstappen suffering at Red Bull either – new team-mate Isack Hadjar also struggled mightily as he qualified in 10th, a shocking 2.203 seconds off pole.

Red Bull team principal Laurent Meike’s was quick to apologies to Verstappen as he admitted: “I’m sorry, Max. It’s been tough, but there’s a lot we can learn from here. The weekend is far from over, and we’re not giving up.”

Why are Red Bull struggling so much?

Meike’s later spoke with Dutch broadcaster Viaplay and explained why the team is facing such huge challenges.

“Right from the first laps, it’s been an enormous challenge. We just can’t seem to get the car into the right operating window, and on top of that, we’ve lost valuable time with a number of issues.

“They’re all small problems that add up, leaving us below the performance level we were aiming for. There’s still plenty of work to do.”

 

Can the issues be resolved?

 

We are now less than 48 hours away from Sunday’s actual Chinese Grand Prix, so time is very short for Red Bull to even start to close such a massive gap.

Meike’s reasoned: “Time will tell. The gap to our rivals has widened significantly since Melbourne. It’s really about understanding what we’re missing and figuring out how to bring everything together for a stronger performance.”

Trump: The new supreme leader of Iran is still alive but “damaged”

By
Havilah N. Ajayi
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0

President Donald Trump said that he thinks new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whose father, the former supreme leader, was killed ​on the first day of the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran, is alive but “damaged.”

Khamenei has not been seen ⁠by Iranians since his selection on Sunday by a clerical ​assembly, and his first comments were read out by a television ​presenter on Thursday.

“I think he probably is (alive). I ​think he is damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form, ‌you ⁠know,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News’ “The Brian Kilmeade Show.”

His remarks were published by Fox News late on Thursday.

In Khamenei’s first comments, he vowed to keep the Strait of ​Hormuz shut and ​called on ⁠neighboring countries to close U.S. bases on their territory or risk Iran targeting them.

The U.S. and ​Israel began attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. ​Iran ⁠has responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf countries with U.S. bases.

As the war approached the two-week mark, having ⁠killed thousands ​and shaken financial markets, the leaders ​of Iran, Israel and the United States all voiced defiance and have vowed to ​fight on.

Verstappen believes that Formula One is “a jungle,” but he still expects for “simple solutions.”

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admin
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The four-time F1 world champion isn’t a fan of the new 2026 technical regulations, despite working his way up from No. 20 on the grid to place sixth at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last weekend.

Verstappen predicted his Red Bull probably couldn’t go any higher than fifth place this weekend in the Chinese Grand Prix — even if he starts much closer to the front in Sunday’s race in Shanghai — because of the big gap between Mercedes and Ferrari and all the other teams.

“Honestly, it’s such a jungle out there at the moment,” Verstappen said Thursday at the driver news conferences in Shanghai. “I mean, I would hope that it gets a bit closer … but it’s clear that at the moment we cannot fight with those cars.”

 

 

 

F1’s new cars are complex, with unprecedented changes across the chassis and power unit, which now feature an almost 50:50 output split between the turbo 1.6-liter V6 engine and electrical energy harvested from the brakes — one that requires a new, often counterintuitive driving style.

One of Verstappen’s concerns is starting the race with empty batteries in the hybrid cars. Franco Colapinto only very narrowly avoided Liam Lawson at the start of the Australian Grand Prix, with the Racing Bulls car was slow off the line with minimal battery power — many drivers started with depleted batteries among the teething issues with the new rules.

“There are a few simple solutions, but they need to be allowed by the FIA, with the battery related stuff, because, yeah, starting with the 0% battery — not a lot of fun and also quite dangerous,” Verstappen said. “You can see, I mean, we almost had a massive shunt in Melbourne in the start.

“This is something that I think can be easily fixed.”

As for speculation he may quit if reforms aren’t made quickly, Verstappen said: “I don’t want to leave, but I also hope, of course, that it gets better.

 

 

 

 

Verstappen says that the new F1 vehicles are “more like Mario Kart.”

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admin
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The Red Bull driver crashed in qualifying in the season-opener in Australia last weekend before having to carve his way from 20th on the grid to finish a creditable sixth.

The new cars require battery management and energy harvesting with a 50-50 split between conventional and electrical power.

They also have features such as straight-line mode, active aero, overtake and boost buttons, which Verstappen reckons are nearer to a video game.

“I swapped the simulator for my Nintendo Switch. I’m practising with Mario Kart, actually. Finding the mushrooms is going quite well, the blue shells are a bit more difficult.”

 

 

 

Verstappen announced this week that he would be driving in the Nurburgring 24-hour race this year.

“I wish I had a bit more fun for sure,” he said of Formula One at the moment.

“I mean, I get to race the Nordschleife (Nurburgring) and I hope in the coming years I can do Spa and hopefully Le Mans.

“So I’m combining stuff and I’m also doing other stuff that is a lot of fun.

 

 

 

 

“It’s a bit conflicted because I don’t really enjoy to drive the car, but I do enjoy working with all the people in the team and from the engine department as well.”

He did express optimism that things would improve as the new rules and regulations were adjusted and said drivers were already in discussions over changes.

“I hope, of course, that it gets better,” said the Dutchman.

“I’ve had discussions with F1 and the FIA and I think we are working towards something that will improve everything.”

 

 

 

The US alerts Nigerians about potential terrorist threats against its educational institutions and facilities.

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admin
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A potential terrorist threat to US facilities and US-affiliated schools in Nigeria has been alerted by the US embassy there.

The US embassy in Nigeria issued a security notice on March 9 advising Americans to be more cautious when visiting its diplomatic facilities and related establishments.

The alert states, “The U.S. Embassy in Abuja notifies U.S. citizens of a possible terrorist threat against U.S. facilities and U.S. affiliated schools in Nigeria.”

When visiting US diplomatic facilities in the nation, the mission advised Americans to exercise extra vigilance.

 

 

“When travelling to the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos, and U.S. affiliated schools, the Embassy recommends that U.S. citizens take additional precautions, including varying times and routes,” the embassy stated.

The embassy counselled individuals to steer clear of monotonous routines and become more conscious of their surroundings.

Additionally, it encouraged citizens to discuss their personal security plans with family members.

Keeping a low profile, being vigilant in public areas, and avoiding crowds and protests were some of the safety precautions mentioned.

Additionally, the embassy recommended citizens to familiarise themselves with emergency exits when entering buildings and to keep their cell phones charged.

The mission stated that the consular divisions of the general consulate in Lagos and the embassy in Abuja are still operational.

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