Author: MNK News

In north central Nigeria’s Muslim-majority state of Kwara, where religious traditions shape daily life, a group of girls are challenging cultural norms by playing soccer. They’ve embraced the game’s team spirit, competitive thrill, plus the highs and lows of winning and losing, all whilst trying to ignore the disapproval of those who consider it unsuitable for women who choose to dress modestly. As Maryam Muhammed laces up her boots and heads to soccer training at a local school in Ilorin, she feels the sweltering heat — made worse by her hijab and leggings — as well as the scorn from…

Ever since since 2018, the United States Mint has issued special $1 coins every year to honor American innovation and the “pioneering efforts of individuals or groups.” The Mint has just revealed the designs for 2026 $1 Innovation coins, and one of them features Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs. It features a young Jobs sitting cross-legged in front of a quintessential California landscape with rolling hills and oak trees. “His posture and expression, as he is captured in a moment of reflection, show how this environment inspired his vision to transform complex technology into something as intuitive and…

Japan’s elite sumo wrestlers slapped, thrust and flipped their way through the first evening of their five-day exhibition tournament in London’s Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday, to the delight of a full house of spectators. After a ceremony-heavy start and some lively explanations for first-time watchers from Japanese broadcaster NHK’s veteran English-language announcer Hiro Morita, the audience watched the first few bouts in an atmosphere of near-reverence. By the time the small-but-powerful young wrestler Asakoryu, who like all “rikishi” goes by a single ring name, charged furiously into Sadanoumi in the fifth bout, the crowd had the gist of things.…

The difference in emissions between plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and gas cars is merely 19 percent and not 75 percent as lab tests show, according to a report by a group of European transport and environment NGOs. They analyzed data transmitted by the onboard fuel consumption meters of 800,000 plug-in hybrids registered in the continent between 2021 and 2023. What they found was that the real-world carbon dioxide emissions of PHEVs were 4.9 times higher than what they’re supposed to emit on paper, mostly because of manufacturers’ and testers’ flawed assumption on the share of the vehicles’ electric driving…

The British Basketball Federation has been suspended by the sport’s world governing body and its men’s team barred from international competition because of governance issues, FIBA announced on Wednesday. A task force was set up in August by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to investigate “regulatory non-compliance” within British basketball after a power struggle between the BBF and Super League Basketball. The BBF awarded a 15-year licence to run a new professional men’s competition — the Great Britain Basketball League — to GBB League Ltd (GBBL) in April, a consortium led by the American businessman Marshall Glickman. However, the nine…

TYLER, Texas (AP) — Celia Monreal worries every day about the cartilage loss in her husband’s knees. Not just because it’s hard for her to see him in pain but also because she knows soon their health care costs could skyrocket.Monreal, 47, and her husband, Jorge, 57, rely on the Affordable Care Act marketplace for health coverage. If Congress doesn’t extend certain ACA tax credits set to expire at the end of the year, their fully subsidized plan will increase in cost, putting it out of reach. Without insurance, they won’t be able to afford his expected knee replacement surgeries,…

Credible Crypto, a widely followed market technician with 479,900 followers on X, turned decisively upbeat on XRP in an October 15 video, arguing that the token’s high-time-frame structure “still looks absolutely freaking fantastic” despite “the most devastating and most significant liquidation event in the history of crypto.” He framed last Friday’s cross-market crash—“around 10 times more than the FTX collapse”—as a bottom-forming anomaly and said XRP’s key support held on closing bases, keeping his double-digit price outlook intact. XRP Targets Double-Digits The analyst’s core claim is straightforward: the violent wick to fresh lows across many venues did not invalidate XRP’s…

Federal regulators have granted preliminary approval to Erebor Bank, the crypto- and tech-focused financial outfit cofounded by Palmer Luckey and backed by Peter Thiel and Joe Lonsdale.”I am committed to a dynamic and diverse federal banking system, and our decision today is a first but important step in living up to that commitment,” Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of the Currency, said on Wednesday.The green light is a necessary step toward opening. Erebor is the first bank to receive such approval since Gould was sworn in in July.Luckey, who also co-founded autonomous weapons manufacturer Anduril Industries, helped start Erebor earlier this…

Federal regulators have granted preliminary approval to Erebor Bank, the crypto- and tech-focused financial outfit cofounded by Palmer Luckey and backed by Peter Thiel and Joe Lonsdale.”I am committed to a dynamic and diverse federal banking system, and our decision today is a first but important step in living up to that commitment,” Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of the Currency, said on Wednesday.The green light is a necessary step toward opening. Erebor is the first bank to receive such approval since Gould was sworn in in July.Luckey, who also co-founded autonomous weapons manufacturer Anduril Industries, helped start Erebor earlier this…

Federal regulators have granted preliminary approval to Erebor Bank, the crypto- and tech-focused financial outfit cofounded by Palmer Luckey and backed by Peter Thiel and Joe Lonsdale.”I am committed to a dynamic and diverse federal banking system, and our decision today is a first but important step in living up to that commitment,” Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of the Currency, said on Wednesday.The green light is a necessary step toward opening. Erebor is the first bank to receive such approval since Gould was sworn in in July.Luckey, who also co-founded autonomous weapons manufacturer Anduril Industries, helped start Erebor earlier this…