INFORMED LENS MEDIA REPORT

Ecobank Records N1.21 Trillion Pretax Profit in 2025 as Customer Deposits Surge Strongly Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Plc delivered a robust performance in 2025, posting a pretax profit of N1.21 trillion amid significant expansion in its customer base and balance sheet. The pan-African banking group benefited from higher transaction volumes, improved net interest income, and a continued shift toward digital banking channels, which helped drive deposit growth even as the operating environment remained challenging with currency volatility and inflationary pressures across its markets. Customer deposits rose notably during the year, reflecting increased customer confidence and deeper market penetration in Nigeria and other African operations. This surge in deposits supported balance sheet expansion, enabling the bank to grow its loan book and investment securities while maintaining disciplined cost management. The strong deposit inflows contributed directly to revenue gr...

Dakar 2026 Set to Make History as First Olympic Event on African Soil, With Just 200 Days to Go Dakar, Senegal, is preparing to host the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games from 31 October to 13 November 2026, marking a landmark moment as the first-ever Olympic-branded sports event to be held on the African continent. The Games will bring together approximately 2,700 young athletes aged 15 to 18 from around the world to compete in around 153 events across 25 sports, blending high-level competition with cultural exchange, education, and youth empowerment programmes. Under the motto “Africa welcomes, Dakar celebrates,” the event is expected to showcase Senegalese hospitality (Teranga) and serve as a catalyst for sporting, social, and economic development across the region, with venues in Dakar, Diamniadio, and Saly. This historic milestone comes after the original 2022 dates were postponed due to the global pandemic, giving Senegal and the African Olympic movement more time to bu...

Trump Brands Pope Leo XIV “Weak on Crime” and “Terrible for Foreign Policy” in Sharp Attack Over Iran War Criticism President Donald Trump launched a pointed rebuke against Pope Leo XIV on Sunday night, April 13, 2026, through a lengthy post on Truth Social and subsequent comments to reporters upon landing in Washington. In the message, Trump described the pontiff as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” expressing strong disapproval of the Pope’s repeated criticisms of U.S. military actions and threats in the ongoing conflict with Iran. He stated that he does not want a Pope comfortable with Iran possessing nuclear weapons or opposed to American interventions such as actions in Venezuela, and accused Leo of catering to the “Radical Left” instead of focusing on spiritual leadership. This direct confrontation marks an unusual escalation between a sitting U.S. president and the head of the Catholic Church, which counts 1.4 billion members worldwide. Trump went fur...

Manchester City Rout Chelsea 3-0 to Reignite Premier League Title Race Manchester City delivered a commanding second-half performance to thrash Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, April 12, 2026, significantly narrowing the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal and injecting fresh drama into the title chase. The visitors started cautiously in a disjointed first half, surviving early pressure from Chelsea. Marc Cucurella had a goal disallowed for offside, and Pedro Neto forced a save from City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Bernardo Silva came close for City, but the breakthrough only arrived after the interval. Nico O’Reilly opened the scoring in the 51st minute with a clinical header from close range, assisted by an in-swinging cross from the impressive Rayan Cherki. Just six minutes later, Marc Guehi doubled the lead with a composed strike from 12 yards into the far corner, again set up by Cherki’s sublime pass. Jeremy Doku sealed the rout in the 68th minute, pouncing on a de...

Claude Mania Sweeps HumanX: Anthropic Steals the Spotlight at AI’s Premier Gathering At the HumanX AI Conference held April 6–9, 2026, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, more than 6,500 executives, founders, investors, and technology leaders gathered for what has become known as the “Davos of AI.” The event centered on practical advancements in agentic artificial intelligence, enterprise workflows, infrastructure, governance, and real-world applications of AI tools. Amid the panels, expo floor discussions, and hallway conversations, one name rose above the rest: Claude from Anthropic. Observers on the ground noted that Claude, particularly its coding and agentic capabilities such as Claude Code, dominated much of the dialogue. Attendees repeatedly highlighted Anthropic’s tools for their effectiveness in software development, productivity gains, and complex task execution. In panels and vendor interactions, speakers offered frequent shoutouts to Anthropic, while casual ...

Google Allows U.S. Gmail Users to Change Username After 22 Years Google has rolled out a major update allowing users to change the username portion of their @gmail.com email address for the first time since Gmail launched in 2004. The feature enables users to update their primary email handle without creating a new account or losing any data. All existing emails, Google Drive files, Photos, YouTube history, and other linked services remain fully intact. The old username automatically becomes an alternate address (alias), so emails sent to it continue to arrive, and users can sign in with either address. Google CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted the change, stating: “2004 was a good year, but your Gmail address doesn’t need to be stuck in it.” He encouraged eligible users to visit their Google Account settings to select an available name. Key Limitations - Users can make the change once every 12 months. - Lifetime maximum of three changes (four unique usernames total, including the original)...