Idris Elba knighted by King Charles III for services to young people and charity
via Punch Nigeria2 min read
Award-winning British actor Idris Elba has been knighted by King Charles III at Windsor Castle in recognition of his services to young people and his commitment to charitable causes. The Royal Family shared photos of the investiture ceremony on Instagram, congratulating Elba for his contributions. Elba reposted the images, expressing gratitude for the recognition and stating, “We are thankful. The work continues.” The knighthood acknowledges Elba’s extensive work supporting young people through various charitable initiatives, including his role as a Goodwill Ambassador for The King’s Trust, an organization he credits with helping launch his career. The honor was initially announced in King Charles’ 2026 New Year Honours list. Elba and his wife, Sabrina Elba, co-founded the Elba Hope Foundation in 2022 to support diaspora communities and expand opportunities for young people. Elba recently joined King Charles at a Buckingham Palace garden party celebrating the 50th anniversary of The King’s Trust, where they were seen together behind a DJ booth.
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Bitnob has announced the evolution of its infrastructure platform with the introduction of Bitnob Enterprise, a new non-custodial infrastructure stack, and the next generation of Bitnob Business, its managed platform for businesses. This development marks a significant step in Bitnob's growth from a single infrastructure platform to a broader ecosystem supporting businesses, developers, fintechs, and financial institutions in building and moving money globally. Since its launch as a consumer Bitcoin app in 2021, Bitnob has built infrastructure offering wallets-as-a-service, payments, card programs, collections, payouts, and stablecoin settlement products, facilitating over $4.5 billion in transaction volume. The updated Bitnob Business expands treasury capabilities, deepens integrations, improves stablecoin swap functionality, and broadens on-ramp and off-ramp coverage to over 110 countries. Bitnob Enterprise offers greater control over financial product building and operation for organizations and developers. Both products are powered by the same underlying infrastructure, with Bitnob Business providing a managed experience and Bitnob Enterprise allowing customers to retain control of their custody architecture and operational workflows. Bernard Parah, Founder and CEO of Bitnob, noted that this evolution supports customers who desire either a managed platform or greater ownership and flexibility. This launch comes as global demand for modern financial infrastructure accelera
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Must ReadNigeria has repeatedly implemented various reforms in its public sector, including policy, monetary, tax, and civil service reforms, yet significant change remains elusive. A key argument suggests that the one reform not yet fully attempted is the reformation of public sector boards. These boards, which oversee ministries' parastatals, regulators, development finance institutions, and other government entities, are theoretically responsible for strategic direction, accountability, and performance monitoring. However, in most cases, they function as ceremonial bodies for political appointments rather than effective governance structures. The author contends that no public institution in Nigeria performs above the level of its board, asserting that the board sets the ceiling for an institution's potential. To fix the boards, changes are needed in how directors are selected, prioritizing competence over political alignment, and establishing clear performance indicators. Furthermore, boards must shift from rubber-stamping management decisions to providing genuine strategic steering, and the role of the board Chair needs to be re-evaluated for its critical impact on effectiveness. Ultimately, the author argues that fixing public sector boards is the most impactful reform Nigeria can undertake, as it is a precondition for the success of all other reforms.
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