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Vatican library opens prayer room for Muslim scholars

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A Muslim prayer room has been set up in the heart of the Vatican City’s 500-year-old library.

Islamic scholars visiting the Vatican Apostolic Library had requested a “room with a carpet to pray on” and staff heeded their request.

The Vatican Apostolic Library was founded in the 15th century and is thought of as the intellectual epicentre of the Catholic Church.

It boasts around 80,000 manuscripts, 50,000 archival items and almost two million books.

The library’s Vice Prefect, Giacomo Cardinali, told Italian outlet La Repubblica: “Muslim scholars asked us for a room with a carpet to pray on, and we gave it to them: we have incredible ancient Korans.

“We are a universal library, with Arabic, Jewish and Ethiopian collections, as well as unique Chinese pieces.

“Years ago, we discovered that we had the oldest medieval Japanese archive outside of Japan.”

In addition to the enormous number of texts, the library also contains hundreds of thousands of coins, medals, engravings, and prints.

This is in contrast to the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia takes a much harder stance on inter-faith acceptance.

Islam’s holy city receives nine million visitors each year – none of whom are non-Muslims.

Those of other or no faith are strictly prohibited from entering the city under Saudi law.

Non-Muslims found inside the city are subject to heavy fines, imprisonment and deportation.

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Education

Tinubu appoints NECO, NBTE chairmen, names poly rector, renews library DG tenure

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President Bola Tinubu has approved new appointments across key education agencies, including the National Examinations Council and the National Board for Technical Education.

According to a statement on Wednesday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the appointments are part of efforts to strengthen institutions under the Federal Ministry of Education.

The President appointed Prof. Modupe Adeola Adelabu as Chairman of the Governing Board of the National Examinations Council, while retaining the Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim Dantani Wushishi.

He also named Prof. Babatunde Salako as Chairman of the National Board for Technical Education, while earlier reappointing the Executive Secretary, Prof. Idris Bugaje, for a second and final term of five years.

In the polytechnic sector, Tinubu appointed Dr Bongfa Binfa as Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, N’yak-Shendam, Plateau State, for a single term of five years. Binfa succeeds the pioneer rector, Dr Mukaila Zakari Ya’u, whose tenure ended in March 2026.

Until his appointment, Binfa was the Deputy Rector (Academic) at the Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas, Bonny, and previously lectured at the Federal Polytechnic, Idah.

The President also renewed the tenure of Prof. Chinwe Veronica Anunobi as Director-General of the National Library of Nigeria for a final term of five years.

Anunobi, who was first appointed in September 2021, has led “several institutional reforms aimed at repositioning the National Library as a modern technology-driven knowledge institution” including the development of digital platforms such as the National Repository of Nigeria and the National Virtual Library.

The statement noted that Adelabu, a former Deputy Governor of Ekiti State and ex-chairman of the NBTE, brings extensive experience in educational administration, while Salako is a former Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research.

See also  Nigerian scholar wins China study tour

It added that the renewal of Anunobi’s tenure is expected to ensure continuity in ongoing reforms and the completion of the National Library headquarters project in Abuja.

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JAMB releases Monday’s UTME results

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the results of candidates who sat the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination on Monday, April 20.

Its spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, disclosed this in a statement released on Tuesday, directing affected candidates to the board’s standard result-checking channels.

“The results for Monday, 20th, have been released. Candidates can view their results using the usual process,” the statement read.

Candidates can access their scores by sending “UTMERESULT” to 55019 or 66019 via SMS, using the phone number with which they registered for the examination.

Monday’s release is the latest in a series of daily result announcements that JAMB has been making since the 2026 UTME commenced on Thursday, April 16.

The exercise, which involves over two million candidates sitting computer-based tests at centres across the country, has seen the board publish results in batches corresponding to each examination day.

The board started the process by releasing results for Thursday’s candidates, followed by a combined batch covering Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18.

The Friday-Saturday release, however, came later than candidates had expected. JAMB had initially indicated the results would be available on Saturday but failed to meet that timeline, drawing frustration from candidates who waited through the night.

The board subsequently apologised, attributing the delay to the absence of its chief executive, who was occupied with an official engagement.

The results were eventually published on Sunday, April 19, before the board moved on to process and release the Monday batch.

See also  PHOTOS: Seven pupils injured in Benue school explosion

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JAMB releases over 1.8 million UTME results nationwide

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the release of results for candidates who sat the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination on Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18.

In a statement issued on Sunday by its spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, the board said 1,264,940 results from the two days had been processed and made available for candidates.

“The results of candidates who sat the examination on Friday, 17 April and Saturday, 18 April 2026 have now been released.

“A total of 1,264,940 results from these two days are available for candidates to check/view,” the statement read.

The board noted that this latest batch follows an earlier release of results for candidates who wrote the examination on Thursday, April 16.

“The board had earlier released 632,752 results of candidates who sat the examination on Thursday, 16 April 2026. This brings the total number of results released so far to 1,897,692,” it said.

JAMB urged candidates to access their results through its designated SMS channels, maintaining its standard result-checking procedure.

“To view their results, candidates should send UTMERESULT to 55019 or 66019 using the phone (SIM) number they used to register for the 2026 UTME,” the statement added.

The examination body further explained that the results released so far represent outcomes from the first three days of the nationwide exercise.

The UTME, which commenced nationwide on Thursday, is expected to have over two million candidates participating across various computer-based test centres.

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