General News
Omnichannel Retail Now Pose Challenge to Online Shoppers- Report

Omnichannel has been a buzzword in retail in recent years, yet providing a seamless shopping experience across all different channels is becoming more and more challenging, according to the International Post Corporation (IPC).
IPC said one reason for this is the huge increase of touch-points the modern consumer has before purchase.
IPC was reacting to according to a Webloyalty & Conlumino research from 2015 which records that in 2000, the average consumer typically used around two touch-points during the purchase process and only 7% of consumers regularly used over four.
Today, an average retail shopper uses just under five different touch-points, including stores, websites, dedicated apps, telephone order lines, catalogues, social media etc.
Seamless shopping experience means that whether a customer is visiting the website from home to research a product, using the mobile app to ‘click and collect’ or walking into a local high street branch to pick something up in person, the customer journey has to run smoothly and in very similar steps.
Should a regular high street shop visitor decides to go to their retailer’s website, he would easily see similarities between the website’s structure and design and those of the physical store, enhancing the user experience and adding to the visitor’s confidence about their shopping.
The purchase path online should also be as similar to the physical store’s as possible so that a purchase can be processed fast and without any issues or hidden costs (in many cases, the delivery costs are only mentioned at the latest stage of placing an order, reducing the sales conversion).
The key, however, is to ensure channels are not completely replicating each other, as online, for instance, can have a different focus and set of business objectives to in-store.
The technologies enabling the omnichannel landscape in retail are capable of turning every touch point, including offline environments and printed materials into online shopping environments and accountable sales vehicles.
Advertising mail has proven to be a powerful physical touch-point that enables online engagement for retail customers using technologies such as Near Field Communication (NFC), BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), QR-codes and others (view examples in the DM case studies library).
Etihad Deepens Maintenance Agreement with Air France-KLM
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has expanded its strategic cooperation with Air France-KLM through a several hundred million US dollar component maintenance agreement for its Boeing 777 fleet.
The 10-year deal, effective February 2016, provides Etihad Airways and its equity partners with access to an extensive global pool of components offered by Air France-KLM’s maintenance arm, Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M), for the wide-body aircraft through the 777 Component Services Program (CSP) jointly operated with Boeing. Etihad Airways currently operates a fleet of 33 long-range and extended-range passenger and cargo Boeing 777 variants.
The maintenance agreement is the latest phase of a partnership struck between Etihad Airways and Air France-KLM in October 2012.
The carriers have a commercial alliance involving codesharing on flights across their networks over hubs in Abu Dhabi, Paris and Amsterdam.
The wide-ranging codeshare agreement sees Etihad Airways and Air France-KLM offering joint codes on destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.
Jeff Wilkinson, senior vice president Technical of Etihad Airways, said: “Through this latest phase in our relationship with Air France-KLM, we are confident Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance will provide easy, quick, reliable and cost-effective access to components for our triple seven aircraft which are the backbone of our rapidly-growing fleet.
“It builds on an excellent commercial agreement we have enjoyed with Air France-KLM over the past three years helping to provide the high level of efficiencies required in a competitive environment.”
Franck Terner, executive vice president of Air France KLM Engineering & Maintenance, said: “We are very pleased with the trust placed by Etihad Airways in our services. This agreement further demonstrates the competitiveness of our component support offer, and AFI KLM E&M’s ability to tailor maintenance solutions exactly matching its customers’ needs.”
The agreement provides Etihad Airways with access to AFI KLM E&M’s extensive component maintenance network and a significant upgrade of its service offering.
Through its global MRO network, AFI KLM E&M will maintain pool stock in the UAE and around the world to support Etihad Airways’ Boeing 777 fleet.
In addition, the partnership includes a framework for further collaboration with Etihad Airways’ partners and a tie-up with Etihad Airways Engineering for additional maintenance services.
Etihad Airways and Air France-KLM together provide a combined codeshare network of over 40 destinations.
The strategic alliance is aimed at exploring areas of potential cooperation, including joint procurement, maintenance and repair collaboration to identify cost savings and achieve economies of scale.
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General News
Court Remands Akujobi, Ex Access over alleged Theft of N294.5m

Chinonso Akujobi, former staff of Access Bank in Lagos, has been remanded in Ikoyi prison after she was arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on stealing to the tune of N294.5m.

Akujobi who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was arraigned before Justice I.O. Ijelu of the State High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.
EFCC alleged that Akujobi stole the money between January and December 2025 while under the employment of Access Bank Plc.
As stated in one the charges, the defendant stole the money through unauthorized payments from the general ledger of Access Bank to her account number 0036668871 with the name Chinonso A., Uchechi A. and Florence A., thereby committing an offence of stealing, contrary to Section 280 and punishable under Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The defendant pleaded “not guilty“ to the charges when they were read to her.
In view of this, S.M.Yabo, prosecution counsel, asked the court for a trial date and also prayed for the remand of the defendant in a Correctional centre.
Justice Ijelu, thereafter, adjourned the case till October 8, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application and the commencement of trial.
The Judge also ordered that the defendant be remanded in the Ikoyi correctional Centre.
General News
NSIB Faults Runway Identification, Reveals Cockpit Disagreement in Asaba Jet Incident

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says the flight captain of the VMO Aero aircraft that landed on a roadway near Asaba Airport in Delta State told investigators that the observer pilot mistakenly identified the paved road as the runway before touchdown.

The bureau disclosed this in a preliminary report released on Thursday on the June 10 incident, which prompted the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to ground the private jet.
The aircraft had seven people on board, including the pilot-in-command (PIC), second-in-command (SIC), an observer pilot, a cabin crew member and three passengers.
According to the report, the aircraft was cleared by Air Traffic Control (ATC) to approach Runway 11 at Asaba Airport after the crew requested a right orbit.
The crew initially discontinued the approach, executed a missed approach and repositioned for a second landing attempt.
NSIB said the crew reported that the aircraft’s navigation systems indicated it was correctly established on the published RNAV Runway 11 approach.
“The PIC and SIC reported that the observer pilot identified the paved surface ahead as the runway,” the report stated.
However, the observer pilot gave investigators a different version of events.
According to NSIB, he said the aircraft remained inside cloud until late in the approach and that the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) repeatedly issued “TERRAIN, TERRAIN, PULL UP” alerts.
He also said he observed a telecommunications mast directly ahead and instructed the flight captain to abandon the approach and climb immediately.
The bureau further disclosed that a cabin crew member reported that one of the passengers became concerned after overhearing discussions among the pilots and asked whether one of them was undergoing training. The passenger was reportedly reassured that all three pilots on board were experienced captains.
NSIB said no abnormal events were reported in the cabin before touchdown.
The aircraft eventually landed at about 8:57 a.m. on an under-construction paved roadway near Asaba Airport instead of the designated runway.
The bureau said its investigation into the incident is ongoing, while the preliminary report highlights conflicting accounts among the cockpit crew over the circumstances that led to the erroneous landing.
General News
EU warns Meta over addictive Facebook, Instagram designs, threatens fines

European Union has warned Meta Platforms Inc. that it could face a significant financial penalty unless it changes what regulators describe as the “addictive design” features of Facebook and Instagram.

The European Commission issued the warning in preliminary findings released on Friday, saying Meta had failed to sufficiently address risks posed by its platforms, particularly to children and vulnerable users.
The Commission said features such as infinite scrolling, personalised content recommendations and automatic video playback were designed in ways that encouraged excessive engagement with the platforms.
EU Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, said protecting the physical and mental well-being of European citizens should be a priority for social media companies.
The Commission said Meta should consider introducing design changes, including disabling autoplay and infinite scrolling by default, providing effective screen-time reminders and adjusting recommendation systems to reduce the focus on maximising user engagement.
The findings were issued under the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which sets obligations for major online platforms to address risks associated with their services.
Meta, however, rejected the Commission’s conclusions, saying it disagreed with the findings but would continue engaging with European regulators.
The company said it had already implemented measures aimed at protecting younger users, including Teen Accounts that allow parents to manage screen time limits and restrict access during night hours.
The EU said its investigation, which began in 2024, found that existing time-management tools on Facebook and Instagram could easily be bypassed, while parental controls required technical knowledge that limited their effectiveness.
Regulators also expressed concerns over children’s nighttime use of the platforms and the possibility that features such as Reels and Stories could encourage compulsive behaviour.
If the Commission’s preliminary findings are confirmed, Meta could face a fine of up to six per cent of its annual global revenue under the DSA.
The warning comes as the EU steps up efforts to strengthen online safety measures for children, with an expert panel established by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expected to present recommendations on protecting minors online.
Several EU member states, including France, have also supported discussions on restricting social media access for children, following Australia’s decision to ban users under 16 from accessing social media platforms.
Meanwhile, the Commission is continuing a separate investigation into whether Meta’s recommendation algorithms create “rabbit hole” effects by directing users towards increasingly extreme content.
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