Storytimes Newspapers

  A fragile two-week ceasefire between Iran, the US and Israel, announced on 7-8 April 2026, has brought only limited relief to Tehran’s battered economy. Decades of sanctions, compounded by direct strikes on infrastructure during the five-to-six-week conflict that began in late February, have accelerated a collapse already underway. Analysts project a GDP contraction of around 10% or more this year, far worse than pre-war forecasts of modest shrinkage.7410c6 Iran’s economy was already fragile before the latest escalation. Chronic US sanctions had stifled oil revenues, driven the rial to record lows (trading at roughly 1.3–1.6 million to the US dollar in early 2026), and pushed inflation above 40%. Protests over living costs and energy shortages erupted in late 2025 and early 2026. The war dramatically worsened the picture through physical destruction, disrupted trade, and heightened uncertainty. Key blows to Iran’s economy Infrastructure damage: US and Israeli strikes targeted pow...

 A prominent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) figure and presidential hopeful, Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has sharply criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic management, asserting that Nigeria’s economy is in a worse state today than during the administrations of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan. In a recent interview, Olawepo-Hashim, a former National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, described the current economic situation as a “shocking regression” despite Nigeria’s abundant human and natural resources. He challenged key economic officials in the Tinubu administration — including the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria — to publicly defend their performance and provide evidence of improvement. Citing nominal GDP figures, Olawepo-Hashim stated: “GDP under Obasanjo was about $267 billion. Under Jonathan, it rose to over $574 billion in nominal terms. Today, under Tinubu, it has fallen to around $230 billion.” He argue...