Headline

Don’t Sleep With Phone Under Your Pillow, Tech Expert Warns

Published

2 months ago

May 5, 2025

Technology advisor at TMB Tech, Akin Ibitoye, has issued a stern warning to Nigerians about the health and safety risks of sleeping with mobile devices under their pillows or beside their beds.

Speaking on the Morning Brief on Channels Television on Monday, Ibitoye highlighted the dangers posed by mobile gadgets, ranging from disrupted sleep patterns to potential explosions caused by overheating lithium-ion batteries.

“Do not sleep with your gadget under your pillow. When you sleep with your devices under your pillow, it actually affects you. You don’t know,” Ibitoye cautioned.

According to him, beyond the popular blue light emissions that interfere with the body’s circadian rhythm, an internal biological clock that regulates sleep-wake cycles and other physiological processes over a 24-hour period, influenced by light and other environmental cues, the physical presence of a mobile phone in the bedroom can reduce sleep quality, increase irritability, and in extreme cases, pose safety hazards.

“These gadgets disrupt our circadian rhythm. That’s how, when it’s dark, your body gets the signal it needs to sleep. When you don’t get enough sleep, there are quite a number of things that even the medical practitioners have said could result negatively back to your body,” he explained.

He also raised concerns about the psychological effects of constant connectivity, warning against “doomscrolling”; a habit where users go online for a quick check but end up spending hours.

“We spoke about doomscrolling, where you just want to check Instagram for about five minutes, but you end up spending two hours,” he said.

Ibitoye urged Nigerians to return to using alarm clocks instead of relying on their phones to wake up.

“Before mobile phones, we had alarm clocks. The alarm clock would only sound when the time is right,” he noted, adding that phones attract unnecessary distractions at night with pop-ups and vibrations.

Addressing those who claim they need their phones nearby for work or emergencies, he said, “Unless it’s absolutely tied to your work, you can do without your phone.”

Beyond sleep concerns, Ibitoye warned of physical hazards such as overheating and potential fire risks. He cited past incidents involving phone batteries that exploded due to heat buildup, especially when left under pillows or bedcovers.

“These batteries, lithium-ion batteries, you notice they don’t allow them on airplanes for good reasons. This tiny marvel of technology can explode anytime. If you keep your phone under your pillow, your phone actually gets heated up,” he said.

He referenced a viral video of a woman whose phone exploded while she was making a call.

“Sleeping with your phone or your tablet under your pillow is actually a huge risk that you do not want to take.”

On the subject of radiation, Ibitoye said that even when a phone appears off, it can still send and receive signals.

“These electromagnetic devices being so close, actually affect the electrical signals in our brain,” he explained, urging frequent phone users to opt for wired or wireless earphones and keep phones away from their heads.

For those living in tight spaces or unable to switch off their phones, Ibitoye advised using airplane mode at night.

“If you cannot afford to switch it off, put it in airplane mode. No call will come in, no SMS, no notification, but your alarm will still go off.”

He concluded with a reminder: “As ubiquitous as technology is, it can be harmful to our bodies with extended usage.”

Headline

US Says Strikes ‘Devastated’ Iran’s Nuclear Program

Published

27 minutes ago

June 22, 2025

Editor

Unprecedented US strikes have wrecked Iran’s nuclear program, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday as Washington sought to assess what remained of the three targeted sites.

The surprise strikes threaten to deepen conflict in the Middle East after Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran, with Tehran vowing to retaliate against US involvement.

But the United States said President Donald Trump wanted peace and urged Iran to end the conflict after strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.

“We devastated the Iranian nuclear program,” Hegseth told a Pentagon press briefing, adding that the operation “did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people.”

Trump “seeks peace, and Iran should take that path”, Hegseth said. “This mission was not, and has not been, about regime change.”

Standing beside Hegseth, top US general Dan Caine said that “it would be way too early for me to comment on what may or may not still be there.”

“Initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction,” he told reporters.

– Protests in Tehran –

People gathered in the center of Tehran to protest against US and Israeli attacks, waving flags and chanting slogans, state TV showed.

Trump claimed total success for the operation in an address to the nation hours after the attack, and Vice President JD Vance followed up on Sunday morning.

“We know that we set the Iranian nuclear program back substantially last night, whether it’s years or beyond,” he told ABC.

“We’re not at war with Iran — we’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program,” he added. “The president took decisive action to destroy that program last night.”

In Tehran, AFP journalists said the roar of aircraft flying over the city was heard repeatedly for the first time since Israel’s initial attacks.

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency said it had not detected any increase in radiation levels at the nuclear sites and Tehran said Sunday there were no signs of contamination.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Istanbul the United States and Israel had “crossed a very big red line,” asserting Iran would continue to defend itself “by all means necessary.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the US strikes, saying Trump’s decision to “target Iran’s nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history.”

The Israeli military was also checking the results of the US raid on the deeply buried nuclear facility in Fordo, with a spokesman saying it was “too soon” to know if Iran had removed enriched uranium from the site.

The main US strike group was seven B-2 Spirit bombers flying 18 hours from the US mainland to Iran with multiple aerial refuelings, Caine said.

– Global concern –

In response to the US attack, Iran’s armed forces said they targeted multiple sites in Israel including Ben Gurion airport, the country’s main international gateway near Tel Aviv.

Israeli rescuers said at least 23 people were wounded.

In Jerusalem, Claudio Hazan, a 62-year-old software engineer, said he hoped the US intervention would hasten an end to the Iran-Israel war.

“Israel by itself would not stop… and it would take longer,” he said.

Israel said it had launched fresh strikes on western Iran and in Qom, south of Tehran. Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported four Revolutionary Guard members were killed in strikes on a military base in the city’s north.

The Israeli military said it had “struck missile launchers ready to launch toward Israeli territory, soldiers in the Iranian Armed Forces, and swiftly neutralized the launchers that launched missiles toward Israeli territory.”

Iran’s Shargh newspaper reported that a “massive explosion was heard” Sunday in Bushehr province, home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant.

Iranian news agencies also reported strikes in Yazd province.

The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-US nuclear talks, criticized the US move and urged de-escalation.

The European Union called on all sides “to step back,” while stressing Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

The Iranian foreign minister said he would travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Following his address, Trump warned Iran against retaliation. Iran and its proxies have previously attacked US military bases in Iraq and elsewhere in the region.

Iran’s Huthi allies in Yemen on Sunday repeated their threat to resume attacks in the Red Sea if Washington joined the war, saying they were ready to target US ships and warships.

The US president had stepped up his rhetoric against Iran since Israel first struck the country on June 13, repeating his insistence it could never have nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies seeking an atomic bomb. On Saturday, President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s right to pursue a civilian nuclear program “cannot be taken away… by threats or war.”

Headline

US Struck Iran With B-2 Bombers, Submarine-launched Missiles – Top US General

Published

44 minutes ago

June 22, 2025

Editor

Seven stealth bombers were used in the US attack against Iranian nuclear sites, which apparently saw little response by Iran’s military, top general Dan Caine said Sunday.

Describing the complex operation, dubbed “Midnight Hammer,” Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said the “main strike package comprised of 7 B-2 Spirit bombers” flying 18 hours from the US mainland to Iran with multiple aerial refuelings.

“Iran’s fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran’s surface to air missile systems did not see us throughout the mission. We retained the element of surprise,” Caine added.

Headline

UK ‘Was Informed Of US Strikes’ On Iran, Plans Evacuating Briton Out of Israel

Published

47 minutes ago

June 22, 2025

Editor

Britain was notified in advance of the US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, though it played no part in the military action, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds confirmed today.

“We were informed, as you might expect, by a key ally,” Reynolds told Sky News, adding, “We were not and have not been involved in these attacks.”

The strikes—launched overnight by US B2 stealth bombers and submarines—targeted Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear facilities. President Donald Trump hailed it as “a spectacular military success,” a claim Tehran swiftly denied.

The UK government is now working to evacuate British nationals trapped in Israel, after Iran launched a wave of retaliatory missiles. Reynolds said it would take “hours, not days” to evacuate them, citing airspace closures as the main delay.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the US operation, describing Tehran’s nuclear programme as “a grave threat to international security.” He noted that the US acted to “alleviate that threat,” despite previously urging Trump to avoid military escalation.

Reynolds acknowledged public anxiety about the developments and warned of a possible rise in terrorism threats at home: “It would be naïve to say that that wouldn’t potentially increase.”

Opposition figures supported the strikes. Kemi Badenoch said the US had acted “decisively against a regime that fuels global terror.” Reform UK leader Nigel Farage posted: “Iran must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons. The future of Israel depends on it.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, condemned the US operation as “lawless and criminal behavior,” warning of “everlasting consequences.”