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‘Vanity projects’: China to introduce tighter limits on skyscrapers

‘Vanity projects’: China to introduce tighter limits on skyscrapers
China has said it will restrict smaller cities from building “super skyscrapers”, as a part of a broader crackdown on “vanity projects” and to reduce energy consumption.
Skyscrapers taller than 150 metres will be “strictly” limited, and those higher than 250 metres will be banned for cities with a population of fewer than 3 million.
The authorities will also limit structures taller than 250 meres for cities with more than 3 million people.
This is not the first time Chinese regulators have stepped in to limit the height of skyscrapers. In July, China’s National Development and Reform Commission banned new skyscrapers taller than 500 metres and restricted those taller than 250 metres.
The regulator also tightened the rules for buildings taller than 100 metres. They included requirements for the towers’ anti-earthquake capability, and whether they could match the fire and rescue capability in the cities they are located.
The latest statement was jointly issued this week by China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and Ministry of Emergency Management, a cabinet-level executive department responsible for emergency management and work safety.
China is home to some of the world’s mega towers. The 128-storey, 632-metre-tall Shanghai Tower, for example, is the world’s second-tallest building. And for years the fast-developing country has been an experiment for ambitious international architects such as the late Zaha Hadid.
But the authorities have in recent years found it increasingly difficult to manage these buildings. Reports of potential health and safety incidents in these skyscrapers often appear in state media and on social media.
In May, a near-300-metre (980ft) building in southern Shenzhen began mysteriously shaking, prompting an evacuation of people inside while pedestrians looked on in horror. It was later found to have been caused by a combination of winds, underground rail lines and fluctuating temperatures.
In recent years, regulators have openly criticised some of the bold designs, calling them “vanity projects” that would only encourage Chinese cities to compete with each other in the wrong way. Earlier this year, Beijing issued a ban on “ugly architecture”.
According to the Global Times, regulators last year issued a document clarifying how to further strengthen the management of architecture in Chinese cities. They concluded that large buildings that had a strange style were “a waste of resources”.
Architecture websites such as archcy.com encourage citizens to spot curious designs around the country and vote for a “hall of shame” listing of China’s top 10 “ugliest” buildings.
The organiser of the competition said the purpose of the vote was to “provoke thinking about the beauty of and ugliness of architecture and promote architects’ social responsibility”.
News
EFCC seals Kaduna hotel for breaching money laundering act

The Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, SCUML, of the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has sealed up Hampton Hilton Hotel and Apartments, Kaduna, for non-compliance with the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022 and Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations of the Financial Action Task Force, FATF for Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions, DNFBPs.
The entity was found to have committed multiple infractions in the course of the first evaluation carried out on it, on June 4, 2024, leading to the issuance of administrative sanctions to it by SCUML.
It was also found to have committed further infractions following the compliance evaluation of June 13, 2025, for which it was slammed N2,300,000.00 (Two Million Three Hundred Thousand Naira) fine, payable within seven days and with instruction to ensure full compliance with the Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022 and AML/CFT regulations or face further consequences.
While it refused to pay the fine, it, as well, dishonoured SCUML’s invite to show up for compliance evaluation, resulting in the sealing of the premises.
The Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, SCUML, ensures DNFBPs’ compliance with Money Laundering (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022 and AML/CFT regulations.
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Buhari could have long been dead if he had chosen to be treated in Nigeria -Fmr aide Adesina

Former spokesperson to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Femi Adesina, has defended the decision of late President Buhari to always seek medical attention abroad before and after he left office.
In a chat with Channels TV this morning, Adesina who served as the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Buhari said;
‘’Buhari always had his medical in London, even when he was not in office. So, it’s not about the time he was president alone. He had always had it in London and then, you have to be alive first to get certain things corrected in your country. If he had said, ‘I will do my medical in Nigeria just as a show-off or something,’ he could have long been dead because there may not be the expertise needed in the country but he needed to be alive to lead the country to a point where we will have that expertise”
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Buhari’s body arrives in Daura from Katsina for final burial

The remains of Nigeria’s former President, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has arrived in his hometown of Daura from Katsina ahead of his burial later today.
The body, which was flown into the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina from the United Kingdom earlier in the day, was received with full state protocol by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda, and members of the late president’s family.
From the airport, the late leader’s remains were transported by a specially prepared ambulance under tight security to Daura, a journey marked by solemnity and respect, with hundreds of residents lining parts of the route to pay their final respects.
Buhari, who served as Nigeria’s Head of State from 1983 to 1985 and returned as a democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023, died in London on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at the age of 82 after a brief illness.
According to Islamic tradition, he will be buried later today at his private residence in Daura.
Dignitaries, traditional rulers, political leaders, and sympathizers from across Nigeria have already gathered in Daura for the Janazah prayers and final interment, with security operatives deployed across the ancient town to ensure a peaceful ceremony
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