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Lotanna Emediegwu

Lotanna Emediegwu is a senior lecturer in economics at Manchester Metropolitan University. His research interests include environmental economics, development, and applied economics. He is both the programmer leader for the MSc Applied Economics and the leader of the Applied Economics Knowledge Platform.

Lotanna holds a PhD in environmental and resource economics from the University of Manchester. Before then, he bagged a first class degree from the University of Benin, where he graduated as the best student in the Faculty of Social Sciences, thus winning lots of awards, including the Vice-Chancellor’s award for academic excellence. Thereafter, he was retained as a graduate assistant in the Department, from where he rose to an assistant lecturer. He won the much-coveted Presidential Award for Scholarship, Innovation and Development (PRESSID), which enabled him to pursue an MSc in Financial Economics at the University of Manchester, where he graduated with distinction.

Lotanna is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and was awarded the AERNA Best Paper Award for an Economist under the Age of Forty in 2021. Lotanna is well published in reputable Economics journals like World Development, Ecological Economics, among others. In 2022, he was shortlisted as a finalist in the Faculty of Business and Law Appreciate and Celebrate Initiative 2022 in the Outstanding Paper or Chapter Category.

Why Donald Trump’s trade tariffs are a threat to global food security

May 04, 2025 07:20 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Donald Trumps tariffs will make many things more expensive for his fellow US citizens. The price of imported cars, building materials and some tech will go up and so will the cost of the food on American dining tables....

Economy

Moody’s Downgrade Sparks GOP Divide Over U.S. Debt and Trump’s Tax Bill

Moodys recent downgrade of the U.S. sovereign credit rating from AAA to Aa1 has stirred a sharp response from Republicans in Congress, revealing deep divisions over fiscal policy and President Donald Trumps proposed tax...

Trump Urges Fed to Cut Interest Rates, Criticizes Powell

U.S. President Donald Trump called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates sooner rather than later, emphasizing the growing consensus for easing monetary policy. In a social media post on Saturday, Trump also took a...

Vietnam, U.S. Begin Key Trade Talks Amid Looming Tariff Threat

Vietnam and the United States held their first direct ministerial-level trade negotiations on Friday in Jeju, South Korea, following the APEC Ministerial Meeting. The discussions come ahead of a potentially crippling 46%...

GOP Infighting Blocks Trump Tax Bill Amid Moody’s U.S. Credit Downgrade

Hardline Republicans in the U.S. House blocked President Donald Trumps proposed tax bill on Friday, just hours before Moodys downgraded the U.S. governments credit rating due to surging debt. The bill, aimed at extending...

Wall Street Rallies for Fifth Day Amid Tariff Truce and Rate Cut Hopes

Wall Street closed higher on Friday, marking its fifth consecutive day of gains, as investors reacted positively to easing U.S.-China trade tensions despite concerning economic data. The SP 500, Nasdaq, and Dow all posted...

Politics

Trump to Speak With Putin and Zelenskiy Amid Renewed Ceasefire Talks

U.S. President Donald Trump announced he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday in a push to broker a ceasefire in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. This...

Trump Urges Walmart to Absorb Tariffs Amid Rising Prices

U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Walmart for attributing rising prices to tariffs on Chinese imports, urging the retail giant to eat the tariffs instead of passing costs to consumers. Trumps remarks followed Walmarts...

Europe Focuses on Ukraine Ceasefire, Not Troop Deployment

Europe is prioritizing an unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine over any discussions of deploying troops, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Speaking in Rome, Merz...

Germany Rules Out UniCredit Takeover Bid for Commerzbank—For Now

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has downplayed the likelihood of Italys UniCredit launching a full acquisition of German lender Commerzbank (ETR: CBKG) in the near term. Speaking at a press conference in Rome after...

EU Plans New Sanctions on Russia as Peace Talks Stall

The European Union is preparing a new round of sanctions to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin over the ongoing war in Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during the European...

Science

Kennedy Sets September Deadline to Uncover Autism Causes Amid Controversy

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a bold plan to identify the cause of autism by September 2025. Speaking at a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, Kennedy declared a global...

AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi Gets US Approval for Bladder Cancer Treatment

AstraZenecas drug Imfinzi (NASDAQ: AZN) has received U.S. approval to treat adult patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, a significant advancement in cancer therapy. The approval allows Imfinzi to be used in...

Sanofi’s New Hemophilia Drug Qfitlia Gains FDA Approval with Breakthrough Bimonthly Dosing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Qfitlia, a groundbreaking hemophilia treatment by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY). Designed for patients aged 12 and older with hemophilia A or B,...

FDA Vaccine Chief Peter Marks Resigns Amid Controversy Over Transparency

Peter Marks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) top vaccine official, has resigned after reportedly being forced out by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to The Wall Street Journal....

Museums have tons of data, and AI could make it more accessible − but standardizing and organizing it across fields won’t be easy

Ice cores in freezers, dinosaurs on display, fish in jars, birds in boxes, human remains and ancient artifacts from long gone civilizations that few people ever see museum collections are filled with all this and more....

Technology

xAI Responds to Grok Chatbot Controversy Over South Africa Comments

Elon Musks AI company, xAI, has addressed growing concerns after its Grok chatbot referenced a debunked conspiracy theory about a white genocide in South Africa. The company said on Thursday that the incident stemmed from...

Fortnite Blocked on iPhones Amid Ongoing Epic Games and Apple Dispute

Fortnite, the globally popular video game by Epic Games, is currently unavailable on Apples iPhone devices across the U.S. and European Union. Epic confirmed that the game cannot be accessed via Apples iOS or App Store...

xAI Investigates Grok Incident Involving Unsolicited South Africa Comments

Elon Musks AI startup xAI addressed concerns on Friday following a controversial incident where its Grok chatbot made unsolicited remarks about race relations in South Africa. The company attributed the issue to an...

Nvidia to Launch Shanghai R&D Hub Amid Stricter US Export Curbs

Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is set to establish a research and development center in Shanghai, according to a report by the Financial Times. The move comes as the U.S. intensifies export restrictions on advanced...

China Criticizes U.S. Over Export Guidance Targeting Huawei AI Chips

China has sharply criticized recent U.S. export guidance targeting Huaweis Ascend AI chips, claiming it threatens the stability of global semiconductor supply chains. The warning followed new guidance from the U.S....