Author: damazah@gmail.com

PJ Harvey‘s last album found her singing about a fictionalized version of her home country. For her next project, she’s headed as far there as humanly (or inhumanly) possible. On her somber new single, “Voyager,” she imagines what the voice of the Voyager 2, a space probe NASA launched in 1977, would say. “Force fields, high winds, cold moons, bright rings, hear my signal, will you follow?” she sings, her voice sounding spectral with glitches. “Look back at us as a speck of dirt.” Keyboards undulate between two notes, quivering like a fading signal, as she sings, “Choose light, choose…

I have two brothers and a sister. We all live in different states. Our sister often texts us about medical issues that she and her husband face. Or she texts about her grandchildren and sends us pictures of them. My responses are kind but short. I have medical concerns, too, but I don’t broadcast them. Neither do my brothers. I believe that she is trying to get attention or to brag, as she has always done. I am particularly uncomfortable with the way she remembers our mother — a narcissist who abused us. The warm light in which my sister…

There has been a consensus since the 1980s that educational technology is a vital component of modern schooling. This sentiment intensified with the advent of the web in the 1990s and peaked with the widespread adoption of iPads and Chromebooks that enabled remote education during the pandemic.As recently as 2023, a survey of 810 public school parents conducted for the American Federation of Teachers reported that 76% expressed “a favorable view of the way technology is used to facilitate teaching and learning in their child’s school.”Just three years later, those decades of EdTech acceptance and progress are being challenged. A reversal…

Islamabad, Pakistan – At the alpine resort of Burgenstock in Switzerland last weekend, United States Vice President JD Vance stood alongside Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.Standing a few metres away was Pakistani military chief Asim Munir, whom Vance pointed to as he began delivering remarks.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“Since Field Marshal Asim Munir welcomed us with the prime minister in Islamabad [in April], I have joked that I have two very, very important people in my life, an Indian and a Pakistani. The Indian is my…

A severe heatwave is gripping Europe as temperatures push towards record June highs.Authorities have issued heat alerts across much of the region, warning of risks to health, transport networks and public services as the mercury climbs.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listEurope is the world’s fastest-warming continent with temperatures rising at about twice the global average rate. Much of its infrastructure, housing and transport networks were designed for a cooler climate, making prolonged periods of extreme heat particularly disruptive.The latest heatwave is the second major episode of extreme heat to hit Europe in just two months, raising new concerns…

French officials on Wednesday confirmed the first case of Ebola in the country, saying that a humanitarian worker who had traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an outbreak began last month, tested positive for the virus. The aid worker was admitted to a special health care facility and is in stable condition, the health ministry said in a statement. French health workers are racing to trace anyone who may have come in contact with the person. Contacts will have to be isolated for 21 days and will be closely monitored, the ministry said. The risk of infection remained…

OPay, a leading fintech company in Nigeria, has announced an extension of the application deadline for the National Innovation Challenge, a flagship component of the newly expanded OPay Scholars Programme 2026, from June 14 to July 3, 2026. The extension follows overwhelming interest from tertiary institution students across the country and numerous requests from prospective applicants seeking additional time to complete and submit their entries. Students in tertiary institutions across Nigeria can still apply now as a team of five students via website. The OPay Scholars Programme is an expanded education and talent development platform designed to empower the next…

EXPLAINERParis and other European cities are experiencing temperatures above 40C (104F), reaching levels normally seen across the Middle East.A blistering heatwave has gripped much of Europe, prompting the highest-level red alerts in parts of the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy.Authorities have warned of health risks, wildfires and travel disruptions as extreme temperatures persist.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listWith temperatures approaching record highs, officials have taken emergency measures, including a localised alcohol ban in parts of France under red alert, nationwide heat warnings in Germany and the cancellation of a World Cup fan zone screening in Madrid, where…

The dazzling sight of more than 60m stars at the heart of Earth’s galaxy has been captured by a space telescope designed to reveal the mysterious dark forces that shape the universe.Astronomers used the European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope to capture the largest, most detailed image ever taken of the visible light pouring from the centre of the Milky Way. The telescope’s camera is rare in being sensitive enough to separate individual stars in the crowded region known as the galactic bulge.The enormous image marked the start of a new age of discovery of planets outside Earth’s solar system, researchers…

Favour Ashe delivered one of the greatest sprint performances ever witnessed on Nigerian soil on Tuesday, storming to a personal best of 9.93 seconds to win the men’s 100 metres title at the Commonwealth Games Trials in Lagos. The performance, achieved with a legal wind reading of +0.5m/s, made Ashe the fastest Nigerian man ever on home soil and capped a historic final at the Yaba College of Technology Sports Complex. Nicholas Fakorede finished second in a personal best of 9.98 seconds, while Chidera Ezeakor also produced a lifetime best of 10.03 seconds to place third. The race entered Nigerian…