Author: damazah@gmail.com

The film-maker Chuck Russell, who has died aged 74, described himself as “a thrill junkie with a sense of humour”. The proof was in the pudding: his madcap comedy The Mask (1994) resembled a cinematic knickerbocker glory overflowing with colour, vitality and fun. Its star Jim Carrey called it “one of the jewels of my creative life”.Before Russell was attached to the project, The Mask had been doing the rounds in Hollywood for several years as a horror script. Once he came on board, he persuaded the studio New Line Cinema to let him reshape it as an exuberant comic…

Funmi Ogundare  Founder of Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR), Amina Oyagbola, weekend, called for the institutionalisation of a minimum of 35 per cent female representation in both the public and private sectors, alongside workplace reforms that support working women, as part of efforts to promote gender inclusion and accelerate national development. Speaking at the Win-with-WISCAR WIN one and WIN two stream 16 mentees graduation ceremony in Lagos, Oyagbola disclosed that WISCAR had joined forces with other leading women-focused organisations to form the women in leadership coalition, a platform aimed at strengthening advocacy for greater female participation in leadership and policy…

Governor Uba Sani on Saturday flagged off the distribution of 500 trucks of free fertiliser and the deployment of tractors to support 150,000 smallholder farmers across Kaduna State’s 23 local government areas, marking the third consecutive year of the intervention. The launch, held at the Murtala Mohammed Square in Kaduna, builds on similar programmes implemented by the administration over the past two years. In 2025, the governor distributed 400 trucks of free fertiliser to 100,000 smallholder farmers, with each beneficiary receiving two bags. In 2024, the state carried out what it described as its largest-ever fertiliser distribution, providing more than…

As the AI infrastructure buildout and global geopolitical developments spur massive spending, an old-guard sector of the economy is getting a level of attention from investors that rivals the action in tech. The industrials sector of the S&P 500 is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio above 30, a level investors more often associate with high fliers, and a P/E ratio that is well above industrials’ long-term average, which is closer to 20. “If you look at [Industrial Select Sector SPDR] XLI from State Street, its valuations are really high relative to the S&P 500,” Cinthia Murphy, director of research at VettaFi,…

Paramount Skydance agreed to a longer-term delay of its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, preventing the companies from combining until after a judge rules on the merits of a case in which a dozen states challenged the legality of the merger. Under a stipulation filed in court today, the states and companies agreed that the merger will not be completed and the firms will not integrate their operations until “five days after the merits determination in these matters,” or on June 1, 2027, whichever is earlier. The delay was also agreed to by the Writers Guild of America,…

With more plot twists than a spy thriller, Argentina’s 3-2 victory over Egypt was one of the World Cup’s most unpredictable matches.But in one living room in Reading, to the astonishment of his 16-year-old son, a football clairvoyant appeared to know exactly what would happen next.“I told him I was reading the state of the game and I could tell whether there was a goal coming,” says Dode Dahroug, a 51-year-old former RAF pilot. “He bought it, hook, line and sinker.”In fact, Dahroug was furtively glancing at a live odds graph on Polymarket, one of the online “prediction markets” that…

“They just tend not to be honest. Nigerians as a group, frankly, are marvelous scammers. I mean, it is in their national culture.” That damning comment appeared in the 25 September, 1995, edition of The New Yorker. That scathing assertion stirred a hornet’s nest, and its author — Colin Powell, the urbane American diplomat, Army General, and later the 65th Secretary of State (and the first Black American to serve in that role) — courted unpleasant rebukes for those remarks. Powell was like smelly rot on whom flies perched as he courted outrage with that unflattering categorisation. A similar whitewash…

Key eventsNetballThings are getting very interesting in The Hydro, where Northern Ireland are fighting back. At the end of quarter three, the score is Malawai 44-38 Northern Ireland.ShareWeightlifting: Mirabai Chanu sets new Games recordTime to check in with the women’s 48kg weightlifting. These were the standings after the snatch, during which Mirabai Chanu Saikhom set a new Commonwealth Games record.85kg Mirabai Chanu Saikhom (India)77kg Irene Jane Henry (Malaysia)75kg Ruth Asuquo Nyong (Nigeria)71kg Tammy Wong (England)70kg Nikole Roberts (Wales), Jo-Beth Deireragea (Nauru)ShareUpdated at 16.08 CESTReuben Ward, right hand placed on his heart, belts out Flower of Scotland during the men’s all-round medal…

Colombian pop superstar Shakira has opened up about her decision to collaborate with Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Burna Boy on the official song for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, saying she was determined to have him feature on the track. Speaking during a recent appearance on the Capital Evening Show with Jimmy Hill, Shakira said she wanted a strong masculine voice to complement the song, titled ‘Dai Dai,’ and believed Burna Boy was the perfect fit because of his energy and vocal style. “I have always loved Burna. I was obsessed with getting him on the track, so I called him,”…

Iyobosa Uwugiaren examines the decision by the Department of State Services to appeal the sentences handed to commanders of Ansaru terrorist group, and whether the judiciary is imposing punishments severe enough to match the devastating impact of terrorism in the country The life sentences handed to two deadly senior commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group may have sealed one chapter in one of Nigeria’s most significant terrorism prosecutions, but they have opened another – one that could shape how the country’s judiciary deals with terrorism for years to come. The Department of State Services (DSS) last Tuesday announced plans to appeal…