Author: damazah@gmail.com

Rescue teams are racing to reach Nuristan province as devastation continues across the region.Published On 20 Jul 202620 Jul 2026At least 20 people have been killed after monsoon-driven flash floods struck Afghanistan’s eastern Nuristan province.Disaster officials and the governor’s office reported that the floods hit on Monday, destroying houses and shops in the province’s main city, Parun. The monsoon has wreaked havoc across the region in recent weeks, killing dozens of people in India and Nepal.At least 20 bodies have been recovered and more than 80 people were injured, according to the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA).The casualties were…

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has intercepted two tankers designated to transport edible vegetable oil after they were found carrying Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) in Lagos. Speaking to journalists on Monday, the agency’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, Martins Iluyomade, described the incident as a serious breach of food safety regulations and a potential threat to public health. Mr Iluyomade said the discovery was made during a recent enforcement operation in Lagos. He said the agency investigation revealed that the two tankers, meant exclusively for edible vegetable oil, had been loaded with diesel in…

Imagine a small fire breaking out in one corner of your kitchen. With the right extinguisher, you might be able to stop it quickly. Instead, the sprinkler system activates and floods the entire house, turning a contained problem into widespread damage. Researchers say something similar may happen in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Amyloid plaques, sticky clumps of protein that accumulate in the brain, are like the fire. Microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells, act like the sprinklers. Their response is meant to protect the brain, but it may ultimately make the situation worse. A team at the…

As the final whistle blew in New Jersey, a few Argentina players – including Lionel Messi – slumped to the turf.Others stood there motionless as Spain’s players raced across the pitch in jubilation.Rodri, who had been substituted in extra-time, ran over from the dugout to join his team-mates. As the Manchester City midfielder went past Molina, the Argentina defender appeared to punch Rodri on the arm or stomach. This was the fuse which ignited the trouble.Rodri confronted Molina, but it was the Argentina player who thrust forward in an aggressive manner. Garcia ran over to back up his team-mate at…

Fresh debate over identity has emerged in South Africa following the coronation of Romanda Hombir as Miss World South Africa 2026. Ms Hombir, a 27-year-old clinical audiologist from Mpumalanga, was crowned at the Barnyard Theatre in Menlyn, Pretoria. She will represent South Africa at the 75th Miss World competition scheduled from 9 August to 5 September in Vietnam. Soon after her victory, some social media users questioned her identity, drawing comparisons with the 2024 Chidimma Adetshina controversy that dominated the country’s beauty pageant scene. PREMIUM TIMES reported that Ms Adetshina withdrew from the Miss South Africa pageant after questions were…

Andy Burnham has said his arrival in power will “bring back hope” to Britain as he launched his premiership with the surprise appointment of John Healey as chancellor and a promise to repair the damage caused to communities during the Thatcher era.The new UK prime minister acknowledged people were “fed up” with politics as he addressed the country after taking over from Keir Starmer in Downing Street, saying the government needed to “do better” to deliver real change.In his speech outside No 10, he said the government would announce “some breathing space” on Tuesday for people on the cost of…

Despite increasing awareness, diagnosing a meat allergy can be difficult.Symptoms often develop at night, hours after people have eaten their evening meal, and for those suffering asthma, the two can often be confused.Van Nunen describes it as an “an anytime but not an every time allergy”.Symptoms may sometimes not appear at all, while at other times they may be exacerbated by factors including the type of meat, how it is cooked and if it is spicy, as well as whether a person drinks alcohol with it, exercises after eating or is sleep deprived.Those who are hypersensitive can also be triggered…

By Yinka Kolawole The Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics (AERE) has warned that the decline in manufacturing tax revenue in the first quarter of 2026 reflects weakening industrial activity, urging the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to implement far-reaching reforms to revive the productive sector. In a policy brief, Chairman of AERE, Dele Oye, acknowledged the Bank of Industry’s (BoI) record N644.9 billion loan disbursement in 2025 but argued that the intervention, though commendable, is inadequate to transform Nigeria’s manufacturing sector.  The manufacturing sector recorded a 31 per cent year-on-year decline in Company Income Tax (CIT)…

California said its rules are “technology-neutral,” allowing AT&T to use wired, wireless, and/or VoIP service to fulfill its COLR obligations. While AT&T says its wireless AT&T Phone-Advanced (AP-A) is a suitable replacement for copper, California said that “AT&T has never formally sought to substitute POTS with AP-A.” AT&T “does not want to meet its COLR obligations through AP-A; it seeks relief from meeting them at all,” California said. “That is why AT&T does not claim in this lawsuit, either, that it will offer basic service through AP-A (or any other service) instead.” AT&T doesn’t promise that AP-A will meet state…

He is best known as a former Labour leader – having beaten his brother David, among others, in the dramatic leadership contest that followed the party’s 2010 general election defeat.Support from the trade unions had proved decisive back then.Winning by just 1%, the younger Miliband took over the reigns of the party from acting leader Harriet Harman aged just 40 years old, in a vote he said marked a new generation of the Labour Party.David was offered a shadow cabinet role but opted to leave British politics altogether, taking up a job as the head of the International Rescue charity…