Author: damazah@gmail.com

The 2026 World Cup is nearly over and, with the final fast approaching, it is time to put your knowledge of the tournament’s history to the test.We want to see if you remember all eight of the countries who have won the men’s World Cup.After more quizzes? Go to our dedicated Football Quizzes and Sports Quizzes pages and sign up for notifications to get the latest quizzes sent straight to your device.

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In the autumn of 2024, Alabama Shakes showed no sign of ending their indefinite hiatus – and nobody was asking them to. Seven years had passed since the blues-soul-rock band, who exploded out of Athens, Alabama in 2009, had last shared a stage. Their transatlantic Top 10 2012 debut Boys & Girls announced them; the million-selling 2015 follow-up Sound & Color went to No 1 in the US and won them four Grammys. Their fanbase included Bruce Springsteen, Robert Plant and Barack Obama. But by 2017 they were physically and creatively spent, and they stopped. Then, in December 2024, with…

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Corded vacuum cleaners aren’t as glamorous as their cordless cousins, but swapping battery power for a plug socket has its advantages. The device will never be short of power, so it can keep cleaning for as long as you need it to. Prices also tend to be lower because there’s no expensive battery to factor into the cost.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.On the downside, there’s a cable to manage while you clean, and even the longest cords usually need to be switched from one plug socket…

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Deji Elumoye in Abuja Vice-President Kashim Shettima on Sunday morning departed the nation’s capital, Abuja, to represent President Bola Tinubu at the 69th Ordinary Session of the Authority of the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Shettima, according to a release issued by his spokesperson, Stanley Nkwocha, will join other political and business leaders across West Africa and beyond at the summit scheduled to take place at the Julius Maada Bio International Conference Centre, Freetown on July 19, 2026. The summit is expected to focus on key policy…

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  Bennett Oghifo  Leading automobile manufacturers, transport regulators and key government agencies have confirmed their participation in the 2026 Nigeria Auto Industry Summit (NAISU), signalling growing support for Nigeria’s transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered transportation. The summit, organised by the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) in collaboration with the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), is expected to bring together policymakers, investors, financial institutions, fleet operators, technology providers and other industry stakeholders to deliberate on the future of clean mobility in Nigeria. Major automobile companies that have thrown their weight behind this year’s edition include…

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The use of AI in automated decision-making by government departments and agencies will be subject to tough rules under a new national plan, expected to extend to consumer protections, workplace safety and privacy.As the Albanese government grapples with the rapid growth in the use of artificial intelligence and a boom in datacentre construction, senior ministers have begun work to draw up new rules to ensure safety is built into AI processes inside government, prioritising fairness, accuracy and transparency.Federal departments and agencies continue to rely on automated decision-making in some service delivery functions, prompting fears increasingly sophisticated AI systems could replace…

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My contribution to this summer’s modest avalanche of Andy Burnham stories extends to only two. One is about Glastonbury, and the time that he and his wife, Marie-France, came for a three-day stay at the festival, which included his appearance on the Left Field stage, organised by the songwriter and activist Billy Bragg. I help with the bookings and chair some of the debate sessions: Burnham’s was titled State of the Nation: Politics in Crisis.It was the summer of 2022 – the prologue to Liz Truss’s five minutes in power and (somewhat amazingly) Burnham’s first visit to Glasto. As well…

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In the deserts of the United Arab Emirates a sprawling clean energy project, stretching across an area roughly the size of 12,600 football fields, will play host to a breakthrough allowing solar energy to power the equivalent of half a million homes through the night.The Gulf state has been steadily combining 5.2GW of solar power capacity with 19GWh of battery storage to create the largest battery scheme in the world.Meanwhile, about 7,500 miles away, at the US’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory facility in Colorado, researchers and engineers are making some of the smallest batteries the world has ever seen. A…

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Lionel Messi’s battle-hardened Argentina take on silky Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday as the first 48-team tournament in history reaches a climax in New Jersey. The South Americans are striving to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups, while Spain are eyeing a second title after their maiden victory in 2010. Sunday’s showpiece is likely to be the final World Cup appearance for Messi, widely considered the greatest player of all time. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni urged fans to make the most of seeing the diminutive genius lead out his team at the…

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James Gunn is a fan of Big Brother, and his friend Rick Devens joined the cast of Season 28 of the CBS competition. On Thursday’s eviction episode, Devens gave Gunn a shoutout during the live broadcast after sharing his vote to evict. The DC Studios co-head shared the clip of Devens name-dropping him on live TV and one of Gunn’s followers asked if he would be in the Superman sequel. “No because he’s on Big Brother! Otherwise he would have been,” Gunn shared on Threads. Another Threads user asked Gunn if Devens actually knew him, to which the filmmaker replied,…

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