Author: damazah@gmail.com

The microphone felt heavier than I expected. As I stood on stage at a London comedy club last December, I looked out at a room full of strangers sitting quietly, waiting for me to make them laugh. It felt nerve-racking and surreal. I had spent years hiding my vitiligo, hoping people wouldn’t notice it. Now I was about to joke about it in my set.I was three years old when I developed my first patch of vitiligo on the back of my hand, which later spread to my arms, legs, face and other parts of my body. By the time…

Trump says country has made progress against narcotics since Maduro’s removal, may also remove Colombia and Bolivia.Published On 16 Sep 202616 Sep 2026United States President Donald Trump’s administration has decided to drop Venezuela from its list of major drug transit or production countries, and is considering removing Colombia and Bolivia.“In Venezuela, thanks to my Administration’s arrest and removal of former illegitimate dictator and drug trafficker Nicolas Maduro, we are already seeing the results of growing cooperation with the country’s interim government against cartels,” Trump said in a statement submitted to the US Congress on Tuesday and released Wednesday.Recommended Stories list…

Displaced Syrians are digging through mountains of burning garbage near al-Bab in northern Aleppo, searching for recyclable materials to make a living after 13 years of civil war left millions in Syria facing acute food insecurity.Published On 16 Sep 202616 Sep 2026Share Displaced Syrians dig through hills of garbage to make a living on social mediashare-nodesSharegoogleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo

By Oladimeji Ladele Ladipo Earlier this year, the Central Bank of Nigeria concluded the recapitalisation programme of Nigeria’s banking sector, an effort aimed at enhancing the financial system’s capacity to support the economy, amongst other objectives. Now stronger and more resilient, Nigeria’s banking system is only as valuable as the economic activity it enables. This was the crux of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s challenge to financial institutions at the 19th Annual Banking and Finance Conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. He challenged them to look beyond balance-sheet growth, profitability and shareholder returns and consider how their strength can support the productive economy. Stronger balance sheets, he argued, must ultimately translate into investment, production,…

E-waste from the AI boom has been vastly underestimated, a new report warns. By 2050, it could become enough trash to fill 23 million shipping containers — roughly enough 40-foot containers to circle the world six times if lined up in a row.It’s a significantly higher estimate of AI’s e-waste than previous studies have found because the authors of the new report factor in all the infrastructure needed to support servers in data centers. The broader scope provides a clearer picture of junk AI leaves behind, according to the nonprofit Basel Action Network (BAN), which published the paper today.”AI may…

A high profile former detective who led the investigation to catch Levi Bellfield, the murderer of Milly Dowler, Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange, Sutton comfortably won the election to become Norfolk’s commissioner two months ago.A regular on TV documentaries, he has previously carried out a long national theatre tour talking about his career.Last week, promoters announced his follow-up series of shows would take place next year and Sutton initially said it “wouldn’t impinge” on his day job.But on Tuesday, he admitted to the BBC that he was considering cancelling the tour and on Wednesday he told councillors he had now…

Colombia has again topped the list of countries with the highest number of killings of land and environmental activists, according to an annual report by campaign group Global Witness, external. Out of at least 124 activists killed globally in 2025, 39 were murdered in Colombia, followed by Brazil with 26.Global Witness says that 85% of the documented killings took place in Latin America, making it the deadliest region for every year since the group started publishing its reports in 2012. Most of the killings were part of land disputes and in many cases they were carried out by hitmen or…

Leicestershire are on the brink of relegation from Division One of the County Championship after being deducted 27 points for breaching pitch regulations in their victory over Glamorgan in August.The points penalty imposed by the independent Cricket Discipline Panel midway through their penultimate match of the season meant the Foxes have dropped to the bottom of the table.In his interview with the Cricket Regulator before the tribunal hearing, Leicestershire’s head groundsman Callum Lewin said there were “circumstances leading up to the game that were just out of my control”. They included an “unscheduled Bollywood filming event” taking place at Uptonsteel…

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has commended the conflict-resolution approach adopted by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, in the ongoing dialogue over the longstanding Ogoni oil conflict. MOSOP President, Fegalo Nsuke, described the approach as a model that could be applied to other conflict-affected parts of Nigeria to promote reconciliation and national integration. Mr Nsuke made the remarks on Wednesday while speaking with journalists at the Port Harcourt International Airport in Rivers State. He said Mr Ribadu had demonstrated what he described as exceptional leadership and character in handling the Ogoni dialogue and…

By Adegboyega Adeleye Chelsea have suffered an injury blow with striker Joao Pedro withdrawing from the Brazil squad for the upcoming international friendlies against Australia and India. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) confirmed on Wednesday that Joao Pedro will be replaced by Fluminense forward Martinelli. The nature and severity of João Pedro’s injury were not disclosed. The withdrawal comes after the Chelsea forward earned a Brazil recall following his surprise omission from Carlo Ancelotti’s squad for the 2026 World Cup. O atleta Martinelli, do Fluminense, foi convocado nesta quarta-feira (16) pelo técnico Carlo Ancelotti para os amistosos da Seleção Brasileira…