Author: damazah@gmail.com

The proposal to end wasteful and ruinous gas flaring is welcome The disclosure by the German Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Annett Günther, that Nigeria lost an estimated $1.5 billion to gas flaring in 2024 is indicative of the magnitude of the challenge. “Just for context, 5.3 billion cubic meters of gas was flared in 2024 in Nigeria which makes it the seventh rank in the world and that equals an economic loss of US$1.5 billion,” the envoy said while harping on a new partnership with her country to address the issue. “So, this new programme now is to work…

The Super Falcons of Nigeria and Ghana’s Black Queens will renew one of African women’s football’s most enduring rivalries on Saturday when they clash in an international friendly in Casablanca, Morocco, as part of preparations for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON). The friendly, scheduled for 16:00 at the Stade El Arbi Zaouli, offers both West African giants a valuable opportunity to fine-tune their preparations ahead of the 14th edition of the continental championship, which kicks off on Sunday. Nigeria, Africa’s most successful women’s national team with 10 WAFCON titles, opened camp in Casablanca on Monday as preparations…

•As PMI rebounds to 50.1pts •Business confidence moderates to 7.2pts •Households shun houses, cars, investments •Food remains top spending priority By Babajide Komolafe Nigeria’s economy exited contraction in June as the Purchasing Managers’ Index, PMI, rebounded to 50.1 points from 49.6 points in May, driven by sustained expansion in the agriculture sector despite continued weakness in industry and services, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has said in its latest PMI Report released yesterday. But, according to another report, Household Expectations Survey (HES), also released yesterday by the apex bank, Nigerians remained pessimistic about prevailing economic conditions in June despite…

Miles Wang, an OpenAI researcher whose work includes using AI to accelerate scientific and biological discovery, is leaving the ChatGPT maker to launch a new startup focused on developing AI models for drug discovery, according to four people with knowledge of his plans. Several other OpenAI researchers are expected to join the new company.   Wang is in talks to raise about $200 million at a $2 billion valuation, two of the people said. Lightspeed is in discussions to lead the funding round, according to the people. Talks are ongoing, the deal may not be final and details could change.…

Andy Burnham has always said he took his first steps out of Westminster in 2009, when he walked out to address furious Liverpool fans at the Kop on the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster.They chanted “Justice for the 96” for a full two minutes before the then culture secretary was able to continue, demonstrating their anger that nobody in public office had been convicted of any offence over the tragedy.It took him another eight years to step down as an MP in 2017, but just before he did, he introduced a private members’ bill seeking to establish a legal…

In a boardroom in an office building in Oban, a picturesque town on the west coast of Scotland, trustees attending meetings have long been able to see the breaking waves of the Atlantic through the windows. But since last month, the ocean has also been present in the room, with an unusual new initiative ensuring that it now has a say on decisions shaping the future of the 140-year-old Scottish Association for Marine Science (Sams).Sams was set up during the Scottish Enlightenment, a time of growing interest in oceanography when nature was seen as something to be dominated and exploited.“There…

France’s head coach Didier Deschamps reacts while speaking to a sports broadcaster after his team lost the 2026 World Cup football tournament semi-final match between France and Spain at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington on July 14, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) France coach Didier Deschamps said his players were left “devastated” by their World Cup semi-final defeat to Spain on Tuesday before aiming a barb at match referee Ivan Barton from El Salvador. Deschamps’ free-flowing French team had dazzled the competition en route to the last four, rattling in 16 goals in six games to earn comparisons…

Lily Allen is exchanging arena dates for theaters for most of her upcoming extended U.S. leg for her West End Girl tour, the singer announced on social media on Monday. While her Sept. 3 show at Madison Square Garden in New York City is going on as planned, Allen said in her post that “we’ve had to make some adjustments” for the shows in Philadelphia, Chicago, L.A., San Francisco and Vancouver. Those shows were originally going to take place at the XFinity Mobile Arena, the United Center, Kia Forum, Chase Center and Rogers Arena, but now, those dates are going…

The Oyo successful rescue is a triumph of intelligence and interagency cooperation, reckons  YAKUBU DATI The successful rescue of abducted pupils and teachers in Oyo State is not merely another success story of freed abductees, neither is it a tale of high calibre negotiations.   The way it was achieved goes to show that a more effective, well thought out and sound strategy has been worked out and the security of citizens has been enhanced. It is a powerful confirmation of a paradigm shift in the security template that is increasingly distinguishing the Tinubu administration as clearheaded in addressing one of…

A new Gallup-Lumina Foundation poll finds that almost half of Americans view AI as a looming threat to the value of a college degree.gettyNew survey data from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation show that American’s confidence in higher education has slipped backwards after a moderate uptick in the prior year.Thirty-eight percent of U.S. adults report that they have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in U.S higher education, compared with 42% last year. However, the latest figure is substantially below Gallup’s first reading of higher education confidence in 2015, when 57% of respondents reported they were confident.…