Author: damazah@gmail.com

President Donald Trump has said the US is reinstating a naval blockade of Iranian ports and will impose a 20% charge on all cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, following days of escalating strikes between the two countries. He said this would stop “Iran’s ships or customers” from entering or leaving the key oil shipping route, but “all other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait”. The blockade will be in effect from 16:00 Eastern Time (20:00 GMT) on Tuesday.Iran’s foreign minister responded by saying that Tehran would remain the strait’s “GUARDIAN” – using Trump’s word.The…

A Florida federal judge in a scathing order Monday said President Donald Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service “for an improper purpose” — to gain the appearance of “judicial legitimacy for a ‘settlement’ that had no viable basis in law or fact.”That controversial out-of-court settlement with the IRS and Department of Justice in May briefly led the DOJ to create a since-abandoned $1.8 billion “lawfare” fund to compensate purported victims of prosecutorial overreach by the department. It also led to Trump, his family members and related business entities being granted effective immunity from audits, prosecution…

OnePlus and its parent company, Oppo, plan to announce in the coming days that OnePlus brand will be leaving the US and European markets, according to a machine translation of a WinFuture report.Should the exit actually happen, it will mark a conclusion to months of rumors about the future of OnePlus. Android Headlines said in January that OnePlus was being “dismantled,” though OnePlus, in a statement at the time, said that “OnePlus North America continues to operate, with full guarantee of users’ after-sales support, software updates, and rights commitments.”In March, 9to5Google reported that OnePlus might cease operations in global markets.…

Devon and Cornwall Police said it believed Widdecombe was attacked on Wednesday at about 12:30 and had since received more than 120 reports of information after making a public appeal.Over the coming weeks there would remain a “heightened” police presence in the local area, ACC Longman added.Widdecombe served as the Conservative MP for Maidstone for 23 years, holding ministerial roles in Sir John Major’s government between 1994 and 1997.Following her departure from the Commons in 2010, Widdecombe appeared on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing that year, and was a runner-up on Celebrity Big Brother eight years later.She joined the Brexit Party…

Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have found a much simpler way to produce unusual light structures known as optical skyrmions by reviving a classic optics experiment that dates back more than 200 years. Optical skyrmions are tiny, stable swirling patterns formed within the properties of light. Their structure has often been compared to the spines of a hedgehog. Because they can potentially encode and store information, researchers see them as promising building blocks for future data storage, communications, and computing technologies. Instead of relying on expensive, highly engineered metamaterials that have traditionally been needed to generate optical…

The Senegalese football federation (FSF) president said on Monday toxicity surrounded the team at the World Cup after coach Pape Thiaw had demanded a pay rise. Thiaw was sacked on Sunday after his side were knocked out in the last 32 by Belgium on July 1. “There was a breakdown in trust between Pape Thiaw and us”, FSF president Abdoulaye Fall told a press conference in Dakar, citing the initial failure to sign a new contract after Thiaw’s demand for more money. Thiaw, 45 and a former Senegal international, took over as national team boss in 2024. Prior to leaving…

The first full length trailer for Alejandro González Iñárritu’s hotly anticipated comedy-drama Digger has been released, and with it audiences’ first look at Tom Cruise’s least recognisable role since he donned a fatsuit and prosthetics for 2008’s Tropic Thunder.The film will be released worldwide in early October and stars Cruise as Digger Rockwell, “the most powerful man in the world” on a mission to save the world from an ecological disaster.Ahead of the trailer’s launch, Cruise recently spoke to press and fans at an event the Warner Bros launch in Los Angeles, saying that it was unlike any project he…

The ONSA’s integrated approach has enhanced operational efficiency, and enabled quicker responses to threats, contends PETER ATUKUME Few places capture Nigeria’s long and painful struggle against terrorism like Chibok. Mention the town anywhere in the world, and the mind immediately returns to the night of April 14, 2014, when Boko Haram abducted 276 schoolgirls, turning a sleepy Borno community into a global symbol of terror and state helplessness. That is why the recent rescue of six kidnapped victims by Nigerian troops in Chibok deserves far greater attention than it has received. The story is not merely about six people regaining…

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja  The Youth Wing of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has announced a N17.5 million grant for young professionals in Nigeria’s energy sector focusing on renewable energy and energy transition. The National Youth Leader of APC, Dayo Israel, made the announcement on Monday in Abuja during the opening ceremony of the Dr. Mustapha Abdullahi Energy Leadership Fellowship (MAELF). He said the grant was supported by both Dr. Mustapha Abdullahi and the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for the fellows, among other opportunities. Israel also pledged its commitment to supporting the renewable energy agenda of President…

The headmaster of Nomadic Basic School, Igbojaye, in Itesiwaju Local Government Area of Oyo State, Matthew Owoade, has been freed barely two days after he was abducted by gunmen. Oyo State Police Command said the victim regained his freedom on Monday evening after sustained pressure mounted on the kidnappers through a coordinated security operation. The development comes less than 24 hours after PREMIUM TIMES reported the abduction, which occurred shortly after the release of schoolchildren and teachers kidnapped in neighbouring Oriire Local Government Area following 56 days in captivity. In a statement issued on Monday, the Police Public Relations Officer…