Author: damazah@gmail.com

The first line-up announcements were made significantly earlier than usual – the BBC usually confirms the line-up in August. Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain recently, Ballas said: “There are going to be some people on there that will make you go ‘wow’.”Asked about the new presenting trio, Ballas said she was “very excited to see what they bring” to the show. “I know they took lots of chemistry tests, as did everybody, and those chemistry tests have brought those three people together, and I believe it’s absolutely unbelievable,” she said.Ballas described the number of new elements on this year’s…

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has reported progress in efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but warned that rising infections continue to outpace the response. The Head of the Continental Incident Management Support Team for the Ebola response, Wessam Mankoula, disclosed this on Thursday during a webinar on the outbreak. Mr. Mankoula stated that the continental Incident Management Support Team is now operational in Uganda, coordinating the Ebola response with support from partners across Africa. He noted that the DRC and Uganda have also made progress in…

Honored for cohort-based programs that build applied, role-specific skills tied to business outcomes LOS ANGELES, July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — InStride, a leader in workforce development, announced today that its solution, Capability Accelerators, has been selected as winner of the “Best Professional Development Solution of the Year” award in the eighth annual EdTech Breakthrough Awards. The program is conducted by EdTech Breakthrough, a leading market intelligence organization that recognizes the top companies and solutions in the global educational technology market.Capability Accelerators are cohort-based professional development programs that help organizations close critical capability gaps tied to business priorities. Each program…

Iranian state media reported Thursday that a US-Israeli projectile hit military headquarters on the outskirts of Bushehr, hours after clashes between the United States and Iran flared. “Moments ago, a military headquarters on the outskirts of Bushehr was attacked and hit by a projectile of the American-Zionist enemy,” state news agency IRNA quoted deputy governor of Bushehr Ehsan Jahanian as saying. A US defence official however said that the US military was not currently carrying out any strikes on Iran. AFP

Maine: ‘No official withdrawal notice has yet been received’ from Graham PlatnerThe Maine department of the secretary of state has said that as of Thursday morning, “no official withdrawal notice has yet been received” from Graham Platner.“As of now, no official withdrawal notice has yet been received from Mr. Platner,” Jana Spaulding, Maine’s deputy secretary of state for communications, said in a statement to the Guardian. “A public declaration is not an official withdrawal, and a candidate must formally withdraw to the Elections office in writing, including signature.”Spaulding added that the notice may be received by email, such as a…

Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Stocks rebounded Thursday as investors shrugged off concerns about a significant escalation in the military conflict between the U.S. and Iran. That sent bond yields and oil prices lower — two factors that have recently been supportive of equities. The S & P 500 gained nearly 1% in afternoon trading, while the Nasdaq jumped more than 1%. Meta Platforms initially traded lower after Reuters said a leaked internal document showed the…

OpenAI is already shutting down ChatGPT Atlas, its browser that could do tasks for you on your behalf, less than a year after launching it. Atlas was announced in October, but as part of its wave of news about ChatGPT Work today, the company confirmed that it will be “sunsetting” Atlas and is targeting an August 9th date for deprecation.In a thread about the ChatGPT Work announcements, which includes an updated browser in the desktop ChatGPT app and a cloud browser for work mode, OpenAI’s James Sun said that: “All these capabilities were built on what we learned from Atlas…

Carney and Saudi Crown Prince Bin Salman strengthen partnerships after years of strained relations under Trudeau.Published On 9 Jul 20269 Jul 2026Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney paid a visit to Saudi Arabia, marking the first state visit in more than a quarter-century as Ottawa and Riyadh explore deeper mining and energy ties.Carney visited on Thursday, on the heels of the NATO summit in Turkiye, doubling down on calls to diversify trade relationships as United States President Donald Trump imposed tariffs that have weighed on the Canadian economy. The visit included agreements covering mining, energy and artificial intelligence, which Carney’s office…

Residents of the US seeking Nigerian visas will now have to submit their applications directly to the Embassy of Nigeria in Washington, DC, or the Consulates in New York and Atlanta, following the suspension of Online Integrated Solutions (OIS Services) services. The OIS, which operates Nigeria’s Visa Application Centres, has been suspended from offering the service. In a statement issued on Thursday, the National Immigration Service (NIS) announced that the suspension of the OIS is effective from July 2026. “Effective from July, 2026, the service of Online Integrated Solution (O15 SERVICES), the operator of Nigeria’s Visa Application Centres in the…

Harry Brook and Phil Salt’s 146-run partnership saw England dish out a nine-wicket trouncing of India in Bristol to cruise to a T20 series victory with a game to spare.India opted to bat after winning the toss, with only captain Shreyas Iyer (80no off 49 balls) offering any real resistance, as an exceptional display of short-ball and death bowling restricted the beleaguered tourists – who lost the third T20 at Trent Bridge by 125 runs – to 158-7 from their 20 overs. England lost Jos Buttler (8) in the third over of the chase, but captain Brook crunched eight fours…