Author: damazah@gmail.com

During this year’s World Cup, one scene repeats itself game after game: Several players take the field with holes in the calves of their socks. Social media is rife with theories about the supposed competitive advantage this might give them. But the practice isn’t new. It has been seen at the European Championships, the Olympic Games, and other international competitions over the past decade. Still, science has yet to find evidence that it improves performance.Professional soccer socks are, by design, form-fitting. In addition to holding shin guards in place, they provide support to the ankle, the arch of the foot,…

NewsFeedHamas has announced the dissolution of its civilian governing body in Gaza after nearly 20 years of administration. The decision includes the resignation of key officials and the end of the government emergency committee.Published On 7 Jul 20267 Jul 2026Click here to share on social mediashare-nodesSharegoogleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo

Air pollution appears to alter how sperm genes function, one of the largest fertility studies of its kind has found.Men exposed to common air pollutants while sperm were developing showed subtle DNA changes that affected whether genes were switched on or off, raising fresh concerns air pollution may harm male fertility.The findings, presented on Tuesday at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in London, identified ozone and nitrogen dioxide as the pollutants most strongly linked to these so-called epigenetic changes.Dr Carrie Nobles, an epidemiologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who led the work,…

SEATTLE – Lumen Field was full, but no one was singing. Likewise, the U.S. men’s national team took to the pitch on Monday but ultimately did not turn up. There were few signs of trouble on the road to their 4-1 defeat to Belgium in the round of 16, a batch of impactful and important wins ensuring the vibes were as high as they could be. Not only did they, controversially, have their best goalscorer available to them, but country singer Lainey Wilson was sending them good luck messages after finding out head coach Mauricio Pochettino was a big fan…

Tip Toe followed Davies’ award-winning series It’s a Sin, about friends living in London during the HIV/Aids crisis in the 1980s.Starring pop star Olly Alexander, the show became an instant hit, with sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust also reporting a surge in HIV testing after its launch.It also follows in the footsteps of Davies’ Queer as Folk series, also set in Manchester, which depicted three characters living in the city’s Gay Village in a frank, funny and explicit way that had not been seen on UK TV before.Davies said he would “always find new things to say” about the…

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The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, said yesterday the federal government has reduced the import tariffs on used vehicles from 15 per cent to five and on brand-new vehicles from 20 per cent to 10. Adeniyi spoke when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise to defend the service’s 2026 budget proposal. The Customs DG said the revised excise tariffs on vehicles were contained in the 2026 fiscal policy measures. He said while the new policy was expected to improve revenue generation, the reduction in vehicle tariffs could negatively impact collections. Adeniyi…

• Tunji Bello: no culpability yet, investigation will be independent, transparent, evidence-based James Emejo in Abuja President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, directed Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to investigate major global technology companies and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms over allegations of anti-competitive practices and the exploitation of content belonging to Nigerian media organisations. The directive followed a joint petition submitted to the presidency by Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), an umbrella body comprising Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), and Guild of Corporate Online…

Dike Onwuamaeze  The Dangote Cement Plc is targeting 20 per cent emissions reduction as it declared Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles as the heart of its drive towards becoming Africa’s most sustainable and globally competitive cement manufacturer. It also reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable industrialisation in line with the sustainablity strategies of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) Vision 2030. Presenting the company’s 2025 Sustainability scorecard at its 17th Annual General Meeting in Lagos, Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, Mr. Emmanuel Ikazoboh, highlighted how sustainability has evolved in the company from a compliance requirement into a core business strategy that supported…

The Scottish government is about to consider a sweeping moratorium on building new datacentres, putting a key plank of the UK’s AI strategy at risk.Last Sunday the Scottish National party (SNP)’s national council passed a motion to freeze all new datacentres in Scotland. That motion has been sent to the Scottish government to consider.It could apply to all datacentre projects that have not yet received planning permission – although its exact implementation is up to the Scottish government to decide.Lesley Backhouse, who attended the national council meeting, said that Scotland’s current datacentre plans amounted to “overdevelopment” and were “intrusive and…