Author: damazah@gmail.com

People living in caravans and horseboxes on farms in Cornwall because they can’t afford or find a house to rent are facing homelessness after a crackdown by the council.Cornwall council recently announced that it was one of the top five authorities in England for enforcing infringements of planning regulations. Half of those notices, it said, were served on caravans in agricultural fields.Dawn, a 59-year-old former care worker who now cleans holiday lets in Cornwall, told the Guardian she was “heartbroken” at being forced to move the horsebox that she has lived in for three years in a tucked-away spot on…

On 1 June 1785 John Adams travelled to London to become the first US ambassador to Britain, in which capacity he was to meet George III. By his own admission, Adams trembled at the encounter. After all, it had been less than a decade since he helped Thomas Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence denouncing the king as an absolute “tyrant” who had “plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people”.A trepidatious Adams trudged through the London drizzle to St James’s Palace, where he presented his credentials to King George. He bowed…

The Lagos Leather Fair (LLF2026) officially opened the doors of its landmark 9th edition to the general public on Saturday, June 27th, consolidating its position as the definitive pan-African platform for the leather value chain. Attended by international buyers, policy experts, tech innovators, and hundreds of local artisans, this year’s fair focused heavily on breaking global market barriers and equipping homegrown brands with advanced digital tools. From 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, the venue was transformed into a high-energy hub of economic dialogue, commercial exchange, and creative celebration. The event successfully proved that the African leather industry is no longer…

It shouldn’t feel like a contentious image: a large cross of St George – England’s national flag – being unfurled and laid out on a raked stage. But at that time, in that place, and in this way, you could feel one of those unique, intake-of-breath moments that happen sometimes in the theatre.The place in question was the Nottingham Theatre Royal in the East Midlands, one of my local theatres when I was growing up. The play – forgive the self-aggrandisement – was my own, Dear England, about Gareth Southgate’s tenure as England men’s football manager: the first production in…

Nigeria has moved closer to eliminating trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, with only 11 local government areas (LGAs) yet to reach elimination status, according to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. Speaking at the Accelerate Trachoma Elimination Programme Learning Event organised by SightSavers Nigeria in Abuja on Thursday, the ministry said the country had achieved more than 85 per cent progress towards eliminating the disease as a public health problem. Nicholas Olobio, director and programme manager of the National Trachoma Programme, said Nigeria had stopped Mass Drug Administration (MDA) in 116 of its 134 previously…

Homo floresiensis was a small hominin that lived on the island of FloresLIONEL BRET/EURELIOS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY The diminutive ancient humans nicknamed hobbits that lived on the Indonesian island of Flores until around 50,000 years ago had limited hunting skills, according to a study of animal bones found in their caves. Instead, researchers think they scavenged meat that was left behind by Komodo dragons. Fossils of Homo floresiensis were first announced to the world in 2004. These humans stood just over a metre tall and their remains have been dated to between 90,000 and 50,000 years old. Based on stone tools…

Ghana can only have feared the worst when Luis Suárez’s number came up in the seventh minute. A day on from the 16th anniversary of one of the most infamous episodes in World Cup history, the Colombia forward who shares a name with the man whose handball broke the hearts of Black Stars supporters in the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup returned to haunt them.Not long after coming off the bench, it was the Sporting striker who provided the assist for what turned out to be the winning goal from Jhon Arias to set up a last-16 clash against…

Patti LuPone has revealed that an LGBTQ+ cruise ship she is performing on has been banned from entering Turkey. The Tony Award winner took to Instagram to share her shock regarding the news. LuPone is scheduled to perform on Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, which sets sail on July 5 through July 15. “I am shocked. The Atlantis cruise I am performing on next week has been banned from entering Turkey,” she wrote. “A ship — a magnificent ship — full of gay men. And me. Denied entry to Turkey simply because of who is on board.” LuPone continued, “I am…

A new AEI database called SOURCE, opens a window on the donations made by private foundations to the nation’s colleges and universities.gettyWhat are the higher education priorities of America’s private foundations? Which foundations spend the most? What activities do they prioritze? And which institutions reap the largest benefits? Answers to those questions are now available in a new database called SOURCE, the Searchable Open University Records of Charitable Expenditures.Developed by Tao Tan, affiliate scholar at the American Enterprise Institute’s Center for the Future of the American University, the interactive tool contains data on more than one million grants made by…

Argentina captain, Lionel Messi, strengthened his position as the highest goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history after finding the net in his country’s match against Cape Verde on Friday. The goal took Messi’s World Cup tally to 20, extending his lead over France’s Kylian Mbappé, who has scored 18 goals at the tournament. Former Germany striker, Miroslav Klose, previously the all-time leading scorer, now sits third with 16 goals, while Brazil legend Ronaldo is fourth on 15. Germany’s Gerd Mueller occupies fifth place with 14 goals. The updated list of the World Cup’s all-time leading scorers is: 20 – Lionel…