Author: damazah@gmail.com

There are few things on which this column would agree with George Osborne. Voting to remain in the European Union was one. Backing Labour’s Ed Miliband to be the next chancellor is another.Mr Osborne, whose austerity programme redistributed pain downwards while protecting privilege at the top, had only a week ago on his podcast, Political Currency, dismissed Mr Miliband as too difficult a sell to business and the press. He now recognises what should have been obvious: if Andy Burnham is serious about governing differently, he needs a chancellor with the authority, knowledge and political relationship with the prime minister to bend the Treasury…

Global biodiversity is in crisis, with wild vertebrate populations declining by 69% since 1970 (1). At the same time, advances in high-throughput genetic sequencing and an increase in international collaborations have shifted biodiversity research toward data-intensive paradigms, in which single studies may now involve thousands of specimens and large quantities of species-level data (2). But must biodiversity breakthroughs depend on substantial biological sampling? In our opinion, the answer is no. Instead, we believe that study sample size should be determined on the basis of scientific justifications.

Egypt became the second African nation, after Morocco, to book a place in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeating Australia 4-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time in Dallas. Friday’s victory marked Egypt’s first-ever win in a World Cup knockout match and ended a run of four consecutive penalty shootout defeats. The Pharaohs made the brighter start despite surviving an early scare when Cristian Volpato’s long-range strike rattled the crossbar before Rami Rabia produced a crucial last-ditch tackle to deny Jordan Bos. Egypt struck first in the 13th minute through Emam…

The producer of a hit TV show says Catherine Zeta-Jones’ breakout role came down to “pure good fortune” after he spotted her by chance.Pip Burley, who worked on the ITV 90s comedy-drama The Darling Buds of May, recalled meeting the Hollywood star in the reception room of his final casting session.He said he spotted “a beautiful girl” in a yellow dress and invited her to audition for Mariette, despite Jones only being in the building for a light entertainment programme.”She was a lovely girl, and very smart,” Burley explained. He also revealed that American actor Danny DeVito was once considered…

The Citizens Democratic Alliance (CDA) has endorsed the proposed establishment of State Police Services, describing it as a necessary constitutional reform to address Nigeria’s worsening security challenges while calling for broader restructuring to ensure its success. The party’s position was contained in a statement issued on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Umar Abdulrazaq. CDA, which recently secured a court order compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register it as a political party, said decentralising policing would bring security closer to communities, improve intelligence gathering and enhance public confidence in law enforcement. However, it argued that creating state-controlled…

A Kwara High Court sitting in Ilorin has dismissed a preliminary objection filed by former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, and ordered his arraignment. Read Also: Kwara drags Saraki to court over defamation Justice M. O. Folorunsho delivered the ruling on Friday, holding that the court possessed the jurisdiction to hear the criminal case before it. The judge dismissed the defendant’s preliminary objection in its entirety after considering the arguments presented by both the defence and prosecution during earlier proceedings. Saraki’s counsel, Mr Jimoh Adebimpe (SAN), represented by Mr T. A. Hammed, had urged the court to decline jurisdiction and…

* Laah Says Kaduna South deserves next gov, pledges to tackle insecurity, create jobs * Ogah vows to slash cost of governance, industrialise Abia through prudent funds management Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidates for the 2027 elections in Kaduna and Abia States, Senator Danjuma Laah and Chief Etugo Ndubuisi Ogah, have respectively submitted their nomination forms at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja. Laah and Ogah used the occasion to unveil ambitious agendas centred on equity, security, industrialisation, job creation, prudent management of public resources and accountable governance. While Laah declared that it was…

What to watch this weekend.Credit: MGM / Netflix / Apple TVExplosive showdowns at a Texas ranch. Mysterious post-apocalyptic bunkers. Supernatural serial killers that can transform into vapor. And truly terrible neighbors who should make us all grateful for the neighbors we have (unless you, too, have a terrible neighbor inclined to violence and abuse). These and many more great TV shows and movies await your streaming pleasure this 4th of July weekend. You can find them all in the guide below.One big title is missing from your friendly neighborhood streaming guide this weekend: MGM’s From aired its Season 4 finale…

Parents should not publicly post images of their children online due to the growth of AI-generated abuse imagery, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned.Along with the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), it said there is a growing threat of children’s images online being used to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM).More than 8,000 AI-generated images and videos of realistic child sexual abuse were identified by the IWF in 2025, it said – adding this was a 14% increase on the year before.”While we and policing colleagues tackle offenders, prevention remains vital,” said Tim Wright, a senior manager at the NCA.In…

Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, on Friday held a closed-door meeting with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, at the former minister’s residence in Abuja. Details of the meeting were not immediately available as of the time of filing this report. The meeting comes barely 24 hours after Amaechi visited former Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, also in Abuja, as consultations continue within the opposition party ahead of the 2027 general elections. Following Thursday’s meeting, Tambuwal congratulated Amaechi on his emergence as the ADC’s vice-presidential candidate, describing him as an experienced…