Author: damazah@gmail.com

Three firefighters were killed and two others were hurt while responding to wildfires along the Colorado-Utah border, the US Wildland Fire Service announced on Sunday.The agency, which was established in January to coordinate wildfire suppression and prevention efforts across public lands, said the firefighters were involved in a joint response to the Knowles and Gore fires on Saturday.“The US Wildland Fire Service stands united with the USDA Forest Service in grief and in our unwavering support for the loved ones left behind,” it said in a statement on Facebook. “Their bravery, dedication, and sacrifice will never be forgotten.”Wildfire activity has…

As the early-morning sun illuminates the skies, Kwari Market comes alive in the heart of Kano with the rustle of fabrics, the movement of bales, and the rising voices of bargaining. Inside its dense network of shops and plazas, colourful textiles—laces, shadda, Ankara, chiffon, veils, caps, and imported fabrics – fill every space. Traders call out to customers in Hausa, reflecting a marketplace shaped by decades of cross-border commerce. Kano State has long stood as one of West Africa’s most important commercial hubs, historically positioned at the centre of trans-Saharan trade routes and today serving as Northern Nigeria’s economic engine…

Has Silicon Valley been building the wrong things? Despite its self help-y title, writer/designer/academic Ian Bogost’s forthcoming book “The Small Stuff: How to Lead a More Gratifying Life” asks some pointed questions about how technology has transformed our experience of the physical world. Using Bogost’s popular article in the Atlantic about the decline of stick shift cars as a springboard, “The Small Stuff” argues that many aspects of our daily existence — from cars to doors to bathrooms — have become dematerialized. “Basically, it’s the idea that we’ve become disconnected from the sensory world, and the reason that happened is…

There was a time when Abdullahi Ganduje did not need to share power in Kano, being first governor, then APC National Chairman; the undisputed face of party authority in the state. Ganduje’s resignation as National Chairman in June 2025 was the first real crack. It cost him control over party primaries and structures nationwide, the kind of influence that decides who gets nominated for what, everywhere in the country. What followed was a soft landing, the chairmanship of the FAAN governing board, a role that keeps him inside government without giving him any of the leverage he once held. Back…

Supereruptions are among the most powerful volcanic events on Earth. These massive eruptions release more than 1,000 cubic kilometers of magma, rock, and ash, with the potential to dramatically affect climate, ecosystems, and human societies. Because of their enormous impact, scientists are working to better understand the underground processes that create and sustain these volcanic giants. Researchers from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS) have now developed a detailed three-dimensional model of western North America that simulates the present-day behavior of both the lithosphere and the flowing mantle beneath it. Their work reveals…

Key eventsSo, we have some confirmed semi-finals.Tuesday 2.30pm BST: Australia v West IndiesThursday 6.30pm BST: England v South AfricaGood news for England fans. As had India won, England would have been playing the Tuesday semi-final in the middle of the afternoon. But a Thursday evening at The Oval? Will be a cracker.ShareRecords have tumbled everywhere here by the way.A total of 27,163 people were in at Lord’s, and they witnessed the highest ever run chase in Women’s T20 World Cup history.SharePlayer of the match Ellyse Perry: “An amazing opportunity to play an amazing team. We thought it was a pretty…

The auction will take place at Ayton Castle on Sunday 5 July – with viewing on the Friday and the Saturday beforehand.Tickets are required for both the viewing and the auction itself.Jim Railton, of the auctioneers Railtons, explained: “Basically it’s the residual contents of Ayton Castle.”Alan Carr, as we know, has bought the castle and he’s bought a certain amount of the furnishings.”But the residual items that he doesn’t want – and that the last owners of the castle don’t want to take to their new house – we’re selling.”

A professor pauses mid-lecture. A slide remains half-explained, a thought suspended in the air. As a new academic year begins and campuses come alive once again, attention drifts not to the screen or the board, but to a student seated at the back, gazing out of the window. Is it disengagement, uncertainty, or a search for meaning that the lecture has not yet reached? In that fleeting moment, teaching reveals its deeper question: not what is being delivered, but what is truly being understood.As colleges and universities reopen, beyond a return to schedules and syllabi and planning lectures lies a…

The Ondo State chapter of the Nigeria Democratic Congress has rejected a Federal High Court ruling setting aside its earlier judgment directing the Independent National Electoral Commission to register the party, insisting that the NDC remains a valid political platform ahead of the 2027 general elections. The party said it would challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal, maintaining that no order had been made directing its deregistration. The NDC stated this in a statement issued on Sunday by its Ondo State Chairman, Mr Kennedy Peretei. A Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, had reportedly set aside…

Eleven people have died after a civilian aircraft carrying skydivers crashed in the town of Tomblaine in eastern France, local authorities said. The pilot and 10 passengers died in the incident, including five students and five instructors, according to local officials.The plane, which was being used by a parachutist school, had taken off from Nancy-Essey airfield when it crashed, local media reported.Police have urged the public to avoid the area around the airport in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department.French transport minister Philippe Tabarot said he and interior minister Laurent Nunez were travelling to the scene of the crash, which he called a…