Author: damazah@gmail.com

Scientists have discovered nine new deep-sea sponge species off Alaska, offering new insights into the region’s largely unexplored marine biodiversity.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) announced the discovery on Thursday, saying the species were found in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The findings bring the total number of known sponge species in Alaska to 232.The specimens were collected during Noaa Fisheries’ annual bottom-trawl surveys, which monitor groundfish and shellfish stocks. Researchers analyzed samples collected as far back as 2012, describing the new species in two recent scientific papers.Often described as living water pumps, sponges are among…

NFL NationSep 13, 2026, 11:50 PM ETCloseNFL Nation is made up of 32 team-specific reporters who cover the NFL year-round across ESPN.com, ESPN television shows, ESPN Radio, ESPN+ and social media platforms. It was established ahead of the 2013 season.Multiple AuthorsThe 2026 NFL season is already off to an exciting start.In the early window Sunday, the Bears and Panthers combined for 96 points, the most in a season opener in NFL history, per ESPN Research. The Jaguars easily handled the Browns in Cleveland in quarterback Deshaun Watson’s first regular-season game since October 2024. The Bills looked sharp offensively in Joe…

The last time Beck released an album it was 2019 and the singer-songwriter found himself in a strange and unenviable position. In some quarters, the arrival of Hyperspace was eagerly anticipated precisely because his personal life was in turmoil. Nine months before its release, his 15-year marriage to actor Marissa Ribisi had ended in divorce, an experience he understandably described as heartbreaking. Unfortunately for him, there exists a pervasive argument that Beck’s greatest work is born out of misery.The artwork for Ride Lonesome. Photograph: CapitolHis beloved 2002 album Sea Change featured a set of disconsolate acoustic songs written in the…

Nigerian dancer and hypeman Iweh “Poco Lee” Odinaka has broken his silence following his release from detention in the United Kingdom, maintaining his innocence and reflecting on his experience in custody. Speaking during a video call shared on Sunday by activist Martins “VeryDarkMan(VDM)” Otse, Poco Lee said his major concern while detained was the welfare of those close to him and the effect his situation had on their lives and businesses. PREMIUM TIMES previously reported that Poco Lee made his first public appearance following his release in a video showing him with Afrobeats star Burna Boy. During the video call,…

The head of Nato has said a Russian drone attack on a train close to Ukraine’s border with Poland would not deter Kyiv’s western backers.Mark Rutte said the strike on a passenger train showed how desperate Vladimir Putin had become. “He thinks that he can stops us from supporting Ukraine and that he can undermine our unity. He is wrong. Our answer is to increase support,” the Nato general secretary said.European leaders have condemned the strike in which a Russian drone hit a passenger train on Ukraine’s border with Poland on Sunday shortly after a convoy of high-level diplomats and…

Boniface Okoro in Umuahia The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Abia State, Dr. Kelechi Anosike, has promised to abolish taxes on wheelbarrow and truck pushers, and institute a welfarist tax regime to reduce the burden on workers, traders and artisans if elected in February 2027. Anosike, who pledged a radio simulcast relayed by 12 stations across the state, said his administration would harmonise salary discrepancies in the civil service in the state. The programme was part of activities marking the formal kick-off of his campaign in line with INEC guidelines. Speaking during the programme, the international lawyer and public…

Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE will give eligible retail investors one additional share for every 10 shares held continuously for 12 months in each of the first two years after its listing. Chuka Eseka, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Vetiva Capital Management, the parent company of the lead issuing house, disclosed this while speaking on the refinery’s public offer on Monday. Dangote Refinery opened its order book on Monday for its $1.6 billion initial public offering (IPO), launching a month-long capital-raising exercise targeted at retail investors across Africa. The offer comprises 4.1 billion shares priced at…

AI researchers, experts and bosses worried about the technology’s potential to endanger humanity have outlined unsettling scenarios.Dario Amodei wrote in September, external it had advanced “drastically faster” than expected, including in its “ability to build the next generation of AI”.This is the concern that AI, after it has reached a certain point, could theoretically begin improving itself without human involvement.Such fears were sparked after a recent incident saw AI tools hack into websites, despite not being asked to.Some concerned researchers have said those at the heart of its development are increasingly fearful about losing control of systems known as “AI…

Tetiana Bubynets collapsed on the asphalt after a Russian drone exploded at a gas station in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.Despite the violent shockwave and blast of drone shrapnel produced by the attack on July 6, the 18-year-old accounting student had no visible wounds except for a nosebleed.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listShe was rushed to hospital and pronounced dead shortly after, alongside two other civilians, aged 41 and 48.One of her lecturers, Tetiana Melikhova of Zaporizhzhia National University, said Bubynets was an only child and that her mother “lost the meaning of life” after she died.“She…

One hundred years ago, on 23 September 1926, zoologist Paul Kammerer shot himself on Hochschneeberg, a mountain plateau southwest of Vienna. He was discovered slumped against a rock by a retired railway worker who had followed the barking of the dogs Kammerer had taken with him on his final walk.Shock at the zoologist’s death made headlines, and the reasons for his suicide are still debated. Kammerer was an internationally famous scientist, described as a “successor to Darwin” in The New York Times. His charisma, unconventional career and turbulent personal life were well known.Kammerer’s death occurred just a few weeks after…