Author: damazah@gmail.com

1. The budgetJohn Healey leaves 10 Downing Street. Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing/Getty ImagesThis is the most difficult event on the horizon for Burnham, set for 28 October, as the global economic picture continues to look bad in the face of the Iran war pushing up energy prices and wider inflation. Burnham’s chancellor, John Healey, has little room for manoeuvre, with government debt interest payments rising and his headroom shrinking.Big decisions on spending are likely to be put off until a bigger fiscal event in the spring, in the hope that the economic picture improves before then. But it will be…

Ferdinand Ekechukwu Barely two months after dropping his sixth studio album, Oriadé, superstar, Davido has announced a three-night festival taking place at the newly refurbished Lagos’ National Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos. Taking to social media to share the news alongside an electrifying video trailer, OBO could not hide his excitement for the concert. For Davido, this residency is deeply personal. Dubbed “ORIADÉ: The Residency,” The singer, in an interview with CNN further discussed the Oriadé, scheduled for December 17, 18 and 19, 2026, marking his 15th anniversary in music and celebrating his latest album. The residency doubles as the first…

Labour must “reunite the progressive voter coalition” if it is to take advantage of a split on the right and win the next election, the party’s deputy leader has said.Lucy Powell, who won the race to be deputy leader 12 months ago with a warning that Labour was losing the fight to be heard as Reform UK surged, said the government now had a second chance under Andy Burnham.In an interview with the Guardian, Powell said the party had clearly required a “change of leader” to revive its fortunes and tell a better story, after becoming “too technical and pessimistic”.Labour’s…

For some of the most aggressive blood cancers, a stem cell transplant may be the only treatment with the potential to cure the disease. Even so, cancers can return after transplantation, leaving doctors with limited options. A new clinical trial led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that genetically modifying donor stem cells before transplantation could make follow-up cancer treatments safer and potentially more effective. The strategy removes a specific protein from donor cells so that therapies aimed at that protein can attack cancer while sparing healthy transplanted cells. The study was conducted at…

Nigeria needs a policy shift from raid-and-detention enforcement of artisanal miners. The government should not focus on providing licences to the “big men” alone, just as it continues to do with oil blocs. It needs to formalise artisanal mining by providing appropriate types of licences for these small miners, safety training, geological information, equipment leasing, mineral-buying centres and environmental compliance. This is the thought that I have not been able to shake off: the brutal deaths of thirty-seven Nigerians while in state custody in Minna, Niger State, after they were arrested for suspected illegal mining. Their immediate families and all…

Rory Stewart talks about his viral Newsnight moment

Sharman, who became the first British person to visit space in 1991, said: “It’s an extraordinary collection. We’ve got bits of Apollo 11, bits from the Russian space programme – it’s just an amazing collection of artefacts from space flight history.”It tells its own story of space history, but also of the people that went and the items that were important to them.”For it to be on show now in this beautiful way, as part of Grizedale Observatory, what a coup for Cumbria.”The museum contains a variety of pieces ranging from autographed photos and signatures of prominent people in space…

1Belgian city (7) 1 down. Belgian city. 7 letters.2Upbeat – golfer near the green? (7) 2 down. Upbeat – golfer near the green? 7 letters.3Room connecting building and outer door (9) 3 down. Room connecting building and outer door. 9 letters.4Twill khaki fabric (5) 4 down. Twill khaki fabric. 5 letters.5Amaretto, e.g. (7) 5 down. Amaretto, e.g. 7 letters.6Hold it! – the bar (anag) (6) 6 down. Hold it! – the bar (anag). 6 letters.11Groveller (9) 11 down. Groveller. 9 letters.13Sep 22 or 23, e.g. (7) 13 down. Sep 22 or 23, e.g. 7 letters.14Look after (7) 14 down. Look…

File: Gov Alex Otti and President Bola Tinubu. By Juliet Umeh There are moments when Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, sounds more like the banker he once was than the politician he has become. Read Also: Rivers 2023 results: Questions on Wike’s account on Atiku, Obi Ask him how Abia could confront billions of naira in inherited obligations while pouring money into roads, hospitals and schools, and he talks about expenditure ratios, financial discipline and cutting the cost of governance. Push him on Peter Obi, President Bola Tinubu and the intrigues of 2027, and another Otti emerges: cautious, deliberate and…

Madeleine Finlay sits down with her co-host and Guardian science editor, Ian Sample, to discuss three science stories from the week, including a study that offers a clue in the age-old debate about whether sex differences are present from birth or a product of socialisation. Also on the agenda is the super El Niño, which is predicted to lead to 450,000 deaths in the next six months, and an answer to why the UK’s meningitis outbreak earlier this year was so big.