Author: damazah@gmail.com

It won’t come as a surprise that Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) didn’t save taxpayers nearly as much as it claimed. Analysis from outside the government showed savings claims were heavily inflated, and now the government’s own watchdog has said it wasn’t able to confirm savings claims made in DOGE’s so-called “Wall of Receipts.” For example, DOGE reported savings of $49.2 billion from cutting grants, but almost none of it could be verified, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in its report yesterday. The GAO is the auditing and investigating arm of Congress and issued the DOGE report…

When Hamish Falconer left his career as a Foreign Office diplomat for the hostile environment of a Labour party selection process, one of his last acts was a negotiation to free six hostages from the Taliban.When he won the key marginal seat of Lincoln in the 2024 general election, he did not expect to be back in those offices on King Charles Street quite so quickly – he was appointed Middle East minister just two weeks later.Two years on, he is one among the first three of his generation of MPs to reach the cabinet, and he is back around…

People who frequently use cannabis may begin the day with higher levels of cortisol than those who do not use it, according to research from Oregon State University. The finding points to a possible connection between regular cannabis use and changes in the body’s normal daily stress rhythm. The study, conducted by Oregon State University scientists, was published in the journal Cannabis. Stress is one of the main reasons people report using cannabis, and it is also associated with problematic patterns of use. Although cannabis can provide temporary relief from stress, the researchers say frequent use over time could potentially…

ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 Tri-SeriesUnited Arab Emirates 231-8 (40 overs): Usmani 116 (126); McMullen 3-30Scotland 235-9 (39.5): Cross 66 (51), Jones 44 (52); Jawadullah 3-47Scotland won by one wicketScoreboardScotland beat United Arab Emirates by one wicket as Jasper Davidson struck the winning boundary with just one ball to spare in a dramatic finish to their Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 Tri-Series match in Dundee.It came two days after a nine-run win over Canada at the same Forthill venue sealed their place at next year’s World Cup Qualifier.This time the hosts were set a target of 231,…

Former Strictly Come Dancing stars James and Ola Jordan have confirmed they have separated after more than 20 years of marriage.The former professional dancers were regulars on the show for several series after first featuring in 2006.The couple in a statement said they were “taking some time apart as we work through very difficult personal challenges”. “This has been an incredibly painful and emotional journey for us both and it certainly wasn’t an easy decision,” they said in a joint post shared on their Instagram accounts. The couple said James had moved out the family home some time ago and…

By Yinka Olatunbosun  A quiet reverence settled over Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos, last weekend as visitors wandered through Between the Lines, the second solo exhibition by multidisciplinary artist Cletus Oche. Spread across the gallery’s pristine white walls, the works invited slow looking, rewarding patient viewers with narratives that gradually unfolded beneath their striking visual surfaces. Opening-night guests moved deliberately through the space, drawn to Oche’s commanding portraits and surreal compositions. Rendered largely in monochrome, the paintings are built from thousands of meticulously drawn ink lines, cross-hatched with extraordinary discipline and precision. At once technically exacting and emotionally charged,…

Linus Aleke in Abuja The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) yesterday revealed that the Air Component of the Joint Task Force North-East, Operation Hadin Kai, eliminated a key ISWAP commander and eight other extremist fighters during a coordinated air interdiction operation in Borno State. The Service said those killed were reportedly responsible for facilitating the movement and protection of high-value members of the group. The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists have continued to attack soft targets in Borno and other North-East states in an apparent attempt to disguise their imminent defeat. Troops of Operation Hadin Kai have continued to…

Nigeria’s army has said it safely rescued 33 people after they were kidnapped by armed men while travelling through the country’s north-western Zamfara state.The army said its troops mobilised alongside the police immediately after hearing about the abduction, in the Tsafe area of Zamfara on Saturday afternoon.The military found the kidnappers in the process of moving the hostages to an unknown location, the army said, and the gunmen fled into the nearby bush after coming under fire.Kidnappings by armed groups who hold people for ransom are common in parts of north-western Nigeria and major roads have become targets for attacks.Analysts…

​The attack on the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru, near Jos, Plateau State, nearly two months ago, in which three security operatives were killed, has raised fresh concerns over the changing nature of insecurity in the state. Attackers are increasingly turning their guns on those deployed to protect communities and critical institutions.   ​Suspected gunmen stormed the institute in June 2025 and engaged security personnel in a fierce exchange of gunfire. Two soldiers and a police officer attached to the institute security detail were reportedly killed, although their names had not been disclosed at the…

Children in the UK have reported a surge in explicit deepfake images featuring their likenesses, as a safety watchdog warned AI is making such content easier to produce.The Report Remove service, which blocks intimate images from appearing online, said there had been a rapid increase in imagery that had been digitally manipulated or “faked” in some way, including with AI and nudification tools.In the first six months of this year it received 420 reports from children of images of themselves that they believed had been faked or manipulated to appear explicit. The number has already exceeded its 2025 total of…