Author: damazah@gmail.com

When Sir Demis Hassabis said AI had brought the world to a “pivotal moment in human history” last month, he knew another big change was imminent.This shift was closer to home. The Nobel prize-winning head of Google DeepMind, Google’s AI unit, announced this week he was relinquishing his day-to-day duties as chief executive and becoming chair. He is also taking on the role of chief scientist at DeepMind’s parent, Alphabet.Hassabis and DeepMind have been key players in AI’s breakthrough era. The 50-year-old co-founded DeepMind and sold it to Google in 2014, which gave him the resources to oversee a number…

The prominent Reform UK member and Brexit campaigner Arron Banks is said to have set private investigators on a Sunday Times journalist after he broke a series of stories about Nigel Farage.Banks is alleged to have paid for the services of investigators to examine Gabriel Pogrund, editor of the paper’s Insight investigations team.The detail emerged in the New Statesman on Friday. When approached for comment, Banks did not appear to deny it. He is said to have instructed Precision Risk and Intelligence, a firm he once owned, to examine Pogrund.The Sunday Times and the Guardian have broken a series of…

Under the harsh April sun, the heat was oppressive in Fagge Local Government Area of Kano State. But 56-year-old Uma Usman kept walking from one compound to another, calling out familiar names, knocking gently on half-open doors and asking after children she had come to know over the years. She is not an employee of the local Galadima Primary Health Centre. Her name does not appear on any government payroll. Yet, she has become one of the most important links in the community’s immunisation system. Her job is to find children who missed their routine immunisation appointments. “I know the…

The financial security was a major factor for Jessie and Joe in their decision.Environment Bank gives Greenbank Farm lease payments as well as paying the couple to help manage the land through the livestock grazing and hay cutting.”One of the main things for us is that it’s 30 years of guaranteed income,” Jessie said.”With farming, you just never know what’s going to happen. “If we solely rely on producing haylage, we could have a really bad year of rain like we did a few years ago – we produced rubbish haylage to be honest so we didn’t really make that…

The draw for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league phase is fast approaching, with Paris Saint-Germain set to begin their title defence as they chase an unprecedented third successive crown. Luis Enrique’s side successfully defended their crown last season, beating Arsenal on penalties in the final in Budapest after previously dismantling Inter Milan 5-0 in the 2025 final. PSG are now among 36 clubs chasing European football’s biggest prize, with qualifying already underway ahead of the start of the league phase in September. Here is everything to know about the 2026/27 Champions League league phase draw, participating clubs, schedule and…

I was 28 the first time I did standup. It was an open-mic competition where the audience decided the winner. As I held the tiny gold trophy, I decided to quit my job the next day. Some people might call that crazy, and it probably was. But I’d been honing that delusional self-belief since I was eight when I first watched the film adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s story A Little Princess.I already almost had the same name as its protagonist, Sara, a young girl who is sent off to boarding school while her father fights in the war. I wanted to…

Many young Nigerians see NYSC as a one‑year ritual — khaki, clearance, CDS, and monthly allowances. But my experience taught me something deeper. National service is not about the uniform. It is about the impact made while wearing it… It is about recognising problems around us and choosing to act. It is about using our skills, creativity and passion to improve communities. It is about leaving behind footprints that outlive the service year. A week before the United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, I walked into the PRNigeria Centre expecting nothing more than another ordinary newsroom…

The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) has criticised President Bola Tinubu for his comment, attributing Nigeria’s growing security crisis in part to insecurity in neighbouring states. The AES — made of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso — considered Mr Tinubu’s remark “simplistic,” “hasty”, and trivialised the states’ efforts to address terrorist operations in the Sahel. Burkina Faso’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karamoko Traore, disclosed the AES’s stance on Thursday during a meeting with the Chargé d’Affaires of the Nigerian embassy in Burkina Faso. President Tinubu made his comment last week while discussing the military operation that led to the rescue…

For emerging communicators, this book will serve as a mentor. For educators, it will be a teaching companion. For practitioners, it will be a reminder of the discipline’s core values. And for the profession at large, it will be a contribution that strengthens the intellectual and practical foundation of PR in Nigeria. Ahmed Balarabe Sa’id’s new book, Aren’t We All PR People?, is one of those rare works that immediately announce themselves as more than textbooks. It is a field guide, a mentor in print, and a career compass for anyone stepping into the demanding but rewarding world of Public…

Stock market bulls got some huge affirmation this week as the S&P 500 made all-time highs, options volumes set records, and shares of this year’s star IPO – SpaceX – stabilized and rallied despite its earnings report and the end of its first lockup period.On Friday, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) fell to its lowest level since January as the S&P 500 added 0.6%, bringing the week’s advance to 3.6%.More than four million S&P 500 index calls traded on Cboe Global Markets Tuesday as the benchmark gauge surged above 7,700 for the first time in history. That topped the previous…