Author: damazah@gmail.com

Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesperson for the Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has taken a swipe at Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), over attendance at the inauguration of the presidential campaign office of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde in Abuja. He made the remarks during an interview on News Central while responding to a question on why the ADC was not represented at the event on Monday. Explaining ADC’s absence, Okonkwo said the inauguration was primarily an APM affair and therefore did not require the presence of the ADC leaders. “As…

Under China’s Order 818, only high-level hospitals will be able to conduct investigator-initiated trials (IITs).Credit: Xinhua/ShutterstockIn the past two months, reports that two children died after receiving gene-editing treatments in separate clinical trials in China have put a spotlight on the country’s fast-track trial pathway.Investigator-initiated trials (IITs) are a popular way that researchers and biotech companies test new therapies. Trials are much faster than those required by China’s drug-approval system, which is supervised by the National Medical Products Administration and roughly equivalent to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).IITs are widely considered to be a driving force behind China’s…

When Gary McCoy slid off his bike at the Isle of Man TT in June, he had two seconds to process what was about to happen.”‘Oh no, not again’ I knew what was coming,” he recalled.The Northern Ireland road racer ended up in hospital with five broken vertebrae in his back, one of which was crushed, and a broken shoulder blade.Just 13 months earlier, McCoy had another big crash at the North West 200 which left him with serious injuries.On that occasion, a following rider crashed into McCoy from behind approaching Mill Road roundabout and he was left with a…

Big Brother Naija Season 11 housemate, Nomy, has been disqualified from the reality TV show. Big Brother announced her disqualification from the house on Monday, September 7, 2026, citing her repeated defiance and disregard for his instructions, rules and punishments. Nomy had previously received a final strike earlier in the season after repeatedly ignoring Big Brother’s directives, as well as displaying tardiness and selective participation in activities. Despite the final warning, she continued to disregard Big Brother’s instructions, leading to the decision to revoke her right to remain in the game. Following the announcement, Big Brother gave Nomy 30 minutes…

I paid the £12.50 London Ulez charge on my Amex card within hours of driving through the zone. I was then fined £90 for non-payment. According to my card issuer, Transport for London (TfL) had failed to collect the £12.50.TfL’s letter threatened a £180 fine, rising to £360, and possible destruction of my car, if I did not pay. My appeal was rejected.As my wife and I are in our 80s and need a car for hospital appointments, I paid the £90 fine under duress. VR, Fleet, HampshireI’ve lost track of how often I have exposed TfL’s habit of fining…

Maryam and her best friend were ambling through Magdeburg toward the railway station, talking over the dramatic events of the previous evening and the surge by the far-right Alternative für Deutschland to a historically high vote in the Saxony-Anhalt elections.“Don’t laugh at me,” she said, “but I wish we could go back to the days of Angela Merkel, when things were OK in Germany”.The teenagers, from nearby Wolmirstedt, said they were shocked by the AfD’s landslide win. But they felt powerless to do much about it and felt afraid about where it might take their home state.“We talk about it…

An Argentine judge has ruled that a painting looted by the Nazis from a Dutch Jewish art collector during World War II must be returned to his family, according to lawyers representing the owner’s descendants.The 18th-century work, “Portrait of a Lady,” had been missing for roughly eight decades when it resurfaced in August 2025, after it was spotted by journalists from the Dutch newspaper AD in an online real estate listing for a property in Mar del Plata, Argentina. The listing showed it hanging above a green couch in the home of the daughter of a high-ranking Nazi.After the revelation…

FILE PHOTO: Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz, December 21, 2018. Hamad I Mohammed | ReutersOil prices extended gains Tuesday and were hovering at six-week highs on worries over escalating Mideast tensions after the U.S. and Iran traded strikes over the weekend. Futures for international benchmark Brent crude for November delivery gained 1.1% at $97.00 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for October advanced 2.1% to $93.43 per barrel.Stock Chart IconStock chart icon BrentThe U.S. military struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday after Iran launched ballistic missiles at two Navy warships. The Iranian Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Saturday, denounced…

Eric Wu built and ran Opendoor, one of the more ambitious real estate startups of the last decade, before stepping away in 2022 after fast-rising interest rates abruptly slowed down home sales. He spent a year resetting — he’d been running the company for eight years at that point — and could have easily jumped into investing when he felt done with his hiatus. But like a lot of founders, he’s so convinced that AI will be the defining tech platform of his lifetime that he more recently decided instead to dive back into company building. As he told me…

The UK government is to set out new restrictions on buying goods made in Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the BBC understands.Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is expected to outline the measures in the Commons on Tuesday, which could include restrictions on trade in agricultural products from settlements.Last week, Miliband said he would unveil a “comprehensive reset” of the British government’s policy on Israel.The Israeli government has previously warned it would retaliate if any new measures were introduced.Settlements are illegal under international law, and recent months have seen a rise in violence towards Palestinians in the West Bank by…