Author: damazah@gmail.com

Nigel Farage is a rattled, embattled politician. Perhaps he feels buoyed up by securing slightly more votes in a byelection boycotted by all the main parties than he did in the general election two years ago. That was despite 10,000 fewer people turning out to vote. But there was never any question that he was going to win a byelection he called purely to deflect scrutiny of his undeclared £5m personal gift from a Thai-based crypto-billionaire and donations from a convicted fraudster.Farage chose Clacton as his parliamentary launchpad for a reason. It was here that his previous outfit, Ukip, secured…

An MP has called on ministers to change export controls so that significant fossils can be classed as national treasures after one of the UK’s best collections, unearthed on Dorset beaches, was sold overseas.Last week, a Guardian investigation revealed that an unparalleled collection of fossils from the UK’s Jurassic Coast, comprising hundreds of specimens including ichthyosaurs, had been sold to the Natural History Museum in Abu Dhabi for what one source described as an “eight-figure sum”.The fossils, which belonged to the Dorset-based private collector Chris Moore, were initially offered to the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London and Amgueddfa Cymru…

PHILADELPHIA — In a night filled with surprising upsets up and down the card, Islam Makhachev was narrowly able to avoid one in the main event as he held off the defensive-minded Ian Machado Garry to retain his welterweight title in the main event of UFC 330.The 34-year-old Makhachev (29-1) also etched his name even further into the history books by breaking Anderson Silva’s record for consecutive wins inside the Octagon with 17. Women’s strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern (17-5) also looked strong in the co-headliner by dominating Gillian Robertson to make the first defense of her 115-pound title. Let’s take a…

The first song I fell in love withMy dad gave me California Dreamin’ by the Mamas & the Papas on vinyl for my fifth birthday. I said: “Oh thanks, Dad,” but really, I thought: “Who is this weird bunch of people?” Obviously, the present was really for him.The first single I boughtI remember begging my mum to buy me Beat It by Michael Jackson at a record shop in the ’burbs of Sydney. I mean – he’s Michael Jackson.The song I do at karaokeWhen you’re a singer, it’s really awkward: you don’t want to throw a tantrum, sound too good or show off,…

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder at the World’s Ugliest Dog contest, which marked its 50th year at the Sonoma County Fair in California. The competition, which promotes dog adoptions and ‘the imperfections that make all dogs special’, was won this year by Jinny Lu, a pug from South Korea

The wife of the Osun State Governor, Erelu Ngozi Abeni Adeleke, has assured residents of the state that the dividends of democracy would be tripled following the re-election of her husband, Governor Ademola Adeleke. She also pledged to increase her support for the administration, particularly through expanded empowerment programmes. Erelu Adeleke, while reacting to the governor’s victory in the 2026 Osun State governorship election, expressed gratitude to the people of the state for their support, resilience and massive turnout during the poll. She said the people had demonstrated their confidence in the governor by returning him for a second term.…

The Osun State Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Ekeng Kubiangha, has commended corps members deployed as ad hoc staff for Saturday’s governorship election for their discipline and commitment to duty during the exercise. This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen by the spokesperson for the scheme, Catherine Otemuyiwa, on Sunday in Osogbo. The election process was concluded Sunday morning with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declaring Governor Ademola Adeleke the winner. Mr Adeleke defeated 14 other candidates, including Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The statement from the NYSC said Mr…

Nigeria’s moribund refineries have swallowed billions without delivering results. President Bola Tinubu’s revival pledge therefore raises the question: why not sell them? Writes Festus Akanbi Something is unsettling about Nigeria returning, yet again, to the familiar promise of reviving its state-owned refineries. After decades of turnaround maintenance, rehabilitation contracts, missed deadlines, and billions of dollars committed to plants that have repeatedly failed to operate sustainably, President Bola Tinubu’s renewed assurance that the refineries “are going to come back to work” raises an unavoidable question: at what point does perseverance cease to be a sound policy and become an expensive refusal to…

Jared Cooney Horvath is on a mission. In the wake of global campaigns for smartphone bans in schools and social media restrictions for under-16s, the neuroscientist wants to raise the alarm about educational technology in classrooms.A former teacher, Horvath believes the use of screens and digital tools in schools is undermining how children learn and develop. “This might be one of the hardest truths our generation has to face,” he writes in his book, The Digital Delusion.“Our children are less cognitively capable than we were at their age,” he says. “For nearly two centuries, the west experienced steady generational progress.…

Messi’s record from the penalty spot is poor by his sky-high standards, including missing twice during the 2026 World Cup.Published On 16 Aug 202616 Aug 2026Forward Lionel Messi missed yet another penalty and was booked as Inter Miami suffered a 4-1 defeat at Nashville in a top-of-the-table Major League Soccer clash on Saturday.England’s Sam Surridge and Germany’s Hany Mukhtar scored second-half goals for the hosts, Nashville, in a showdown between the MLS overall leaders.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listArgentina and Miami captain Messi was denied from the penalty spot in the first half and was issued a yellow…