Author: damazah@gmail.com

A place in Sunday’s final and qualification for next year’s Africa U20 Cup of Nations will be at stake when Nigeria’s Flying Eagles take on hosts Côte d’Ivoire in a mouthwatering WAFU B U20 Championship semi-final on Wednesday evening. The defending champions head into the last-four clash at the Stade Charles Konan Banny in Yamoussoukro determined to keep their title defence alive, but they face their toughest test yet against an Ivorian side that has won all its matches without conceding a goal. Nigeria booked their place in the semi-finals as runners-up in Group B despite a disappointing 2-0 defeat…

Every Palestinian born in the West Bank before the start of the occupation in 1967 has witnessed the extent to which Israel has transformed the landscape through spatial planning, military closures, and settlement, infrastructure and road construction. Sixty years on, what used to be a straightforward journey from point A to point B within the West Bank has become an arduous and frequently hazardous undertaking.As a foreigner living in the West Bank in the 1980s and visiting it off and on ever since, this transformation revealed itself in incremental leaps and bounds, on each occasion provoking a shock of recognition…

Monsoon downpours cause floods and landslides as climate change and El Nino disrupt rainfall patterns.Published On 5 Aug 20265 Aug 2026Floods and landslides triggered by monsoon rains have killed more than 100 people across India since July, according to official data, with thousands forced to flee flooded homes.The annual monsoon brings rain that farmers depend on, but scientists say climate change is making it increasingly deadly across South Asia.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThis year’s toll spans several states. Assam has been hit hardest, with at least 87 dead, and Sivasagar district alone accounting for 47.Kerala has recorded…

AMD’s stock plunged in premarket trading on Wednesday despite posting earnings that beat expectations, as investor enthusiasm for the Nvidia challenger waned.The stock was last down 8.7% in premarket trading.The market jitters come despite AMD revenue climbing 50% to $11.54 billion in the second quarter, ahead of analyst expectations of $11.28 billion, in a sign of the company’s central position in the market for AI chips.Data center sales drove much of the company’s growth, up 107% on an annual basis to $6.7 billion, which the company attributed to central processing unit and graphics processing unit sales.But while second-quarter earnings came…

In April, Gil Durán was permanently banned from Elon Musk’s X for posting just two words. Durán was responding to a post from the tech company Palantir outlining its 22‑point “technological manifesto”, which praised American “hard power”, western culture and AI weapons, denounced inclusivity and called for compulsory national service. Durán responded: “TLDR: Fascism” (TLDR is short for “too long, didn’t read”).Durán didn’t break any of X’s written rules, he points out over a video call from San Francisco – so much for Musk’s “free-speech absolutism”. His ban might just have had something to do with his preceding tweet, showing…

Andy Burnham’s government will continue to function normally while the new prime minister is away on holiday, Downing Street has said.Burnham is taking a break from his day-to-day duties to spend time with his family, after entering No 10 two weeks ago.His official spokesman has said he will remain in direct contact with officials and continue to hold meetings while away from Downing Street. But Reform UK’s chairman Lee Anderson has criticised Burnham for going on holiday so soon after taking office, saying: “This isn’t a prime minister that’s serious about leading.”He accused the new prime minister of having “bunked…

Côte d’Ivoire sealed top spot in Group B of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after a composed 2-1 victory over Tanzania on Tuesday, while South Africa joined them in the quarter-finals with a hard-fought 1-0 win against Burkina Faso. The Lady Elephants completed an unbeaten group-stage campaign with seven points from three matches, marking an impressive return to the continental showpiece after a 12-year absence. South Africa, meanwhile, bounced back from a difficult start to finish second with four points and extend their title defence into the knockout rounds. Tanzania and Burkina Faso, who both ended the group…

Bruno Guimarães is set to leave Newcastle’s pre-season training camp in southern Spain and fly to London before a £75m move to Arsenal. The out-going Newcastle captain is scheduled to undergo a medical in north London in the next couple of days after the two clubs finally compromised on the fee.While Arsenal had initially wanted to pay no more than £60m for the Brazil midfielder, who turns 29 in November and has two years remaining on his contract, Newcastle demanded a minimum of £80m.skip past newsletter promotionFree newsletter | Every weekdaySign up to Football DailyKick off your evenings with the…

Italian sales company True Colours has taken world sales outside Italy on first-time director Anna Foglietta’s marriage drama “A Common Story” (“Una Storia”) starring Alba Rohrwacher, ahead of its bow in Venice and Toronto. Foglietta is an actress-turned director best-known to international audiences for her role in Italy’s smash hit “Perfect Strangers” that earned her a David di Donatello nomination. She also served as the official emcee of the 77th Venice International Film Festival. “Common Story” is the tale of Erika, played by Rohrwacher – whose credits include Pablo Larraín’s “Maria” and who served on the 2025 Cannes competition jury…

Femi Fani-Kayode Permit me to offer a history lesson and share a few facts with Minister Khumbudzo Tshaveni about who and what we are as a nation and the contributions and sacrifices that we made for the emancipation of her people all in the name of Pan-Africanism. Ours is a great and proud nation of strong, enterprising and resilient people whose Head of State, General Murtala Muhammed, condemned the Western powers and their support for white minority rule in South Africa and formally declared Nigeria as a member of the famous “front line states” in the fight against apartheid! Outside…