Author: damazah@gmail.com

Nollywood actor Charles Okocha has denied biting singer Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, during their recent celebrity boxing rematch in Lagos. Okocha dismissed the allegation during an appearance on TVC Entertainment on Tuesday, insisting that he wore a mouth guard throughout the contest and had no reason to bite his opponent. The two celebrities faced off at the Balmoral Convention Centre in Lagos on Friday, with Okocha declared the winner after Portable was disqualified for breaking the rules. Portable had abandoned the wrestling techniques permitted during the contest and resorted to punches, leading to his disqualification before he eventually…

For thousands of young Nigerians dreaming of contributing to the nation’s energy future, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) is once again opening a door to opportunity through its Annual National Undergraduate Essay Competition. The Board has announced that entries for the 10th edition of the prestigious competition will open on 15 August inviting undergraduate students in 100 and 200 levels from Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education to showcase their ideas on strengthening local content development. This year’s essay topic, “Promoting Manufacturing for Sustainable Local Content Development,” challenges students to examine how Nigeria can build stronger…

The younger brother of a former Liberal premier has told an anti-corruption watchdog that a group of young conservative power brokers, now under investigation for soliciting illegal donations, recruited members to “dodgy” branches controlled by rival factions, and admitted he personally paid for memberships.Jean-Claude Perrottet, the younger brother of the ex-New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet, appeared before the Independent Commission Against Corruption on Wednesday.Icac is investigating whether members of the so-called Reformers, including Jean-Claude Perrottet, solicited or accepted illegal donations for the recruitment or renewal of members to the Liberal party. That practice, known as branch stacking, is not…

Mr Tajudeen made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the launch of the Leadership for Equity, Advocacy and Development (LEAD) Fellowship, organised by the Gender Mobile Initiative (GMI). Represented by the Chairperson of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, Kafilat Ogbara (APC, Lagos), the Speaker said young Nigerians must be equipped with the knowledge, ethical values, institutional exposure and leadership skills needed for effective public service. “It is high time we prepared young people for power. As the trustees of our tomorrow, they must understand how government works and how to use political office to change…

• Trump blasts oil firms, accuses them of making too much money  •Four companies rake in over $65bn in profits  •Reuters: Dangote refinery to raise $5bn in Oct. listing Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Saudi Aramco, ExxonMobil, Chevron and BP have reported a combined second quarter profit of about $65 billion, as soaring crude oil prices and refining margins triggered by the Iran conflict delivered windfall earnings for the world’s biggest energy companies. This came even as consumers across many countries continue to grapple with higher fuel prices, and US President, Donald Trump, knocked the oil majors for making too much…

Electronic Arts, the maker of video games such as The Sims, Madden NFL and Battlefield, has been bought by Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund and a group of investors for $55bn (£41bn).The company announced the completion of the deal on Tuesday evening, only days after the EU gave its approval, the final regulatory green light needed.EA is best known for its blockbuster sports games including EA Sports FC (previously called Fifa). In what is one of the biggest buyouts on record, EA Games is being taken private, ending its 36-year history as a publicly traded company.The company has been bought by…

Police are looking into reports of ‘missing’ athletes who didn’t return home after the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony.Published On 5 Aug 20265 Aug 2026Scottish ‌police are investigating reports of foreign ⁠athletes, identified ⁠in the media as boxers from Uganda and Pakistan, who failed to return home ⁠after competing in the Commonwealth Games that ended in Glasgow last Sunday.“Police Scotland has ⁠received reports of several athletes who are unaccounted for,” a spokesperson said late on Tuesday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“Enquiries are ongoing to assess the circumstances, and early engagement is taking ‌place with the Home Office.”Uganda’s NBS Sport…

Taiwan, once widely known as Formosa, conceals a remarkable natural world within its steep and rugged interior. It is one of the few places on Earth capable of supporting truly giant trees, including specimens that rise more than 80 meters above the forest floor. Since 2014, our group, the ‘Taiwan tree seekers,’ has worked to find, measure, and document these extraordinary trees. The team brings together professional tree climbers, ecologists, geologists, and remote sensing specialists. That long search reached a major milestone in 2023, when we identified an 84.1-meter-tall (276-foot-tall) Taiwania fir (Taiwania cryptomerioides). It is now recognized as the…

Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of the Cincinnati Open due to an ⁠ongoing wrist injury, casting fresh doubts over the Spaniard’s fitness ahead of his ⁠US Open title ⁠defence this ​month.The seven-times Grand Slam champion has been sidelined since withdrawing from the Barcelona Open second round in April ⁠but had been set to return at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, which he won last ⁠year.Alcaraz was unable to defend his French Open title and missed Wimbledon ​as he continued his recovery, ‌though the 23-year-old ‌signalled he was close to a return after posting videos of training ‌sessions in…

It would surely take a real a-hole to hate on Apple’s Ted Lasso. As of the latest season — the fourth, following a third that played coy to the very end about whether it might be the last — it remains perhaps the most insistently warmhearted series on television, full of kindly heroes who are open of mind and generous of spirit. Every new person is just a new friend waiting to happen. Every new challenge is an exciting opportunity to extend oneself or someone else a bit of grace. In a world where cruelty so often seems to be…