Author: damazah@gmail.com

Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would open “very soon” or Iran would be “hit very hard” as oil prices fell to a three-week low amid hopes of a deal.The US president was speaking to Fox News after Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent both said talks had progressed to allow shipments potentially to resume later this week.The cost of a barrel of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, fell by almost 5% to under $80 (£60) on the news of supply disruptions potentially being eased.But the failure of previous talks in recent…

(Original Caption) Louisville, KY: The twin spires atop the stands at Churchill Downs Race Track remind all of the magic of Thoroughbred racing.Bettmann Archive In an effort to help elevate Thoroughbred racing among the everyday sports fan, Churchill Downs and the New York Racing Association will launch a three-year-old championship series consisting of six races beginning in 2027. Starting on the first Saturday in May with the Kentucky Derby and culminating in September with a return to Churchill Downs, the idea is to promote a familiarity with fans as the top three-year-old horses are encouraged to compete and develop those…

The US stock market rallied to records on Tuesday as profits kept piling up for companies and as oil prices eased.The S&P 500 shot up 1.8%, and the main measure of Wall Street’s health topped its prior all-time high set a couple months ago. The Dow Jones industrial average added 907 points, or 1.7%, to its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 2.6%.Palantir Technologies helped lead the way and surged 29.5% after its CEO, Alex Karp, said its overall revenue leaped 93% in what he called an “otherworldly” quarter. Besides reporting a stronger profit for…

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has launched an attack on his predecessor and former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, saying his candidacy as presidential running mate to Atiku Abubakar on the platform of African Democratic Congress (ADC) is of no benefit to the people of Rivers State. Delivering the attack at a media chat in Abuja, yesterday, Wike alleged that Amaechi was a political liability with no electoral value in Rivers State or the wider South-south region. Wike insisted that the Rivers electorate would not be…

A study from The Wistar Institute has identified a surprising connection between fructose, a widely consumed dietary sugar, and the spread of an aggressive type of ovarian cancer. The findings, published in Nature Aging, suggest that cancer cells that remain after chemotherapy can communicate with nearby tumor cells and make them more likely to spread. The researchers found that fructose serves as one of the chemical messages released by these treatment-surviving cells. The discovery reveals a previously unknown way that cancer cells left behind after therapy may contribute to metastasis. “Some cancer cells that survive chemotherapy aren’t dividing anymore, but…

Arsenal have stepped up talks with Newcastle in a bid to sign Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, according to reports on Tuesday. The Premier League champions reportedly had a recent £70 million ($93 million) offer rejected for Guimaraes, but are set to return with an improved offer. Arsenal are keen on Newcastle captain Guimaraes after opting not to match Chelsea’s British record £117 million swoop for England forward Morgan Rogers. Guimaraes, 28, scored nine goals and produced eight assists in all competitions for Newcastle last term. Newcastle, who signed Guimaraes for £35 million from Lyon in 2022, are keen to avoid…

English National Ballet (ENB) has said customer contact information has been leaked following a data hack.The organisation, which is based in east London, said in an email to those affected that it found out about the hack when it changed its customer relations service and the new provider Beacon CRM “experienced a cybersecurity incident that involved unauthorised access to Beacon’s systems”.ENB said it was “so sorry” for the “concerning” incident and that although no customer passwords or payment details had been leaked, it warned customers to be cautious of unexpected emails.A spokesperson for Beacon said they were taking the data…

“Salus populi suprema lex esto” (“The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law”), Roman maxim The first part of this series reflected upon the life, character and formative influences that shaped Senator (Dr.) Abdullahi Adamu, CON, Turakin Keffi, into one of the foremost public figures of his generation. It suggested that the enduring measure of leadership lies not in the splendour of the offices one occupies but in the institutions one strengthens, the confidence one inspires and the values one espouses. It is fitting that this second part should return to the reflections of Edward Gibbon upon old age…

Russia has attacked Ukraine with ballistic missiles and drones, killing two people and leaving at least 21 injured after strikes across Kyiv and the surrounding area, authorities say.The head of Kyiv’s military administration, Timur Tkachenko, said the “enemy is once again massively attacking the Kyiv region”.During the attack, which started after midnight on Wednesday, air raid alerts were in place for more than an hour as waves of ballistic missiles hit the city and its outskirts. Kyiv officials said a woman was killed and regional authorities said another person was killed in Bucha, west of the city. At least 21others…

The stock market closed on a negative note on Tuesday, reversing the gains recorded in the previous trading session as investors lost N599 billion. This followed a day bullish streak in the market. The downturn was driven by selloffs in stocks such as Multiverse Mining, Livingtrust Mortgage Bank, Mc Nicholas, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria, Eterna and 35 other declining equities. Market capitalisation fell by 0.38 per cent, shedding N599 billion from an opening value of N158.614 trillion to close at N158.015 trillion. Similarly, the All-Share Index declined by 927.70 points or 0.38 per cent, dropping from 245,730.53 to close at 244,802.83.…