Author: damazah@gmail.com

Olarenwaju Badmus, the global director of the World Aquaculture Society and chief executive officer of Aquaglobal Inter Solutions, has called on the United States to lift its ban on smoked catfish exports from Nigeria, warning of significant economic implications for producers and rural livelihoods. Badmus raised the concern while presenting a paper titled “Trade Restrictions and Livelihoods: Evaluating Economic Effects of the U.S. Ban on Nigerian Smoked Catfish Exports’ at the 156th Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society in Columbus, Ohio. He said the restriction has disrupted a key export market for Nigerian processors and undermined income for thousands…

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed a stopgap measure that would continue funding the US government through early December. While the measure still requires the signature of President Trump, it’s widely expected that he will act to avoid a government shutdown immediately before the midterm elections. This is a normal part of how the US government has operated in recent years, as it’s often difficult to build the political support needed to pass a full year’s budget in advance. In fact, dissent within the House’s Republican caucus prevented them from agreeing on their own measure to keep the government…

Andy Burnham moved to calm volatile bond markets on Wednesday as surging borrowing costs threatened to wreck plans for his government’s crucial first budget next month.After a days-long sell-off of government bonds – and with the chancellor, John Healey, facing the prospect of sharply reduced spending power, Burnham used his first appearance at prime minister’s questions to promise decisions would be “grounded in fiscal responsibility”.That was widely seen as an attempt to soothe investors after his statement to parliament on Tuesday, in which he made bold promises of more public control of utilities, further interventions on the cost of living…

The storm name list for the next year is out. Will your name be on it?

As the final month of the MLB regular season begins, some teams are already thinking about October while others gear up for the pennant races ahead.The Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs all have National League playoff spots seemingly locked up. Likewise, the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are well on their way to October appearances in the American League.Beyond those top teams, there are many storylines to watch down the stretch: Where do current playoff matchups stand? What games should you be watching each day leading up to October? Who…

Maggie Gyllenhaal said there is a “systemic problem” that explains why only two female directors are in the running for the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival this year.“It’s harder for women to get films financed,” said the actor-director, who is heading up the jury of the world’s oldest cinema showcase this year.“Could it be possible that the things that women, having had a different experience of being alive in the world, want to make movies about are not always deemed high art?” added Gyllenhaal, whose directing debut The Lost Daughter won a best screenplay prize at Venice in…

With two young kids, we get through a lot of bananas in our household. Perhaps surprisingly, though, most of them are frozen: our daughters eat them straight from the freezer most evenings, with frozen berries and yoghurt, for pudding. We normally order a stack of bananas every Saturday, and before the end of the week they inevitably start to turn brown. At this point, we peel, slice and freeze them for the children’s evening yoghurt, though sometimes, when we have a real excess, I turn them into today’s incredibly satisfying “ice-cream”. Its silky-smooth texture really hits the spot, and satisfies…

The police officers accused of shooting dead a motorist, Anthony Obodo, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, will be dismissed and prosecuted, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Olugbenga Adepoju, has vowed. Mr Adepoju made the promise while addressing a crowd protesting the killing. He insisted that the police would not shield officers found responsible for the death. “No police officer is told to go and kill anybody’s child. And everybody has to own the responsibility for what they have done. The police will never cover anybody. Since that day, they’ve been arrested and handcuffed,” he said. “I’ve been talking…

The jury in the Lindsay Clancy trial were dismissed for the evening on Wednesday without reaching a verdict, after nearly 30 hours of deliberations over five days.Addressing the 12-member jury – made up of nine women and three men – Judge William Sullivan said: “I know it’s been a long day.”The jury, which is required to reach a unanimous verdict on whether Clancy is criminally responsible for killing her three children, has been asked to return on Thursday at 9am local time.Earlier in the day, Clancy stared at the jury with no expression as the judge explained to the courtroom…

Owner Steve Ballmer of the Los Angeles Clippers looks on during the game against the Detroit Pistons at Intuit Dome on Dec. 28, 2025 in Inglewood, California.Katelyn Mulcahy | Getty ImagesThe NBA on Wednesday said it had suspended Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer for one year as part of a broad array of sanctions on the basketball team and its executives for violating the league’s salary cap circumvention rules related to star player Kawhi Leonard.”The NBA’s collectively bargained system for determining player compensation is a fundamental component of the basketball competition that the league oversees for the benefit of…