Author: damazah@gmail.com

…Public disfavour, legislative-executive face-off fingered for delay The 2026 Rivers State Appropriation Bill has passed the second reading on the floor of the Rivers State House of Assembly. The reading on Tuesday marked more than six weeks after Governor Siminalayi Fubara presented the N1.854 trillion budget estimates to the House of Assembly for consideration. Governor Fubara had on July 10 presented the budget, christened “Budget of Resilience for Growth and Development,” to the House of Assembly. Public disfavour has followed the perceived delay in the Assembly’s passage of the bill in the face of alleged legislative-executive faceoff over constituency projects…

For the last few years, PC gamers on the go have had a choice: Buy a gaming laptop, or pick up one of the many Steam Deck–inspired handhelds that are a fraction of the size but a lot less versatile. Acer’s latest concept device, Project DualPlay Mini, is an attempt to upend that dichotomy by sticking a keyboard in a handheld.The DualPlay Mini is first and foremost a Windows gaming handheld, cut from the same cloth as Acer’s existing Predator Atlas 8 (which is being joined this week by a new 7-inch model). In its default configuration, the handheld’s screen…

Political correspondent Henry Zeffman explains what we might see at Burnham’s first PMQs on Wednesday.

From childbirth to menstruation, pain has often been treated as an unavoidable part of womanhood. It is regarded as something to be managed quietly rather than investigated. It also is often said that, women are built to endure. For many Black women living with fibroids, that expectation of endurance can become particularly costly. Uterine fibroids are benign growths that develop from the muscle tissue of the uterus. They are common and may cause no symptoms at all. For some women, they can result in heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding, severe cramps, pelvic pain and pressure, anaemia, pain during sex, and…

The maiden National Intermediate Games, tagged EKO 2026, will go beyond the competition arena by fostering the development of school sports and creating a sustainable pathway for identifying and nurturing young talents. Scheduled to hold in Lagos from 1 to 15 October, the Games is expected to attract about 15,000 athletes from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The Local Organising Committee (LOC), chaired by the Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Sam Egube, with Lekan Fatodu (Director General, Lagos State Sports Commission) and Mobolaji Ogunlende (Commissioner for Youth and Social Development)…

Onwards and Sideways stars Laura Linney and Rhys Ifans as two people with a lot in common – a great sense of humor, a love of dance, and, as just diagnosed, Parkinson’s. The movie, directed by John Madden (Shakespeare in Love, Operation Mincemeat, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), based on a script by Paul Mayhew-Archer (The Vicar of Dibley, Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot and co-host of Parkinson’s podcast Movers and Shakers), will world-premiere in a gala screening at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Sunday, Sept. 13. The film stars Emmy and Golden Globe winner Linney (Ozark, Love Actually, John Adams) opposite BAFTA winner Ifans (Inheritance, Venom: The Last Dance,…

My autistic son has been bombarded for years by letters to his home from OVO Energy addressed to “The Occupier”, with demands for money and threats of debt collectors. He is supplied by Scottish Gas.He was required to let an OVO agent into his flat to “prove” he didn’t have an OVO meter. Neither this, nor countless phone calls, has stopped the demands.Call centre agents confirm that he doesn’t have an account but seem powerless to update the system. He lives in fear that bailiffs will break his door down. LO, EdinburghOVO swiftly decided that the bombardment was triggered by…

Burnham to take PMQs as borrowing costs rise, and thinktank says higher defence spending not ‘realistic’ without tax riseGood morning. Andy Burnham will face PMQs for the first time as PM today but he already has a fairly good idea of the questions he might get from Kemi Badenoch because she rehearsed them all yesterday. Here is an excerpt from the press release the Conservatives put out yesterday summarising those questions – and their take on how Burnham responded. double quotation markKemi Badenoch asked if Burnham would: -Set out a plan to get defence spending to 3% of GDP; -Confirm…

Linus Obogo There comes a time in the life of a state when the diction and rhetorics of governance change from aspiration to action, from promises to projects, and from the language of possibility to the unmistakable grammar of investment. Cross River State is at that bend and entering one such defining moment. With the unveiling of a historic Public-Private Partnership (PPP) investment package a couple of weeks ago valued at more than US$1.075 billion, the administration of Governor Bassey Edet Otu has opened a new chapter in the state’s economic story, one in which private capital, public purpose and…

ToplineThe aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln docked in Thailand on Wednesday, its first port call after spending nearly nine months at sea as part of military operations in the Middle East, amid controversy over the living conditions of crew on board the vessel and concerns about a brewing mental health crisis.US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) heads towards Laem Chabang Port, near the city of Pattaya.AFP via Getty ImagesKey FactsThe aircraft carrier docked in the port of Laem Chabang, near the city of Pattaya, which has been a popular mid-deployment rest-and-relaxation spot for U.S. forces for several years.The…