Author: damazah@gmail.com

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…

Let’s be frank: Some of Google’s recent Android feature Drops have been duds, offering little more than an expansion of Gemini summaries and chat functions. The new September Drop does have some Gemini flavor, but there are non-AI goodies, too. Your messaging threads are getting prettier and more useful, and those nifty Motion Assist dots that began appearing last week are rolling out widely. And even the Gemini expansion is not without utility. Since this is an Android Drop rather than a Pixel Drop, these features are coming to a wider range of devices. The OS version does matter, though.…

The overgrown grasses are the first sign of neglect at Agbinpa Primary Healthcare Centre in Ede South Local Government Area of Osun State. They cover parts of the compound, brushing against walls with peeling paint and deep cracks. Sections of the facility have become unusable, while others have fallen into disrepair after years without major rehabilitation. Next to the health centre stands a staff quarters commissioned in March 1999, a reminder of how long the facility has served the community and how little has changed over the years. Getting to the facility was difficult. It took this reporter about an…

FIFA President Gianni Infantino says the world football governing body is working with Nigerian authorities on reforms aimed at strengthening the country’s football structures and creating more opportunities for young players. Infantino disclosed this on Tuesday after meeting a Nigerian delegation led by National Sports Commission (NSC) Chairman Shehu Dikko at FIFA House in Zurich, Switzerland. The meeting came days after the mass resignation of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) leadership, including President Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and members of the federation’s Executive Committee. Mr Infantino said the discussions focused on the institutional, governance and developmental challenges facing…

The BBC is the only place to watch free-to-air WSL football, including 25 matches live on BBC TV and iPlayer throughout the season, kicking off with Chelsea v Aston Villa on Saturday, 5 September at 12:35 BST.This season, the debate will go further, with a new The Women’s Football Fallout segment following every live BBC game. Fans will be treated to 15 minutes of bonus reaction and insight from the best pundits in the game, such as England legends Fara Williams and Steph Houghton.Alongside this is the launch of BBC Women’s Football YouTube channel, which will be a dedicated space…

In 1652, Spanish artist Diego Velázquez painted the portrait of Maria Theresa of Austria, Infanta of Spain. “Infanta” was a royal title given to the daughters of a monarch who were not the direct heir to the throne. A few weeks later, the painting reached the court of Louis XIV, who was still a child, sealing the union of the French and Spanish monarchies, as well as peace after the Thirty Years’ War. The episode is the inspiration behind The Indies (Les Indes), the fiction feature debut of writers-directors Pauline Julier and Nicolas Chapoulier, which will world-premiere in the Venice…

Falconets head coach Moses Aduku has declared his team ready for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after Nigeria rounded off their final preparations with a 1-1 draw against South Korea in Poland on Tuesday. With the World Cup now just days away, Aduku is satisfied with the team’s preparations and, most importantly, confirmed that there are no injury concerns in the squad ahead of their opening Group F clash against Spain next Monday. “So far, so good. We are done with our friendly games. For me, we are good. No injury worries. My girls are ready, we are…

The Nigerian Defence Academy has released the list of successful and reserve candidates for admission into the 78 Regular Combatant Course (78RC). The Armed Forces Selection Board exercise for the 78 Regular Course was conducted from July 4 to August 19, 2026, with successful candidates offered admission into the Academy. According to the NDA in a statement signed by the Academy Registrar, Brigadier General OA Ogunleye on its X handle on Wednesday, successful candidates are expected to report to the NDA Ribadu Campus (Old Site), Kaduna, on Saturday, September 12, 2026. The Academy warned that any candidate who fails to…

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; Ex-Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, and other presidential candidates currently face a daunting task of subordinating their ambitions and ideological differences to a common platform against incumbent President, Bola Tinubu, who is seeking re-election at the January, 2027 poll. Sunday Aborisade examines the hurdles before them. The opposition’s latest attempt to forge a common front against President Bola Tinubu has revived memories of the historic 2015 election, when disparate political forces buried their differences, formed the All Progressives Congress and ended the Peoples Democratic Party’s 16-year grip on power. But while the arithmetic of opposition…

AI is now exceeding expert-level human persuaders, which raises significant questions for society.gettyIn today’s column, I examine the surprising psychology that AI is more persuasive than even the best silver-tongued human persuaders. Here’s the deal. Prior analysis of human behavior has revealed that generative AI and large language models (LLMs) can be a very persuasive tool and get people to change their minds or land on a stipulated position. This was an expected outcome. Nothing new about that.The surprising twist is that it was generally assumed that AI couldn’t match the skills of expert-level human persuaders. An expert-level wheeler-dealer would…