Author: damazah@gmail.com

The Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN), which helps farmers to manage land in environmentally-friendly ways, criticised the “frantic scramble” and said farmers had “faced a desperate race against time” to secure their funding agreements.Cambridgeshire arable farmer Martin Lines, who leads the NFFN, said: “This entire SFI system, with windows opening and closing within a few hours, isn’t fit for purpose. “We need to find a better way based on continuous, whole-farm agreements, not doors that slam shut on day one because the money has already gone.”He pointed out that after years of extreme weather, many farmers were relying on the…

*Why HSE must become a culture in Nigerian facilities By Kenny Akintola There is one question Nigerians are very good at asking after an accident: “Who is responsible?” But perhaps there is another question we should start asking much earlier: “What did we do to prevent it?” And if the incident could not have been prevented, then we should ask: “Were we prepared for it?” The recent violent incident at Filmhouse Cinemas IMAX in Lekki should make every facility manager, property owner, school administrator, security company and business owner pause for a moment. Reports say a man armed with a…

A judge was wrong to hear a case from his bed via video link while recovering from surgery, the court of appeal has said.Richard Clayton KC, sitting as a deputy high court judge, heard an optician’s appeal against a finding of serious misconduct from bed the day after returning from hospital where he had undergone an operation for a ruptured achilles tendon.Clayton dismissed Suleman Patel’s appeal against a nine-month suspension imposed by the General Optical Council but Patel took the case to the court of appeal. Patel claimed: “The general handling of the appeal by [Clayton] … has not been…

Surveys appear to suggest that there is little opposition to AI or its widespread adoption, compared to so many other countries, but it’s hard to evaluate these figures in such a heavily-censored climate. Beijing has been quite clear that it sees AI as a solution to its ageing workforce, and is rapidly automating manufacturing and production. That is producing anxiety over job losses, which, again, is hard to measure.But this is also a country that is producing around five million science and tech graduates each year, compared to around half a million in the US. And as more of them…

Major General Abdulaziz al-Majidi says five Houthi fighters killed and 20 wounded after ‘fierce battles’.Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces say they have taken full control of strategic Mount Qarfan in the western governorate of Taiz during a battle with Iran-aligned Houthi fighters.Government forces, assisted by local fighters, secured Mount Qarfan on Tuesday, the Yemen Armed Forces Media Center said in a statement, as the warring sides battle for control of highlands overlooking the Red Sea coast.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe chief of staff for the Taiz military axis, Major General Abdulaziz al-Majidi, said troops engaged in “fierce battles”…

The role of teachers will be essential in imparting excitement about learning as students get to grips with using AI tools.Credit: Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/GettyWill artificial intelligence damage the ability of humans to think critically? This has become an urgent question for those involved in education, from early-years teachers to trainers of experienced working people. For universities, the question is existential. Teaching students how to think, and why that thinking is important, is core to a university’s mission and purpose. Many research leaders, potential students, parents and carers are asking if there is any point in working towards a qualification…

Governors of Nigeria’s North-west states are seeking international financing and private investment to implement a regional plan aimed at tackling insecurity, creating jobs and improving social services. This was disclosed by the Katsina State Government in a statement on Tuesday. It said the North-west Peace, Security and Development Framework 2026–2030 was presented to development institutions and investors in New York at an event on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly. The seven states — Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara — adopted the framework in March 2026. The New York meeting sought partnerships and financing…

At least 11 people have been killed in a mass shooting in a residential building near the South African city of Durban.Gunmen stormed a house in the KwaMakhutha township late on Tuesday and opened fire on 14 people. Ten were killed at the scene and four were taken to hospital, where one later died from their injuries, police said.Police said some of the victims were on their watch in connection with illegal activities, which they could not “divulge at the moment to protect investigations which have been launched”.While the motive of the shooting has not yet confirmed, the police said…

After turning a string of spectacular mathematical results into a reputational crisis, OpenAI is consulting human mathematicians to help it figure out a less disastrous path forward.On Monday, the company announced a new independent panel of mathematicians tasked with advising it and other AI companies on their interactions with mathematical research and the wider mathematics community, including how new results are presented and released. Its abrupt arrival caught many mathematicians by surprise. Researchers told The Verge the group is a good first step, but many said they were left with basic questions about what it will actually do, how much…

Physicists at UC Santa Barbara have pushed the search for microscopic black holes at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) into new territory. These hypothetical black holes would be extraordinarily small and short-lived. If they could be produced at the LHC, their existence might help physicists address some of the deepest unanswered questions about spacetime and gravity. The search also gave researchers a chance to test a new technique for finding rare and previously unknown particles. “Had we found evidence, we could have begun to directly study quantum gravity,” said Tamas Vami, a…