Author: damazah@gmail.com

A team of divers from Northampton Scuba School arranged a six-hour clean-up of the River Nene in Northampton.They collected two old shopping trolleys, a milk churn, a number of car tyres, an old bike, a drill and charger. The event on Saturday 19 September was organised alongside Northampton Active and Northampton Rowing Club, with the aim of clearing as much rubbish from the river as possible. Organisers at Northampton Scuba School said they are committed to removing waste from the River Nene on a regular basis and plan to return in the coming months.

A new investigation has identified 284 properties in the United States, collectively valued at nearly $271 million, linked to 61 current and former high-level Nigerian officials, their families, associates and affiliated companies. The properties, acquired from 1991 onwards, include 152 worth about $177 million that were purchased while the officials were in office, according to a report by the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF), in partnership with the Anti-Corruption Data Collective (ACDC). The findings were presented in Abuja on Tuesday at the launch of the report, titled “Nigeria: Dirty Deeds — How Top Nigerian Officials Bought a Piece…

‘Culture of secrecy’ and factchecking at Four Corners criticised by ABC watchdogA culture of secrecy and inadequate factchecking at the ABC’s leading investigative program has been criticised by an independent watchdog, Australian Associated Press reports.The ABC ombudsman yesterday found two episodes of the Four Corners program led by a bikie turned journalist had breached editorial standards.Mahmood Fazal was sacked in May and has denied any wrongdoing after questions were raised regarding the anonymous sources used in the Cocaine Nation and Meth Highway episodes aired during 2023 and 2024.Both were removed by the ABC due to accuracy concerns.ABC chair Kim Williams…

Nick Clegg could make approximately $40m (£30m) from the planned float of Nscale as the UK-based datacentre company prepares for a US stock market listing.The former UK deputy prime minister owns more than 917,000 shares in the startup, which is reportedly seeking a valuation of up to $35bn in a flotation. Based on Clegg’s stake of 0.12%, that could yield a valuation of about $42m for the ex-Liberal Democrat party leader.Clegg is a board member at Nscale along with the former Meta executive, Sheryl Sandberg, whose 0.25% stake could be worth $88m if Nscale floats at the $35bn valuation, a…

Saudi monarch’s rare condemnation hints at sense of urgency in the kingdom amid ramped-up attacks from Yemen.Published On 22 Sep 202622 Sep 2026Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has branded Yemen’s armed Houthi movement a “terrorist militia” and accused the Iran-allied group of repeatedly targeting the holy city of Mecca.The 90-year-old Saudi monarch made the comments during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.It was a rare sharp intervention in current affairs by the king, as most day-to-day affairs are led by his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.Deadly Houthi attacks this month…

The most dramatic and tragic natural phenomenon Spain has seen in recent years were flash floods that killed 237 people in the east of the country in October 2024, centred on the Valencia region.Spanish meteorological research group Climatoc-Lab described it as “a manifestation of how global warming alters the hydrological cycle”.The Valencia Chamber of Commerce estimated that the floods caused €4.5bn in direct damage. Thousands of businesses were affected, some literally washed away by the floodwater, while others were able to resume operations after a lengthy recovery.”It was a disaster, both in terms of the lives lost and the impact…

Nigeria’s aviation market ranked fourth-largest in Africa in 2025, with more than 18.8 million domestic and international passenger movements recorded during the year, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has said. FAAN’s Managing Director, Olubunmi Onabanjo-Kuku, disclosed this at the Airports Council International (ACI) Africa Regional Conference and Exhibition 2026 in Abuja. The conference, hosted by FAAN from 19 to 25 September, brought together airport operators, aviation regulators, policymakers and industry stakeholders under the theme, “Next-Gen Airports: Driving Performance and Resilience.” Mrs Onabanjo-Kuku said the growth in Nigeria’s aviation market was part of a wider recovery in African air…

Many of you have likely seen the phrase ‘shortage of STEM talent’ in the news. As fields like semiconductors, generative AI, and decarbonization develop rapidly, this ‘STEM talent shortage’ has long been discussed as a challenge in Japan.Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) released the ‘Basic Policy on Science and Technology Personnel in the New Era (Draft)’ on June 10, 2026. Based on this news, I would like to look at how the government is thinking about cultivating STEM talent.■ Why is ‘STEM talent’ in such high demand?This basic policy is composed of…

Sri Lanka’s High Court has given long jail sentences to 15 men charged with plotting the 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed 270 people and injured more than 500.Those found guilty include Naufer Moulavi, who prosecutors said masterminded the suicide bombings. Nine other men were acquitted.The co-ordinated blasts at three churches and three luxury hotels were the deadliest in Sri Lanka since the end of its civil war in 2009. Forty-five foreigners were among the dead.All the bombers who carried out the attacks died in the blasts. Investigators have previously blamed the bombings on Islamist extremists, and the 25…

Six-year-old Lian Yunzhi broke the women’s 3×3 average world record twice at two World Cube Association-certified competitions in Wuhan and Guangzhou, according to state broadcaster CCTV on Monday. She posted averages of 4.52 and 4.27 seconds, after solving the Rubik’s Cube five times. She is the first female speedcuber to average less than 4.5 seconds.