Author: damazah@gmail.com

The Nigeria Police Force has rescued two Colombian women who were allegedly lured to Nigeria and held captive by a human trafficking syndicate in Lagos. The women, identified as Maria Camila Rodas Ortiz and Yuliet Fernanda Rios Mesa, were rescued on 26 August after the police received intelligence from the INTERPOL National Central Bureau in Bogotá, Colombia. The police confirmed the rescue in a statement posted on X on Saturday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Ani Iniedu. “Upon receipt of the intelligence, police operatives promptly launched a covert tracking operation, locating the hideout in Lagos where both victims were…

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has announced the exit of Eyitope Kola-Oyeneyin, an Independent Non-Executive Director on its board. MTN Nigeria disclosed this in a statement released on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and signed by Uto Ukpanah, the company’s secretary, on Friday. The telecommunications giant noted that Mrs Kola-Oyeneyin’s exit will take effect from 31 August, although MTN did not state the reason for her exit in the regulatory filing. She joined the company’s board in December 2024. The company extolled Mrs Kola-Oyeneyin’s contributions to the board and wished her success in her future endeavours. “The Board extends its appreciation…

Labour has rejected calls to pause construction of major AI infrastructure in Britain after the Green party leader, Zack Polanski, said it was time to “slam the brakes on these energy-guzzling, water-guzzling datacentres”.The government hit back at the opposition party’s proposal of a “moratorium other than [for] local-scale datacentres for the local community”, saying it “would be a disaster for jobs and national security”.The Greens’ call for a pause comes amid one of the UK’s worst droughts in years and predictions that datacentres’ electricity use, now standing at about 2.5% of the UK’s supply, will rise fourfold by 2030.Datacentres contain…

Message discipline is being emphasised inside the Treasury too.The biggest moment for the Burnham government this autumn will come on 28 October, when Chancellor John Healey unveils the Budget.Sir Keir and his chancellor Rachel Reeves were widely seen to have been damaged politically when many of the policies in their Budgets made their way into the media.In response, Burnham’s administration has put measures in place to try to stop those leaks and it’s understood the Treasury is telling officials that Budget security is like national security.Nevertheless, speculation about the Budget is likely to dominate the coming weeks in Westminster, in…

Ayodeji Ake The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has raised the alarm over the worsening conditions confronting healthcare workers in Nigeria, warning that poor remuneration, insecurity and difficult working conditions are accelerating the migration of medical professionals from the country. The association made the call at a press conference following its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Abuja, yesterday. The NEC, the highest policy-making organ of the association, brought together representatives of medical doctors from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory to deliberate on critical issues affecting healthcare delivery and the welfare of medical professionals.…

A very low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet may provide stronger metabolic benefits for people with obesity than either a Mediterranean diet or a low-fat diet, according to a clinical trial published August 27 in the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism. After four to five months on a ketogenic (or “Keto”) diet, about half of the participants with obesity and prediabetes no longer met the criteria for prediabetes. “We know weight loss can improve metabolic health in people who are obese,” says Samuel Klein, the study’s corresponding author at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. “Our data suggest that if…

After a lengthy rain delay that sees play halted for over three hours, England batter Emilio Gay is dimissed almost instantly after being trapped lbw by an “unplayable” ball from Pakistan bowler Muhammad Abbas on day three of their second Test at Lord’s.FOLLOW LIVE: England v Pakistan – Second Test, day threeAvailable to UK users only.

Veteran Nollywood actor Francis Duru has sparked debate with his views on the changing ethnic influence within Nigeria’s film industry, arguing that the Yoruba community has become more dominant because of its ability to organise and promote its own. In a recent interview on Gbam, aired on the Yan Content Factory YouTube channel on Friday, Duru acknowledged the contributions of Yoruba pioneers such as Herbert Ogunde to Nigerian theatre and performance arts in the 1950s. However, he argued that the modern Nollywood home-video industry was largely driven by Igbo entrepreneurs during the 1990s and early 2000s. According to the actor,…

I find shop-bought coleslaw hard to stomach because it’s sharp, gloopy and often made with copious amounts of poor-quality mayonnaise and spirit vinegar. Pungent ingredients, such as cabbage and onion, are better eaten fresh, otherwise they break down and give off a disconcertingly sulphurous and sweaty aroma.I judged each product in this test on appearance, aroma, texture and, above all, taste, and awarded extra points for value. I marked down for an off-puttingly strong raw onion aroma.Preservatives and stabilisers aren’t essential (the better-tasting products don’t use them), and often give a slaw an unappealing, moussey texture. All that said, I…

The annual Edinburgh comedy award has been won by the standup Chris Cantrill, two years after his comedy partner Amy Gledhill – in the raucous northern double act The Delightful Sausage – won the same prize.Cantrill, 42 and from Bradford, received the so-called “Oscar of live comedy” for a show, Rewilding, about his new life in rural Northumberland, where an act of vandalism shocks the local community – and a spoof whodunnit ensues. It builds on the foundations laid in 2024 by Easily Swayed, which documented his move to the countryside and secured what was then Cantrill’s third nomination (but…