Author: damazah@gmail.com

Candidates of political parties contesting the 15 August Osun governorship election on Thursday signed a peace accord organised by the National Peace Committee (NPC) to ensure a non-violent poll in the state. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 14 political parties signed the accord at the event presided over by the NPC convener, Matthew Kukah, the Catholic bishop of Sokoto Diocese. In his remarks, the NPC Chairman, Abdulsalami Abubakar, a retired general, described the signing as another important milestone in the collective commitment to peaceful, credible and inclusive elections. Represented by a retired general and former Chief of…

Real Madrid swooped to sign striker Carlos Espi from Levante on Thursday for a reported 25 million euro ($29m) fee. The 21-year-old had been linked with several Premier League sides but record 15-time European champions Madrid pounced, with Gonzalo Garcia likely to leave for Fulham. “(Espi) will join our club for the next five seasons, until June 30, 2031,” said Madrid in a statement. Espi scored 11 goals in La Liga last season in 25 top-flight appearances. The striker is the fifth signing Madrid have made this summer, following Marc Cucurella, Bernardo Silva, Ibrahima Konate and Denzel Dumfries. Madrid have…

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has confirmed that the crew of the foreign-registered private jet that landed on a concrete road instead of the runway at Asaba Airport in June remain in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), describing the incident as a serious security breach. Mr Keyamo disclosed this on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television, saying investigations are ongoing to determine why the crew ignored air traffic control instructions and landed outside the airport perimeter. The minister said the incident went beyond an aviation occurrence because the aircraft had been…

Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, has cautioned that the proposed creation of state police must not be turned into an instrument of political persecution, stressing that any decentralised policing system should be driven by accountability, professionalism and service to citizens. Kalu spoke on Thursday at the 2026 South-East Regional Security Summit with the theme, “Collaborative Approaches to Strengthening Security and Regional Stability.” Speaking as Chairman of the House Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, he said Nigeria’s escalating security challenges demand coordinated efforts involving governments at all levels, security agencies, communities and other…

During a Thursday hearing, a judge said the Trump administration hasn’t presented enough evidence to justify labeling Anthropic a supply-chain risk and banning the federal government from using the company’s technology. Bloomberg and Axios were among the first to report the news.  The dispute stems from stalled contract negotiations between Anthropic and the Department of Defense. Anthropic said it didn’t want its AI used for mass surveillance of Americans or for targeting or firing decisions involving lethal weapons, arguing the technology wasn’t ready. The Pentagon countered that a private company shouldn’t dictate how the military uses technologies, and said it…

England’s regional mayors will be able to break out of the “death grip of the Treasury” by borrowing to invest in big projects under “transformational” plans to shift power out of Whitehall.For the first time, mayors will keep a share of income tax generated in their area from 2028, as well as business rates totalling tens of millions of pounds by April 2027.These will replace existing grants rather than being additional money, but local leaders said no longer relying on ringfenced Treasury handouts would “transform” their funding.Oliver Coppard, the Labour mayor of South Yorkshire, said: “It’s really important because it…

“Landmark” paper finds disease originated with European contact

The top stories and transfer rumours from Friday’s newspapers…Bruno Guimaraes futureArsenal have moved closer to agreeing a deal for Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes worth in the region of £80m including add-ons – The Times Arsenal are closing in on a deal for Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes – The Sun Arsenal are increasingly confident of signing Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United following the exit of manager Eddie Howe – ESPNPremier LeagueManchester United are weighing up a move for left back Lewis Hall amid the latest disarray at Newcastle – The Sun Atletico Madrid have rekindled their interest in Tottenham defender Cristian…

I’m sure that Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and the team behind Starz‘s new drama Fightland have some appreciation for the worlds of professional boxing and London’s criminal underbelly. But somewhere in the show’s creative journey and the blending of British television veterans and scribes from inside Jackson’s Power-verse, a lot of the specificity vanished into the ether.  The series premiering on Starz is, more than anything else, blandly familiar, mining all the tropes of several popular genres without finding anything distinctive in the combination. More often than not, Fightland feels like a show made by people who watched a lot…

Depending on where you buy and drink wine, catarratto will be very familiar or very obscure. There was a time in the 2010s when I’d have put good money on it being the house white in half of Hackney’s restaurants, and if you’ve ever picked up a sub-£15 natural white wine at an independent bottle shop, catarratto will probably have featured. If, however, you buy wine from bigger retailers and have a taste for fruity, sun-soaked whites, chances are you’ve been drinking catarratto without even knowing it.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something…