Author: damazah@gmail.com

Big Tech’s crusade to get kids coding is more self-interested than it first appears, argues a journalist

Key events3rd over: Pakistan 7-1 (Azan 3, Masood 4) Azan gets off a pair by guiding Robinson through backward point for three. He’s started his innings calmly, which is easier said than done when you’re 21 years old and on a pair in your first Test in England.Robinson moves over the wicket to Masood, the angle from which he dismissed him LBW in the first innings. There are five slips waiting for some action. Masood flirts with a delivery outside off stump, then leaves it at the last second. Not sure whether that counts as a play-and-miss or not.The last…

Earth, Wind, & Fire offered an update on drummer John Paris, who was put into an induced coma after suffering a medical emergency earlier this month. Paris, 58, has since woken up, according to statement shared with People by a representative for band member Verdine White. “Since our last few updates, there have been both encouraging moments and new challenges,” the rep said. “As we’ve said from the beginning, recovery isn’t a straight line, and John’s journey continues to remind us of that every day.” The statement continued, “Many of you may remember that earlier in John’s journey, he briefly…

How could I explain to her, or anyone, that I didn’t miss being married, but I missed our little family? I missed my mother-in-law’s irascible, gravelly voice. I missed how she interacted with my son. I missed the crazy way she started sneezing when she drank too much. I even missed all that smoking.I had divorced my husband. I hadn’t divorced the father of my child — or his mother.Yet here we were, on the eve of his marriage to someone else, and things had changed. Phone calls between Chris and me had become strictly practical: When, where and how…

Real Madrid’s French forward #10 Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring with teammates during the pre-season friendly football match between FC Schalke 04 and Real Madrid in Gelsenkirchen, western Germany, on August 16, 2026. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP) New Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho on Friday insisted his team’s star players could fit together ahead of Los Blancos’ opening La Liga game at Espanyol. Mourinho’s predecessors Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa struggled to strike a balance between attack and defence while lining up with Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham. Madrid won the Champions League in 2024…

The head of the foreign affairs select committee has urged the government to introduce a ban on goods from the occupied West Bank amid rising settler violence.Emily Thornberry said a ban would help shore up the chance of a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, PA reported.She said it was at risk of being lost by actions from the Israeli government and settlers trying to force Palestinians off their own land in the West Bank.Thornberry said that while she did not agree on a full ban on Israeli goods, she thought a ban on those from the West Bank would…

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are expanding financial inclusion for individuals and micro, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that have been underserved by traditional banking institutions, according to the World Bank. The lender, in its latest World Development Report, titled The Promise of Artificial Intelligence, said AI can create opportunities for MSMEs to access financial services through credit-scoring models. Nigeria was among the countries covered by the World Bank Enterprise Survey on AI Adoption, with 777 Nigerian firms included. According to the Bank, AI-driven scoring models leverage alternative data, such as mobile money transactions, digital payment data, e-commerce activity, and…

The Colorado River, which provides water for 40 million people across seven states, is at a crisis point. The two largest reservoirs in the US, Lakes Mead and Powell, provide critical supply for states along the lower part of the river; both have hit multiple record low points this month.Enter El Niño. The weather phenomenon, which is shaping up to be the strongest one of its kind in recorded history, may bring increased rain and snowfall to the southwestern United States this winter and spring. But experts caution that that precipitation might not be enough to stave off the slow-building…

Bauchi State’s political map may be shifting ahead of 2027, with the reported influx of over 150,000 new members giving the All Progressives Congress an expansionist momentum that could reshape the state’s electoral battle. But can this growing membership translate into votes and truly disrupt the People’s Democratic Party’s hold on the state? Jonathan Eze writes. The reported defection and registration of more than 150,000 new members into the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State may have opened a new chapter in the political contest for the state ahead of the 2027 general elections. On the surface, the development…

Ward told Greenpeace online he had taken “great pleasure” in removing its work, adding: “Thought Greenpeace was all about leave no trace and you do this to the mountain side.”Bangor Conwy Môn Senedd member, Janet Finch-Saunders, accused the group of “environmental vandalism”, saying burnt hillsides should not be used “as a canvas for political protest”.Greenpeace UK’s co-executive director, Areeba Hamid, said: “Our artwork was not intended to disturb [people’s] grief but to draw attention to the escalating climate crisis that’s putting these beautiful places and communities at risk.”We took great care to minimise our impact on the land. The artwork…