Author: damazah@gmail.com

Astronomers have detected the fastest known star in the Milky Way, hurtling around the supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy.The star, called S301, travels at around 25,000km per second, 100,000 times faster than a commercial plane. It is also the closest known star to the Milky Way’s central black hole, Sagittarius A*, approaching it around the distance of Saturn to the Sun.“What is special about this star is that it’s orbiting Sagittarius A* on a very tight orbit, taking just 8.7 years to complete it, and is approaching the black hole at a mere 12 times the…

Arsenal have agreed to sign England defender Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa in a deal worth at least £50 million ($68 million), according to reports on Wednesday. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has been chasing a centre-back since the end of last season and appears set to land Konsa after returning with an improved offer. The Premier League champions reportedly had a bid for Konsa rejected earlier in the transfer window and briefly switched their attention to Bayer Leverkusen defender Jarell Quansah. Having renewed their interest in Konsa, Arsenal are on the brink of sealing a deal for the 28-year-old. Konsa,…

If you’ve always been terrified of dental work and the idea of someone poking around your pearly whites with sharp tools, you’re not alone. With “Insidious: Out of the Further,” the sixth entry in the infinitely inventive “Insidious” horror franchise, writer-director Jacob Chase is unashamed to declare that he shares your fears, while having some […]

Folalumi Alaran in Abuja  Women in Mining Africa (WiM-Africa) has reaffirmed its commitment to building Africa’s future natural resource and minerals workforce through its ongoing NextGen programmes under the WiM-Africa Action Plan 2030. The organisation stated this during a recent courtesy engagement with the Ministry of Education, Republic of Liberia, where it presented its NextGen programmes and explored opportunities for country-level collaboration, adaptation and possible integration within Liberia’s education system. The engagement forms part of WiM-Africa’s broader Africa-wide implementation drive aimed at preparing children and young people for meaningful participation in the continent’s solid minerals, critical minerals and natural resource…

The Bauchi State Police Command has arrested a suspected railway vandal, Abubakar Sanusi, and recovered a consignment of vandalised railway slippers in the Doya Quarters area of Bauchi metropolis. The command’s spokesperson, SP Nafiu Habib, disclosed this in a statement made available to The PUNCH on Wednesday. Habib said the arrest and recovery followed credible intelligence received by the command concerning the vandalisation of railway properties in the state capital. He said the intelligence was received on August 17, 2026, at about 12:30am, prompting operatives attached to the ‘A’ Division Township to swing into action. According to him, the operatives…

Progressives and establishment Democrats celebrate Angie Nixon’s surprise primary win in FloridaReactions to Angie Nixon’s surprise victory in the Democratic primary for the US Senate in Florida range from shock and delight among progressives notching another win for a democratic socialist candidate, to despairing fence-mending from moderates, to curt dismissal on the right.“Is our bullhorn on?” said Matthew Grocholske, president of the Democratic Progressive caucus of Florida. “Florida voters showcased at the ballot box on Tuesday that they want to chomp the oligarchy through people-powered wins. Our organizing over the past year has driven 158,000 direct voter contacts since January…

…Govt saved N15.8trn from subsidy removal, naira floatation …FG got only N5.43trn, borrowed N11.85trn …No large pool of cash available to FG By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief ABUJA — The Federal Government has clarified that the N15.8 trillion saved from fuel subsidy removal and the flotation of the naira between June 2023 and December 2025 did not translate into a huge pool of cash available to it. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this on Wednesday while presenting the government’s economic reforms scorecard in Abuja. Oyedele explained that the N15.8 trillion in…

Monzo users have been left unable to use their card for payments or transfers following a technical problem with the banking service.The digital bank posted on X, external it had “identified some issues” and activated a stand-in backup service which meant users could still make transactions like card payments and sending and receiving bank transfers.However, some users noted under the post, external that Monzo Stand-in was “not working as expected” and they could still not use their card.The firm added it was “rolling out a fix and moving quickly to get full service back up and running for everyone”.The British…

Raheem Akingbolu, who attended a recent security retreat convened by the Amandla Institute in partnership with the Open Society Foundations, argues that West Africa can not shoot its way to peace but rather govern its way there. It a recent West Africa Security Retreat convened by the Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancement, in partnership with the Open Society Foundations, some of West Africa’s most experienced diplomats, former intelligence chiefs, military strategists and policy experts confronted a question that has become impossible to ignore: why does insecurity appear intractable and continue to spread despite decades of military operations, expanding…

Funmi Ogundare and Ayodeji Ake  The Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA) has urged journalists to take the lead in educating residents on the benefits of mandatory health insurance, saying effective public communication is critical to achieving universal health coverage in the state. The Permanent Secretary of LASHMA, Dr. Emmanuella Zamba, made the call on Tuesday at a two-day capacity-building programme organised for journalists on the Lagos State Health Scheme (LSHS) and the Mandatory Social Health Insurance Programme, known as ILERA EKO. Zamba said the media had a major responsibility to build public confidence in the scheme by providing accurate…