Author: damazah@gmail.com

A signed print by the British artist David Hockney has sold for more than £41,000 after being found in a book donated to a charity shop.The print was discovered inside a 1980 copy of Hockney’s Paper Pools, which had been donated over the counter to the Salvation Army shop in Lower Goat Lane, Norwich, a year ago.When a volunteer decided to thumb through it recently, she discovered the original print depicting a swimming pool, signed by the artist, who died last month aged 88.The book and print were auctioned on the charity’s eBay site and an anonymous, but “delighted”, bidder…

Andy Burnham is expected to scrap Keir Starmer’s plans for digital ID cards in a “reset of priorities” when he enters Downing Street on Monday.The new Labour leader plans to redirect the resources earmarked for the scheme towards tackling the cost of living, his team indicated on Saturday.The Guardian understands the proposals are being outlined in an attempt to distance the incoming prime minister from unpopular choices made by his predecessor. A petition opposing the introduction of digital ID cards when it was announced last year attracted about 3m signatures.“One of the first things this government will do is put…

Washington and Tehran struck a preliminary deal to end the war in June, but the agreement unravelled within a month of its signing. At least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 injured in US strikes over the past three weeks, Iranian state media reported citing the country’s health ministry.Thousands more have been killed across the Middle East since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on 28 February, official figures show.Friday marked a seventh consecutive night of US strikes on Iran, according to the military – a week which also saw the US reimpose a blockade on Iranian…

Every night, 27-year-old Sahar Yona sleeps next to two phones and a laptop with the volume turned all the way up, so she can hear potential clients call at any time, she says.Yona is a residential and commercial locksmith based in New York City who’s available 24 hours a day because as a self-employed business owner, “every job counts,” she says. She wants to earn as much money and build her clientele at Locksmith Girl of NYC, which she launched under its current name in July 2025, as quickly as she can, she says.She has momentum on her side. In…

An academic at the Australian National University has accused it of a “hysterical” response to students using AI to cheat, as tertiary institutions rush to shore up the credibility of assessments.But a colleague warned Australia is in danger of “shipping our national intellectual capability” to companies in California and China if educational rigour is not restored.The Canberra institution is among the universities trying to counter the widespread use of AI amid concerns students are using the technology to cheat, or not adequately learning.The 2025 Australian Digital Inclusion Index found 78.9% of secondary and tertiary students were using generative AI.ANU has…

 Funmi Ogundare The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with Development Governance International (DGI) Consult, has launched a leadership, governance and management capacity-building initiative in Adamawa State aimed at strengthening health institutions and improving Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) services. The initiative, which began with a three-day workshop recently in Yola, forms part of the Enhancing Leadership, Governance and Management Capacities (ELGMC) project under the European Union-funded Strengthening Access to Reproductive and Adolescent Health (SARAH) project jointly implemented by UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The four-year SARAH project is being implemented in…

NATURE PODCAST 17 July 2026 Nature staff discuss the discovery of a four carbon ‘true sugar’ in interstellar space — plus, a formula inscribed on a wall reveals a Maya mathematician’s name.

The sides of the shuttle buses ferrying Open fans to Royal Birkdale are plastered with a picture of Tommy Fleetwood holding the Claret Jug.Everyone knows it is an AI-generated image. It is also a representation of the vision which has been in Fleetwood’s mind ever since he was a small Southport kid, who occasionally used to sneak over the fence at the iconic course.The reality is the 35-year-old Englishman has never got his mitts on the iconic trophy. He still might finally do that on Sunday, but his hopes were set back on Saturday by a couple of late bogeys…

Born in Sydney, Australia, to an Italian father and Australian mother, Natalie Imbruglia, 51, joined the cast of Neighbours at the age of 17. In 1997, she released her debut album, Left of the Middle, which gave her the global hit single Torn. She releases her seventh studio album, Algorithm, on 4 September. She lives in Oxfordshire with her son.What is your greatest fear?As an Italian, tinned spaghetti. As a child, I was once served it at someone’s house. It was quite frightening.Which living person do you most admire, and why?Alanis Morissette because, in my earlier career, she was a big influence on me and had a feistiness that you…

Team Nigeria has departed for the 15th African Archery Championships in Oran, Algeria, where the country’s largest-ever contingent will compete for continental honours from 21 to 26 July. The 18-athlete delegation, assembled by the Nigeria Archery Federation (NAFED), will compete across six divisions — Compound Men, Compound Women, Recurve Men, Recurve Women, Barebow Men and Barebow Women — under the auspices of World Archery Africa (WAAf). The federation described the squad as its most balanced team yet, reflecting the rapid growth of archery in Nigeria and the country’s increasing competitiveness on the continental stage. Team Nigeria squad Compound Men: Aliyu…