Author: damazah@gmail.com

Five years after Café Cecilia opened, a handful of dishes have become permanent fixtures, returning to the menu time and again – and this confit trout salad is definitely one of them. During the recent heatwaves, we’ve naturally shifted towards dishes that are best served at room temperature or slightly warm, and both of these recipes reflect that approach. They’re designed to serve two, but can just as easily be scaled up for a larger group. And almost everything can be prepared in advance, making them ideal for entertaining at home.Confit trout, watercress, pickled cucumber, radish and mustard salad (pictured…

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has felicitated with former Military President, Ibrahim Babangida on the occasion of his 85th birthday. In a statement issued on Monday, 17 August, by a spokesman for Mr Otti, Njoku Ukoha, the governor described Mr Babangida as a visionary statesman whose leadership 35 years ago led to the creation of Abia State on 27 August 1991. “On behalf of the Government and good people of Abia State, I heartily congratulate President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida on attaining this remarkable age of 85,” Governor Otti stated. “We recall with deep appreciation that 35 years ago, under…

• Severe in Adamawa, Yobe, Anambra, others James Emejo and Deborah Adekoya in Abuja The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services, moderated further to 15.43 per cent in July, compared with 15.91 per cent in June, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday. The decline represents a 0.48 per cent drop in headline inflation, extending the moderation recorded in the previous month and signalling a continued easing in the overall pace of price increases. According to the CPI report for July 2026, month-on-month headline inflation also slowed to 1.57 per…

Twenty-four companies have emerged as the most valuable stocks on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) year-to-date (YtD) as of August 17, 2026, collectively accounting for 74.8 per cent of the total market capitalisation of the equities market. The 24 companies, drawn largely from the banking, consumer goods, industrial goods and energy sectors, have a combined market capitalisation of N117.01 trillion, underscoring the high concentration of value among a relatively small number of companies on the NGX. The market capitalisation of the NGX has risen by N57.141 trillion, or 57.5 per cent YtD, to N156.517 trillion from N99.376 trillion at the…

One of the stranger things about this dizzying, headlong moment in time is that it doesn’t have much of a past. Everything is about the future of this, the future of that: the future of work, the future of humanity, the future of the planet. It’s as if everyone is screaming (some ecstatically, most terror-stricken): robots are taking over the world! Meanwhile, you can’t put down your phone, unplug, delete your AI apps, tell Zoom to piss off; it feels as if you are racing toward something, and can’t stop, or look back, or think straight.But of course this weird…

Forty prominent progressive academics are urging Andy Burnham’s government to join a new global push to tackle inequality.The experts include Nobel winner Joseph Stiglitz, University College London professor Mariana Mazzucato, vice-chancellor of the London School of Economics Larry Kramer, and Kate Pickett, co-author of The Spirit Level.In an open letter, they call on Burnham to sign the UK up to help create a new International Panel on Inequality (IPI), which is being developed at the UN.“The organising principle of the prime minister’s policy agenda – the Makerfield test – aims to ensure that places forgotten by Westminster finally receive fairness…

The search for life on Mars or on icy moons such as Europa and Enceladus may capture more attention, but another major astrobiology mystery is much closer to home. Scientists are still trying to understand when the first eukaryotes appeared on Earth and how those organisms helped set the stage for complex life. That question matters because microbial organisms dominated Earth for roughly 90 percent of the planet’s history. Reconstructing the transition from a world populated almost entirely by microbes to one filled with plants, animals, and fungi could also help scientists understand whether complex life might develop elsewhere in…

The top stories and transfer rumours from Tuesday’s newspapers…CHELSEATodd Boehly and Mark Walter are open to selling their stakes in Chelsea to majority owner Clearlake Capital in a deal that would value the club at more than £5bn – The Telegraph Chelsea are in off-field turmoil amid claims co-owners Todd Boehly and Mark Walter are set to sell their stakes – The Sun The Chelsea chair, Todd Boehly, and director Mark Walter are considering selling their shares in the club to the majority owners, Clearlake Capital, in a deal that would give the private equity company complete control at Stamford…

Charles Esten, who worked alongside Hayden Panettiere on the ABC drama Nashville, remembered their time together and close friendship in a tribute following her tragic death on Sunday at 36. In an Instagram post, Esten shared a series of photos with Panettiere and cast members. In the caption, he wrote that he and his wife, Patty Hanson, were “heartbroken” by the loss of their dear friend. “I will never forget the first time I met her,” Esten continued. “In a sound stage office in Hollywood, I was finishing up my very first NASHVILLE audition. I had read two Deacon scenes…

For nine months, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly Complex has remained mostly idle after lawmakers and staff vacated the premises for a rehabilitation project that has had little progress despite billions of naira allocated. But a few metres away, construction workers are busy on three hospitality projects that the state government is funding with a combined budgetary provision of N248.83 billion. The contrasting scenes were observed by PREMIUM TIMES on 7 August during a visit to the assembly complex and the adjoining Ibom International Hotel, International Convention Centre and At the assembly complex, there was no construction activity.…