Author: damazah@gmail.com

A Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) aircraft landed in Zamfara State, northwest Nigeria, for the first time following the opening of the new Gusau International Airport. This marks an important milestone in improving access to communities across the state and strengthening the delivery of healthcare and humanitarian assistance. The new airport is expected to significantly reduce travel time for MSF teams, allowing medical staff, emergency personnel, and essential supplies to reach project locations more quickly and reliably. Faster access is particularly critical during medical emergencies, disease outbreaks, and periods of increased humanitarian need, where delays can directly affect patient care and…

The 44 pupils and teachers rescued from kidnappers after spending 56 days in captivity have started reuniting with their families following their discharge from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital in Ogbomoso, ending about two-months of anxiety for relatives who had feared they might never see their loved ones alive again. Emotional scenes unfolded on Tuesday evening at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital facility where the victims had been receiving treatment and psychosocial support since their rescue, as parents, siblings and relatives broke into joyous tears while embracing the returning children. Hospital officials coordinated the discharge process, calling out the…

Climate tech, the field of technologies and solutions that are increasingly adapted to tackle the climate crisis, has emerged as Africa’s top venture funding sector, confining fintech, which has dominated the scene for years, to the back seat. The sector accounted for less than a quarter of the aggregate venture capital that flowed into Africa in the nine years to 2025, according to a report released Tuesday by London-based research house Briter. Climate tech’s role in venture funding became particularly pronounced in 2025, when it alone contributed 40 per cent, or $1.5 billion, compared with other years in the near-decade…

A group of major publishers have filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the company of illegally using millions of copyrighted books to help build its Gemini artificial intelligence models, in “one of the most prolific infringements of copyrighted materials in history”.The case, filed in federal court in New York, has been brought by three publishers – Hachette Book Group, Cengage Learning, and Elsevier – and bestselling American author Scott Turow.The publishers argue that Google repurposed books that had been supplied for limited services such as Google Books, Google Play Books and Google Scholar. Those services allowed Google to use the…

Police leaders were found to have spread false narratives about the disaster, blaming Liverpool fans, and withheld evidence of their own failings. The legislation, formally known as Public Office (Accountability) Bill, had been delayed by wrangling over how the duty of candour applies to the intelligence services. Ministers broke the deadlock with a series of amendments approved by MPs on Tuesday, which paved the way for it to clear the Commons. It will now be sent to the House of Lords for further scrutiny before it can become law.The Conservatives accused Sir Keir of rushing the legislation through its final…

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has urged the National Assembly to deepen collaboration with civil society organisations (CSOs), saying stronger partnerships are essential to improving legislative oversight and ensuring that government spending delivers tangible benefits to Nigerians. Mr Dogara made the call on Tuesday during the National Assembly Open Week in Abuja, an annual event that brings together lawmakers, civil society groups, development partners and the media to promote transparency, accountability and public participation in the legislative process. Speaking on Nigeria’s 25 years of uninterrupted democracy, the former speaker said many citizens were yet to enjoy…

Spain booked their place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final after a composed 2-0 victory over France in Tuesday’s semi-final in Dallas, ending Les Bleus’ title hopes and moving within one win of a second world crown. The reigning European champions will now face either defending champions Argentina or England in Sunday’s final, marking Spain’s first World Cup final appearance since their historic triumph at the 2010 tournament in South Africa. Spain took control early and were rewarded in the 22nd minute when Mikel Oyarzabal calmly converted a penalty after Lucas Digne was penalised for a foul inside the…

In a good con artist story, the marks are rarely the focal characters, but they’re often just as important. A grotesquely rich mark is an indication that the swindlers are the heroes and the tale has eat-the-rich undertones, making flimflammery into the last refuge of the desperate everyman. Lucky The Bottom Line Never clicks, despite a strong cast. Airdate: Wednesday, July 15 (Apple TV)Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Annette Bening, Timothy Olyphant, Aunjanue Ellis-TaylorCreator: Jonathan Tropper An overly sympathetic mark is an indication that the swindlers are villains, or at the very least anti-heroes, so desperate that they throw away class solidarity…

(TNND) — Confidence in higher education slipped again this year, reversing some improvement in sentiment following a low point a couple of years ago.Gallup and the Lumina Foundation found that just 38% of American adults have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education.About a decade ago, 57% of Americans were confident in higher education. Confidence slid to a low point of 36% in 2023 and 2024 before ticking back up to 42% last year.But the trend is again pointing downward in 2026.Courtney Brown, the vice president of impact and planning for the Lumina Foundation, said…

The proposal to end wasteful and ruinous gas flaring is welcome The disclosure by the German Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Annett Günther, that Nigeria lost an estimated $1.5 billion to gas flaring in 2024 is indicative of the magnitude of the challenge. “Just for context, 5.3 billion cubic meters of gas was flared in 2024 in Nigeria which makes it the seventh rank in the world and that equals an economic loss of US$1.5 billion,” the envoy said while harping on a new partnership with her country to address the issue. “So, this new programme now is to work…