Author: damazah@gmail.com

Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has approved the appointment of new aides, board chairmen and members of governing councils as part of efforts to strengthen governance, improve service delivery and advance his administration’s development agenda. The appointments were announced in a statement issued on Monday by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ibraheem Musa, who said the move is aimed at injecting fresh energy into public service and enhancing the effectiveness of government institutions. Among the new appointees are Hon Audu Maikori who was named Chief Strategic Adviser on Inter-Governmental Affairs, Umar Uba Maicitta (Senior Special Assistant on Community Relations) and…

Kenya is considering buying back as much as $500 million of its outstanding Eurobonds as part of a broader strategy to smooth debt repayments, reduce refinancing risks and take advantage of improving investor appetite for African sovereign debt, according to Bloomberg. Under the proposal, East Africa’s largest economy would repurchase part of its outstanding international bonds during the 2026/27 fiscal year while simultaneously issuing a new US dollar-denominated bond to finance the transaction. The final amount repurchased will depend on investor demand, with any excess proceeds expected to be used for budget financing. If completed, the transaction would mark Kenya’s…

If you remember racing home after school to grab the family landline and call your best friend before dinner, a new device from Pinwheel is aiming to reboot that experience for a new generation. The kid-focused tech company announced Tuesday the launch of Pinwheel Home, a modern take on the classic household phone designed to let children stay connected without the distractions of a smartphone. Pinwheel is positioning the phone as an intro to phones for children ages 5 to 10 before they’re ready for a smartphone. The company already sells kid-friendly smartphones and launched a smartwatch last year. Image…

Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman has accused the government of a “dereliction of duty” over Nigel Farage’s taxpayer-funded security, claiming it had previously been “downgraded”.Robert Jenrick said his party leader had not been offered the security he needs, after it emerged Reform UK turned down an offer of government-funded security last year.It comes as the alleged murder of Reform’s Ann Widdecombe, which is now being investigated by counterterrorism police, has prompted renewed debate over the security offered to politicians.Farage is set to meet with the Home Office over his security arrangements, after accepting an offer of a meeting made by Home…

The bottom of the ocean has been mapped in much less detail than has the surface of Mars.Credit: US Geological Survey/Science Photo LibraryThe ocean’s depths are among the ultimate frontiers for scientific exploration. Scientists have visually surveyed less than 0.001% of the sea floor, yet oceanography is essential to understanding the climate, ecosystems and processes of deep Earth — including earthquakes and the resulting tsunamis.Now, emerging technologies, including advanced drilling technologies, seismic sensors and methods to convert deep-sea cables into a giant seismic-surveillance network, are poised to crack open these mysteries.Nature has looked into how some of these tools work,…

The date: 2 May 2009. The place: Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid. The occasion: A match in La Liga.Guardiola made a decision. He pulled Messi away from the right wing and placed him at the tip of the forward formation – but without the job of a traditional striker. Samuel Eto’o went right, Thierry Henry went left, and Messi was told: Drop, receive, decide. By full-time, it was 6-2. The false nine was reborn.It was nothing new. Gusztav Sebes’ Hungary had dismantled England in their own backyard in 1953, when in their 6-3 win over England, he repeatedly dropped Nandor Hidegkuti…

Sam. So effortlessly handsome, and that rare thing in New Zealand and Australia: a movie star.My hands actually shook when I met him at a cafe in Vulcan Lane, Auckland, to discuss rehearsals. He had arrived, we all had, to start pre-production on The Piano. He was to play the repressed and violent Stewart, the one who would chop off his wife’s finger. Who but Sam could play that part, could surprise with that part?Holly Hunter & Sam Neill in The Piano. Photograph: Jan Chapman Productions/AllstarSam was kind, committed and supportive. He looked after me and actually everyone on the…

STEM education in the classroom, introducing BotBall – The Robot Report Cookie Settings

The family of a missing farmer, Abdulazeez Abiodun, popularly known as Kebe, has appealed to security agencies to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death after his body was allegedly found in a bush in Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State. Speaking with PUNCH Online on Tuesday, the deceased’s second daughter, Abdulazeez Rofiat, urged security agencies, human rights organisations, the media and well-meaning Nigerians to ensure that those responsible for the alleged killing of her father are identified and brought to justice. Rofiat said her father left his residence in Isalu, Isin Local Government Area, at about 7 a.m. on…

The Yobe and Adamawa state governments have stepped up security measures to check violent crimes associated with illegal mining in some of their states’ rural communities. These measures may not be unconnected with the allegations that the quest for solid minerals such as gold was responsible for banditry and insurgency in some parts of the country. An investigation carried out by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) revealed that there are more than 27 solid minerals in different parts of Yobe, including gold, limestone, gypsum, trona, diatomite, granite and kaolin, while Adamawa has more than 26 solid minerals, such as…