Author: damazah@gmail.com

French officials rushed two firefighting planes to the Paris region on Sunday after a “very virulent” fire of “exceptional scale” erupted in the sprawling Fontainebleau forest about 60km (40 miles) south-east of the capital.The fire began late afternoon in the one-time royal hunting preserve that today is dotted with quiet villages. It raced across 800 hectares (2,000 acres) and was still spreading early on Monday, officials said, causing the partial closure of the A6 highway, the country’s main north-south artery, and disrupting traffic during a busy, heatwave-stricken summer travel weekend.High-speed rail was also disrupted. French rail company SNCF said on…

By John Alechenu ABUJA – Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Dr. Chibuzo Okereke, has explained that the selection of Hajja Bintu Konto as his running mate for the 2027 election was driven solely by competence and national interest. In a statement issued in Abuja, on Saturday Okereke described Konto’s nomination, ratified by the party’s leadership, as “another defining moment” in the party’s push for a “Nigerians First” government. He said, “Today marks another defining moment in our collective journey to build a Nigeria that works for Nigerians. It is with gratitude to God and a sense of duty that I congratulate…

Researchers at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), part of The University of Alabama System, have identified a promising new use for continuous low-intensity ultrasound that could one day help treat joint injuries and reduce the risk of post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Their findings suggest the non-invasive approach may shift the body’s immune response away from long-lasting inflammation and toward tissue repair, offering a potential drug-free strategy for improving healing. The study, published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, was led by Dr. Anuradha Subramanian, professor of chemical and materials engineering. It combined biological research conducted by Dr. Shahid Khan during…

Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has completed a return to South African side Chippa United ahead of the 2026/27 season. The 30-year-old rejoins the Chilli Boys after spending the last seven months away from competitive football, a spell that affected his international career and saw him lose his place in Nigeria’s senior national team. Chippa United announced the goalkeeper’s return on Sunday through its official social media channels, expressing delight at welcoming him back to the Eastern Cape. The club wrote: “Chippa United Football Club is delighted to welcome @nwabali32 back to the Chilli Boys.” In a follow-up statement, the…

David Willey, who served as a BBC foreign correspondent for more than half a century, has died aged 93.He reported from Algeria, Vietnam and China, but is best known for his time in Rome as the BBC’s Vatican correspondent, where he covered the papacies of five popes.Widely regarded as one of the most experienced journalistic voices on the Vatican, Willey wrote a book on Pope Francis and was awarded an OBE for services to broadcast journalism.He was still working well into his nineties – last year, after the death of Pope Francis, Willey reflected on how the Vatican had changed…

Friday’s announcement of the release of the Oriire captives sent Nigerians into a state of collective rejoicing. It beautifully confirmed the universality-of-griefs thesis: that whether in Nchatancha in Enugu, Kaura Namoda in Zamfara, or Ilu-Abo in Ondo State, our shared humanity possesses a single colour. Yet, in the midst of this euphoria, let’s reflect on a pertinent ancient fable from the kingdom of animals — a huge forest — where animals once wrestled with deception. Long ago, Ìjàpá, the Tortoise, the famed trickster lord of the animal world, grew deeply jealous of the popularity of Ẹkùn,  Leopard, as the forest…

A fire at a popular pub in Thailand’s ⁠capital, Bangkok, has killed 27 ⁠people, with another 22 ​in critical condition, officials said on Monday, in one of the deadliest such incidents in the tourism hub in recent years.The prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, ‌who visited the site of the fire in the early hours of Monday, told reporters that based on survivor accounts, the pub rapidly filled with smoke after a fire broke out, forcing ‌many to run to the back of the venue near the bathrooms.“We have recovered 27 bodies; others are being sent to hospital,” Anutin said.Another 63 people…

Kayode Tokede  Following the tightening of monetary policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that significantly boosted banks’ interest earnings, Access Holdings Plc, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and 10 other banks posted a combined N7.2 trillion gross earnings in the first quarter ended March 2026, a 12.8 per cent increase when compared to N6.4 trillion recorded in the same period in 2025.  The 10 other banks are: First HoldCo Plc, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) FCMB Group Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Sterling Financial Holdings Company, Jaiz Bank Plc and Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc. The sharp rise…

“As part of his duties, the defendant was provided with details regarding the attack and information regarding the ransom demand and typically the victim’s applicable insurance coverage and negotiating strategy,” the factual proffer said. Martino used BlackCat’s live chat system to negotiate ransom payments. Starting in April 2023, he “began communicating with BlackCat actors through the messaging platform Tox and in a separate ‘intermediary chat’ tab of the BlackCat panel,” which “was only accessible to the defendant and the BlackCat negotiators and affiliates,” the factual proffer said. Martino used the intermediary chat tab to provide confidential information about clients. “The…

More than £250m will be invested by the government to increase policing in Jewish communities after a spate of violent attacks, the Home Office has announced.The funding over the next three years will deliver more than 500 additional officers across England and Wales in Jewish neighbourhoods and around schools, synagogues and community centres, while strengthening national counter-terrorism capabilities.The funding will cover about 300 additional officers in London and 80 in Greater Manchester, while £43m will go to forces serving other areas with significant Jewish populations.The package will continue Project Servator, deploying specialist and plainclothes officers trained to identify suspicious behaviour.The…