Author: damazah@gmail.com

Isaac Mizrahi. Photograph: Courtesy Isaac MizrahiThere’s a lot to look at in Isaac Mizrahi’s studio in New York’s Greenwich Village: sketches, bulletin boards, fabrics, memorabilia, heaps of books, a Golden Girls puzzle set. But my eyes lock in on two dolls, Snoopy and his sister Belle (who knew!), clad in ballet-style tutus and embroidered vests. “I think I designed those,” he says, joining me from his apartment upstairs. “I love the Schultz estate and they like me a lot. It was a minute ago, though, so I’m not sure if they still even know who I am.” I later learn…

A quadcopter drone with plastic explosives attached to it flew unnoticed past air defence installations at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport, a key NATO airlift hub, on August 4.The drone hit a Ukrainian cargo plane but failed to detonate. It fell onto the tarmac and was found four hours later by a bus driver who stepped on it and called security, German media reported. DNA traces linked the drone to a firebomb that was mailed to the same airport and set a freight container on fire in July 2024, the Bild tabloid reported.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe incident marked…

Wisconsin and Minnesota primaries set for clash between progressives and Democratic establishmentHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Democratic primaries for governor in Wisconsin and US senator in Minnesota will once again see left-wing candidates face off against more traditional ones.The party’s ideological rift, that has already been seen in contests across the States this year, shifts to the upper Midwest later today.In Wisconsin, state representative Francesca Hong, a self-described democratic socialist, is front-runner for the party’s nomination for governor in a swing state where winning the governor’s mansion is central to Democrats’ hopes for 2028 and beyond.In Minnesota,…

There is a particular kind of economic trap that is easy to walk into and difficult to name until you are already inside it. It does not announce itself. It arrives dressed as progress, as growth, as the encouraging sight of a country embracing new technology with enthusiasm and speed. Nigeria is currently walking into that trap with artificial intelligence, and the people least likely to notice are the business owners doing the most enthusiastic adopting. A new review published this week, the Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Nigeria: A Macro and Micro Economic Review, puts the picture in terms…

“Historically, there’s been so much pushback against genetic engineering in agriculture,” says Julius Beau Lucks, the codirector of Northwestern University’s Center for Synthetic Biology. The stakes are high, though. “I don’t know if we’ll see it again with editing, but if we do, it will be really hard to solve the world’s food problems.”Over the next few decades, the world’s farmers will need to produce much more food to feed a growing population while using much less land and doing much less damage to nature to avoid cascading environmental crises. The world is on track to deforest another dozen California’s…

Andy Burnham has said he is increasingly confident he can adapt the early release scheme for prisoners to exclude the killers of PC Andrew Harper and other serious offenders, saying he understood and shared the public’s concern about their potential release.Writing on Facebook, the prime minister said on Tuesday he had asked the justice secretary, Alex Norris, to rapidly push through a series of measures to increase the number of prison places, requiring fewer people to be released early to free up room.Downing Street said on Monday that there was no feasible way of exempting just a handful of prisoners…

A man who suffered permanent eye damage by watching the 1999 solar eclipse has warned people to use protection when watching Wednesday’s astronomical event.Peter Smith, from Taunton, viewed the solar eclipse 27 years ago wearing a borrowed welder’s mask having thought it would provide protection from the sun’s rays.But the next morning he noticed flashing in his eyes alongside headaches and later discovered both of his retinas had been damaged. He is now asking people to use appropriate eye protection to enjoy the eclipse safely.Smith said: “Make sure its got the right protection and filters to stop any damage because…

Aug 10, 2026, 03:58 AM ETAfter Rodri led Spain to FIFA World Cup glory, it’s no surprise that LaLiga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid both want to sign the Manchester City midfielder this summer.Not only did the 30-year-old captain La Roja to victory over Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the World Cup final — adding another trophy to the UEFA European Championship that Spain won two years ago — he claimed the Golden Ball award as the best player at the tournament.Rodri has won 13 trophies in his seven years at City, including four Premier League titles, and he scored the…

Calvin Demba, the British actor, writer and director best known on screen for the Netflix hit “Supacell,” has lined up an impressive cast list for his second short film behind the camera, “The Animals.” George MacKay (“Rose of Nevada,” “Sense and Sensibility”) stars alongside Louisa Harland (“Renegade Nell,” “Derry Girls”), Nathalie Emmanuel (“Game of Thrones,” “Megalopolis”) and Eric Kofi Abrefa (“Supacell,” BMF”) in the project, written and directed by Demba and produced by Tuli Litvak (“Beauty Sleep,” “Fairview Park”). “The Animals” centers on Miles (MacKay) as he struggles with growing feelings of emasculation and emotional impotency within his relationship with…

One of Nigeria’s telecommunications companies, MTN Nigeria, has restored services in parts of Enugu State following a service disruption that affected customers on Monday. The company disclosed this in a post by MTN Support Services on Tuesday. MTN apologised to customers affected by the disruption, saying the issue had been resolved and services were fully restored. “Service Restored! “We sincerely apologise for the challenges experienced yesterday with our services in parts of Enugu State. “The issue has been resolved, and services are fully restored,” the company said. MTN advised customers who may still be experiencing connectivity issues to restart their…