Author: damazah@gmail.com

Singer-songwriter Michaela Anne just may be the quintessential indie artist, one for whom the hustle never stops. She’s a working mom, a podcast host with her husband and bandmate, Aaron Shafer-Haiss, and the one in charge of keeping her music coming. Michaela Anne, the daughter of a military father who moved around for the bulk of her childhood, eventually settled in Brooklyn, then Nashville. Now she’s on the move again: She’ll perform this Fourth of July weekend at Rolling Stone’s Stateside Festival, headlined by Noah Kahan, in Kingston, New York. The festival stop is just one of many live dates…

Segun James  As part of efforts to ensure effective quality delivery of products to customers in Lagos, Itel, the Chinese phone and other digital product manufacturer, has opened 16 new service stores in Lagos. The stores, known as itelHome, becomes Nigeria’s largest one-stop digital home appliance retail chain centre in the country.  Speaking at the simultaneous opening of the stores in Lagos, itel’s Projects Operation Manager, itel, Ms Janet Ayegba,  said that the itelHome will manage, besides smart phones, a chain of smart home appliance brand. According to Ayegba, with the simultaneous opening of the new stores, the total number of…

The Anambra State Government says no fewer than 10,384 People Living with HIV (PLHIV) have been enrolled in the state’s health insurance scheme, strengthening access to affordable, quality and sustainable HIV healthcare services statewide. Nkem Okeke, the executive director and project manager of the Anambra State AIDS Control Agency, disclosed this at the end of a stakeholders’ meeting on Wednesday in Awka. Mr Okeke, a medical doctor, said the meeting reviewed progress in integrating HIV services into the Anambra State Health Insurance Agency, aimed at improving healthcare access and ensuring uninterrupted treatment for beneficiaries statewide. He said the milestone underscored…

Tielemans’s penalty late into stoppage time of extra time capped Belgium’s comeback from 2-0 down in Seattle.Published On 2 Jul 20262 Jul 2026Youri Tielemans struck a 125th-minute penalty as Belgium rallied from two goals down and defeated Senegal 3-2 after extra time in their World Cup last ⁠-32 clash in Seattle to keep alive their title hopes, which had looked dead and buried.Senegal’s Lamine Camara slid in on Tielemans as the ball flashed across the face of goal and conceded the spot kick after a ⁠⁠video assistant referee review, with the Belgian picking out the top corner to complete an…

Nigeria’s leading ICT company, ipNX, recently hosted an intimate and thoughtfully curated long service awards ceremony to celebrate employees whose dedication, loyalty, and contributions have played a pivotal role in the company’s growth and success over the years. Speaking at the ceremony, Group Managing Director of ipNX, Ejovi Aror, who himself has spent over 35 years with the organisation, having transitioned from Telnet Nigeria, paid tribute to the award recipients and reflected on the critical role they have played in the company’s journey. “Today is more than a celebration of years served; it is a celebration of belief, perseverance, and…

Key takeaways The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revoked the operating licences of 46 microfinance banks, effective July 1, 2026, as part of a regulatory crackdown on non-compliant lenders. The apex bank said the affected institutions failed to meet regulatory requirements, citing issues such as insufficient assets to cover liabilities, prolonged inactivity, and others. Fintech-linked institutions affected include Sycamore Microfinance Bank, NOW NOW Digital MFB, OurPass MFB, Creditville MFB, and Casha MFB. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has explained why it revoked the operating licences of 46 microfinance banks (MFBs), stating that the institutions no longer met the…

The NHS will have to divert £45bn from essential services to pay for new medicines under the terms of the UK-US trade deal agreed last December, leading to more than 200,000 avoidable deaths of patients, analysis has found.Ministers have defended the deal as a way of helping British drug exports to the US avoid tariffs, and giving patients in England access to potentially life-extending drugs that would otherwise be denied.But they have been accused of caving in to US demands to spend billions of pounds a year extra on drugs supplied to the NHS after pressure from Donald Trump. The…

Scientists can send confusing messages when they mix evidence and political beliefs.Credit: Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via GettyMany countries are in a crisis of trust. In the United Kingdom, polls show deep distrust in politicians. Trust in business, journalism, the police and the judiciary is falling, too. But, one institution still commands broad respect: science. Politicians have a net trust score of −75%, whereas scientists have a score of 58%.When people are asked what makes them optimistic about the future, the top three answers are medical advances, new technology and research and innovation. In fourth place: nothing. These findings, from UK…

Senegal became the fifth African country to be eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup after suffering a 3-2 defeat to Belgium in their Round of 32 clash on Wednesday. Belgium, who had trailed 2-0 with four minutes of normal time remaining, advanced to the last 16 thanks to a Youri Tielemans penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time at the end of extra-time. Also on Wednesday, the Democratic Republic of the Congo were eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup after suffering a 2-1 defeat to England. The Leopards looked set for a major upset when Brian Cipenga…

A Los Angeles jury has found American singer Chris Brown liable for negligence in a civil lawsuit stemming from a 2020 dog attack that seriously injured his former housekeeper, Maria Avila. The verdict, delivered after a two-week trial, requires Brown and his company, Black Pyramid LLC, to pay Avila $12.9 million in damages, according to Billboard. Avila sued Brown after she was attacked by a 200-pound Caucasian shepherd named Hades while taking out the rubbish at Brown’s home in Tarzana, California. She told the court that the dog caused severe injuries, including permanent facial disfigurement, scarring, vision loss and nerve…