Author: damazah@gmail.com

Slash, also known as Saul Hudson, is famous worldwide as the guitarist for Guns N’ Roses. But music is only part of his story. He has also been fascinated by reptiles for most of his life and has long supported zoos, museums, and natural history. Now that passion has earned him an unusual scientific honor. Researchers have named a newly identified snake species from New Guinea Lielaphis slashi, or Slash’s groundsnake. “As a long time herpephile, I am extremely honored and humbled to have Lielaphis slashi from New Guinea named after me. It is really exciting, I never would have…

Israeli forces withdraw from outskirts of a town in southern Lebanon after a standoff with Lebanese forces.Published On 18 Sep 202618 Sep 2026Israeli artillery shelling has injured two people in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops separately advanced towards border towns and clashed with Lebanese soldiers.The two people were injured in shelling on Chaqra in the Bint Jbeil district of Nabatieh governorate and were taken to Tebnin hospital, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported on Friday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listIsraeli artillery shells also fell in Wadi Nahla on the outskirts of Shuqra, the agency added, and Israeli forces withdrew…

In southern Lebanon, visual artist Lina Jouni transforms debris from Israeli missile strikes into pieces of art. As Israel continues bombing Lebanon, she says it is her way of turning weapons of death and painful memories of war into symbols of life and dignity.Published On 18 Sep 202618 Sep 2026Share Lebanese artist turns Israeli missile debris into art on social mediashare-nodesSharegoogleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo

The Lagos shortlet market was estimated at roughly N281 billion in revenue in 2025 by Edala Development, as reported by Nairametrics. Detty December 2024 alone generated roughly N111.5 billion in Lagos hospitality revenue, according to MO Africa Consulting figures reported by BusinessDay. Occupancy at peak season reached ninety percent. On these numbers, Nigerian short lets are one of the largest and fastest growing consumer categories in the country. The commercial opportunity, however, is not the room. It is the trust layer sitting on top of the room. The Nigerian companies that end up building the durable business in short lets…

The US narrowly avoided boarding a Chinese ship based on an “entirely false” US intelligence report generated with the help of AI tools, according to a CNN report. That erroneous intelligence, submitted by a US Special Operations Command analyst, suggested the Chinese ship was transporting nuclear arms program components through the Middle East, according to “four sources familiar with the episode” cited by CNN. The US military was preparing to intercept and board the ship, with air support, before officials discovered a chatbot used in generating the report had “inaccurately identified the material the ship was carrying.” One source told…

Acclaimed Russian film director who won 2026 Grand Prix award at Cannes, ⁠has been critical of the war in Ukraine.Published On 18 Sep 202618 Sep 2026The winner of a prestigious Cannes Film Festival award has been declared a foreign agent by Russian authorities for his criticism of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.Acclaimed Russian film director ⁠Andrey Zvyagintsev was designated a “foreign agent” by the Kremlin on Friday, according to state news agency ⁠TASS.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listZvyagintsev won the 2026 Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival for, Minotaur, a film depicting a Russian businessman who is forced…

Improvements in air pollution are leading to brighter, smarter toddlers, according to a new study from Columbia University in New York.For more than two decades, Prof Frederica Perera and a team from the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health measured the air pollution exposure of pregnant women and the development of their children in the disadvantaged communities of northern Manhattan and the South Bronx. More than 1,100 children were assessed when they were one, two and three years old.Perera said: “We tested cognitive processing including memory and sensory perception, problem-solving such as matching shapes, stacking blocks and communication, both speech…

Frontline politician and Chairman of the New Enugu Smart City Development Authority, USA Igwesi, has been appointed the Enugu State Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, in a move expected to strengthen the mobilisation and grassroots coordination of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope agenda in the state. The appointment, approved by President Tinubu followed USA Igwesi’s nomination by the Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah. The appointment was conveyed in an official letter signed by the Director-General of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, Governor Hope Uzodimma, which said Igwesi’s appointment was in recognition of his commitment, capacity, and…

Today, there is some concerning news for those considering studying abroad in Australia. The Australian government has announced changes to the student visa system.Among these, what stood out in particular was the content stating that ‘many student visas will restrict the ability to bring family members as secondary applicants’.Seeing this, some of you might have thought, ‘Wait, does this mean parent-child study abroad will no longer be possible?’I was also curious, so I checked the details announced by the government as of September 17, 2026.First, the conclusion: parent-child study abroad is not being banned.At this moment, there is no announcement…

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, Published On 18 Sep 202618 Sep 2026United States President Donald Trump has announced that, effective immediately, CNN, MS NOW, and Politico are banned from the White House.On Friday, Trump posted on social media his displeasure with the media outlets’ coverage of his administration.He wrote that the outlets were “‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!” and accused them of fabricating news on him, the administration, and the country. “Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow,” Trump added.“This will be challenged, probably before the end of the day,” Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher reported from Washington. “The United States has the First Amendment…