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Two days after North Korea flew a missile over Japan, the United States and South Korea staged their own show of force with state-of-the-art stealth fighters Thursday. Four US F-35B fighter jets joined two US B-1B bombers and four South Korean F-15 fighter jets in the joint US-South Korean flyover of the Korean Peninsula, an official with the South Korean air force told CNN. The exercise was designed to "strongly counter North Korea's repeated ballistic missile tests and development of nuclear weapons," the official said. In a statement, the air force said the US bombers flew out of Guam and four stealth fighter jets from a US Marine Corps base in Japan. They conducted a mock bombing drill, which simulated a surgical strike of key enemy facilities, over the Pilsung Range in the eastern province of Gangwon. In a statement, US Pacific Command said the flyover was a "direct response to North Korea's intermediate range ballistic missile launch." "

Swansea have completed the loan signing of Bayern Munich's Renato Sanches. The midfielder has joined City for the season in a move which reunites him with former Bayern coach Paul Clement, now in charge in south Wales. Sanches cost Bayern £27.5m in the wake of Portugal's victory at Euro 2016, where he was named young player of the tournament. But the 20-year-old has started just six Bundesliga games and was made available for loan earlier this summer. Swansea announced the news in a tweet showing Sanches in conversation with his Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo.

Manchester City have launched a second bid for Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez. Early indications were that they believe they have done good business in selling Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool for a fee understood to be £35m while in the last year of his contract. Arsenal have wanted to keep Sanchez all summer and Arsene Wenger has insisted he is not for sale. But Sky Sports' Spanish Football expert believes they are in talks to sign Thomas Lemar from Monaco and are confident of completing a deal. Sanchez is in the last year of his contract and has so far failed to agree new terms But Wenger said earlier this month that he hoped the former Barcelona man would extend his contract. Sanchez is currently in with Chile national squad ahead of their World Cup Qualifiers and Sky Sports News understands that City officials are in the country in preparation to complete any potential deal.

 Hazard’s younger brother, Kylian Hazard signs for Chelsea FC on August 29, 2017 Kylian Hazard, the younger brother of Chelsea FC star player, Eden Hazard, has signed for the same club. This was announced by the club via its Twitter handle.  Kylian Hazard, who joins up with our development squad,” it stated The 22-year-old, a younger brother of Eden, is an attacking midfielder who started his professional career in his native Belgium, first with White Star Brussels and then Zulte-Waregem. He joined Ujpest in the summer of 2015 and played 42 times for them. Kylian is the third of his siblings to move to Stamford Bridge, with Thorgan Hazard having spent three years on Chelsea’s books before joining Borussia Monchengladbach in 2015. He joined Ujpest from Zulte Waregem in 2015 but a knee injury saw him miss the majority of the 2016-17 season. He joins the Chelsea development squad who are home to Sunderland on Saturday 9 September.

Arturo Vidal has denied any involvement in an incident that required police intervention at a casino in Chile, but acknowledged he had been at the venue earlier in the evening. The Bayern Munich midfielder is on international duty in Chile and is reported to have been at a party with friends and family, which went on until the early hours of Tuesday. Vidal initially denied being at the establishment at all, claiming that the media were attempting to tarnish his image. However, addressing a news conference. Vidal admitted he had been in attendance but left well before the incident took place. "A lot of untrue information was published. First, it is true that I went to the casino, I was there with my friends," he said. "I went to have dinner and remained there a while, then I left and went home. Then, in the morning I heard the news that the police went to the casino, and that the press included me in that incident. "That is something that makes me feel

Eden Hazard could be included in Belgium's line-up for Thursday's World Cup qualifier against Gibraltar even though he has yet to play this season, said coach Roberto Martinez on Tuesday. The Chelsea midfielder was a surprise selection for the Group H qualifiers against Gibraltar this week and Greece next Tuesday after surgery on his ankle, injured on international duty in June. His club manager, Antonio Conte, last week criticised the call-up as "a mistake" but Hazard trained with the Belgian squad on Tuesday in Tubeke and afterwards Martinez told reporters he was considering fielding the 26-year-old on Thursday. "He's got two training sessions in his legs now and there has been no adverse reaction to the injury. We are evaluating the situation further on Wednesday and we'll make a decision on Thursday. "Eden says he is feeling good but we must take into account the fact he has not played for a while. "The match against Gibraltar see

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has admitted that he ashamed of the humiliating defeat his side suffered at Liverpool and has called for immediate change. The striker has been linked with a move back to France this summer, with Lyon and Marseille keen to end his misery at the Emirates. But despite being limited to cameo roles this season, including a 28-minute run-out in Sunday’s 4-0 loss to Liverpool, Giroud committed his future to Wenger’s under-fire team. And speaking on French radio RMC, he believes change must now come at the club before they can compete for the title again.

Chelsea have been dealt a significant blow less than 48 hours before the transfer window shuts after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain turned down a move to Stamford Bridge in the hope Liverpool make a late bid for him. Having agreed a £35million fee with Arsenal, Chelsea hoped to push through a deal for Oxlade-Chamberlain before the transfer window shut on Thursday night. But after asking for extra time to think about the move, Oxlade-Chamberlain has decided that he does not want to join Chelsea and has left the door open for Liverpool to make a move. Oxlade-Chamberlain was one of at least four deals Chelsea have been working ahead of the transfer window shutting. The Blues have received better news on Fernando Llorente and could agree a £15m deal today after talks late on Tuesday night, and they remain in negotiations aimed at reaching an agreement to sign Ross Barkley from Everton and Leicester City’s Danny Drinkwater. Llorente has told friends he expects to join Chelsea for a fee

Pep Guardiola was reported to have offered around £30m plus Raheem Sterling for the Chile international. Arsenal were said to have demanded cash plus Sergio Aguero as a counter offer which was swiftly rejected. Now, fresh reports say the Gunners are still holding firm over Sanchez but want over £70m. They would still consider a player coming in return but want more than the £30m on offer.  say that no player was offered by City but this is considered as a softening of Arsenal’s stance by the Etihad club. The Gunners have insisted all summer that Sanchez will be going nowhere in this window. But following direct contact between the two clubs, and Arsenal’s counter offer, Guardiola is increasingly confident of doing a deal City are now said to be unwilling to let a player leave in return for Sanchez and are ‘confident’ they can get a cash-only deal done. Sanchez is away in Chile on international duty but will still be able to complete a move should a deal be struck. T

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Monday that his wife, Priscilla Chan, has given birth to their second child​, a baby girl named August. Priscilla and I are so happy to welcome our daughter August!​”, he said adding that “​ We wrote her a letter about the world we hope she grows up in, and also hoping she doesn’t grow up too fast.​”​ ​”​ Dear August, Welcome to the world! Your mom and I are so excited to see who you will become. When your sister was born, we wrote a letter about the world we hoped she and now you will grow up in — a world with better education, fewer diseases, stronger communities, and greater equality. We wrote that with all the advances in science and technology, your generation should live dramatically better lives than ours, and we have a responsibility to do our part to make that happen. Even though headlines often focus on what’s wrong, we still believe these positive trends will win out. We’re optimists about your generation a

Another three-story building has collapsed in Ojo Area of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria. There was, however, no casualties as residents have already deserted the building located at 21 Saka Okoro Street, Ilufe Road, Alaba International Market, Ojo. PM News gathered that the building caved in on Tuesday morning in a partial collapse. General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Adesina Tiamiyu said on arrival at the incident scene, a 3-story building consisting of 8 blocks of flats collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday. “Investigation conducted at the incident scene revealed that the building had shown some signs of being distressed. No life was lost and there were no injuries sustained,” he said. He said recovery operation was ongoing by LASEMA, Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, and other stakeholders to prevent any secondary incident of full or total collapsed that might lead to unnecessary loss of lives. However, government officials have be

There have been more arrivals to the Super Eagles camp in Uyo ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Cameroon on Friday, September 1. On Tuesday, August 29, seven Super Eagles players, Victor Moses, John Ogu, first timer Anthony Nwakaeme, Moses Simon, Leon Balogun, Uche Agbo and Aaron Samuel arrived Uyo via an Air Peace flight. Moses, Ogu and Nwakaeme arrived in Lagos on Monday night and joined the only available flight to Uyo alongside the four others. They arrived the Akwa Ibom International Airport in Uyo at 1 pm and were received by the Media Officer of the Super Eagles, Toyin Ibitoye. The players were driven straight to the Super Eagles base at the Le Meridien Hotel in Uyo. They will have a little rest before joining the other 16 players who had arrived camp earlier in an open-door training session at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium. Daniel Akpeyi, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Dele Alampasu,  Ola Aina, Mikel Obi, Mikel Agu,  Ahmed Musa, Ogenyi Onazi, Odion I

Since the arrival of social media, gone are the days that news of important life events are shared by a mere phone call. Nowadays, pregnancy, engagement and gender reveal announcements are splashed all over people's accounts. And mostly, this is a great way to share news, with the ability to make sure it reaches the far corners of a person's network. But sometimes, like in this case, it can go very, very wrong. Here's why gender pronouns are so important A woman's pregnancy announcement on Twitter has gone viral after she appeared to threaten to abort her baby if she didn't receive more than 4,000 retweets. The woman, who's known only as Saipanting on the social network, uploaded a picture she alleges to be of herself, sporting a pregnancy bump. Alongside the picture, she posted the words: "4 months pregnant. 4k RTs & I won't abort it." While it's unconfirmed whether the tweet is real or if it's a hoax, it certainly grabbed the

Neymar has told Philippe Coutinho not to join Barcelona, according to a report in Brazil The former Barcelona attacker had a bitter divorce from the Catalan club and is now being sued for breach of contract. Liverpool have insisted that Coutinho is not for sale turning down three bids from Barcelona for Coutinho, the most recent worth up to £118m with bonuses.   "Neymar told Coutinho in a conversation between the two that he would not regret Liverpool's decision to keep him away from Barcelona.” Both players are back in Brazil for the World Cup qualifier against Ecuador in Porto Alegre early Friday morning UK time. READ ALSO: Manchester City offers Raheem Sterling plus cash for Alexis Sanchez Coutinho is on international duty despite not playing for Liverpool this campaign after suffering a back injury. Simoni said: “Coutinho back problem? He is okay now. The back problem was a matter of stress, it was something emotional. “The uncertainty about his future led him to feeli

Recent reports have suggested that top heavyweight contender Luis Ortiz has opted to face WBC champion Deontay Wilder and drop his status as the mandatory challenger to WBA/IBF/IBO champion Anthony Joshua. Kubrat Pulev is Joshua's IBF mandatory but Ortiz believes his WBA mandatory position has priority over Pulev's status. It also has been recently reported that he would need at least 3-4 months to prepare for Joshua. Ortiz's manager Jay Jimenez says that they have not agreed to face Wilder and that they still want their mandatory position enforced to face Joshua next. He said that Ortiz is interested in facing Wilder - but with the WBA belt wrapped around his waist. joshua-ortiz_1 "No deal is done for Luis 'King Kong' Ortiz to face Wilder. We are waiting on the WBA and Joshua. Luis is ready to face Joshua but Joshua is avoiding the Cuban southpaw star like a deadly plague so the bottom line is Eddie Hearn and Joshua have both said that they are facing Pu

Nicki Minaj, 34, looked drop dead gorgeous at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 27, with one tiny exception: her camel toe. The “Anaconda” singer donned a form-fitting bubble gum pink two-piece latex outfit that left little to the imagination and gave fans a good look at her awkward wardrobe malfunction. Of course the singer was totally appalled when she saw the pics of how she looked, but soon relaxed when she realized the hilarity of the situation. “Nicki is embarrassed by her major camel toe at the VMAs,” an insider told HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY. “She had no idea it would be that obvious until she was under the lights and camera and by that time it was too late. Her phone was blowing up all night afterward with friends teasing her. After the embarrassment quickly wore off, she had a good laugh about the pink outfit which she vowed to never wear again.” Uh, yeah, we would but that outfit in the back of our close too! Nicki moved on to more important things at the VM

OLAJUMOKE ORISAGUNA had been en route to her job selling loaves of bread on the streets of Nigeria last year when she unintentionally photobombed a professional photoshoot. Nobody could have imagined that the pic of her balancing a morning’s worth of goods on her head would lead to a modelling career. The intended subject of the photo, dapper British rapper Tinie Tempah, was in Nigeria to visit his parents. While there, he took time out to do some portrait work with photographer TY Bello. Tempah came across as pretty flashy in the photos, but Bello was truly taken by a single shot that captured the mystery woman wearing a red dress. Bello found herself so awed by her natural beauty that she Instagrammed her accidental shot. “She just happened to be walking by while I photographed,” Bello wrote. “It happened so fast. She definitely should be a model.” Instagram sleuths got on the case, tracked down the would-be poser and put her in touch with Bello. A shoot was arranged for the

Though Monday’s summit convened by French President Emmanuel Macron-- is far from the first meeting held on the issue, it was significant in that the attendees were heads of state. Migrant summit Participants included German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as the prime ministers of Italy and Spain, the EU foreign policy chief, the presidents of Niger and Chad and Fayez Serraj-- the leader of Libya's internationally-backed government. Ahead of the meeting, Macron said he was eager to discuss the establishment of Libyan hot spots, places to process asylum seekers directly in Africa. Mattia Toaldo, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations isn't sure the hot spots will work. “There are a lot of doubts over whether this can be done in Africa, especially in Libya,” he said. “For now, Italy is the only one of those countries with an embassy in Libya there isn’t even a UN headquarters in Libya.” Logistics isn’t the only issue. “There are serious huma

Floodwaters are expected to rise still further in the inundated Texan city of Houston, where more than 30,000 people have been forced from their homes in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Historically heavy rains have fallen for three days and the downpour is forecast to continue. Harvey, downgraded to a tropical storm, is now beginning to affect Louisiana. There, New Orleans - devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 - is preparing for flooding. Mayor Mitch Landrieu is urging residents to "stay home" and "stay off the streets". In Houston, forecasts suggest that some areas in and around the city could see up to 12in (30cm) of rain on Tuesday, bringing the total rainfall from Harvey to about 50in. At least nine people are reported to have died in the Houston area. Six members of the same family died trying to flee rising floodwaters, relatives told US media. The city's police chief has said he is worried about how many bodies will be found when the floods

This past weekend some of South Africa's biggest names in the entertainment industry attended the inaugural Dstv Mzansi Viewers Choice Awards. More than one million votes were cast for 50 nominees in 10 categories. The glittering gala evening, which was held at Sandton’s International Convention Centre, was hosted by Bonang Matheba. Her rapper boyfriend AKA was one of the performing artists, as well as a nominee for Song of the Year Bonang went through five outfit changes for the show as she dazzled the audience with her elegant outfits. There was also an awkward moment when Bonang called up her ex-boyfriend DJ Euphonik to present an award. After all, we know the past drama between them. More than a thousand invited guests filled the pavilion. Celebrities such as Quantico's Pearl Thusi, actress Enhle Mbali, presenters Lalla Hirayama and Kuli Roberts all walked the red carpet.. Other celebrities included actresses Thuli Phongolo, Nomzamo Mbatha, Dawn Thandeka-King, Ce

The Premier League kicked off three weeks ago with an exhilarating 4-3 finish in Arsenal's favour at the Emirates Stadium and we have not looked back thus far.  On the road thus far, we have seen the pretenders, the contenders and the challengers stake their claim to the English throne.  While some have stumbled and even faltered, others have thrown up pleasant surprises that give us many points to ponder as we head into the international break. While three weeks of football do not define what lies ahead in the nascent season but it does clarify statements of intent, especially from the ones who choose to set the precedent. The start of the races has seen a portion make a sprint while the remainder still look to find their stride. The 2 weeks ahead provide recovery and moments of reflection, in equal measure. José Mourinho's side has laid down the gauntlet in José's 'second season'. A manager who is a serial success in his second season at clubs, José is r

I don’t want to be too cynical about this, but Ozil and his team do know how to tug at the heartstrings of the Arsenal supporters.  Ozil did cut a forlorn figure at the final whistle yesterday, and I believe the frustration and sadness at the result probably was genuine. Any professional player with any sort of pride would have felt that way after such a performance. Sadly, we’ve been here before many times. The players often promise to come back stronger and better having learned their lessons, but they never do learn. So the cycle repeats itself. Fans don’t want to see written apologies, no matter how sincere. They want to see improved performances on the pitch, so nobody has to experience this again.

Kylian Mbappe is on the verge on joining Paris Saint-Germain on a season-long loan deal ahead if a £166.4m transfer from Monaco next summer that will raise serious questions about Uefa’s Financial Fair Play regulations. The 18-year-old France international has been linked with both Real Madrid and Manchester United over the last few months, but PSG look to have won the race to sign him in the same summer as their world record £200m deal for Neymar. The move would almost certainly mean that PSG would fail Uefa’s FFP checks, given there are already concerns about their compliance following the Neymar transfer, but in an effort to avoid any sanctions the Parisians will only sign the striker on loan this season, with an obligation to buy him next summer for €180m. Mbappe was dropped after Monaco’s opening Ligue 1 game of the season earlier this month, with Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim leaving him on the substitutes’ bench for the games against Dijon and Marseille, and France mana

The taxi driver who was killed alongside seven others was taking a visiting family to start their dream European holiday when a 'drunk lorry smashed into their minibus' on the M1 at Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire on Saturday morning. Last night the minicab driver was named as Cyriac Joseph, a father-of-two from Nottingham and a self-made businessman who came to Britain 15 years ago. He ran his own successful minicab firm (top right).  He was killed at the scene and his devastated loved ones gathered at his home in shock last night including close frend Manu Zachariah who described him as someone who was 'always there when you need him'.  His vehicle was completely crushed after a crash with two lorries including a FedEx delivery truck (bottom right).  Lorry driver Ryszard Masierak, 31, from Worcestershire has been charged with death by dangerous driving and being over alcohol limit.  A second driver David Wagstaff, aged 53, of Stoke-on-Trent, was also char

Over 2 million unregistered Sim cards in Uganda will be switched off on August 30, the Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda told a press conference. The PM further said that no extension would be granted. “That is the decision the meeting took; all unverified/unregistered Sim cards will be switched off at midnight of August 30, when the three months extension granted by President Yoweri Museveni expires,” he said. This comes at a time when Uganda is reinforcing its internal security and curb the rising number of crime rate. Brig Henry Tumukunde, Minister for Security, said the registration and verification will help trace a crime to the person who committed it. Information and Communications Technology Minister Frank Tumwebaze said reprieve will be granted only to subscribers with money on their mobile money accounts — but only for withdrawal. “Those with mobile money on their phones will be allowed to withdraw, but they will not be able to load,” he said. The Ugandan govern

Popular female singer, nudist and sex addict, Caroline Sam, popularly known as Maheeda, doesn’t mince words when it comes to expressing her heart desires.  During the week, the nude model who once said she usually had sex thrice in a day revealed her hidden sexual fantasies for popular radio personality, Ifedayo Olarinde, fondly known as ‘Daddy Freeze’.  Maheeda She went all out to confess that she would really love to have sex with him, stressing that if possible she would be glad to have a child by him.  “This @daddyfreeze of a guy; I for like to be his baby mama, but we be partners.  I just love him so f**king much, abeg make we hide do small; nah him be pastor, chei see my life”, she confessed.  Meanwhile, mixed reactions have continued to trail her shocking confessions; some tongue lashed her for making such desires public since she is a mother and someone else’s wif Read more

floyd Mayweather will go down as one of the greatest boxers in history with an unbeaten 50-0 record following his victory over Conor McGregor in Las Vegas on Saturday evening. It took the five-weight champion until the 10th round to beat the UFC star, who was making his professional boxing debut in one of the most eagerly anticipated fights ever. But after a sussing out his opponent, Mayweather showed just why many believe he is the best pound-for-pound boxer ever. Afterwards, Mayweather declared his retirement - for the third time. Whether he can be persuaded to take another super fight remains to be seen. So how did the 40-year-old find himself to be the proud owner of an undefeated record after over 20 years in the ring? Born in 1977 in Michigan, USA, to former welterweight fighter Floyd Mayweather Snr, Mayweather Jnr enjoyed a prestiguous amateur career before earning his professional licence. After winning the prestigious Golden Gloves Championship, aged 16, Mayweath

A terror suspect drove at police outside Buckingham Palace (shown left) and yelled 'Allahu akbar' while reaching for a 4ft sword before he was arrested by three unarmed officers. The 26-year-old from Luton was wrestled to the ground and incapacitated with CS gas by the officers, two of which suffered injuries, at about 8.30pm last night.  Metropolitan Police said the suspect had been arrested under the Terrorism Act and was currently in custody in a central London police station.  The force revealed how the man had deliberately driven at a police van parked near the Mall roundabout in front of the palace, before stopping in front of the vehicle.  As three unarmed PCs exited the van and approached the blue Toyota Prius, the suspect reached for a 4ft sword in the footwell (pictured top and bottom right, officers on high alert outside the palace today).

Sergio Aguero is facing a police investigation after a Bournemouth steward alleged they were attacked by the Manchester City striker. Dorset Police have taken a statement from the Vitality Stadium steward who claims they were hit by Aguero during the goal celebrations at the end of Bournemouth’s defeat to City. Aguero, 29, was part of a group of City players who ran over to celebrate Raheem Sterling’s match-winning goal with their travelling contingent in the East Stand. Police have taken a statement from a Bournemouth steward who says Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero hit them +12 Police have taken a statement from a Bournemouth steward who says Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero hit them Aguero was celebrating Raheem Sterling's winner in the 2-1 victory at the Vitality Stadium when the incident occurred +12 Aguero was celebrating Raheem Sterling's winner in the 2-1 victory at the Vitality Stadium when the incident occurred The players celebrated with th

The countdown has begun to what is being billed as the Fight of the Century, as Conor McGregor gets set to take on the undefeated Floyd Mayweather later tonight. The money-spinning showdown is likely to break all records and surpass the $600million (£468million) generated by Mayweather's 2015 fight with Manny Pacquiao. A audience packed with 20,000 ravenous fans is expected at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, USA, with private jets ferrying celebrities into Sin City as bets worth more than a million dollars are placed on the bout. Mayweather, who has an incredible undefeated record of 49-0 to his name, has come out of retirement to fight the younger McGregor, a UFC fighter transitioning to the sport of boxing for the first time.  And while the line-up in the ring has had people talking for months, it is the Corona ring girls - Tawny Jordan, Kyra Keli, Samantha Kumiko and Jessica Harbour - who very well could steal the limelight from the two men in gloves.

 Venezuela held nationwide armed forces exercises on Saturday, calling on civilians to join reserve units to defend against a possible attack after U.S. President Donald Trump warned of a "military option" for the crisis-hit country. Trump made the threat of military action against Venezuela two weeks ago and on Friday he signed an order prohibiting dealings in new debt from the Venezuelan government or its oil company, a move to hobble financing that Trump says is fueling President Nicolas Maduro's "dictatorship." "Against the belligerent threats of the United States, all Venezuelans between the ages of 18 and 60 are required to contribute to the integral defense of the nation," said an announcement broadcast on state television. The government said it expected 700,000 civilian militia members and 200,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen to participate. State TV images showed Venezuelans young and old entering military reserve registration cente

French President Emmanuel Macron has spent a whopping 26,000 euros ($31,000) on his own make-up in the first three months of his presidency. Ridicule and outrage ensued on social media.  Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron Aren't you the handsome one? You may be forgiven for thinking that it doesn't take much effort or money to get France's youthful 39-year-old president, Emmanuel Macron, ready to face the world in the morning. But it turns out the Elysee Palace has paid a make-up artist named as Natacha M. 26,000 euros - two payments of 10,000 euros and 16,000 euros respectively - for Monsieur Macron's "maquillage" as the French say, during the first three months of his presidency. Given that men rarely need more than a touch of foundation that doesn't make them look orange on the telly and at major events, it does seem extravagant, even in the unforgiving age of HD television. It certainly doesn't help hispopularity, which has taken

The army was deployed in Haryana state’s Panchkula city after tens of thousands of followers of guru Ram Rahim Singh went on an angry rampage, attacking television vans and setting fire to dozens of private vehicles. Security forces were put on high alert to ensure there was no repeat of the violence that erupted Friday afternoon, minutes after a special court pronounced the self-styled guru guilty of raping two of his followers. Mobile phone services were disrupted in some parts of Haryana and neighbouring Punjab state, where authorities had earlier imposed a curfew following the clashes. Although the curfew was lifted in Panchkula Saturday, restrictions on public assembly remained in place. Haryana police chief B.S. Sandhu said on Saturday at least 30 people had died with the toll likely to rise as some of the wounded were being treated for serious head injuries. “The toll within the state is at least 30 dead and around 200 injured including about 50 police and security personnel,”

The loan is aimed at helping the war-torn country implement reforms, improve public services and boost the performance of its state enterprises. Le Drian also handed Abadi an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to visit Paris. The visit by France’s foreign and defence ministers come as Iraqi forces announced the ouster of the Islamic State group from the centre of Tal Afar, one of the jihadists’ last remaining stronghold in the north. The advance, just days into an assault on the strategic town, comes six weeks after Abadi declared victory over IS in second city Mosul, where the jihadist group declared its “caliphate” in 2014. One the plane to Baghdad, Le Drian said that Iraq now faced the dual challenge of “a war that is coming to an end and the beginning of the stabilisation and reconstruction”. France is a key member of the US-led coalition that has been battling IS in Iraq and neighbouring Syria. French forces have carried out air and artillery strikes

Femi Kuti says he forsook the opportunity to step into Fela’s shoes, opting to chart his own path in life. The Afrobeat icon said although he was “groomed” to succeed Fela as a conscious musician and social activist, he chose to walk away and up until now, he has “no regret” about his decision. “I was groomed to take over from my father. I decided I didn’t want that for my life. I walked away from it with no regret today. And my father was very upset. I didn’t want to take over. I wanted my own thing, my own experience, and my own success. I wanted to do it on my own with no help,” he told Daily Trust in an interview. Kuti said he “was never taught music” and that every musical instrument he plays today was “self-taught”. He said unlike his brother, Seun Kuti, he was never sent to music school. “I wasn’t sent to music school, I was even taken out of school, so I didn’t finish my secondary school. I was withdrawn by my father. Seun’s mother made sure he went to music school

A grandmother-of-six has vowed to continue fighting for a visa for her new husband, who is 45 years her junior, lives 4,000 miles away, and who she met face-to-face on their wedding day. Angela Nwachukwu, 72, married her husband CJ Nwachukwu in April 2015, just three months after he had added her on Facebook and struck up a conversation. The retired taxi driver from Weymouth says she couldn't help but fall for her 27-year-old lover from Nigeria, when they started talking, and is devastated that their applications for visas have failed. She says she has spent £20,000 on him, including lawyers to help with the visas and flights to visit him, but says he had repaid her half when he can. She told the Sun she'd been left lonely and isolated after the breakdown of her marriage, six months before they met online. One day she found a message and a friend request from Mr Nwachukwu, and couldn't see the harm in striking up conversation. She said: 'He was so handsome,