Tuesday, 2 August 2016
Photo: U.S Vice President Joe Biden officiates same-sex wedding for two White House workers
Monday, 1 August 2016
Nepal’s Singh set to become Rio’s youngest competitor
Nepali swimmer Gaurika Singh, already a seasoned international competitor at 13, is poised to become the youngest Olympian in Rio when she hits the water in the 100m backstroke heats on Sunday.
“That’s quite cool, a bit unreal, too,” said Singh, who will be 13 years and 255 days old.
It’s not surprising the London-based schoolgirl, who swims for English club Barnet Copthall, is undaunted by the prospect. She has already lived through the 2015 earthquake that devastated Nepal, leaving nearly 9,000 dead.
“It was terrifying,” she said of the experience she endured with her mother, Garima, and younger brother Sauren while they were back in Nepal for the national swimming championships.
The family, in a fifth-floor apartment of a building in Kathmandu, sheltered under a table before using the stairs to leave the building as the aftershocks rumbled.
“Fortunately, it was a new building so it did not collapse like others around,” she said.
A friend of Singh’s father later set up a charity to help rebuild schools and she donated her winnings from the restaged championships.
“They made me a goodwill ambassador,” said Singh, who returns to Nepal about once a year to visit family.
She swam the 100m backstroke at the World Championships in Kazan, Russia, last August, and won four medals — three bronze and one silver — at the South Asian Games in India in February.
“It’s unbelievable that she’s the youngest Olympian in Rio and amazing how she copes with all the pressure,” said her father, Paras, who will be in Rio to cheer on the precocious star, who will be aiming to improve her own national record of 1min 07.31sec in the 100m back in Rio.
Turkey captures 11 commandos who tried to abduct Erdogan during the coup attempt
The 11 soldiers are believed to be part of a group that raided a hotel in the south-western beach town of Marmaris, where Erdoğan was holidaying with his family on the night of the July 15 coup bid. The president was however tipped off and fled before they arrived.
Rebels step on bodies of Russian military pilot after shooting down military jet delivering humatarian aide
Actress Lea Michelle poses completely nude for Women's Health UK
The 29-year-old actress and gym fanatic bared it all for Women's Health as she spoke to the magazine about her flaws and getting over down days. Speaking openly on her image, she told the magazine:
'I'm not perfect. I'm not trying to represent myself as being some perfect girl, but I love myself, flaws and all. Everyone has their own things, and I have my own list. Right now, I feel physically in my best shape, and emotionally in my best place.' See the photos after the cut...
'I have down days,' Lea admitted, of her current wellbeing. 'I accept those days as much as the happy ones.'
'[I just] make some macaroni cheese, call my mom, pour a glass of red wine and watch some reality television. There's nothing that can't fix.'
'I take care of myself,' she continued. 'And I spend a lot of time and energy doing that, so I need someone else to look after themselves too. It's only then that you can come together and be a really good team.'
Photos of Toya Wright's brothers shot dead in a drive-by yesterday
The late brothers made appearances in the BET reality shows ‘Toya: A Family Affair’ and ‘Tiny and Toya’. May their souls rest in peace, amen.
Jhene Aiko wears see-through bra in new photo shared on IG
Gabon president warns of election unrest
Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba has warned of possible unrest during the August 27 election which he said was the “strategy” of the opposition challenging his eligibility to seek a second seven-year term.
“It is to be feared, because it is the opposition’s strategy for many years,” Bongo said in an interview with the weekly “Jeune Afrique” published Sunday which asked him if he feared “abuses and even violence” after the vote.
The opposition “has started to heat things up by announcing that the election will not be transparent, that we will steal victory,” the president said.
Bongo described as “nonsense” the arguments of critics who have opposed his re-election on the grounds that he was a Nigerian who was adopted in the 1960s by his father, long-ruling former president Ali Bongo, and was therefore ineligible as a foreigner under the constitution.
“If they come to this kind of argument — challenging my eligibility, my birth and other nonsense — this proves that they recognise that my record is good (…) They fear an honest campaign, programme against programme, and obviously prefer slander,” he said.
Gabon’s constitutional court last week rejected appeals lodged by three opponents against his candidacy.
The representative of the EU election observation mission on Thursday called on politicians to “do everything” to “avoid any violence or any form of provocation” with tensions high ahead of the presidential polls.
As the elections approach, the security forces have had a greater presence in the capital Libreville, with road checkpoints at night.
Assessing his seven-year term, the president regretted “not having maintained the pace of reforms”, particularly to diversify the economy of the oil-producing west African country.
“I was talking one day with President Obama on the difficulty of reform, the pitfalls … He replied: “In that situation, the best advice I can give you is to speed up, step on the gas”, this is what we will do.”
Bongo was elected for a first term in a disputed 2009 vote following the death of his father Omar Bongo Ondimba, who had steered Gabon from 1967 and was described by critics as a corrupt despot.
This rule saw the country tap its new found oil wealth that led to a per capita income four times that of most sub-Saharan African nations.
However most of it has not trickled down to ordinary people. Critics accuse the Bongo family of usurping the country’s riches and stifling democracy.
Turkey arrests 11-man ‘death squad’ over Erdogan hotel raid
Turkey has arrested 11 fugitive soldiers suspected of involvement in an attack on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hotel during the night of the failed coup, the deputy prime minister said Monday.
Erdogan was staying in the western seaside resort of Marmaris on July 15 but dashed to Istanbul just before the hotel came under attack from rebel soldiers determined to oust him from power.
“Eleven of them were captured in Ula,” Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told a press conference after a cabinet meeting, referring to a town near Marmaris.
He said one soldier was still at large.
Erdogan earlier said his swift escape had saved him from being killed or taken hostage.
An interior ministry official, who declined to be named, described the arrested men as members of a “death squad” and said the overnight operation to catch them followed a tip-off from local villagers.
The soldiers had been hiding in the wild landscape above Marmaris since the military action, and the villagers spotted them while they were out boar-hunting.
“There was an exchange of fire during the operation,” the official added. “Drones and helicopters were used to pinpoint the location.”
Since the coup, Erdogan has launched a massive purge of Turkish institutions, especially the military, with more than 3,000 armed forces personnel dismissed.
When a man loves a woman! Footballer Gareth bale spent £400k to rent Island just to propose to his girlfriend
The cost of the island rental wasn’t just for him and his fiancee, though: Bale also put up a group of friends, as it was his 27th birthday, so it was a particularly special weekend for the Real Madrid man.
A big investment, but one that ultimately paid off handsomely for Bale as the she accepted his proposal and he tweeted his delight. Emma has two girls, Alba and Nava for the footballer .
Militants threaten to declare Niger Delta Republic today, military on high alert
The group in the statement signed by its spokesperson, Edmos Ayayeibo, ordered people from other regions who are residing in Niger Delta to vacate their homes before today
“If they refuse to heed to our warning, we will use so many as example in the Niger Delta region on the due date.”Reacting to the threat, the Nigerian military through the Joint Task Force Commander in the Niger Delta, codenamed Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral Joseph Okojie, dismissed the threat of the group, saying the military would not fail to fulfill their responsibility to protect lives, property and the territorial integrity of the country. He asked the people of the region to go about their normal duties.
“This is to reassure the good people of the Niger Delta that Operation Delta Safe is firmly on the ground to protect them” he said.
'Why we hate you': ISIS reveal 6 reasons why they hate & fight Westerners
In an article entitled 'Why We Hate you and Want to Fight You', ISIS spells out six reasons why they are hell bent on destroying the West. Read them after the cut...
The article begins: "Shortly following the blessed attack on a sodomite, Crusader nightclub by the mujahid Omar Mateen, American politicians were quick to jump into the spotlight and denounce the shooting, declaring it a hate crime, an act of terrorism, and an act of senseless violence.
"A hate crime? Yes. Muslims undoubtedly hate liberalist sodomites, as does anyone else with any shred of their fitrah (inborn human nature) still intact.
"An act of terrorism? Most definitely. Muslims have been commanded to terrorize the disbelieving enemies of Allah."
The writer then goes on to list the top six reasons why the killers want to destroy the West - although they appear to be two points repeated several times.
1. Because you are disbelievers.
"We hate you, first and foremost, because you are disbelievers; you reject the oneness of Allah – whether you realize it or not – by making partners for Him in worship, you blaspheme against Him, claiming that He has a son, you fabricate lies against His prophets and messengers, and you indulge in all manner of devilish practices."
2 . Because you are liberal
"We hate you because your secular, liberal societies permit the very things that Allah has prohibited while banning many of the things He has permitted, a matter that doesn’t concern you because you Christian disbelief and paganism 32 separate between religion and state, thereby granting supreme authority to your whims and desires via the legislators you vote into power."
3. Because some of you are atheist
"In the case of the atheist fringe, we hate you and wage war against you because you disbelieve in the existence of your Lord and Creator."
4. For your crimes against Islam
"We hate you for your crimes against Islam and wage war against you to punish you for your transgressions against our religion."
5. For your crimes against Muslims
"We hate you for your crimes against the Muslims; your drones and fighter jets bomb, kill, and maim our people around the world, and your puppets in the usurped lands of the Muslims oppress, torture, and wage war against anyone who calls to the truth."
6. For invading our lands
"We hate you for invading our lands and fight you to repel you and drive you out. As long as there is an inch of territory left for us to reclaim, jihad will continue to be a personal obligation on every single Muslim."
"What’s important to understand here is that although some might argue that your foreign policies are the extent of what drives our hatred, this particular reason for hating you is secondary, hence the reason we addressed it at the end of the above list.
"The fact is, even if you were to stop bombing us, imprisoning us, torturing us, vilifying us, and usurping our lands, we would continue to hate you because our primary reason for hating you will not cease to exist until you embrace Islam."
Floyd Mayweather pays over $50k to service his $1.5m Bugatti Veyron
"The breakdown: Four (4) 2015 Bugatti tires cost $33k, Basic service (oil & fluid changes) cost $23k and then to top it off, a $3k detailing service."
Obi Okeke also claimed that he had to start an entirely separate company to service Floyd's cars because he has to move them around for service so often.
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