• Rihanna to be awarded MTV Video Music Award lifetime achievement prize

    Rihanna will receive MTV's lifetime achievement award at the Video Music Awards later this month. It's MTV's highest honour and is known as the Michael Jackson video vanguard award. Last year Kanye West won the trophy, with Beyonce, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears previously getting it. "[The award] reflects an artist's impact not just on music but on pop culture, fashion, film and philanthropy," says MTV. She will also perform at the ceremony in New York, as well as being nominated for best collaboration and best female video. Beyonce leads the nominations though with 11 nods, while Adele is up for eight. It's the first time the event has been held at Madison Square Garden and it will feature

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  • Boeing and Airbus get US green light to sell planes to Iran

    Cleared for takeoff! Boeing and Airbus have been given the green light by the U.S. government to sell planes to Iran despite fierce political opposition to the deal. The Treasury department has approved the delivery of more than 100 Boeing (BA) aircraft and 17 Airbus passenger planes, marking a key step for Iran's foreign business dealings now that its economic sanctions are lifted. Boeing (BA) is a U.S. company headquartered in Chicago. Airbus (EADSF), a European consortium, needed U.S. government approval to sell aircraft to Iran because many parts are made in the U.S. and the American authorities want to ensure the country doesn't use the planes for military purposes. Iran has agreed to buy

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  • Everyone is Talking About the Egyptian Olympian Facing an Israeli Opponent

    News of Egyptian Judo player, Islam el-Shehaby, competing against Israeli Or Sasson, is becoming a source of uproar social media.  The reactions in Egyptian social media ranged from some objecting and demanding his withdrawal, and some challenging this view and asserting that he should go through with it. Those who object believe it is a choice the Egyptian judoka should not even contemplate, because according to them, it is a given that relations with Israel must be avoided, even in international sports arenas. As for those who believe he should go through with it, they are certain that el-Shehaby is strong enough to take the Israeli judoka down – a win that will metaphorically represent Egypt,

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  • Corpse found in airplane’s wheel bay at Jeddah

    Saudi Gazette report  JEDDAH – Saudi airline workers found a body in the wheel well of an airliner on Wednesday after the plane returned from Nigeria, the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport administration.The plane, operated by Saudi Arabian carrier “flynas,” was undergoing a regular check after landing at the airport.  It had returned to the Kingdom after transporting Haj pilgrims back to Nigeria.  “At around ‪12 p.m.‬, an unidentified corpse of a dark skinned person was found in the back wheel storage,” the report said.Stowaways occasionally risk death by sneaking into aircraft wheel wells.   The concerned authorities have completed the necessary

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  • 23 Absurdly Fab Photos from Karim El Chiaty & Victoria's Secret Model Ana Beatriz Barros' Wedding

    You might have noticed people making the move to Sahel, Gouna, and other such dreamy beachy lands during the Eid weekend, but what about the mysterious case of Mykonos? Why were our social media feeds suddenly flooded with images of the Greek tropical island? A coincidence? We think not. Everyone in the country (or world) has been buzzing – about what can only be described as the biggest, most glam wedding of the year where Brazilian Victoria’s Secret supermodel Ana Beatriz Barros tied the knot with Egyptian-Greek billionaire Karim El Chiati. You could say a few celebrities made an appearance. Nothing special. A slew of luxurious villas held over 400 guests who flew from all over the world for

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  • China covers portions of Great Wall with cement

    Public decries the Chinese government's decision to repair a 700-year-old stretch of China's Great Wall with a smooth, white trail of cement.

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  • Italian driver races China daredevil road in record time

    An Italian driver has raced up China's Tongtian Road, considered one of the world's most dangerous, in record time. Fabio Barone covered the nearly 11km (6.8 mile) route in just 10 minutes 31 seconds, on 21 September. The road has 99 sharp turns on its way up Tianmen Mountain, rising from 200 to 1,300 metres above sea level. He had his Ferrari specially modified for the attempt, shaving crucial kilos off its weight by swapping metal for carbon fibre parts. Mr Barone is not new to racing hairy mountain roads, having set another speed record last year on the Transfagarasan mountain road in the Transylvanian Alps in Romania. Tianmen Mountain is no stranger to extreme motor sports either, having

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  • Singapore pair 'tried to buy iPhones at airport without flying'

    The launch of the latest iPhone last week saw the usual excited queues forming outside Apple shops. But two Singaporeans allegedly thought they had found a new way of queue jumping, and saving some money, by buying plane tickets so they could pick up the iPhone 7 at Changi Airport. They were arrested on 16 September for breaking airport laws. Police said they had "no intention" of leaving Singapore so should not have been in the departure hall. The two have been charged under the Protected Areas and Protected Places Act. They face a fine of up to 1,000 Singapore dollars ($735; £565) and a jail term of up to two years if convicted. Police have warned others not to misuse their boarding passes

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  • Ghana's problem with 'racist' Gandhi

    Nelson Mandela said that the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi had helped to topple apartheid in South Africa. Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I, was also an admirer. "Mahatma Gandhi will always be remembered as long as free men and those who love freedom and justice live," he said. Yet not all African leaders are inspired by the man known as the "Father of India". An online petition, which has been signed by more than 1,000 people, has been started by professors at the University of Ghana. They call for the removal of a statue of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi from the campus grounds in Accra. The academics say that Gandhi, who has been praised by public figures for leading India's non-violent movement

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  • Egyptian Girl Sold Into Slavery at the Age of 8 Publishes Her Memoirs

    Despite having been heavily covered by western media, the sad saga of an Egyptian girl who was robbed of her childhood in the cruelest way possible is only just beginning to become known here in Egypt after one Facebook user took to the social network to share her story, which is rapidly going viral  Although born in 1991, Shyima Hall’s life didn’t really begin until 2002 when she was freed from the shackles of slavery her own parents had sold her into for the mere price of $30. Born in grinding poverty, little Shyima lived with her parents and ten siblings in an Alexandria slum until she was traded to a rich family for whom her older sister used to work as a maid. The wealthy employers accused

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  • India summons Pakistan’s High Commissioner to protest repeated attacks in Kashmir

    NEW DELHI: Indian External Affairs Ministry said yesterday that it has summoned Pakistan’s High Commissioner to register New Delhi’s protest against the repeated terror attacks in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir. In its statement the Indian Ministry said Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar summoned Pakistan’s High Commissioner Muhammad Abdul Basit to remind the latter that his government has violated its pledge made in 2004 not allow its soil or territory under its control to be used for terrorism against India, adding that “the persistent and growing violation of this undertaking is a matter of very serious concern. “This year, beginning with the Pathankot airbase attack, there have been continuous

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  • Two Muslim Women Kicked Off JetBlue Flight for ‘Staring’ at Flight Attendant

    In what would have been a shocking but is now an all-too-familiar Islamophobic incident, two Muslim women were led off a passenger plane as a flight attendant did not like the way the women ‘stared’ at her, according to DailyMail. On Saturday, two Muslim women in hijabs onboard JetBlue Flight 487 between Boston and Los Angeles were escorted out of the airliner by police as one of the flight attendants was concerned about the way the two women were looking at her. A video showing the two women being escorted out for questioning was posted on YouTube on Monday by Mark Frauenfelder, taken by his friend Sharon Kessler. In regards to the incident, Kessler told DailyMail that "it was a terrible moment

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  • Rita Ora confirms she's leaving The X Factor

    Rita Ora has confirmed that she's leaving The X Factor. The singer, who joined the show last year, tweeted: "I had a ball on The X Factor last year and will miss the team. "@simoncowell can't wait to work with you again... I'll be round for dinner soon. Thank you for the experience & love X" Rita took on the role after moving from The Voice UK, which is moving from the BBC to ITV. The singer mentored the girls category and went on to win the show with her act, Louisa Johnson. In a statement ITV told Newsbeat: "Rita brought a great energy to the show last year and did a brilliant job mentoring the girls' category, leading Louisa to victory. "We wish her all the best with her music and film plans

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  • India needs more than Rafale to match China: experts – Peninsula OnQatar Daily Star

    New Delhi: India might have only spent billions of dollars on hi-tech French warrior jets, though experts contend it needs to do a lot some-more if it is going to face adult to an increasingly noisy China. The world’s tip counterclaim importer has sealed several big-ticket deals as partial of a $100-billion ascent given Hindu jingoist Prime Minister Narendra Modi took energy in 2014. But it has been delayed to reinstate a shrinking swift of Russian MiG-21s — dubbed “Flying Coffins” since of their bad reserve record. An agreement to buy 36 slicing corner Rafale jets from France’s Dassault aims to repair that. “It will give a atmosphere force an arrowhead. Our atmosphere force has aged aircraft,

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  • Taiwan asks Google to blur images of South China Sea island

    TAIPEI, Taiwan: Taiwan’s defense ministry has asked Google to blur images of a new development believed to be for military use on a disputed South China Sea island.Tensions remain high in the region over conflicting territorial claims, particularly over the strategically important Spratlys chain. Taiwan administers Taiping island, which is the largest in the Spratlys archipelago. The island chain is also claimed in part or whole by the Philippines, Vietnam and China. Google satellite images show a circular structure with four Y-shaped attachments, jutting out to sea on Taiping’s northwestern coast. The development comes after Taiwan last year inaugurated a solar-powered lighthouse, an expanded

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  • How the wealthy untie the knot

    As Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are no doubt finding out, divorce is painful - and expensive. While the pain is the same for rich and poor, the expense, for the rich, can be a lot, lot greater. The numbers are eye-watering, from estimated £600 an hour top-tier divorce lawyers, to massive pay-outs at the end of the case. Financier Sir Chris Hohn holds the record for a British settlement, paying £337 million to his former wife, Jamie Cooper-Hohn in 2014. Last year Liam Gallagher and Nicole Appleton spent £800,000 on legal fees and ended up splitting his (or, perhaps more accurately, their) £11m fortune down the middle. Although Ms Jolie filed for the "dissolution of marriage" on Monday in the Los

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  • Who is prepared for a 'zombie apocalypse'?

    "I am concerned about the readiness of our government in the event of invasion by aliens, zombies and extra dimensional beings". The words of a Mumbai resident who filed a Right to Information (or RTI) application in order to check how prepared the Indian government are in the event of an attack by other-worldly or "undead" characters from science fiction. Once the document was shared on Twitter by journalist Abhimanyu Ghoshal, the word "zombie" began to trend in some cities in India. Several social media users felt Ajay Kumar (the man who filed the RTI) was making a valid point. "Someone's asking the right questions finally!!" was one comment when the news leaked onto Facebook. "Ajay Kumar makes

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  • Meet the world's richest young billionaires as Hugh Grosvenor inherits £9bn

    He had three daughters but only one son, 25-year-old Hugh Grosvenor, who is heir to the dukedom. Hugh has now inherited "half of London" after his father's estate covers most of Belgravia and Mayfair - the most expensive area on the Monopoly board. He hasn't had to work for his father's money. But he does have a job as an account manager for Bio-bean - a green technology company. According to the 2016 Forbes Rich List there are nine other under-30s worth more than $1bn - so we thought we'd find out who some of them are. At 20 and 21, Alexandra and Katharina Andresen are the youngest Johan, a Norwegian industrialist and investor, transferred his fortune to his two daughters in 2007. Norway is

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  • Love Island will return for a third series

    Good news for fans of Love Island - ITV has announced it will be back next year. Bosses have ordered a third season of one of the summer's most talked about shows. Its second run is thought to have doubled last year's viewing figures, with an average of 1.3 million people watching each episode. "We can't wait to do it all again next year," said ITV Studios creative director Richard Cowles. Although the series officially finished last night with Nathan Massey and Cara De La Hoyde crowned champions, it will return for a special episode on Sunday 17 July. Love Island: Heading Home will follow the islanders as they're reunited at the wrap party. Which will no doubt mean clashes as exes come face-to-face

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  • Russia to send flagship aircraft carrier to Syria coast

    Russia’s defense minister said on Wednesday that Moscow was dispatching its flagship aircraft carrier to bolster its forces in the eastern Mediterranean off Syria. The Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier would be sent to join Russia’s current naval deployment there, minister Sergei Shoigu said during a televised meeting. “Currently the Russian naval deployment to the east Mediterranean consists of no less than six battleships and three or four support vessels,” he said. “In order to bolster the military capabilities of the group we plan to add the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier to the group,” Shoigu said, without specifying a timeframe.  Bombing campaign Last Update: Wednesday, 21 September

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