Rafael Nadal pulls out of Mexican Open with hip injury

World number two Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the Mexican Open after a recurrence of the injury that saw him retire from January's Australian Open. The 16-time grand slam champion was due to face fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the opening round on Wednesday in Acapulco.
Nadal retired in the fifth set of his quarter-final against Marin Cilic in Melbourne last month with a hip injury.
"My goal and hope was to play in this tournament," said the 31-year-old.
"Unfortunately, in my last training session yesterday, I felt a sharp pain in my leg again."

Unrest in Maldives: Tourism sector witnesses large-scale layoffs

The tourism sector in Maldives is paying a huge price due to the large-scale layoff that is taking place as resorts are receiving significant cancellations from tour operators. A majority of resorts and hotels in the island nation are facing over 40 per cent room cancellations per day, which directly affect the employees. Recently, the Liveaboard Association of Maldives (LAM) raised concern over the effect on tourism due to political issues.
"We, as an organisation formed to develop, promote and advocate on behalf of a sector in tourism, believe that a responsible role must be played by all involved in the political environment in protecting the competitive tourism industry".

Espanyol beats Real Madrid for the first time in over a decade

Gerard Moreno scored an injury-time winner as Espanyol beat Real Madrid for the first time in over a decade. Real had won five games in a row but rested Cristiano Ronaldo and were made to pay for a below-par performance. Espanyol probably edged the game and Moreno had a first-half goal ruled out for a marginal offside call. Real defender Sergio Ramos was playing as an extra striker at the end as Moreno controlled Sergio Garcia's cross before smashing the ball home.

Boxer dies shortly after victory match

Ring legend Ricky Hatton led the tributes after professional boxer Scott Westgarth died following his fight on Saturday night. The 31-year-old light-heavyweight was taken ill after returning backstage following his points victory over Dec Spelman at Doncaster Dome.
At different points in the fight, which was at times brutal, both men were knocked down to the canvas. Westgarth, after being announced as the winner, completed his post-fight interviews before stumbling to the back, where paramedics were called to his aid and he was taken to hospital.

Man marries two women same day (Photos)

An Abia State man simply known as Master Ejindu is married. Ejindu didn't get married like an every day person, he made his double! He got married to two women on February 25, 2018 at Agbala Amangwu Amogudu in Abiriba, Abia State, Nigeria in the presence of his family and friends and that of the other two women!
More photos below...

Bolt reveals he has signed for a football team

Usain Bolt has announced he has 'signed for a football team' and will disclose who he has joined tomorrow, February 27. The eight-time gold medal Olympian is a well known fan of Manchester United and has previously had a trial with German side Borussia Dortmund in a bid to kickstart his football career.

At the age of 31, the sprinter is eyeing a fresh challenge having retired from the athletics track following the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London. After his disclosure, fans have been quick to speculate as to who will be the team Bolt has chosen to represent with United, Dortmund, Arsenal, Real Madrid and even Accrington Stanley suggested.

Missouri third-graders selling AR-15 raffle tickets for their baseball team

Children in a Missouri town are selling raffle tickets offering an AR-15 assault-style rifle as the prize to raise money for their baseball team. The rifle is the same type of weapon used last week in the Florida school shooting that killed 17 people. The raffle was launched before the shooting, but Levi Patterson, the coach of the team in Neosho for boys 9 and younger, told The Kansas City Star he plans to continue with the fundraiser.
Patterson said he decided to “turn it into a positive thing” after “getting the hate” in the form of angry Facebook posts after the raffle was first reported.

Bill Cosby loses 44-year-old daughter

The daughter of Bill Cosby, Ensa Cosby is dead. She passed away on Friday night at the age of 44.
TMZ reports that Ensa Cosby died in Massachusetts, where the family has a large estate. A spokesperson for her father, Andrew Wyatt, announced on Monday afternoon that her death was caused by renal disease, with Ensa having suffered from kidney problems throughout her life.
Her passing comes one month before her father is set to be retried on rape charges in Pennsylvania this April. This is the second child Cosby has lost, with son Ennis having been murdered in 1997 during a botched carjacking in Los Angeles. Ensa is survived by her parents Bill and Camille, her siblings Erika, Erinn and Evin and her husband Martin McLean.

'Plogging'…the new fitness trend that keeps both humans and mother earth healthy!

The newest fitness craze is supposed to improve the health of both humans and Mother Earth. It’s called “plogging,” and requires people to pick up trash while on a run. The term is a portmanteau of jogging and “plocka upp,” Swedish for “pick up,”according to The Washington Post. Plogging started in Sweden, but has started to pick up followers all over the world, based on the many Instagram photos that are popping up with the #plogging hashtag. Plogging has benefits beyond the sense of self-satisfaction that comes from making the world a slightly cleaner place: It actually burns more calories than merely jogging.

10 things that happen before your plane can take off

Sitting in the terminal building waiting to be called for our flight is a regular occurrence for most of us -- but what's really going on out there on the ramp while we're inside staring at our phones?
The jet that will carry you to your destination has likely just arrived from somewhere else. When it lands, it'll undergo a turnaround, changing from an arriving to a departing flight.
There are vehicles and people on the ramp, ready to get your flight back in the air quickly -- after all, a plane doesn't make money sitting on the ground.
Here are the 10 steps from arrival to take-off:

1. Parking the plane
As soon as a plane lands and clears the active runway, the pilots receive taxi instructions from ground controllers. Large airports can have complex and confusing taxiway layouts, while some airports simply have a runway and a ramp area.

Samuel Jackson calls President Trump a 'Mothaf***a' over his suggestion to arm teachers with guns

Hollywood actor Samuel L. Jackson has torn apart President Donald Trump’s idea to arm some teachers in a bid to prevent school shootings.  Jackson joined the growing chorus of critics of the plan with this tweet on Friday that reads, 'Can someone that’s been in a Gunfight tell that Muthafukka that’s Never been in a Gunfight, the flaws of his Arm The Teachers plan?'.

Nigeria: FG confirms 110 female students unaccounted for in #Dapchi, vows to rescue them

The Federal Government has confirmed that 110 students of the Government Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe State, are so far unaccounted for, after insurgents believed to be from a faction of Boko Haram invaded their school on Monday 19 Feb. 2018). A statement from the office of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, , says the Minister announced the figure after a meeting between a Federal Government Delegation and representatives of key stakeholders, including the state government, the college, the parents, security agencies and
Bursari local government, where Dapchi is situated, in Damaturu today February 25th. He said, based on the briefings from the Principal of the College, Hajia Adama Abdulkarim, and the state Commissioner for Education, Hon. Mohammed Lami, 906 students - out of whom 110 have not been accounted for - were in the school on the day of the attack.

Ghanaian king who rules his people via Skype in southern Germany builds a jail for women in the town

King Togbe Ngoryifia Cephas Kosi Bansah, who rules over 300,000 people in the Hohoe, east of Ghana from a city in southern Germany, has built a jail for women in the town, the German Press Agency (DPA) reports. The 69-year-old monarch, who has lived in Ludwigshafen since 1970, said the town has no jail only for women.
“Male and female detainees of all ages were held there and the women were subjected to sexual assault by the men,” he said. “This was an unacceptable situation - we needed to build cells for women.” he said.

Picture of the day

.....News Anchor Has To Wing It When Pink Bird Flies On Her Head

Teenage mum went shopping at Victoria’s Secret with dead baby she killed

A mother who went shopping for sexy underwear in a Victoria’s Secret store with her dead baby stuffed into her handbag has been jailed. According to NY Post,Security guards suspected teenager Tiona Rodriguez of shoplifting and noticed a foul smell coming from her bag at a store in Manhattan, New York. However when they inspected her bag they found the gruesome source of the smell – a tiny decomposing baby. The teenager is said to have killed her baby after she delivered it in a bathroom in her friend’s house in Queens. Rodriguez has now been jailed for 16 years.
She was sentenced on Thursday after pleading guilty to manslaughter in January in what the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said was a ‘shocking’ case. It emerged that Rodriguez had deliberately killed the newborn child after delivering the baby in the bathroom of her friend’s apartment in Queens. She was 17 at the time, according to the New York Post .

Four killed in Leicester shop explosion, cause yet to be determined: British Police

Four people were killed in an explosion and fire at a three-storey building in the central English city of Leicester, police said on Monday.
"At this stage, there are four confirmed fatalities and four people remain in hospital, one with serious injuries," Leicestershire police said in a statement about the blast on Sunday evening.
Officers said there was no indication the explosion was related to terrorism but the cause had yet to be determined. Firefighters worked through the night to control the blaze, which tore through the building in a residential area west of Leicester's city centre. Police Superintendent Shane O'Neill warned that the toll may yet rise further.
"We believe there may be people who have not yet been accounted for and rescue efforts continue in order to locate any further casualties," he said.
Pictures and videos posted on social media showed a property engulfed in flames, with rubble and debris scattered around.

Weinstein Co. set to file for bankruptcy as sale talks collapse

As Weinstein Co. suffers losses one after another, in another development, it will now file for bankruptcy protection after a bid to sell its assets to an investor group collapsed, the company's board of directors said Sunday night. In a statement, the board said: "While we recognize that this is an extremely unfortunate outcome for our employees, our creditors and any victims, the Board has no choice but to pursue the only viable option to maximize the company's remaining value: an orderly bankruptcy process."

Woman defecates inside police cruiser to hide drugs

A Texas woman arrested with drugs was forced to use plan number two. Corsicana police responded to the local HEB to investigate a theft and later detained 32-year-old Shannen Shunta Martin at the grocery store,NY Daily reports. Officers said she resisted the arrest, but they eventually subdued her and managed to get her inside of the police cruiser, according to a statement from the police department.
“During transport, the suspect intentionally defecated in her pants and then concealed 2.3 grams of crack cocaine, a crack pipe and 1 Valentine’s Day card in the defecation,” the statement reads.
The officers were then forced to sift through her mess and retrieve the evidence. Martin was charged with two felonies, including tampering with evidence and possession of a controlled substance.
The Corsicana Police Department issued a blunt warning to others in light of the arrest: “This is scientific proof that drugs will fry your brain folks.”

Father slashed his own throat in court as he was convicted of abusing his own daughter

A father reportedly slashed his own throat in court after being convicted of sexually abusing his daughter in England. the Leicester Mercury reported."
The man had smuggled a razor blade into court and when he was convicted by a jury of several counts of assault of his six-year-old daughter at Leicester Crown Court the man began to slash at his own throat in the court dock. As he slashed himself, his ex-partner shouted: "Go on b****** do it".
the Leicester Mercury reported. Custody officers acted fast and wrestled the man to the ground before he was taken to the hospital, the Leicester Mercury reported."

Grandmother who thought she was dying of dementia blew entire £10k life savings but doctors later reveal she was misdiagnosed

A 62-year-old grandmother has been left penniless after she spent her life's savings thinking she was dying, only to later receive the news that she was misdiagnosed.  In Novermber 2016, Jackie Dibb, was told by doctors that she had a maximum of five years to live because she was suffering from an incurable dementia. The doctors told her to enjoy the rest of her life and she took their advice and went on a spending spree.