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Katy Perry burst into tears as Hillary Clinton presented her with an award for her charity work at UNICEF's annual Snowflake Ball. The US singer was handed the Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian prize by Mrs Clinton, who said she had "the spirit and the energy and the compassion that Audrey Hepburn brought to her work from UNICEF". In her acceptance speech Ms Perry praised Mrs Clinton, adding her work with UNICEF had given her "an international focus to her purpose". Mrs Clinton got a sustained standing ovation from the cheering crowd for her surprise appearance, which was her second public engagement since losing the election. Ms Perry, who was named UNICEF's "goodwill ambassador" for 2013, was an avid supporter of Ms Clinton's campaign for the White House, which she lost to Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Construction of a life-size replica of the Titanic has begun at a Mediterranean-themed attraction in China. The company behind it, Seven Star Energy Investment Group, said it should be completed by late next year. The copy of the famous, doomed liner will be part of the Romandisea Seven Star International Cultural Tourism Resort, along the Qijiang River in Sichuan Province's Daying County.  As well as providing a feel of what the vessel was like, the attraction will also provide visitors with a simulation of the original Titanic's collision with an iceberg and subsequent sinking.  Veteran Hollywood production designer and producer Curtis Schnell, who is working on the project, said it was being done in a "very respectful way", adding that the Titanic was more than "just a ship". "We're trying to get as close as we can," he said.  "There are still problems with some things, and we are not building every room in the ship by any...

Six suspects have been arrested after 12 people - 11 schoolgirls and a teacher - died in a fire at a secondary school dormitory in southern Turkey. Authorities are investigating the blaze which ripped through the sleeping quarters of the premises in Adana on Tuesday night. The fire exit to the room was locked or could not be opened, the mayor of the city said. Huseyin Sozlu told Turkish television that most of the dead were recovered from near the door. A further 22 people were injured in the blaze and required hospital treatment. The boarding school pupils were in the dormitory - which was run by a Sunni Muslim sect - because their own state-run dormitory had been demolished ahead of a rebuild. An electrical fault has been blamed for causing the fire, which spread rapidly due to the wooden structures and carpeted floors in the building. All of the girls were said to be under 14, with the youngest aged just four, according to the Dog...

Canadian singer Abel Tesfaye popularly known as  The Weeknd is truly a starboy as his anticipated third studio album, ‘starboy’ emerges No. 1 in the charts of over 80 countries across the world. The album achieved the feat in less than 24 hours of its release. The Weeknd himself expressed his amazement to such accomplishment by writing on Instagram: ”So f**king surreal !!!!! Number 1 in over 80 countries and counting. Special thanks to everyone that worked on the album !” The ‘Earned It’ singer held a listening party for the album launch which was attended by various celebrities. Singles from the album include ‘Starboy’, which features guest appearances from French electronic duo Daft Punk, and ‘False Alarm’. Prior to the launch of the album, the 26-year-old released a short film titled ‘Mania’.

Popular Warri pidgin English Lyricist and entertainer, Erigga, has inked a new record deal with Emirate Empire run by Anonymous Man and Associate, and the deal is said to be worth millions of Naira. Speaking from the set of his music video-shoot for his forthcoming single ‘Cooperate’, with Clarence Peters, shot at a luxury Beach in Lagos, Erigga told his publicist that he’s excited about the new deal because it came with so many goodies and that finally his new and old fans should expect epic moves from him. Erigga Paperboi fondly called “King of the South” by his fans is currently the most sought after rapper from South-South Nigeria and was nominated for ‘Lyricist on the Roll’ and ‘Best Street Hop’ in 2012 Headies.

Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang on Wednesday pardoned over 4,000 prisoners, the deputy chairman of the President’s Office has confirmed. The deputy chairman, Giang Son said at a press conference in Hanoi that the pardons, which were expected in the run-up to January’s Lunar New Year holiday, included 4,180 inmates convicted of an array of crimes. Son added that the prisoners had been vetted in a “strict approval process” to ensure they were at a low risk of re-offending. Lt.-Gen. Nguyen Bang of the Ministry of Public Security told newsmen that pardon recipients were mainly well-behaved prisoners. “”Although rights group maintain that Vietnam holds scores of political prisoners, it was unclear if any were included in Wednesday’s pardoning,’’ Bang noted. New York-based organisation Human Rights Watch said in December 2015 that Vietnam was holding no fewer than 130 prisoners of conscience. However, Hanoi maintained that only those who broke the law were imprisoned and denied holding a...

The morning-after pill should be made available to buy off the pharmacy shelf to avoid "unnecessary and embarrassing" consultations, experts have said. Women in the UK can pay £30 for the birth-control tablet - up to five times more than women in Europe - according to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS). This is partly because of the mandatory consultation required at UK pharmacists before the pill can be bought. BPAS said the pill can cost as little as seven euro (£6) in France, and is available to buy straight from the shelf in other countries including the US. Ann Furedi, BPAS chief executive, said it was a "sexist surcharge" and called on the Department of Health to launch a review. She said: "It is utterly stupid that we have made a medication which gives women a second chance of avoiding an unwanted pregnancy so hard to obtain. "There is no financial justification for the high price of this pill, nor clinical reason for a co...

A fisherman has been seriously injured after he was bitten by a shark he had caught off the Australian coast. Paramedics said the victim, aged in his 70s, was in a boat alone off Queenscliff, in Victoria, when he was attacked by the 1.5m (5ft) shark on Tuesday. The man was reportedly bitten after pulling the broadnose sevengill shark into his boat. He is understood to have driven the vessel 1.2 miles to a marina to get medical help. He was then flown by helicopter to The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne in a serious condition. Medics said he had lost a lot of blood but was conscious after arriving in the marina. TV pictures showed him lying on a mobile stretcher talking to medical staff. Sevengill sharks are known to be aggressive if provoked, and thrash and snap if caught. A witness, Roseanne Ott, said: "He's had a bad brush with a shark but, you know, there are beautiful creatures in the water as well, and it's just unfortunate that the poor shark is ...

Islamic State fighters are killing civilians who refuse to let them put rocket launchers on the roofs of Mosul homes, the UN says. A United Nations human rights spokeswoman said that the militant group was also murdering people living in the Iraqi city who try to prevent them placing snipers on the roofs of their houses. Others who have been killed by the group, also known as ISIL, are those suspected of leaking information or trying to flee, Ravina Shamdasani told a regular UN briefing. She said: "On November 11, ISIL reportedly shot and killed 12 civilians in Bakir neighbourhood of eastern Mosul city for allegedly refusing to let it install rockets on the rooftops of their houses." Iraqi troops have pushed into the east of the city, but it is expected to take weeks of fighting, if not months, to regain full control.  Brigadier General Haider Fadhil of Iraq's special forces said his men on Monday has now taken 60% of Mos...

Beyonce won four of the top categories at the 2016 Soul Train Awards, including best song for Formation and album for Lemonade. The 35-year old singer also took home Best R&B Soul Female Artist and Video of the Year for Formation. This year's ceremony took place at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday night, and was hosted by Black Lives Matter supporter and Grammy-Award winning singer Erykah Badu. US artist chance the rapper won best new artist.  Badu honoured new jack swing musician Teddy Riley with the evening's highest prize, the Legend Award. Riley also performed at the ceremony, as did Brandy and Dru Hill, two artists who dominated the R&B scene in the 1990s. After receiving the Lady of Soul award from Jill Scott, Brandy performed a medley of some of her biggest hits. Queen Bey released her sixth studio album Lemonade in April. The visual album released on Tidal focused on social justice issues such as rac...

Robbie Williams has revealed he has been giving away his Brit Awards, including one to Wayne Rooney. The 42-year-old singer has won 17 Brits during his solo career and in his time with Take That. He said he doesn't feel the need to keep all the statues. "I've given them away," he told Radio Times magazine. "Dad's got one, my mum's got a couple, Wayne Rooney's got one..." He said he gave the Manchester United star one after he suffered an injury. "I was stoned and Wayne got injured in a match, and I shouted to my manager: 'Michael, will you send a Brit to Wayne Rooney? Tell him to get better from me'," he said. "It was like those shopping decisions you make on Amazon when you're on Ambien. "But it was well intentioned, and he sent me a pair of signed football boots. So, good deal!" Williams also told how antidepressants are helping "to put his demons to bed". He explained he we...

A student who reportedly drove his car into a crowd of people on a US university campus and then stabbed them with a butcher knife is being investigated over a Facebook rant apparently posted shortly before the attack. Somali-born Abdul Razak Ali Artan, who was a legal permanent US resident, was shot dead by a police officer outside an engineering building at Ohio State University in Columbus on Monday. Eleven people were injured - one critically - after he allegedly drove his small Honda over a kerb and then began stabbing people. Authorities said they were investigating whether it was a terrorist attack, amid claims the student may have been "self-radicalised". US Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the attack "bears all of the hallmarks of a terror attack carried out by someone who may have been self-radicalised". A post on what appears to be Artan's Facebook page claimed he had reached "bo...

An emergency has been declared in Colombia after a plane carrying members of a Brazilian football team crashed with 81 on board. Colombia's civil aviation association said rescuers were moving survivors away from the site of the crash.  Medellin's international airport said on its Twitter account that the aircraft had left from Bolivia. The city's mayor, Federico Gutierrez, told Blu Radio: "It's a tragedy of huge proportions." Local media has reported that the charter aircraft was carrying members of Brazil Serie A side Chapecoense, who were scheduled to play in the Copa Sudamerica finals against Atletico National in Medellin on Wednesday. It is believed to have come down in a mountainous area outside Medellin shortly before midnight local time.

OPEC members will seek to give oil prices a boost in Vienna on Wednesday by nailing down their first output cut in eight years, although a deal is far from certain. Failure to get an accord could send oil prices tumbling and reignite debate about the purpose of the 56-year-old Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Not getting a deal “could be the end of OPEC”, energy analyst Alexandre Andlauer told AFP. Pessimism about prospects for an agreement sent oil prices lower on Friday. In September the cartel agreed in principle to lower production to 32.5-33.0 million barrels per day (bpd), meaning a cut of between 600,000 and 1.1 million bpd. This, OPEC’s 14 members hope, will reduce the mammoth global supply glut and so increase the market price of oil from its current painful level of below $50 a barrel. It also marks a reversal of OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia’s two-year-old strategy of flooding the market to squeeze out rivals, in particular US shale oil producers. Saudi Energy ...

The makers of a controversial app, which the NSPCC fears could put children at risk of predators, have told Sky News they are developing tools "to avoid deviant behaviours". Yellow has been compared to the dating app Tinder, as users swipe right and left on profiles to connect with strangers.  Unlike Tinder, which has a minimum age of 18, Yellow has no age checks. Under 18s can only speak to other under 18s on the app, but there's no mechanism to stop adults lying about their age and pretending to be children It has led to concerns that Yellow, which claims to have five million users, puts children at risk of predators. In a statement, the creators of the app played down these fears.   "As a matter of fact, we are looking for the best compromise between privacy and users' security."  They said that Yellow is not a location-based dating application. But in their own marketing material, they call Yellow a "virtual flirting app". The m...

Sir Roger Moore has said he could appear in another James Bond movie. Speaking to an audience at the Southbank Centre in London, Sir Roger, who is the longest serving actor to play the MI6 agent, denied he had received any offers. But he did not rule out appearing in a future Bond film in a cameo role, saying it would give him the opportunity to "expand the family coffers". Sir Roger, 89, paid tribute to Daniel Craig and Sean Connery who he described as the best actors to have filled the tuxedo of the world's most celebrated spy. He told the packed auditorium: "I think that Sean was obviously the great Bond. "He was obviously the right person, he brought the right personality to the performance, otherwise Bond would not have gone on past the first six that he did. He was a tremendous Bond. "Today, I think we're very lucky to have Daniel Craig because he is quite extraordinary, I always say that Sean looked like a killer - but Daniel Cr...

Donald Trump has claimed he would have won the US popular vote were it not for the "millions of people who voted illegally" amid claims over the legitimacy of his election victory. The President-elect criticised the decision to hold a recount in Wisconsin, calling it a "waste of time" as his aides hit back at speculation over the electoral process. In a series of tweets, he quoted Hillary Clinton about the need to respect the result of the election, before adding: "In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally." Mr Trump had warned before the election that the result might be "rigged", but did not repeat the claim after his unexpected victory on 8 November. He did not offer any evidence to back up his claim, and did not explain why he opposed the Wisconsin recount if illegal voting was a serious problem. Election observers have not pointed...

Results have begun to trickle in from the various wards where voting have ended in the Governorship election in Ondo state. The RESULT from Akure South ward 3, polling unit 024A— (1) FUTA GATE, AKINDEKO HALL.. ACCORD-2 AD-15 APC-35 PDP-20 SDP-2 (2) Elegiri/Ifedore LGA PDP- 37 APC-23 AD- 6 ADC- 2 PPA- 1 (3) Ward 9 unit 22, Akure south APC 46 Pdp 43 Ad 16 (4) Fagun Ondo Ward 11,Unit 1. Ad: 26 APC: 30 PDP: 104 (5)Akungba LGA Ward 10, Pu 14 Apc 192. PDP 115, AD 76 SDP 41 (6)Unit 15b, Ward 7, ONDO WEST. APC-29, AD-16 PDP-47 (7)LAGBOJA UNIT 010 ODE AYE WARD2 APC 77, AD 68, PDP 91 (8)Ward 6 unit 1, Akure South, Ilekun Oda Road. AD 44, PDP 50, APC 53. (9)Unit 3, Ward 11, ONDO WEST (LA 2): PDP 86, APC 44, AD 26 (11)Igboroko II, Ward 3, Unit 11 APC: 113 PDP: 9 AD: 3 SDP: NCP: 1 PPA: 1 LP: 1 (12) Results in… Unit 17 Igboroko (Ahmadiya grammar school) 2 ward 3 Owo LG. AD…. 01 PDP…..05 APC….. 262. (13)Unit 15, Ward 7, ONDO WEST (St. Paul).. APC-32, AD-19, PDP-59 (14)Unit 15a, Ward 7, ONDO WEST (St...

LARGE turn out of voters charcterised Saturday’s governorship election across Ondo state. Reports have it that the electorate trooped out, in ‎the three senatorial district area of the state, in large numbers. Security arrangement was impressive while voting materials arrived the polling units ‎on time. #OndoDecides: Trending photos

Japan plans to build the world's fastest-known supercomputer to help develop cutting edge driverless cars and robots. The country will spend 19.5 billion yen (£139m) on the computer, which should make 130 quadrillion calculations per second. That is 130 petaflops in scientific parlance. Shinzo Abe wants Japan to lead the field in artificial intelligence It is part of a government policy to keep up with South Korea and China, currently home to the world's best-performing machine. The country's engineers will be tasked with building the machine as early as next year, sources told Reuters. At 130 petaflops, Japan's computer would be ahead of China's Sunway Taihulight, which is capable of 93 petaflops. "As far as we know, there is nothing out there that is as fast," said Satoshi Sekiguchi, from Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, where the computer will be ...

The Weeknd has released a short film featuring previews of songs from his latest album Starboy - out on Friday. The short 12-minute film - called Mania - features five collaborations between the singer and other artists, and lots of blood. All I Know featuring Future plays at the beginning of the video. That is followed by Sidewalks, featuring Kendrick Lamar - as the singer drives to a club where Lana Del Rey's collaboration Party Monster is heard playing. For the film's final credit scene, The Weeknd performs Daft Punk's I Feel It Coming, next to model Anais Mali. The short movie was directed by Grant Singer, responsible for all previous Weeknd music videos including Starboy and Can't Feel My Face. The Canadian artist's eagerly-anticipated Starboy album is due to drop this Friday, and he has already shared full versions of four tracks It was revealed earlier this month that the album's name is a tribute to the late David Bowie. This ...

Vladimir Putin has expressed his hopes for improving relations between Moscow and Washington as he personally granted a Russian passport to Hollywood star Steven Seagal. "I want to congratulate you and express the hope that this is another, albeit small, gesture and it might be a sign of the gradual normalisation of relations between our countries," the Russia president said to the US actor and director as the document was handed over. "Spasibo bolshoye," replied Seagal (thank you very much). The Kremlin released a transcript of their conversation, with Mr Putin saying they had been discussing citizenship for "quite a while". Seagal, 64, who has Russian heritage and is a regular visitor to the country, has been a vocal supporter of Mr Putin, who earlier this month signed an order  granting his Russian citizenship. In the 1990s the star opened a branch of the restaurant chain Planet Hollywood in Moscow, and has since participated in a number ...