A Strike Empties London’s Underground. Aboveground Is a Different Story.

More than two million commuters were thought to be affected by the walkout, which came amid cold, rainy weather, a falling pound and new fears over Britain’s plans to exit the European Union. Two separate industrial actions at British Airways and Southern Railway are also expected this week.

“Hard Brexit, pound plummet, Tube strike,” Alex Caldwell, a Londoner, wrote on Twitter, adding the hashtag #blueMonday.

As a consequence of the strike, Uber fares more than quadrupled, further raising the ire of Londoners and making Leicester Square, a major tourist hot spot, seem like a “Toyota Prius convention,” according to Chris Parsons, another commuter.

Transport for London, the Underground’s operator, provided river services — that is, boat rides across the Thames River. The company was also forced to wheel out its heritage buses — vintage double-deckers — to help ferry thousands of bus passengers, offering some a brief moment of delight.

MMA fighter War Machine 'beat porn star ex to pulp and sexually assaulted her after discussing rape fantasy'

A mixed martial arts fighter is to stand trial accused of brutally beating and sexually assaulting his porn star ex after the pair discussed acting out a rape fantasy.

Jonathan Koppenhaver is alleged to have beaten Christine Mackinday into a pulp and strangled her friend Corey Thomas to within an inch of his life after breaking into his former girlfriend's flat in 2014.

Mackinday, who starred in porn films under the name Christy Mack, posted photos of her horrific injuries on Twitter after the alleged assault in her Las Vegas home left her with 18 broken bones in her face, including a shattered eye socket.

A judge has ruled evidence the couple's discussion of rape fantasy can be heard in court after hearing Koppenhaver, 34, often bragged: "Real men rape."

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Mackinday told a defence lawyer at a hearing on Thursday: "That was a joke between us. That was a pretty common slogan for him to say, and yes, I would repeat it back to him.”

T.I. Writes Open Letter to Barack Obama: ‘Your Legacy Will Live On’

The rapper and actor Tip Harris, better known as T. I., has never hesitated to speak his mind or wade into controversy. But even by his standards, he has had something of an awakening in the past year, which has culminated in a planned series of open letters to President Obama, President-elect Donald J. Trump and America as a whole.

Pained by the high-profile killings of African-Americans at the hands of the police, Mr. Harris began to think about taking action. The tipping point may have come last summer when, within a day of each other, Philando Castile and Alton Sterling were fatally shot by police officers. He met with several activists, including Harry Belafonte and the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, to ask for advice. “The main thing is educating ourselves on the issues and just remaining aware,” Mr. Harris said of the lessons from those meetings.

In addition to speaking on panels, marching in protests and sharing political views on late-night talk shows, Mr. Harris released an EP, “Us or Else,” followed by a full album, “Us or Else: Letter to the System,” that bluntly addresses police harassment. Before releasing his first letter, a reflection on President Obama’s impact, on Friday, he spoke about his hopes for his writing, and the next president. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

G&D SMART BULBS

G&D Smart LED bulb is Nigeria's first portable and multi-functional power & money saving bulb, it can serve the functionality of an LED bulb, a handheld flashlight, a camping light, an emergency lantern and a power inverter. According to the company, the LED bulb that could revolutionize the very concept of providing lighting, as it is made using 18 LEDs. This allows the LED bulb to give a total lumen output of 900, which is equivalent to a 75 – 100 watt incandescent bulb or conventional bulb.

G&D LED bulb has life span of 40,000 hours lifeline  and promises a saving of 10-15 per cent more on energy and cost. Speaking to the Chairman of G&D smart bulbs,the parent company of the G&D construction brand said, “We are very pleased to launch G&D Smart Board. This is one of our best innovations yet, owing to the freedom of mobility and multiple functionality it offers. We believe that this innovation will lift every corner of the world out of darkness, sustainable. This little wonder bulb can light the world. The simplicity of its usage makes the bulb even more appealing to the user.”

52 car racers bag 6-month jail terms in Kano

Fifty two car racers in Kano have been summarily sentenced to six months imprisonment for attacking policemen.

The Kano State Police Command had earlier charged the 52 youths to court for pelting police officers who attempted to stop them from participating in car race during the just concluded New Year celebrations.

A statement by the spokesman of the command, Magaji Majiya, said the youths were arrested along Zoo Road area of the city in the early hours of January 1, planning “deadly car races”.

Cristiano Ronaldo beats Lionel Messi to win Fifa best player award

Cristiano Ronaldo was named the world's best player at the inaugural Best Fifa Football Awards in Zurich.

Real Madrid and Portugal forward Ronaldo, 31, beat Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann to the prize.

Ronaldo also won the Ballon d'Or in December, with both honours recognition for success in the Champions League with Real and Euro 2016 with Portugal.

Carli Lloyd of the United States was named the world's best female player.

Leicester's Claudio Ranieri was named best men's coach, ex-Germany boss Silvia Neid won the female coach award, while Penang's Mohd Faiz Subri received the Puskas award for the best goal of 2016.

Hold on... haven't we already had the Ballon d'Or?

Mike Tyson Is Training Chris Brown and 'Gonna Teach Him Every Dirty Trick in the Book'

This Chris Brown/Soulja Boy fight is ascending to levels we never thought imaginable.

First, it was a little back-and-forth bickering on social media. Now, it’s turned into a full-fledged bout. The two aren’t going into the fight though without outside assistance.

After it was reported that Floyd Mayweather was siding with Soulja Boy in his efforts to win a fight against Breezy, CB turned around and reportedly hired Mike Tyson as his trainer. Iron Mike took to Instagram to announce the news.

“It’s confirmed, I just got off the phone with Frenchie and Chris Brown,” he told his followers in a video. “I’m training Chris, he chose me as his trainer to take on Soulja Boy.”

He also addressed Soulja directly and said that anything is possible when it comes to fighting a disciple of his.