Syria accuses Israel of attack on Damascus airport

Syria on Friday accused Israel of firing rockets that hit near a major military airport west of Damascus, triggering a fire, and warned Tel Aviv of repercussions without specifying whether it would retaliate for the attack.

In a statement carried on the official news agency SANA, the military said several missiles were launched just after midnight from an area near Lake Tiberias that fell in the vicinity of the Mezzeh military airport on the western edge of the capital. It did not say whether there were any casualties.

Residents of Damascus reported hearing several explosions that shook the capital. The Mezzeh airport compound located on the southwestern edge of the capital had been used to launch attacks on rebel-held areas near Damascus and has come previously under rebel fire.

TOURISM REVIEW : TOBIX RECREATIONAL GARDEN AND PARK ABUJA @TOBIXGARDEN

Tobix Recreational Park and Garden is easily the most exclusive hangout for people who love outdoor fun and serene relaxation in Abuja. It is a multi-purpose park and a unique events centre built in 2012.

The two-acre park is a tapestry of beautiful and functional garden features such as the ever-green lawns,badminton court,event spaces, walk ways, topiaries of different shapes, sculpture, waterfalls, fountains, ponds, rock gardens, gazebos of different sizes of exotic trees, palms and flowers, it also has a children’s play ground equipped with play toys. The park is known for its expansive space for guests and it beauty.

Located along the Banex-Gwarinpa Express Road, just opposite ALIBERT Furnitures, our location is indeed a perfect place for family picnics, individual and group hangouts as well as romantic getaways.

We are surrounded, by plush green vegetation, large serene atmosphere and enough car parking space for everyone. And we’re only 300 metres away from NEXT Cash and Carry Supermarket, just along the same road. This destination has something for everyone.

British Rapper Bagged 23-Year Jail Term for Jailing, Raping and Torturing a Woman

A man who raped and tortured a woman while keeping her prisoner for three days last February has been jailed for 23 years.

Courtney Hutchinson, a rapper and actor who went by the alias DVS, will also remain on the sex offenders register for life.

Police say the severe level of violence demonstrated Hutchinson’s “total disregard for the victim as a human being”.

Best known for the songs Hometown and Passion, he also played the part of a gangster in the British film, The Intent. In one scene he brands a man with a hot iron, which was also one of the ways he tortured his victim in real life, causing her severe burns.

Despite her horrific injuries, the 20-year-old victim managed to escape from his house and ran naked into the street where a member of the public found her. She suffered a fractured eye socket, broken nose, internal bleeding, a dislocated shoulder and a stab wound to the hand.     

People who only exercise at weekends are 30% less likely to die early

Adults are advised to do 150 minutes of moderate workout each week to stay fit

Exercising just once or twice a week in middle-age slashes the risk of an early death, a major study has found.

‘Weekend warriors’ – those who are too busy to keep fit during the week – reduce their risk of dying from any cause by 30 per cent.

While those who make time to attend the gym or go for a jog each day only reap an extra five per cent benefit.

The findings, based on health data from more than 63,000 British adults, offers hope to the many adults in their 40s, 50s and 60s who exercise on Saturdays and Sundays.

The British Health Service (NHS) and World Health Organisation recommend people each week do at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise such as cycling, walking or gardening, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise such as running.

South Carolina’s Shooter Sentenced to Death for the Killing of Nine Black People

A US federal jury has sentenced Dylann Roof to death over the murders of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina.

Jurors took just three hours to pronounce the sentence yesterday, after last month finding Roof guilty of all 33 charges relating to the massacre at the African Methodist Episcopal Church in June 2015.

He is “the first person to face execution for a federal hate crime conviction”, reports The Guardian.

Roof, who had dismissed his legal team, delivered a “halting and cryptic closing argument”, the Washington Post reports, but “not once during his very brief remarks did [he] say he regretted his actions”.

Instead, he told jurors: “The prosecution and anyone else who hates me are the ones that have been misled.”

He added: “I think it’s safe to say that no one in their right mind wants to go into a church and kill people. I still feel like I had to do it.”

Several relatives of Roof’s victims welcomed the death sentence.

British singers Church, Ferguson snub Trump’s inauguration

British singers, Charlotte Church and Rebecca Ferguson, have rejected invitations from U.S. President-elect, Donald Trump’s team to perform at his inauguration next week, they said in separate statements on Tuesday. The rejections follow other apparent snubs by celebrities, including Elton John, whose publicist denied in November that he would be performing at the event after an economic adviser to Trump had said that he would.

 “@realDonaldTrump Your staff have asked me to sing at your inauguration, a simple Internet search would show I think you’re a tyrant. Bye,’’ wrote Church in a tweet she concluded with derogatory emojis. Tom Barrack, a longtime friend of Trump who is organising the Jan. 20 event, brushed aside suggestions that there would be a lack of star power at the Jan. 20 festivities. Barrack told reporters that Trump himself was “the greatest celebrity in the world’’ and that the inauguration committee was aiming for a “much more poetic cadence’’ rather than “a circus-like celebration that’s a coronation.’’ Trump’s inauguration committee did not reply to requests for comment about Church and Ferguson. Classical crossover singer Jackie Evancho, who rose to fame as a child performer on the TV show “America’s Got Talent’’ six years ago, has confirmed she would sing the U.S. national anthem at Trump’s inauguration.
 Church, who also began her career as a child classical singer, has spoken out in recent years about her left-leaning political views, and posted multiple tweets during the 2016 campaign criticising Trump. Ferguson, who gained prominence as a runner-up on the TV talent show “The X Factor’’ in 2010, said on Tuesday she too had refused to perform at Trump’s inauguration because her choice of the song “Strange Fruit’’ was rejected. 
The anti-racist song, which has been performed by the likes of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, protests against the lynching of African-Americans in the South in the early 20th century. “I requested to sing ‘Strange Fruit’ as I felt it was the only song that would not compromise my artistic integrity,’’ Ferguson said in a statement. “As music is so powerful, I wanted to try and help educate the people watching of where division and separation can lead to if not corrected. My aim was not to cause contention,’’ she said.

Messi Statue Vandalized

A statue of Lionel Messi in Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, has been broken in half, with the player’s upper body, arms and head removed, it has been reported.

The statue on the Paseo de la Gloria walkway overlooking the River Plate was severed at the waist leaving only the lower body and a ball.

City Hall said they do not know who was responsible or the motive for the damage.

“It was the victim of an act of vandalism,” the city’s culture secretariat said on Tuesday. “The city government is already working on repairs.”