Commonwealth Games 2014: Glasgow’s big night comes by royal appointment

The Queen will attend opening ceremony of event that presents an invigorating antidote to some of the grating commercialism of mainstream sport

It was a papal document that encapsulated the standard to which Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games aspire.

“A place of renown,” read the Vatican’s edict of 1451, establishing a university in the city, “where the air is mild and the victuals are plenty.” Truly, Pope Nicholas V could not have put it any better than if he had been describing a summer’s night on Sauciehall Street.

For Glasgow, aptly for a place once heralded as the ‘Second City of the Empire’, finds itself enveloped by a Commonwealths fever.

Not, mercifully, the gastroenteritic variety that plagued the last Games in Delhi – although the athletes’ village in the East End has reported more than 50 cases of the norovirus – but the same avid, fervent, immersive fascination with the spectacle that marked the 2006 instalment in Melbourne.

Louis van Gaal has brought positive energy to Manchester United, claims executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward

Ed Woodward, the man responsible for hiring Louis Van Gaal to Old Trafford, insists there is a feel-good factor surrounding what he describes as 'the biggest club in the world'

Louis van Gaal takes charge of Manchester United for the first time in the early hours of Thursday morning with the man who sealed his appointment claiming that the Dutchman’s “aura” is already banishing memories of David Moyes’s disastrous year-long reign as manager.

Exactly a week after arriving at Old Trafford following his run to the World Cup semi-finals with Holland, Van Gaal’s United face LA Galaxy at the Pasadena Rose Bowl aiming to take their first steps towards erasing from memory a miserable campaign last season.

Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice-chairman, insisted that the Dutchman’s arrival had generated a feel-good factor within the club, claiming that the 62-year-old’s philosophy was “in sync” with the traditions of a club still coming to terms with the underachievement and turmoil of last season which led to the team finishing seventh in the Premier League and missing out on European qualification for the first time since the Eighties.

Indonesian president-elect Jokowi calls for unity after bitter election

       Indonesian presidential candidate Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo (C) walks while waiting for the results announcement by              the   Elections Commission, at Waduk Pluit in Jakarta July 22, 2014

Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was declared the winner of Indonesia's presidential election on Tuesday, bringing the promise of major reforms to the world's third largest democracy.

The Elections Commission, known as KPU, said the Jakarta governor had won by just over six percentage points, with 53.15 percent of the nearly 130 million votes cast on July 9.

It was the closest and most bitterly fought election in Indonesia's history, pitting Jokowi against former general Prabowo Subianto, whose promise of strong leadership brought echoes of decades under autocratic rule.

"This victory is a victory for all the people of Indonesia," the president-elect told hundreds of supporters gathered at a port on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta, chosen to emphasize his commitment to Indonesia's maritime potential.

T.B. Joshua Claims He Predicted the Malaysian Airlines MH17 Plane Crash

controversial Nigerian pastor T.B. Joshua has released a video claiming he had predicted the pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine will shot down an airplane several months earlier.

The pro-Russian militants apparently used a ground-to-air missile to shot down the Malaysian Airline flight MH17 last Thursday, killing all 295 people aboard.

Tic Tac keeps it real

Tic Tac is arguably one of the most famous Ghanaian artists and a pioneer of the Hip-Life movement, which opened doors for the current crop of artists we have today.

Although he has released a few singles recently, it has been long since he came out in full force. This is partly because of the new business ventures he is undertaking, and his behind-the-scenes work with MUSIGA. I tracked him down to find out more.

What have you been up to recently?

Tic: I’ve been doing my own thing. I wouldn’t say hibernating, but rather looking at the other side of things. I’ve been around, keeping busy in different ways.

You haven’t been necessarily active on the scene. How does it feel to sit back and observe?

Tic: Well it’s not bad, but I wouldn’t say I’m totally inactive. I still record and make music. I’ve been doing this for a very long time. It’s great to see how the industry has developed thanks to the work we put in years ago. As an artist grows, it gets to a time when you need to stabilise yourself. You get to the point when you need to concentrate on having a family and settling down. You need to start looking beyond the music, and see how to survive the future. It’s a bit confusing for some fans in this country when artists slow their roll a bit and concentrate on other things apart from music. At my age, and the pace at which things are moving, there are certain choices I have to make. I need to take it to the next level. I am doing that with careful planning, setting priorities and preparing my next wave of attack.