Tony Blair has denied ever planning to intervene in Zimbabwe and topple Robert Mugabe after Thabo Mbeki, South Africa’s former president, claimed that he was asked to help such an operation.

The former Prime Minister took the unusual step of denying Mr Mbeki’s version of events, recounted in an interview with al-Jazeera.

World cup stadium collapse

At least two people have been killed in a partial collapse at the stadium due to host the World Cup opener in Brazil next year.

Part of the grandstand was destroyed when a metal structure buckled at the top of the Arena Corinthians venue in Sao Paulo.

Local media reported that the accident was caused by a crane collapse. Construction work has been halted at the site.

BRITISH and Portuguese police together as one team

BRITISH and Portuguese police should join together as one team in their investigations into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, London's Metropolitan Police Commissioner says.

Currently Scotland Yard is running its own inquiry into what happened to the little girl, who vanished while holidaying with her parents in Praia da Luz in 2007, while the Portuguese authorities have their own investigation.

court order US hot sauce factory must cut smell

A US judge has ordered a factory that produces the popular Sriracha chilli sauce to stop emitting annoying odours in a ruling that has left some nearby residents worried about a possible loss of jobs at the site.

Judge Robert H. O'Brien on Tuesday ruled in favour of the city of Irwindale, where Sriracha recently relocated, saying sauce maker Huy Fong Foods must stop any operations that could be causing the odours and make unspecified changes to mitigate them.

Madrid wins without CR7

Real Madrid overcame the sending off of Sergio Ramos to record an impressive 4-1 win over Galatasaray on a night Cristiano Ronaldo was forced to watch from the stands.

Goals from Gareth Bale, Alvaro Arbeloa, Angel Di Maria and Isco sealed an emphatic win for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, cancelling out Umut Bulut’s first half opener and the sending off of Ramos.

United demolish Leverkusen to cruise into round 16

Manchester United qualified for the knockout phase of the Champions League with a thumping 5-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen.

Despite being without Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick, the visitors put forth their best shift in the David Moyes era, although their opposition was as poor as they will face in Europe.

Bayern win 10th in a row

Bayern Munich shrugged off an injury crisis to beat CSKA Moscow 3-1 in Russia and extend their winning Champions League streak to a record 10 matches.

In horrible  conditions on a terrible pitch, Arjen Robben opened the scoring with a neat finish from Thomas Mueller’s cut-back.

Bayern – who had already qualified – were having more of the possession but fewer opportunities, with Keisuke Honda missing two gilt-edged chances in quick succession early in the second half.

IF I LOOSE I WILL QUIT...

The Portuguese  cheseal born coach jose mourinho this morning said in an interview with news alert express that this weekend will put his coaching career at test and online if he fail to win the match.

US Secretary of State John Kerry will fly to Geneva to join talks on Iran's nuclear program Friday, a sign that the negotiations might have made progress.

Royal surprise for a Dutch master plantsman

Piet Oudolf, creator of the High Line in New York and many other influential gardens, received the annual Prince Bernhard Cultural Foundation Award in Amsterdam last week.

Peter Okoye gushes over his beautiful wife, Lola Okoye; read his wedding vow to her

The just married ‘Alingo’ crooner posted this very lovely photo of his wife Lola Okoye nee Omotayo on his Instagram page….

“I am very excited today because I am getting married to a very wonderful woman. She is a very strong woman who has stuck by me through it all. I know she will make me a happy man”

US-Iran clinch interim nuclear deal: Blow to Israel and Saudi Arabia; relief for India

WASHINGTON: The United States plus five world powers reached a landmark deal with Iran on Sunday to curtail the Persian country's purported march towards nuclear weapons.

U.S., Japan slam China's 'destabilizing' move on East China Sea airspace

 Japan and ally the United States sharply criticized China's move to impose new rules on airspace over islands at the heart of a territorial dispute with Tokyo, warning of an escalation into the "unexpected" if Beijing enforces the rules.
China's government-run Xinhua news agency published coordinates for a newly established "East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone," which covers most of that sea and includes the skies over the disputed islands.
Beijing warned that it would take "defensive emergency measures" against aircraft that failed to identify themselves properly in the airspace.
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said the move was unacceptable. "It could well lead to an unforeseen situation," he told reporters on Sunday.
Ties between the Asian powers, the world's second and third biggest economies, have been strained for months by the dispute over the islands in the East China Sea, called the Diaoyu by China and the Senkaku by Japan. The islands are currently under Japanese administrative control.
Saturday's announcement suggests that foreign aircraft merely passing through that zone would have to follow China's procedures - or face unknown, potentially dangerous consequences.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged China to exercise caution and restraint, saying freedom of overflight was essential to stability and security in the Pacific.
"We urge China not to implement its threat to take action against aircraft that do not identify themselves or obey orders from Beijing," he said in a statement.
"We remain steadfastly committed to our allies and partners, and hope to see a more collaborative and less confrontational future in the Pacific."
A U.S.-Japan security treaty commits Washington to intervene in defense of Japan if there is an attack on Japanese-administered territory. The United States has a hefty military presence in Japan, including on the southern island of Okinawa, which is close to the disputed isles.

Xinhua said in a commentary the "air zone could contribute to regional peace and security by curbing the increasing rampancy of Japan's right-wing forces, as well as the continuous and dangerous provocations of Japanese politicians, which even Washington should be vigilant against".

Tensions flared last year when the government bought three of the islands from a private landowner to fend off a potentially more inflammatory purchase by the Tokyo metropolitan government, at the time headed by nationalist governor Shintaro Ishihara.
Tokyo lodged a strong protest through the Chinese embassy, calling the action "totally unacceptable" and warning that the overlap of the air defense identification zone could lead to an "unexpected occurrence of accidents in the airspace".
A senior diplomat in China's Tokyo embassy, Han Zhiqiang, dismissed Tokyo's protests, saying in a statement that "Japan has no right to make irresponsible remarks".
Han said the Chinese government's aim was to defend its national sovereignty and territorial airspace and was not aimed at a specific country or target. He added it did not affect the freedom to pass through the airspace.
Xinhua said the latest rules came into force on Saturday and China's air force conducted its first patrol over the zone. The patrol included early warning aircraft and fighters, it said.
Japan, for its part, scrambled fighter jets on Saturday afternoon against two Chinese reconnaissance planes over the East China Sea, the Japanese Defense Ministry said.

HAGEL SAYS MOVE IS DESTABLIZING
In a strongly worded statement, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called Beijing's move a "destabilizing attempt to alter the status quo in the region".
"This unilateral action increases the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculations," he said.
One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Beijing's move was being interpreted as "a direct challenge" to Japan's operations in the area, believed to be surrounded by energy-rich seabed.
Security experts echoed the concerns about an escalation, saying that if China were to enforce the air defense identification zone, a non-military Chinese aircraft's flying into it could lead to a military face-off between the two sides.

"If two fighter aircraft - one from their side and one from our side - meet in the air, that would create a precarious situation," said Narushige Michishita, director at Japan's National Graduate

Institute for Policy Studies. "That's very dangerous."
Tensions in the region are expected to be a topic of discussion when Vice-President Joe Biden travels to China, Japan and South Korea in early December.
The United States has not taken a position on sovereignty issues in the regional maritime disputes, but has stressed the need for the free flow of commerce, a reduction in tensions, and peace and stability in the region.
China's move comes on the heels of a visit there last week by a delegation of Japanese business leaders in the hopes of improving economic ties. Trade between the two countries amounts to $250 billion annually, but Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping have yet to hold an official meeting.