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  Blessing Chitapa has been crowned as the winner of The Voice UK.  The 18-year-old singer, who was born in Zimbabwe and moved to the UK aged seven, was named as the winner during Saturday’s episode of the ITV talent competition. She saw off competition from Jonny Brooks, who was coached by Sir Tom Jones, in the final. Chitapa, who lives in Dudley in the West Midlands, sang Robbie Williams’ Angels and James Bay’s Hold Back The River in the final. The latter song was a duet with her mentor Olly Murs.  A tearful Chitapa said she is “so happy to have sung on this stage”. “It has been an honour and my privilege and it has been unforgettable,” she added.

  Indian veteran actor, Soumitra Chatterjee is dead. Born in 1935, the star of Bengali cinema passed away on Sunday. Xinhua reports that he died at a hospital in Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal. Chatterjee was undergoing treatment for COVID-19 and other complications. He had tested positive for coronavirus on October 6. “We declare with a heavy heart that Soumitra Chattopadhyay (Chatterjee) breathed his last at 12:15 local time at Belle Vue Clinic today. We pay our homage to his soul,’’ an official statement read. It added that in the last few days, Chatterjee’s condition deteriorated and he was on a ventilator. The deceased was best known for his collaborations with Oscar-winning film director Satyajit Ray. The duo worked on 14 films including in The World of Apu, Sonar Kella and Joi Baba Felunath. President of India, Ram Nath Kovind said the country’s cinema has lost one of its legends. He noted that Chatterjee will be remembered for the ‘Apu’ trilogy and other memora...

    Donald Trump has insisted he is not conceding the US election, despite seemingly acknowledging for the first time that Democrat Joe Biden had won. "He won because the Election was Rigged," he wrote on Twitter but minutes later said he was not conceding that he lost the 3 November election. Mr Trump also repeated unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud. He has launched a slew of lawsuits in key states but has not provided any evidence to back his claims of fraud. All the lawsuits have so far been unsuccessful. On Friday, election officials said the vote was the "most secure in American history" and there was "no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised". Nevertheless, Mr Trump had refused to acknowledge Mr Biden's victory until - apparently - now.

  Peru's interim president, Manuel Merino has resigned less than a week into his new administration after protests calling for his removal left two dead and dozens injured. In a short televised address on Sunday November 15, Manuel Merino said he’d acted within the law when he was sworn into office as chief of state on Tuesday, despite protesters’ allegations that Congress had staged a parliamentary coup after his predecessor, Martin Vizcarra was removed over bribery allegations, which he denies. "I want to let the whole country know that I'm resigning," Merino said, a day after a police crackdown on protesters in Peru left at least two people dead. “I, like everyone, want what’s best for our country,” he added. The decision came after a night of unrest in which dozens of protesters took to the streets to protest against Merino following the removal of his predecessor, Martin Vizcarra, who was impeached on Monday, November 9. During the protest, many were ...

  Vice President/Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Sunday November 15 announced that the UAE "golden" visa system has been widened.  Maktoum said the   United Arab Emirates (UAE) has approved a 10-year golden visa for all PhD holders based in the country and has also   approved same for graduates who have a minimum of 3.8 grade point average from UAE-accredited universities. The golden visa residency was also extended to specialists in Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data, virology, epidemiology and UAE-based physicians and engineers in the fields of computer science, electronics and programming, electricity and biotechnology.   The tweet read;    Today, we approved granting the 10-year Golden Visa to all PhD holders in the UAE. Also, the Golden Visa will be granted to top graduates from UAE-accredited universities with a GPA of 3.8 and above. UAE Golden Visa will als...

  American R&B singer, Jeremih has been hospitalized in Chicago after contracting coronavirus. According to TMZ, the 33-year-old singer is currently in an Intensive Care Unit on a breathing ventilator. Though it’s not clear how long he’s been in hospital. Following news of his COVID-19 battle, many celebrities including Chance The Rapper, 50 Cent have since taken to social media to send Jeremih recovery wishes.  

  Nigerians on social media are reacting to the Nigerian Army expressing disappointment at the Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for ''denying'' he invited them to the Lekki tollgate on October 20. Peaceful EndSARS protesters who had gathered at the tollgate to protest were shot at on October 20. There have been conflicting reports about the number of casualties. While the state government says two persons were killed, popular Disk Jockey, DJ Switch who shared on Instagram live feed from the scene as she and others helped save the injured, said she counted about 15 bodies and they handed them all to the soldiers who were present. Shortly after the incident, Governor Sanwo-Olu in a press conference stated that no sitting governor controls the rules of engagement of the military. On the day of the incident, the Nigerian Army took to its Twitter handle to deny claims its personnel was at the scene of the incident.     On October 27, the Army brok...

  American rapper, Boosie Badazz has been hospitalized after he was shot in the leg during a trip to Dallas on Saturday November 14. The 38-year-old Louisiana rapper and his entourage were fired upon in the parking lot of the shopping mall Big T's Plaza, according to TMZ. The report said Boosie had reportedly been driving through Dallas in a sprinter van before the shooting occurred at the mall.  When the shooters opened fire on the van, the rapper who was in the Texas city to pay his respects to the late rapper Mo3, who was shot and killed last Wednesday, was struck below the knee and rushed to a hospital.  Authorities said there is no evidence to show Saturday's shooting is related to any of the other shootings that occurred last week.  Sources say Boosie is doing fine and his injury seems to be non-life-threatening.

  The Ministry of Human Services and Social Development in Kaduna, has announced the arrest of a 40-year old man for allegedly defiling a 13-year-old girl in the state.  The suspect, Musa Hassan was arrested by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Kaduna State Command.  The Ministry said in a statement that the suspect brutally raped the victim and left her in a pool of her own blood during the attack in Unguwan Shanu.      The young girl is said to be receiving treatment at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital The ministry also assured that the victim will receive the required support to go through the disturbing experience while investigations are being conducted. It was also disclosed in the statement that the incident will be handled alongside similar cases, with support from the   Ministry of Justice ' to ensure the effective application of the state's criminal justice procedure & Kaduna State Penal Code (Amendment) Law ...

  Manchester United left-back,  Alex Telles has tested positive for coronavirus for a second time while on International duty for Brazil. The 27-year-old Brazilian defender had first tested positive for Covid-19 at the end of October, which forced him to miss four games for United as a result.  Telles, who joined up with Brazil’s squad for the international break came off the bench in his nation’s 1-0 victory over Venezuela on Friday evening. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) confirmed in a statement on their website that Telles "tested positive" and that Guilherme Arana has been brought into the squad after Telles tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday. Telles will be tested again, and if he returns a positive result, he will be removed from Brazil's squad as he would not be allowed to travel to Uruguay. A CBF statement said: "Arana was called on to form the Brazilian squad after left-back Alex Telles tested positive for Covid-19. The play...

  Actor Williams Uchemba had his traditional wedding today, November 15. The ceremony held in Alor, Anambra state, his wife's hometown.     Williams' wife is Brunella Oscar. She's a physician at Hill York Medical. Below are more photos from the ceremony.