Fernando Torres to stay - Jose Mourinho

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says that Chelsea will not sell striker Fernando Torres, despite signing Diego Costa and Didier Drogba.

The 30-year-old Spanish striker was initially signed as a long-term replacement for Drogba, but after failing to impress, Torres may now find himself behind the Ivorian who has returned for a second spell at the club.

But Mourinho insisted Torres still has a role to play with the club. Speaking to Sky, the former Real Madrid man said: 'Three strikers is fundamental in the squad and we have three - Nando, Didier and Diego.

'We have a good squad, the perfect squad would be with these 18 players, not 17.'

When pushed about the Spaniard's future at the club Mourinho said he would not be sold 'for sure'.

Chelsea have sold Demba Ba and Romelu Lukaku and released Samuel Eto'o this summer, leaving Torres, Costa and Drogba as options for the west London club.

Mourinho did admit that he would like to add more English players to Chelsea's squad, but revealed there were no developments on that front yet.

He said: 'We are working hard to have more English players in our squad but at the moment we are still in the middle of that process.'

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Tell me am not dreaming: As a selfie with Steven Gerrard makes a liverpool fan cry

Most fans are happy when meeting their favourite players, but it was all too much for one Liverpool fan as an encounter with Steven Gerrard left her in tears.

The Liverpool captain was signing autographs while on tour in the US and after posing for a selfie with the supporter she became hysterical, told him 'I love you' and then burst in to tears.

Gerrard then tried to sign autographs for other people but the girl insisted he sign her 'Steven Gerrard' phone as well, at which point she completely lost it.

Her companion did at least see the funny side as they smiled and tried to take her away.

The 34-year-old has history of making fans cry - something similar happened last year on the club's tour of Asia.

An Indonesian girl wept on camera after Liverpool captain Gerrard walked past her in a hotel lobby.

 

 

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Kris Jenner calls Kim Kardashian too much selfies an obsession

She has been nicknamed the 'momager' for masterminding her children's careers in the spotlight.

But even Kris Jenner appears alarmed by daughter Kim Kardashian's extreme vanity.

The 58-year-old called the 33-year-old reality star 'obsessed' for taking 1,200 selfies during the family's recent trip to Thailand.

In a deleted scene from Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kris is seen confronting her daughter about her narcissism.

Kris is seen sorting through a jewellery box in a room adjacent to the swimming pool at their luxury resort.

Kim then waltzes in wearing a skimpy black bikini and black cover-up.

'Oooh, I have not done a selfie in this glam room,' she exclaims, without even greeting her mother. 

'How many selfies are you going to do in one day?' asks Kris. 'You're like obsessed.'

'I need 1,200,' Kim says matter-of-factly, before leaning against a wall with her phone pointed towards her. 'This is a great background.'

'Do you want me to take a picture of you?' asks Kris.

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The World of Ebola

Ebola

Ebola virus disease, which used to be called Ebola haemorrhagic fever, was named after the river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where one of the first two villages to report cases in 1976 was located. The other was in Sudan. Ebola is a severe viral illness with a sudden onset that comes from direct contact with infected living or dead rainforest animals, including chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, fruit bats, forest antelope and porcupines. It kills up to 90% of those who are infected.

 

Transmission 

The virus is passed from one human to another, carried in blood and bodily fluids and secretions, but also beds, sheets, clothes or other surfaces that a sick person has touched. Burial ceremonies that involve touching the body are also a risk. The virus enters the body through broken skin or mucous membrane.
The group at highest risk are health workers, caring for those with Ebola. They have to wear full protective clothing, including facemasks and goggles, and should change their gloves between one patient and the next.

 

 Symptoms

The early signs are sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and a sore throat. Vomiting and diarrhoea follow, raising the chances that the sick man or woman will infect somebody else. The kidney and liver are affected and there can be both internal and external bleeding, which is why it was originally called Ebola haemorrhagic fever. Patients are infectious once the symptoms show, which is two to 21 days after
they have contracted the virus.

 

Treatment

There is very little treatment. Patients will need intensive supportive care, with intravenous fluids or oral rehydration salts. They must be kept in isolation and their nurses and visitors must wear full protective suits. If people are to be nursed at home, their carers need instructions and equipment to safeguard themselves. There are no drugs to treat the disease or vaccine to prevent it, although research on a vaccine is under way.

 

Cure

It has proved very hard to find drugs to treat viral diseases from animals, from influenza to HIV. Although the death rate is high, outbreaks of ebola are infrequent and have so far been contained each time. As with many of the so-called neglected tropical diseases, there is not a potentially lucrative market for drug companies, so they will be reluctant to invest in research and development.

 

Control

They can be contained in human populations but the viral reservoir still exists in animals. There will always be a risk that hunters will kill infected animals or that people will pick up those that have died of the infection in the forest and the virus will be reintroduced to the human population.

 

Closed borders

Containment is key to the strategy against ebola. Quarantine has been used in some outbreaks for the relatives of people who become sick. Because people are not infectious until they become obviously ill, it should in theory be possible to focus efforts on the community where the outbreak began. In the past, that has usually been villages in close proximity to rainforests.
Confirmation of a case in a city such as Lagos is a real concern, but transmission must involve direct contact with a sick individual, so is more likely in a family setting or a hospital. The biggest worry is probably that somebody showing symptoms will be taken to hospital where nursing staff are unprotected, because the disease is not recognised, sparking an outbreak that spreads to their families in turn.
Closing borders may not help keep the disease out because borders are permeable in much of Africa. The World Health Organisation says closures may hinder travel and trade without detecting cases.

 

World threat

Clearly somebody infected with the virus could theoretically get on a plane and spark an outbreak – probably in a hospital – anywhere in the world. However, as with the Mers virus, which arrived in London via a patient who was taken to St Thomas' hospital, infection control measures are so stringent in more affluent countries that it is probable the virus would be very rapidly contained.

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Petr Cech may have to leave Chelsea as a result of foreign player quota

Chelsea could be forced to sell Petr Cech in order to fall in line with homegrown quotas for the Premier League and Champions League.

The return of Stamford Bridge icon Didier Drogba means the Blues have one too many foreign players to meet guidelines.

Manager Jose Mourinho has been touting Fernando Torres and John Obi Mikel around to other clubs, but if there are no takers Cech may be the one to depart.

Clubs are only allowed 17 foreign players over the age of 21 in their official 25-man squads. Drogba's return brings Chelsea's number up to 18.

Belgium's goalkeeping star Thibaut Courtois has returned from a long-term loan at Atletico Madrid to fight for Chelsea's No 1 shirt.

With veteran Mark Schwarzer signing a new one-year deal, Cech departing would allow Mourinho to bring Jamal Blackman or Mitchell Beeney into the fold and meet the homegrown criteria.

Mourinho said: 'From the group you are expecting us to have as a squad, I have to send one away because we have one extra foreign player.

'So from all these players, if you think all of them have to stay, you are wrong. One of them has to go.' 

Sportsmail understands Chelsea are conscious of the home-grown quota but are still in the process of shaping their squad ahead of the new season and no decision has been taken on the future of any particular player.

Mourinho, meanwhile, is keen to blood several of the club's promising academy graduates this term and has already tipped the likes Lewis Baker, Izzy Brown and Dominic Solanke to win full international honours with England in the future.

Some of the Blues’ foreign stars, like new signing Cesc Fabregas and Romelu Lukaku, count as homegrown, but the departures of stalwarts Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole leave the west Londoners short of English talent.

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Ancelotti clears all doubt on Di Maria's future, as player is expected back in Madrid

Carlo Ancelotti insists nothing has changed regarding Angel Di Maria's future and he expects the winger to return to Real Madrid on Aug. 5.
Di Maria, 26, is currently on an extended holiday after helping Argentina reach the final of the 2014 World Cup but has been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Speaking after Real Madrid's preseason friendly against Inter Milan, Ancelotti told reporters there have been no developments. "I don't have any news about Di Maria" he said. "I know the same about him as I do about the others. He has finished the World Cup and on Aug. 5 he has to be at Valdebebas."
AS report PSG have lodged a bid of 75 million euros for the winger and want to complete a deal as soon as possible in order to facilitate the sale of Edinson Cavani or Ezequiel Lavezzi.
The report continues that Ancelotti is keen to hold on to Di Maria but faces a struggle to convince the former Benfica player who has set his heart on a move to the French capital.

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Ebola: World current Deadliest disease. As Fears rise over biggest outbreak

There was nothing unusual-looking about the passenger arriving at Heathrow from Lagos. He was carrying one of the most deadly diseases known to mankind, but it wasn’t noticed by overstretched Nigerian airport officials before departure, nor by attendants on the flight, despite their special training to watch out for feverish passengers.

Because Ebola is a disease that has an incubation period of between two and 21 days, it’s more than likely that the final line of defence — immigration staff at Heathrow — failed to notice anything untoward about him either. It wasn’t as if he was so unsteady or unwell that he couldn’t answer basic questions.

And so he was waved through. Little did anyone realise that his initial flu-like symptoms — fever, headache, achy limbs, sore throat — would soon become something much, much worse.

Ebola, a disease which is fatal in 90 per cent of cases and for which there is no vaccine and no known cure, was now in Britain for the first time. It would soon be spreading across the country, killing almost everyone it touched.

Fortunately this is an imaginary situation, but an Ebola epidemic is the nightmare scenario which inspires Hollywood disaster movie writers and keeps public health officials awake at night.

However, there is now widespread alarm among experts that it could actually happen, because the deadly disease has spread for the first time from remote jungle villages to claim its first victim in Lagos, one of Africa’s most sophisticated cities, with air links to major cities worldwide, including London.

And woe betide anyone who comes in close contact with an Ebola victim. While the virus’s one virtue is that it isn’t as easily transmitted as, say, an airborne influenza, it is highly contagious if you come near enough to be infected by any sort of bodily fluid.

This means not only contamination from vomiting and diarrhoea — the next stage after the fever and headaches — but saliva from a kiss, sweat from a mopped brow, or even, it is thought, a sneeze.

If a sufferer is looked after by loved ones, only the most ruthless sanitation regime will save them. If he or she seeks medical help, risks could be even greater.

As one British expert told me yesterday, if an Ebola victim was misdiagnosed and ended up being admitted to a normal hospital ward, the ‘consequences would be disastrous’ as nurses and doctors unwittingly passed the virus to other patients and colleagues. 

The final stages of the disease are hideously unpleasant as the virus punches holes in veins, often causing massive internal haemorrhaging and bleeding from the eyes, ears, mouth and other orifices. Death is generally caused by multiple organ failure.

Just as well, then, that no one ever gets Ebola beyond a handful of unlucky souls in the remote rural villages of equatorial West and Central Africa, where locals ignore warnings and still eat the fruit bats and monkeys that are the chief carriers of the disease.

At least, that’s what public health experts have been saying for years. Suddenly, though, they are changing their tune.

The latest outbreak of the disease is not only to be the worst ever by number of deaths, it has also been the first to spread to people living in major urban centres, including national capitals. The risk of it spreading across the world is now very real, experts warn.

Since the outbreak started in Guinea in February, spreading to Sierra Leone and Liberia, the virus has infected more than 1,200 people, killing 672 of them so far.

A cruel irony of Ebola is that those caring for its victims often contract the disease themselves. Recent casualties included one of Liberia’s most respected doctors and two Americans — thought to be Ebola’s first Western victims.

Dr Ken Brantly was the medical director of a Christian aid charity, Samaritan’s Purse, who had been working in Liberia since October. He contracted the disease despite wearing head-to-toe protective clothing while treating sufferers.

Nancy Writebol, a Christian missionary, had also been working with Ebola victims in the Liberian capital of Monrovia when she became infected.

Dr Brantly, at least, may yet defy Ebola’s grim statistics. Early treatment improves a patient’s chances of survival, and he recognised his own symptoms and got immediate care.

His wife and two young children were with him in Liberia until flying home to the U.S. a few weeks ago, but they have not yet shown any signs of the disease.

On Sunday, Liberia took the drastic step of closing its borders but it may be already too late. In Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, a Liberian man who tested positive for Ebola died on Friday.

Patrick Sawyer, a civil servant, collapsed at Lagos Airport as he returned from the funeral of his sister, who had also died from the disease. He changed plane in Togo and was vomiting on board, prompting fears the disease has already spread to a fifth country from just one outbreak.

Nigeria’s government says all ports of entry are on high alert.

‘The situation is getting more and more scary,’ conceded Tolbert Nyenswah, Liberia’s assistant health minister.

Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of bacteriorology at Aberdeen University, warns: ‘If the disease gets going in Nigeria, it would be cause for concern. Nigeria has close links with the UK and many other countries.’

Professor Pennington, an international expert, said yesterday that he was hardly reassured by current efforts to contain Ebola’s spread.

‘This is a very big outbreak, and I get the feeling that whatever is being done to control it is not being done very well. Once you get a fairly large number of cases, it gets a momentum and becomes more and more difficult to control.

‘This is now crossing international borders.’

Professor Pennington, who criticised the UK government over its handling of mad cow disease, warned that Britain would be ill-equipped to cope with a sudden influx of Ebola victims.

Isolating them is critical, he said, but ordinary hospitals simply don’t have the facilities or the necessary highly trained staff. The specialist hospitals that dealt with such diseases have largely closed.

‘If [Ebola] came into London, I honestly don’t know where they’d put the patients,’ he said. ‘We could cope with one or two, but more than that? Let’s hope we don’t have to.’

The big problem with Ebola, he stressed, is diagnosing it. The disease looks much like common flu until it’s too late. Even the rash that sufferers get after about five days could be confused with other less serious ailments.

‘Ebola patients can often go under the radar, but if they ended up in hospital, giving blood samples and coughing over everyone, it would be potentially disastrous,’ he said.

He adds that it was crucial for British GPs and hospital doctors to start watching out for Ebola.

‘If someone is coming in with flu-like symptoms, it’s crucial to ask them where they’ve been — and whether they’ve been to Africa.’

Surprisingly, scientists are still not clear exactly where Ebola comes from. The first known outbreak was in 1976 in a remote village near the Ebola river in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Although most of the cases are understood to have been transmitted from human to human, each Ebola outbreak is initially caused by someone coming into contact with the blood or body fluids of an infected animal, such as a fruit bat, monkey or pig. (The bats are believed to carry the disease without being infected by it.)

The chief cause is the popularity of ‘bush meat’ — animals trapped in the wild. Bats and monkeys are frequently dried and then eaten without being cooked. Since bush meat is now being smuggled into London and Paris, scientists warn this could be another source of infection in Europe.

According to Dr Ben Neuman, a virologist at Reading University, the disease is spreading so rapidly now because people are ‘rescuing’ Ebola sufferers from hospitals or snatching their dead bodies so they can wash them in accordance with religious custom.

In the first case of an infection in Sierra Leone, a hairdresser in Freetown, the capital, was forcibly removed from hospital by her family, sparking a frantic search to find her before she infected others. She died on Sunday.

Dr Neuman also fears officials in the UK may be hard-pressed to keep out every Ebola sufferer if their numbers become too great.

‘We have to hope they do, though, as in the late stages of infection, you have enough virus in your body to infect everyone on Earth maybe three times over.’

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United Manager 'Van Gaal' sees a United broken squad that need fixing

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal thinks he has inherited an unbalanced and "broken" squad from David Moyes.
Van Gaal, speaking in his first English media interview of United's tour of the USA, denied the idea that succeeding Moyes would be easier than following Sir Alex Ferguson, who won 13 titles in 26 years at Old Trafford.
In Van Gaal's eyes, Ferguson left Moyes with a team of winners. He says he is inheriting a "broken" squad awash with attacking midfielders.
"No," Van Gaal said when asked whether following Ferguson would have been harder.
"I don't agree. I had to follow Bobby Robson at Barcelona the year after he won three titles and there wasn't a problem (Van Gaal won the league that year).
"When there is success you have a very good squad, and now I have to follow and the squad was broken I think.
"When you look at the squad, there is quality. There is (Wayne) Rooney, (Robin) van Persie, (Javier) Hernandez, (Danny) Welbeck, but you also see Juan Mata, (Marouane) Fellaini, and you see (Ander) Herrera. There are a lot of players that can play in the same position.
"It is not in balance. It's more difficult to succeed in a difficult situation than in a fantastic situation."
Van Gaal will look to address the imbalance in his squad by signing at least two players over the next three weeks -- rumoured to be Thomas Vermaelen and Mats Hummels.
United have been told they will have to stump up 79 million pounds to sign other target Kevin Strootman from Roma while Real Madrid are also demanding a big fee for Angel Di Maria, who is also on the club's radar.
Van Gaal insists he will not pay over the odds for any transfer targets though.
"I don't buy players for the sake of buying players," he said.
"I buy players to improve my selection.
"Now I don't know if we will play (5-3-2) or 4-3-3.
If I play 4-3-3 I need more specialists in the wings and attackers and then we have to buy another kind of player."

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Men’s and women’s brains really are different- Researchers

Researchers say that if both sexes had access to the same levels of education, they’d expect women to do best on tests of memory – and men to excel at maths.

The prediction comes after an analysis of how the sexes’ abilities varied across Europe across time.

More than 31,000 men and women aged 50-plus from 13 countries were put through three tests of brainpower.

The test of numeracy involved being given five questions, such as working out how much a cut-price car would have cost when new, while the memory test involved trying to remember a list of ten words.

The third test was of ‘verbal fluency’ – and involved naming as many different animals as possible in a minute.

In northern Europe, women in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s consistently outperformed the men in the memory test.

However, in southern Europe, where economic conditions were poorer for longer, the earliest born women did worse than the men. However, as education and living conditions improved, so did their performance and those born from around 1940 onwards beat their male counterparts.

Men came out top in the maths tests in all countries at all ages.

However, the gap narrowed as conditions improved, the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports.

The researchers, from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria, said that women may benefit more than men from improvements in lifestyle because they were at a greater disadvantage to begin with.

They said the patterns mean that if men and women had equal access to education, females should do better than men.

Men should still to slightly better than maths – and the sexes should do equally well in quick fire tests of vocabulary.

It is thought the differing strengths can be explained by differences in the biology of the brain as well as in the way the sexes are treated by society.

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Dani Alves relaxing in Miami Beach during pre-season break

It’s been a summer to forget for Dani Alves, but the Brazilian footballer appeared to be making the most of it during a pre-season break in Miami on Sunday.

The Barcelona right-back is enjoying a sunshine break as he attempts to put some perspective on a sobering World Cup in his home country, during which he picked up an injury that saw him benched during Brazil’s 7-1 mauling at the hands of Germany.

Hitting the beach with a group of pals, 31-year-old Alves looked relaxed as he peeled off his shirt – thus revealing an impressive array of tattoos on his upper-body as he reclined on a lounger.

Sporting a pair of garish tropical print shorts, bright baseball cap and blue Beats headphones, the moody defender’s colourful appearance didn’t reflect his sombre mood during the outing – which was cut short by the onset of rain.

Making his way back to his hotel, Alves attempted to keep himself dry by covering his head with a white beach towel.

The footballer is no doubt reflecting on Brazil’s embarrassing performance in their World Cup semi-final against Germany, the tournament’s eventual winners.

Speaking on Instagram shortly after the debacle, Alves – who was ruled out due to an injury sustained earlier in the tournament – rounded on critics of the host nation, branding them ‘a**holes.’

‘I know a lot of a**holes will make fun. I know a lot of losers in the biggest game in the world, which is the book of life, will rejoice,’ he wrote.

‘I want to take this hard moment for all of us who chose football as a profession and who were chosen to represent our country in this World Cup.

‘I would say that, for me to share with you all this time, was an unmatched pleasure.

‘But I would like to say publicly that you are f***ing champions. I am privileged to be part of this group, you are champions, which all these a**holes will never be.’

He added: ‘Today you are not respected here but in the rest of the world I'm sure you are. Bad days like this teach us to appreciate the good days.’

The footballer, who has amassed 79 caps for his country, will soon return to Spain for training with Catalan giants Barcelona ahead of the new season.

The club’s pre-season list of friendlies include away games against Recreativo Huelva, Nice, Napoli and HJK Helsinki before they return to Camp Nou for one final match against Leon on August 18.

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United keen on Di Maria's transfer situation

Manchester United are continuing to monitor the possibility of a move for Real Madrid's Angel Di Maria.
Though, it seems the player would favour a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Di Maria's preference is believed to be down to his desire to keep playing Champions League football, although UEFA's financial fair play rules could yet open the way for United.
Given that PSG are still attempting to strike a financial balance in order to conform to the regulations, they may have to sell big in order to fund a move for the Argentina international.
Di Maria, 26, knows his chances at Real will be limited this season and is expected to make a decision on his future in the coming days.
A year-long loan move to Paris Germain has been mooted, but United are keeping tabs on the situation. One of new manager Louis van Gaal's main targets is a tactically versatile attacking wide player, and Di Maria fits that bill.

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A Waiter was suspended for taking a selfie with Robin van Persie

A waiter in Barbados has been suspended from his job for two weeks for taking a pictures with footballer Robin van Persie.

Kyson Forde was working at celebrity hangout The Cliff Restaurant on the Caribbean island when he spied his Manchester United hero and asked for a photo.

While van Persie happily agreed, Forde has since been suspended for two weeks for using his mobile phone in the dining area.

A fellow worker was also given the harsh punishment for snapping the picture of the footballer and his waiter.

Striker van Persie was in Barbados for a week-long holiday with his wife Bouchra and two children, Shaqueel, eight, and Dina, five. 

 

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Lionel Messi with dad face tax charges

A Spanish judge on Monday rejected a prosecutor's request to drop charges of tax fraud against Lionel Messi and ordered the investigation into three cases of suspected unpaid taxes to proceed.
A court statement said there is "sufficient evidence" to believe the Barcelona and Argentina star "could have known and consented" to the creation of a fictitious corporate structure to avoid paying taxes on income from his image rights.
The statement was issued by the court in Gava, Barcelona, that was initially called on by prosecutors to investigate if there was a case for Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, to answer. Messi senior then told the media that he and his son were both cooperating fully with the authorities.
In June, Messi's public relations firm said a prosecutor had agreed to drop the tax fraud case against the player and his father.
Messi's father is under investigation for an alleged four million euros ($5.3 million) in unpaid taxes from 2007-09. He made a payment of more than five million euros ($6.6 million) in August 2013 to cover alleged unpaid taxes, plus interest.
Monday's statement said it was not necessary for Messi "to have full knowledge of all accounting or corporate transactions or the exact amount of the fraud" for him to have had a clear idea of an intention to defraud.
Spain has been cracking down on tax evasion as it fights to repair the country's public finances after a prolonged recession triggered by the collapse of its once-booming real estate sector.
Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro warned footballers they should make sure they were "comfortable" with their tax affairs.

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Please stop! Pope Francis Message for Israel and Palestine

Pope Francis on Sunday during his weekly Angelus address in Saint Peter's Square in reference to the myriad of violent conflicts happening right now around the globe. Nearing the end of his address, Francis said his thoughts were on the Middle East, Iraq and Ukraine as conflicts continue to ravage these places.
"Please stop! I ask you with all my heart, it's time to stop. Stop, please!"
The remarks were not part of Francis' prepared speech, but seemed to come from a more personal, emotional place, as evidenced by a slight crack in his voice as he said them.

"Brothers and sisters, never war, never war! I am thinking above all of children, who are deprived of the hope of a worthwhile life, of a future," he said.

"Dead children, injured children, mutilated children, orphaned children, children whose toys are things left over from war, children who can't smile any more."

Though Francis didn't make any direct reference to the current conflict in the Gaza Strip, they did come right after a planned truce in the Israel-Palestine conflict fell apart as fighting commenced in what has already claimed more than 1,000 lives, including dozens of children.
Vatican in the peace process. Of course, Francis has no tangible power to effect the situation in Gaza, but his influential voice speaks volumes. In the past few months, he's made similar moves such as inviting Muslim and Jewish religious leaders to pray together in the Vatican in an attempt to foster a peaceful dialogue. He also made headlines in May when he rested his forehead against the graffiti-covered concrete structure that separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem and prayed for peace.
The Vatican has generally been quite vocal in the Israel-Palestine conflict, with the past several popes making numerous attempts to foster peace in the region. Of course, Francis' most recent comments speak more broadly to the various violent conflicts raging throughout the world, but it's probably safe to assume he had an eye on the violence raging in the Gaza Strip right now. And even if he can't directly influence the situation, by at least alerting his millions of followers to the conflicts, more people will become aware of how bad wars have become, and that's a step in the right direction.

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Gunners deficient of a solid midfielder

Arsenal may have excited their fans with the acquisition of Alexis Sanchez, but Arsene Wenger would be making a mistake by not signing a new midfield anchorman.
That's not to say Mikel Arteta or Mathieu Flamini cannot do a job there, and Jack Wilshere is definitely worth a look in that role. Wilshere has the technical ability, but does he have the physical presence? It's an interesting question, and we could soon discover the answer. deficient
But if Arsenal really are going to make a bold statement then surely a proven top class midfielder to do the holding role is the way forward. They have certainly looked at a few, and they started the summer believing it was a priority so there's an acknowledgement that one is needed.
Sami Khedira, Morgan Schneiderlin and Lars Bender were all possibilities but now look to be off the agenda. Wenger often pushes the argument that players must be better than they already have, and Arteta and Flamini can both do an excellent job.
But over the course of last season, it was the area where Arsenal were most exposed. The need for a tough midfielder to protect the back four was obvious. It was almost as pressing as the need for a top striker, and they delivered on Sanchez for 33 million pounds, so it would be a shame not to buy well in other areas.
The interesting thing would be to see if Wilshere could do it. The ideal is to have a big physical presence, but you don't have to. That's why Wilshere could maybe do it to good effect. He has a big season ahead and will hope to nail down a place for club and country after too much frustration over the past couple of years.
His ability and quality are not in doubt; he's an excellent technical player who can pass well, keep the game moving and is not afraid of a tackle. But with so much competition in midfield with the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla all vying for attacking roles, there has to be an opportunity if one of the existing squad members can play deeper.
Arteta has performed there brilliantly but can't go on forever while Flamini, for whatever reason, didn't establish himself as a regular last season. My feeling was that Wenger would go for a new midfielder this summer, but as the weeks tick by, that is becoming less likely.
It's a shame as I still feel that is the key area -- providing protection for the back four -- where Arsenal need to strengthen.
They are so close to being a team capable of winning the title. They've proved their quality with another top four finish and the FA Cup to end their wait for a trophy.
Wenger has added a world class striker, but there's more work to be done if Arsenal are to win the league for the first time since 2004. Arteta is a terrific and somewhat under-appreciated player, Flamini is a warrior and Wilshere has big potential.
But maybe a big proven midfielder is what's really needed as the final piece of the puzzle.

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Nicki Minaj pushed back the release of 'Anaconda'

Nicki Minaj has pushed back the release of her new single "Anaconda". The raptress announced it on Instagram, Sunday, July 27, posting along with it another sexy picture of her posing in pink bikini.

"My darlingz, I've pushed the release of Anaconda to next week, Monday 8/4. I promise you will understand why before the week is out. Loveeeeeeee uuuuuu," she wrote in the caption without mentioning the reason of the delay.

The "Starships" hitmaker promoted the single just a few days ago with the cover art which exposed her naked butt. The racy picture soon created a buzz and fans have made memes of it. Minaj, however, asked fans to stop the meme spree.

"IG HAS NO CHILL," she wrote along with a "Lion King" meme. She said, "I can't," in another post and, "I'm sad," in a caption of a meme featuring Spongebob licking her butt. She further hoped that her fans would "chill [about the memes] on this fine Sunday."

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Beyonce Posts a united Family Picture With Jay-Z and Blue Ivy on Instagram

Beyonce Knowles dispelled marital problem rumors with her husband, Jay-Z, by posting a family picture featuring the power couple with their daughter, Blue Ivy, on Instagram on July 21. Although she did not write anything along with the picture, the picture alone can be a proof that they are actually fine despite the rumors.

In the not-so-subtle picture, Beyonce and Jay-Z are seen swinging Blue while they hold their 2-year-old daughter's hands together. In the picture, Beyonce wears a pink tee with a plaid shirt tied around her waist and a pair of purple shoes. Jay-Z wears a black tee with black trousers and a pair of white sneakers. Meanwhile, their little daughter wears a flower-printed dress with her hair cutely styled in two buns.

Beyonce and Jay-Z are currently in the middle of their "On The Run" tour. The "Single Ladies" singer had a performance in her hometown in Texas on July 18 before going to Solange Knowles' favorite places in New Orleans on Sunday.

Beyonce has fueled the rumors of marriage problems since late June after she changed the lyrics of her 2006 song "Resentment" during a concert. At that time, the "Drunk in Love" singer sang the lyrics "Been ridin' with you for twelve years" instead of the original version "Been ridin' with you for six years". The incident sparked marital problem rumors between Beyonce and Jay-Z, who have been in a relationship for a total of 12 years.

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Joan Rivers take side with Israel, take a swipe at Selena Gomez for her 'Pray for Gaza' Instagram post

Joan Rivers slammed Selena Gomez for posting "Pray for Gaza" message on Instagram. In an interview with a TMZ paparazzo at the Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday, July 24, the comedian went on an epic rant against Israel critics when the reporter mentioned the conflict.

"Selena Gomez, oh, yeah, that college grad," Rivers sneered when the reporter asked her opinion about celebrities who expressed their solidarity with the Palestinians. She continued, "Oh, well, if Selena said that...Yeah, let's see if she can spell Palestinian."

Rivers argued that what Israeli did is a legitimate attempt to defend themselves. She presented an analogy, "Let me just tell you- if New Jersey were firing rockets into New York, we would wipe them out. I am so bored. If we heard they were digging tunnels from New Jersey to New York, we would get rid of Jersey. So I don't want to hear any more, 'Oh, we'll do a partial truce.' The Palestinians can not throw rockets and expect people not to defend themselves."

According to the Palestinian health officials, the Palestinian death toll reached 817 on Thursday, July 24. More than 5,000 civilians have been wounded.

When asked about the civilian casualties in Gaza, Rivers blamed the militants for storing their weapons in civilian area. "If you don't want civilian casualties, then don't put your goddamn things in private homes!" she exclaimed, "I'm sorry, don't you dare put weapons stashes in private homes."

The reporter pointed out that many of those civilians had nowhere safe to go. Rivers shouted, "I don't care! They started it. You're all insane! They started it! What are you all saying, they started it. For months this has been going on. What are you supposed to do? How do I know? I've been over there- that's how I know."

She went on slamming major news media for their portrayal of Israel in the conflict. She said, "The BBC should be ashamed of themselves and CNN should be ashamed of themselves and everybody, stop it already!"

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Oops! A Married Chinese man got to know he was genetically female

A Chinese man was left stunned after he went to the doctor experiencing stomach aches and blood in his urine – only to discover that he was a woman on his period.

The married 44-year-old man from Zhejiang province, China, visited his local doctor with his wife in Yongkang where he made the shocking discovery that he had, all along, in fact been a woman.
After a full examination, doctors discovered that he had a full set of female reproductive organs along with a penis - which he said had given him an active sex life with his wife of ten years.
But doctors doubted this.
Doctors found that his genitals were different from other men and he did not possess an Adam’s apple.
A spokesman for First People’s Hospital of Yongkang said that doctors doubted that Mr Chen was a female at first. 
He said: ‘He was wearing men's clothes with short hair, so we didn’t think that he would be a female at the beginning’.
However, Mr Chen said that he had known that something was wrong with him after he found himself constantly feeling fatigued with swollen face and legs.

Even worse, he constantly found blood in his urine.
A CT scan soon revealed that he had a uterus and ovaries.
Meanwhile, a chromosome examination showed that Mr Chen had a pair of XX sex chromosomes, making him genetically female.

Mr Chen was also suffering from Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, a genetic disease that causes the adrenal glands to swell due to a decrease in stress hormone and an increase in male sex hormones.
A lump was later surgically removed from his adrenal glands. 
This type of medical case is extremely rare and doctors have not confirmed whether Mr Chen was a hermaphrodite or intersex. But he did appear to have two types of genitalia.
Doctors said it was too late for Mr Chen to seek medical treatment for his unusual problem as it was only effective for younger people.

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Reason why Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab suicide mission in 2009 to blow up a plane failed

The notorious underwear bomber's plot in 2009 to blow up a plane on Christmas Day failed because the explosives became 'degraded' after he wore the same pair of underpants for two weeks, according to a U.S. official.

Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was on a suicide mission when he attempted to detonate a bomb in his underpants as the plane, en route from Amsterdam, approached Detroit.

The bomb however failed to detonate aboard the flight, which was carrying nearly 300 people, but caused a brief fire that caused burns to his groin.

He was sentenced to life without parole in February 2012 after he pleaded guilty to all charges on the second day of his trial the previous October. 

The head of the Transportation Security Administration said this week the bomb failed to detonate because of how long Abdulmutallab had been wearing his underwear.

John Pistole told the Aspen Security Forum: 'The bomber had had the device with him for over two weeks.' 

Mr Pistole was then asked whether the bomb had become 'damp', to which he replied: 'Let's say it was degraded.' 

During his trial, Abdulmutallab said the bomb in his underwear was a 'blessed weapon' to avenge poorly treated Muslims around the world. 

After the bomb failed to detonate, passengers pounced on Abdulmutallab and forced him to the front of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 where he was held until the plane landed minutes later. 

In 2009, months before the attack, he travelled to Yemen to see Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born cleric and one of the best-known al Qaeda figures, according to the government.

He told investigators that his mission was approved after a three-day visit with his mentor. 

Al-Awlaki and the bomb maker were killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in 2011, just days before Abdulmutallab's trial. At the time, President Barack Obama publicly blamed al-Awlaki for the terrorism plot.

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Angel Di Maria must be decisive

Angel Di Maria is getting so frustrated that a move to Paris Saint-Germain is taking so long that he has threatened to join Manchester United instead if things don't move along, according to French radio reports.
Real Madrid are after 57 million euros for the Argentine, but PSG's financial fair play penalties make that a little unrealistic for the French giants.
The Sun report the Red Devils have an opportunity to swoop in, but United also have concerns -- not with the transfer fee, but with Di Maria's wages.  But there remains hope that the 26-year-old could lower his 6.5 million-pound demands as he looks kindly on United -- and not so kindly on PSG.
A decision is imminent, says the Express.

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Nicki Minaj Fans Reacts to Chrissy Teigen comment on 'Anaconda' Cover

Nicki Minaj has responded to the backlash she received after revealing the racy artwork of her upcoming single "Anaconda" on Thursday, July 24. Addressing criticism saying that the picture is unacceptable, the raptress took to Instagram to post photos of some Sports Illustrated models baring their butts for photoshoots.

"Acceptable," she simply captioned those pictures. The "Pills N Potions" hitmaker also posted a Sports Illustrated cover that features Nina Agdal, Lily Aldridge and Chrissy Teigen and said of it, "Angelic. Acceptable. Lol."

Teigen later retweeted Minaj's message and wrote, "I WILL TAKE ACCEPTABLE." Thinking that John Legend's wife was throwing shade at the femcee, some of Minaj's fans blasted the model on social media.

"I hope you choke On John's d**k, you wobble headed b**ch," a Twitter user said. Another user added, "Nicki Minaj gets King magazine covers & @chrissyteigen can only get sports illustrated she a bum hoe."

Teigen laughed off the mean tweets. "I just landed and I have a nicki minaj fans going absolutely bats**t on me. No idea why," she tweeted and later explained that the comment she said earlier was actually a joke. "Landed, saw she posted our cover, called our asses acceptable. Which I took as a compliment as I know I have no ass. Now pure entertainment," she added. 

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