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By Ahmed Rasheed, Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart, Reuters Humvees and vehicles of the combined Iraqi forces and Hashed Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization units) inside the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, on 25 August, 2017. Photo: AFP / Ahmad Al-Rubaye The United States on has carried out a strike in Iraq in self defence, US officials told Reuters, as regional tensions rose after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut that Israel said killed Hezbollah's most senior commander. Iraqi police and medical sources said the strike inside a base south of Baghdad used by Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) killed four members of the group that contains several Iran-aligned armed militias, and wounded four others. In a statement after the blasts, the Popular Mobilization Forces made no accusation abou...

Right before she made the break that sealed an Olympic gold medal, Sarah Hirini took a heavy knock to her face. Pinned down on their own line and clinging to a 14-12 lead, Hirini broke through the Canadian defensive line and charged downfield. She did not have the legs to go end-to-end, but the Black Ferns managed to get it wide and in the next phase of play Hirini threw the last pass to Stacey Waaka who slid in for the match winning try. It's likely the Black Ferns Sevens co-captain was carrying a broken cheekbone through those match-winning plays. Hirini was sent for an assessment soon after receiving her second successive gold medal with the champion Sevens team. It was just another brutal injury Hirini sustained for her team. An inspirational leader in the Black Ferns Sevens team, S...

Pascal's popular book series about identical US twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield. Photo: Random House By Emma Saunders of the BBC Sweet Valley High author Francine Pascal has died at the age of 92. Her agent Amy Bekower told the BBC she died on Sunday. Pascal died of lymphoma in hospital in New York, her daughter Laurie Wenk-Pascal confirmed to the New York Times. Pascal's popular book series about identical US twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield was a hit around the world with its tales of teen romance, friendship and sibling rivalry. Set in the fictional Los Angeles suburb of Sweet Valley, the first book from the series was published in 1983, with 180 more produced over the following 20 years. There were also several spin-offs, including Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley Univ...

By Angela Ferguson, Lesley Hitchen, Callum May & PA Media, BBC News Smoke billows from a fire started by protesters as riot police stand guard after disturbances near the Southport Islamic Society Mosque in Southport, northwest England, on July 30, 2024, a day after a deadly child knife attack. Photo: AFP / ROLAND LLOYD PARRY Several officers have been injured and a police van set on fire during a protest just hours after a vigil took place to remember the victims of a knife attack in which three children were killed. The protest, which police said was believed to involve English Defence League supporters, began only a few streets away from the vigil location, near to a mosque on St Luke's Road in Southport. Merseyside Police said a number of officers had been injured, police veh...

Hadid, who is half Palestinian, said: "I am shocked, I am upset, and I am disappointed in the lack of sensitivity that went into this campaign." Photo: AFP / CHRISTOPHE SIMON By Emma Saunders of the BBC US model Bella Hadid has spoken out after starring in an Adidas campaign which was criticised for what the brand called "unintentional" connections to the 1972 Munich Olympics. Hadid, who is half Palestinian, said: "I am shocked, I am upset, and I am disappointed in the lack of sensitivity that went into this campaign." The advertising campaign for the retro trainers - the SL72s - referenced the 1972 Munich Olympics, which saw 11 Israeli athletes and a German police officer killed in the attack by a Palestinian group called Black September. Adidas subsequently apologised and said it woul...