World News Now

Pilgrims scale Mount Arafat for peak of hajj in Saudi OnThis was the scene today as two million Muslims from around the world began gathering at Mount Arafat for the highlight of the hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia dedicated to prayers and reflection. Helicopters flew around the area as the faithful converged from dawn on the surrounding Mount Arafat plain and the hill known as Jabal al-Rahma - or Mount of Mercy - near Mecca. Dressed in white, the pilgrims could be seen climbing up the sides of the hill and taking up positions to pray on rocks already heated by the morning sun. On the concrete pathways linking the plain to the hill, they invoked God as they walked with their palms facing the sky. Others rested in makeshift tents or on sheets along the side of the road amid empty bottles and waste. The second day of the hajj, a must for all able-bodied Muslims who can afford it, is dedicated to prayer and reflection. Arafat is the site where Muslims believe the Prophet Moham...

Queen, Prince Philip and Prince Charles leave Balmoral Today marks the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's death, and Prince Charles chose to spend the significant day with the Queen and Prince Philip at Balmoral. The royals appeared to be in a reflective mood as they left the estate in a convoy of Land Rovers earlier today, accompanied by their aides. Meanwhile, crowds gathered at Kensington Palace to mourn Diana's death twenty years on, leaving masses of floral tributes at her former home. Throughout the day, the sea of tributes has grown proving that the influence of the woman dubbed 'the People's Princess' is as strong as ever on the 20th anniversary of her death. Some people were seen breaking down in tears as they remembered the late royal outside her former home. On Wednesday, Prince William and Harry paid tribute to their mother by visiting the White Garden memorial at Kensington Palace. The pair also looked at the floral tributes and pictures le...

Jimmy Choo sees profits more than double Jimmy Choo, the British shoe designer loved by celebrities including the Duchess of Cambridge, has seen profits more than double thanks to a store revamp and growing demand for its men’s range. The high-end accessories label, which sells jewel-encrusted shoes and luxury trainers, posted a 174 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £18.1million in the first six months of the year. That is on the back of a 16.5 per cent rise in revenues to £201.6million on a reported currency basis, as the retailer benefited from a weaker pound. Jimmy Choo, which ventured into men’s footwear in 2011 selling velvet slippers that cost £3,500 and trainers at £595, said that remains its fastest growing category, making up 9 per cent of global revenue. It added it has continued to increase the number of stores selling its men products and it now counts 86 stores where it sells both men and women shoes and accessories, up from 71 at the end of last year. Jimmy C...

Barnier warns Britain he is 'quite far' from trade talks David Davis and Michel Barnier swapped barbs in Brussels today as the Brexit talks were left deadlocked after the third round of talks. The Brexit Secretary and EU Chief Negotiator concluded the August round of negotiations with a frosty press conference that demonstrated little progress. Mr Davis said he believed 'concrete' moves had been made on some issues but defended Britain's firm rebuttal of the EU's exit bill. He said EU leaders had to give Mr Barnier more room to negotiate 'imaginative' solutions if the impasse was to be breached. But in a withering response, Mr Barnier accused Britain of 'nostalgia', protested a lack of 'trust' on EU citizens living in Britain and warned he would never allow its single market to be watered down. And he said he was 'quite far' from recommending to EU leaders they authorise trade talks - pointing out again that time was fast...

BBC obituary editor says he is 'bored' of Diana coverage The BBC's obituary editor claimed today that he is 'bored' of extensive Princess Diana coverage on the 20th anniversary of her death. Nick Serpell was responding to a question on Twitter by BBC presenter Simon McCoy for people's thoughts on the Princess of Wales's death in Paris in 1997. The 66-year-old journalist also said in a Facebook post this morning: 'Hopefully today will the last on which we have to suffer mawkish media Diana drivel.' He also retweeted a post by Times columnist Iain Martin last night saying: 'Incredible drivel on BBC Newsnight about Diana. It is simply not the case everyone capitulated to the madness that week. Millions of us didn't.' And Mr Serpell told MailOnline today: 'People have all sorts of opinions. It was a private post, though I do appreciate that social media can sometimes be a very public place.' Salford-based Mr Serpell, who li...

Paloma Faith reveals her horror 20-hour childbirth Paloma Faith has discussed her nightmare childbirth, in which she was in labour for 20 hours and contracted a womb infection - leaving her baby's life in jeopardy. Speaking to The Sun, the 36-year-old songstress revealed the sheer horror she went through nine months ago as she admitted she 'went to the gates of hell' as she welcomed her baby with French partner Leyman Lahcine. When announcing the baby news in December, she touched on her struggles while lauding the NHS for their help yet she has now gone into further devastating details, although insists she would 'do it all again' but also consider adoption. Paloma announced her delightful news with Leyman in August last year, yet the couple have kept the sex and name of their child secret. Despite her resolute silence, the star, who soared to chart-topping greatness with her 2009 album Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?, has now discussed the h...

Liam Payne calls Cheryl 'superwoman' They welcomed their son Bear into the world just five months ago. And Liam Payne, 24, has praised just how quickly Cheryl, 34, snapped back into shape after 'working really hard' to tone up. Speaking to MailOnline at the VOXI launch event on Thursday, the One Direction star dubbed the former Girls Aloud singer 'superwoman' and admitted she sometimes jokingly tells him off for revealing too much about their family life. Liam admitted that he will go home after an interview and be chastised by Cheryl for opening up too much. 'She'll rib me asking "What did you say that for?" But I can't help it, I'm just really happy at the moment,' he said laughing. Gushing about Bear, he added: 'He's like a tiny little Michelin man! Today he had some Air Max on and he was trying to walk in the kitchen. Every day there's something new and he gets more and more fun.' Liam proudly added t...

Men arrested in Spain over attack on British woman Three men have been arrested in Spain after a British woman was beaten, tied up and sexually assaulted during an attempted robbery near a holiday resort. The 52-year-old woman, from Southampton, Hampshire, was dragged from a swimming pool area at a home in the village of Gea y Truyols near La Manga in south-east Spain, on May 20 last year. A gang of three hooded men then forced their way in to the home she was sharing with her sister and took her from room to room, beating her as they demanded money and jewellery. She was then tied-up and sexually assaulted. But the trio fled when her sister suddenly arrived back at the house, inland from the upmarket resort of La Manga, in the province of Murcia. They took the sister's car to escape and it was later found abandoned less than a mile away. The three men now arrested by investigators from the paramilitary Civil Guard are two Spaniards and an Ecuadorean. They face charges o...

 2017 Taylor Swift mocks herself in LWYMMD video /2017 Reputation Taylor Swift wants to kill her public image. The pop star goes about slaying various public perceptions of herself in the new video for Look What You Made Me Do, from upcoming album Reputation. Taylor, in a clear swipe at her critics, pokes fun at her 'reputation' as the serial monogamist, the heartless publicity hound, and the good girl in the darkly satirical video. But most telling are her digs at ex Tom Hiddleston and frenemy Katy Perry along with some serious venom for Kim Kardashian. The 27-year-old debuted the new video at the MTV VMAs on Sunday night, but did not appear herself at the awards show. Her rival Katy was conveniently absent when the video was introduced, despite the Fireworks singer hosting the ceremony. Various hidden messages were clearly buried in the video, the first comes right at the beginning as a zombie version of Taylor claws her way out of a grave. The tombstone next to her...

Taylor Swift settles scores with Look What You Made Me Do/ 2017 Reputation Taylor Swift is the pop star who made it cool to be nice. She boasted of her baking skills and sent surprise gifts to her many fans — the fiercely loyal ‘Swifties’. They, in turn, rewarded her with a string of hit records. But there is another Taylor Swift. Still only 27, she has left a line of ex-boyfriends in her wake and had some spectacular fall-outs with big-name stars. In her latest video, Look What You Made Me Do, which has already been viewed 25 million times, she gets her revenge. ALISON BOSHOFF explains how . . . Claws out for Katy Perry Taylor and pop star Katy Perry were great pals up to 2011, but fell out, allegedly after Perry dated Swift’s ex-beau, singer John Mayer. In her new video, Taylor — looking like Katy — crashes a car while holding a Grammy award. It’s a vicious dig as Perry has 13 nominations, but has yet to win one — while Taylor won ten. Arguably, Katy’s love life is a bit of...

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West over feud with Taylor Swift Kim Kardashian and Kanye West reportedly don't care about Taylor Swift's new single. The 27-year-old pop star released her new song Look What You Made Me Do last week with lyrics seemingly critical of the power couple. A music video for the single released Sunday during the MTV Video Music Awards clarified references to Kim and Kanye. 'Kim and Kanye don't care about Taylor's new music,' a source told People in an article Monday. 'They find it pathetic that she still tries to keep an old feud going. They are not going to give her or her new music any attention,' the insider said of the parents of two. 'They have more important things to focus on, like their family,' the source added. Kanye, 40, famously interrupted Taylor's acceptance speech during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards to protest Beyonce losing in the Best Female Video category. They appeared to make up at the 2...

Taylor Swift is liking fan theories on Tumblr /2017 Reputation Taylor Swift is letting the fans figure out the messages in her new music video for themselves, and so far has not uttered a word in interviews or on social media. She is, however, dispensing a few 'likes'. Since Look What You Made Me Do debuted on Sunday night, the 27-year-old has been busy on Tumblr, liking fan theories and reactions. Though she won't explicitly say so, it seems that the star is confirming some of those fan theories — and the fact that nothing in the new video is a coincidence. Taylor has been incredibly active on Tumblr since the debut, a change since she wiped her page clean last week. Many of the posts she's liking are just expressions of excitement over the song and video, as well as compliments and rave reviews — but she also appears to be giving the thumbs up to some theories that her fans have concocted about messages woven into the song and video, after dissecting it frame...

Taylor Swift 'felt like personal life was out of control'/2017 Reputation Taylor Swift has spent most of 2017 out of the limelight after years of feuds and break-ups. And perhaps the reason to stay out of the spotlight is so the megastar could gain some control in her life. The 27-year-old star felt like she needed the time off to reinvent herself according to a Tuesday report from People magazine. After all of the drama a source close to Swift told the weekly: 'she felt like her personal life was spinning out of control. 'It was draining her and she needed to disappear to reinvent herself. It was time to change things up and take another approach.' In the last week Taylor has returned with a new single and music video for Look What You Made Me Do which many believe has several references to her exes and feuds. The insider for People said the star is excited for the project as they explained:  'Taylor is very excited about her new album. This has been...

Taylor Swift bathes in $10m of diamonds in new video /Reputation Revenge may be a dish best served cold...but if it were a bath then a tub filled with diamonds would certainly be the best way to go about it. And that's exactly what Taylor Swift did.  The diamonds that filled up Swift's bath for her new video, Look What You Made Me Do, are worth more than $10 million, an insider told Page Six on Tuesday. The extravagant array of jewels were provided by jeweler-to-the-stars Neil Lane, the insider said, adding that an 'insane' level of security was implemented for the high-profile video shoot. Among the authentic treasures showcased in the clip include a snake-themed ring the songstress wore, which looks similar to one actress Zoe Saldana sported at the Academy Awards four years ago. The music video, which debuted Sunday on the heels of the MTV Video Music Awards, has created buzz around the singer amid whispers that the decadent display of diamonds was sneaky sha...

Kim Kardashian says she 'loves' Taylor Swift in 2009 video Last year Kim Kardashian infamously took to Snapchat to release a secretly recorded video between her husband Kanye West and Taylor Swift. And on Wednesday, Entertainment Tonight unearthed the latest clip that the 38-year-old probably wishes stayed in the vault. On the red carpet at a 2009 party, the reality star gushes about her now-nemesis Swift, even calling herself the singer's 'biggest fan.' When asked about the number one song on her iPod at the time, Kim was quick to reply: 'Love Story by Taylor Swift'.  'I love Taylor Swift', she continued, 'I am the biggest Taylor Swift fan.' The event where Kim made the confession took place in March 2009, when Taylor was still known as a country artist and Kim was three years away from starting her relationship with Kanye West.  In September of that year, West rushed the stage as Swift accepted an MTV Video Music Award for Best ...

Kerry Katona and Katie Price treat their children to feast They buried the hatchet three years ago after almost a decade of feuding. Now both going through respective divorces, Katie Price, 39, and Kerry Katona, 36, proved their friendship is stronger than ever as they brought their children together to enjoy a McDonald's on Wednesday. Singer Kerry shared the heartwarming snap of her kids Lilly-Sue, 14, and Heidi, 10, alongside Katie's eldest children Junior, 12, and Princess, 10, being treated to the fast food feast on Instagram. Looking beyond happy with their treat, the group of eight children beamed towards the camera as Kerry captured the moment of them around the dinner table.  Sharing the snap, the Atomic Kitten hitmaker captioned: 'Feeding time at the zoo @officialkatieprice' The family affair comes as they both appear to be a shoulder to lean on for one-another as they both prepare to divorce their third husbands. Katie had revealed she is divorcing...

Diana's last call: RICHARD KAY recalls final conversation The phone calls could come at any time — last thing at night or in the early hours. They could be a brief hello or a conversation lasting for hours — one spanned the best part of an entire day, completely ignoring the domestic rhythms of meals and drinks. If I didn’t pick up, there would be urgent messages on the answering-machine or pager — no texts in those days — to ring back. Sometimes we would meet. Churches were a favourite, the more out of the way the better. So, too, were the open spaces of London parks. And, of course, we met at home — hers usually, but also in those of close, trusted friends. But the phone was our principal method of communication. It was how I last spoke to her. Twenty years ago today, I was awoken, like the rest of the world, to the shocking news of Princess Diana’s death. It seemed scarcely credible, because just a few hours earlier she had rung me from Paris. By rights she should already...

Saturn's rings are just 100 million years old Saturn's rings could be as young as 100 million years old and formed when dinosaurs still roamed Earth. This contradicts the common view that they are 4.4 billion years old - the same age as Saturn. The new age is implied from data gathered by Cassini as it makes its final orbits before the death dive. A comet or moon probably came too close to Saturn and then broke apart around the planet forming the distinct halo, researchers suggest. This means it would have looked completely different when dinosaurs first set foot on the planet around 230 million years ago.    If this initial data is found to be correct, researchers say we could be looking at Saturn in a very unique period in planet's history. On 15 September Cassini will make its mission-ending plunge into Saturn's atmosphere. It will soon run out of fuel and Nasa wants to crash it in order to stop it potentially contaminating other life-forms that could exi...

Light spotted by Koreans 600 years ago was star exploding On 11 March 1437, Korean astronomers observed what looked like the appearance of a new star in our galaxy.  Now, centuries later, scientists have discovered this was in fact an overfed white dwarf star exploding, known as a 'classical nova.' The super-dense dead star's powerful gravity stole material from a nearby stellar companion until a critical point was reached and its outer surface blew away. This made it shine 300,000 times brighter than the sun. The event, seen as the appearance of a new star in the tail of the constellation Scorpius, was recorded by the Korean royal imperial astronomers. It lasted just 14 days before fading from view. A remnant of the explosion in the form of a 'nova shell' halo around the dwarf star remains, but is invisible to the naked eye. The find, reported in the journal Nature, ends years of searching by US and British astronomers and historians. Lead scientist Dr...

Breakthrough project has detected 15 fast radio bursts Scientists involved in a $100 million initiative to search for alien life have detected 15 mysterious signals coming from a galaxy 3 billion light-years away. These signals, known as fast radio bursts, are a new batch of radio emissions emanating from a source dubbed the ‘repeater’ – the first FRB ever known to repeat. According to the experts with Breakthrough Listen, the discovery confirms the source is in a newly active state, and marks the first time FRBs have been detected at higher frequencies. Breakthrough Listen, backed by Mark Zuckerberg, Stephen Hawking, and billionaire Yuri Milner, has been gathering data with the Green Bank Radio Telescope in West Virginia, Lick Observatory’s Automated Planet Finder on Mt Hamilton in California, and the Parkes Radio Telescope in Australia. While it remains unknown whether the 15 newly detected pulses are signs of intelligent alien life, or instead stem from natural processes in...

Black holes may have helped light up the universe Around 13.7 billion years ago, it’s thought that the universe exploded into existence in a phenomenon that’s come to be known as the Big Bang – and then, all went dark. With hot, thick gas swirling about the newborn universe, light remained trapped for as many as one billion years, until the cosmos finally expanded and filled with light-emanating objects. Just how this transformation occurred, however, has long remained a mystery. Now, a new study has found that black holes may have been responsible for filling the early universe with light, as they violently flung out matter and tore through the surrounding clouds. In the new study, researchers from the University of Iowa observed unusual activity in a nearby galaxy that could help to explain the processes that helped to illuminate the universe. ‘The observations show the presence of very bright X-ray sources that are likely accreting black holes,’ says Philip Kaaret, profess...

Volcanic eruptions drove ancient global warming event One of the most extreme periods of global warming that led to the first primates appearing on Earth was caused by volcanic eruptions, experts say. This upheaval 56 million years ago was the result of Greenland separating from Europe during the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean. Previous studies have proposed that the ancient environmental event was caused by the release of carbon from frozen methane buried in rock. Scientists believe that studying the disturbance could help them to understand how Earth behaves when faced with dramatic conditions within the climate today. An international team of researchers wanted to determine the source of the atmospheric carbon that led to the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) event. During the PETM, atmospheric carbon dioxide more than doubled and global temperatures rose by 5C, an increase that is comparable with the change that may occur by later next century on modern Earth....

Study finds one of Europa's plumes may not exist Concealed beneath a shell of ice, Jupiter’s moon Europa is known to host an ocean of liquid water, leading scientists to believe it may be among their best shots at finding alien life. While accessing this subsurface ocean would be a great hurdle, recent Hubble observations suggest there may be active water vapour plumes on the icy moon, which could allow for direct study. Findings from a new study, however, suggest that one of these suspected plumes may not exist at all – instead, the region may just be home to warm rocks. The absence of plumes wouldn’t kill chances for life on Europa, but it would make the hunt for such organisms far more difficult. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, researchers from the California Institute of Technology captured a daytime thermal image of the moon, including a region near Pwyll Crater, which has been linked to two possible plume detections. In this spot, NASA’s Galileo instrument...

L'Oreal sued by former monk for using patented technology A former Roman Catholic monk has accused cosmetics giant L'Oreal of stealing patented technology in an anti-aging wrinkle cream that his charity was selling. Dennis Wyrzykowski, 55, leads a religious charity known as the Teresian Carmelites in Millbury, Massachusetts. He was selling an anti-aging cream online for $65 per tube to support the Carmelites' work with prisoners, drug addicts, and school children. The cream, called Easeamine, is made using technology inspired by a discovery by two University of Massachusetts Medical School scientists. They found that adenosine, a chemical compound found in the heart, can promote skin elasticity. The lawsuit alleges that L'Oreal was aware UMass held the patent for the science and that L'Oreal had been denied patents because of their similarity to those granted to UMass. The suit says the cosmetic company went ahead with a line of products based on the aden...

L'Oreal sued by former monk for using patented technology A former Roman Catholic monk has accused cosmetics giant L'Oreal of stealing patented technology in an anti-aging wrinkle cream that his charity was selling. Dennis Wyrzykowski, 55, leads a religious charity known as the Teresian Carmelites in Millbury, Massachusetts. He was selling an anti-aging cream online for $65 per tube to support the Carmelites' work with prisoners, drug addicts, and school children. The cream, called Easeamine, is made using technology inspired by a discovery by two University of Massachusetts Medical School scientists. They found that adenosine, a chemical compound found in the heart, can promote skin elasticity. The lawsuit alleges that L'Oreal was aware UMass held the patent for the science and that L'Oreal had been denied patents because of their similarity to those granted to UMass. The suit says the cosmetic company went ahead with a line of products based on the aden...

L'Oreal sued by former monk for using patented technology A former Roman Catholic monk has accused cosmetics giant L'Oreal of stealing patented technology in an anti-aging wrinkle cream that his charity was selling. Dennis Wyrzykowski, 55, leads a religious charity known as the Teresian Carmelites in Millbury, Massachusetts. He was selling an anti-aging cream online for $65 per tube to support the Carmelites' work with prisoners, drug addicts, and school children. The cream, called Easeamine, is made using technology inspired by a discovery by two University of Massachusetts Medical School scientists. They found that adenosine, a chemical compound found in the heart, can promote skin elasticity. The lawsuit alleges that L'Oreal was aware UMass held the patent for the science and that L'Oreal had been denied patents because of their similarity to those granted to UMass. The suit says the cosmetic company went ahead with a line of products based on the aden...