At least five people have been killed in a bombing at a mosque in a pro-Taliban seminary in Pakistan, including a cleric who police say was the target.
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Top cleric killed in bombing at seminary in Pakistan
NSW Waratahs escape with thrilling win over Fijian Drua
A late penalty try has earned the NSW Waratahs a thrilling 29-24 Super Rugby Pacific win over the Fijian Drua in Sydney.
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God has lifted Mahama – Joyce Bawah Mogtari Declares at Fellowship Event
President John Dramani Mahama is attending a special fellowship and thanksgiving service with Christian leaders at the Accra International Conference Center, celebrating what his aide, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, describes as a moment of divine elevation. Sharing the event’s atmosphere on Facebook, Mogtari wrote, “They say that success indeed has many friends. “Today, God has made […]
The post God has lifted Mahama – Joyce Bawah Mogtari Declares at Fellowship Event appeared first on MyNewsGh.
Major retailer launches big closing down sale as two more stores shut amid 35 closures this month
A MAJOR retailer has launched a big closing down sale as two more stores will shut amid 35 closures this month.
Homebase will close its branch in Basingstoke this weekend, with the store officially closing on March 1.
The branch has launched a major closing down sale in efforts to shift stock before it’s gone for good.
According to a report in the Basingstoke Gazette, a sale of at least 50% off is currently being carried out.
It could be a chance to nab a bargain on its range of chairs and kitchen and outdoor goods.
Locals were sad about the departure, with one writing: “How many more shops are we going to lose in Basingstoke.”
However, it is not all doom and gloom as the branch is set to be transformed into a B&Q, with all staff being transferred as part of the process.
The hardware brand owned by Kingfisher said it would takeover five Homebase stores after it collapsed.
The stores are in Altrincham, Basingstoke, Biggleswade, Leamington Spa and Worcester.
The branch is not the only Homebase store to launch a major closing down sale ahead of its departure form the high street.
Its branch on Easlea Road, Bury St Edmunds is offering discounts of up to 70% as it prepares to close for the last time today Friday, 28 February.
Homebase fell into administration in November, but part of the estate was reduced by billionaire Chris Dawson, the owner of The Range and Wilko.
As part of the rescue deal, he looked to retain “up to” 70 stores and save 1,600 jobs as well as the Homebase brand, leaving 74 branches and roughly 2,000 employees at risk.
Just a week later, Teneo, Homebase’s administrators placed the 74 stores up for sale.
Although the company established a deadline of November 29 for potential buyers to acquire these branches, not every store has been saved.
Previous analysis by The Sun reveals just 57 stores were excluded from being listed for sale and could potentially have been part of CDS’s rescue plan.
Yet, CDS has only confirmed the rescue of 12 stores so far, leaving the total number of saved locations unclear.
These locations might have been earmarked for rescue by CDS Superstores, the owner of The Range and Wilko.
In January, Homebase closed 20 stores, seven of which had already been acquired by supermarket giant Sainsbury’s in August 2024.
A further 35 sites are now set to close this month.
Last month, B&Q agreed to buy five of the chain’s branches that were for sale.
Currently, 26 Homebase stores remain on the market, while the future of another 43 stores that were never listed for sale remains uncertain.
What is happening to the stores bought by CDS?
CDS Superstores previously said it would buy up to 70 Homebase shops.
It has also taken on the Homebase brand and relaunched its website with thousands of products up for sale.
It is re-purposing and opening some of the former Homebase stores under its The Range brand.
The new stores will feature products usually found in The Range but some will also contain “Garden Centres by Homebase”.
Others will feature “Kitchens by Homebase” spaces.
The hybrid branches have already started opening with CDS saying it wants to open three a week over the coming months.
The company plans to open at least 50 before the end of April.
CDS has already confirmed nine former Homebase locations out of the up to 70 which have opened.
Stores have opened in Birmingham, Felixstowe and Blyth.
Pictures of one of the new stores in Bournemouth were revealed earlier this month when it opened.
CDS said the move to take on up to 70 Homebase sites would see 1,600 staff keep their jobs.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
Gary Lineker moves to ITV with Match of the Day host to hold ‘most honest interview yet’
GARY LINEKER is set for a move to ITV – but he won’t be heading up their footie coverage.
SunSport exclusively revealed last year that Lineker’s incredible run as Match of the Day host will come to an end this summer.
Lineker is set to leave the Beeb in the summer of 2026.
And he’s already bagged himself a temporary gig on a new ITV show.
The former Everton and England hitman has been confirmed as the first star on the broadcaster’s new show, Assembly.
In the show, Lineker will field questions from people who are neurodivergent, autistic and/or learning disabled.
An ITV statement read: “After a long and illustrious career as both a Golden Boot-winning footballer and top sports broadcaster, and with his tenure as the longest-serving presenter of Match of the Day drawing to a close this summer.
“There’s no end to the stories that Lineker might share.
“Carefully considered PR fluff won’t cut it on this show.
“And the celebrities can expect plenty of mischief and surprises once they get in the hotseat.”
Lineker will appear on the show with other celebs, including former Doctor Who, David Tennant, Little Mix star Jade Thirwall and actor Danny Dyer.
ITV have previously tried to acquire Lineker’s services, offering him a chance to appear on Celebrity Big Brother.
During a recent episode of The Rest is Football podcast, he revealed: “Do you know, last week I got requests to go on Celebrity Big Brother.
He added: “My agent sent it through, and then jokingly he replied, ‘Oh, yes. Gary’s fee will be £50 million!’
“He did it completely as a joke, obviously. And they came back said, ‘Oh, that’s a little bit…that’s not within our budget.'”
Lineker’s 25-year stint presenting Match of the Day will end at the culmination of the 2024-25 season.
He will, however, head up the Beeb’s coverage of the 2025/26 FA Cup and the 2026 World Cup, which will take place in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
The final of the tournament, which will take place at the MetLife Stadium in New York on July 19, will be his farewell appearance for the broadcaster.
It was announced in December that Lineker will be replaced by veteran footie presenters Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan.
Teenager ‘got pregnant from oral sex’ according to medical journal that claims another explanation is impossible
IN a medical anomaly, a teenage girl without a vaginal opening became pregnant via oral sex after a series of bizarre events.
The 15-year-old from Lesotho, in Southern Africa, was admitted to a hospital with severe intermittent abdominal pain, that felt strangely like contractions.
To her utter disbelief, routine testing revealed these were in fact labour pains, as she was pregnant.
Doctors writing in the British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, then discovers the teen had no vaginal opening, a rare defect that only affects between 4,000 to 10,000 newborn girls.
In theory, this should have made it impossible for the teen to get pregnant without technologies like in vitro fertilization (IVF).
The condition, called vaginal atresia, also made it impossible for her to give birth through her vagina.
This meant doctors had to perform a C-section to deliver the baby, which turned out to be a healthy 6.2-pound boy.
The case, which dates back to 1988, has recently resurfaced, following a report of a Scottish woman who thought she had a burst appendix, only to discover she was pregnant – and gave birth 40 minutes later.
At the time of writing, medics treating the girl in Lesotho were puzzled as to how the teen had become pregnant.
The girl claimed that in the months leading up to the birth, she noticed her body changing shape.
But because she did not have a vaginal opening and had not engaged in penetrative vaginal sex, she “did not believe she was pregnant”.
The doctors learned that nine months before she had attended hospital for a stab wound to her stomach region shortly after giving oral sex.
At that time, she confided in a nurse that her ex-boyfriend had violently attacked her in what they described as a “mini war” when he caught her with her current partner.
The experts decided the sperm she swallowed somehow made its way to her reproductive organs through her stab wounds, leading to the unexpected pregnancy.
“The fact that the son resembled the father excluded it as an even more miraculous conception,” they added.
What makes this pregnancy even more surprising is that stomach acid is usually strong enough to kill sperm quickly, making it unable to fertilize an egg.
The medical team’s most “plausible” explanation is that the sperm survived because the girl was malnourished at the time of the attack.
They believe this lowered the acidity in her stomach, allowing the sperm to travel through her stab wounds and reach her uterus, where it fertilized the egg.
Other bizarre medical case reports
- Grim photos show how a man was left with a barbed stinger lodged in his eyeball for several days after being stung by a bee.
- Two women were left with a disease that thickens the lungs and makes it hard to breathe after having their eyebrows microbladed.
- Doctors had to pull a motorcycle brake handle from a teenager’s eye after it got stuck during a road accident.
- A man, 43, was left in excruciating pain after shoving a toothbrush into his penis, which then snapped during sex.
- Photos show the feet of a 12-year-old girl who was born with two giant toes and now struggles to walk.
- A 64-year-old man was left with a green, hairy tongue after years of smoking.
- Horrifying footage shows the moment they discovered a spider living in a woman’s ear.
Mrs Hinch fans reveal the £1 cleaning solution from Aldi to avoid £1,500 in fence repairs
WITH the recent damp weather, your fence could be prone to growth of unsightly algae, moss, and mould – which could leave it damaged.
Thankfully there is a Mrs Hinch fan-approved hack that can have your garden spring-ready in minutes.
The easy trick could even save you up to £1,500 in future fence repairs, making it a cost-effective and convenient way to remove green algae and mould.
Taking to the Facebook group Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips, one user asked: “Any handy tips for removing green mould from garden fences?”
This seemingly common problem had numerous fans flocking to the comments to provide solutions.
It turned out that one product stood out as a clear favourite.
Cleaning whizzes said they swear by using white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to restore fences to their former glory.
One Mrs Hinch fan commented: “White vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and warm water.
“Just brush on and green algae goes.
“Did mine last spring, excellent and easy.”
DIY expert Simon Wardle, from Armstrong Cheshire, confirmed that this quick and convenient hack really does work.
He said: “The combination of vinegar and bicarb creates a gentle, mild-abrasive cleaner that removes green algae and mould from your fence and the best part is – it doesn’t strip the paint!
“This cleaning method is quick and convenient since most people already have the ingredients at home.
“If not, you can buy baking soda and vinegar for just £1 at Aldi.”
How to remove algae with vinegar & bicarb spray
- All you need is distilled white vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, warm water and a spray bottle.
- Mix one part warm water with one part vinegar and two teaspoons of bicarb, and pour into a spray bottle.
- Spray onto affected areas of your fence and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
- Rinse off with water.
- Any stubborn areas may need scrubbing with a hand brush for complete removal.
Now sunnier weather is on the horizon, gardeners can start preparing their outdoor spaces for spring.
TV legend Monty Don has shared a list of jobs you should start with before the end of February.
From sewing seeds to pruning back older plants, there are many jobs on the to-do list.
On his blog, BBC star Monty shared: “February is the month when the garden really starts to come alive and grow even if the weather can be severe and the days are still short.”
While it may seem too cold for many plants, it’s actually a good time to start planting seeds, claims the gardening expert.
You can start by filling some seedling trays with soil to start growing plants inside with some light and a bit of warmth.
Some seed trays come with a lid and can be plugged in to warm up the seeds – giving the effect of an incubator or greenhouse in summer.
Monty advised that you should remove seedlings from a warm heat source when they have started to sprout so it builds up hardier plants.
He wrote in Gardener’s World: “It’s very tempting to mollycoddle seedlings, especially early in the spring. This is always a mistake.”
Monty shared how they should be planted in a sheltered area with plenty of ventilation.
The gardening expert recommended that vegetables that you can plant now include “leeks, peas, kale and rhubarb.”
F1 testing abruptly STOPPED as Sky Sports commentator says ‘this is not something that should happen’
FORMULA One testing in Bahrain was abruptly STOPPED for the most bizarre reason.
Shattered glass on the pit straight brought out a red flag during final day of testing ahead of the 2025 season.
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
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Dunnes Stores fans set to love cute new €30 rib knit top for spring after it lands on racks
DUNNES Stores fans are set to love a cute new rib knit top for spring after it landed on racks.
The Savida Sadie Rib Knit Top is available in stores and online now.
The burgundy top is priced at €30 and comes in sizes XXS to XXL.
It can be paired with skirts, jeans or trousers depending on the occasion.
The retailer said: “This Savida top is designed with an open front adorned with delicate ribbons.
“Crafted from a ribbed knit fabric, it pairs beautifully with a skirt and boots for an evening out ensemble.
“Savida is available exclusively at Dunnes Stores.”
Meanwhile, an over 40s fashion fan has tried a beautiful new pinstripe set from Dunnes Stores – and it’s so versatile.
Mon Fesa, @mon.fesa on Instagram, has alerted her followers to the Multi Savida Pinstripe Waistcoat and matching skirt.
She said: “Savida vs Gallery.
“I think both can be worn everywhere these days because everywhere you go there is heating and outside you wear a coat.
“But… which one you like more 1 or 2? Skirt & waistcoat are from @savida.ds.
“Cable jumper from Gallery and both styles are @dunnesstores.”
The Multi Savida Pinstripe Waistcoat is available in stores and online now.
The retailer said: “A contemporary twist on a classic wardrobe staple, this waistcoat from Savida showcases a timeless pinstripe pattern.
“Featuring a flattering v-neckline and tonal buttons, it can be worn with the matching skirt for a smart ensemble.
“Savida is available exclusively at Dunnes Stores.”
The matching Savida City Girl Pinstripe Skirt is priced at €20.
Its description reads: “Cut to a flattering mini length, this skirt from Savida showcases a timeless pinstripe pattern.
“With feminine pleats at the front and added stretch for comfort, it can be worn with the matching waistcoat for a smart ensemble.
“Savida is available exclusively at Dunnes Stores.”
THE HISTORY OF DUNNES STORES
DUNNES Stores opened its first store on Patrick Street in Cork in 1944 - and it was an instant hit.
Shoppers from all over the city rushed to the store to snap up quality clothing at pre-war prices in Ireland’s first ‘shopping frenzy’.
During the excitement, a window was forced in and the police had to be called to help control the crowds hoping to bag founder Ben Dunne’s ‘Better Value’ bargains.
Dunnes later opened more stores in the 1950s and began to sell groceries in 1960 – starting with apples and oranges.
The retailer said: “Fruit was expensive at the time and Ben Dunne yet again offered Better Value than anyone else in town.
“Over time, our food selection has grown and that spirit of good value has remained strong.
“Now we offer a wide range of carefully-sourced foods from both local Irish suppliers and overseas.”
The retailer’s first Dublin store opened its doors in 1957 on Henry Street and a super store on South Great Georges Street was unveiled in 1960.
They added: “In 1971, our first Northern Irish store opened, and many others soon followed.
“Expansion continued in the 1980s in Spain, and later into Scotland and England.”
Dunnes now has 142 stores and employs 15,000 people.
Helldivers 2’s Galactic War Has Stalled Because a Bug Was Secretly Rigging It for Super Earth the Whole Time
In Helldivers 2, players have long been engaged in the fight for democracy and freedom, leading the charge in a galactic war to liberate planets from oppressive alien factions. While there are various missions, the central ones are Major Orders, which help advance the galactic war. These key missions contribute to Super Earth’s cause of […]
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