Fifa commends Manchester City’s hat-trick hero Iheanacho

   Kelechi Iheanacho’s awe-inspiring performance against Aston Villa on Saturday has been applauded by the Federation of International Football Association.

The 19-year-old got his first for Manuel Pellegrini's men as they tore apart the Villans 4-0 at the Villa Park to reach the FA Cup fifth round.

Iheancho, who was named the Most Valuable Player at the 2013 Fifa U17 World Cup, began the exploit after four minutes with a close range finish.

He added his second from the penalty spot after Raheem Sterling was brought down by Leandro Bacuna before sliding home his third on the counter in the second half.

And the world football governing body through their Twitter handle acknowledged the Super Eagles’ star performance against Remi Garde’s men.

   The victory kept Manchester City’s hopes of a quadruple alive having booked a place in the final of the English League Cup at the expense of Everton.

Nine arrested as UK immigration protests prompt clashes

   Police in Britain arrested nine people Saturday as pro and anti-immigration protests in the English Channel port town of Dover spilt over into violence.

Far-right and left-wing protestors held rival demonstrations but police in riot gear and dog handlers were forced to intervene when bricks and smoke bombs were thrown.

The local Kent police said in a statement that one person had suffered a broken arm and five others suffered "minor injuries".

Three men were arrested -- one on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon, a second for allegedly breaching the peace and a third suspected of a public order offence.

Dover, one of Britain's main ferry ports and located on the southeast coast, is a prime destination among migrants at camps around the French town of Calais, 21 miles (34 kilometres) across the sea.

More than a million migrants and refugees, many from Syria, crossed into Europe last year, causing the continent's worst migration crisis since World War II.

Britain has opted out of European Union quotas for taking migrants but has said it will take 20,000 refugees from camps on Syria's borders by 2020.

Earlier Saturday, a further six men were arrested at a motorway service station in Maidstone, northwest of Dover, for alleged violent disorder in an incident which police think was linked to the protests.

Six people were injured and a number of coaches were damaged, officers added.

Anindya Battacharyya, who was travelling with an anti-fascist group to Dover, told the Guardian newspaper he was inside the service station when violence broke out.

"The service station staff bolted the doors and through the windows we could see a large group of fascists," he said.

"They attacked one of our coaches and smashed up the windows and one of them came and daubed a swastika in blood on the side of one of the coaches."

In total, over 20 weapons were seized in Dover and at the service station including a knuckle duster, hammers and bricks, police said.

UK Helicopter Pilot Shot Dead By Poachers

A British pilot has been killed after his helicopter was fired at by elephant poachers in Tanzania.

Roger Gower was flying a helicopter taking part in an operation to track and arrest poachers when it came under fire, the Friedkin Conservation Fund said.

"We are profoundly saddened by the loss of our dear friend," the organisation's chairman Dan Friedkin said.

"We are committed to honouring Roger and his work. We are also committed to ensuring that those responsible for this attack are found and brought to justice."

According to Lazaro Nyalandu, Tanzania's former minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Mr Gower managed to land the helicopter, but died before rescuers could reach him.

"Capt Roger, a British national, was shot mid air by poachers AK47, managed to land his chopper but sadly died before his rescue last night," he tweeted.

"Those poachers who killed Capt Roger are coward, evil, and sad people. A fine hearted individual gone too soon, and our hearts are broken.

"RIP Capt Roger. You loved our country and I knew you on many flights we took together in defence of our wildlife heritage. Life is precious."

Local journalist Lucy Taylor told Sky News that Mr Gower was deployed after two elephants were found dead in the Maswa game reserve, which forms part of the Serengeti national park. 

She said he came across a third elephant, which had only recently been killed, when a poacher shot at the aircraft.

Only one shot is reported to have been fired, although it went through the floor of the helicopter and through Mr Gower's leg and part of his shoulder.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said: "We can confirm the death of a British national in Tanzania and are providing assistance to the family at this difficult time."

On its website, the air charter company Tropic Air Kenya said Mr Gower worked as one of its helicopter pilots.

"In addition to pilot-guiding many helicopter safaris and excursions, Roger has been the key pilot allocated to supporting the British Army battle groups in Northern Kenya, with tasks that include clearing live firing ranges, and carrying out medical evacuations," it said.

It said he moved to East Africa in 2008.

Mr Gower is reported to have worked as an accountant before qualifying as a pilot in 2004.

Premier League: Jose Mourinho 'Shakes Hands' on Deal to Succeed Louis van Gaal at Manchester United

 

Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has shaken hands on a deal to become Manchester United's next manager when Louis van Gaal leaves Old Trafford, according to ​Tuttomercatoweb.

   Mourinho has long coveted the job at United but was overlooked by the club in the wake of Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013, as then Everton manager David Moyes was handed the job in his place. Mourinho moved back to Chelsea shortly after Ferguson's announcement, but saw his second tenure at the club come to an end in December after a poor run of form.

United have been linked with several candidates to replace current boss Van Gaal recently though, with Mourinho appearing at the top of the list. It's now reported that he has an agreement to take over United whenever the club decide to part ways with their current boss - who is under increasing pressure in his role at Old Trafford.
   His current contract runs out in 2017, but reports over the last month have suggested that the club's hierarchy are considering his position. Van Gaal's United are currently five points off the Champions League places following the weekend defeat to Southampton.

While it's been speculated that Van Gaal has offered his resignation on two separate occasions - the latest coming at the weekend - the ​Mail report on Wednesday that Van Gaal now has no intention of walking away from the club of his own accord. 

Van Gaal returned to the club to take training on Tuesday after a couple of days off, and while his attitude appears to have changed his job is still at risk if poor form and poor performances continue. 

Current assistant manager Ryan Giggs is another candidate to succeed Van Gaal if he does leave, but United officials are worried that the Welshman will leave the club after 28 years of service if he's overlooked for the job this time around. 
   The ​Mirror report that Giggs is reluctant to be a number two again, and would not want to become a caretaker if Van Gaal is sacked before the season's end either - unless it leads to him getting the job permanently.

The Hottest Baby Names for 2016

   What are the hottest baby names for the year ahead?

To find out, we looked at which names have attracted the most unique views of a total of more than six million visits to our name pages in the past 30 days.

Then we tracked which of those top names had increased 50 percent or more over the same period last year.

The result: A group of 50 baby names we see as the very hottest right now.  These names might not be showing up on international popularity lists quite yet. But the current spike in interest is sure to translate to much wider adoption in the months and years ahead.

Some observations:

– Vowel-beginning names continue to rule, with 40 percent of the hottest girls’ names and over half the boys’ names starting with A (still the leader), E, I, or O, in that order.

– Unisex names are hot, especially for girls, with Riley, Rowan, Finley, Teagan, Peyton, Sage, and Everly all making the girls’ list. But we also see names that can cross the gender line on the boys’ side: Jayden, Elliot, Logan, Charlie, and Rhys.

– Girl-boy pairs of names make the hot list, with Elise and Elias, Kai and Kaia, Jade and Jayden, Evan and Everly all rising.

– Girls’ names with the -el sound – Elise and Elsie but also Aveline and Annalise – keep gathering steam, as do boys’ names that end in n, with newcomers Aryan, Augustine, Lucian, and Eamon joining such favorites as Aiden and Owen.

– The new hottest names have a distinct international flavor, and include the Scandinavian Astrid, French Anouk, the African Amara, the German Annalise, the Greek Xanthe, the Hawaiian Kai, the Indo-Iranian Aryan, and the Irish Eamon.

The 50 hottest names of 2016, in order of popularity on Nameberry and including the percentage they jumped over last year, are:

girls

Astrid, up     101%
Thea, up     54%
Sadie, up     50%
Riley, up     335%
Elise, up     54%
Avery, up     52%
Rowan, up     115%
Elsie, up     68%
Finley, up     60%
Jade, up     96%
Anouk, up     122%
Wren, up     104%
Amara, up     52%
Celeste, up     51%
Aveline, up     57%
Teagan, up     134%
Bryn, up     317%
Peyton, up     71%
Sage, up     78%
Ruby, up     124%
Annalise, up     54%
Kaia, up     52%
Mavis, up     98%
Xanthe, up     83%
Everly, up     76%
boys

James, up     72%
Elijah, up     50%
Jayden, up     489%
Elliot, up     80%
Logan, up     81%
Charlie, up     92%
Jude, up     137%
Elias, up     82%
Isaiah, up     60%
Arlo, up     51%
Kai, up     66%
Evan, up     95%
Aryan, up     70%
Aiden, up     102%
Noah, up     92%
Augustine, up     231%
Owen, up     54%
Alistair, up     63%
Amias, up     55%
Lewis, up     57%
Lucian, up     87%
Angus, up     78%
Micah, up     76%
Rhys, up     71%
Eamon, up     96%

People Are Saying The New ‘Planet 9’ Is Going To Kill Us All - Here’s Why

   A chill swept over the Internet last week when scientists announced that there was a huge, unseen planet at the far edge of our solar system - Planet 9.

For decades, conspiracy theorists have predicted that an unseen planet beyond Neptune -  called Nibiru or Planet X - is going to destroy Earth.

The announcement from Caltech scientists seemed to confirm there WAS a planet there - and the wilder reaches of the internet have already begun predicting apocalypse.

A message appeared on the website of Zecharia Sitchin - a writer who claimed aliens from Nibiru created the human race - despite the fact Sitchin has been dead since 2010.
   Pastor Paul Begley - an American preacher fond of predicting apocalypse, thundered, ‘Something is causing the heavens to shake - and it’s in your Bible! If you go into the gospel of Saint Luke, Luke 21, verse 10, “Nation shall rise against nation.Kingdom against kingdom. Great earthquakes shall be in diverse places - and famines and pestilences, and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.”’

Begley admits he’s not certain Planet 9 IS Nibiru - but cheerfully predicts an asteroid strike wiping out a third of Earth’s population, followed by an impact with the planet itself.

But in case you’re worried, you should note that Nibiru (or Planet X) was widely predicted to hit our planet in December last year, and before that in September.
   Prior to that, it was predicted to smash into our planet to coincide with the Mayan apocalypse in 2012 - and before that, Nancy Lieder, an American website writer who claimed to have an alien implant in her brain, predicted it would destroy the world in 2003.

NASA has thoroughly debunked the Nibiru myth via its Beyond 2012 page, saying, ‘Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax. There is no factual basis for these claims. If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye.’

Donald Trump said he'd kill terrorists' families at a rally. His crowd went wild.

  

   There is a disturbing new anecdote from Donald Trump's presidential campaign in a story by reporter Ryan Lizza, who has a long feature on the Republican primary in the newest issue of the New Yorker.

Lizza followed Trump to an event this December in Mesa, Arizona, where Trump was interviewed by Fox News personality Bill O'Reilly. Shortly before the Mesa event, Trump had pledged to kill the families of suspected terrorists to deter them from attacking America. "When you get these terrorists," Trump said, "you have to take out their families."

O'Reilly, at the event, asked Trump if he was serious. According to Lizza, Trump said yes — and the crowd roared their approval:

 " Trump’s fans tend to express little regard for political norms. They cheer at his most outlandish statements. O’Reilly asked Trump if he meant it when he said that he would "take out" the family members of terrorists. He didn’t believe that Trump would "put out hits on women and children" if he were elected. Trump replied, "I would do pretty severe stuff." The Mesa crowd erupted in applause. "Yeah, baby!" a man near me yelled. I had never previously been to a political event at which people cheered for the murder of women and children."

   This points to a certain theme in Trump's rise: He says the things that mainstream Republicans hint at but are too afraid to say explicitly.

   For months, more mainstream Republican candidates have been hyping up the threat from ISIS as terrifying and existential. They have argued that the only solution is overwhelming and perhaps unchecked military force. They have warned that Democratic feebleness and restraint are holding us back, and that if we do not prevail then our entire society will be destroyed.

They have described, in other words, a world in which Donald Trump's proposed plan to kill the family members of ISIS terrorists looks a lot more reasonable, even correct.

"Radical Islamic terrorists have declared war on the Western world. Their aim is our total destruction," Jeb Bush has said. "We have but one choice: to defeat it."

"There is a war against ISIS, not just against ISIS but against radical jihadist terrorists. That is a war they win or we win," Marco Rubio said at the last debate. Chris Christie has called it "World War III."

But while mainstream candidates describe, in their rhetoric, a third world war in which ISIS could triumph and destroy Western civilization, their actual policy proposals suggest they see the threat as much more modest. The plans they've put forward do not include major ground forces and mostly describe modest expansions on Obama's current strategy.

This is where Trump is different: Only he is proposing the sorts of policies that would seem to be demanded by a threat so allegedly existential. For Republican voters who are accustomed to hearing all day, every day that America is practically on the verge of losing World War III, it would seem like only Trump is proposing a policy that is commensurate to the alleged threat.

Kylie Jenner compares brother Rob Kardashian to Satan for dating Blac Chyna

 

   Now this is an Instagramystery.

Walking lips Kylie Jenner recently posted — then deleted — a photo of abaphomet, which is a three-eyed goat typically associated with the devil and the occult.

   The photo's caption?

"This is @robkardashian lol".

The now deleted post was screenshot by The Shade Room.

Kylie's dig at her brother Rob may be the result of rumors that the male Kardashian is dating exotic performer Blac Chyna.

While new relationships happen regularly in the Kardashian Klan and its various offshoots, this one could be particularly upsetting to the 18-year-old Kylie: Kylie's boyfriend Tyga used to date — and has a baby by — Blac Chyna.

The rumors started when Blac Chyna posted the following photo to her Instagram. While the face of the man cuddling her isn't shown, the arm is clearly sporting the exact same ink as Rob Kardashian.

The Kardashians always seem to weave tangled relationship webs — but the best part here is the Internet's reaction.

   Twitter is also lighting up with rumors about Rob, Blac Chyna, and Kylie's commitment to the devil.

While the Kardashian's probably aren't bowing down to Satan, the Instagram post that started it all is certainly adding fuel to the hellfire.

Our best guess as to how this devilish photo appeared on Kylie's Instagram?

"North posted this while playing games on [her] phone. Not sure why or how she chose it but [Kylie's] not complaining! LOL".