Headline

Chris Brown Arrested In UK Over Alleged Bottle Attack In Nightclub

Published

3 months ago

May 15, 2025

US rapper Chris Brown has been arrested in the United Kingdom over an alleged bottle attack at a nightclub in London, according to the Economic Times.

The 36-year-old musician who was arrested in the early hours of Thursday was detained by Metropolitan Police, who tracked him down at The Lowry Hotel in Salford hours after he arrived in the city on a private jet.

According to reports, the arrest relates to an incident at a venue in Hanover Square on February 19, 2023, and the investigation is being led by detectives from the Central West Area Basic Command Unit.

The Economic Times reported that the complainant, Mr. Diaw has accused the R&B star of launching an unprovoked attack on him at approximately 3 a.m. while the singer and his entourage were at the upscale Tape nightclub.

Mr. Diaw alleged that Brown struck him over the head with a bottle before proceeding to punch and kick him while he was on the ground.

Speaking to The Sun on Sunday, the music producer said, “He hit me over the head two or three times. My knee collapsed as well.”

Following the alleged assault, Mr. Diaw was taken to the hospital and required crutches to walk upon his release.

Meanwhile, the two-time Grammy Award winner is scheduled to perform ten more shows across Britain next month, but the ongoing police investigation could disrupt the remainder of his tour.

In response to the alleged incident, Mr. Diaw has filed a civil lawsuit against Brown, seeking $16 million (£12 million) in damages for the injuries and financial losses he claims to have suffered.

Brown had planned to continue his “Breezy Bowl XX Tour”—a celebration of his 20-year career—with major R&B artists Summer Walker opening the North American leg and Bryson Tiller joining him in Europe and the UK.

As part of the tour, he was set to perform two nights at Manchester’s Co-Op Live stadium, followed by a show at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.

Headline

42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

Published

10 minutes ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.

Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.

“The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.

“We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

Headline

Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

Published

19 minutes ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.

Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.

Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.

“Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.

Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.

Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.

The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.

“We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.

AFP

Headline

Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

Published

23 minutes ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Russia and Ukraine each sent back more prisoners of war on Sunday in the latest in a series of exchanges that have seen hundreds of POWs released this year, the two sides said.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.

They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia’s offensive began in 2022.

“On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

“In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added. Ukraine did not confirm any figures for the release.

Russia also said that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation—residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained” by Kyiv were also returned.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.

Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack but did not fully reclaim the region until April.

Among the Ukrainians released on Sunday was journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Khyliuk was kidnapped in the Kyiv region in March 2022. He is finally home in Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media.

Also freed was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, “who spent more than three years in captivity,” Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak wrote on X.

“In 2022, he was on the list for return, but Volodymyr voluntarily refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner with whom he was sharing a cell in a Russian prison,” Yermak said.

AFP