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US launches strike against Daesh militants in northwest Nigeria

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US launches strike against Daesh militants in northwest Nigeria


Video posted by Pentagon shows US warship launching a projectile. — Screengrab via X/@DeptofWar
  • US military confirms strike conducted at Nigeria’s request.
  • Operation targets militants attacking Christians: Trump.
  • US Africa Command reports multiple Daesh militants killed.

The United States carried out an airstrike against Daesh militants in northwest Nigeria at the request of Nigeria’s government, US President Donald Trump and the US military said on Thursday, claiming the group had been targeting Christians in the region.

“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS [Daesh] Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

The US military’s Africa Command said the strike was carried out in Sokoto state at the request of the Nigerian authorities, and killed multiple Daesh militants.

The strike comes after Trump starting in late October began warning that Christianity faces an “existential threat” in Nigeria and threatened to militarily intervene in the West African country over what he says is its failure to stop violence targeting Christian communities.

Reuters reported on Monday that the US had been conducting intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November.

‘More to come’

Nigeria’s foreign ministry said the strikes were carried out as part of ongoing security cooperation with the United States, involving intelligence sharing and strategic coordination to target militant groups.

“This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West,” the ministry said in a post on X.

A video posted by the Pentagon showed at least one projectile launching from a warship.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on X thanked the Nigerian government for its support and cooperation and added: “More to come…”

Nigeria’s government has said armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, and US claims that Christians face persecution do not represent a complex security situation and ignore efforts to safeguard religious freedom. But it has agreed to work with the US to bolster its forces against militant groups.

The country’s population is split between Muslims living primarily in the north and Christians in the south.

Police said earlier on Thursday a suspected suicide bomber killed at least five people and injured 35 others in Nigeria’s northeast, another region troubled by militants.

In a Christmas message posted on X earlier, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called for peace in his country, “especially between individuals of differing religious beliefs.”

He also said, “I stand committed to doing everything within my power to enshrine religious freedom in Nigeria and to protect Christians, Muslims, and all Nigerians from violence.”

Trump issued his statement on the strike on Christmas Day while he was at his Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago Club, where he has been spending the holiday. He had no public events during the day and was last seen by the reporters traveling with him on Wednesday night.

The US military last week launched separate large-scale strikes against dozens of Daesh targets in Syria, after Trump vowed to hit back in the wake of a suspected Daesh attack on US personnel in the country.





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Gordon Ramsay reveals ‘most important thing in life’

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Gordon Ramsay reveals ‘most important thing in life’


Gordon Ramsay reveals ‘most important thing in life’

Gordon Ramsay may have built his reputation on Michelin stars and television fireworks, but when it comes to raising his six children, the lesson he holds above all others is a rather simpler one.

Speaking to Fox News Digital in an interview published on Sunday, 24 May, the 59-year-old chef revealed what he considers the single most important thing he has instilled in his kids. 

“The one thing I’ve taught them all, brilliantly, are manners,” he said, adding with characteristic directness: “The most important thing in life, but they cost zero.”

Ramsay shares his six children, Megan, 28, Holly, 26, Jack, 26, Matilda, 24, Oscar, 7, and Jesse, 2, with his wife Tana. 

On the professional front, one of his children appears to be following closely in his footsteps. 

Ramsay spoke to PEOPLE in February about his daughter Matilda, known as Tilly, who has chosen to pursue a career in food, a decision that clearly delights him. 

Ramsay spoke to PEOPLE again at the Fox Upfront event on 11 May, where he was celebrating the renewal of several of his shows including Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Next Level Chef, Next Level Baker, Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service and Gordon Ramsay’s Being Gordon Ramsay

Asked which of his six shows currently on air is his favourite, he reached for a familiar metaphor. 

“I have six shows on air right now. That’s like saying, I have six kids as well, what’s my favourite kid? It depends, it’s the one that least pisses me off at the moment.”

Six kids, six shows, and a firm belief in the power of a please and a thank you. Not a bad philosophy, all things considered.





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Patti LaBelle on being called a legend: “I have earned it”

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Patti LaBelle on being called a legend: “I have earned it”


Patti LaBelle has been singing for six decades, earning hit records, Grammys and the nickname the “Godmother of Soul.” As she celebrates her 82nd birthday on Sunday, she said she’s “having fun living it down.” 

“At 82, I am really living it down, not up. But having fun living it down. I play cards. We have card games on Saturday nights,” LaBelle said. “How easy is it to play cards and take other folks’ money? That’s what I do, and I love it.”

Just like her high notes, she has staying power. LaBelle is still professionally singing, something she said she has to do.

“Singing is my life,” she said, adding that her voice is “big. It’s loud. It’s soft. It can rap. It can do opera, on a good day.” 

LaBelle spent her childhood in Philadelphia, a place she still calls home. Back then, she was a shy girl named Patsy Holt.

“My mother had to pay me to go outside. I was very, very, very shy. I would sing in my bedroom with the broom as a microphone. So I knew I had a voice and my mother and father loved my voice,” LaBelle said. 

At age 10, she joined a church choir where a duet unlocked the magic of performing. She said she still remembers getting the chills the moment when everyone stood up and said, “Hallelujah.”

As a teen, she started singing with a group. A record label executive suggested she change her name to LaBelle, which means beautiful, but with that advice came a nasty assessment. He called her “quite ugly.” 

“It gave me hurt, just total, total hurt, because I knew how much he loved my voice. And I knew, no matter what anyone said about me, I am who I am, I’m not gonna change. The only thing that changed was my nose. I had a huge nose, so I had it done,” she said. “And that’s all I’ve ever had done. My nose, because it was not pleasing to me.” 

When Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles became simply Labelle, they changed their style to what the singer described as “outrageous crazy outfits.” They turned “Lady Marmalade,” a song about a Creole prostitute, into a classic hit.

“We were singing about the revolution and sexual things before any Black girl or White girl group sang,” LaBelle said. 

“When we sang [Lady Marmalade], we didn’t know what ‘voulez-vous coucher avec moi’ meant. It means, ‘Will you sleep with me tonight?’ So we got a lotta flak from the nuns and different people. And I was saying, at that time, ‘Well, a hooker has to make money too,'” she laughed. 

The group split in 1977 but stayed friends. LaBelle said she was petrified when she stepped out as a solo artist for the first time. Getting therapy “helped a whole lot,” she said. 

“I learned that I’m never gonna stop singing. And if it’s with a group or alone, that’s what I’m gonna do for the rest of my life,” LaBelle said. 

LaBelle’s other talent is cooking. She’s written several bestselling cookbooks and has her own line of food and houseware products, Patti’s Good Life. Her hometown is filled with fans, and even visiting a Philadelphia ShopRite to hand out pancake mix caused quite a stir.   

LaBelle isn’t planning to give up singing anytime soon. 

“It’s never my last show. I’ll be singing until I can’t no more,” she said. 

And on her 82nd birthday, maybe the real gift is that LaBelle knows exactly who she is — a mother, grandmother, and yes, a legend.

“I love it. I should be called, ‘Legend, legend, legend, legend.’ Yes. I love it,” she laughed. “I have earned it. Yes, I have.”

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Watch an extended interview with Patti LaBelle (Video)



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Drake sets new record at ‘Iceman,’ ‘Habibti’ and ‘Maid of Honour’

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Drake sets new record at ‘Iceman,’ ‘Habibti’ and ‘Maid of Honour’


Drake sets new record at ‘Iceman,’ ‘Habibti’ and ‘Maid of Honour’

Drake has made Billboard chart history, becoming the first artist ever to simultaneously occupy the top three positions on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Iceman, the album he had been building towards for nearly two years, debuted at number one with 463,000 equivalent album units in its first week. 

Behind it, Habibti landed at number two with 114,000 units and Maid of Honour at number three with 110,000, all three released on the same night in a surprise triple drop that caught even the most devoted fans off guard.

The number one position alone would have been a landmark. 

Iceman gives Drake his 15th chart-topping album, surpassing Jay-Z’s previous record for the most number ones among solo male artists and R&B and hip-hop acts. 

It also draws him level with Taylor Swift for the most number ones among solo acts overall, a list only the Beatles sit above, with their record of 19.

In terms of raw numbers, Iceman‘s opening week is the second biggest of 2026 so far, behind only BTS’ Arirang, which moved 641,000 units. It is, however, the biggest opening week of the year for any R&B or hip-hop record.

The rest of the Billboard 200 reshuffled accordingly. 

Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide, previously sitting at number one, dropped to four. 

Ella Langley’s Dandelion holds at five, followed by Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem, two Michael Jackson titles, Lucki’s Dr*gs R Bad, and BTS’ Arirang rounding out the top ten.

For Drake, it is a statement of intent, and one that lands in the record books before the conversation has even fully begun.





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