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Sierra Leone has cancelled a $400m (£304m) Chinese-funded project to build a new airport outside the capital Freetown. Former President Ernest Bai Koroma signed the loan agreement with China before he lost elections in March. At the time, the World Bank and the IMF warned that the project would impose a heavy debt burden. The decision comes amid concern that many African countries risk defaulting on their debts to China. Aviation Minister Kabineh Kallon told the BBC that the project, which was due to have been completed in 2022, wasn't necessary and its current international airport would be renovated instead. He said the current president, Julius Maada Bio, "didn't see any need for Mamamah [the proposed airport]" and was considering building a bridge from the capital to Lungi airport - the only international airport in the country. Currently passengers need to get a boat or helicopter to reach Freetown. Mr Kallon said he did not know whether the canc...

Manchester United's Paul Pogba has said he has struggled to focus following France's World Cup win -- but has insisted he can still lead the club despite being dropped from vice-captaincy duties. Pogba has reportedly fallen out with manager Jose Mourinho on various occasions this season, and that has coincided with a slow start to the season for United, who are eighth in the table, seven points off leaders Manchester City. And the former Juventus midfielder, who has scored twice and provided two assists in eight top-flight outings, said he has found it harder to motivate himself, having won the biggest prize of all in Russia. "It's hard to concentrate, to start again, to hit hard, because we touched the stars," the 25-year-old former world record signing told AFP. "For us, it was the best trophy you can win as a footballer. "But we like challenges too, we have goals. For example, I've never won the Premier League, that's an obje...

Jose Mourinho is set to be investigated by the Football Association for comments made towards television cameras following Manchester United 3-2 win over Newcastle on Saturday. The Portuguese coach was captured speaking into a camera as he walked down the touchline towards the Old Trafford tunnel after the final whistle. The FA will decide whether the comments -- which were in Mourinho's native Portuguese -- are offensive and warrant any further action. The 55-year-old, whose position at Old Trafford has been under intense scrutiny, could be hit with a touchline ban if he is found guilty of using language that is deemed "offensive, insulting or abusive." In 2011, Wayne Rooney was banned for two games for swearing into a television camera after scoring against West Ham.

Rihanna has joined a number of celebrities urging their followers to register to vote in the US. It comes after Taylor Swift broke her political silence and joined Chance the Rapper and John Legend by campaigning. The registration period has or is about to run out in a number of states ahead of the November mid-terms. Rihanna wrote to her 65 million followers, "Good Morning America. Who is awake this morning? And who's woke?" She accompanied the post with a picture of the deadlines for registration in various states, adding: "You have one job today and that is to properly register to vote. "I don't care what responsibilities you have today, there's no greater responsibility than being in control of your future and the future starts now! "We don't have time, no procrastinating, don't let the discouragement take you off course, that's not how my people or my generation will go down...this is the loudest way to make your vo...

A former prominent newspaper editor who is now a junior foreign minister is the latest to be named in what is being called India's #MeToo movement. MJ Akbar is accused of predatory behaviour, including inviting young women to hotel rooms for "meetings". Neither Mr Akbar nor the foreign ministry have responded to the historic allegations against him. But another minister, Maneka Gandhi, said all allegations, including those against politicians, must be probed. Mr Akbar is the most senior person so far to be named in the flurry of allegations that have been made against comedians, journalists, authors, actors and filmmakers in the last few days. One of India's most influential editors, he has edited leading English-language newspapers such as The Telegraph and The Asian Age. He was first named on Monday by senior journalist Priya Ramani, who retweeted an article she had written for Vogue India a year ago titled "To the Harvey Weinsteins of the wo...

At least 50 people have been killed after a bus travelling from the Kenyan capital Nairobi to Kisumu, in the west, veered off the road, police say. Many reportedly died when the vehicle overturned. Police fear the death toll may rise, with the possibility of passengers trapped in the wreckage. "The roof of the bus was ripped off," a local official said. Police said the driver had lost control and plunged down a slope at a notorious accident black spot. "It is unfortunate that we have lost 51 people," Kenya's police chief Joseph Boinnet told Capital FM radio. The bus was carrying 52 passengers at the time of the crash in the early hours of Wednesday morning, police said. The roof of the bus was ripped off after it overturned Children are believed to be among the dead. An eyewitness described hearing "a long hooting sound, then a screech that was followed by a bang and loud screams," Kenyan newspaper Daily Nation reporte...

Kanye West is to meet US President Donald Trump on Thursday, the White House has confirmed. The two men are expected to discuss prison reform, gang violence and "manufacturing resurgence" in the US. The meeting will take place less than four weeks before the mid-term elections in November. The rapper, who has been a vocal supporter of Mr Trump, will also meet White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, Mr Trump's son-in-law. White House @PressSec confirms that Trump will have lunch with Kanye West: "Topics of discussions will include manufacturing resurgence in America, prison reform, how to prevent gang violence, and what can be done to reduce violence in Chicago.” — Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) October 9, 2018 On Monday, the singer-songwriter Taylor Swift endorsed two Democrats for the US mid-term elections, prompting Mr Trump to tell reporters that he likes "Taylor's music about 25% less now". This once again puts her at odds with ...

Airport police in India are being instructed to smile less. This is over concerns cheerfulness could lead to a perception of lax security and a threat of terror attacks. The country's Central Industrial Security Force, which is in charge of aviation safety, wants its staff to be "more vigilant than friendly". They will move from a "broad smile system" to a "sufficient smile system", the Indian Express says. Officials are said to believe that excessive friendliness puts airports at risk of terrorist attacks.  The organisation's director general, Rajesh Ranjan even said the 9/11 attacks had taken place because of "an excessive reliance on passenger-friendly features". This is not the first time Indian police officers have been told to improve their standards or alter their behaviour: In July, the Karnataka State Reserve Police told its officers to lose weight or face suspension from service And in 2004, police in Madhya Prad...

A County Armagh man who threatened to kill a crew member and punched the seat of an autistic child during a flight has been jailed for 10 months. Kevin O'Hare, 27, also swung his fists at the female cabin attendant on the four-hour Jet2 flight from Fuerteventura to Belfast on 5 August. The 12-year-old was screaming as a result of O'Hare punching the seat in front of him. O'Hare screamed and swore at police when he was arrested in Belfast. The defendant, of Keggall View in Camlough, had been drinking since 11:00 BST before boarding the evening flight to Belfast International Airport, his lawyer told Antrim Magistrates' Court. He was handed a five-month prison sentence for making threats to kill and five months for assaulting cabin crew. During sentencing, the district judge said O'Hare's behaviour was "appalling", adding that it was becoming "all too prevalent" on aircraft. In his view, the "custody threshold" had...

Google has abandoned efforts to win a $10bn (£7.7bn) Pentagon cloud computing contract. The firm said the work might have transgressed principles it published in June limiting its artificial-intelligence-related activities. Thousands of its staff had previously protested against its involvement in a separate Department of Defense project. The tech firm revealed the latest decision hours after confirming it had exposed Google+ users' personal data. Cloud clash The Pentagon contract was for a project named after the Star Wars films - the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud (Jedi). Bids were due to be submitted on Friday. Securing the contract, which involves about a decade's worth of work, could have helped Google catch up with Amazon and Microsoft - the two market leaders in selling cloud computing services to governments and businesses. According to Reuters, Amazon Web Services is the favourite to win. A Google spokeswoman said: "While we are w...

A rare white tiger has mauled a zookeeper to death in its enclosure at a zoo in Japan, officials say. Akira Furusho, 40, was found bleeding from the neck in the tiger's cage at the zoo in the southern city of Kagoshima. He was taken to hospital and pronounced dead. The male tiger, named Riku, was sedated with a tranquiliser before rescue workers and police arrived. It is to be kept alive following a request from the victim's family. "We plan not to kill Riku and continue to keep it because the bereaved family asked us to do so," said Takuro Nagasako, a zoo official said, quoted by the AFP news agency. The attack took place late on Monday at the Hirakawa Zoological Park in Kagoshima. It is thought it happened as Mr Furusho went to clean the tiger's enclosure. Tigers are normally removed from the display pen to a separate area before staff enter. Police are now investigating how the zoo looks after the four white tigers it keeps. In 2017, a Briti...

Manchester United have made it to the two-week international break, a natural time to take stock of a tumultuous two-week spell. They'll need to make the most of the rest, too: Chelsea away, where United have a stinking record, is next, followed by a Champions League date with Juventus at home, two very difficult games against superior teams. They're not just far superior to Wolves, Derby, West Ham and Newcastle, the four sides who made life so difficult for Jose Mourinho's men in the past two weeks, but superior to Manchester United, too. Mourinho, who was in a foul mood around the club last week, can gather his thoughts and composure. He, along with many United fans, are convinced that the media are out to get him the sack. They think they're hounding him with sensationalist headlines and twisting his imperfect English, yet Mourinho has found allies among a significant number of match-going fans -- including away supporters. They have been vocal in the...

At least nine people have been arrested following a mob attack at a girls school in the north-eastern Indian state of Bihar, police say. Local reports said some 34 schoolgirls were treated in hospital after a crowd of teenage boys, their parents and locals beat them up on Saturday. The girls from the government school in Triveniganj had earlier admonished local boys for sexually harassing them. As of Monday, six boys and three women were in custody, police told media. They suspect another eight to 10 unidentified people were also involved in the mob attack against the girls, believed to be aged between 10 and 16. Police said on Monday that several schoolgirls were still undergoing treatment in hospital, but would be discharged soon. What happened on Saturday? Students playing on the grounds of their boarding school in Saupaul district, 250km (160 miles) from the state capital Patna, caught a group of boys sneaking in and asked them to leave. When the boys refused a...

Google is shutting down much of its social network, Google+, after user data was left exposed. It said a bug in its software meant information that people believed was private had been accessible by third parties. Google said up to 500,000 users had been affected. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the company knew about the issue in March but did not disclose it. The WSJ quoted an internal Google memo that said doing so would draw "immediate regulatory interest". In a statement, the firm said the issue was not serious enough to inform the public. "Our Privacy and Data Protection Office reviewed this issue, looking at the type of data involved, whether we could accurately identify the users to inform, whether there was any evidence of misuse, and whether there were any actions a developer or user could take in response. "None of these thresholds were met here." Failed venture Google+ was launched in 2011, quickly becoming known a...

Cristiano Ronaldo is in the running for his third-consecutive Ballon d'Or as he leads the men's nominations, with France Football releasing their list of 30 at staggered intervals throughout the day. The Juventus forward helped Real Madrid to a third successive Champions League title in May, scoring 44 goals in 44 games in all competitions in his final season at the club. The individual honour, which separated from FIFA's Player of the Year award in 2016, has been won by either Ronaldo or Lionel Messi for the past 10 years -- with each winning a record five. Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Luka Modric -- who took home FIFA's top honour last month -- join him on the list of nominees. Tottenham striker Harry Kane is among the nominations after another impressive year, winning the World Cup Golden Boot with England. Eden Hazard is also on the set of names on the list after an impressive World Cup campaign with Belgium and a fast start to the new seaso...