President William Ruto inspects a guard of honour mounted by Kenya Airforce during the State of the Nation address at Parliament on November 21, 2024. Ruto, the head of an administration which had just hours earlier vowed to continue with the multi-billion Adani group deals through hook or crook, directed for the immediate cancellation of the pacts. Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi had just hours earlier told a house committee that the government’s controversial energy deal with Indian firm Adani Energy Solutions Limited will go on despite the firm's indictment in the United States of America over a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme. By dint of his pronouncement on the floor of the House in the afternoon, Ruto canceled deals worth approximately Sh334 billion with the Indian based group. The match in the powder barrel may have come after the United States government indicted Adani Group’s Gautam Adani and other executives over their roles in a multi-billion-dollar fraud scheme.

caption The high cost of living, choking taxes, questionable public-pri- vate partnership deals and chaos around the new national health insurance are among the main issues the country expects President William Ruto to address in Parliament today. Although the inflation rate dropped to a 17-year low in Oc- tober to 2.7 per cent, the majority of Kenyans who spoke to the Star said they were yet to feel the impact of the deceleration, with most of them struggling to procure a single meal for their families. Business operators expect the President to address over-taxation, which has seen many either close or slash operations while others are engaged in a cat-and-mouse chase with auctioneers.

But today — to mark the track’s 40th year — we reveal how the success of Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? Bob called Boy George and ordered him to fly in from New York on the day. “Bob bumped into Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran leaving the Picasso club on the King’s Road just after he spotted Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet through an art gallery window. “At one point they even locked Duran Duran in the toilets. “British music was in such a good place and it all came together in a tiny studio, on a Sunday afternoon.”

Paul Mescal is maybe a little too good at his job. Paul Mescal ended up being shirtless “most days” on “Gladiator II.” ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett CollectionPaul Mescal was tasked with getting “bigger and stronger” for “Gladiator II.” APBut when the star showed up on set, there was just one problem. Paul Mescal in a behind-the-scenes snap from the set of “Gladiator II,” taken by his co-star Pedro Pascal. Paul Mescal at the Los Angeles premiere of “Gladiator II,” Nov. 18, 2024. “Gladiator II” Star Paul Mescal showcases his physique in a pair of his famous short shorts in London on Aug. 26, 2024.

The star is a red supergiant (like the famous Betelgeuse) and it sits in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that contains some 30 billion stars. As the star has spat gas and dust into its vicinity, that material formed a cocoon around the star, seen in the below image as a thin elliptical ring. “For the first time, we succeeded in taking a zoomed-in image of a dying star in a galaxy outside our own galaxy,” said Keiichi Ohnaka, an astrophysicist at Chile’s Universidad Andrés Bello and lead author of the research, in an email to Gizmodo. This means that the dying star is ejecting a lot of material.”The team chose to image WOH G64 for a couple of reasons. Until then, we’ll have to be satisfied with this eerie, admittedly blurry Eye-of-Sauron-esque very of the red supergiant.

11 Paul Mescal ended up being shirtless “most days” on “Gladiator II.” ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection11 Paul Mescal was tasked with getting “bigger and stronger” for “Gladiator II.” APBut when the star showed up on set, there was just one problem. 11 Paul Mescal in a behind-the-scenes snap from the set of “Gladiator II,” taken by his co-star Pedro Pascal. “He couldn’t do sort of traditional planning because it was pretty much most days [that he was shirtless].”11 Paul Mescal in “Gladiator II.” ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection11 Paul Mescal in “Gladiator II.” APBut Blakeley did have one sweet trick up his sleeve to help Paul pump up before a take. 11 Paul Mescal at the Los Angeles premiere of “Gladiator II,” Nov. 18, 2024. 11 “Gladiator II” Star Paul Mescal showcases his physique in a pair of his famous short shorts in London on Aug. 26, 2024.

Police officers patrol Mama Ngina Street in Nairobi during President William Ruto 's State of the Nation address in Parliament on November 21, 2024. “The hallmark of the President’s address is the cancellation of the Adani deals in energy and roads. While many Kenyans applauded the President’s decision to cancel the Adani deals, there was widespread disappointment over his failure to address the high cost of living. On the Adani deals, lawyer Martin Waichungo, Law Society of Kenya regional chair, warned that the cancellation might lead to costly court cases. “The cancellation of the Adani deals is positive, but we need timely responses to other issues.

The court was shown a graphic video of Aimee’s body which caused gasps and tears from family and friendsBEAUTICIAN MURDER CLAIMS Spurned coke fiend knifed young mum 45 times in savage blade attack and left her to die on her kids’ toysA COCAINE fiend slaughtered a young mum by stabbing her 45 times in a bloodbath rampage in her own home after she spurned him, a court heard. The court was shown a graphic video of beautician Aimee’s body in the flat which caused gasps and tears from family and friends in the public gallery. Aimee, 26, was discovered by her dad Vince when he came to her home the next day and the alarm was raised. Porchetta was charged with murdering mum-of-two Aimee by punching her and stabbing her “on the head and body with a knife or knives”. The witness replied: “Yes.”The hearing heard this week how Porchetta again told his sister that he had left Aimee ‘safe and well’.

Get the biggest stories and wackiest takes from the Daily Star, including our special WTF Wednesday emailSomething went wrong, please try again later. Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars. The police have told every hostel, hotel and bar in Vang Vieng (in Laos) to stop selling drinks. But the popular tourist town of Vang Vieng, known for it's stunning riverside landscapes and 'wild' party reputation, has now become the epicentre of fear. For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.

“Let them tell Ruto the truth, so that he speaks from the point of knowledge. It also seeks to raise excise duty on internet and telephone calls to 20 per cent up from 15 per cent. President Ruto’s government has also proposed a five per cent withholding tax on local sales promotion, marketing and advertising services. Those who spoke to the Star want the controversial national cover done away with and a quick restoration of the previous National Health Insurance Fund. Although employees are paying 2.75 per cent of their income to the new Fund, services rendered are way too low, the say.

President William Ruto arrives at parlaiment on Novembeer 21, 2024. President William Ruto has arrived at the Parliament ahead of the State of Nation address taking place at 3pm. The state address comes three weeks after the swearing-in of KindikiUpon his arrival, as per the ritual, he inspected the guard of honour. Ruto is expected to use the State of the Nation address to take stock of his development agenda for Kenya. He is expected to address the issues surrounding the new Social Health Insurance Fund, agriculture and the economy of the country.

President William RutoPresident William Ruto has ordered the immediate cancellation of the planned Adani Group takeover deal of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Ruto at the same time directed the cancellation of the signed deal with the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company, Ketraco. The Adani company is currently in the eye of a storm with the most recent information indicating that billionaire owner Gautam Adani has been charged with fraud in the US. The Adani Group denied the allegations, calling them "baseless" and stated in a statement that "all possible legal recourse will be sought". On October 11 this year, the Energy Ministry signed a Sh96 billion deal with Adani Energy Solutions Limited to manage the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (Ketraco) transmission lines for 30 years.

UN mulls Haiti peacekeeping force as gangs ramp up warfareDiplomats at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday voiced broad support for converting a security mission helping Haitian police fight escalating gang warfare into a formal U.N. peacekeeping mission, though Russia and China remained opposed. Leaders of the Caribbean nation have repeatedly requested that a long-delayed and under-resourced Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission that partially deployed in June be converted into a peacekeeping mission to shore up funding. They argued Haiti needed more established peace to justify sending a peacekeeping mission and that Haiti’s government’s request was not valid as its leadership was not elected and marred by continuous infighting. “The MSS present in Haiti, although infused with goodwill, is experiencing huge challenges,” said Haiti’s U.N. Rodrigue added that a new peacekeeping mission should learn from the mistakes of past interventions in Haiti, which became notorious for human rights abuses and sparking a deadly cholera epidemic.

Unless, of course, you are Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas. He decided to attempt the at-home triathlon the night before, and did not have the most nutritious pre-triathlon meal. “It’s a good question,” said Bottas Wednesday night when asked why he attempted the triathlon after deciding the night before. I only had water and Coca-Cola, a bit of rice…”Bottas described the at-home Iron Man, which took almost 11 hours, as a “cool experience” during Wednesday’s press conference. If you don’t give up in your head, then you can do almost anything.”Given what he put his body through in a single day, you might expect that Bottas took it easy in the following days.

Hinn’s comments during the crusade have now drawn heavy criticism, particularly from Ng'ang'a, who is demanding accountability from the preacher. According to Hinn, Kenya had a unique advantage due to its righteous government, and he conveyed that the country was in a special place spiritually. In his address, Hinn suggested that Kenya was a righteous nation, which raised eyebrows given the country’s ongoing socio-economic challenges. Ng'ang'a demands accountabilityPastor Ng'ang'a’s ire has been particularly directed at Benny Hinn, whom he accuses of misrepresenting the true state of affairs in Kenya. But to tell us that Kenya is a righteous country, and you have never seen such a government?