Kioo17 Journal

Los Angeles, US: The bird is dead, it died instead of you. Now you're safe." That's what Romanian witch Mihaela Minca told her shivering client after sacrificing a bird to supposedly save the possessed woman's soul. 'BROADLY' filmed the exorcism ritual for our documentary Casting Curses and Love Spells with the Most Powerful Witches in Romania, which came out exactly a year ago on Halloween.  During our time with Minca and her witch clan family in the town of Mogoșoaia on the outskirts of Bucharest, we learned how to cook up love potions and curses, discovering that some people are prepared to pay hefty sums in the hope of curing their emotional, physical or financial ailments. In a country where witches are even feared by people in the Romanian parliament, a few practitioners of witchcraft are getting so rich that theylive in castles and simply hex any politician threatening to tax them. When we found out that Minca and her clan actually spent m...

SINGAPORE : President Trump and Kim Jong-un of North Korea shook hands at the start of their first face-to-face meeting Tuesday, a momentous step in an improbable courtship that has opened a new chapter for the world’s largest nuclear power and the most reclusive one. Tap To Watch The Video Below: Brash, impulsive leaders who only a few months ago taunted each other across a nuclear abyss, Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim had set aside their threats in a gamble that for now, at least, personal diplomacy can overcome decades of distrust. In a carefully choreographed encounter, Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim greeted each other in the red-carpeted reception area of a Singapore hotel built on the site of a British colonial outpost — the first time a sitting American president and North Korean leader have ever met. After photographs, the two men, alone except for their interpreters, were scheduled to meet privately to try to resolve the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear program. ...

The Kim Jong Un impersonator goes by the name Howard X. Image: AFP / GETTY. If Singapore’s reputation for tight security was one reason the real Kim Jong Un agreed to hold his summit with Donald Trump in the city-state, the fake Kim Jong Un now knows why. A Hong Kong-based entertainer who impersonates the North Korean leader said he was detained at Changi Airport after returning to Singapore ahead of the historic summit planned for Tuesday.  The impersonator, who would give only his stage name Howard X, said he was held by immigration authorities for two hours before being released and told to steer clear of summit venues. “They asked me about what my political views were and if I had been involved with protests or riots in other countries,” Howard X told Bloomberg News. “I feel they were trying to intimidate me, but if I got deported it would have been big news.” Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority didn’t immediately respond to requests for com...

Yaya Toure has hit out at Pep Guardiola, claiming the Manchester City coach has a problem with players from Africa. The Ivory Coast international left City at the end of the season after playing a limited role under the Catalan. It is the second time Toure has been moved on by Guardiola, having left Barcelona while the coach was in charge. And Toure, 35, says he was treated unfairly by Guardiola, revealing a suspicion that it was because he is African. "I want to be the one who breaks the Guardiola myth,"  The four-time African Footballer of the Year told France Football . "I tried to understand it and I even asked coaches for my stats. When I realised that they were as good or better, both in training and in matches, as those who played and were younger than me, I understood that it was not question of physicality. I don't know why but I have the impression that he was jealous, he took me for a rival. "I have the impression that Pep, wit...

London, ENGLAND: Nigeria fans booed Dele Alli at Wembley because he was playing for England and not them. The Tottenham star has a Nigerian father, but he was born in England and has lived in the country since birth. Bamidele Jermaine Alli (born 11 April 1996), better known as Dele Alli, is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team. Image: NGN. Loud boos echoed around the stadium when Alli touched the ball during the World Cup warm-up match. Alli made it clear from the off that he would pursue his international career with the Three Lions. He progressed through the youth ranks and made several appearances at Under-17 and Under-18 level. England fans flocked to Twitter to defend the 22-year-old star, with one stating: "Dele Alli is getting booed for playing for England rather than Nigeria, guys he was born in Milton Keynes." Alli did not let th...

London, UNITED KINGDOM: Roman Abramovich could be detained and deported from the UK if he uses his new Israeli passport to regularly enter the country. The billionaire Chelsea owner's investor's visa was not renewed after it expired in April but he acquired Israeli citizenship this month to allow him into the UK. The new passport allows Abramovich, 51, to visit the UK on business for up to six months per trip. But government officials told the Times that he may not come and go when he pleases. UK immigration law prevents business visitors from living "in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits". This could have a significant impact on Abramovich's running of Chelsea. Abramovich with son Arkadiy at Stamford Bridge. Image: Getty. Abramovich has already called off the club's proposed new £1billion stadium development, citing issues over cost-efficiency for a ground that would have 18,000 more seats than ...

Around 200 women in Denmark wear burqa or niqab garments, according to researchers. Image: Reuters. Copenhagen, DENMARK: Danish politicians passed a law Thursday banning clothing that covers the face, making wearing full-face Islamic veils like the burqa and niqab in public punishable with a $160 fine. While the government says the law doesn’t target any religion, the party that first suggested the law nine years ago, the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party, said it was a reflection that full-face Islamic veils were incompatible with Danish culture. The party rose to become the second-largest party in the parliament in the 2015 elections. The move follows the passage of similar laws in France, Belgium, Austria, Bulgaria, Netherlands and Germany state of Bavaria amid growing anti-immigrant sentiment, but critics in Denmark say it impinges on women’s rights to dress in accordance with their religious beliefs. “If the intention of this law was to protect women’...

Nairobi, KENYA: Call it a gamble but it has paid off. When Elijah Muraguri breached protocol and security cordon to get the ear of President Uhuru Kenyatta little did he know that his bravado will pay off. Three drivers Elijah Muraguri poses next to the Toyota Probox he received from President Uhuru Kenyatta. Image: Standard. The act can simply be regarded as dare devil but for the 29 year old matatu driver, it was either he seize the moment or regrets would forever haunt him. And the audacious act earned him five days in police cells as the law enforcers wondered what to do with him having breached peace during the presidential function. What started off as a dream and a daring act has been rewarded with the President fulfilling what he whispered in the young man's ear. And by just delivering a hand written note to the President during a public function in Murang'a, his lifetime dream of being a motor vehicle owner has been realised. His...