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The Trump administration has said it wants to start collecting the social media history of nearly everyone seeking a visa to enter the US. The proposal, which comes from the state department, would require most visa applicants to give details of their Facebook and Twitter accounts. They would have to disclose all social media identities used in the past five years. About 14.7 million people a year would be affected by the proposals. The information would be used to identify and vet those seeking both immigrant and non-immigrant visas. Applicants would also be asked for five years of their telephone numbers, email addresses and travel history. They would be required to say if they had ever been deported from a country, or if any relatives had been involved in terrorist activity. The proposal would not affect citizens from countries which the US grants visa-free travel status - among them the UK, Canada, France and Germany. However, citizens from non-exempt countries li

39th Oba of Benin Eheneden Erediauwa The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, has placed some returnees from Libya on three months salaries. A statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Desmond Agbama, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday said the monarch announced this when he hosted Libyan returnees in his palace. Apart from the allowances, he said the Oba Ewuare Foundation would provide the necessary tools/facilities for those who had gone through the various skills acquisition programmes. He expressed disappointment over the mentality of the Nigerian youth, with the quest to make quick money without legitimate means, noting that youth must embrace agriculture and other legal businesses to excel. The statement said the monarch frowned at the attitude of some parents who encouraged illegal migration via sea and desert, stressing that the palace would employ all traditional means to eradicate the scourge. The monarch, who was full of praises for ance

Arnold Schwarzenegger has undergone heart surgery in Los Angeles. The Austrian-American film star and former California governor, 70, had a scheduled procedure to replace a valve at Cedars-Sinai hospital on Thursday. The device was installed to repair a defective aortic valve in 1997. Thursday's operation lasted several hours, TMZ website reports. Schwarzenegger is said to be recovering well and reportedly commented after waking from surgery: "I'm back." His spokesman, Daniel Ketchell, said that Schwarzenegger was "in good spirits". Responding to the news, Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz wished his "friend" well in a tweet, adding: "I look forward to seeing you again." Schwarzenegger is best known as the hardman of cult movies such as the Terminator and Conan the Barbarian. He served two terms as California governor from 2003 to 2011 before returning to acting in The Expendables. In May last year, Schwarzenegge

Palestinian officials say at least 16 people have been killed by Israeli forces and hundreds more wounded during protests at the Gaza-Israeli border. Thousands had marched to the border at the start of a six-week protest, dubbed the Great March of Return. The Israeli military said "rioting" had broken out at various places along the border and soldiers had opened fire "towards main instigators". Later, Israel said it had targeted sites of the Hamas militant group. Palestinians have pitched five camps near the border for the protest. They are demanding that refugees be allowed to return to homes that are now in Israel. The UN Security Council is due to discuss events in Gaza later on Friday, diplomats said. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the council to help provide "protection for our Palestinian people". "I... place full responsibility on the Israeli authorities for the loss of the martyrs who were killed today," he s

A man who committed a brutal robbery as a teenager in Missouri, firing a gun at two people, will be in prison until he dies. Is that fair? Bobby Bostic wakes up at 4.45am, every day. He washes his face, brushes his teeth, goes for breakfast around 5.30. He comes back, watches TV - usually CNN - prays, then starts reading. The prison is violent. It was worse 20 years ago, but trouble still finds you. So Bostic keeps his head down: New York Times, St Louis Post-Dispatch, Entrepreneur magazine. He loves autobiographies - if it's not in the library, his family can order it - but he reads anything. His last book was The Innovators by Walter Isaacson. Bostic keeps the TV on silent, with the subtitles on. If there's breaking news, he turns up the volume. If not, he keeps reading. After meals and outdoors time - 12 hours a week - he goes to bed at 10pm. The next day, he wakes up, washes his face, brushes his teeth, goes for breakfast. Bostic was 16 when he committed t

Good Friday is about to get better for publicans in the Republic of Ireland. Why? Because they can finally toast the holiday with a pint. For almost a century, selling alcohol had been banned on Easter Friday - a legacy of Ireland's Christian traditions. But in January 2018 the Irish parliament passed new legislation  which means this year will be different. So what's the story for 2018? And who stands to gain from the change? What's different this year? Pubs in the Republic will welcome Easter revellers from 10:30 until closing time at 00:30. Off-licences may see some changes too, with fewer booze-desiring customers stocking up a day in advance. Good Friday is traditionally a popular time for house parties in the Republic, as friends and loved ones gather at home instead of the local boozer. But with the pub doors suddenly open, some may decide they'd rather skip the washing-up. It's good news for tourists seeking a tipple too. On Good Fridays pa

Barclays has agreed to pay $2bn (£1.4bn) to settle a lawsuit brought by the US government over the sale of mortgage-backed securities. The US alleged that the bank had misled investors about the quality of loans backing the securities in the run-up to the financial crisis. Barclays chief executive Jes Staley said the bank was "pleased that we have been able to reach a fair and proportionate settlement". The bank did not admit liability. US attorney for the eastern district of New York Richard Donoghue said: "The substantial penalty Barclays and its executives have agreed to pay is an important step in recognising the harm that was caused to the national economy and to investors in residential mortgage-backed securities." Priority case Barclays said the settlement resolves "all actual and potential civil claims" by the US Department of Justice related to the case, which involved the sale of securities between 2005 and 2007. Mr Staley added:

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has returned to Pakistan for the first time since being shot by Taliban militants. Ms Yousafzai, now aged 20 and a vocal human rights activist, was shot in the head by a gunman for campaigning for female education in 2012. In an emotional speech at the prime minister's office, she said it had been her dream to return "without any fear". Details of the surprise trip are being kept secret for security reasons. Pakistani television broadcast video showing her arriving with her parents at Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto International Airport under tight security. "Always it has been my dream that I should go to Pakistan and there, in peace and without any fear, I can move on streets, I can meet people, I can talk to people," Ms Yousafzai said in a televised address from the PM's house in Islamabad. "And I think that it's my old home again... so it is actually happening, and I am grateful to all of

A fire at a police station in the Venezuelan city of Valencia, in Carabobo state, has left 68 people dead, government officials say. The blaze reportedly started after prisoners set fire to mattresses in an attempt to break out on Wednesday. Police used tear gas to disperse relatives who surrounded the station after news of the fire broke. Chief state prosecutor Tarek Saab said an investigation into what had happened would begin immediately. Venezuela's worst prison tragedies: August 2017:  A riot in police holding cells leaves 37 dead in Amazonas state March 2017:  14 bodies are found in a mass grave in a jail in Guarico state September 2015:  A blaze in a prison in Tocuyito prison kills 17 January 2013:  More than 60 inmates are killed in a prison riot in Barquisimeto State official Jesus Santander said the situation had now been brought under control. He said the state of Carabobo was in mourning. What happened at the police station? The circumstances surro

A man in the UK has caught the world's "worst-ever" case of super-gonorrhoea. He had a regular partner in the UK, but picked up the superbug after a sexual encounter with a woman in south-east Asia. Public Health England says it is the first time the infection cannot be cured with first choice antibiotics. Health officials are now tracing any other sexual partners of the man, who has not been identified, in an attempt to contain the infection's spread. He picked up the infection earlier in the year. The main antibiotic treatment - a combination of azithromycin and ceftriaxone - has failed to treat the disease. Dr Gwenda Hughes, from Public Health England, said: "This is the first time a case has displayed such high-level resistance to both of these drugs and to most other commonly used antibiotics." Discussions with the World Health Organization and the European Centres for Disease Control agree this is a world first. What is gonorrhoea?

After days of speculation, it has been confirmed that North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un has visited China. Rumours circulated earlier this week after local media reported a high-profile figure had arrived on a special train. The visit, confirmed by China and North Korea, was Mr Kim's first foreign trip since taking office in 2011. Mr Kim held "successful talks" with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, Xinhua reports. The visit is considered a significant step in North Korea's preparation for talks agreed in principle with South Korea and the United States. Last month, President Donald Trump accepted an unprecedented invitation to meet Mr Kim. Analysts had said North Korean and Chinese leaders would be likely to meet before that summit goes ahead. China is North Korea's main economic ally. Xinhua said Mr Kim had assured his Chinese counterpart he is committed to denuclearisation. North Korea's KCNA news agency called the visit "

The shops and cinema auditoriums were packed with families enjoying the school holidays when the fire took hold. Among them were Igor Vostrikov's; his wife, sister and three children, aged two, five and seven were there. They suffocated inside a cinema, unable to escape because the doors were locked, he says. At least 64 people, including 41 children, died when the Winter Cherry leisure centre in the Siberian city of Kemerovo went up in flames on Sunday. Speaking at a protest in the city centre on Tuesday, Mr Vostrikov told how his wife phoned him , short of breath, as smoke filled the room. "There was no panic - she was saying goodbye." "I have nothing more to lose," he said. Time after time, relatives have described how their loved-ones used mobile phones to plead for help or say farewell. "I cannot escape," 12-year-old Vika Pochankina, who was in the cinema with her classmates, told her aunt Evgeniya Oganisyan on the phone, Russi

Gold castings of the hands of South Africa's first black President Nelson Mandela have been sold for $10m (£7m) in bitcoin. Canadian crypto-currency exchange firm Arbitrade bought four casts from South African businessman Malcolm Duncan. The firm said it planned to launch a global "Golden Hands of Nelson Mandela" tour to educate young people about the anti-apartheid icon's life. This is the first time artefacts of Mr Mandela have been sold in bitcoin. Mr Mandela was jailed for 27 years for fighting white minority rule in South Africa. He was released in 1990, and served as president from 1994 to 1999. Mr Mandela died in 2013 at the age of 95. He had turned into a global brand, with businessmen and artists cashing in on his name. Mr Duncan, who now lives in Canada, bought the casts from mining group Harmony Gold in 2002 for about $31,000. Half of the money paid to Harmony Gold was meant to go to charity, but it remains unclear as to whether that happ

Anthony Joshua believes Joseph Parker will face an "overwhelming" experience in a unification bout which will go down in "history" on Saturday. WBA and IBF world heavyweight champion Joshua meets WBO title-holder Parker at Cardiff's Principality Stadium. It will be Briton Joshua's fourth stadium bout but, with 80,000 fans expected, represents a new level of interest for New Zealand's Parker. "It took me a few times to get used to it," Joshua told BBC Radio 5 live. "It's an experience he hasn't faced yet. It is daunting, it is overwhelming. "You have a fighter that will block out the noise, which takes a whole heap of energy. Then you have a fighter who rides the wave, which can leave you too excited. "The fight is won or lost in training camp but the last bolt is screwed on during the spell from your changing room to the first bell." 'This is history' Joshua told BBC Sport he has rec

Apo six The families of six victims of extra-judicial killings by police officers that shook Abuja in 2005 have expressed disappointment over the reinstatement and ‘speedy’ promotion of one of the alleged arrowheads, a deputy commissioner of police (DCP), charged with the murders. The then DCP, Ibrahim Danjuma, and four other officers were tried for the killing of the five automobile spare-parts dealers and a woman between the night of June 7 and 8, 2005. The victims had spent time at a club on Gimbiya Street, Area 11, and were returning to their home in Apo neighbourhood when they encountered some police officers who opened fire on them after an altercation. The police had initially said that the victims, whose ages were between 21-25 and included a woman, were armed robbers. But a panel set up by President Olusegun Obasanjo to look into the matter dsimissed most of the accounts by the police and recommended Mr Danjuma and his men for trial. The five officers and eight ot

The United States and its European allies are expelling dozens of Russian diplomats in a co-ordinated response to the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the UK. US President Donald Trump has ordered 60 Russian diplomats to leave the country. Germany, France, Ukraine, Canada and various European countries have also expelled envoys. Russia called the moves a "provocative gesture" and vowed to retaliate. Russia denies any role in the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury, southern England. The pair remain in a critical but stable condition in hospital. EU leaders agreed last week it was highly likely Russia was behind the nerve-agent poisoning. British Prime Minister Theresa May said the show of solidarity gave a strong message. "We welcome today's actions by our allies, which clearly demonstrate that we all stand shoulder to shoulder in sending the strongest signal to Russia that it cannot continue to flout international law,&