France prepared to fall silent at noon Monday to mourn victims of the Paris attacks after its warplanes pounded the Syrian stronghold of Islamic State, the jihadist group that has claimed responsibility for the slaughter.

There are over 3,000 miles between Onitsha in Nigeria and Birmingham in England, the journey made by Carl Ikeme’s father in order to receive the university education he wanted. A little more than 30 years later, Ikeme Jnr is making this long trip in reverse in order to keep goal for the Super Eagles.

South African telecoms giant MTN has won a respite on the payment of a massive $5.2 billion fine imposed on the company in Nigeria to allow for negotiations, the mobile phone operator said Monday.

One of the suicide bombers in the Paris attacks had links to a Belgian Islamic State militant believed to be the mastermind of a jihadist cell dismantled in January, a report said on Monday.

British security services have foiled around seven terror attacks since June with fighters returning from Syria posing a growing threat, Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday.