Something got into the head of the Major. At 29, Ibrahim Adetunji Taiwo,was far away from his Ogbomosho ancestral home doing battle for Nigeria against Biafra. As an officer of the Second Division, the obstacle before him and other fighters was how to cross the River Niger and capture Onitsha.

A Professor wanted to teach his students what he called an important lesson of life. After the day’s lecture, he seated them and gave each student a sheet of paper. He asked them to crumble their sheets into hard balls. He then placed a basket near his table at the front of the room and asked them to throw the balls of paper into the basket. As to be expected, the rate of success depended mostly on the proximity to the basket.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis thanked his French counterpart Friday for France’s assistance in the immediate aftermath of a Niger ambush that killed four US troops, as questions mounted in Washington about what happened.

The killing of four American special operations soldiers in Niger has highlighted the increasing role elite units are playing across Africa, which is rapidly becoming a major center of US military action.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has dismissed suggestions from Watford striker Troy Deeney that his players can be bullied and show little stomach for a physical battle.