Malawian cricket is in mourning after the death of top official Arjun Menon on Saturday night.
A statement from the Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS) said that the 48-year-old had been “brutally murdered” at his residence in Blantyre.
Local police in the Southern African nation are yet to issue a statement following Menon’s death.
Menon, a wicketkeeper who represented Singapore five times at senior level, was the operations manager of Cricket Malawi.
MNCS chief executive Dr Henry Kamata said Menon’s contributions to the sport were “immense and far-reaching” and that he had played a “pivotal role” in the growth and success of the national side.
“We strongly condemn this heartless act of violence and urge law enforcement authorities to pursue all leads to ensure that those responsible are swiftly brought to justice,” Dr Kamata added in a statement posted on social media.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to Arjun’s family, friends, the cricket community, and all those affected by this tragic loss.”
Menon had previously coached Singapore and also had stints in Chile, Botswana and Indonesia.
“Arjun was more than a coach; he was a mentor, leader, and an embodiment of Singaporean values of excellence, humility, and service,” a statement from the Singapore Cricket Association said.
LookFantastic has slashed the price of a Michael Kors fragrance that ‘always gets so many compliments’ and ‘lingers for hours’ by 50% in a limited-time offer
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Wearers say Michael Kors Sexy Amber perfume lingers for house (Image: Getty Images)
If you’ve been on the lookout for a new perfume to add to your collection, we’ve found one that shoppers can’t praise enough for its ‘sexy and sultry’ smell and how many compliments it gets. And the best part? It’s currently half price in LookFantastic’s perfume sale.
The exact fragrance we’re talking about is Michael Kors’Sexy Amber Eau de Parfum, which is currently £40 down from £80 for the 100ml bottle.
With notes of amber, soft jasmine and sandalwood, it’s bold yet wearable, and just the right amount of sultry.
The floral notes give it a fresh, feminine edge that avoids the scent feeling too wintery. While the amber brings that warmth and depth that makes it feel a bit more sultry and luxe. It’s the kind of perfume you’d reach for on a night out or whenever you want to feel a little extra glam.
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LookFantastic has slashed the price of Michael Kors Sexy Amber by 50%(Image: LookFantastic)
For a similar vibe, we also love Aerin’s Amber Musk Santal eau de parfum, £108, along with Next’s more affordable White Amber Perfume, £16.
Shoppers have been raving about the Michael Kors scent for it’s fresh and ‘sexy’ smell, and the versatility of the fragrance. One shopper wrote: “A very clean, fresh smelling perfume that lingers for hours. I always get so many compliments when I wear this perfume! It is not too overpowering that it can be worn on a day to day basis.”
A second added: “Incredible scent. Makes you feel sexy and alive. Would love to buy the matching shower gel and body lotion so I would be completely wrapped in this amazing smell. Love it”
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Some, however, have differing opinion on the how long-lasting this perfume is, with one reviewer writing: “This for me was a blind buy as it was on offer and such a good price, smells nice, quite a musky fragrance, I feel it doesn’t last very long on my skin and have to keep re applying. Not sure ai would buy it again.”
Ahead of the lengthy ceremony, Greg Davies, 56, and Alex Horne, 46, chatted to red carpet host and comedian Tom Allen about their nomination and how Greg’s ‘ready for a wife’
Greg Davies ‘ready for a wife’ as he shares heartbreaking love life admission(Image: WireImage)
cOMEDIAN Greg Davies revealed he’s ‘ready for a wife’ during a candid chat on the red carpet of the BAFTA TV Awards on Sunday evening. The Taskmaster star and his co-host Alex Horne were nominated in the Entertainment category for their Channel 4 programme alongside The 1% Club, Michael McIntyre’s Big Show and Would I Lie to You?
Unfortunately, the programme lost to BBC’s Would I Lie to You? Ahead of the lengthy ceremony, Greg, 56, and Alex, 46, chatted to red carpet host and comedian Tom Allen about their nomination.
Towards the end of the conversation, the duo discussed how they came up with tasks for the show, prompting Alex to say: “We’re an unlikely couple,” with Greg adding: “That’s why we’re a good team.
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Greg said he’s ‘ready for a wife’(Image: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publis)
Alex then added: “And I would like to thank my wife for getting us here tonight,” before Greg joked: “I don’t have a wife so maybe I can thank Alex’s wife.”
Tom insisted he could meet his wife at the star-studded event, with Greg responding: “Maybe I will, I’m open to it. It would be so lovely, it’s been too long and I’m ready now.”
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Alex simply quipped: “Lonely,” as Greg added: “Oh god, the horrible hot lonely tears.” The Cleaner star was in a relationship with Labour Party politician Liz Kendall between 2007 and 2015. The comedian usually keeps his personal life under wraps.
Liz told previously The Mirror about their romance: “I am not going to be the sort of politician who does all that stuff about their private life because it’s very precious to me and really important to me that I have that space that’s personal and just to me. We are not together any more but we remain really good friends.”
Meanwhile, Greg tends to make jokes about his single life and previously said he ‘gave up’ on romance while on The Graham Norton Show.
The star is notoriously private about his love life(Image: Getty Images for BAFTA)
During the interview, he admitted his grandfather accidentally walked in on him and a girlfriend during an intimate moment. He joked: “It’s not for me, romance… that was the day I gave up on romance.”
He also once said his ex-girlfriend, who he didn’t name, convinced him to switch from his teaching career to one in comedy. Speaking to The Times, he said: “I’ve been doing comedy for about 15 years now. I always wanted to do it, I just never had thick enough skin.
“A girlfriend I had while teaching was a pragmatist and always told me that if you want to do something, then go for it. So eventually I made the switch. Comedy is definitely where I’m happiest.”
During an interview with OK! magazine, Greg admitted that he had quite the crush on former Blue Peter star Janet Ellis, who also happens to be the mother of popstar Sophie Ellie Bextor.
Mortified Greg recalled: “I met Janet Ellis once in a fish and chip shop. I used to have a terrible crush on her, all throughout my childhood. Then I finally met her and said something humiliating, I think chips-based, that guaranteed I would never end up in the relationship I craved.”
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He added: “I met her daughter Sophie on a show once and told her I fancied her mum and she rolled her eyes and said ‘everyone does’.”
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Israel’s blockade threatens the entire population of the Gaza Strip with famine and faces 500,000 with starvation, a global hunger monitor has warned.
A report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative, released on Monday, said the Gaza Strip “is still confronted with a critical risk of famine” after over a year and a half of devastating war, with the vast majority of its approximately 2.1 million people at severe risk.
Some 70 days after the Israeli military halted the entry of food, water, medicine and all other life-saving supplies into Gaza, the report said “goods indispensable for people’s survival are either depleted or expected to run out in the coming weeks”.
“The entire population is facing high levels of acute food insecurity, with half a million people (one in five) facing starvation,” it said. Approximately 93 percent of Gaza’s population is experiencing acute food shortages, it added.
Conditions have significantly worsened since the previous IPC report, released in October, with a higher percentage of the population facing more severe levels of food insecurity.
The entire population is expected to face “crisis” or worse levels of acute food insecurity if the Israeli siege persists. One in five is thought likely to face starvation between May and September.
Authorities in the bombarded territory said last week that at least 57 people had starved to death as a result of Israel’s blockade.
Widespread acute malnutrition is anticipated, the analysis adds, especially in mostly destroyed northern Gaza and in Rafah in the southernmost part of the Strip.
🔴 #GazaStrip
The Gaza Strip—approximately 2.1 million people—continues facing a critical risk of Famine following 19 months of conflict, mass displacement, and humanitarian aid blockade.
📉 Extreme hunger is deepening every day!
⚠️ 1 in every 5 people faces starvation between… pic.twitter.com/z7uN9ifnpC
A continued blockade “would likely result in further mass displacement within and across governorates”, the report said.
“The vast majority of people in the Gaza Strip would not have access to food, water, shelter, and medicine. This would exacerbate civil unrest and competition over remaining scarce resources, further eroding whatever limited community coping and support mechanisms remain.”
Food prices in Gaza are soaring excessively. The IPC report points to a 3,000 percent increase in the price of wheat flour since February in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Younis in the south.
The analysis calls for “urgent action” to end the hostilities, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and protect civilians and aid workers who have been killed by the Israeli army in record numbers.
This Morning presenter Alison Hammond has opened up about her staggering 11 stone weight loss, which was prompted by health concerns when she was diagnosed as pre-diabetic
The This Morning presenter Alison Hammond opened up about her weight loss(Image: Lia Toby, Getty Images for the NTA’s)
Alison Hammond has unveiled the remarkable transformation behind her 11 stone weight loss which was spurred on by a serious health scare.
The This Morning presenter, who once tipped the scales at 28 stone, decided it was time to make a change following a pre-diabetic diagnosis and after losing her mother Maria to type 2 diabetes in 2020.
Taking her health into her own hands, the 50-year-old star embarked on a fitness journey with a personal trainer and adopted a more watchful approach to her diet.
Speaking to Heat Magazine, Alison said: “I feel amazing. I feel happy within myself. I’ve got a personal trainer – she’s amazing. She trains me when I can train. If I’m working, I don’t train, I’ll go for a walk.”
Having previously revealed that weights, pilates, and yoga are part of her home fitness regime, Alison insists she’s not about restrictive diets, reports Plymouth Live. To her, balance is key, as she said: “I don’t deny myself anything. I eat everything but in moderation.”
Speaking to Women’s Health magazine, she further explained her shift from high-fat, high-sugar foods, reflecting on her mother’s concerns and her own encounter with pre-diabetes, saying: “My mum had type 2 diabetes and she was worried for me, so when I then found out that I was pre-diabetic, that was frightening.
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“I thought: ‘I have to be an adult about this’. The sweets had to stop – and the fatty foods.”
Alison made changes to her lifestyle and diet(Image: Karwai Tang, WireImagevia Getty Images)
After making changes to her diet and daily routine, Alison has successfully reversed her condition. She said: “I’m no longer pre-diabetic, so I’m a bit naughtier with my food now. But because my body’s working properly, I can allow myself a bit of sugar here and there.
“I love my new shape and although I still have areas I’m conscious of, such as my arms and tummy, it’s great being able to wear things I would never have been able to before. I mean, look at me, I’m a bombshell.”
Alison admitted that she was deterred from considering weight loss medication due to “scare stories”. But she said she “wouldn’t look down on anyone who did”.
Alison Hammond in 2014 before her weight loss(Image: Photo by David M. Benett/Getty Images for Arcadia – Evans))
Alison’s career took off after her stint on Big Brother in 2002. Despite being the second housemate to be evicted, she landed a role as a celebrity reporter on This Morning.
In 2021, she ascended to the position of main presenter alongside Dermot O’Leary. Her TV appearances also include reality shows like I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing, and she has presented the Great British Bake Off.
Off-screen, Alison is in a relationship with 27 year old masseur David Putman. There’s been growing speculation that her weight loss journey was motivated by a desire to tie the knot with her partner.
In a season which became known as the year of retirements on the ATP Tour, former British number one Dan Evans had his own thoughts about how long he had left playing.
Andy Murray deciding it was the right time to stop dominated the talk in British tennis last year, while his fellow Grand Slam champions Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem also brought the curtain down on their careers in 2024.
At Wimbledon in June, Evans spoke about the awareness he had of coming towards the end of his career and the “stark reality” of not being able to compete at the same level he once did.
So it is telling Evans – who turns 35 in less than a fortnight – is still ploughing on, albeit largely on the ATP Challenger Tour which sits below the main tour.
Less than two years ago, he was ranked a career-high 21st in the world, but is now 190th after briefly dropping outside of the top 200 earlier this year.
“I’m enjoying playing tennis – I’m not enjoying where my ranking is, of course,” Evans told the BBC 5 Live Tennis programme last week.
“I’m still trying to be a tennis player, although some people are letting it known they don’t think I am.”
Evans, competing in a Challenger event in Bordeaux this week before focusing on French Open qualifying, certainly still is a tennis player.
Dropping down a level demonstrates his clear love for the sport and, perhaps, a determination to spend as much time on court as possible having been banned for a year in 2017 after testing positive for cocaine.
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Former world number one Murray, who retired after playing Olympic doubles with Evans in Paris, knew it was the right time.
It did not stop floods of tears – from the 37-year-old Scot, Evans and plenty more watching on – as the curtain came down at Roland Garros.
Thiem, who won the 2020 US Open title, retired several weeks later at his home ATP event in Vienna.
After seeing his career derailed by a debilitating wrist injury, the 31-year-old Austrian’s intuition told him it was not worth carrying on any more.
“Tennis had been my whole life since a very young age so I was fighting against this inner feeling and hoping it goes away again,” he told BBC Sport.
“But instead of going away or getting weaker, it got stronger and got way more into my head.
“Once I made the decision there was a mix of negative and positive emotions – sadness, fear but also a little bit of happiness and looking forward to the time after.”
Evans knows the time is coming. But, for now, his inner feeling is to keep plugging away with the belief he can still compete.
“I’m still trying. I think I will get back inside the top 100 and that’s my goal,” he added.
The next rankings will not be released until next Monday, following the conclusion of the combined WTA-ATP event in Rome.
However, we already know Swiatek – whose Rome title defence ended in the third round – will drop outside the top three for the first time since March 2022.
The live projections also show Jack Draper has a chance of moving to a new career-high of fourth in the world.
With the Italian Open played over a fortnight, the action at the Foro Italico takes centre stage again this week.
However, there are several tournaments on the ATP Challenger and WTA 125 tours – the tiers below the main tours – worth keeping an eye on as players look for more clay-court time going into the French Open.
Britain’s Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal are competing in the Paris 125, where the field is led by world number 17 Amanda Anisimova.
The pick of several ATP Challengers is the Bordeaux tournament.
A host of top-50 players – including huge-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard – are joined in the draw by three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, who opens against British number four Billy Harris.
Draper and Emma Raducanu continue to fly the British flag in the Rome singles, with both players reaching the last 16.
Jacob Fearnley,Cameron Norrie and Kartal were knocked out in the second round, while Boulter fell in round one after drawing 2021 French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
In wheelchair tennis, there was success for Great Britain at the World Team Cup – the sport’s flagship event which is the equivalent of the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.
Britain’s junior team claimed their second World Team Cup title in three years after beating the United States – the defending champions – in Turkey.
LTA
What is Second Serve?
With so many professional tennis tournaments taking place across the world, and across so many levels, it can be hard to keep up with everything from one week to the next.
As part of BBC Sport’s commitment to offer more for tennis fans, Second Serve will be your weekly round-up of the biggest stories in the sport.
As well as the main talking point, you can see which ATP and WTA players are making significant progress – or struggling for form, how the British contingent are doing and what the next stops on the calendars are.
