At least 16 people trying to escape villages close to the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo have been killed in an explosion. The lethal blast, believed to be a car bomb, happened at a transit point for Syrians on the outskirts of the city. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the explosion took place at a place where buses were waiting to transport thousands of people who left Fuaa and Kafraya a day earlier.

A flight bound for Las Vegas has been forced to turn around and ground in Manchester airport after a technical fault with the aircraft. The Thomas Cook flight departed Manchester airport this morning but turned around after about 20-30 minutes in the air. The aircraft was forced to dump fuel above the Irish sea before landing. It was met by fire crew and the airport's emergency team when it arrived back at the northern airport. The passengers have been moved to another flight which has now departed.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un kicked off the national Day of the Sun with a military parade consisting of thousands of perfectly-choreographed troops. Kim arrived at Kim Il-sung Square in a Western-style suit and saluted formations of soldiers who yelled out 'long live' to celebrate the 105th anniversary of his grandfather's birthday. US officials feared Kim Jong-un would mark the national holiday by launching its sixth nuclear weapons test, since the country has used previous holidays to showcase its military prowess. Tensions between the US and North Korea have been mounting in recent weeks, and Pyongyang issued a series of menacing threats to 'ravage' US troops and 'go to war if they choose'. China warned the region could go to war 'at any moment' and President Donald Trump is monitoring the emerging crisis from his Mar-a-Lago resort without the company of his top advisers

As millions of North Koreans celebrate the Day of the Sun today, marking the birth of their cruel dynasty's founding dictator, Kim Il-sung, his grandson's nuclear ambitions have put the nation's fate on a knife-edge and threatens peace throughout East Asia. The chubby young tyrant, Kim Jong-un (pictured at the ceremony today), has enjoyed playing the unpredictable despot ever since he inherited power in 2011. Now he is playing with fire, writes MARK ALMOND.

U.S. Army troops and Air Force conducted military exercises on Saturday near the border between the two countries in Paju. President Trump sent an aircraft carrier-led strike group to the Korean Peninsula as US officials feared North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would mark the national holiday by launching its sixth nuclear weapons test since the country has used previous holidays to showcase its military prowess.

'Blood running, flies going into the wounds, under a hard sun,' was how photographer Eric Lafforgue described the process which he witnessed in the Surma tribe from the Omo valley in Ethiopia . He said that the young girl maintained a stoic silence while her mother stretched her daughter's skin and cut it with a razor for 10 minutes. A tradition in the tribe, he said: '[She] did NOT say any word during the ten minutes ceremony, and did NOT show any pain. 'I asked her if it was not too hard to have her skin cut with a razor blade, and she answered that she was close to collapse!' Young girls are being cut with knives and razor blades to create prominent scars considered beautiful in tribal societies in Ethiopia.

Kerry Wilkinson (left), 27, of Dunfermline, advertised her wedding dress on the Facebay Fife Facebook page for £100 (inset). In the post she claimed her ex Dave Notman (right) cheated on her with her friend, which went viral. But he has slammed the claims, saying the pair split up because the relationship was no longer working.

April the giraffe finally gave birth after months of waiting on Saturday morning. Zookeepers at Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, said it was a perfect delivery and will announce the gender of the baby after the mom and calf spend some more time together. The alert was sent out that the 15-year-old giraffe was due to give birth around 8am after the animal's due date was in mid-February. Two hooves were seen sticking out of the pregnant animal's backside at 8am as officials said it was a sign that birth was imminent. Around two hours later the calf was born.

Geneva S. Robinson, 51, (left) was sentenced in Oklahoma City on Thursday, after having pleaded guilty to five counts of felony child abuse. Her boyfriend Joshua Granger, 33, (inset center) was sentenced to 30 years for his role in letting the abuse go on. The first images of Robinson dressed as Nelda (right) emerged at the sentencing.

Along with the 10-second video clip, Mexican mixed martial artist Maritza Sanchez wrote on Twitter: 'We decided to let our bird go and this happened...' In the clip, the family count down: 'One, two, three!' and release the bird who flaps its wings but instantly falls to the ground. The little dog immediately catches the budgie in its jaws and runs off with it. The clip has been shared and liked more than 100,000 times since being uploaded.

Some 20 fire engines were called to Parnham House in Dorset after flames engulfed the Grade I listed building. Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service tweeted images of the blaze after emergency services arrived at about 4.25am. The house is believed to be privately owned by Michael and Emma Treichl who renovated the site eight years ago. All occupants have been accounted for. A spokeswoman for Dorset Police said officers are investigating how the blaze started and have not ruled out suspicious circumstances. The mansion has been around for centuries with some of the oldest parts dating back to the 1500s. It was the site of the brutal 1645 murder of Lady Ann Strode, whose husband Sir John is pictured inset, by a soldier under the command of Colonel Thomas Fairfax - commander-in-chief of the Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil War.

Broadchurch has proved to be one of the most popular whodunits on television, a contemporary Agatha Christie-style mystery that has had nearly eight million viewers puzzling over clues and deboning red herrings. Bang, bang, order in court! All rise as I don my judge's wig and sift through the evidence and deliver my Broadchurch 2017 verdicts (and I promise I haven't seen the last episode). Pictured top left, DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Coleman) and DI Alec Hardy (David Tennant), top right, Trish Winterman (Julie Hesmondhalgh) and below, the six suspects.

The much-anticipated new series of Britain's Got Talent kicks off on Saturday night. However it seems things got off to a rocky start for judge Amanda Holden, who was left furious after being called a 'dog' by an eight-year-old comedian on the show. According to The Sun, the actress, 46, was left furious with the parents of Ned Woodman, after he made the shocking joke about her during his stand-up comedy performance. 

Nikki Elliott (pictured left and right) faced a battle for justice when she discovered her former boss Oliver Whiting (pictured inset), from Eastbourne in East Sussex, had been uploading photos of her onto a disgusting 'revenge porn' website. But despite Nikki's detective work Whiting managed to escape with barely a slap on the wrist.

Reverend Philip Clements, from Kent, left the church in 2007 when he came out as gay and he is now to marry Romanian Florin Marin, 24, who he met on a dating site. Mr Clements said he could only be himself when he returned from the church, and began his first serious relationship with Mr Marin two years ago. He is using his impending nuptials to petition the Church of England to change their position on gay marriage, but his celebrations have not been met with congratulations by all. One reverend compared him to Judas Iscariot in a scathing letter, saying the Church shouldn't take any notice of him.

Alison Castree and Catherine Barlow, from Staffordshire, accidentally got pregnant at the same time after paying £10 to find a sperm donor and make their dreams of having a family come true. They used an online donor and artificial insemination to try to get pregnant and when Catherine struggled, Alison tried too. They were shocked when they both fell pregnant, and ended up giving birth within three weeks of each other last October, to Lacey and then to Vinnie. They're now enjoying shared maternity leave with their 'complete family'.

In a harrowing interview Connie Yates (pictured far left and bottom right) tells why she and her husband Chris (featured left and bottom far right) have refused to give up hope for their eight-month-old baby Charlie (pictured top right), despite a recent High Court ruling that in all likelihood there was little hope left for the adorable little boy who'd captured the hearts of the nation.

NEW The HT2-Matador 3 sliding bollards are made by British firm Heald in Hornsea. In the test video, a 7.2 tonne vehicle can be seen hurtling towards the movable barriers. Suddenly it crashes head on into the bollards causing massive damage to the front of the truck. In fact the whole front carriage of the vehicle flies off after the collision. The company behind the device has most recently installed the barriers outside a new £580 million cultural venue in Athens.

A photo of police officers enjoying the sun with coffee and bacon sarnies (pictured) in Plymouth has drawn criticism from locals, one of whom said he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the officers lounging. But commentators online, including other police officers, say they are perfectly entitled to take a break.

The religious devotees also wore masks as they marched through the streets carrying statues of Jesus. The men, from the town of Atlixco, were taking part in the traditional 'Engrillados' ceremony. This traditional celebration of Good Friday remembers the first Friday before Easter, which marks the date of Jesus Christ's crucifixion by the Roman authorities. Large crowds can be seen watching the procession. The traditional march is believed to have been practised for more than 100 years in the country.

The gross overreaction happened at a shopping centre in the city of Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province, where the mum, her husband and her little boy had gone to play. While the boy was playing, the little girl in pink accidentally stepped on his foot - and this was spotted by the his furious mum. The boy appeared fine after the clearly accidental stomp, but his mum refused to let it go and demanded an apology from the girl. The episode ended in a violent brawl with the mother punching and grabbing at another woman.

The religious fanatics were seconds away from unleashing an assault when the Popular Mobilisation Unit militia group blew up the armoured vehicle. In the video, which has not yet been independently verified, the tank can be seen sustaining shots from the Iraqi paramilitary group. The video uploader wrote: 'ISIS was trying to attack our positions but was defeated heavily.' The PMU, or Al-Hashd Al-Sha'abi, is a paramilitary group founded in 2014 to combat the rise of ISIS.

In the bizarre clip released on Friday, a group of keen yoga fans can be seen taking part in a fitness session with a bunch of furry farm animals jumping all over them. The session took place at Jenness Farm in the town of Nottingham in New Hampshire. The strange video has been viewed nearly three million times since being uploaded to Facebook. Most commenters were impressed with the animal-oriented activity. Rebecca Kempt wrote online: 'This is my kinda yoga.'

New York photographer Terri Gold has taken a series of photographs of some of the most remote and isolated tribespeople on the planet. They are presented in a unique infrared light which gives them an otherworldly quality. Gold has devoted much of her life to visiting the Indigenous tribal communities on the planet. Her project has taken her to Namibia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger, India, and China.

Who knew a piglet could be such a speed demon? Piper the minipig was caught on camera alternating between running and napping as though she couldn't make up her mind! Apparently, the secret is her gray blanket, which her owners say 'gets her going every time.' Piper, who had a rough start to life, now lives (and runs and naps) happily in Tennessee.