Take That star Howard Donald feels like the "weakest writer" in the group and he was determined to step up.

Soldiers in Gabon appointed the head of the republican guard as the OPEC member state’s new leader, hours

Donald Trump is widely expected to be indicted imminently by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith over his efforts to overturn the 2020 US presidential election result and his role in inciting the Capitol riot of 6 January 2021. Should that happen and he is brought to trial in Washington DC, Mr Trump would appear before a judge selected at random to oversee the case in accordance with the local rules. However, since he was the 45th president of the United States, Mr Trump stands a one-in-three chance of coming up against a jurist he personally appointed. Four of the 12 district judges currently active in DC – Judges Timothy Kelly, Trevor McFadden, Dabney Friedrich and Carl Nichols – were elevated to their current positions during the Republican’s four years in the White House between 2017 and 2021, meaning, at least at that point, he believed them to be politically sympathetic to his own values. Both Judge McFadden and Judge Nichols have raised eyebrows since then through their handling of January 6 defendants, the former delivering the only acquittal in a bench trial resulting from the failed insurrection and attempting to waive grand jury secrecy in court and the latter finding himself in disagreement with no fewer than 10 of his peers when he ruled that the Justice Department could not charge the accused rioters with obstruction of an official. The remaining eight active justices were appointed by either Barack Obama or Joe Biden, which, following the same logic, suggests they are likely to have more Democratic leanings. The ranks of DC’s senior judges, meanwhile, include veterans appointed during the Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W Bush administrations, two of whom – Emmet Sullivan and Amy Berman Jackson – have a recent track record of making enemies of Trumpworld luminaries. Judge Sullivan told Mr Trump’s short-lived first national security adviser Michael Flynn in 2018 that might have been charged with “treason” over his undeclared lobbying on behalf of the Turkish government, drawing the ire of the MAGA movement, while Judge Jackson attracted headlines when she issued a gag order against self-styled Republican political fixer Roger Stone after he posted a picture of her on Instagram with a rifle’s crosshairs zeroing in on her forehead. As for DC’s juror pool, citizens of the nation’s capital have distinguished themselves in recent years through their careful and considered handling of January 6 cases, despite voting overwhelmingly for Mr Biden at the ballot box and witnessing the violence of that ignominious day first-hand on their own doorsteps. For all that, Brandon Van Grack, a former federal prosecutor who worked on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Mr Trump’s alleged ties to Russian election meddling in 2016, argues that too much emphasis is placed on a justice’s supposed political affiliations, especially among the conspiracy-minded. “There are so many exceptions to it,” he told The Messenger. “I think it’s just too much shorthand for people who don’t know the court and who don’t know the judges.” Read More Trump news – live: Trump and aides charged with plotting to delete security footage in classified docs case Trump slams Jack Smith’s superseding indictment in classified docs case as ‘election interference’ Trump’s election fraud claims were always bogus. Will his history of lies finally catch up to him? What is an indictment? Donald Trump facing third of 2023 over Capitol riot Trump says he’ll run for president from jail if convicted on any indictments Trump calls additional charges in Jack Smith’s superseding indictment ‘harassment’

Bogdan Yermokhin, originally from Mariupol, is ordered to report to a draft centre when he turns 18.

A popular Hong Kong protest song was no longer available on several major music streaming sites as well as social media platforms

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A bride has shared her bizarre experience in the run up to the wedding, where a friend of hers insisted that she brought her dog to the ceremony. A woman voiced her frustration in a viral Reddit thread, explaining that her friend demanded an invite for her canine companion as it was “part of the family”. The unnamed 28-year-old wrote: "My friend, Lisa, has a dog named Max that she adores. Max is a lovable but highly energetic German Shepherd." She added: "Recently, Lisa asked me if she could bring Max to my wedding. She argued that he's part of her family, and she can't imagine leaving him alone for the whole day. She wants him to be a part of our special day." The bride went on to say that she told Lisa the venue would now allow the dog to attend the ceremony, and that the decision was out of her hands. "I love Max and understand her attachment, but I was hesitant,” she wrote. “I explained that our venue doesn't allow pets, and it's a formal event. We have a lot of guests who might not be comfortable around dogs, and I don't want any potential disruptions during the ceremony or reception." The woman added: "Lisa got upset and accused me of being inconsiderate. She said she'd keep Max on a leash and make sure he doesn't bother anyone. I insisted that we have to follow the venue's rules, but Lisa won't drop it. Now she's threatening not to come to the wedding at all because Max can't be there." Eventually the pair worked out a compromise, with the bride hosting a smaller event ahead of the wedding day which meant she was able to invite Lisa. "After our initial argument, Lisa and I had a heart-to-heart conversation,” the bride wrote. “She apologized for pressuring me and said she understood my concerns about the venue's rules. We agreed that Max won't be attending the formal ceremony and reception. We found a compromise by having a small, informal gathering the day before the wedding, where Max can join us. It'll be a fun and relaxed pre-wedding get-together for close friends and family to meet Max without any disruptions to the wedding itself." The comments section was full of people criticising Lisa’s actions, with one writing: "That is a completely unreasonable request. I have never heard of a guest bringing a dog to a wedding, especially a formal indoor ceremony." Another said: "This is a completely inappropriate request. Max is a pet, not a service animal. She needs to make arrangements for him by leaving him with a friend, family member, or boarding facility. If she is incapable of being away from him for a day she needs to get mental health help." It comes after a bridge sparked controversy after charging guests £2,000 to attend her wedding. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

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Star Memphis basketball recruit Mikey Williams has pleaded guilty to one felony charge in a gun case, and one of his attorneys said he does not expect the 19-year-old to face jail time

By Nathan Layne, Alexandra Ulmer and Gram Slattery Former President Donald Trump is leveraging his connections to loyalists

BEIJING China's electric vehicle giant BYD Co Ltd on Friday announced subsidies for some models and a discount