Stephen Paddock was “living a secret life, much of which would never be fully understood”, Sheriff Joe Lombardo told reporters.

The gunman’s girlfriend said she had no idea what he was plotting.

Paddock’s motive for killing 58 people in the largest mass shooting in modern US history remains a mystery.

Police found the 64-year-old former accountant dead in a room on the 32nd floor of a hotel after he sprayed bullets on concert-goers below, injuring hundreds.

He apparently turned one of his many guns on himself as police closed in.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Clark County Sheriff Lombardo was asked if he saw evidence that Paddock had planned to escape after the attack.

The sheriff said “yes”. Asked what it was, he said: “I can’t tell you.”

Sheriff Lombardo was asked by a reporter if he thought Paddock had carried out the attack alone.

“You’ve got to make the assumption he had to have some help at some point,” the sheriff replied.

In the aftermath of the shooting officials described him as “a lone wolf” and said he was “solely responsible for this heinous act”.

The FBI’s Aaron Rouse said no link to terrorism had been found so far, but they would not discard the possibility.

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Source: BBC

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Gunman Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel towards an open-air music festival on Sunday evening.

Police found 23 guns in his hotel room, as well as “in excess of” 19 firearms and explosives at his Nevada home.

But as yet, no clear reason for the killing has emerged.

Investigators have found no link to international terrorism, despite a claim from so-called Islamic State. Some investigators have suggested psychological issues, but there is no confirmation of this.

What do we know of the gunman?

Stephen Paddock lived in a community of senior citizens in the small town of Mesquite, north-east of Las Vegas.

He reportedly lived with a woman called Marilou Danley who is out of the country in Japan, and does not appear to be involved, police said.

Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said when police searched the property after the attack they found 19 “additional firearms, some explosives and several thousand rounds of ammo, along with some electronic devices we’re evaluating at this point”.

Officers also found ammonium nitrate in Paddock’s car. The explosive found in his home was tannerite, the sheriff said.

There is a second house in northern Nevada which Swat teams are due to check for booby-traps before carrying out a search , Sheriff Lombardo said.

David Famiglietti of the New Frontier Armory told the BBC that Paddock had purchased firearms at his store in North Las Vegas in the spring of this year, meeting all state and federal requirements, including an FBI background check.

However, the shotgun and rifle Paddock bought would not have been “capable of what we’ve seen and heard in the video without modification,” Mr Famiglietti said.

Despite the large cache of weapons in his home, his brother, Eric, is dumbfounded that he acted this way.

Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo described the shooting as a “lone wolf” attack.

So-called Islamic State (IS) has claimed to be behind the attack, saying Paddock had converted to Islam some months ago.

But the group provided no evidence for this and has made unsubstantiated claims in the past.

FBI Special Agent Aaron Rouse told a news conference: “We have determined at this point no connection to an international terrorist organisation.”

IS’s claim of responsibility for the Las Vegas attack is very unusual in that the perpetrator’s profile does not fit that of supporters or “soldiers” that the group has claimed in the past, writes Mina al-Lami, who monitors jihadist groups for the BBC.

If true, his suicide would be deemed wholly “un-Islamic”, she adds.

Jihadist suicides involve the assailant blowing himself up in order to kill those around him.

How did the attack unfold?

The final shows of the three-day Route 91 country music festival were in full swing when the gunman struck.

According to police, Paddock had booked into the hotel four days earlier, on 28 September, reportedly using some of Ms Danley’s identity documents.

Sheriff Lombardo said there were 10 suitcases in the suite, which had two rooms.

Thousands were enjoying a performance by top-billing singer Jason Aldean when the first of several bursts of automatic gunfire rang out – hundreds of shots, witnesses say. That was late on Sunday night – 22:08 local time (05:08 GMT on Monday).

Hundreds of concert-goers scrambled for cover, flattening themselves against the ground, rushing for the exits or helping others to escape as Paddock sprayed the site from his high vantage point.

It is thought he moved between two windows in his suite as he carried out the attack.

“One man had blood all over him and that’s when I knew something was seriously wrong,” Mike Thompson from London, told the BBC.

“People were running and there was chaos.”

Many hotels on the Las Vegas strip close to the scene were placed on police lockdown and parts of Las Vegas Boulevard were shut.

Who are the victims?

The authorities have yet to confirm the identities of any of the 58 killed.

Jordan McIldoon, 23, from British Columbia in Canada, has been identified as a victim of the attack by CBC News.

• ‘We helped three victims’
• More on the victims

A nurse, Sonny Melton, of Big Sandy, Tennessee, has been named as another victim by The Jackson Sun newspaper.

In a Facebook post, his wife, Dr Heather Gulish Melton, said she “lost my true love and knight in shining armor. I appreciate the prayers but I just need some time.”

An off-duty Las Vegas police officer was another of those who died.

What gun laws does Nevada have?

Nevada has some of the least stringent gun laws in the United States.

People are allowed to carry weapons and do not have to register themselves as a gun-owner.

Background checks are done when people buy guns, but they are also allowed to sell them privately.

Former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a shooting six years ago, called for political leaders in Washington to introduce tougher gun laws following the Las Vegas attack.

Her husband Mark Kelly read out a joint statement on the steps of the Capitol saying thoughts and prayers from the White House were not enough to stop the next shooting.

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Source: BBC

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Saturday’s showdown was available to watch on pay-per-view in 200 countries, with viewers in the United States charged up to $99.95 to see Mayweather extend his record to 50-0 against the UFC star.

But digital security firm Irdeto claim millions of people were able to enjoy the fight on illegal streams through social media platforms such as Facebook, Youtube, Periscope and Twitch.

Though it is not uncommon for internet users to use illegal streaming sites to watch sporting events, Irdeto reported that the majority of the 200 streams they found came via social media.

With viewers in the UK having to fork out £19.95 to watch the event, a number of ‘digital Robin Hoods’ paid the fee before making it available to the world through apps such as Periscope.

Irdeto also found more than 40 online adverts advertising illegal streams for the Las Vegas showdown on a single day.

‘Live sports are a cornerstone of global piracy, with thousands of sites providing illegal content attracting millions of viewers,’ said Rory O’Connor, senior VP of cybersecurity services at Irdeto.

‘When combating live sports piracy, speed in disrupting piracy is essential… by identifying and stopping pirate streams in real-time through specialised knowledge and technology, content owners and operators are able to protect revenue and deliver a greater user experience.’

In his first fight for nearly two years, Mayweather stopped McGregor in the 10th round at the T-Mobile Arena to retire from the sport undefeated.

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Source: Daily Mail UK

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This is because According to TMZ, the airport implemented a reservation system that had persons interested in parking their private jet at the strip arrange for that ahead of time.

Reports say the airport will still allow private jets to land but they have to fly back after dropping passengers due to the number of jets parking on the tarmacs.

Las Vegas is expecting more than 1,300 private jets to land for the weekend’s action.

A 60% increase has been seen for flights to Las Vegas McCarran airport, compared to usual volumes, according to booking service PrivateFly.

The cost of the ticket for the bout ranges between $1,300 to $6,000.

It will be recalled that the tarmacs of McCarran International Airport were choked with private jets in 2015 for Mayweather- Pacquiao fight and authorities at the airport have decided to be more cautious this time

The fight is set to break all pay-per-view records – and after months of trash-talking, a world tour, and last night’s weigh in.

Floyd Mayweather facing the UFC’s biggest star, Conor McGregor.

The bout will be housed in the T-Mobile arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada.

The fight will be held under boxing rules, presenting a huge challenge for mixed martial artists McGregor as he faces off against one of the greatest defensive boxers in history.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Dancehall music has been trending in Ghana lately. The good fortune being enjoyed by the genre came about after Shatta Wale’s infamous rants during last year’s Ghana Music Awards. The rants and the ensuing music released catapulted Shatta into a household name and the rippling effects have seen a boost for the Dancehall genre which has heavyweights like Samini, Stonebwoy, Kaakie and others churning out hit after hit to feed the insatiable appetite of fans.

However, the growth of the genre hasn’t gone without raising eyebrows. The initial rants by Shatta Wale, last year, accused Charterhouse and Samini of sabotaging him and other dancehall artistes. The rant was replied by Samini. Rant after rant, Dancehall has gained attention and is the toast of many music lovers now.

Now music producer, Kaywa, has advised Dancehall artistes to desist from inciting people but rather concentrate on being more creative.

In an interview with enewsgh.com, he said “Dancehall is trending now and the artistes feel the need to say certain stuff to ignite certain feelings which will not help the industry. An industry should be about creativity to entertain and not to incite people; it’s a business with people and should have boundaries for it to benefit us the creators and the fans.”

He lauded Fuse ODG, Sarkodie, Castro and other musicians working so hard to get Ghanaian music international appeal.

“Ghana music is everywhere now, the new generation including Fuse ODG, Sarkodie, Castro and the rest have taken the music out there massively, wherever you travel now, when you mention Ghana, you can use certain names and terms from our music to give the people a clear picture of who we are and represent. It has marketed the country in different ways. Commercially it’s working well for us and it sure will get better.”

Kaywa, born David Kyei, is an award winning producer. In recent times, he’s been behind most of the hit songs in Ghana, including Castro’s Odo Pa, which features Kofi Kinaata and Asamoah Gyan.

Kojo Akoto Boateng/citifmonline/Ghana

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