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Although Michael Phelps officially retired seven years ago, his record continued to top the sport of swimming ever since. That is until Sunday, when French 21-year-old Leon Marchand broke Phelps’ world record in the men’s 400-meter individual medley. Phelps set the old record of 4:03.84 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Fifteen years later, Marchand shaved an impressive 1.34 seconds off for a new world record time of 4 minutes, 02.50 seconds. Marchand set the new mark on the first day of the World Aquatics Championships. It was the last individual record that Phelps held since retiring for good after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. “That was insane — one of the most painful things I’ve done,” Marchand said on the Olympics’ official website. “It was amazing to do it here and the time is crazy. The best is yet to come.” Afterward, he was appropriately presented with the gold medal by the legendary American swimmer. Marchand was just six years old when Phelps set the previous world record i...

 All political party activities in Niger have been suspended until further notice, army Colonel Amadou Abdramane said on state television Thursday, after the army declared allegiance to leaders of a coup that toppled the government.  The United Nations and the U.S. have called for the release of Niger's president Mohamed Bazoum, after a group of soldiers claimed to have removed him from power. Bazoum had earlier urged democratic forces in the country to resist the power grab. Plus, Russian president Vladimir Putin has told African leaders attending the Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg that he'd gift them tens of thousands of grain within months despite Western sanctions, which he said made it difficult for Moscow to export its grain and fertilizers, and more.