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McDonald's is partnering with BTS, the massively popular Korean pop band, for its next celebrity meal — and this time it's going global. The aptly titled "BTS Meal" goes on sale May 26 in the United States, Canada and Brazil and soon after in nearly 50 countries spanning six continents and consists of the "superstar band's signature order," the company announced Monday.
Source: cnn.com
Ferocious tyrannosaur dinosaurs may not have been solitary predators as long envisioned, but more like social carnivores such as wolves, new research unveiled Monday found. Using geochemical analysis of the bones and rock, a team of researchers with the University of Arkansas determined that the dinosaurs died and were buried in the same place and were not the result of fossils washing in from multiple areas.
Source: foxnews.com
In a letter addressed to Boris Johnson, 156 UK musicians have called on the government to take action over streaming rights. The letter asks for changes in legislation to “put the value of music back where it belongs – in the hands of music makers”.
Source: independent.co.uk
Angry Byron Bay locals are protesting the filming of a reality television series that some fear will damage the reputation of their trendy Australian tourist town. Around 100 surfers paddled to sea Tuesday to form a cancel symbol off the coast of the New South Wales state town in the hope that Netflix will can the series about social media influencers. Several Byron Bay businesses have refused to sign filming permits that would allow “Byron Baes,” a contemporary abbreviation of “Byron Babes,” to be shot on their premises.
Source: apnews.com
Chad's President Idriss Deby has died while visiting troops on the frontline of a fight against northern rebels, an army spokesman said on Tuesday, the day after Deby was declared the winner of a presidential election. Deby, 68, came to power in a rebellion in 1990 and was one of Africa's longest-ruling leaders.
Source: reuters.com
US Senate lawmakers are proposing to ban private ownership of big cats such as lions and tigers in the wake of the Netflix documentary series Tiger King. Support for the Big Cat Public Safety Act, which would also ban public contact with big cat cubs, was announced by four bipartisan senators. The US has more captive tigers than there are wild ones around the world. The Animal Welfare Institute says the Tiger King series helped to highlight "the exploitation of captive big cats".
Source: bbc.com
The U.S. ambassador in Moscow said Tuesday he will head home for consultations — a move that comes after the Kremlin prodded him to take a break as Washington and Moscow traded sanctions. Ambassador John Sullivan said in a statement that he is returning to the United States this week to discuss U.S.-Russian ties with members of President Joe Biden’s administration. He emphasized that he would come back to Moscow within weeks.
Source: apnews.com
A subsidiary of South Korean bio-tech company GL Rapah will begin producing Russian COVID-19 vaccines in the country in May, with all doses bound for export, industry sources said Tuesday. Under the agreement with Russia's sovereign wealth fund, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Hankook Korus will first manufacture 150 million doses of Sputnik V at a local factory, they said. All of the doses manufactured in South Korea will be for export and not for domestic usage.
Source: en.yna.co.kr
Compared with PCR tests - the gold standard for testing - the disposable breathalyser's sensitivity rate so far has been over 95 per cent, and its specificity, more than 99 per cent. It is also cheaper, costing around US$20 (S$26) each currently. Trials have already started in NCID, Changi Airport Terminal 1 and Certis, with more than 400 individuals tested to date. Silver Factory's breathalyser, TracieX, has been shown to be almost as accurate as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, while taking a fraction of the time - at two minutes - to turn in results.
Source: straitstimes.com
Walter F Mondale, the former vice-president and liberal leader who lost to Ronald Reagan in one of the most lopsided presidential elections, has died at the age of 93. A towering figure in the Democratic party who resolutely put humility and honesty before the glitz of mass communication, Mondale’s death marked something of an end of an era in US politics. He was described by a biographer as the last major American politician to resist the allure of television. The death of the former senator, ambassador and Minnesota attorney general was announced in a statement on Monday from his family. No cause was cited.
Source: theguardian.com
Mercedes has unveiled its largest and most luxurious electric car yet. The Mercedes EQS is the battery-powered equivalent of the Mercedes S-Class sedan, the brand's flagship model.
Source: cnn.com
The government has said it will do "whatever it takes" to prevent a breakaway European Super League involving six leading English clubs. Boris Johnson said ministers would be working to make sure the league did not go ahead in the way being proposed. The Duke of Cambridge also said he shared fans' concerns about "the damage it risks causing to the game we love". But the president of Real Madrid told a Spanish TV show: "We are doing this to save football at this critical moment."
Source: bbc.com
Former U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon urged his successor on Monday to engage directly with Myanmar's military to prevent an increase in post-coup violence and said southeast Asian countries should not dismiss the turmoil as an internal issue for Myanmar. "Given the gravity and urgency of the situation, I believe the secretary-general himself should use his good offices to engage directly with the Myanmar military, to prevent an escalation of violence," Ban, secretary-general from 2007 to 2016, told a U.N. Security Council meeting.
Source: reuters.com
A stalker who claims pop star Taylor Swift is communicating with him on social media was arrested on a trespassing charge after trying to break into the singer’s Manhattan apartment, police said Monday. Hanks Johnson, 52, was arrested at 8:30 p.m. Saturday after a 911 caller reported he was inside Swift’s Tribeca building without permission, a police spokesperson said. Johnson was charged with criminal trespass and released on his own recognizance after an arraignment Sunday night. It wasn’t clear if he had an attorney who could comment.
Source: apnews.com
Boris Johnson’s planned visit to India next week has been cancelled because of the country’s escalating coronavirus crisis, a joint statement by the UK and India has announced. “In the light of the current coronavirus situation, prime minister Boris Johnson will not be able to travel to India next week,” said the statement, released by Downing Street.
Source: theguardian.com
Auction house Christie's unveiled on Monday what it called "the highest-estimated Asian artwork" to ever go under the hammer, a Xu Beihong painting called "Slave and Lion," which it expects to fetch between $45 million and $58 million. The 1924-dated painting by Xu, who is regarded as one of the most important figures of Chinese realism, will go on public preview in Beijing and Shanghai this month before being auctioned in Hong Kong on May 24. The painting was sold in the global financial hub in 2006 at Christie's for HK$53.9 million ($6.9 million), a record at the time for a Chinese oil painting.
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
Joe Biden faces a key test of his commitment to climate action this week, when he sets out his core plans for tackling the climate crisis and calls on all of the world’s major economies to join him in bold action to slash greenhouse gas emissions in the next ten years. The US president has made the climate emergency one of his administration’s top priorities, and stated that clean growth must be the route for the US to rebound from the coronavirus crisis.
Source: theguardian.com
For the first time in their party's four-decade history, the German Greens have announced a candidate to run as chancellor. Equally historic is the central role the Greens will play in September's general election. On Monday, the Green Party announced that 40-year-old Annalena Baerbock would be its choice to take over from Angela Merkel after September's election. Ms Baerbock is likely to be the only woman in the race.
Source: bbc.com
South Korea's government on Monday said it had proposed a law to require its citizens to get official permission before using the internet to exchange digital material such as movies, music, scanned books, or artwork with anyone in North Korea. If approved by parliament, the measure would be the first major amendment to South Korea's Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act in three decades and is part of its recent efforts to improve relations with North Korea.
Source: reuters.com
A World War II-era plane was forced to land off the coast of Cocoa Beach, Florida, Saturday afternoon after it experienced engine failure. Authorities are now working on getting the plane, which was part of an air show, out of the water, according to Cocoa Beach Air Show spokesperson Chris Dirato. The only person on board the plane, the TBM Avenger, was the pilot. When he realized the plane was having engine problems, he initially tried to make it to the nearby Patrick Space Force Base where the air show was being held.
Source: cnn.com
More than 13 million people in the UK watched live television coverage of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral which saw a Queen in mourning, masked and sitting alone, during her first public appearance since the death of her husband of 73 years. During it, the Queen will mark her 95th birthday on Wednesday at Windsor Castle, where she and Philip had been shielding during the pandemic. The Queen Mother’s 2002 funeral was watched by 10.4 million, while that of Diana, Princess of Wales, had a record 32 million in 1997.
Source: theguardian.com
Footballer Marcus Rashford has launched a book club to get disadvantaged children reading more. The England and Manchester United striker has teamed up with publisher Macmillan Children's which will donate 50,000 books. They will be distributed in more than 850 primary schools across England and Scotland through children's food charity Magic Breakfast.
Source: bbc.com
Eleven people were killed and 98 injured on Sunday in a train accident in Egypt's Qalioubia province north of Cairo, the health ministry said in a statement. The train was heading from Cairo to the Nile Delta city of Mansoura when four carriages derailed at 1:54 p.m., about 40 kms north of Cairo, Egyptian National Railways said in a short statement.
Source: reuters.com
Foreign spies operating in Britain face being prosecuted and deported under new laws to protect the nation from hostile states such as China and Russia. Boris Johnson will use the Queen’s Speech on May 11 to announce a bill to counter hostile states, including a requirement for all individuals working on behalf of foreign governments in Britain to register their presence. Failure to do so would be a criminal offence.
Source: thetimes.co.uk
Uefa, the Premier League and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson have condemned 12 major European clubs, including the 'big six' from England, signing up to a breakaway European Super League. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham are part of the group. La Liga's Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid and Serie A's AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus are involved. Uefa said it will use "all measures" possible to stop the "cynical project". Senior figures at European football's governing body are furious about the proposals.
Source: bbc.com
Syria is to hold a presidential election next month, the country's parliament says - a move likely to maintain President Bashar al-Assad's grip on power. Mr Assad is not expected to face serious opposition despite continuing conflict and a growing economic crisis. After 10 years of war the Syrian government controls most of the big population centres in the country. About 400,000 people have been killed and over half of Syrians displaced. The election for a president who will serve a seven-year-term will take place on 26 May.
Source: bbc.com
Around 200 tonnes of illegally harvested giant clam shells worth nearly $25 million (£18 million) have been seized in the Philippines. The seizure is one of the largest ever hauls of the endangered species. Four suspects have been arrested on an island in the ecologically protected province of Palawan. Giant clams can grow larger than one metre across, and weigh up to 250kg. They are seen as vital to the local marine ecosystem.
Source: bbc.com
Hundreds of UK church leaders have told the prime minister that plans to use vaccine passports for entry into venues is “one of the most dangerous policy proposals ever to be made in the history of British politics” with the “potential to bring about the end of liberal democracy as we know it”. An open letter to Boris Johnson signed by more than 1,250 clergy from different Christian denominations across the UK says the “introduction of vaccine passports would constitute an unethical form of coercion and violation of the principle of informed consent”.
Source: theguardian.com
The 300-million-year-old shark’s teeth were the first sign that it might be a distinct species. The ancient chompers looked less like the spear-like rows of teeth of related species. They were squatter and shorter, less than an inch long, around 2 centimeters.
Source: apnews.com
A busy road in the Estonian capital Tallinn has been closed for April nights to keep thousands of frogs and toads travelling to their breeding grounds safe from cars. Volunteers usually help carry frogs and toads over roads in the spring and say they have saved 97,000 of them in previous years, including 2,000 last year on the Tallinn road. But with the coronavirus pandemic making such help impossible this year, road closures are the only lifeline for the amphibians.
Source: reuters.com
Just days after the International Space Station's crew reached 10 people, three have returned to Earth. Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins ended their 185-day mission on the space station Friday.
Source: cnn.com
Rafa Nadal suffered a shock quarter-final defeat by Russian Andrey Rublev at the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday as he was overpowered 6-2 4-6 6-2, only his sixth ever loss at the tournament he has won 11 times.
Source: reuters.com
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday called Iran's enrichment of uranium to 60% purity unhelpful but said he is pleased Tehran is still in indirect talks with Washington about both countries resuming compliance with the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal.
Source: reuters.com
The global coronavirus death toll was expected to reach 3 million on Saturday as the race for immunisation continues and countries such as India grapple with rising infections and new lockdowns. India racked up 234,692 Covid-19 infections in the 24 hours to Saturday morning, health ministry data showed, which was the eighth record daily increase in the last nine days.
Source: theguardian.com
Helen McCrory, the British actress best known for her roles in the 'Harry Potter' films and 'Peaky Blinders,' has died, her husband, actor Damian Lewis, announced on Friday. McCrory, who was 52, died "peacefully at home" after "an heroic battle with cancer," the "Homeland" star said in a tweet.
Source: cnn.com
Kyrgyzstan will use a herbal tonic to treat COVID-19, its health minister said on Friday after his president praised the remedy - despite warnings from a medical expert that it contained a potentially lethal poison. Minister Alymkadyr Beishenaliyev drank a solution made from the roots of aconitum soongaricum at an online briefing to show that it was safe.
Source: reuters.com
Prince Philip's funeral service will be broadcast by major television networks and streamed online. The service honoring the Duke of Edinburgh will begin at 3 p.m. local time in St George's Chapel, Windsor with a national minute of silence, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace. The Queen and members of the royal family will take part in the event, with attendance limited to 30 because of coronavirus restrictions. A ceremonial procession inside the grounds of Windsor Castle — led by the band of the Grenadier Guards, one of the oldest regiments of the British Army — will begin at 2:45 p.m..
Source: cnn.com
The strain first identified in India has two mutations, prompting fears it may be more infectious or less susceptible to vaccines. A total of 600 people in the UK have now contracted the South African coronavirus variant, new figures show.
Source: news.sky.com
Fidel Castro's brother Raul, 89, prepares to hand power to President Miguel Diaz-Canel ending family's grip on Communist country's leadership. Cuba's leadership is passing to a younger generation, with the last Castro leaving office and ending a 60-year family monopoly, but there is little other change as power remains firmly with the Communist Party.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
A Singaporean activist said on Friday he had raised S$144,389 ($108,200) through social media to cover defamation damages he had to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the second such crowdfunding case involving a blogger this month. The prime minister sued Roy Ngerng for a blog post in 2014 in which Ngerng allegedly implicated Lee in impropriety in connection with how funds in Singapore’s mandatory retirement savings scheme, the Central Provident Fund(CPF), are managed.
Source: reuters.com
New Zealand has announced a suite of proposals aimed at outlawing smoking for the next generation and moving the country closer to its goal of being smoke-free by 2025. The plans include the gradual increase of the legal smoking age, which could extend to a ban on the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products to anyone born after 2004, making smoking effectively illegal for that generation. Also under consideration was a significant reduction in the level of nicotine allowed in tobacco products, prohibiting filters, setting a minimum price for tobacco, and restricting the locations where tobacco and cigarettes can be sold.
Source: theguardian.com
China's economy grew a record 18.3% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same quarter last year. It's the biggest jump in gross domestic product (GDP) since China started keeping quarterly records in 1992.
Source: bbc.com
Pakistan blocked access to all social media on Friday, after days of anti-French protests across the country by radical Islamists opposed to cartoons they consider blasphemous. Sites temporarily blocked on orders from the country’s interior ministry included Twitter and Facebook, said Khurram Mehran, a spokesman for Pakistan’s media regulatory agency. He gave no further details.
Source: apnews.com
Her Majesty, 94, will also sit alone throughout the ceremony at Windsor Castle, where she has been isolating for months — most of them with the Duke of Edinburgh.
Source: thesun.co.uk
The third major sandstorm in five weeks turned Beijing’s skies sepia on Thursday, and sent air quality plummeting in the Chinese capital. The storms, caused by winds from drought-hit Mongolia and north-western China, sent levels of the pollutant PM10, which can penetrate the lung, to 999 micrograms per cubic metre – a level almost double the “hazardous” stage indicated by the Beijing air pollution real time quality index.
Source: theguardian.com
Turkey’s central bank banned the use of cryptocurrencies and crypto assets to purchase goods and services, citing “irrepairable” possible damages and significant risks in such transactions.
Source: reuters.com
Monkey embryos containing human cells have been produced in a laboratory, a study has confirmed, spurring fresh debate into the ethics of such experiments. The embryos are known as chimeras, organisms whose cells come from two or more “individuals”, and in this case, different species: a long-tailed macaque and a human.
Source: theguardian.com
U.S. writer-producer Jacqueline Hoyt (“The Good Wife”) is set to pen drama series “Audrey” about Hollywood icon Audrey Hepburn, which is being produced by Italy’s Wildside, the Fremantle company behind “The Young Pope” and “My Brilliant Friend.”
Source: variety.com
The French president has used the reconstruction of the fire-ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral as a metaphor for the country pulling together after Covid-19 as France reached the symbolic mark of 100,000 deaths from the virus. Macron told journalists from Le Parisien that the damaged cathedral, which is expected to partially reopen in 2024, was “like a metaphor for what a lot of people are feeling and what we’re living”. He said: “Our medical staff have been extraordinarily heroic, like the firefighters were during the fire.”
Source: theguardian.com
Couple finally confirm they're ending four-year romance saying they're 'better as friends' after weeks of brushing off 'inaccurate' rumours and infidelity claims. Despite their lengthy protestations, the couple finally released a statement announcing the news.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
France has urged all its citizens in Pakistan to leave the country temporarily amid violent anti-French protests across the country. In an email obtained by French news agency AFP, the country's embassy in Pakistan warned of "serious threats to French interests in Pakistan". Two police officers died this week in renewed clashes with protesters. Protests were sparked months ago after a French magazine republished cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
Source: bbc.com
Denmark is examining options for sharing AstraZeneca’s vaccines with poorer nations after it halted use of the shots over concerns over rare blood clots, the World Health Organization Europe head said on Thursday.
Source: reuters.com
The remains of a high-status Roman villa and bath house, which may be the first of its kind ever discovered in the world, have been unearthed on a building site near Scarborough in North Yorkshire. The astonishing find was made during archaeological excavations ahead of the construction of a housing development in the small town of Eastfield. Archaeologists say the villa’s sheer size and complexity – it features a circular central room with other rooms leading off it – almost certainly indicate a stately home or some kind of religious sanctuary.
Source: independent.co.uk
When animal welfare officers received a report of an unusual animal lurking in a tree in the Polish city of Krakow, they were not sure what to expect. "People aren't opening their windows because they're afraid it will go into their house," the woman reportedly said. But a visit to the area showed the creature in question was not a bird, or even an reptile - but a croissant. The Krakow Animal Welfare Society said the incident was genuine.
Source: bbc.com
The greatest hurdle of the Pep Guardiola era has finally been cleared. Manchester City progress past the Champions League quarter-finals, successful at the fifth attempt under the manager who was headhunted specifically to take further still. Dortmund 1-2 Man City (2-4): A Mahrez penalty and Foden strike saw Guardiola’s side come from behind to advance after Bellingham’s opener.
Source: independent.co.uk
The United States will announce sanctions on Russia as soon as Thursday for alleged election interference and malicious cyber activity, targeting several individuals and entities. The sanctions, in which 30 entities are expected to be blacklisted, will be tied with orders expelling about 10 Russian officials from the United States, one of the people said. The United States is also expected to announce aggressive new measures targeting the country’s sovereign debt through restrictions on U.S. financial institutions’ ability to trade such debt.
Source: reuters.com
Global warming is increasing the variability of India's monsoon rains faster than previously projected, according to a recent study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). For every degree Celsius of global warming, monsoon rainfalls will likely increase by 5%, according to one of the key points of the analysis.
Source: cnn.com
China must shut down nearly 600 of its coal-fired power plants in the next 10 years, replacing them with renewable electricity generation, to meet its goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2060, a report has said. But replacing the 364GW of coal generation with renewable power would achieve a net saving of $1.6tn (£1.2tn) over the period, since wind and solar power are now much cheaper than coal, according to the analysis company TransitionZero.
Source: theguardian.com
An 100-year-old Japanese clock that stopped working after the 2011 earthquake has started ticking again - after another quake struck this year. The clock, stored in a Buddhist temple, was submerged by the tsunami on Japan's north-eastern coast that followed the devastating earthquake, which killed more than 18,000 people in March 2011. Its owner, Bunshun Sakano, then tried to fix the clock, without success. But when a smaller quake hit 10 years later, he says it began working again.
Source: bbc.com
Ondřej Kúdela has been banned for 10 matches after the governing body's investigation into allegations of the player's "racist behavior" towards Rangers' midfielder Glen Kamara during the sides' UEFA Europa League meeting at Ibrox stadium last month. The incident occurred late in the match when Kúdela was seen saying something into Kamara's ear with his hand covering his mouth. After the game, Rangers manager Steven Gerrard spoke to the media where he confirmed that Kamara told him that he was racially abused by Kúdela.
Source: cnn.com
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