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US President Joe Biden and his new South Korean counterpart agreed on Saturday to hold bigger military drills and deploy more U.S. weapons if necessary to deter North Korea, while offering to send COVID-19 vaccines and potentially meet Kim Jong Un. Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol said their countries' decades-old alliance needed to develop not only to face North Korean threats but to keep the Indo-Pacific region "free and open" and protect global supply chains.
Source: reuters.com
Armed men have kidnapped an Italian couple and their child as well as a Togolese national in southeastern Mali, a local official and a Malian security source told AFP Friday. They said the abductions occurred late Thursday about 100 kilometres from the border with Burkina Faso, part of a west African region hit by turmoil, kidnappings as well as conflict blamed on armed jihadists.
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s daughter Aimee was among those who escaped a Hollywood recording studio fire that killed a 26-year-old music producer, Sharon Osbourne and others who work in the space said. Aimee Osbourne’s producer also escaped the blaze that began late Thursday afternoon in the two story commercial building that houses several studios and music-making spaces. It took 78 firefighters more than 50 minutes to extinguish the flames, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott said in a statement.
Source: apnews.com
Israeli troops shot and killed a teenage Palestinian boy as they raided the northern city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry and local media said. The health ministry identified the dead teen as Amjad al-Fayyed, 17. It said an 18-year-old Palestinian was in a critical condition after being wounded by Israeli gunfire.
Source: aljazeera.com
After two months of teasing via social media followed by a glittering single and a triumphant Coachella headlining set, the wait for Harry Styles’ third album has finally ended. Harry’s House is officially available to stream as of Friday. The arrival of Harry’s House was preceded by “As It Was,” the lead single from the project. The song skyrocketed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart following its April 1 release and maintained the top spot for three weeks.
Source: hollywoodreporter.com
The World Health Organization has said another 50 suspected cases are being investigated - without naming any countries - and warned that more cases are likely to be reported. Infections have been confirmed in nine European countries, as well as the US, Canada and Australia. Monkeypox is most common in remote parts of Central and West Africa. So far, public health agencies in Europe have confirmed cases in the UK, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Sweden.
Source: bbc.com
A tornado barreled through parts of western Germany injuring dozens of people and causing heavy damage, officials said Friday. Police said up to 40 people had been injured in Paderborn, "10 of them seriously." In the nearby town of Lippstadt, more than 100 people were temporarily trapped at a local outdoor pool after fallen trees blocked the exit. The German meteorological services had put out a storm warning for Friday and predicted gales of up to 130 km/h in some places.
Source: dw.com
Former US President Donald Trump has paid a $110,000 fine for his failure to respond to a subpoena in a civil investigation into his business practices, a spokesperson for the New York attorney general said on Friday. Trump paid the fine on Thursday but must still submit additional paperwork in order to have the contempt order lifted, the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James said.
Source: aljazeera.com
Two Secret Service employees have been put on a plane back to the US after their involvement in an "altercation" in South Korea. The duo - part of the advance team ahead of President Joe Biden's visit to the country - were bar-hopping in Seoul on Thursday night, US media reports. One of the employees is said to have got into a physical altercation with a local taxi driver. No one was detained or arrested but Seoul police investigated the incident.
Source: bbc.com
A member of U.S. President Joe Biden's advance security team has been arrested in Seoul, accused of drunkenly assaulting a South Korean citizen a day before Biden arrived on a visit, police said on Friday. The team member, who works for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was detained in the early hours of Thursday after getting into a fight over a taxi, an official at Yongsan district police told Reuters. The incident occurred outside the Grand Hyatt hotel, where Biden is expected to stay.
Head coach Marco Rose has left Borussia Dortmund after just one year in charge, the Bundesliga runners-up said on Friday. Borussia Dortmund and Rose "ended their collaboration" following an "intensive analysis of the season", the club said in a statement. The team had "not gotten the most out of our potential in a number of areas", Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said. Rose said he was still convinced by his plans for Dortmund, but saw that he did not have the "100 percent" backing of the club.
Source: france24.com
Identical twin sisters Jill Justiniani and Erin Cheplak share the same birthday, and now their newborn sons do, too. Justiniani and Cheplak, both of Yorba Linda, California, gave birth to their sons on the same day, May 5, at the same hospital, just hours apart. Their sons, named Oliver and Silas, were born with the exact same measurements, each weighing 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and measuring 20 inches at birth, according to hospital records.
Source: goodmorningamerica.com
When Finland decided to seek NATO membership on Sunday, the owner of a small brewery in Savonlinna, Petteri Vanttinen, 42, decided to celebrate by launching a new beer in honour of the military alliance. Savonlinna, which lies only 50 kilometres (31 miles) from the Russian border, has always been a battleground between East and West. Vanttinen holds his beer and points out the surrounding areas which were bombed during World War II, when Finland fought two bloody wars with its powerful eastern neighbour.
Source: france24.com
At least three people were stabbed and injured on Friday in random attacks in a village in south-east Norway, police said. One of the victims was in critical condition. A suspect was later apprehended, officials said. "I can confirm we have the offender under control," a police spokesperson told Reuters. "We do not believe there were any more offenders." The attack took place in the rural, mountainous Nore and Uvdal municipality in Norway's Numedal region.
John Aylward, a veteran film and television actor for more than three decades, has died, according to his longtime agent and friend, Mitchell K. Stubbs. He was 75. Aylward died Monday of natural causes, Stubbs told CNN.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II has imposed restrictions on the movements, place of residence and communications of his estranged half brother Prince Hamzah, widening a royal rift in the kingdom. In a strongly worded public letter published on Thursday, King Abdullah II said he had decreed the measures on account of Hamzah’s “erratic behavior and aspirations.”
Source: aljazeera.com
Coats and scarves have come out prematurely in Brazil, as the south of the tropical country experiences a record-breaking cold spell, a menace for both homeless people and crops. With 1.4 degrees Celsius, the capital Brasilia recorded the coldest temperature in its history on Thursday, with more than a month to go until the official start of winter.
Source: france24.com
Former independence fighter and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta was sworn in as president of East Timor ahead of celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of independence for Asia’s youngest country. Ramos-Horta, 72, who led the resistance during Indonesia’s occupation, called for national reconciliation and unity as he took the oath of office shortly before midnight local time the time that the country declared independence 20 years ago. New president pledges to reduce poverty, improve health services for mothers and children, and restore political stability.
Source: aljazeera.com
Greek composer Vangelis, who was known for his celebrated film themes for Chariots of Fire and Blade Runner, has died at the age of 79. He won an Oscar for the stirring score to 1981's Chariots of Fire. Vangelis's other film credits included The Bounty, Francesco, Bitter Moon, 1492: Conquest of Paradise and Alexander.
Source: bbc.com
At least 4 migrants died and another 10 were missing after a boat sank off Tunisia on Thursday, as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, a security official said. The coastguard rescued 44 migrants aboard the overcrowded boat which sank off the coast of Louza in Sfax governerate.
Source: reuters.com
Multi-hyphenate pop star Rihanna and rapper A$AP Rocky have welcomed their first child, according to a TMZ report. The baby boy was reportedly born on 13 May in Los Angeles. No name was given. The couple, together since early 2020, first announced their pregnancy with a heavily photographed stroll through A$AP Rocky’s home town of New York in January.
Source: theguardian.com
A left-wing Arab Israeli lawmaker quit the governing coalition on Thursday, citing among other factors police aggression at an Al Jazeera reporter's funeral, rendering the government a minority in parliament. The decision by Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi of the dovish Meretz party leaves the coalition headed by right-wing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett with just 59 out of 120 seats in Israel's parliament, the Knesset.
Source: france24.com
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers ordered all female presenters on TV channels to cover their faces on air, the country’s biggest media outlet said Thursday. The order came in a statement from the Taliban’s Virtue and Vice Ministry, tasked with enforcing the group’s rulings, as well as from the Information and Culture Ministry, the TOLOnews channel said in a tweet. The statement called the order “final and non-negotiable,” the channel said.
Source: apnews.com
Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has retired from international football, his country's federation has confirmed. Barcelona's Aubameyang, who is Gabon's all-time top scorer with 30 goals in 72 appearances, sent a letter to the federation on Tuesday, confirming his decision. "After 13 years of pride in representing my country, I announce I am ending my international career," wrote the 32-year-old.
Source: france24.com
India's top court on Wednesday granted the release of a man convicted of killing former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, 31 years after his imprisonment. The Supreme Court invoked extraordinary powers to release A. G. Perarivalan, his attorney told CNN. Perarivalan was arrested a few weeks after Gandhi was assassinated in a suicide bomb attack on May 21, 1991, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Joe Biden will visit Japan and South Korea on his first Asian trip as U.S. president, carrying a clear message to China, advisers and analysts say - don't try what Russia did in Ukraine anywhere in Asia, and especially not in Taiwan. Biden departs for the five day trip on Thursday, after spending several months organizing allies to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special operation."
Source: reuters.com
Eintracht Frankfurt beat Rangers 5-4 on penalties to win the Europa League on Wednesday after the final in Seville finished 1-1 at the end of extra time. Aaron Ramsey missed for Rangers in the shoot-out after coming on as a substitute with only three minutes left of extra-time, before Rafael Borre struck the winning shot to complete Frankfurt’s remarkable triumph.
Source: france24.com
A rare Chinese vase dating from the 18th century has sold for nearly $1.8 million at auction. The gilded blue artifact was initially valued at $186,000, according to Dreweatts, the English auction house that handled the sale. The seller inherited the vase from his father, a surgeon, who bought it in the 1980s for a few hundred pounds, Dreweatts said in a statement. The seller was unaware of its value, and so kept it in the kitchen, where it was spotted by an expert.
Source: cnn.com
On May 20th from 21:00 to 00:30 and May 21st from 21:00 to 00:00. The free of charge excursions through the Museum will take place each 30 minutes.
Source: ARARAT Museum
Spain's former King Juan Carlos will return to the country this week after nearly two years in exile in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Spanish royal palace has confirmed. He left Spain after he was linked to an inquiry into alleged corruption. But three investigations against the 84-year-old were dropped in March, paving the way for him to return. The ex-king will arrive in Spain on Thursday and before he travels back to the UAE on Monday.
Source: bbc.com
Eric Clapton, a critic of coronavirus vaccines and pandemic restrictions, has tested positive for COVID-19 and canceled two upcoming European gigs. Clapton’s upcoming shows in Zurich on Tuesday and Milan on Wednesday will be rescheduled, he announced on his Facebook page and official online site. The 77-year-old rocker tested positive following his concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall on May 8.
Source: hollywoodreporter.com
Several southern French towns sizzled in record high temperatures for May on Wednesday, while the month as whole is on track to be the hottest since records began, the national weather service said. Towns such as Albi, Toulouse and Montelimar in southern France set records of between 33.4-33.9 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, while areas on the west and northern coasts also logged unprecedented highs, Meteo-France said.
Source: france24.com
Tom Cruise mania descended Wednesday in Cannes where the actor made a whirlwind appearance at the film festival, walking the red carpet, receiving a surprise Palme d’Or and watching a squadron of French fighter jets fly over the European premiere of “Top Gun: Maverick.” Cannes pulled out all the stops to fete the 59-year-old star, paying tribute to Cruise with not just a rare interview on stage and a red-carpet premiere featuring a flyby of jets trailing colored smoke, but with the unexpected presentation of an honorary Palme d’Or.
Source: apnews.com
Nine people were killed after a gas cylinder explosion led to the collapse of a building close to a popular market in Nigeria’s northern state of Kano, the national emergency service and witnesses said. The incident happened on Tuesday in the Sabon Gari area of the city, mostly populated by people who moved to Kano from elsewhere.
Source: aljazeera.com
Viewers of the Channel 4 documentary Elon Musk: Superhero or Supervillain? have heaped scorn on the SpaceX founder. The documentary focused on Musk, the tech billionaire whose public behaviour and online persona have generated considerable controversy over the years. As well as highlighting Musk’s achievements, Superhero or Supervillain? delves into some of the more dubious aspects of Musk’s life and businesses, including a multi-million dollar lawsuit Musk’s company Tesla faced over allegations of racism.
Source: independent.co.uk
Portuguese health authorities on Wednesday confirmed five cases of monkeypox in young men, marking an unusual outbreak in Europe of a disease typically limited to Africa. Portugal’s General Directorate for Health said they were also investigating 15 suspected cases and that all were identified this month in the area around the capital, Lisbon. All the Portuguese cases involve men, most of them young, authorities said.
Source: apnews.com
The world's tallest building disappeared behind a grey layer of dust on Wednesday as sandstorms that have swept the Middle East hit the United Arab Emirates, prompting weather and traffic warnings. The 828-metre (2,716 ft, 6ins) Burj Khalifa, which towers over Dubai and is usually visible across the busy financial hub, retreated behind a curtain of airborne dirt that shrouded much of the country.
Source: france24.com
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Sweden should not expect Turkey to approve its NATO bid without returning "terrorists", and Swedish and Finnish delegations should not come to Turkey to convince it to back their membershipin the alliance. Ankara says Sweden and Finland harbour people it says are linked to groups it deems terrorists, namely the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group and followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt.
Source: reuters.com
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says that Finland and Sweden have officially applied to join the world’s biggest military alliance, a move driven by security concerns over Russia’s war in Ukraine. “I warmly welcome the requests by Finland and Sweden to join NATO. You are our closest partners,” Stoltenberg told reporters on Wednesday after receiving their application letters from the two Nordic countries’ ambassadors.
Source: aljazeera.com
Netflix has laid off about 150 staff, just a month after the entertainment giant said it was losing subscribers for the first time in a decade. The redundancies, announced by the streaming service on Tuesday, will mainly affect its US office in California. They account for about 2% of its North American workforce. Netflix said the job losses were due to the slump in the company's revenue.
Source: bbc.com
Pollution caused one in six deaths worldwide in 2019, a new study has revealed -- more than the annual global tolls for war, malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, drugs or alcohol. The study, published Tuesday by the Lancet Commission on pollution and health, found pollution kills 9 million people every year -- nearly three quarters of them due to harmful air. According to the study, deaths caused by air pollution and toxic chemical pollution increased by 66% over the past two decades.
Source: cnn.com
The number of people reported as disappeared in Mexico is at a record high of 100,000, figures suggest. Government data, which goes back to 1964, shows that almost all the disappearances have occurred since 2007, when then-President Felipe Calderón launched his "war on drugs". The United Nations has called it "a human tragedy of enormous proportions". Many of the missing are victims of organised crime and hardly any of those responsible are punished.
Source: bbc.com
A deadly cholera outbreak linked to contaminated drinking water has infected thousands of people in central Pakistan as the country grapples with a water crisis exacerbated by a brutal heat wave in South Asia. Temperatures in parts of Pakistan and India have reached record levels in recent weeks, putting the lives of millions at risk. Cholera cases were first identified in Pir Koh, a remote mountainous town in Balochistan province, on April 17. Since then, more than 2,000 people have been infected and six have died, according to Dr. Ahmed Baloch, from the health department of Balochistan.
Source: cnn.com
The number of people reported as disappeared in Mexico is at a record high of 100,000, figures suggest. Government data, which goes back to 1964, shows that almost all the disappearances have occurred since 2007, when then-President Felipe Calderón launched his "war on drugs". The United Nations has called it "a human tragedy of enormous proportions". Many of the missing are victims of organised crime and hardly any of those responsible are punished.
Source: bbc.com
Second-ranked Daniil Medvedev lost his comeback match Tuesday after a six-week injury layoff, beaten 6-2, 7-6 (5) by Richard Gasquet in the second round at the Geneva Open. Medvedev, who underwent hernia surgery last month, cautioned Sunday he was often a slow starter on clay courts. So it proved in his first match on the surface this season, in the last tournament before the French Open.
Source: apnews.com
Noel Gallagher's Gibson guitar, which was broken in 2009 at the same time as the British group Oasis imploded, sold for 385,500 euros at an auction in Paris on Tuesday. Later repaired, the red Gibson's destruction at the French capital's Rock en Seine festival in 2009 was "a cult moment" in music history, said Jonathan Berg, a guitar expert and cofounder of the Artpeges gallery that held the auction.
Source: france24.com
The 96-year-old monarch, who has reduced most of her public engagements, appeared Tuesday at Paddington Station and beamed as she unveiled a plaque stating she officially opened the Elizabeth Line. The new east-west train line is due to open to the public on May 24. Calling the event “a happy development,” Buckingham Palace said “the organizers were informed of the possibility she may attend.”
Source: apnews.com
Turkey's president has restated his opposition to Finland and Sweden joining Nato - just hours after they said they would seek membership. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the two Nordic nations should not bother sending delegations to convince Turkey, a key Nato member, of their bids. He is angered by what he sees as their willingness to host Kurdish militants. Without the support of all Nato members, Sweden and Finland cannot join the military alliance.
Source: bbc.com
More than 70 Palestinians were wounded in overnight clashes with Israeli forces at a Jerusalem funeral, Palestinian medics said Tuesday, in unrest that police said included "violent riots" which threatened officers' lives. The unrest unfolded as Palestinians were burying Walid al-Sharif, 23, who died on Saturday of wounds suffered during clashes last month at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound.
Source: france24.com
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are married, for real this time. The two shared the happy news on their respective Instagram accounts Monday afternoon. Their posts included a series of black-and-white photos from what appeared to be an intimate occasion and captions that simply read, "Till death do us part."
Source: cnn.com
North Korea has reported another large jump in illnesses believed to be COVID-19 as the government mobilised a “powerful force” of soldiers to distribute drugs and deployed thousands of health workers to help trace new infections. The North’s anti-virus headquarters said on Tuesday that another 269,510 people were found with fevers and six people died, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Source: aljazeera.com
For the first time, the Queen asked her grandson to represent her following the death of a foreign ruler. Prince William, 39, who is second in line to the throne behind his father Prince Charles, traveled to the United Arab Emirates to pay condolences following the death of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Abu Dhabi. The Duke of Cambridge met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who has been appointed as President of the United Arab Emirates.
Source: people.com
At least eight people have died in floods and mudslides triggered by heavy rains in India’s remote northeast region, officials said Tuesday. Several railway stations were not working because of floods, said Nazreen Ahmed, a senior administrative official in Assam’s Dima Hasao district. He said that nearly 200,000 people in the district were cut from the rest of the state, as roads and bridges leading to it were either blocked by landslides or washed away. The army deployed helicopters to help with rescue efforts.
Source: apnews.com
Prince Harry and Meghan have earned a staggering £12 million in the past two years - by doing nothing more than staying at home. Their luxury Montecito mansion, which they bought for $14.6 million in June 2020, has more than doubled in value in only 23 months. The 18,671 sq ft home in oceanside Montecito, which boasts nine bedrooms and 19 bathrooms, is now valued at $29,350,320 million by property website Redfin - meaning Meghan and Harry would make £12 million if they sold today.
Source: thesun.co.uk
Salvadoran police said on Twitter on Monday that 30,506 arrests had been carried out “since the start of the war against the gangs”, including “536 terrorists” who were arrested on Sunday alone. El Salvador’s Congress approved a “state of exception” in late March after a weekend of gang-related violence left more than 80 people dead, spurring widespread fears among residents in the Central American nation.
Source: aljazeera.com
Around 40 people, many of them civilian volunteers with the army, have been killed in suspected jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso, local sources and security officials said on Monday. In the northern region of Sahel, around 25 people were killed in two assaults on Saturday, including 13 members of the VDP volunteers. In Kompienga, near Burkina's southeastern border with Togo and Benin, about 15 civilians were killed on Saturday when their convoy was attacked while under VDP escort.
Source: france24.com
he driver of a suburban passenger train died and dozens were lightly injured after two trains crashed outside Barcelona on Monday evening, Catalan regional authorities said. Some 85 people were injured according to regional emergency services, who said 77 were released on the spot and eight were taken to hospital. The collision happened when a freight train derailed and crashed into a passenger train at the station in Sant Boi de Llobregat, around 14 km (8.7 miles) from Barcelona, at around 6 p.m.
Source: reuters.com
One of the biggest-ever Nato exercises in the Baltics is now under way. Named "Hedgehog", the drills involve 10 countries, including Finland and Sweden, which are expected to formally apply to join the alliance within days. The exercises in Estonia, which will last until 3 June, were arranged before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Vladimir Putin has said Russia has no issue with Finland or Sweden, but a military expansion near its border would demand a reaction.
Source: bbc.com
Man Ray's famed "Le Violon d'Ingres" made history Saturday when it became the most expensive photograph ever to sell at auction. The black and white image, taken in 1924 by the American surrealist artist, transforms a woman's naked body into a violin by overlaying the picture of her back with f-holes. Prior to the sale, it was expected to fetch between $5-7 million, the highest estimate for a single photograph in auction history, according to Christie's, which sold the work.
Source: cnn.com
Plane ticket prices will rise this summer due to high demand for European beach holidays, Ryanair has said. Airline boss Michael O'Leary said he expects prices for flights to rise by a "high single-digit per cent". The firm reported annual losses of €355m (£302m) on Monday, saying its recovery from Covid restrictions being lifted had been impacted by the Omicron variant and the war in Ukraine.
Source: bbc.com
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