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Two Hindu men have been killed in fresh religious violence in Bangladesh, police officials said Saturday, taking the death toll to six from recent unrest in the Muslim-majority country. Protests began on Wednesday after footage emerged of a Koran being placed on the knee of a Hindu god during celebrations for the Hindu festival Durga Puja. The minority community make up about 10 percent of the population.

Source: france24.com

Russia’s daily death toll from COVID-19 has exceeded 1,000 for the first time as the country faces a sustained wave of rising infections. The national coronavirus task force on Saturday reported 1,002 deaths in the previous day, up from 999 on Friday, along with 33,208 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, more than 1,000 higher than the day before.

Source: apnews.com

NASA launched a first-of-its kind mission on Saturday to study Jupiter's Trojan asteroids, two large clusters of space rocks that scientists believe are remnants of primordial material that formed the solar system's outer planets.

Source: reuters.com

At least three people have been killed and another seven were injured after an earthquake and aftershock hit Indonesia’s resort island of Bali early on Saturday. The quake hit just before dawn, causing people to run outdoors in panic.

Source: aljazeera.com

Eleven students drowned and 10 others were rescued during a school outing for a river cleanup in Indonesia’s West Java Province, officials said Saturday. Local officials said 150 students from an Islamic junior high school were participating in the cleanup Friday along the banks of the Cileueur river bank when 21 of them slipped into the water.

Source: foxnews.com

A long-time Nike executive in the US has revealed that he shot and killed a teenage boy in the streets of West Philadelphia 56 years ago. Larry Miller, chairman of the popular Jordan Brand, confessed to the 1965 murder in an interview with Sports Illustrated published on Wednesday. "It was eating me up inside," he said of his actions at age 16, when he was "a straight-up gangbanger".

Source: bbc.com

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he will not be pressured into playing Cristiano Ronaldo if he believes the Portugal star should be left out. Solskjaer caused a storm when he started with Ronaldo on the bench for United's 1-1 draw against Everton in the last match before the international break.

Source: france24.com

A teenager in Liberia who has become a national hero after finding $50,000 and returning it to its rightful owner said he will meet the country’s president next week. Emmanuel Tuloe told The Associated Press Friday that he has been invited to meet President George Weah on Monday.
 

At least 62 people were killed and 70 others injured in a suicide bomb attack that hit a packed Shiite mosque in southern Afghanistan, according to Kabul-based news agency Bakhtar. The Imam Barga mosque in Kandahar was full of worshippers attending weekly Friday prayers.

Source: dailysabah.com

Pep Guardiola has expressed surprise at Raheem Sterling’s admission that he is open to leaving Manchester City to seek more game time and said the forward can move if he wants.

Source: theguardian.com

Japan and South Korea will seek to deepen diplomatic ties in the face of regional security threats, officials have said, despite badly strained bilateral relations. Japan’s new prime minister, Fumio Kishida, spoke with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday for 35 minutes on phone, the Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement. The two leaders have stated their commitment to set aside their disputes in the face of common concerns over threats posed by China and North Korea.

Source: aljazeera.com

Conservative MP Sir David Amess has died after being stabbed at his constituency surgery in Essex. Police said a 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after the attack at a church in Leigh-on-Sea. They said they recovered a knife and were not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said "our hearts are full of shock and sadness" at the loss of "one of the kindest" people in politics. Sir David, 69, had been an MP since 1983 and was married with five children.

Source: bbc.com

Pupils in schools across France on Friday paid tribute to Samuel Paty, a year after the teacher was beheaded by an extremist for showing his class cartoons of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed. The 47-year-old was killed after leaving the middle school where he taught history and geography in the tranquil Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine on the evening of October 16, 2020.

Source: france24.com

Iran is not ready to return to talks with world powers over its nuclear programme yet and its new negotiating team wants to discuss the texts that will be put forward when it meets with the EU in Brussels in the next few weeks, a senior EU official said on Friday. EU political director Enrique Mora, the chief coordinator for the talks, was in Tehran on Thursday to meet members of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, four months after discussions broke off between Iran and world powers.

Source: reuters.com

Dockers at the Italian port of Trieste have gone on strike in protest at the requirement for all workers to show a Covid pass. The Green Pass shows whether you have had the Covid vaccine, recovered from it or had a negative test. It became mandatory for all Italian workplaces on Friday. About 2,000 workers have gathered at the entrance to Trieste port, a maritime gateway for northern Italy, Germany, Austria and central Europe.

Source: bbc.com

Children who were more connected to nature in lockdown had better behavior. Green space may protect young children against effects of missing school. Researchers suggest gardening projects in schools could help to protect children's mental health during difficult times.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Firefighters in Myanmar pulled the body of a construction worker from a collapsed building site in the city of Yangon on Friday and were searching for seven other workers after rescuing three of their colleagues. Local fire department chief Thein Tun Oo said the rescue mission was at a critical stage, with the chances of finding the remaining workers alive getting slimmer by the hour. "I cannot hear any sounds," he said by phone. "There is less chance of survival for the rest."

Source: reuters.com

Tune into any television show in China and it's likely that you'll be met with a picture-perfect celebrity. But musical act Produce Pandas, said to be the country's first ever "plus-size" boyband, are part of a new wave of celebrities viewed by audiences as more relatable. It comes as celebrities in China are being criticised for being "image-obsessed", and the government has announced a crackdown on effeminate male stars. The Produce Pandas, who debuted in July last year, sing upbeat songs about being confident and true to oneself.

Source: bbc.com