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North Korea faked the launch of what analysts have dubbed its "monster missile" last week, Seoul's military said Wednesday, adding that the test was, in reality, likely the same intercontinental ballistic missile Pyongyang fired in 2017. North Korea last Friday claimed to have successfully test-fired a Hwasong-17 missile. But South Korea's defence ministry told AFP that Seoul and Washington have now concluded that the launch was actually of a Hwasong-15, an ICBM that Pyongyang test-fired in 2017.

Source: france24.com

South Korea's military said it had successfully test-fired a solid-fuel space rocket for the first time on Wednesday, a step it says will help eventually launch a constellation of satellites to better monitor threats such as North Korea. The launch is the first such test since South Korea and the United States agreed last year to end decades of restrictions on the South's ballistic missile and rocket development, and comes less than a week after North Korea conducted its highest missile test yet.

Source: reuters.com

Six Pakistanis, one Russian and one Serbian peacekeeper killed when their chopper went down during reconnaissance mission in area hit by recent fighting. The mission, known as MONUSCO, did not state the cause of the crash in North Kivu province on Tuesday and said an investigation was under way.

Source: aljazeera.com

US President Joe Biden has signed legislation that designates lynching as a federal hate crime. The law follows more than 100 years and 200 failed attempts by US lawmakers to pass anti-lynching legislation. The Emmett Till Antilynching Act is named for the black teenager whose brutal murder in Mississippi in 1955 helped spark the civil rights movement. Perpetrators of a lynching - death or injury resulting from a hate crime - will face up to 30 years in jail.

Source: bbc.com

Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen scored Tuesday on his return to the Copenhagen stadium as England and France also won the latest round of pre-World Cup friendlies. The Dane, wearing the captain's armband, struck in the 57th minute to round off Denmark's 3-0 friendly win against Serbia in the Parken Stadium where he collapsed and nearly died in a European championship match against Finland last June.

Source: france24.com

Five people have been shot dead on the outskirts of Tel Aviv in Israel, medics say, in the third deadly attack of its kind within a week. It happened in Bnei Brak, one of the country's most populous ultra-Orthodox Jewish areas. The gunman was shot dead by police, a paramedic at the scene said. Residents in Bnei Brak and the neighbouring town of Ramat Gan reported that a man had driven around and opened fire at passers-by on Tuesday.

Source: bbc.com

A Beatles fan has today spent £1,700 on buying John Lennon’s old fridge. The Westingland kitchen appliance was said to be the 'Rolls Royce' of fridges when it was bought by the Beatle for his Kenwood home in the 1960s. He then sold the fridge-freezer to a friend whose own one had packed in for £80 - around £1,000 in today's money - and the friend has owned it ever since. The famous white appliance, which is a large fridge with a smaller freezer compartment on top of it, served the vendor well for decades and is still in working.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Lionel Messi has signed an agreement worth more than $20 million to promote digital fan token company Socios.com, a source close to the deal told Reuters on Tuesday. Messi becomes the latest global sports personality to enter the crypto world following NFL quarterback Tom Brady and NBA star LeBron James and the deal is part of a growing wave of tie-ups between crypto firms and soccer.

Source: reuters.com

A carved mask from Central Africa, dating from the 19th century, was sold in France for 4.2 million euros on Saturday, despite Gabonese protesters in the auction house calling for the item's "'restitution".

Source: france24.com

A pileup involving 50 to 60 vehicles during a spring snow squall in Pennsylvania on Monday killed at least three people and caused multiple injuries, officials said. Part of Interstate 81 was closed and at least 20 people were transported to hospitals, emergency officials said.

Source: nbcnews.com

Britain's Queen Elizabeth made her first public appearance in five months on Tuesday when she joined the royal family and other dignitaries at a memorial service in honour of her husband Prince Philip, who died last year. Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who was by his wife's side for more than seven decades, passed away at their Windsor Castle home in April, two months shy of his 100th birthday.

Source: reuters.com

After a 36-year absence from the men's World Cup, Canada can now call itself a "legit football country." That's the view of coach John Herdman, the Englishman who has overseen Canada's steady rise through the men's FIFA rankings over the past four years. Canada's ascension to football legitimacy culminated in a 4-0 victory against Jamaica on Sunday, guaranteeing Herdman's team a spot at the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

Source: cnn.com

A Turkey-Israel gas pipeline is being discussed behind the scenes as one of Europe's alternatives to Russian energy supplies, but it will take complicated maneuvering to reach any deal, government and industry officials in both countries say. The idea, first conceived years ago, is to build a subsea pipeline from Turkey to Israel's largest offshore natural gas field, Leviathan. Gas would flow to Turkey and on to southern European neighbors looking to diversify away from Russia.

Source: reuters.com

Senior royals from around the world are gathering Tuesday for a memorial service for Prince Philip at Westminster Abbey that will incorporate hymns and other touches dropped from his funeral last year because of the pandemic. Queen Elizabeth II will attend the service of thanksgiving, Buckingham Palace said. The 95-year-old monarch was deeply involved in planning the event, but she has experience unspecified mobility issues in recent weeks and her presence at the event was unclear.

Source: apnews.com

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was admitted to a military hospital in Brasilia Monday to undergo tests after feeling unwell, local press reported. Bolsonaro, 67, who was stabbed in the abdomen during the 2018 presidential campaign leaving him with lasting health problems, was absent from an evening event organised by the Republican Party which he had been slated to attend.

Source: france24.com

Peru’s President Pedro Castillo avoided impeachment by the country’s opposition-dominated legislature on Monday after a parliamentary debate lasting more than eight hours. Fifty-five legislators voted in favour of impeachment, 54 voted against and 19 abstained. The president’s critics needed 87 votes to impeach the leader, who was accused of corruption and moral incapacity.

Source: aljazeera.com

Аtop an idyllic hill in the Italian Riviera sits a tiny village with a big dream: becoming an independent nation. The Principality of Seborga already has its own flag, national anthem, passports, stamps, currency and, of course, a monarch. It hopes to one day back them up with legal recognition of its sovereignty, which it has been seeking since the 1960s. For now, however, Seborga is simply a picturesque hamlet in the northern Italian province of Imperia, close to France, with just over 300 residents and covering about five square miles of land.

Source: cnn.com

A four-legged robot called Spot has been deployed to wander around the ruins of ancient Pompeii, identifying structural and safety issues while delving underground to inspect tunnels dug by relic thieves. The dog-like robot is the latest in a series of technologies used as part of a broader project to better manage the archaeological park since 2013. Spot is capable of inspecting even the smallest of spaces while “gathering and recording data useful for the study and planning of interventions”, park authorities said.

Source: theguardian.com