Beginning July 30, Walt Disney World in Florida will begin requiring attendees to wear face masks, as the US state sees a rise in COVID-19 cases. The new rules will apply to all guests aged two and up while indoors and using public transport facilities in the park, regardless of …
Read More »Chaumet jewellery store near Champs-Elysee in Paris hit by armed robbery
A Chaumet jewellery store close to the Champs-Elysee avenue in central Paris was targeted by an armed robbery on Tuesday, the Paris prosecutors’ office said, with almost 2 million euros ($2.37 million) worth of goods stolen, according to reports. Le Parisien newspaper said a man arrived at the store on …
Read More »5,000 bees kill two dogs, sting ex-police officer 40 times: “There was nothing I could do”
A former Los Angeles police officer was swarmed by 5,000 angry bees in his backyard on Saturday, in an attack that killed two of his dogs and left him with more than 40 stings. Bob Ramos of Diamond Bar, California, told local news outlet KTLA that the bees were in …
Read More »UNICEF official calls for closed schools due to COVID-19 to reopen ASAP
Schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic must reopen as soon as possible, the United Nations insisted on Tuesday, estimating that the education of more than 600 million children was at stake. “This cannot go on,” James Elder, spokesman for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), told reporters in Geneva. Read …
Read More »Sandstorm over 100 meters high swallows city in China near Gobi desert
A wall of sand over 100 meters high swallowed a city on the fringes of the Gobi desert in northwestern China, in scenes reminiscent of a disaster film. For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Dunhuang, a tourist draw with a colorful history …
Read More »Global mission led by Interpol sees over 280 human smuggling suspects arrested, 430 victims freed
Crime agency Interpol has released details of ‘Operation Liberterra’, a mission coordinated by authorities in dozens of states which led to the rescue of 430 human trafficking victims and the arrest of 286 suspects. Law enforcement agencies across 47 countries participated in the mission, under which some 500,000 inspections were …
Read More »Get ready for biggest criminal trial in Vatican’s modern history
A cardinal and nine other people are accused of bleeding the Holy See of tens of millions of dollars in donations through bad investments, deals with shady money managers, and apparent favours to friends and family. A cardinal who allegedly induced an underling to lie to prosecutors. Brokers and lawyers …
Read More »Biggest billionaires: The top 10 richest people in the world
The past 12 months may have been a year marked by COVID-19, the impeachment of former US President Donald Trump, Brexit – and even Megxit, but it also marked an explosion of new billionaires across the planet. Rapid-fire public offerings, skyrocketing stock prices, and surging cryptocurrencies led to the number …
Read More »Marlboro maker Philip Morris to stop selling cigarettes in UK within next 10 years
Tobacco giant Philip Morris will stop selling cigarettes in the United Kingdom within the next ten years, the international company’s chief revealed to UK-based online news media The Daily Mail on Sunday. The decision means that iconic cigarette brand Marlboro will no longer be sold in the UK for the …
Read More »Australia avoids UNESCO downgrade of Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef will not be added to a list of World Heritage Sites that are “in danger” after a UN panel on Friday agreed to defer a vote until 2022 amid intensive lobbying by Australia. A United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) committee last month recommended …
Read More »Australia awaits Great Barrier Reef World Heritage ruling
The World Heritage Committee was set to consider Friday whether to add the Great Barrier Reef to UNESCO’s list of endangered sites, after high-level lobbying from Australia to prevent the move. The United Nations cultural agency recommended in June that the reef’s World Heritage status be downgraded because of its …
Read More »US life expectancy dropped 1.5 years in 2020
Black and Hispanic Americans saw a more dramatic plunge, with life expectancy dropping by three years. Overall life expectancy in the United States fell by a year and a half in 2020, the largest one-year decline since World War II, health officials have said – but the decrease for Black …
Read More »UNESCO strips English city of Liverpool of its world heritage status
The English city of Liverpool was removed from UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites on Wednesday because new buildings undermined the attractiveness of its Victorian docks, making it only the third site to be removed from the prestigious list. Liverpool was named a World Heritage Site by the United Nation’s …
Read More »Danish cartoonist behind controversial Prophet Mohammed drawing dies
The Danish cartoonist behind a controversial 2006 drawing of the Prophet Mohammed has died. Kurt Westergaard passed away at the age of 86 after a long illness, Danish daily Berlingske reports. Westergaard’s 2006 satirical cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed published in the Jyllands-Posten newspaper where he had worked since the …
Read More »The Kaaba receives a new Kiswa to commemorate Eid al-Adha (Pictures)
Saudi officials have replaced the Kiswa (the cloth cover) of the Kaaba to commemorate the Day of Arafat and the start of Eid al-Adha, on Monday. The process of changing the Kiswa occurs annually on the second day of Hajj under the supervision of the President of the Holy Mosque. …
Read More »Venice bans large cruise ships to save World Heritage title amid mixed reviews
This week, in what Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini called a “historic” move, Italy’s cabinet of ministers approved a ban on ships weighing more than 25,000 metric tons or longer than 180 meters (590 feet) entering the lagoon basin near Venice’s St. Mark’s Square, the narrow Giudecca Canal and the …
Read More »Greece’s Mykonos bans music, imposes curfew amid rise in COVID-19 cases
Greece banned music in restaurants and bars and imposed a nighttime curfew on its popular holiday island of Mykonos on Saturday after a rise in new coronavirus infections there. Known as the party island of the super-rich, Mykonos is one of Greece’s most popular destinations, attracting more than a million …
Read More »Guinness World Records crowns Dubai home to the world’s deepest swimming pool
The city of superlatives with the world’s tallest tower among its many records, Dubai now has the deepest swimming pool on the planet complete with a “sunken city” for divers to explore. Deep Dive Dubai, which opened Wednesday but initially by invitation only, prides itself as “the only diving facility …
Read More »1 in 10 people malnourished in 2020, UN says
A United Nations (UN) report has revealed how the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated world hunger, raising concerns that the organization’s goal of ensuring no one is starving by 2030 is now unattainable. Published on Monday, the annual UN report, entitled ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition of Food Security …
Read More »Massive ‘Chariot Festival’ Begins in India’s Puri Amid Curfews, PM Modi Greets on Auspicious Day
A heavy security presence has been deployed to the city of Puri in India’s Odisha state – as the gods from the Shree Jagannath Temple board their chariots to visit other temples. This festival is called the “Rath Yatra” and it holds major religious significance for the Hindus as it …
Read More »