Short news
Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway paid a visit to the Royal Norwegian Air Force base in Bodø on Saturday, continuing her engagements with the Norwegian military as she nears her 18th birthday next month.
Source: royalcentral.co.uk
A 17th-century painting showing a Black woman with her White companion has been placed under a temporary export bar to reduce the risk of the artwork leaving the United Kingdom. The anonymous painting, described in a statement by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) on Friday as "extremely rare," is valued at £272,800. The block lasts until March 9, 2022 after when it could leave the country unless a UK buyer purchases the work.
Source: cnn.com
The body of a man was pulled from a van trapped in floodwaters in northern Spain on Sunday, the second death linked to heavy rains which have caused rivers to burst their banks. Rescuers located the van in the Bidasoa river in the northern Navarra region on Saturday, a day after the 61-year-old was reported missing, a police spokesman said.
Source: france24.com
Three members of Hamas were killed on Sunday when a shooting erupted at the funeral procession for a member of the movement killed in a blast at a south Lebanon Palestinian refugee camp, the group said. Hamas official Raafat al-Murra said people from the rival Fatah movement “shot at the funeral procession” of a Palestinian killed in a blast on Friday at the Burj al-Shemali camp, outside the port city of Tyre.
Source: aljazeera.com
A desperate search for survivors is under way in parts of six US states devastated by powerful tornadoes that have left at least 94 people dead. Dozens more people are missing and entire towns were destroyed by about 30 tornadoes on Friday. President Biden has declared a disaster in Kentucky, the worst-affected state.
Source: bbc.com
Anne Rice, the gothic novelist best known for writing "Interview with the Vampire," died Saturday aged 80, her family said. Her son Christopher Rice said she died of complications from a stroke.
Source: france24.com
At least three people have been killed after an explosion caused multiple residential buildings to collapse on the Italian island of Sicily. Authorities on Sunday said two women were recovered alive from the rubble in the southern town of Ravanusa after the collapse on Saturday night. At least six people were still missing.
Source: aljazeera.com
Two staff members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) abducted last month in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have been freed, the humanitarian organisation said on Saturday. The ICRC said in late November that one Congolese citizen and an international staff member had been kidnapped in North Kivu province, where dozens of armed militias operate.
Source: reuters.com
Australian parliamentarians have demanded the prime minister, Scott Morrison, intervene in the case of Julian Assange, an Australian citizen, after the United States won a crucial appeal in its fight to extradite the WikiLeaks founder on espionage charges. “The prime minister must get Assange home,” the Australian Greens leader, Adam Bandt, told Guardian Australia on Saturday.
Teen pilot Zara Rutherford landed in Seoul on Saturday from Russia, the first Asia stop on her attempt to become the youngest woman to fly around the world solo. In August, the 19-year-old British-Belgian departed from Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport in western Belgium on her 51,000-km journey, which is to span five continents and 52 countries, including the United States, Greenland, Russia and Colombia.
Source: reuters.com
Senior Japanese government officials will likely skip the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February, joining the United States in a diplomatic boycott, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Saturday, citing multiple sources with knowledge of the matter.
Source: aljazeera.com
Michael Nesmith, singer, guitarist and songwriter with 1960s pop group The Monkees, has died at the age of 78. The quartet enjoyed hits like Daydream Believer and I'm A Believer, and starred in their own popular TV sitcom. Nesmith wrote numerous tunes including Listen To The Band, Sunny Girlfriend and Tapioca Tundra.
Source: bbc.com
Dating from the 11th century, the 'completely unique' gold jewellery has never been seen before in the Nordic countries. It was found by a metal detectorist in a field near Bøvling, West Jutland, Denmark. It's now being exhibited in Denmark National Museum's Viking exhibition 'Togtet'.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
A jersey worn by Boston Celtics great Bill Russell in the last game of his NBA career fetched $1,116,250 in an auction of memorabilia collected by the basketball legend and civil rights icon, Hunt Auctions said Friday. The Number 6 jersey was worn by Russell in game seven of the 1969 NBA Finals, the final game of his career.
Source: france24.com
Disinformation poses a growing threat to security and democracy, the journalists awarded the Nobel Peace Prize have told Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview. Maria Ressa of the Philippines said the greatest threat to democracy is “when lies become facts”, while Dmitry Muratov of Russia said society is currently in a dangerous “post-truth period”.
At least two people died in Arkansas and five seriously injured after the roof of an Amazon facility collapsed in Illinois as possible tornadoes and severe weather hit the Mississippi Valley on Friday night.
Source: nbcnews.com
Graham George Spencer said he suffered more than 20 wounds after he was bitten in the city-state's Botanic Gardens. A representative from the park told Mr Spencer they were investigating. Mr Spencer, who lives in Singapore and is reportedly in his sixties, said he was walking with a friend on 30 November when he saw about 20 otters - some with pups - in front of him.
Source: bbc.com
UK government officials were in Tehran last week discussing legal ways to pay Britain’s historical £400m debt to Iran, the Iranian ambassador to London has said. Mohsen Baharvand added that he was in live discussions with the Foreign Office, and said the issues were not insurmountable.
Source: theguardian.com