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A first edition of "Harry Potter" sold for $471,000 in the United States on Thursday in what the auctioneers said was a world record price for a 2Oth century work of fiction. The hardback 1997 British edition of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," with a color illustration on the cover, was described by Heritage Auctions as "magical, incredibly bright and so very near pristine."
Source: reuters.com
Taylor Swift must face a jury trial over accusations that she stole lyrics for Shake It Off from another song. A US judge has refused Swift's request to dismiss the case, saying a jury may find that her 2014 hit copied girl group 3LW's 2001 tune Playas Gon' Play. Both tracks feature variations of the phrases "players gonna play" and "haters gonna hate". The judge had previously rejected the case, saying the lyrics were too "banal" to be copyrighted.
Source: bbc.com
Taliban militants in Pakistan declared an end to a month-long ceasefire arranged with the aid of the Afghan Taliban, accusing the government of breaching terms including a prisoner release agreement and the formation of negotiating committees.
Source: edition.cnn.com
The City of Busan, UN-Habitat and ‘blue tech’ company Oceanix have signed an agreement to build the world’s first prototype sustainable floating city. The floating city to be built off the coast of Busan is envisaged as a “flood-proof” infrastructure that rises with the sea and produces its own food, energy and fresh water with fully integrated zero-waste closed-loop systems.
Source: cities-today.com
Australia battled twin natural disasters Friday, with bushfires cutting through a picturesque west coast region, while serious flooding and heavy rains lashed the country's east.
Source: france24.com
Newly released films from Universal Studios will stream exclusively on Peacock as soon as 45 days after they debut in theaters and will be available for users to rent or purchase, the company said on Thursday. The new release strategy begins with Universal's 2022 films.
Source: reuters.com
At least 53 people have been killed and 58 injured after the truck they were being transported in crashed in southern Mexico, authorities say. More than 100 people, said to be migrants from Central America, were crammed into the truck's trailer when it rolled in the state of Chiapas.
Source: bbc.com
At least three Turkish soldiers have been killed in an attack in northern Iraq launched by outlawed Kurdish fighters, prompting a retaliatory air attack, according to the Turkish defence ministry. Turkish fighter jets hit suspected PKK posts to “neutralise” six fighters, a statement on the ministry website said, adding that a military offensive was under way in the region. “Neutralised” is commonly used to mean killed.
Source: aljazeera.com
A fire at Tunisia’s largest Islamist party’s headquarters in the capital Tunis Thursday killed one person and injured eighteen, authorities and the party said. The injured included a former prime minister who was hurt after jumping out of a window. In a statement, the Ennahdha movement said party activist Sami Sifi, 51, died and several staff members and politicians were injured.
Source: apnews.com
New Zealand will ban the sale of tobacco to its next generation, in a bid to eventually phase out smoking. Anyone born after 2008 will not be able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products in their lifetime, under a law expected to be enacted next year.
Source: bbc.com
Italian film director Lina Wertmüller, the first woman ever to be nominated for an Oscar for best director, has died at the age of 93. Wertmüller passed away at her home in Rome on Thursday morning, alongside family and friends. Wertmüller received an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in 2019. In the same year, she was also honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Source: bbc.com
U.S. and Israeli defense chiefs are expected on Thursday to discuss possible military exercises that would prepare for a worst-case scenario to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities should diplomacy fail and if their nations' leaders request it, a senior U.S. official told Reuters.
Source: reuters.com
Leipzig hired former Schalke coach Domenico Tedesco on Thursday to replace American coach Jesse Marsch, who left after a run of losses. Tedesco will have a contract until the end of the 2022-23 season, the club said. The 36-year-old German hasn’t coached in the Bundesliga since he was fired by Schalke in March 2019 after a 7-0 loss to Manchester City in the Champions League. Schalke was relegated the season after he left.
Source: apnews.com
Burkina Faso’s premier and government resigned Wednesday as protests mounted against officials’ inability to combat a wave of jihadist attacks that have killed thousands. President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who had already changed his military leadership over the security crisis, accepted Prime Minister Christophe Joseph Marie Dabire’s resignation, according to a presidential decree.
Source: france24.com
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie have announced the birth of a baby girl. The couple said a healthy baby, the couple’s second child together, was born in a London hospital early Thursday. Boris Johnson, now 57, and Carrie, who is 33, married in May 2021, in what is her first marriage and his third.
Source: apnews.com
Nearly 100 former British Council staff employed to teach British values and the English language remain in hiding in Afghanistan after having so far been refused the right to come to the UK by officials.
Source: theguardian.com
Two Spanish police officers waded into a frozen reservoir to rescue a stranded dog as a cold front arrived in the northern part of the country, police said on Wednesday. Video footage released by the police showed the officers who stripped to the waist and marched into the icy waters to bring the animal back to safety on the bank. The dog had been stuck in the reservoir in Canfranc, in Aragon, eastern Spain, for hours on Tuesday, police said.
Source: reuters.com
French prosecutors have released a Saudi man held in connection with Jamal Khashoggi's murder after concluding he was a victim of mistaken identity. Khaled Alotaibi, 33, was arrested at an airport in Paris on Tuesday on the basis of a warrant issued by Turkey. A Saudi Royal Guard with the same name and age is listed in US sanctions as a suspect in the 2018 killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
Source: bbc.com
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