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Police in Laos have made the biggest single drug seizure ever recorded in Asia, according to the United Nations. Officers intercepted a truck carrying 55 million methamphetamine tablets and more than 1.5 tonnes of crystal meth, the UN's crime agency said. The discovery came after police stopped a truck carrying beer crates in Bokeo, which borders Thailand and Myanmar.
Source: bbc.com
Xavi Hernández has accepted an offer from Barcelona to become their head coach. The deal is due to be confirmed once agreement is reached to terminate his contract as manager of the Qatari club Al Sadd. The former Barcelona midfielder agreed to return to the Camp Nou after talks with the president, Joan Laporta. Contact opened some weeks ago, with it long having been a question of when Koeman would be dismissed.
Source: theguardian.com
At least 300 sea turtles have washed up dead on Mexico's Pacific coast. Preliminary exams suggests that the olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) drowned, an official with Mexico's environment ministry said. The official said they had probably become tangled in illegal fishing nets in the high seas or in abandoned nets known as "ghost nets". Olive ridley turtles are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Source: bbc.com
Top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi met North Korea's ambassador to China on Thursday and expressed Beijing's willingness to maintain high-level interactions and strengthen strategic coordination, China's foreign ministry said. Both sides exchanged views on the Korean Peninsula and other issues of common concern, the ministry said in a statement, without giving details.
Source: reuters.com
Ronald Koeman has been sacked as head coach of Barcelona after 14 months in charge at the Nou Camp. Barca have picked up just 15 points from 10 games in La Liga and have already lost twice in the group stage of this season's Champions League. In a statement, the Spanish club said: "The president of the club, Joan Laporta, informed him [Koeman] of the decision after the defeat against Rayo Vallecano. "Ronald Koeman will say goodbye to the squad on Thursday."
Source: bbc.com
For centuries, Lake Tuz in central Turkey has hosted huge colonies of flamingos that migrate and breed there when the weather is warm, feeding on algae in the lake’s shallow waters. The 1,665 square kilometer (643 square mile) lake — Turkey’s second-largest lake and home to several bird species — has entirely receded this year. Experts say Lake Tuz (Salt Lake in Turkish) is a victim of climate change-induced drought, which has hit the region hard, and decades of harmful agricultural policies that exhausted the underground water supply.
Source: apnews.com
Experts say global emissions need to be cut now to limit the release of powerful greenhouse gases from thawing permafrost.
Source: aljazeera.com
The mask was originally found in the 1990s, but experts could not identify the organic binder in the red paint. A new analysis of the paint, made of a type of mercury, revealed it contains human blood and bird egg proteins. The mask was found on the skull of an elite man who died 1,000 years ago in Peru.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
Four Pakistani police were killed and hundreds wounded when armed activists from a banned Islamist group clashed with security forces at a anti-blasphemy demonstration near the eastern city of Lahore, officials said. The clash broke out at a rally of the banned Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) on a highway in Sheikhupura, just outside Lahore, as the group prepared to march on the capital Islamabad, a spokesman for the Punjab police said on Wednesday.
Source: reuters.com
Hollywood star Chris Evans takes Buzz Lightyear to infinity in the first trailer for Pixar's Toy Story spin-off. The animated film, titled Lightyear, will focus on the backstory of the space ranger who supposedly inspired the toy in the Toy Story franchise. Lightyear sees Evans take over voice acting duties from Tim Allen, who portrayed the toy character in the original four films. Directed by Angus MacLane, it is due for release in June 2022.
Source: bbc.com
Music superstar Adele said on Tuesday she will play two concerts at London's Hyde Park next summer, her first in five years, an announcement British media said caused her website to crash as fans rushed to register for a ticket pre-sale. The 33-year-old, who topped US and UK charts last week with comeback single "Easy On Me," took to Twitter with the message "Oiii Oiiiiiiiiiiiii," sharing the July 1 and 2 concert dates and the pre-sale link on her website.
Source: cnn.com
Iran has agreed to resume talks next month with world powers over its nuclear deal, the country's deputy foreign minister said Wednesday after meeting EU mediators in Brussels. The other participants in the talks -- which included indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran -- still need to confirm the return to the table.
Source: france24.com
Southern Italy was braced on Wednesday for the arrival of what forecasters have described as a Medicane – a rare Mediterranean hurricane bringing winds of more than 100kmh and producing 5-metre waves. Fierce storms have battered Sicily for days, leaving roads submerged in the eastern part of the island and claiming the lives of at least two people.
Source: theguardian.com
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Ander Herrera had his wallet stolen while driving through the Bois de Boulogne, the sprawling Paris park notorious for prostitution, multiple sources confirmed on Wednesday.
Source: france24.com
The Saudi-led coalition said Wednesday it killed 105 Huthi rebels in air strikes around Yemen's strategic city of Marib, as the insurgents claimed to have almost encircled the city.
Source: france24.com
The foreign ministers of Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan met on Wednesday in Tehran, joined by their counterparts from China and Russia via video link. Iran says the main goal of the event is to emphasise the call for the formation of an ‘inclusive’ government in Afghanistan.
Source: aljazeera.com
France defender Lucas Hernández will not spend time in prison for violating a restraining order after successfully winning an appeal in Spain on Wednesday. The Bayern Munich player had his six-month prison sentence turned into a fine of 96,000 euros ($111,000), a Madrid court said. He can’t commit another crime in the next four years for the ruling to remain valid.
Source: apnews.com
A Cambridge University college and Paris museum will on Wednesday hand back cultural artefacts that were looted from West Africa during the colonial era, setting a precedent that will pressure other institutions to return stolen works. Jesus College, Cambridge, will return a sculpture of a cockerel taken by British troops in 1897, one of hundreds of Benin Bronzes that were pillaged from the once mighty Kingdom of Benin, located in what is now Nigeria.
Source: reuters.com
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