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North Korea restored dormant communication hotlines with South Korea in a small, fragile reconciliation step Monday in an apparent hard push to win outside concessions with a mix of conciliatory gestures and missile tests. North Korean liaison officers answered phone calls by their South Korean counterparts over a set of cross-border government and military channels on Monday morning for the first time in nearly two months.

Source: apnews.com

Paris Saint-Germain slumped to a shock 2-0 defeat against Rennes Sunday, bringing its perfect start to the new Ligue 1 season to an end. The Parisians had won all eight of its league games before traveling to mid-table Rennes but failed to register a single shot on target in the match, despite Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar all playing from the start. Rennes scored either side of halftime to cement a famous victory, with Gaetan Laborde and Flavian Tait getting on the scoresheet.

Source: cnn.com

Jordan’s King Abdullah II received a call on Sunday from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the palace said, the first conversation between the two leaders after a decade of strain over Syria’s war. The call comes days after Amman opened its border with Syria, amid efforts aimed at boosting cooperation between the two countries, which are facing challenging economic conditions.

Source: aljazeera.com

Several people have been killed by a bombing at a mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul, the Taliban have said. Twenty were also injured by the blast near Eid Gah mosque, where a prayer ceremony was being held for the late mother of a Taliban spokesman. It is the first major explosion in Kabul since Western forces withdrew in August. Three people have been arrested however so far no group has said it was behind the attack.

Source: bbc.com

Thousands of paedophiles have operated within the French Catholic Church since 1950, the head of a panel investigating abuses by church members says. Jean-Marc Sauvé told French media that the commission had found evidence of 2,900 to 3,200 abusers - out of a total of 115,000 priests and other clerics.

Source: bbc.com

The diplomatic discord between Algeria and France deepened Sunday after Algiers banned French military planes from its airspace, its latest response to a row over visas and critical comments from President Emmanuel Macron.

Source: france24.com

A small single-engined plane carrying six passengers and a crew of two has crashed into the side of an empty two-storey office building in a Milan suburb, killing everyone onboard. Investigators opened an inquiry into what caused the private plane to crash shortly after take-off from Milan’s Linate airport en route to Olbia airport on the Italian island of Sardinia.

Source: theguardian.com

according to figures from Johns Hopkins University, remaining the world’s worst affected country with about 15 percent of worldwide fatalities.

Source: aljazeera.com

A 28-year-old man in Germany faces a hefty bill after trying to catch a flight at Munich airport Thursday with a live mortar shell in his rucksack. German news agency dpa reported Friday that the explosive device was discovered during a security check, prompting an immediate lockdown of parts of the airport. The man told police that he had found the shell during a hiking trip in Switzerland and forgotten it was in his bag. Specialists were able to safely remove the live ammunition and destroy it.

Source: apnews.com

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday he was retiring from politics, a surprise move that fuelled speculation he was clearing the way for his daughter to run to succeed him.

Source: france24.com

A Lithuanian man has had more than a kilogram of nails, screws, nuts and knives removed from his stomach by doctors, local media report. He had been swallowing metal objects for a month after quitting alcohol, doctors said. Some of the objects retrieved during a surgery in Klaipeda University Hospital were 10cm long, according to Lithuania's LRT public broadcaster. The man is now reported to be in a stable condition, and is being monitored at KUH.

Source: bbc.com

A Virginia child under the age of 10 died from COVID-19, a health official confirmed. The death occurred just days after a 10-year-old Virginia girl also died after contracting the virus. 12 COVID-19-related child deaths have occurred in Virginia in 2021.

Source: foxnews.com

Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) and actress Scarlett Johansson have resolved their legal dispute stemming from the release of her Marvel superhero movie "Black Widow," the company and the performer said jointly on Thursday. Terms of the settlement between Disney and Johansson's Periwinkle Entertainment company were not disclosed.

Source: reuters.com

A two-part version of Banksy's "Girl With Balloon" painting is seen fetching up to $4.75 million when it goes under the hammer for the first time at a Christie's auction in London later this month. The rare edition, one of 25 created by the elusive British street artist in 2005, features a young girl in one painting and her heart-shaped balloon in another.

Source: reuters.com

Col Mamady Doumbouya has been sworn as Guinea's interim president after leading a coup which saw the overthrow of Alpha Condé. The former French legionnaire, 41, becomes Africa's second-youngest leader, after Mali's Assimi Goïta, 38, who also staged a military takeover. Col Doumbouya is barred from contesting future elections under plans to restore civilian rule announced this week.

Source: bbc.com

Athletic Bilbao striker Inaki Williams set a new La Liga record on Friday when he played his 203rd consecutive game, having not missed a match since 2016. After equalling the mark of 202 in a row set by Ion Andoni Larranaga with Real Sociedad between 1986 and 1992, Williams broke the record in the home game against Alaves. His tireless run began on April 20, 2016, in a match against Atletico Madrid at Bilbao's San Mames home.

Source: france24.com

A missing man in Turkey accidentally joined his own search party for hours before realising he was the person they were looking for, local media reports. Beyhan Mutlu had been drinking with friends on Tuesday when he wandered into a forest in Bursa province. When he failed to return, his wife and friends alerted local authorities and a search party was sent out. Mutlu, 50, then stumbled across the search party and decided to join them, NTV reported. But when members of the search party began calling out his name, he replied: "I am here."

Source: bbc.com

A fire at a hospital in Romania has killed at least nine people, according to local authorities, marking the third deadly incident at healthcare facilities in the country in less than a year. Firefighters extinguished the blaze at the hospital in the southeastern port city of Constanta shortly before 11am local time (08:00 GMT) on Friday, having brought in additional teams from nearby counties. The cause of the fire is not yet known. Video footage showed patients jumping out of windows from the hospital’s lower levels and firefighters carrying people out.

Source: aljazeera.com