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Tokyo reported 5,042 new daily coronavirus cases on Thursday, hitting a record since the pandemic began as the infections surge in the Japanese capital hosting the Olympics. The additional cases brought the total for Tokyo to 236,138, about a quarter of the national total. Japan reported more than 14,000 cases on Wednesday for a total of 970,000. Tokyo has been under a state of emergency since mid-July, and four other areas have since been added and extended until Aug. 31.

Source: apnews.com

A rapidly spreading wildfire burned homes and forced thousands to evacuate in two heavily wooded counties northeast of Sacramento in Northern California on Wednesday, generating a towering plume of smoke visible from at least 70 miles (110 km) away. The so-called River Fire scorched 1,400 acres (566 hectares) in Placer and Nevada counties, with 1,000 acres burnt within the first two hours, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.

Source: reuters.com

At least 482 migrants crossed the English Channel in 21 small boats on Wednesday, the Home Office has said, setting a new record for a single day. The Ministry of Defence had earlier confirmed that an exercise on its firing range at Hythe had to be stopped when people landed on the beach there. According to Home Office figures, there have now been 10,260 arrivals in 435 boats so far in 2021.

Source: bbc.com

Mexico filed a lawsuit against major US gunmakers in a Boston court on Wednesday over illegal cross-border arms flows that fuel rampant violence, the government announced. The Latin American nation, which has long faced pressure from the United States to curb drug smuggling, wants its neighbor to crack down on firearms trafficking in the other direction. This kind of legal action is unprecedented for the Mexican government and has the backing of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told a news conference.

Source: france24.com

Denmark footballer Christian Eriksen has met his Inter Milan club mates for the first time since suffering cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 in June. In a statement on Wednesday, the Italian champions said Eriksen, 29, paid a visit to the club’s training centre at Appiano Gentile outside Milan on Wednesday morning. “The Danish midfielder met the club directors, the coach, teammates and all of the staff present. Eriksen is doing well and is in excellent physical and mental shape,” Inter said.

Source: aljazeera.com

Alcohol consumption is linked to several cancers including those of the head and neck – mouth, pharynx and larynx – oesophageal and bowel, along with the more widely known connection with breast and liver cancer, according to an international team led by Imperial College London. The study also showed that drinking at least one coffee daily is associated with a lower risk of developing liver cancer and basal cell carcinoma of the skin, with the effects observed for both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.

Source: theguardian.com

Greek authorities ordered villages near the site of the ancient Olympic Games in the western Peloponnese to be evacuated on Wednesday as wildfires raged across the country, destroying swathes of forest and buildings, and sending hundreds fleeing. Temperatures of more than 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and strong winds have fanned more than 150 wildfires in different areas of the country in recent days, adding to the conflagrations in Turkey and other areas of the Mediterranean.

Source: reuters.com

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker signed a six-year contract extension with the Premier League club on Wednesday. Brazil's Alisson has established himself as one of the world's top keepers since arriving at Anfield from Roma for £66 million ($91 million) in 2018. The 28-year-old is now tied to Liverpool until 2027, becoming the third player to commit his future to the Reds over the last week.

Source: france24.com

Tunisia’s powerful UGTT trade union body has urged the country’s president, Kais Saied, to form a new government, nearly two weeks after he assumed executive power and sacked the prime minister. Saied also suspended parliament for 30 days on 25 July, and has since dismissed four ministers and other top officials. The president has dismissed accusations by the largest party in parliament that he staged a coup. He insists that he acted under the constitution, which allows the head of state to take unspecified exceptional measures in the event of an “imminent threat”.

Source: theguardian.com

Pop star Rihanna's net worth is estimated at $1.7 billion, making her the richest woman musician in the world, but her music is not the primary source of her wealth, Forbes magazine said on Wednesday. The Barbados-born singer, whose birth name is Robyn Fenty, derives an estimated $1.4 billion of her fortune from her 50% stake in the Fenty Beauty cosmetics line, Forbes reported. The rest of Rihanna's wealth comes from her share of the Savage x Fenty lingerie company and her income as a singer and actress, the magazine said.

Source: reuters.com

Former US President Barack Obama has scaled back plans for a big birthday party amid a rise in Covid infections nationwide. Mr Obama turned 60 on Wednesday and had planned a major celebration on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts this weekend. But as the highly contagious Delta variant has led to a surge in new infections, Mr Obama has announced plans to scale back the event. Only close friends and family will now attend.

Source: bbc.com

Barbie maker Mattel has created a doll of the scientist who designed the Oxford coronavirus vaccine, Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert. Dame Sarah said she found the creation "very strange" at first - but she hoped it would inspire children. "My wish is that my doll will show children careers they may not be aware of, like a vaccinologist," she said. Her Barbie is one of six to honour women working in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem).

Source: bbc.com

With climate change threatening the sea ice habitat of Emperor penguins, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday announced a proposal to list the species as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Research published Tuesday in the journal Global Change Biology found that by 2100, 98% of Emperor penguin colonies may be pushed to the brink of extinction, if no changes are made to current rates of carbon emissions and climate change. Around 70% of colonies will be in danger sooner, by 2050.

Source: apnews.com

Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya left Tokyo aboard a flight to Vienna on Wednesday, less than 72 hours after refusing her team's orders to return home. After spending two nights in Poland's embassy, the 24-year-old walked onto the plane at Narita airport. She was initially due to leave on a flight to Warsaw. A Polish government source said she was switched at the last minute to a flight to Vienna, over concerns about her privacy and security after news of the plan became public and reporters booked seats on the flight.

Source: reuters.com

All 12 members of the Greek artistic swimming team are in isolation after five tested positive for coronavirus in the first cluster detected at the Games, Olympic officials said Wednesday. The team have withdrawn from remaining competition and the seven members who have so far tested negative have agreed to move to a facility for "close contacts" of positive cases, said Tokyo 2020 spokesman Masa Takaya. None of those who tested positive so far require hospital care, Takaya added.

Source: france24.com

Research finds Machu Picchu is several decades older than previously thought. Carbon dating of human remains at the Inca site indicates it was in use in 1420. Archeologists said that is more than 20 years earlier than they had expected. Experts thought it was built around 1440 as an estate for Emperor Pachacuti.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Pope Francis, speaking at his first general audience since he underwent intestinal surgery a month ago and on the first anniversary of a massive blast in Beirut, said he had a "great" desire to visit Lebanon. The 84-year-old Francis, who looked fit and improvised parts of his address, also wished success for French President Emmanuel Macron's efforts to raise more than $350 million in aid for Lebanon at a donors' conference and send yet another warning to its squabbling political class.

Source: reuters.com

Archaeological "treasures," including Greek ceramics and 2,400-year-old wicker baskets filled with fruit, have been discovered at the site of the ancient sunken city of Thonis-Heracleion, off Egypt's coast. Thonis-Heracleion was Egypt's largest Mediterranean port before Alexander the Great founded Alexandria in 331 BCE. A team from the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM), led by French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio, have been studying the area for years. Along the north-east entrance canal of the submerged city the team found the remains of a large tumulus -- a Greek funerary area.

Source: cnn.com