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At least 57 people have died after a migrant boat capsized off the Libyan coast, taking the total death toll in the central Mediterranean in 2021 to almost 1,000 – four times as many as in the same period last year. Flavio Di Giacomo, Italy’s spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, said the shipwreck raised the death toll to 987. “Last year there were 272. We must no longer hesitate, and do everything to strengthen the system of patrols at sea,” he said.

Source: theguardian.com

Tunisian president Kais Saied has announced a month-long curfew as he appeared to tighten his grip on power in the north African country one day after he dismissed the prime minister. Tunisians will wake on Tuesday to draconian restrictions including a nationwide curfew from 7pm to 6am, and a ban on gatherings of more than three people in public places. The new restrictions, announced by presidential order late on Monday, prohibit the movement of people between cities outside times of curfew, except for basic needs or for urgent health reasons.

Source: theguardian.com

One person died and 16 people were injured Tuesday following an explosion at a chemical park in Leverkusen, Germany, the site operator said as residents were urged to stay indoors because of black smoke rising from the area. The blast happened at around 09:40 am (0740 GMT) "for still unknown reasons", Chempark operator Currenta said. At least two of the injured were in a serious condition, and four workers were missing, it added.

Source: france24.com

Indonesia reported a record 2,069 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours Tuesday as the Southeast Asian nation faces its deadliest Covid-19 surge since the pandemic began. Tuesday's grim tally was nearly 600 deaths higher than the previous day and topped last week's daily record 1,566 deaths, the health ministry said. New infections also shot up to just over 45,000, from about 28,000 on Monday.

Source: france24.com

Sri Lankan authorities say the world's largest star sapphire cluster has been found in a backyard - by accident. A gem trader said the stone was found by workmen digging a well in his home in the gem-rich Ratnapura area. Experts say the stone, which is pale blue in colour, has an estimated value of up to $100 million in the international market. The cluster weighs around 510 kilograms or 2.5 million carats and has been named the "Serendipity Sapphire".

Source: bbc.com

Fresh off his trip to space, Jeff Bezos on Monday offered to cover up to $2bn in Nasa costs if the US space agency awards his company Blue Origin a contract to make a spacecraft designed to land astronauts back on the moon. Nasa in April awarded SpaceX, owned by rival billionaire Elon Musk, a $2.9bn contract to build a spacecraft to bring astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2024, rejecting bids from Blue Origin and defense contractor Dynetics. Blue Origin had partnered with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper in the bid.

Source: theguardian.com

Britney Spears has officially asked for her father to be replaced as her conservator, 13 years after he assumed control of her life and finances. The star's new lawyer petitioned the court on Monday, a month after Spears broke her public silence on the arrangement, calling it "abusive". In court papers, Mathew S. Rosengart described the conservatorship as a "Kafkaesque nightmare". He asked for accountant Jason Rubin to be named conservator of Spears' estate.

Source: bbc.com

The Cuban Embassy in Paris said on Tuesday that its building had been attacked with petrol bombs, causing serious damage but no injuries to diplomatic staff.

Source: france24.com

Arabica coffee prices rose 10 percent more on Monday, after jumping nearly 20 percent last week, to their highest in nearly seven years as unusually cold weather threatens coffee crops in the world’s largest producer, Brazil. Severe frosts last week damaged a large part of the fields in Brazil’s main coffee belt and a new polar air mass is forecast to move over the same areas later this week, the third strong cold front to hit crops this year.

Source: aljazeera.com

The family of the final victim unaccounted for in a deadly apartment block collapse in Florida say her remains have been found and identified. The discovery ends a weeks-long wait for the family of 54-year-old Estelle Hedaya, who had been missing since her building collapsed on 24 June.

Source: bbc.com

North and South Korea said Tuesday they had restored cross-border communications, more than a year after Pyongyang severed all official hotlines between the two rivals, who technically remain at war.

Source: france24.com

A French court on Monday threw out a case against bullfighting brought by animal rights campaigners, saying local traditions trumped concerns about animal cruelty. The Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA) had filed a case against bullfight organiser Lea Vicens and the southwestern city of Nimes, a bullfighting hotspot, saying the practice was "shocking and barbaric". But the court in Nimes, following several previous rejections by courts of complaints filed by SPA, threw out its case and ordered it to pay 4,000 euros ($4,700) in legal costs.

Source: france24.com

Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka suffered a surprise exit in her home Olympics as Czech Marketa Vondrousova earned a straight-set win in Tokyo. Osaka, 23, has been one of the faces of the Games in the Japanese capital and had the honour of lighting the Olympic cauldron in last week's opening ceremony. But the four-time Grand Slam champion could not back that up by winning a medal, losing 6-1 6-4 to the world number 42 in the third round.

Source: bbc.com

Joe Biden and the Iraqi prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, have sealed an agreement formally ending the US combat mission in Iraq by the end of 2021, more than 18 years after troops were sent to the country. Coupled with Biden’s withdrawal of the last American forces in Afghanistan by the end of August, the Democratic president is completing US combat missions in the two wars that George W Bush began under his watch. Biden and Kadhimi met in the Oval Office on Monday for their first face-to-face talks as part of a strategic dialogue between the United States and Iraq.

Source: theguardian.com

Mohamed Abdalrasool of Sudan withdrew from judo competition on Monday. 28-year-old, ranked 469th, quit rather than face Israeli Tohar Butbul, ranked 7th. Comes after Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine also quit before facing Butbul, in what he later said was a protest against Israel's treatment of Palestinians. Abdalrasool has not revealed why he quit, having showed up for the weigh-in.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

US pop star Pink has offered to pay the fines handed out to the Norwegian women's beach handball team, after they wore shorts like their male counterparts instead of bikini bottoms. The team was fined 1,500 euros (£1,295) for "improper clothing" at the European Beach Handball Championships last week.

Source: bbc.com

John Terry has left his position as an assistant to Aston Villa boss Dean Smith with the aim of becoming a manager in his own right, the Premier League club announced Monday. Terry, a 40-year-old former Chelsea and England captain, joined Villa ahead of the 2017/18 season and became the skipper of his new side.

Source: france24.com

Forty-six Afghan soldiers sought refuge in Pakistan after losing control of military positions across the border following advances by Taliban insurgents, Pakistan's army said on Monday.
Hundreds of Afghan army soldiers and civil officials have fled to neighbouring Tajikistan, Iran and Pakistan in recent weeks after Taliban offensives in border areas.

Source: reuters.com