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Amazon founder and soon-to-be-space traveler Jeff Bezos is donating $200 million to the Smithsonian Institution to boost its National Air and Space Museum, the largest gift received by the institution since its founding in 1846. The Smithsonian said $70 million of the money would support museum renovations. The other $130 million would go toward building a new education center at the museum called the Bezos Learning Center to inspire students to promote innovation and explore careers in science, math and engineering.
Source: apnews.com
An $8.3m (£6.2m) stamp is returning to the UK for the first time in 143 years, after being sold at auction to a British rare stamp dealer. The British Guiana 1c Magenta was bought by rare stamp dealer Stanley Gibbons last month. The dealer said that, gram for gram, the stamp is thought to be the most valuable man-made item in the world. It is the only survivor of a small batch printed on the former British colony British Guiana, now Guyana. The stamp, printed on magenta paper and measuring 29 x 26mm, bears a three-masted ship and the colony's motto. "We give and expect in return".
Source: bbc.com
The Campobello Whale Rescue team tried a second time last Thursday to disentangle Snow Cone, a 16-year old female first spotted entangled off the coast of Massachusetts during the winter. She was most recently spotted by survey planes near Miscou Island, on the northeastern tip of New Brunswick. A second right whale was spotted in the area on Thursday, in what appears to be a fresh entanglement. This is the first new entanglement in Canadian waters since 2019, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The population of North Atlantic right whales is dangerously low, with researchers estimating a little more than 350 left in the world. Entanglements in fishing gear and ship strikes are the largest causes of death.
Source: cbc.ca
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have set up their second project at Netflix as part of their company, Archewell Productions, overall deal with the streamer. Created by Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, Pearl is a family-focused animated series that revolves around the adventures of a 12-year-old girl who is inspired by influential women in history. The series is currently in the development stages.
Source: hollywoodreporter.com
Iran is not prepared to resume negotiations on coming back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal until Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi's administration has begun, a diplomatic source said on Wednesday. The source said Iran had conveyed this to European officials acting as interlocutors in the indirect U.S.-Iranian negotiations and that the current thinking is the Vienna talks will not resume before mid-August. "They are not prepared to come back before the new government," said the source, saying it was not clear whether this meant until Raisi formally takes over on Aug. 5 or until his government is in place.
Source: reuters.com
Taliban fighters said on Wednesday that they had taken control of one of Afghanistan’s main border crossings with Pakistan, perhaps their most strategic gain so far in a rapid advance across the country as US forces pull out. A Pakistani official said fighters had taken down the Afghan government flag at the Spin Boldak crossing between the Pakistani town of Chaman and the Afghan town of Wesh.
Source: theguardian.com
Culper Precision said its customised Glock weapon, named Block19, was developed to "highlight the pure enjoyment of the shooting sports". But Danish toymaker Lego has written to the company demanding that it stop producing the weapon, which is covered in what looks like Lego bricks. Gun control campaigners described the pistol as irresponsible and dangerous. Shannon Watts, of the Everytown for Gun Safety campaign group, said her organisation had contacted Lego about the customised Block19 last week, and that the Danish company had then sent a "cease and desist" letter to Culper Precision.
Source: bbc.com
The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday become the first Gulf state to open an embassy in Israel, as its envoy hailed the trade and investment opportunities that closer ties would bring at a flag-raising ceremony also attended by Israel's president.
Source: reuters.com
Some seventeen people have died after a hotel collapse in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou. After 36 hours of search operations, rescue workers found 23 people buried in the rubble - six of whom were found alive. A preliminary investigation found the collapse was caused by the owner altering the structure of the building, according to the Global Times. The building is said to have undergone frequent renovations in recent years.
Source: bbc.com
An 18-year-old pilot has broken a Guinness World Record to become the youngest person to fly solo round the world in a single-engine aircraft. Travis Ludlow, from Ibstone, Buckinghamshire, landed in the Netherlands on Tuesday, having spent 44 days completing the 24,900-mile (40,072km) journey. At 18 years and 150 days old, he was 13 days younger than the previous record-holder. He said it was a "strange feeling".
Source: bbc.com
The ashes of Hungarian-born actress Zsa Zsa Gabor, renowned for her diamond-studded glamour, witty quips and nine marriages, were buried in Budapest on Tuesday almost five years after her death. Born Sari Gabor into a wealthy Hungarian family, she was named Miss Hungary in the 1930s. As World War Two approached, she and her sisters headed for the United States, leaving behind her first husband, Burhan Belge, a Turkish diplomat. Her last husband, Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, to whom she was married from 1986 until her death aged 99 in 2016, said that in her will she expressed a wish to end up in Hungary.
Source: reuters.com
Large cruise ships will be banned from sailing into the centre of Venice from August 1, Italy announced Tuesday, after years of warnings they risk causing irreparable damage to the lagoon city. The decision, confirmed at a meeting of Prime Minister Mario Draghi's cabinet, comes just days before a meeting of the UN's cultural organisation UNESCO, which had proposed to add Venice to its list of endangered heritage sites.
Source: france24.com
France on Tuesday called on all its citizens in Afghanistan to leave the country over security concerns, the French embassy in Kabul said, as the Taliban pressed on with a blistering offensive while foreign forces completed their withdrawal.
Source: france24.com
Roger Federer, the four-time Olympian and all-time great tennis champion, announced Tuesday that he would not represent Switzerland in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, saying that a recent setback with his knee forced the decision. The 39-year-old underwent two knee operations in 2020.
Source: cnn.com
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard on Tuesday said he was asking Cuba about what sort of humanitarian aid would help the Caribbean nation, just as Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador doubled down on his stance that a decades-old U.S. embargo was to blame for political unrest.
Source: reuters.com
Prices keep rising in the United States, putting a squeeze on American consumers' wallets. That trend got worse in June. The consumer price index, the nation's key inflation measure, jumped 0.9% in June, the largest one-month increase in 13 years. Over the last 12 months, prices were up 5.4%, the biggest jump in annual inflation in nearly 13 years. Much of the rise in prices is due to gasoline prices, which are far above last summer's levels.
Source: cnn.com
President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the deadly violence and protests as unprecedented in the 27 years since the end of the apartheid regime in the country. The death toll from nearly a week of unrest has risen to 45, some from gunshot wounds, while 750 people have been arrested. Ten people were killed during a crowd crush on Monday night, officials said. Separately, a 15-year-old boy was killed when he was shot in the chest with a rubber bullet, local media reported. Four police officers have been injured.
Source: theguardian.com
The Weeknd, BTS and Billie Eilish will take part in Global Citizen Live, a 24-hour event on Sept. 25 that’s intended to raise money and awareness to fight worldwide threats including COVID-19, climate change and extreme poverty.
Source: apnews.com
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