Short news
Britain's feuding princes, William and Harry, will put their differences aside on Thursday to attend the unveiling of a statue to their late mother Princess Diana on what would have been her 60th birthday. For most of their lives, the royal brothers have been close, united by the shared trauma of losing their mother who died aged 36 in a 1997 Paris car crash when William was 15 and Harry 12.
Source: reuters.com
England have beaten Germany 2-0 at Wembley to book their place in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020. Second-half goals from Raheem Sterling and skipper Harry Kane were enough to see Gareth Southgate's men progress to the last eight - where they will face Ukraine.
Source: news.sky.com
The German military late on Tuesday concluded its withdrawal from Afghanistan after almost two decades, finishing Germany's deadliest military mission since World War 2. Over the last years, Germany had the second largest contingent of troops after the United States in Afghanistan, with around 150,000 soldiers deployed over the past two decades, many of them serving more than one tour in the country. Fifty-nine German soldiers died in Afghanistan, 35 of them killed in combat or as a result of militant attacks.
Source: reuters.com
Venus Williams marked her record 90th Grand Slam appearance with a three-set victory over Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania at Wimbledon on Tuesday. The 41-year-old American, who is a five-time champion at the All England Club, triumphed 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. Former world number one Williams first played Wimbledon in 1997 and is making her 23rd appearance at the tournament.
Source: france24.com
Aguilera and Spears were young co-stars who became icons of the 1990s music scene, where they were often portrayed as rivals. Now Aguilera has declared her support for her old peer over the latter's public conservatorship battle. "It is unacceptable that any woman, or human, wanting to be in control of their own destiny might not be allowed to live life as they wish," Aguilera wrote on Twitter Monday. A conservatorship is a legal arrangement which gives a court-appointed individual, known as the conservator, the power to handle the financial and/or personal affairs of another adult who has been deemed incapacitated. Spears has been under the arrangement since 2008.
Source: cnn.com
The unbelievably well-preserved wooden stick was intricately carved in the shape of a snake slithering away. It was found in Järvensuo 1, a prehistoric wetland site was occupied between the years 4000 BC and 2000 BC. It is 4,400 years old and dates back to the Neolithic period - the final division in the history of the Stone Age.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
Musicologist Peter Kupfer studied how Bach was used in TV ads from 2009–19. Like other classical pieces, Bach's works are often used to signify prestige. But the German composer's works are primarily used to reassure the consumer. There is, however, nothing inherently reassuring about Bach's compositions. Rather, the expert concludes, their typically abstract nature and general associations with prestige allow them to embody different messages and connotations as needed.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
The U.N. investigator on human rights in Iran has called for an independent inquiry into allegations of state-ordered executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 and the role played by President-elect Ebrahim Raisi as Tehran deputy prosecutor. Javaid Rehman, in an interview with Reuters on Monday, said that over the years his office has gathered testimonies and evidence. It was ready to share them if the United Nations Human Rights Council or other body sets up an impartial investigation.
Source: reuters.com
Israel's top diplomat Yair Lapid arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday for the first ever official visit by an Israeli minister, after the two nations normalised ties in September. Israeli ministers have previously visited the United Arab Emirates, but newly appointed Lapid is the most senior Israeli to make the trip, and the first to travel on an official mission.
Source: france24.com
South Africa's top court on Tuesday handed former president Jacob Zuma a 15-month jail term for contempt of court following his refusal to appear before graft investigators. Zuma, 79, is accused of enabling the plunder of state coffers during his nearly nine-year stay in office.
Source: france24.com
The J Hotel Shanghai Tower, which opened on June 19, isn't just another high-end property. It claims to be the highest hotel in the world. The J Hotel occupies the top floors of the Shanghai Tower -- which at 632 meters is the tallest building in all of China. The J has 165 rooms, of which 34 are suites.
Source: cnn.com
Xi Jinping, the president of China, has kicked off the official celebrations marking the Chinese Communist Party’s centenary with a ceremony honouring 29 people for “outstanding contributions to the party”. Recipients of the newly established July 1 medal on Tuesday included several soldiers and officials from the restive provinces of Tibet and Xinjiang, where the United Nations has said about one million, mostly Muslim, Uighurs have been held in detention camps that China calls vocational skills training centres.
Source: aljazeera.com
The Pulp Fiction director has confirmed he will retire after making one more film, doubling down on the 10-movie retirement plan he has previously revealed. Appearing as a guest on the chat show Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday, Tarantino said he wants to quit “because I know film history and from here on end, directors do not get better”.
Source: thenationalnews.com
The Switzerland goalkeeper, who left in the middle of the European Championship’s group stage to be with his wife for the birth of their second daughter, made the biggest save of his life against one of the best players in the world. That gave the Swiss a 5-4 penalty shootout victory over World Cup champion France on Monday and a spot in the quarterfinals of a major soccer tournament for the first time in 67 years. The match had finished 3-3.
Source: apnews.com
A painting by Pablo Picasso that was stolen nine years ago during a heist at a Greek gallery has been recovered. On Monday, police in Athens said Picasso's Woman's Head had been found along with a 1905 painting of a windmill by Piet Mondrian. Both were taken, along with a third artwork, during an elaborate 2012 heist at the Athens National Gallery. The artworks were stripped from their frames in the early morning raid which only took minutes to carry out.
Source: bbc.com
"Sherlock Holmes" is coming back to life as Storytel (STORYb.ST) has signed a deal with Conan Doyle Estate for new stories in audiobooks to be penned by novelist Anthony Horowitz, the Swedish audiobooks platform said on Monday. "Holmes", the hero of the fictional detective stories created by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887, has mass following across the world and spawned several movies based on the character.
Source: reuters.com
Two nude sunbathers in Australia have been fined for breaching Covid rules after they got spooked by a deer and had to be rescued from bushland. The men, who were sunbathing on a beach south of Sydney, were found after they called for assistance. They were fined A$1,000 (US$750; £547) for breaching a public health order banning those in greater Sydney from travelling outside the area. The city is under lockdown as it battles the contagious Delta variant.
Source: bbc.com
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said on Monday he had handed in his notice of resignation, giving parliament's speaker the job of finding a new premier after the Social Democrat leader lost a vote of no-confidence last week. Lofven lost the confidence vote in parliament on June 21 after the Left Party withdrew its support, triggering frenzied talks as both the center-left and center-right tried to line up enough support to form a government.
Source: cnn.com