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Journalists set to cover President Joe Biden’s first trip abroad were delayed several hours Tuesday night from taking off for Europe — but not because of bad weather or a late pilot. Their charter plane suffered mechanical problems due to cicadas. A replacement plane had to be called in, and eventually the press corps took off from Dulles International Airport for the United Kingdom early Wednesday morning after waiting more than six hours to depart. Biden, meanwhile, had to swat one of the bugs off of his neck before boarding Air Force One on Wednesday morning.

Source: nbcnews.com

A six-year-old boy has been injured after a dolphin mistakenly took his hand for food at an aquarium in Ukraine. In a clip shared online, the marine animal jumps out of its pool at the Nemo Dolphinarium park and sinks its teeth into the visitor’s stretched-out hand. The terrified boy utters a painful moan as the mammal lets go of his limb. According to park officials, the dolphin was not hungry or aggressive. They added that the incident took place after visitors were warned not to approach the edge of the pool and put their hands in the water.

A Havana zoo has introduced the country's first-ever white Bengal tiger, a rare type not known to exist in the wild. Mother Fiona gave birth to four cubs -- including white tiger Yanek -- at the National Zoo of Cuba in March; but only now, it said, are the cubs independent enough to be presented to the public as they play and swim in their special zoo pool. They were also the first tiger cubs born on Cuban soil in more than 20 years. Along with Yanek, Fiona and fellow Bengal tiger Garfield are the proud parents of sisters Melissa and Gaby, and brother Miguel.

Source: france24.com

Details claiming to reveal how little income tax US billionaires pay have been leaked to an news website. ProPublica says it has seen the tax returns of some of the world's richest people, including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett. The website alleges Amazon's Mr Bezos paid no tax in 2007 and 2011, while Tesla's Mr Musk paid nothing in 2018. A White House spokeswoman called the leak "illegal", and the FBI and tax authorities are investigating.

Source: bbc.com

The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, has prompted more speculation about his health after recent photographs suggested he had lost weight. Kim, whose heavy frame has drawn global interest since he became the country’s leader almost a decade ago, looked noticeably trimmer in images released by state media on Saturday.

Source: theguardian.com

Taliban insurgents shot dead 10 Afghans working for an agency clearing land mines in an attack on their camp in the north of the country, their organisation, the Halo Trust, said on Wednesday. The Taliban, fighting to overthrow the foreign-backed Afghan government, denied involvement in the late Tuesday attack on the workers' camp in the northern province of Baghlan, where fighting has been heavy in recent weeks. The Halo Trust said in a statement an "unknown armed group" attacked the camp and killed 10 of its staff. It said 16 people were wounded. There were 110 workers at the camp at the time of the attack, the agency said.

Source: reuters.com

Mongolians began voting Wednesday for a new president. A total of 2,151,329 voters are registered, according to the General Election Commission. The winner will become Mongolia’s sixth president since the peaceful transition from communism to democracy in 1992. Incumbent Battulga Khaltmaa of the Democratic Party is barred by the constitution from seeking a second six-year term. Among the candidates, former Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh of the Mongolian People’s Party exercises a strong majority in parliament.

Source: apnews.com

Stefanos Tsitsipas continues to play some of the best tennis of his life. For the third consecutive major tournament he will compete for a spot in his maiden final after defeating Daniil Medvedev, the second seed, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 7-5. Tsitsipas, the fifth seed, will face another contemporary and rival, Alexander Zverev, in his second French Open semi-final.

Source: theguardian.com

The extraordinary spate of athletics world records in the super spikes era continued on Tuesday as Letesenbet Gidey smashed the two-day-old women’s 10,000m best, set by Sifan Hassan on Sunday, by more than five seconds. Gidey, who was running on the same Hengelo track where Hassan set her world record, always looked confident. For much of the race - which doubled as the Ethiopian trials - she churned out 72-second laps before powering home in a final lap of 63 seconds, despite having to weave between other runners, to finish in 29:01.03.

Source: theguardian.com

A 1933 Double Eagle gold coin sold for a record-setting $18.9 million at auction in New York on Tuesday. The coin, the only 1933 Double Eagle ever allowed to be privately owned, was expected to sell for between $10 million and $15 million at the Sotheby's auction. It was sold by shoe designer and collector Stuart Weitzman, who acquired it in 2002 for what was then a world record price of $7.6 million. The coin, with a face value of $20 and distinctive design of an American eagle in flight one side and Liberty striding forward on the other, was the last gold coin struck for circulation in the United States.

Source: reuters.com

Former Mexican Cabinet minister Luis Videgaray has been banned from holding jobs or positions in public service for 10 years for failing to properly disclose his assets while in office, the Mexican government said on Tuesday. The Public Administration Ministry (SFP) said it had applied the maximum possible sanction against Videgaray for making incorrect declarations for three years running during his time as finance minister and later as foreign minister.

Source: reuters.com

Commonly used methods for aging mammal remains do not work on chickens. Experts led from the University of Exeter came up with a new technique instead. It relies of measuring the bony spur that appears on the legs of adult cockerels. The team applied this to 1,366 fowl leg bones from across the history of Britain. Chickens lives for up to four years in the Iron Age, Roman and Saxon times . According to the experts, fowl were likely kept for sacrifice and cockfighting.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

People with diabetes who had trouble falling or staying asleep were 87% more likely to die of any cause over the next nine years than people without diabetes or sleep problems, a new study finds. After controlling for medical and lifestyle issues that might also affect sleep, such as age, gender, weight, smoking, depression and other preexisting conditions, the study found that people who slept poorly but did not have diabetes were 11% more likely to die within the nine-year followup period of the study than people without diabetes who slept well.

Source: cnn.com

Debbie Hewitt is set to become the first female chair of England's Football Association (FA) in the organization's 157-year history. Hewitt, currently the non-executive chair of Visa Europe, The Restaurant Group plc, BGL Group and White Stuff, was unanimously nominated to the position by the FA Board and will commence in January 2022 once formally ratified by the FA Council.

Source: cnn.com

Scientists have confirmed the discovery of a new dinosaur species in Australia, one of the largest found in the world, more than a decade after cattle farmers first uncovered bones of the animal. The plant-eating sauropod lived in the Cretaceous period between 92 million and 96 million years ago when Australia was attached to Antartica. Paleontologists estimated the dinosaur reached a height of 5-6.5 metres at the hip and 25-30 metres in length, making it as long as a basketball court and as tall as a two storey building.

Source: reuters.com

The longest serving Jordanian prisoner in an Israeli jail arrived home on Tuesday after completing a 20-year sentence for planting a bomb on an Israeli bus that injured more than a dozen people. Abdullah Abu Jaber, 44, was arrested after the explosive device went off on the bus in Tel Aviv in December 2000. He was one of thousands of Jordanians who found casual work in Israel after the two countries normalised ties with a peace treaty in 1994. Abu Jaber, who was among 22 political prisoners held in Israeli jails, headed to his parents' home in the teeming Baqaa Palestinian refugee camp near the Jordanian capital Amman, witnesses said.

Source: reuters.com

At least 18 people have died in a fire that broke out at a chemical plant on the outskirts of the western Indian city of Pune. Some 37 workers were trapped inside the building when the blaze started around 15:45 local time (10:15 GMT) on Monday. Fire engines rushed to the spot as smoke billowed from the compound - firemen had to break walls on either side to rescue people.

Source: bbc.com

Israel's legislature will vote on Sunday on approving a new government, the speaker of parliament said on Tuesday, a move that will unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the country's longest-serving leader. If the coalition of right-wing, left-wing, centrist and Arab parties wins the vote of confidence, it will be sworn in on the same day, marking the end of Netanyahu's 12-year run as prime minister and his replacement by nationalist Naftali Bennett.

Source: reuters.com