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India's government has ordered social media platforms to take down content that refers to the "Indian variant" of the coronavirus. The B.1.617 variant was first detected in India last year and has been blamed for much of a devastating Covid-19 wave that has battered South Asian nations in recent weeks. It has spread to Britain and at least 43 other countries, where "Indian variant" has become a widely used term.

Source: france24.com

Environmental ministers from seven of the world’s most developed economies agreed Friday to ambitious new goals to move their economies from fossil fuels in an effort to slow the warming of the planet.

Source: washingtonpost.com

Thailand has started deploying a canine virus-detecting squad in hopes of quickly identifying people with COVID-19 as the country faces a surge in cases, with clusters at construction sites, crowded slum communities and large markets. Angel, Bobby and Bravo are among six Labrador retrievers that have been trained by researchers at the Faculty of Veterinary Science at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University to sniff out a unique odor that people with COVID-19 produce in their sweat, the researchers say. Since May 10, the three have tested more than 1,000 samples from college staff, students and people outside the university. The results so far are impressive with a success rate of nearly 95%.

Source: apnews.com

The LUCAS 3 device is a mechanical machine that can delivery CPR. It uses Bluetooth to configure the compression rate, depth and alerts. It can also collect data which can be reviewed and shared with other clinicians. South Central Ambulance Charity has funded 28 of the devices to support crews across Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hampshire.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

South Korean megaband BTS said on Friday it was renewing its quest to win a Grammy Award with its new single "Butter", building on its success last year, when it became the first Korean pop group to win a Grammy nomination.

Source: reuters.com

Egypt Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry has spoken with his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, about stabilizing the Cairo-brokered Gaza cease-fire deal. A statement by Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said the two diplomats on Friday discussed shoring up the deal, which has mostly brought a halt to fighting between Israel and the Palestinians. They hope that will facilitate the reconstruction of Gaza.

Source: apnews.com

One person has been killed and four others taken to hospital after a man armed with a knife carried out a string of random attacks in the Amsterdam district of De Pijp. The stabbings took place shortly after 11pm and, according to the police statement, ‘it quickly became clear they had been carried out by the same person.’ Police have arrested a 29-year-old man from Amstelveen as ‘the only suspect’ and say there is no direct indication that he had a terrorist motive for carrying out the attacks.

Source: dutchnews.nl

A strong 6.4-magnitute, shallow quake shook southwestern China near the border with Myanmar, killing at least three people and injuring more than two dozen, while a separate 7.3-magnitute quake early Saturday collapsed a bridge and caused other damage in central China. The second quake hit the southern part of Qinghai province, about 1,000 kilometers north of the first quake in Yunnan province. At least eight people were injured. U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Jonathan Tytell said the two quakes were not related.

Source: apnews.com

Nigeria's army chief, Lt-Gen Ibrahim Attahiru, has been killed in a plane crash in the north-western state of Kaduna, officials say. The incident happened as the plane was trying to land in bad weather, the military said. Ten other officers, including the plane's crew also died. President Muhammadu Buhari said he was "deeply saddened" by the crash. Gen Attahiru, 54, only took up his post in January in an overhaul of the military's top brass.

Source: bbc.com

U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday injected fresh urgency into attempts to engage North Korea in dialogue over its nuclear weapons, with Biden saying he would meet its leader Kim Jong Un under the right conditions. Biden and Moon said the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is their goal, with Biden stressing he was "under no illusions" about the difficulty of getting North Korea to give up its nuclear arsenals after his predecessors failed.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-moon-be-second-leader-second-asian-welcomed-by-biden-2021-05-21/

The remains of at least 24 people have been uncovered at the home of a former police officer in El Salvador. The graves may hold up to 40 bodies - most of them thought to be women or girls, officials say. Exhuming all the bodies could take another month. Police believe that the discovery reveals a secret murder ring operating over a decade. El Salvador has one of Latin America's highest rates for femicide, the murder of a woman because of her gender.

Source: bbc.com

Yusaku Maezawais wants the public to suggest up to 100 'silly' activities for him to try when he journeys into space later this year. The eccentric fashion tycoon paid $40 million (£28 million) for himself and a film producer to travel to the International Space Station on Russian Soyuz spacecraft in December. Maezawa has asked people to suggest things he can do while he is floating about in the low gravity environment of the ISS, saying 'the sillier the better'.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

The flooding, which began with heavy rain early this week, hit some areas that were struck by two hurricanes last year.

Source: nbcnews.com

The man, who asked to remain anonymous, told Fox News he was walking from his home to synagogue on Monday night during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot when he noticed a car speeding toward him. "I've taken this route a million times and I've never been afraid," he said. "I was waiting by the light for it to change and suddenly I saw a bunch of cars coming and I see out of the corner of my eye they were waving the Palestinian flag. They started speeding up and I heard them chanting 'Allahu akbar.' That's when I started running for my life."
 

A silver coin found in Maryland after almost 400 years provided a big clue for archaeologists searching for St. Mary's Fort -- one of the earliest English settlements in the New World. The coin, a silver shilling with a portrait of King Charles I, was created by the royal mint in the Tower of London back in England at around the time the fort was settled in 1634, according to Travis Parno, the director of research and collections at the Historic St. Mary's City museum.

Source: cnn.com

President Moon Jae-in is hoping Friday’s White House meeting with President Joe Biden will lead to renewed diplomatic urgency by the U.S. on curbing North Korea’s nuclear program. The White House, however, is signaling that it is taking a longer view on one of the most difficult foreign policy challenges Biden faces. Ahead of Friday’s meeting White House officials said North Korea will be a central focus of talks. Coordination on vaccine distribution, climate change and regional security concerns spurred by China are also high on the president’s list.

Source: apnews.com

Freistadt Clinic apologises for ‘tragic mistake’ which local media said the 82-year-old patient did not initially recognise because of his illness. the mistake, in which the right leg was removed instead of the left, occurred as a result of a sequence of unfortunate circumstances.

Source: theguardian.com

Thousands of Australian children are walking out of school to attend protests, calling for action on climate change. Up to 50,000 students are expected at School Strike for Climate rallies across the country. It's the latest grassroots campaign by young people pushing for action on the climate crisis. Australia has long faced criticism for refusing to set more ambitious emissions targets.

Source: bbc.com