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A year after leaving their royal duties to move to Los Angeles, Madame Tussauds has now decided waxwork models of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan now belong in the attraction's Hollywood zone and not with the other members of the House of Windsor.
Source: reuters.com
A Japanese journalist who was arrested in Myanmar last month and later charged with spreading fake news will be released, state media said Thursday. Yuki Kitazumi was the first foreign journalist known to be charged since the military took power in February. Myanmar authorities maintain he violated the law but will be released because Japan had requested it.
Source: bbc.com
The winner of a $26 million California Lottery prize may have literally washed the chance of a fortune down the drain. The winning SuperLotto Plus ticket for the Nov. 14 drawing was sold at an Arco AM/PM convenience store in the Los Angeles suburb of Norwalk. Thursday was the last day to redeem it. Nobody did. Store employee Esperanza Hernandez told the Whittier Daily News that a woman came in Wednesday and told workers that she had put the ticket in her pants and it was destroyed in the laundry.
Source: apnews.com
The number of recorded COVID-19 infections in India climbed above 24 million on Friday amid reports that the highly transmissible coronavirus mutant first detected in the country was spreading across the globe. According to health ministry data, India recorded 4,000 deaths and 343,144 infections in the last 24 hours. It was the third consecutive day of 4,000 or more deaths but daily infections have stayed below a peak of 414,188 last week. While the total number of recorded infections crossed 24 million, the number of people confirmed to have died from COVID-19 stood at 262,317 since the pandemic first struck India over a year ago.
Source: reuters.com
The much-anticipated reunion special of Friends has finally got a release date and trailer after a lengthy delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Reunion will be available on the HBO Max streaming service from 27 May after the sitcom's original cast were able to film together last month. All six members of the original cast - Matthew Perry (Chandler), Jennifer Aniston (Rachel), Courteney Cox (Monica), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe), Matt LeBlanc (Joey) and David Schwimmer (Ross) - are set to take part. Friends was one of the biggest sitcoms of the 90s and ended in 2004.
Source: bbc.com
Since his debut, Drake has shattered numerous chart records and now crowns Billboard's Top Artists of the 2010s recap. Drake's dominance during the 2010s wins him top honors in the overall top artist category, which ranks the best-performing artists based on activity on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart and the Billboard 200 albums tally, as well as social media data and touring revenue from Billboard Boxscore, during the decade. He will receive the Artist of the Decade Award at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards on May 23.
Source: billboard.com
Boris Johnson is to write letters of apology to the families of 10 people killed during a British army operation in Ballymurphy in 1971 after his initial attempt to apologise backfired and angered them. The Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, made a public apology on behalf of the UK government in the House of Commons on Thursday, two days after the conclusion of an inquest into the shootings, and said the prime minister would write to the families. The families, however, are still requesting a public apology from Johnson as the head of the government, a spectacle Downing Streets appears to be trying to avoid.
Source: theguardian.com
Of the 100 cities worldwide most vulnerable to environmental hazards all but one are in Asia, and 80% are in India or China, according to a risk assessment. Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, plagued by pollution, flooding and heatwaves, topped the ranking.
Source: theguardian.com
Two people have been banned from the Great Wall of China after trespassing onto an undeveloped section of the ancient structure, the operator of the wall's Mutianyu section said Tuesday. The two men, both from Senegal, were reported by other visitors on April 30 for having ignored a "no crossing" sign and climbed onto a part of the wall beyond Watchtower 20, which is still being redeveloped.
Source: cnn.com
The Champions League final between Chelsea and Manchester City will take place in Portugal with 6,000 fans from each club permitted to attend. The game on 29 May has been moved from Turkey to the Portuguese city of Porto because of coronavirus restrictions.
Source: bbc.com
Mixed martial artist Conor McGregor led the Forbes top 10 for the first time in his career after earning $180 million over the last 12 months, with this year's combined top 10 earnings of $1.05 billion just shy of 2018's $1.06 billion total. The majority of the Irish fighter's earnings came from the $150 million sale of his majority stake in whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve.
Source: cnn.com
A Swiss climber and an American have died on Mount Everest in the season’s first casualties on the world’s highest mountain, expedition organizers said Thursday. The Swiss climber, Abdul Waraich, 41, reached the peak before having difficulties, said Chhang Dawa of the expedition organizer, Seven Summit Treks in Nepal. U.S. national Puwei Liu, 55, also died at the highest camp on the mountain at South Col. He had reached the climbing feature named the Hillary Step, located between South Col and the summit, but had to return because of snow blindness and exhaustion.
Source: apnews.com
Robin Ford was shocked to find a three metre long diamond python curled up along his basement door in Hornsby Heights in Sydney's north shore. The terrifying reptile was curled up on the top of the door as its tail slinked around the front of the frame. The harmless python was safely removed and later relocated into nearby bushland.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
A county in southwest China has banned birthday parties and other celebrations, following calls from the central government to be more frugal. It also set out new rules for weddings and funerals, including a ban on cash gifts more than 200 yuan (£22, US$31). The rules in Funing county only apply to all communist party members, civil servants and village organisation leaders - not to most residents.
Source: bbc.com
An imperial jewellery sale including a set of sapphire and diamond items that belonged to Napoleon’s adoptive daughter fetched nearly $3 million at auction at Christie’s in Geneva on Wednesday, as the rare sale of objects directly linked to the French emperor was met with great demand. Bids on the imperial consignment far outstripped pre-sale estimates. There were nine items from the collection of Napoleon's daughter Stephanie de Beauharnais as well as a sapphire crown which previously belonged to Queen Maria II of Portugal.
Source: reuters.com
The Israel-born actress star was bombarded with criticism – and some support – after sounding off on the current wave of violence. Gadot’s pro-peace, respect-both-sides sentiment might sound fairly benign, but some took issue with the actress using the friendly term “neighbors” amid the rocket-firing conflict and for supporting Israel at all. Gadot also served two years as a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces.
Source: hollywoodreporter.com
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which has aired since September 2003, will come to an end in 2022 after its 19th season. The daily mix of comedy, interviews and human interest stories has been a US television staple, though ratings have declined in recent years.
Source: bbc.com
A shirt worn by Napoleon during his exile on the island of Saint Helena in the south Atlantic and a letter he wrote there to practise his English have gone on display at a museum in Belgium ahead of an auction later this year in Britain. A silk scarf he wore around his head on the windswept British outpost is also on show, along with a walking stick made from a narwhal tooth, a rare and precious object from the exiled former French emperor's daily life on Saint Helena. The exhibition at the Battle of Waterloo memorial museum, near Brussels, is part of commemorations of the bicentenary of Napoleon's death aged 51 on May 5, 1821.
Source: reuters.com
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