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It was published in a think tank press release in 2006, but never deleted - and appears to be the one the PM uses. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was "a serious situation [that] carries a security risk". But Chancellor Rishi Sunak said that, as far as he was aware, "all security protocols have been followed". It appears the number has been switched off but Downing Street still has not confirmed if the number will now be changed.
Source: bbc.com
Germany is to become the first country to hand back the Benin bronzes looted by British soldiers in the late nineteenth century, after the culture minister, Monika Grütters, announced it would start returning a “substantial” part of the artefacts held in its museums to Nigeria from next year. Germany will present a binding roadmap for the legal and logistical aspects of the restitution process by the end of June, with the first objects to be handed over in 2022, said the minister, a member of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Source: theguardian.com
Boss Carlo Ancelotti wants Barcelona’s former Liverpool star to form a South American dream team with Colombian James Rodriguez. The Brazilian, 28, has had a miserable time since leaving Anfield for Spain for £145m. Barca tried to sell him 18 months later but he ended up on loan at Bayern Munich.
Source: thesun.co.uk
A German tourist has been found in Colombia after he drank psychedelic tea and went missing in the jungle for a week. Daniel Florian went missing on 13 April after visiting an indigenous reserve in the southwestern Putumayo region. During his stay he participated in an indigenous shaman ritual, which involved drinking psychedelic Yage tea, according to local media reports.
Source: ladbible.com
French Prime Minister Jean Castex paid tribute in a nationally televised ceremony on Friday to an administrative police worker stabbed to death last week at a police station, saying she was victim of "Islamist terrorism". The killing of Stephanie Monferme, a 49-year-old mother of three, by a Tunisian national who was then shot dead by police was the latest in a string of Islamist-inspired attacks on French soil in recent years.
Source: reuters.com
Tonnes of dead fish have washed up on the banks of a lake on Lebanon's Litani river, engulfing a nearby village in a pungent smell, in a disaster blamed on polluted waters. Piles of garbage drifted in the lake near the dead fish. Swarms of flies spread near the reservoir and thousands of fish were decomposing in already dirty waters. At least 40 tonnes have turned up dead in a few days.
Source: reuters.com
Lionel Messi has told the club he is willing to sign a new contract, that is according to reports in Spain. The 33-year-old’s contract expires at the end of the season when he will be able to leave on a free transfer. However, his father and agent, Jorge, has told club president Joan Laporta that Messi is willing to sign a new deal, but that intention is contingent on Barcelona being active in the summer transfer market.
Source: eurosport.com
Anne died at her home in Beverly Hills on Thursday. Her death comes just over a year after the death of her husband in February 2020. They were married for 66 years and shared two sons, Peter and Eric.
Source: people.com
The Zulu royal family in South Africa has announced the death of its monarch Queen Shiyiwe Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu just a month after she became regent. Queen Mantfombi, 65, became interim leader of the country's largest ethnic group last month after the death of her husband, King Goodwill Zwelithini.
Source: bbc.com
A stampede at a religious festival attended by tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews in northern Israel killed at least 44 people and injured about 150 early Friday, medical officials said. The stampede began when large numbers of people trying to exit the site thronged a narrow tunnel-like passage, according to witnesses and video footage. People began falling on top of each other near the end of the walkway, as they descended slippery metal stairs, witnesses said. The stampede occurred during the celebrations of Lag BaOmer at Mount Meron, the first mass religious gathering to be held legally since Israel lifted nearly all restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Source: apnews.com
It opened on Thursday near his tiny hometown of Arouca in northern Portugal. Measuring 516 metres, it has a sheer drop into the river and cliffs below while connecting a waterfall and the Paiva Gorge. The bridge is called the 516 Arouca, and is located just outside Porto. Locals hope the attraction, which cost about 2.3 million euros ($2.8 million) and took around two years to build, will help revive the region, especially after the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: reuters.com
Polish researchers examining an ancient Egyptian mummy that they expected to be a male priest were surprised when X-rays and computer tests revealed instead that it was a mummy of a woman who had been seven months pregnant. The researchers said on Thursday it was the world’s first known case of such a well-preserved ancient mummy of a pregnant woman. The mummy was brought to Warsaw in 1826 and the inscription on the coffin named a male priest. The researchers estimated the woman was between 20 and 30 years old.
Source: theguardian.com
Lebanon and Israel are expected to resume U.S.-mediated talks on a dispute about their Mediterranean Sea border next week, two Lebanese official sources said on Thursday. Negotiations between old foes Lebanon and Israel were launched in October to try to resolve the dispute, which has held up hydrocarbon exploration in the potentially gas-rich area, yet the talks have since stalled. One Lebanese official who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue told Reuters that the U.S. side had informed Lebanon that talks would resume on Monday.
Source: reuters.com
The move is a consequence of the so-called 'Big Six' teams attempting to set up a league which drew widespread criticism before it fell apart. The 14 other Premier League clubs felt betrayed by the move and demanded that executives involved, including Manchester United's Ed Woodward, Liverpool's Tom Werner and Manchester City's Ferran Soriano, step down. Woodward and Werner will no longer sit on the Premier League's Club Broadcast Advisory Group. Soriano and Arsenal's chief executive Vinai Venkatesham will be removed from the Club Strategic Advisory Group, while Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck will no longer be on the Audit and Remuneration Committee.
Source: bbc.com
Africa’s top public health official says Congo wants to give back some 1.3 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses so they can be distributed to other African nations. Africa Centers for Disease Control Director John Nkengasong told reporters Thursday there is “a lot of vaccine hesitancy” in the vast country. He said there is a five-week timeline to get the doses administered elsewhere. Nkengasong said Congo is working with the COVAX project aimed at distributing doses to low- and middle-income nations to hand over its unused supplies.
Source: apnews.com
Matt Perkins and Joshua Anghel recently moved to Nevada from Washington and were surprised to see police outside their home. Officers determined that the bones, which were found five feet below ground, were not human. Nevada Science Center Research Director Joshua Bonde said the bones are between 6,000 and 14,000 years old and are from a horse or similar large mammal.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
Toronto FC players got an unexpected guest when an alligator crashed their training.
A pair of red sneakers worn by NBA champion Michael Jordan in 1984-85, at the start of his Chicago Bulls career, is expected to fetch over $100,000 and possibly much higher at an online auction next month, Sotheby’s said on Wednesday. The auction house has estimated the red and white "Air Jordan 1" sneakers at 100,000-150,000 Swiss francs ($110,000-$164,000). Another pair, identical but bearing Jordan's autograph, was sold for $560,000 at an auction last year.
Source: reuters.com