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Zimbabwe will "soon" start selling rights to shoot as many as 500 elephants this year, the country announced this week. Tinashe Farawo, a spokesman for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, told CNN Thursday that declining tourism revenue owing to the coronavirus pandemic was among the main reasons for the move.
Mubina Mustafa, 28, from Pickering, Ontario, and Mehdi Isa Arathoon, 27, were in the same class at university, but he was a Christian and she was a Muslim, so even helping each other with their studies was frowned upon by their strict families. It wasn't until he began dating someone else, that Mubina - who had never even been friends with a man who wasn't family - realised she had feelings for her former classmate. The couple couldn't date unless they were going to marry, and they couldn't marry unless he became Muslim. So smitten Medhi took a leap of faith and converted to Islam and proposed to Mubina two months later.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
The US military is sending airborne assistance to aid Indonesia's search for a missing submarine with 53 crew. The KRI Nanggala 402 disappeared on Wednesday during exercises off the coast of Bali, sparking a frantic search to locate the stricken vessel. An oil slick where it was thought to have submerged suggested damage to a fuel tank may have been a factor.
Source: bbc.com
Lionel Messi reached 25 LaLiga goals for the season in Barcelona's win over Getafe, and in doing so he matched a feat achieved by Cristiano Ronaldo. The Barcelona captain's double strike in Thursday's 5-2 win means he and Ronaldo are the only players from the 'top five' European leagues to have scored at least 25 goals in 12 different seasons this century.
Source: as.com
The Duchess of Cambridge honoured the Queen on her birthday yesterday by borrowing her pearl earrings for a visit to an air cadet centre. Kate Middleton, 39, borrowed the silver jubilee diamond and pearl earrings from the monarch, 93, who first wore them to celebrate her silver jubilee in 1977. The mother-of-three wore the glitzy earrings along with a black D&G coat with gold button detailing as she joined husband Prince William on a tour of the 282 East Ham Squadron Air Training Corps.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
A successful restaurant owner couple who kept a female tourist as a slave have offered her $70,000 in compensation as they both face a decade behind bars. Sheila and Joshua McAleer lured the woman, who can't be named, to Australia in 2013 to work in their family home and multiple businesses in Sydney's south. Soon after her arrival, Mrs McAleer was said to have organised a passport and three-month tourist visa for the woman, which meant the Filipino tourist was unable to work elsewhere.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
Hospital staff posted emergency messages on social media throughout Thursday and Friday, saying they were unable to cope with demand and pleading for assistance from government. Ganga Ram hospital in Delhi, which is treating more than 500 Covid patients, said 25 people had died on its wards over the previous 24 hours, and warned of an impending crisis.
Source: theguardian.com
The violence erupted as police tried to keep Palestinians and ultra-nationalist Jewish protesters apart. It follows nights of confrontations in the Israeli-occupied sector amid rising nationalist and religious tensions. East Jerusalem has long been a flashpoint, with an uneasy coexistence there between Jews and Arabs. Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since the 1967 Middle East war and considers the entire city its capital, though this is not recognised by the vast majority of the international community.
Source: bbc.com
The price of bitcoin has plummeted $15,000 from its recent all-time high, falling below $50,000 for the first time since March. The cryptocurrency reached as low as $48,500 on Friday morning but has since recovered slightly. It is currently trading at just over $49,000.
Source: independent.co.uk
A top U.S. general said on Thursday that Iran had not done anything in its nuclear program that was irreversible. "They've done nothing that is irreversible," Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, told reporters.
Source: reuters.com
A hate crimes bill to combat violence against Asian Americans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic passed the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly on Thursday, a rare bipartisan vote in the evenly divided chamber. The bill passed 94-1, with Missouri Senator Josh Hawley the only no vote. It must pass the House of Representatives, where Democrats hold a clear majority. President Joe Biden has called for passage.
Source: reuters.com
Nelson quit the band in December 2020, explaining that she came to her decision due to the toll being a member was taking on her mental health. The track is a collaboration with the rapper Saweetie, and will be released on 30 April. It will be a new version of “Confetti” taken from their 2020 album of the same name.
Source: independent.co.uk
Ahead of a virtual gathering of dozens of world leaders in a climate summit called by Joe Biden, which begins on Thursday, the White House said the US will aim to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by between 50% and 52% by 2030, based on 2005 levels. This new target, to be formally submitted to the United Nations, represents a stark break from the climate denialist presidency of Donald Trump and will “unmistakably communicate that the United States is back”, according to a White House official who was briefed on the emissions goal.
Source: theguardian.com
Egyptian firm Minapharm announced Thursday it will produce 40 million doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. It was the first partnership for the production of Sputnik V in the Middle East and North Africa, Minapharm said in a joint statement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund.
Source: france24.com
After weeks of tension over a build-up of Russian troops close to Ukraine's border, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has ordered a number of units in the area back to their bases. The EU estimated this week that more than 100,000 Russian soldiers had amassed near the border and in Crimea, seized and annexed by Russia in 2014. Speaking in Crimea, Mr Shoigu said units on exercise would return to base.
Source: bbc.com
A farmer said the vet that examined the calf after being delivered told him it was functioning normally. The calf has fused skulls, two pairs of eyes, two mouths, one pair of ears, and when sucking milk with one mouth, the other one reproduces the movement simultaneously. However local media quoted veterinarians as saying cases of polycephaly are rare and the calf only has a small chance of long-term survival. But the farmer said he was determined to keep the newborn animal “no matter how long”.
Source: wistv.com
A lucky mystery buyer has snapped up Australia's largest ever diamond ring after it was auctioned for a whopping $1.25million this week. The 25.02 carat square emerald-cut diamond ring had a price guide of between $900,000 to $1.2million as it went to Leonard Joel's Important Jewels auction on Tuesday night. As well as being the largest, the ring's sale has also quickly made it the most expensive ring auctioned in the country.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
Police and local councils are warning that there could be another collapse after several tonnes of earth slid down onto a beach at Nefyn, Wales, Monday around 11am.
Source: thesun.co.uk
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