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North Korea has reported another large jump in illnesses believed to be COVID-19 as the government mobilised a “powerful force” of soldiers to distribute drugs and deployed thousands of health workers to help trace new infections. The North’s anti-virus headquarters said on Tuesday that another 269,510 people were found with fevers and six people died, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Source: aljazeera.com

For the first time, the Queen asked her grandson to represent her following the death of a foreign ruler. Prince William, 39, who is second in line to the throne behind his father Prince Charles, traveled to the United Arab Emirates to pay condolences following the death of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Abu Dhabi. The Duke of Cambridge met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who has been appointed as President of the United Arab Emirates.

Source: people.com

At least eight people have died in floods and mudslides triggered by heavy rains in India’s remote northeast region, officials said Tuesday. Several railway stations were not working because of floods, said Nazreen Ahmed, a senior administrative official in Assam’s Dima Hasao district. He said that nearly 200,000 people in the district were cut from the rest of the state, as roads and bridges leading to it were either blocked by landslides or washed away. The army deployed helicopters to help with rescue efforts.

Source: apnews.com

Prince Harry and Meghan have earned a staggering £12 million in the past two years - by doing nothing more than staying at home. Their luxury Montecito mansion, which they bought for $14.6 million in June 2020, has more than doubled in value in only 23 months. The 18,671 sq ft home in oceanside Montecito, which boasts nine bedrooms and 19 bathrooms, is now valued at $29,350,320 million by property website Redfin - meaning Meghan and Harry would make £12 million if they sold today.

Source: thesun.co.uk

Salvadoran police said on Twitter on Monday that 30,506 arrests had been carried out “since the start of the war against the gangs”, including “536 terrorists” who were arrested on Sunday alone. El Salvador’s Congress approved a “state of exception” in late March after a weekend of gang-related violence left more than 80 people dead, spurring widespread fears among residents in the Central American nation.

Source: aljazeera.com

Around 40 people, many of them civilian volunteers with the army, have been killed in suspected jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso, local sources and security officials said on Monday. In the northern region of Sahel, around 25 people were killed in two assaults on Saturday, including 13 members of the VDP volunteers. In Kompienga, near Burkina's southeastern border with Togo and Benin, about 15 civilians were killed on Saturday when their convoy was attacked while under VDP escort.

Source: france24.com

he driver of a suburban passenger train died and dozens were lightly injured after two trains crashed outside Barcelona on Monday evening, Catalan regional authorities said. Some 85 people were injured according to regional emergency services, who said 77 were released on the spot and eight were taken to hospital. The collision happened when a freight train derailed and crashed into a passenger train at the station in Sant Boi de Llobregat, around 14 km (8.7 miles) from Barcelona, at around 6 p.m.

Source: reuters.com

One of the biggest-ever Nato exercises in the Baltics is now under way. Named "Hedgehog", the drills involve 10 countries, including Finland and Sweden, which are expected to formally apply to join the alliance within days. The exercises in Estonia, which will last until 3 June, were arranged before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Vladimir Putin has said Russia has no issue with Finland or Sweden, but a military expansion near its border would demand a reaction.

Source: bbc.com

Man Ray's famed "Le Violon d'Ingres" made history Saturday when it became the most expensive photograph ever to sell at auction. The black and white image, taken in 1924 by the American surrealist artist, transforms a woman's naked body into a violin by overlaying the picture of her back with f-holes. Prior to the sale, it was expected to fetch between $5-7 million, the highest estimate for a single photograph in auction history, according to Christie's, which sold the work.

Source: cnn.com

Plane ticket prices will rise this summer due to high demand for European beach holidays, Ryanair has said. Airline boss Michael O'Leary said he expects prices for flights to rise by a "high single-digit per cent". The firm reported annual losses of €355m (£302m) on Monday, saying its recovery from Covid restrictions being lifted had been impacted by the Omicron variant and the war in Ukraine.

Source: bbc.com

The latest heavy sandstorm to hit Iraq has forced some schools and offices to close, while flights at Baghdad Airport have also been suspended. The education ministry and other offices declared Monday a day off for local government institutions, with the exception of health services. According to medical officials, hundreds of people across Baghdad and southern cities went to hospitals with breathing difficulties.

Source: aljazeera.com

JK Rowling on Sunday mocked male trans activists who dressed in balaclavas and black outfits to block women from speaking about women's rights in front of a statue of Emmeline Pankhurst. She was responding to video from Manchester which showed the black-clad men from the group Manchester Trans Rise Up dressed in masks to surround the statue of the suffragette leader. Campaign group Standing For Women had been planning to speak in front of the statue as part of an event which said it aimed to reclaim a part of Manchester for women's voices.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

"Aquaman" star took to Instagram to apologize for taking photos in the Sistine Chapel -- by posting a sweaty, shirtless workout video. Momoa, 42, is currently in Rome shooting "Fast X", the 10th installment in the "Fast & Furious" film saga. The actor posted snaps of himself below the famous Michelangelo paintings on May 9. In the caption, he wrote, "I LOVE YOU ITALY what a beautiful start to our day off enjoying ROMA." But disgruntled fans quickly pointed out in the comments that visitors are typically forbidden from taking photos or videos in the chapel, which is located in Vatican City.

Source: cnn.com

Iran said on Monday it awaited the US response to "solutions" discussed with the EU envoy for breaking a stalemate in talks aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear deal. The European Union's coordinator for nuclear talks with Iran, Enrique Mora, held two days of discussions with the Islamic republic's chief negotiator Ali Bagheri in Tehran last week, leading the EU to say talks had been unblocked. The negotiations, aimed at bringing the US back into the deal and Iran to full compliance with it, had stalled for about two months.

Source: france24.com

A gunman has opened fire in a southern California church, killing one person and wounding five others before churchgoers detained the suspect and hog-tied him in what officials called an act of “exceptional heroism”. The mass shooting was reported shortly before 1:30pm on Sunday (20:30 GMT) at the Geneva Presbyterian Church located in the town of Laguna Woods.

Source: aljazeera.com

David Tennant and Catherine Tate will return to Doctor Who for the show’s 60th anniversary celebrations, the BBC has announced. The duo have reunited after 12 years to film scenes that are due to air next year. Tennant, 51, first stepped into the Tardis in 2005 to play the 10th Time Lord, with his final episode airing on New Year’s Day in 2010. Comedic actor Tate, 52, starred as his companion Donna Noble.

Source: theguardian.com

Kylian Mbappe says he has "almost" made up his mind about whether to stay at Paris Saint-Germain or leave the French champions for Real Madrid. "Yes, yes almost" he replied when quizzed about whether he had made a choice yet after picking up his third straight best player of the season award in Paris on Sunday. The 23-year-old plans to "announce" his decision before France play Denmark in the Nations League on June 3.

Source: france24.com

His name is "Hector," he's over 100 million years old, and his fossils sold for more than $12 million in auction at Christie's. Hector is the most complete skeleton of Deinonychus antirrhopus ever found, according to Christie's. The specimen, excavated in Montana in 2013, dates back to the early Cretaceous period: 115 to 108 million years ago. It's in a "remarkable state of preservation," the auction house says of the specimen, consisting of 126 original fossils on a custom-built frame.

Source: cnn.com