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The Central Bank of Venezuela's new notes were launched as hyperinflation and US sanctions continue to cripple the economy of the oil-producing nation. As inflation skyrockets, the biggest bill is worth just 52 cents.

Source: dw.com

Cage, 56, has tied the knot with his japanese girlfriend Riko Shibata in a wedding ceremony in Las Vegas. This will be the Oscar winner's fifth marriage, two years since he asked for an annulment four days after getting wed to Thai restaurant owner Erika Koike, his fourth wife, on March 23, 2019.

Source: dailystar

David Morris, who captured the extraordinary sight on camera, declared himself “stunned” when he noticed a giant tanker floating above the water as he looked out to sea from a hamlet near Falmouth in Cornwall. The effect is an example of an optical illusion known as a superior mirage. Such illusions are reasonably common in the Arctic but can also happen in UK winters when the atmospheric conditions are right, though they are very rare.

Source: theguardian.com

The NASA Perseverance rover has taken its first drive on Mars, traveling about 21 feet and doing a little spin across Jezero Crater. And that first 33-minute test drive on Thursday went "incredibly well," according to Anais Zarifian, Perseverance's mobility test bed engineer. Perseverance sent back images of its wheel tracks across the red Martian surface Friday.

Source: cnn.com

California health officials said Friday that popular outdoor attractions like Disneyland, Dodger Stadium and the San Diego Zoo could reopen with limited capacity beginning April 1. State health officials said amusement parks in counties hardest hit by Covid-19 would not be allowed to open, but other outdoor venues in those counties could allow up to 100 people.

Source: nbcnews.com

The Westminster leader claimed that a referendum could take place “as early as late 2021” if his party wins the Scottish Parliament election in May. More than 20 polls have suggested that Scotland would vote in favour of independence in the last year.

Source: independent

Pope Francis arrived in Baghdad for his first inernational trip since the Covid-19 pandemic began. He will try to reassure the dwindling Christian community and foster inter-religious dialogue - meeting Iraq's most revered Shia Muslim cleric. The Pope will also celebrate Mass at a stadium in Irbil in the north.

Source: bbc.com

A Tanzanian mine that produced a flawless pink diamond for one of the Queen’s favourite brooches is investigating claims that security personnel have shot and assaulted illegal miners. New allegations come months after a lawsuit alleging “serious” human rights abuses was filed against Petra Diamonds, the mine’s British owner, in the high court in London.

Source: theguardian.com

The result means a highly impressive Chelsea, who are unbeaten in 10 matches under Tuchel, move up to fourth with Liverpool four points further back in seventh.

Source: eurosport.com

China has approved three traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) products for sale to help treat Covid-19, the government's National Medical Products Administration announced. The three products are "lung-clearing and detoxing granules," "dampness-resolving and detoxing granules," and "lung-diffusing and detoxing granules," said the statement.

Source: cnn.com

Regarded as “oldest known wild bird in history”, Wisdom has outlived previous mating partners as well as the biologist Chandler Robbins, who first banded her in 1956.

Source: theguardian.com

Suburban west Londoners were given a glimpse of the future on Thursday morning. And where some found it “magical,” others resorted to swear words as they struggled to adjust to a revolution in grocery shopping. Amazon opened its very first “contactless” food store outside the US, with customers able to head inside, pick products off the shelf and walk out without queuing at a till.  The store uses cameras and depth-censor tools so customers can pick up items and go.

Source: independent

A clearly angry Meghan says: “I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time we would still just be silent if there is an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us. “And if that comes with risk of losing things, there is a lot that has been lost already.”

Source: thesun

More German companies expect global business conditions to worsen this year than expect improvement, Germany’s DIHK Chambers of Industry and Commerce said on Friday. DIHK’s survey of 2,400 internationally active companies found that only 17% expected better business conditions over the next twelve months than in 2020, while 27% expected business conditions to deteriorate.

Source: reuters.com

China announced at its biggest political meeting that it will overhaul Hong Kong's electoral system to ensure "patriots" are in charge, a sign that the government will no longer tolerate dissent in the city. A draft decision will be discussed during the National People's Congress (NPC), which will run for a week.

Source: bbc.com

Several great apes at San Diego Zoo have been given an experimental Covid-19 vaccine designed for animals after an outbreak among gorillas there. Four orangutans and five bonobos each had two doses of a jab made by Zoetis, a veterinary pharmaceutical firm. Eight gorillas at the zoo became the first great apes in the world to test positive for Covid-19 in January. They are now recovering.

Source: bbc.com

A lost poem by Vladimir Nabokov, written from the perspective of Superman as he laments the impossibility of having children with Lois Lane, has been published for the first time. The Man of To-morrow’s Lament appears in this week’s Times Literary Supplement. In it, Nabokov, whose son loved the Superman comics, writes in the voice of the Man of Steel.

Source: theguardian.com

New Zealand has downgraded its tsunami warning after a powerful earthquake struck the Kermadec Islands region early Friday, sparking fears of a tsunami. The 8.1-magnitude quake was the third to strike the area on Friday morning local time, according to the New Zealand National Emergency Management Agency. The emergency agency issued a temporary evacuation order for people near the coast, warning them, "Do not stay at home" as a "damaging tsunami is possible."

Source: cnn.com