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Large retailers that sell toys, clothes and other children's items in California would have to devote floor space to merchandise marketed to both boys and girls under a new bill. Stores would be able to sell the same products they do now as long as they maintain some areas where shoppers can find all toys or clothes, regardless of gender-based marketing.

Source: politico.com

A Chinese variety show has apologised for editing a post-surgery photo of US pop star Selena Gomez and actress Francia Raisa in a comedy sketch. The episode of Who's the Murderer? altered the picture, taken after Raisa donated her kidney to Gomez in 2017, to replace the duo with men.

Source: bbc.com

Lionel Messi may yet stay at current club Barcelona despite earlier wanting to leave the Catalans. Jadon Sancho is heading for the exit at Borussia Dortmund as they need to raise money, while Eden Hazard is running out of time at Real Madrid. Rafael Benitez also missed out on the chance to take over at Bournemouth.

Source: eurosport.com

President Joe Biden scored his first legislative win as the House of Representatives passed his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package early Saturday, though Democrats faced challenges to their hopes of using the bill to raise the minimum wage.

Source: reuters.com

The plane, a single-engine Cessna-182, crashed about two miles northeast of Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport in Gainesville, Georgia, shortly after takeoff.

Source: cnn.com

South Korea said 18,489 people received their first doses of AstraZeneca PLC’s vaccine by midnight on Friday as it launched an ambitious COVID-19 inoculation campaign, and will begin using Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines on Saturday.

Source: reuters.com

The Biden administration is closely following developments in Brazil with regard to human rights and climate, but intends to continue strengthening U.S. economic ties and trade with the South American country. The administration of Democratic President on Feb. 5 had announced an additional $300,000 in funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development to bolster Brazil’s emergency COVID-19 response.

Source: reuters.com

Two French bulldogs belonging to Lady Gaga that were stolen at gunpoint earlier this week have been recovered unharmed.

Source: theguardian.com

The 1,270sq km chunk separated from Brunt Ice Shelf near a British Antarctic Survey station on Friday. The separation occurred just over 20km from Britain’s Halley research station but there was no one in the base and so there was no risk to human life.

Source: theguardian.com

Erection of the prefabricated double-arch steel bridge for the Cross Bay Link in Tseung Kwan O, which is also the largest component of the bridge, was completed on Friday.
This is the first time the “float-over method” has been applied for bridge construction in Hong Kong.

Source: chinadailyhk.com

Canada's regulator estimates vaccine efficacy to be 62.1%.

Source: cbc.ca

In an interview with fellow Brit and TV host James Corden, Harry discussed what the future holds for his family after the couple finalized their royal exit last week.

Source: nbcnews.com

Parasite, last year's Oscar winner from South Korea, dented assumptions that English-speaking audiences are wary of any film with subtitles. Now another Korean-language film is making waves. Minari is a very different story set in rural America. But there's buzz about its chances in April's Academy Awards.

Source: bbc.com

Begum was 15 years old when in 2015 she left the UK with two school friends to join ISIS in Syria. She was stripped of her British citizenship by then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid on February 19, 2019 upon being discovered in a northern Syrian refugee camp.

Source: cnn.com

Thirty-seven countries are now set to receive Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for Covid-19, and Russian authorities have applied to the European Medicines Agency for its authorisation in the EU. But some Russians living abroad and international students in Moscow are opting to get the jab at the source. 

Source: france24.com

Spain’s former King Juan Carlos, who left the country in August amid a cloud of scandals, has settled a back tax bill worth more than 4 million euros. It was the second such payment by the former monarch in recent months. The tax settlement of 4 million euros was based on 8 million euros worth of goods and services he received, the newspapers said. The payment was to compensate for private flights from which he benefited.

Source: reuters.com

Heavily armed criminal gangs in northwest and central Nigeria have stepped up attacks in recent years, kidnapping for ransom, raping and pillaging. "More than 300 girls are unaccounted for after a headcount of remaining students," said a teacher at the Government Girls Secondary School Jangebe.

Source: france24.com

A group of Russian diplomats and their families made an unusual exit out of North Korea on a hand-pushed rail trolley due to strict Covid measures. The eight people travelled by train and bus before pushing themselves across the Russian border for about 1km over train tracks. North Korea has blocked most passenger transport to limit the virus' spread.

Source: bbc.com