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warning that the ubiquitous particles could also be making their way into organs. The tiny pieces of mostly invisible plastic have already been found almost everywhere else on Earth, from the deepest oceans to the highest mountains as well as in the air, soil and food chain. A Dutch study published in the Environment International journal on Thursday examined blood samples from 22 anonymous, healthy volunteers and found microplastics in nearly 80 percent of them.

Source: france24.com

Sean Lennon has told of his mother Yoko Ono's "great love for Liverpool" as he opened a new performance centre named after her in the city. The son of Beatles legend John Lennon officially unveiled the Yoko Ono Lennon Centre, home to the University of Liverpool's new 400-seat concert hall, The Tung Auditorium. The 46-year-old said his mother cared about "continuing my father's legacy" in Liverpool. Ms Ono Lennon said she was "thrilled".

Source: bbc.com

Yemen's Houthis said they launched attacks on Saudi energy facilities on Friday and the Saudi-led coalition said oil giant Aramco's petroleum products distribution station in Jeddah was hit, causing a fire in two storage tanks but no casualties. A huge plume of black smoke could be seen rising over the Red Sea city where the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is taking place this weekend, an eyewitness said.

Source: reuters.com

Researchers developed a device to assess the effects of foot tickling. 13 participants tested it, rating the level of ticklishness they felt in different areas. Women scored highest at the centre of the arch, and men around the toes. Based on findings, researchers developed an insole that can tickle on demand. Previous studies have indicated tickling can relieve stress and depression.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney has been evacuated from a building in north Belfast amid a security alert. He was giving a peace-building talk at the Houben Centre on the Crumlin Road, when a van was reportedly hijacked and driven to the venue. Mr Coveney said he was "saddened and frustrated someone has been attacked and victimised in this way". An MP said it was understood the van had been loaded with "explosives or something purporting to be explosives".

Source: bbc.com

Hundreds of ethnic Serbs in Kosovo have protested to pressure the government into allowing them to vote in neighbouring Serbia’s April 3 general election. Demonstrators gathered on Friday in Mitrovica, 45km north of Pristina, with banners reading “We want our human rights” and “Kurti won’t drive us away from Kosovo”, referring to Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

Source: aljazeera.com

A Peruvian judge on Thursday banned former President Alberto Fujimori from leaving the country as soon as he leaves a prison where he has been serving a 25-year sentence for murder.

Source: france24.com

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Indian counterpart and the national security adviser on Friday to expedite the disengagement of thousands of Indian and Chinese forces involved in a tense faceoff and occasional clashes along their disputed border, an Indian official said. A fierce brawl in June 2020 exploded into hand-to-hand combat with clubs, stones and fists that left 20 Indian soldiers dead. China said it lost four soldiers in the clash.

Source: apnews.com

Aleksandar Trajkovski scored a dramatic 92nd minute winner to stun the European champions in their playoff qualifier semifinal and ensure Italy will not be playing its second straight World Cup having missed out in 2018.

Source: cnn.com

The Duchess of Sussex is to host a podcast series about the common stereotypes that have historically generalized women as the first project from her and Prince Harry’s Archewell Audio after striking a multi-million dollar deal with Spotify. The audio streaming service has set Archetypes to launch later this year. Meghan will speak with historians and experts to uncover the origin of these stereotypes and have uncensored conversations with women who know all too well how these typecasts shape narratives.

Source: deadline.com

Jared Leto has been a star for decades, but it's only now at 50 that he is fronting his first major blockbuster -- transforming into a vampire for new Marvel flick "Morbius"."You want Marvel to help pay the bills, then you can sneak in some other movies here and there," he told AFP during a visit to Paris. "I'm excited. I've done a lot of smaller roles in bigger movies and made a career out of that, so it's interesting to star in a movie thats something new and different -- I like a big, fun popcorn movie."

North Korea has confirmed it test-fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) since 2017. The Hwasong-17 is the biggest ICBM has ever developed and is potentially able to deliver a nuclear warhead to anywhere in the United States. Analysts say the weapon Is the largest road-mobile, liquid-fuelled ICBM in the world, and could be designed to carry multiple warheads.

Source: aljazeera.com

US doctors announced Thursday they had successfully performed a double lung transplant on a patient with terminal lung cancer, giving new hope to others who also have advanced stages of the deadly disease. Albert Khoury, a 54-year-old non-smoker, underwent a seven-hour surgery to receive his new lungs at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago on September 25, 2021. Six months on, the lungs are working well and he has no signs of cancer in his body.

Source: france24.com

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have donated half a million dollars to Canadian charity Water First Education & Training Inc. The organization trains Indigenous youth and young adults in bringing safe water to their communities through operating key water treatment plants.

Source: hollywoodreporter.com

Greece on Thursday signed deals worth some 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) to buy three navy frigates and six additional Rafale fighter jets from France, as Athens strengthens its armed forces in response to tension with neighboring Turkey. Defense ministers Nikos Panagiotopoulos of Greece and France’s Florence Parly attended the signing ceremony on the eve of Greece’s national day, aboard a 112-year-old battleship that currently a floating museum.

Source: apnews.com

Former President Donald Trump filed a sprawling federal lawsuit on Thursday against Hillary Clinton and people allegedly involved with opposition research in 2016, accusing them of conspiring to vilify the then-Republican presidential candidate and cripple his campaign. The lawsuit alleges that Clinton and the Democratic National Committee fabricated a link between the Trump campaign and Russia, triggering an "unfounded federal investigation" and a "media frenzy."

Source: cnn.com

South Korea's cases began rising in February, driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Authorities reported 395,598 new cases on Thursday, pushing the total caseload to 10.8 million, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. That makes up about 20% of the national population -- meaning roughly one out of every five South Koreans have now been infected at some stage of the pandemic. Funeral homes struggle to keep up with a sudden surge in deaths.

Source: cnn.com

The death toll from two bombings that killed a parliamentary election candidate in central Somalia has risen to 48, a regional leader said on Thursday. Amina Mohamed, a vocal critic of the government, was killed on Wednesday by a suicide bomber in the city of Beledweyne, around 300 km north of Mogadishu, on the eve of her expected re-election, witnesses and relatives said.

Source: reuters.com