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South Korea will distribute free coronavirus rapid test kits at schools and senior care facilities starting next week as it weathers an unprecedented wave of infections driven by the fast-moving omicron variant. Health officials on Wednesday reported its highest daily jump in coronavirus infections with 90,443 new cases, shattering the previous one-day record set on Tuesday by more than 33,000 cases.
Source: apnews.com
The job advertisement has attracted 28,000 applicants, highlighting the scale of pent up demand as the kingdom opens up more opportunities to women. Spanish railway operator Renfe said on Wednesday that an online assessment of academic background and English language skills had helped it to reduce the number of candidates by approximately a half, and it would work through the rest by mid-March. The 30 selected women will drive bullet trains between the cities of Mecca and Medina after a year of paid training.
Source: aljazeera.com
At least 13 people have died after falling into a well during a wedding ceremony in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Police said the victims - all women and children - were sitting on a metal slab covering the well when it collapsed under their weight. Two more people have been injured in the accident, which took place in Kushinagar district. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the deaths "heart-wrenching".
Source: bbc.com
Cristina Calderon, the last native speaker of Chile's indigenous Yaghan language, has died at the age of 93, her family said Wednesday, in a blow for a dwindling culture at South America's extreme southern tip. Calderon, known locally as "Grandma Cristina," was recognized in 2009 by the Chilean government as a "living human treasure" for her work in preserving a culture at risk of extinction. The melodic Yaghan language has no written form.
Source: france24.com
At least 94 people died in the historic Brazilian mountain town of Petropolis, local government officials said on Wednesday, after heavy rains caused mudslides that buried homes, flooded the streets and washed away cars and buses.
Source: reuters.com
British police have launched an investigation into Prince Charles’s charitable foundation over claims of a cash-for-honours scandal involving a businessman from Saudi Arabia. “The decision follows an assessment of a September 2021 letter. This related to media reporting alleging offers of help were made to secure honours and citizenship for a Saudi national,” Scotland Yard said in a statement on Wednesday, delivering another blow to the royal family.
Source: aljazeera.com
Canadian rescuers have located three more bodies from a Spanish fishing ship that sank in rough seas off Newfoundland, raising the death toll to 10. A search operation is still looking for the 11 crew members still missing after the ship went down early Tuesday in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Three members were rescued alive.
Source: apnews.com
A dozen undocumented migrants on Mexico's southern border sewed their mouths shut on Tuesday in a bid to convince the country's immigration authority to grant them passage toward the U.S. border. The migrants, mostly Central and South Americans, helped each other seal their lips using needles and plastic threads, leaving a small space to consume liquids and using alcohol to wipe away drops of blood from the stitches, Reuters images show.
Source: reuters.com
One of the most valuable blue diamonds to ever feature at an auction could sell for more than $48 million, according to Sotheby's. Named "The De Beers Cullinan Blue," it is the biggest vivid blue diamond to be put up for auction, according to a press release from Sotheby's Wednesday. The 15.10-carat gem is also "the largest internally flawless step cut vivid blue diamond" to be appraised by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the press statement said. "The De Beers Cullinan Blue" is scheduled to go up for auction in a standalone event at Sotheby's Hong Kong Luxury Week in late April.
Source: cnn.com
A sloth in Colombia's Antioquia region found itself in a spot of danger as it climbed an electricity pole and decided to hang from live wires. Worried residents in the rural town of Taraza called on Colombian public service workers, Empresas Publicas de Medellin, to come and save the sloth from potential electrocution. After a lengthy 20 minute rescue, the sloth was safely brought down from the wires and released back into the wild.
Source: bbc.com
A shark killed a swimmer off a Sydney beach on Wednesday in the city's first fatal attack in nearly 60 years, causing "catastrophic injuries", police and ambulance services said. Witnesses told local television they had seen the attack on a swimmer wearing a wetsuit.
Source: reuters.com
At least 18 people have died in mudslides and floods when torrential rains swept a mountainous region of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state, officials said, amid fears the death toll could rise as searchers continued to check damaged areas. The state fire department said more than 180 soldiers were working in the stricken Petropolis region, which got 25.8 centimetres of rain within three hours on Tuesday – almost as much as during the previous 30 days combined.
Source: aljazeera.com
The domestic flight was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau on February 10 when several passengers reportedly realized there was a snake on board the aircraft. A social media user shared an image of a snake slithering through the plane's light fixtures. Once the pilot got word of the unexpected extra passenger, the plane was re-routed to the city of Kuching. There, the plane was fumigated and, presumably, the snake stowaway was removed.
Source: cnn.com
Paislee Shultis was found at a residence in Saugerties, about 45 miles south of Albany, on Monday night after authorities received a tip regarding her whereabouts, according to the Saugerties Police Department. Officers found the young girl after an hour of searching in a makeshift room under a staircase leading to the basement. Paislee was reported missing from Cayuga Heights in July 2019, and authorities believe she was taken by her "non-custodial parents."
Source: nbcnews.com
Indian music composer Bappi Lahiri, who was known for his groovy disco tunes and eye-catching fashion style, has died at the age of 69. Lahiri, who recovered from Covid in April last year, was in hospital for the past month. He died on Tuesday. Fondly known as "Bappi Da", Lahiri is credited for getting the disco ball spinning in India.
Source: bbc.com
Honduran ex-president Juan Orlando Hernandez, whose extradition is sought by the United States for alleged ties with drug traffickers, surrendered to police Tuesday after a judge ordered his arrest.
Source: france24.com
The family of a cinematographer shot and killed on the set of the film “Rust” sued Alec Baldwin and the movie’s producers Tuesday for wrongful death. Lawyers for the family of Halyna Hutchins announced the lawsuit filed in New Mexico in the name of Hutchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins, and their son, Andros, at a Los Angeles news conference. At least four other lawsuits have been filed over the shooting, but this is the first directly tied to one of the two people shot.
Source: apnews.com
Formula One driver Nicholas Latifi revealed on Tuesday that he hired bodyguards in London because of death threats after the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Canadian, who drives for the British-based Williams team, received a torrent of online abuse after his crash resulted in a late safety car that contributed to Britain's Lewis Hamilton losing the world championship.
Source: france24.com
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