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More than 80 fact-checking organisations Wednesday urged online video platform YouTube to better combat disinformation, offering to help debunk false statements.

Source: france24.com

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. are facing a lawsuit alleging the celebrities misled investors in their promotion of a cryptocurrency token. The lawsuit, filed Jan. 7 in Los Angeles federal court, claims the celebrities touted tokens sold by EthereumMax, or EMAX, in order to boost its price and make themselves a profit "at the expense of their followers and investors."

Source: reuters.com

Novak Djokovic has admitted breaching isolation rules after testing positive for Covid-19 last month, describing it as an "error of judgement". In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the Serbian admitted meeting a journalist for an interview two days after he tested positive on 16 December. "I accept that I should have rescheduled," he wrote. His activity has been scrutinised as the Australian government considers whether to deport him.

Source: bbc.com

Kanye West, the artist and entrepreneur, now known as Ye, is planning a trip to Moscow later this year to meet with President Vladimir Putin, hold Sunday Service performances as his first-ever shows in Russia and expand his business ventures into the country, his associate told Billboard.

 

The United Nations said Tuesday it needed $5 billion in aid for Afghanistan in 2022 to avert a humanitarian catastrophe and offer the ravaged country a future after 40 years of suffering.

Source: france24.com
 

Magawa, the famous mine-clearing rat who was awarded a gold medal for his heroism, has died at the age of eight. In a five-year career, the rodent sniffed out over 100 landmines and other explosives in Cambodia. Magawa was the most successful rat trained by the Belgian charity Apopo to alert human handlers about the mines so they can be safely removed.

Source: bbc.com

Personalized smart guns, which can be fired only by verified users, may finally become available to U.S. consumers after two decades of questions about reliability and concerns they will usher in a new wave of government regulation. Four-year-old LodeStar Works on Friday unveiled its 9mm smart handgun for shareholders and investors in Boise, Idaho. And a Kansas company, SmartGunz LLC, says law enforcement agents are beta testing its product, a similar but simpler model.

Source: reuters.com

For 42-year-old Ghanaian Canadian artist Ekow Nimako, Lego is more than just a kids' toy. A trickster deity in the form of a spider, a flower girl holding a giant bee and a Ghanaian kingdom in the year 3020 are all sculptures that he has built using only black Legos. "I'm making art," said Nimako. "This is fine art. It's not a hobby, it's not a toy, it's not part of the Lego fandom, it's not goofy. It doesn't fall into a lot of categories that Lego creations fall into." He started making Lego sculptures in 2012.

 

Police said the explosion took place on Tuesday as the bus was travelling along a highway near Cotabato City on Mindanao island, a haven for multiple armed groups ranging from communist rebels to religious fighters.

Source: aljazeera.com

The United States reported 1.35 million new coronavirus infections on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, the highest daily total for any country in the world as the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant showed no signs of slowing.

Source: reuters.com

A 6.6-magnitude quake hit off the west coast of Cyprus early Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said. The tremor was felt across Cyprus and around the region with reports from as far away as Turkey, Israel and Lebanon, according to the USGS. There were no reports of injuries or serious structural damage from the quake, but it woke people across the island.

Source: france24.com

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry may face a right royal row if they water the grass at their £11million mansion in exclusive Montecito, California. The couple could be slapped with a fine of $500 (£370) as officials impose a hosepipe ban amid a scorching drought. But their blooming lavender bushes and stately Italian cypress trees could wilt in the heat as a 'stop watering' notice is issued to residents in affluent Santa Barbara.

Source: thesun.co.uk

The colossal 180 million-year-old fossilized remains of an ichthyosaur have been found in the UK, in what researchers have described as one of the most significant discoveries in the region. Discovered in a reservoir in the county of Rutland, in the English East Midlands, the specimen is the largest and most complete ichthyosaur fossil ever found in the UK, measuring nearly 33 feet in length and with a skull weighing one ton.

Source: cnn.com

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday that he had Covid-19 for a second time and was experiencing mild symptoms, as the hard-hit country battles another wave of infections. "I inform you that I am infected with Covid-19 and although the symptoms are mild, I will remain in isolation and will only do office work and communicate virtually until I get through it," he tweeted.

Source: france24.com

North Korea on Tuesday fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile into its eastern sea, its second launch in a week, following leader Kim Jong Un’s calls to expand its nuclear weapons program in defiance of international opposition.

Source: apnews.com

A US man has become the first person in the world to get a heart transplant from a genetically-modified pig. David Bennett, 57, is doing well three days after the experimental seven-hour procedure in Baltimore, doctors say. The transplant was considered the last hope of saving Mr Bennett's life, though it is not yet clear what his long-term chances of survival are.

Source: bbc.com

Barcelona extended Samuel Umtiti’s contract until 2026 on Monday, a deal that creates enough space in the club’s budget to register Ferran Torres, their new signing from Manchester City. Torres has been unavailable to play for Barca since joining two weeks ago because registering the striker would mean falling foul of La Liga’s spending restrictions.

Source: france24.com

The 77-year-old South Korean star, who plays Oh II-nam, also known as Player 001, in the hit Netflix series, took home the Best Supporting Actor in Television trophy on Sunday.

Source: cnn.com