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Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich said Wednesday he had accepted an apology and rewrites after suing the author and publisher of a book about Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle. Abramovich sued publisher HarperCollins and investigative journalist Catherine Belton in the High Court over passages about the Russian billionaire's acquisition of the English club and business dealings in Russia in her bestselling book "Putin's People".

Source: france24.com

The parents of actor Alicia Witt were found dead inside their Massachusetts home by police after she hadn’t heard from them in several days and asked a relative to check on them. The deaths of Robert Witt, 87, and Diane Witt, 75, who were found Monday night, are not considered suspicious, police in Worcester said. There were reports the couple had been having furnace problems and were using a space heater, police said, but firefighters said there were no signs of carbon monoxide in the home.

Source: apnews.com

Brigitte Macron is set to take legal action over an internet conspiracy theory that she is a transgender woman and was born male. The French first lady has been targeted on social media with the false claims, after they were published on a far-right website in September then circulated by conspiracy theorists. The rumours claim she was born male under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux.

Source: bbc.com

Alan Scott, an ophthalmologist who pioneered the early medical applications of Botox — a drug that he used to treat conditions such as crossed eyes, but that became best known as a wrinkle-relaxing elixir of youth — died Dec. 16 at a hospital in Greenbrae, Calif. The cause was complications from sepsis, said his daughter Alison Ferguson.

Source: washingtonpost.com

Israeli researchers on Wednesday displayed a Roman-era golden ring with an early Christian symbol for Jesus inscribed in its gemstone, found in a shipwreck off the ancient port of Caesarea. The thick octagonal gold ring with its green gemstone bore the figure of the "Good Shepherd" in the form of a young shepherd boy in a tunic with a ram or sheep across his shoulders.

Source: france24.com

Oscar winning actor Denzel Washington returns to the director's chair for drama "A Journal for Jordan", a story about love and life lessons based on a memoir by Pulitzer Prize winner Dana Canedy.

Source: reuters.com

The British government said that from Wednesday it was reducing the COVID-19 self-isolation period to seven days from 10 days for people in England who get a negative result on a lateral flow test two days in a row.

Source: reuters.com

Greece’s coast guard says dozens of migrants are believed to be missing after a boat sank off the coast of the island of Folegandros. The coast guard said 12 people, all believed to be from Iraq, had been rescued and transported to the nearby island of Santorini. Survivors said there were originally 32 people on the boat, but one told authorities there were about 50.

Source: apnews.com

At least one person has been confirmed dead and up to 100 others reported missing following a landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar, according to rescue workers. About 200 rescuers join search for missing miners at Hpakant site, with some using boats to search for victims in a nearby lake.

Source: aljazeera.com

Kosovo has agreed to rent 300 prison cells to Denmark to ease overcrowding in the Scandinavian country's jails. Denmark will pay an annual fee of €15m (£12.8m) for an initial period of five years, and will also help fund green energy in the country. The rented cells are meant to house convicted criminals from non-EU countries due to be deported from Denmark after their sentences.

Source: bbc.com

Germany announced new restrictions Tuesday that will begin after Christmas to slow the spread of the new omicron variant. Among the new rules are limiting private gatherings to 10 people, closing nightclubs nationwide and having large events like soccer matches held without an in-person audience. The restrictions will go into effect nationwide on Dec. 28, although states can implement the measures sooner.

Source: apnews.com

Scientists on Tuesday announced the discovery of an exquisitely preserved dinosaur embryo from at least 66 million years ago that was preparing to hatch from its egg just like a chicken. The fossil was discovered in Ganzhou, southern China and belonged to a toothless theropod dinosaur, or oviraptorosaur, which the researchers dubbed "Baby Yingliang."

Source: france24.com

The leather-bound work, measuring 5mm by 5mm – smaller than the end of a pencil – contains versions of the Lord’s Prayer in Dutch, English, American English, French, German, Spanish and Swedish. It had been valued between €1,000 and €1,500 but an anonymous buyer snapped it up at Arenberg Auctions in Brussels for €3,500, with additional costs bringing the price paid to €4,200.

Source: theguardian.com

The ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has been ordered to pay his ex-wife Princess Haya and their two children a divorce settlement which could reach over half a billion pounds – the highest ever awarded by a UK court – to protect them from the threat he poses to them.

Source: theguardian.com

Kim Kardashian went all out with Christmas lights on her Hidden Hills estate nestled in the west end of the San Fernando Valley. The 41-year-old reality star covered the trees lining her expansive property with thousands of glittering white lights, which stayed in theme with her already stark monochrome palette indoors.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard on Tuesday fired cruise missiles during a major military exercise across the country’s south, media reported.

Source: apnews.com

The actor, facing allegations of sexual assault, will be dropped from the Universal-produced drama effective immediately.

Source: hollywoodreporter.com

Iran's envoy to Yemen died of Covid Tuesday despite his evacuation from the rebel-held capital Sanaa in a rare exemption from a Saudi-led air blockade, the foreign ministry said. Foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh blamed the "slow cooperation of certain countries" in facilitating the Saturday evacuation for the death of envoy Hassan Eyrlou.

Source: france24.com