Larry the Cat celebrates 10 years as UK’s Chief Mouser
He was brought in to 10 Downing Street
to clean up an infestation of rodents
He became a media sensation after parading in front of TV cameras
outside the British prime minister’s official residence
Larry was recruited from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
and has seen off two prime ministers
Dance music lovers in Amsterdam were offered a short relief from COVID-19 lockdown on Saturday, treated to their first live show in over a year while serving as guinea pigs in a research project. A total of 1,300 people were allowed at a carefully orchestrated test event in Amsterdam's biggest music hall, the ZiggoDome, which in normal times has a capacity of up to 17,000. Dancing to tunes delivered by Dutch DJs Sam Feldt, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano and others, the fans were followed in all their movements and contacts through a tag they were made to wear, in an effort to see how events might safely be opened up for the public again.
The battle to pass a COVID-19 relief bill demonstrated how hard things will be for U.S. President Joe Biden's Democrats in Congress, facing opposition from right and left as they try to score big wins with small majorities. A smiling Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sang the praises of Democratic unity on Saturday after his chamber approved the $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid plan, one of the largest economic stimulus packages ever. But a day earlier, the Senate was paralyzed for hours when just one Democrat bucked a proposal from his own party affecting unemployment benefits.
Israel has almost emerged from its COVID-19 closures, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on the campaign trail, said on Sunday as restaurants reopened under an exit plan fuelled by fast-paced vaccinations. But health officials cautioned that rising contagions could trigger another lockdown - a possible dampener on Netanyahu's hope of parlaying his pandemic policies to victory in a March 23 ballot. "Restaurants are coming back to life," Netanyahu said after he and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion clinked mugs and tucked into pastries outside at a park cafe.
India breezed into the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) following their 3-1 series victory against England on Sunday but head coach Ravi Shastri is still bitter how the qualifying rules were changed last year. The nine top test teams were originally scheduled to play six series each over two years in the WTC, with the top two making the showcase final in London. But after the COVID-19 pandemic halted the game last year, the governing International Cricket Council decided to rank teams based on percentage of points earned from completed matches, instead of total points, to determine the finalists.
A doctor who won the UK MasterChef programme in 2017 said she was “delighted” to be involved in a campaign urging people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, footage for which was published on March 6.Saliha Mahmood Ahmed, a gastroenterologist, said the campaign had an “incredibly important message”.In footage published by NHS England, she says that she knows “there is a lot of worry about the vaccine” but urges people to get vaccinated.“I know lots of girls are worried about fertility,” Ahmed says. “The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have told us that there’s no known correlation at all between the vaccine and infertility.”Ahmed wasn’t the only TV cooking star to make a video urging people to get vaccinated: Great British Bake Off star Nadiya Hussain urged members of the British Bangladeshi community to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. Credit: NHS England via Storyful
Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh was expected to reshuffle his cabinet on Sunday to help accelerate IMF-guided reforms seen as crucial to economic recovery in Jordan from the blow of the coronavirus pandemic, officials said. Six new ministers will be named including interior and justice after Khasawneh fired both incumbents last week for attending a restaurant dinner party that violated coronavirus restrictions they were supposed to enforce. The British-educated Khasawneh, a veteran former diplomat and palace aide, was appointed last October by King Abdullah to restore public trust over the handling of the coronavirus health crisis and defuse anger over successive governments' failure to deliver on pledges of prosperity and curbing corruption.
Novak Djokovic will realise one of his long-cherished goals on Monday when he eclipses Roger Federer's all-time record for most weeks as the men's world number one, holding the top ranking for the 311th week. "This is one of my two biggest professional goals," Djokovic said last year. "To reach the record of, (and) surpass Roger's record for longest No. 1 and win as many (Grand) Slams as possible."
KUCHING, March 7 — Forty-two detainees in Sibu Prison at Jalan Awang have tested positive for Covid-19, the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) reported today. SDMC said the detainees...
Battered by Covid and online sales, one of Paris's best-known book sellers Gibert Jeune is to shut up shop in the city's historic literary and intellectual heart, a stone's throw from the banks of the Seine where the family-owned firm started out over 130 years ago.
The remote Pacific territory of New Caledonia, one of the few places on the planet to have avoided Covid-19, is to go into strict lockdown after detecting nine cases, local officials said Sunday.
Pope Francis prayed Sunday for "victims of war" in northern Iraq, where the Islamic State group ravaged one of the world's oldest Christian communities until the jihadists' defeat three years ago.
KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — Malaysia’s daily new Covid-19 cases hit 1,683 today, dipping below the 2,000-case mark for the second day in a row. Meanwhile 2,506 people were recorded to have recovered...
Polling opened on Sunday morning for a presidential election at crisis-hit Barcelona, where the winner will face the challenge of rebuilding the club's finances and squad.
Facing elections for the first time in 15 years, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is battling a growing rift within his powerful Fatah party that poses a new threat to his dominance over Palestinian politics. A breakaway bid by one of Abbas's party allies has intensified speculation he might cancel a presidential vote planned for July, fearing a potential challenge by Marwan Barghouti, a popular Palestinian leader jailed by Israel. Abbas's office denies he has plans to delay or scrub the presidential vote.
Global players are gathering online from Monday to brainstorm ways to rapidly boost vaccine production and fight a still-virulent coronavirus that has hobbled the world for 14 months.
A hiker was rescued by a US Coast Guard aircrew on Friday, March 5, after falling 100 feet from a cliff near Hug Point State Park in Oregon.The US Coast Guard advised “those venturing outdoors to always be aware of surroundings and be mindful of dangerous terrain” and be in possession of “a reliable means of communication in case of an emergency.”The man was finally transported to Portland for medical care, US Coast Guard said. Credit: US Coast Guard via Storyful
Protests against Paraguay’s government handling of the coronavirus pandemic continued on the night of March 6 in Asunción.The protests came amid growing anger over the number of COVID-19 infections in the country, which hit record levels and where hospitals were packed to the brim, according to reports.Video footage shows fires lit and protesters gathered near Mburuvicha Róga, the presidential residence, before attempts to disperse them. Sound like gunfire can be heard in the background mid way through the video.Health Minister Julio Mazzoleni resigned on Friday following calls for his ouster. President Mario Abdo Benítez has so far dismissed three of his ministers following the protests. Credit: Diego Oliver via Storyful
Swiss voters are deciding on a far-right proposal to ban facial coverings as they take to the polls on Sunday in a binding referendum viewed as a test of attitudes toward Muslims. The proposal under the Swiss system of direct democracy does not mention Islam directly and also aims to stop violent street protesters from wearing masks, yet local politicians, media and campaigners have dubbed it the burqa ban. He called facial covering "a symbol for this extreme, political Islam which has become increasingly prominent in Europe and which has no place in Switzerland".
Kids won't want to swap these dishes for crisps!
China said on Sunday it has plans to set up COVID-19 vaccination stations to vaccinate Chinese citizens abroad and is also ready to work with the International Olympic Committee to help provide vaccines to Olympic athletes for upcoming events. China has developed several vaccines domestically and has begun its own vaccination drive, with plans to vaccinate 40% of its population by July. China's top government diplomat Wang Yi made the comments during his annual news conference held on Sunday.
