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UK’s Duchess Of Cambridge ‘Can’t Wait To Meet’ New Niece Lilibet

Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge Kate said on Friday she could not wait to meet her new niece Lilibet, the daughter of her brother-in-law Prince Harry and his wife Meghan.

“I wish her all the very best, I can’t wait to meet her because we haven’t yet met her yet so hopefully that will be soon,” Kate told reporters during a visit to a school with U.S. First Lady Jill Biden during the G7 Summit.

Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, named after Prince Harry’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth and his late mother, Princess Diana, was born one week ago at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California.

Her birth comes almost a year and a half after Harry and Meghan announced that they intended to step down from their royal roles, plunging the family into crisis.

The couple’s relationship with the other royals further deteriorated in March when they accused one unnamed royal of making a racist remark and said Meghan’s pleas for help when she felt suicidal were ignored in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Data Breach At Vendor Impacted 3.3 Million People In North America- VW

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Volkswagen AG’s U.S. unit said a data breach at a vendor impacted more than 3.3 million customers and prospective buyers in North America.

Nearly all those impacted were current or potential customers of Audi, one of the German automaker’s luxury brands.

Volkswagen Group of America said on Friday an unauthorized third party obtained limited personal information about customers and interested buyers from a vendor that its Audi Volkswagen brands and some U.S. and Canadian dealers used for digital sales and marketing.

The information was gathered for sales and marketing between 2014 and 2019 and was in an electronic file the vendor left unsecured.

The company told regulators the vast majority of customers only had phone numbers and email addresses potentially impacted by the data breach. In some cases, data also includes information about a vehicle purchased, leased, or inquired about.

VW said 90,000 Audi customers and prospective buyers had sensitive data impacted relating to purchase or lease eligibility. VW said it will offer free credit protection services to those individuals.

The sensitive data was comprised of driver license numbers in more than 95% of cases. A small number of records included additional data like dates of birth, Social Security numbers and account numbers.

The automaker does not believe sensitive information is involved in Canada.

More than 3.1 million people affected are in the United States.

VW believes the data was obtained at some point between August 2019 and May of this year, when the automaker identified the source of the incident.

S. Korea’s Exports Soar 40.9% On-Year In First 10 Days Of June

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South Korea’s exports rose on-year in the first ten days of this month, thanks to increased shipments of chips and cars.

According to preliminary data from the Korea Customs Service on Friday, exports from June 1st to June 10th this year soared 40.9% compared to the same period last year, to 17.7 billion U.S. dollars. 

Taking into account more working days at the start of this month, daily average exports were up by 32.6%.

The growth was largely due to increased demand for semiconductors, cars and petroleum products, as well as a rebound from last year’s low numbers.

Outbound shipments of semiconductors the country’s key export item– jumped by more than 37 percent and automobiles alone gained nearly 137%.

Overseas sales of petroleum products rose by over 70% on-year, and exports of wireless communications devices saw a near 19% increase.  

By country, exports to China South Korea’s largest trading partner grew some 14 percent on-year, and exports to the U.S. surged around 63%.

Shipments to the European Union were up 85%, and those to Vietnam and Japan also went up.

One expert notes recent export figures clearly reflect a recovery in the global economy.

“There’s increasing demand overseas as the global economy recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Exports in the second half of the year will keep increasing as the global economy continues a modest uptrend but I believe the growth of exports may slow down slightly.”

Meanwhile imports climbed 31 percent on-year in the first 10 days of June to roughly 17.1 billion dollars resulting in a trade deficit of about 612 million dollars over the ten-day period.

‘It’s Been On Our Heart’: Kendrick Brothers To Release 2 Father-Centric Films This Fall

The veteran moviemaking tandem of Alex and Stephen Kendrick will release two films this fall, and both projects will spotlight a subject at the heart of Scripture: fatherhood.

The first movie, the documentary Show Me the Father, will release in theaters on September 10 and follow the inspirational stories of multiple earthly fathers interwoven with truths about the fatherhood of God. It is the Kendricks’ first documentary.

Seoul Museum Of History Holds Special Exhibition Introducing Czech Puppetry

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Puppets are an essential part of Czech culture, playing a role as guardians of the Czech language and national consciousness.

The Seoul Museum of History, in cooperation with the Chrudim Puppetry Museum, is holding a special exhibition titled “Secrets of Wooden Puppets – Czech Marionettes.”

“Czech puppetry’s origin comes from nomadic puppeteers in the 18th century. Most of them travelled around with their whole family, carrying fully decorated stages in their caravans, and performing at pubs, fairs, and town squares.”

With increasing popularity, more and more puppet theaters were formed over time, and even now professional theaters in the Czech Republic maintain the tradition.

“We are very proud of it, because it is really part of rich cultural and historical life. The puppetry changed now it is mostly done now in the theaters and also the characters changed with the time but they always try to reflect the life and society and when you visit the theaters you really experience daily lives on the stage shown in very artistic way.”

Bringing Czech culture to Seoul required careful planning due to the difficulties of international travel.

“We were finally able to do the exhibition thanks to Chrudim Puppetry Museum’s decision to send exhibits without curators. This is the first time for Seoul City to receive the items like this. Due to the limited number of flights, we made sure the items arrived much earlier than usual three weeks before and our curators installed the exhibits, coordinating with local Czech curators remotely.”

“I think that we are the first institution that received such export permission without the presence of a curator from the Ministry of Culture probably in last 50 years. The opportunity to hold an exhibition about Czech puppetry in such a distant country as South Korea actually means bringing a European or absolutely different phenomenon to another culture.”

Last year marked the 30th year of diplomatic relations between two countries, and though delayed, the exhibition gives visitors a unique taste of Czech culture.

Liberty Grad Inspires Millions On America’s Got Talent’: ‘I’m There To Give People A Gift’

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A Liberty University graduate wowed the judges and earned the “Golden Buzzer” on NBC’s America’s Got Talent Tuesday after performing an original song that had Simon Cowell in tears.

“Your voice is stunning – absolutely stunning,” Cowell said after Liberty grad Jane Marczewski, 30, sang an original song, It’s OK, that sparked a standing ovation.

The song, she explained, is the “story of the last year of my life.” Marczewski is battling cancer. During her most recent medical checkup, she said the doctor found “some cancer in my lungs, in my spine and my liver.”

“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy,” said Marczewski, whose stage name is Nightbirde.

Moments later, Cowell hit the Golden Buzzer, which automatically advances her to the competition’s semifinals. Marczewski fell to her knees in disbelief as confetti showered the stage.

A YouTube video of her performance has tallied more than 6 million views and was the No. 2 trending video on the platform Thursday.

Judge Howie Mandel also was impressed.

“That felt like the most authentic thing I’ve heard this season,” he said.

Before the song, she told him, “It’s so important that everyone knows that I’m so much more than the bad things that happen to me.”

Wearing a smile, she said she has a two percent chance of survival.

“But two percent is not zero percent. Two percent is something. And I wish people knew how amazing it is,” she said.

Terry Crews, the host of the show, told her, “You are the voice we all need to hear this year.”

“I expected I’d go out and do my best and try to keep the mindset I’m not there to impress people,” she told the Newark Advocate. “I’m there to give people a gift”.

Marczewski was profiled in 2019 in the Liberty Journal. She graduated from the Christian school in 2013.

S. Korea Politics: 36-Year-Old To Lead Main Opposition People Power Party

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Thirty-six year old Lee Jun-seok has been elected as the new chairman of South Korea’s main opposition, the People Power Party.

This is the first time a major party in South Korea has been led by someone in their thirties.

“You guys made me the chairman. I say that “you” with the emphasis as a subject rather than an object. You’ve stepped into history with me. And you hold shares in the history we’re going to make. I want to emphasize “co-existence” the most.”

Lee, an entrepreneur-turned politician, has been the face of the party’s younger generation since 2011, despite never being a lawmaker.

His victory signals supporters’ demand for a generational switch; away from old faces with younger generations wanting their voices heard and a change in the political arena.

This was reflected by a significant lead in the votes from private citizens via phone and the Internet which accounted for 70 percent of the final tally.

Lee is already responding by changing the way his party will appoint new positions, such as by making contenders for party spokesperson debate over the position.

However his biggest task will be leading the party into the Presidential Election next year including the primaries.

“You have to be more open when the younger generation speaks. Blind criticism just because you don’t support the candidate will not be tolerated.”

Lee spoke with President Moon Jae-in over the phone following his win.

Moon told Lee that this was not only a historical victory, but also a sign of change in Korean society.

Lake Mead Falls 1,071.56 Feet Above Sea Level

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The reservoir created by Hoover Dam, an engineering marvel that symbolized the American ascendance of the 20th Century, has sunk to its lowest level ever, underscoring the gravity of the extreme drought across the U.S. West.

Lake Mead, formed in the 1930s from the damming of the Colorado River at the Nevada-Arizona border about 30 miles (50 km) east of Las Vegas, is the largest reservoir in the United States.

It is crucial to the water supply of 25 million people including in the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Tucson and Las Vegas.

As of 11 p.m. PDT Wednesday (0600 GMT Thursday), the lake surface fell to 1,071.56 feet above sea level, dipping below the previous record low set on July 1, 2016.

It has fallen 140 feet (42.7 meters) since 2000 – nearly the height of the Statue of Liberty from torch to base – exposing a bathtub ring of bleached-white embankments.

The drought that has brought Lake Mead low has gripped California, the Pacific Northwest, the Great Basin spanning Nevada, Oregon and Utah, plus the southwestern states of Arizona and New Mexico and even part of the Northern.

Algerian Rulers Aim For Return To Established Order With Election

Algeria’s president and the generals backing him hope Saturday’s parliamentary election will mark an end to two years of upheaval, but in the capital’s steep, winding streets few people seemed enthused.

While thousands of candidates rallied supporters at official campaign events for an election that moderate Islamist parties aim to win, the low turnout in recent national votes has underscored public scepticism for the process.

“I won’t vote because nothing will change. Nothing at all,” said Khadidja, a woman in a facemask and pink headscarf speaking near a wall plastered with election posters.

The vote comes weeks after the security forces stamped out the last demonstrations by a mass protest movement that erupted in 2019 and forced veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika from office and prompted official promises of change.

On Friday Amnesty International said the arrests of two prominent journalists, Khaled Drareni and Ihsane El Kadi, as well as opposition figure Karim Tabbou, were evidence of “a chilling escalation” in the clampdown on dissent.

Looming behind the political manoeuvring and public unrest is the largely closed, state-run economy. Foreign currency reserves have fallen by 80% since 2013, as energy revenues declined, pushing state finances towards disaster.

Any economic collapse in Algeria, a regional military power, Africa’s biggest country and with a long Mediterranean coastline, could endanger stability beyond its own shores.

Though Bouteflika’s replacement Abdelmadjid Tebboune was elected president in 2019 and an amended constitution was approved in a referendum last year, many Algerians believe the security and military establishment still retains real power.

The establishment believes replacing the old president, parliament and constitution, coupled with the jailing of numerous Bouteflika cronies, is the best way to end the biggest crisis in decades, said a former senior official.

Adrianne Curry Apologizes For Judging Kirk Cameron For His Faith

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Adrianne Curry, a former “America’s Next Top Model” contestant and actress, admitted this week in a Facebook post that she was indoctrinated by “Godless Individuals” in Hollywood to criticize actor and outspoken Christian Kirk Cameron “simply because he found God.”

The retired actress admitted that she used to be “intolerable” of folks with different worldviews and beliefs and that she felt like a jerk for harboring such unfair thoughts about Cameron.

In the post, she stated, in part, “I used to judge Kirk Cameron. Why? Simply because he found God. I sneered at the mention of his name … because my agnostic beliefs set me above all others in my infinite Godless greatness. When I really ask myself why I did so, my only truthful answer is that I was surrounded by Godless people who fancied themselves better than anyone and everyone who had faith in anything besides their own selfish selves.”

She continued, “Hollywood told me that ANYONE who was ANYTHING besides Muslim, atheist, agnostic, gay, etc. was very bad and stupid. Looking back, that seems … just … absurd.”

Hearing about the post from a friend, Cameron responded to Curry’s Facebook, sharing that he, too, held a similar mindset once.

He stated, in part, “I am genuinely grateful for your generosity in writing this. After losing my faith in atheism at 18, I asked the Maker of all the beautiful and purposeful things I saw in the world (stars, galaxies, sunrises, purple hydrangeas, children, laughter, deep grief, good food, love, loyalty, courage, honor …) to help me understand the truth about it all. And I started to say, ‘Thank you.'”

He continued, “I, too, as a young man on top of the Teen-Beat world in Hollywood, thought I was bigger and better than a made-up god-crutch. But I, too, was just following the herd of sheep, running with those [who] wanted to see themselves as too smart to believe or trust in God. I kept denying God’s existence … but then, thankfully, I ran out of excuses.”

Cameron concluded, “I didn’t find God in Babylon; He wasn’t lost. I was lost, and He found me. Blessings to you on your journey…”