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Stocks Retreat From Record Levels Amid Europe’s Wealthiest Club Breakaway

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Stock markets pulled back from record levels on Monday while focus was firmly on the game of football as Europe’s wealthiest clubs seek to form a breakaway Super League.

Among the dozen football clubs looking to form their own tournament, shares in the publicly-listed Italian side Juventus and England’s Manchester United both jumped.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan on Monday announced plans for a breakaway European Super League.

“The financial incentive for the clubs is plain to see, with a multi-billion dollar package at the heart of the scheme, albeit it would forever break the integrity of the club game,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com.

Shares of Juventus were up 17.5 percent near the closing bell on the Milan stock exchange, while Manchester United was 9.6 percent higher in late morning trading in New York, where its shares are listed.

Elsewhere on markets, bitcoin steadied around $55,000 after diving more than 15 percent at one point over the weekend after reports that the US Treasury could crack down on digital money laundering, according to NAB analyst Rodrigo Catril.

Bitcoin hit a record high above $62,000 last week ahead of the Wall Street debut of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, despite concerns about a bubble and the sustainability of the digital currency market.

Bahrain National Airline To Begin Direct Flights To And From Israel In June

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Bahrain’s national airline Gulf Air announced Sunday that it will begin offering direct flights between Manama and Tel Aviv on June 3.

Economy class tickets are expected to cost around $299 per seat, the airline said. Israeli airlines are also expected to establish routes to Bahrain soon.

The flights are the latest in a series of moves linking Israel closer to the Gulf since the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain established full diplomatic relations with the Jewish state under the Abraham Accords, a pact brokered under former US president Donald Trump.

Morocco and Sudan have normalized ties as well.

The UAE’s Flydubai and Etihad have since started flying to Tel Aviv, while Israel’s El Al and Arkia are also flying the route.

The agreements broke with the longstanding Arab notion that there should be no normalization with Israel until it reaches a comprehensive peace deal with the Palestinians.

United Airlines Adds US Flights To Three European Cities

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United Airlines is adding three new flights from the United States to European markets that are beginning to reopen to vaccinated visitors, the carrier announced Monday.

Starting in July, the big US airline will offer international service to Dubrovnik, Croatia, Athens, Greece and Reykjavik, Iceland.

The announcement came as Greece said it would lift its quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated visitors from the United States and five other jurisdictions.

Travellers must now present either proof that they are either fully vaccinated, or a negative Covid test from the previous 72 hours, Greece’s civil aviation authority said.

The decision also ends a week-long quarantine requirement applying to visitors from the EU, Britain, Israel, Serbia and the United Arab Emirates.

The decision also ends a week-long quarantine requirement applying to visitors from the EU, Britain, Israel, Serbia and the United Arab Emirates.

Iceland and Croatia have previously announced steps to eliminate mandatory quarantines for fully vaccinated passengers or those possessing a negative test.

The announcement is a bright spot on the international aviation front, which for US carriers is lagging the recovery seen in domestic markets.

“As countries around the world begin the process of reopening, leisure travelers are eager to take a long-awaited getaway to new international destinations,” said Patrick Quayle, United’s vice president of international network and alliances.

Cuba’s Communist Party Appoints Diaz-Canel As Leader

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Cuba’s ruling Communist Party has elected President Miguel Diaz-Canel to succeed Raul Castro as party first secretary, the most powerful position in the country.

On the final day of its congress on Monday The succession marks the end of six decades of rule by brothers Fidel and Raul Castro, who led Cuba’s leftist 1959 revolution.

The move is also a transition to a younger generation that worked its way up the party ranks rather than forging itself through guerilla warfare.

Diaz-Canel, who already succeeded Castro as president in 2018, had been widely expected to be nominated first party secretary too and is not expected to move Cuba away from a one-party socialist system.

Hundreds of party delegates gathered for the party’s most important meeting that takes place every five years to review policy and elect new leadership, in Havana.

Castro said at the last party congress in 2016 it would be the last presided over by the so-called historic generation of those who fought in the Sierra Maestra to overthrow the U.S.-backed government of Fulgencio Batista.

The new policy setting Political Bureau will not include Jose Ramon Machado Ventura and Ramiro Valdes, two other famous proponents of that generation.

The party has not yet announced who will replaced Machado Ventura, a communist ideologue, as deputy party leader.

NASA Helicopter Makes History With Successful Flight On Mars

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NASA’s experimental robot helicopter Ingenuity performed a successful takeoff and landing on Mars early on Monday, achieving the first powered, controlled flight by an aircraft over the surface of another planet.

The solar-powered miniature robot’s debut on the Red Planet marked a 21st-century Wright Brothers moment for NASA, which said success could pave the way for new modes of exploration on Mars and other destinations in the solar system.

The robot rotorcraft was programmed to ascend 10 feet straight up, then hover and rotate in place over the Martian surface for half a minute before settling back down on its four legs.

JPL officials said data returned from Mars showed that this had in fact occurred.

During NASA’s own coverage of the event livestreamed from JPL headquarters, NASA also displayed the first images from the flight.

Data confirming the historic flight reached Earth three hours after the flight, relayed through NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Once on its way, the data took nearly 16 minutes to cross the 178-million-mile gulf between Mars and Earth.

Moments later, initial images were displayed, including a short video shot by Perseverance showing the small helicopter lifting off, hovering and setting down.

An elated MiMi Aung, the Ingenuity project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said “We can now say human beings have flown a rotorcraft on another planet!”.

Box Office: ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’ Tops Chart Again, Crosses $80 Million In U.S.

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“Godzilla vs. Kong” remained atop the domestic box office in its third weekend of release. The Legendary and Warner Bros movie added another $7.7 million, boosting its North American tally to $80.5 million.

The film looks to be the first to cross $100 million in the U.S and Canada. Its ticket sales are especially notable, and not just because movie theaters across the country have been operating at reduced capacity.

Given the impaired marketplace, new releases have been few and far between. That has given “Godzilla vs. Kong” and other holdover titles free rein over box office charts.

Universal’s “Nobody,” an action thriller starring Bob Odenkirk, landed in second place with $2.5 million. The film has made $19 million in the U.S. and $34 million globally in four weeks.

Sony’s “The Unholy” secured the No. 3 spot with $2 million in its third weekend in theaters. The thriller has generated $9.5 million to date.

Disney’s action adventure “Raya and the Last Dragon” came in fourth with $1.9 million over the weekend. The family friendly movie, has amassed $37 million in North America since it first hit theaters.

Rounding out the top five is Warner Bros “Tom and Jerry,” an animated/live-action hybrid about the infamous cat and mouse duo. It pulled in $1.1 million, bringing its North American tally to $42 million.

U.S. Probes Fatal Tesla Crash Believed To Be Driverless

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The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Monday it was investigating a Texas crash on Saturday that left two dead and local police said appeared to have occurred with no one in the driver’s seat.

NHTSA said it “has immediately launched a Special Crash Investigation team to investigate the crash. We are actively engaged with local law enforcement and Tesla to learn more about the details of the crash and will take appropriate steps when we have more information.”

Tesla had no immediate comment.

The crash occurred as scrutiny is increasing over Tesla’s semi-automated Autopilot driving system following recent crashes.

Autopilot was operating in at least three Tesla vehicles involved in fatal U.S. crashes since 2016.

The 2019 Tesla Model S was traveling at a high speed, when it failed to negotiate a curve and went off the roadway, crashing to a tree and bursting into flames, local television station KHOU-TV said.

After the fire was extinguished, authorities located two occupants in the vehicle, with one in the front passenger seat while the other was in the back seat of the Tesla, the report said, citing Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman.

Tesla advises drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel and pay attention while using Autopilot. However, some Tesla drivers say they are able to avoid putting their hands on the wheel for extended periods when using Autopilot.

Last month, NHTSA said it had opened 27 investigations into crashes of Tesla vehicles, 23 of which remain active, and at least three of the crashes had occurred in recent weeks.

Four of the 27 NHTSA investigations have been completed and the results published.

Two Dead As Driverless Tesla Car Crashes In Texas

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Two men have been killed after a Tesla vehicle, believed to be operating without anyone in the driver’s seat, crashed into a tree on Saturday night north of Houston.

When police arrived, one of the two victims was sitting in the front passenger seat and the other in the rear seat.

Harris County constable Mark Herman was quoted as saying the vehicle was driving at high-speed late Saturday when it slammed into a tree and burst into flames.

He said the preliminary investigation is determining, but it’s not complete yet that there was no one at the wheel of that vehicle, and that they are almost 99.9 per cent sure.

Herman said police had not yet determined whether the driver-side airbag had deployed and whether the car’s driver assistance system was engaged at the time of the crash.

The accident comes amid growing scrutiny over Tesla’s semi-automated driving system following recent accidents and as it is preparing to launch its updated “full self-driving” software to more customers.

On its website, Tesla warns that the driver assistance systems it offers do not make their vehicles fully autonomous and that active driver supervision is still necessary.

The US auto safety agency said in March it has opened 27 investigations into crashes of Tesla vehicles; at least three of the crashes occurred recently.

Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk in January stated he expects huge profits from its full self-driving software, expressing full confidence that the car will be able to drive itself with reliability in excess of human this year.

Japan Asks Myanmar Junta To Release Arrested Journalist

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Japan’s government on Monday asked Myanmar to release a Japanese journalist who was arrested by security forces in its largest city of Yangon the previous day.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters that his government is asking Myanmar authorities to explain the arrest and release him as soon as possible.

Kato said they would continue to ask the Myanmar side for his early release, while doing their utmost for the protection of Japanese citizens in that country.

He did not identify the detainee, but Japanese media said he is Yuki Kitazumi, a former Nikkei business newspaper reporter currently based in Yangon as a freelance journalist.

On Monday night Myanmar state television stations Myawaddy TV and MRTV confirmed that the arrested journalist is Kitazumi, and said he had been arrested on a charge of violating the Penal Code.

The code prohibits comments that cause fear, spread “false news, and agitates directly or indirectly a criminal offense against a Government employee.

Dozens of other journalists are being held on the same charge, which is punishable by up to three years in prison.

Hours before his arrest, he had posted a video showing Myanmar citizens gathering at a Tokyo temple to pay tribute to people killed in the Myanmar military junta’s crackdown on protests.

Kitazumi was also detained briefly by police in late February while covering pro-democracy protests in Myanmar.

Ebenezer Obey Reveals What His Mother Wanted Him To Become

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Veteran singer and national award recipient, Ebenezer Obey-Fabiyi, has revealed that his mother never believed he could become successful through music.

Fondly referred to as Chief Commander, the legendary singer, while speaking in an interview, noted that his mother wanted him to become either a lawyer or doctor.

Obey said, “She did not want me to play music because she wanted me to be a successful person in life. As for my mother, she did not believe that it could happen through music. She wanted me to be either a lawyer or a doctor. She thought my success would come through either being a lawyer or a doctor. She would wake me up at midnight, praise me, and then ask me to listen to her advice. She would tell me to stop beating drums about.

“She would say, ‘don’t you want to be a successful person? If you face your studies and become a lawyer, they would be calling me Iya Lawyer’. She would ask if I would not like to drive a pleasure car. I will respond that I will like to ride a pleasure car. My mother did not know and I could not blame her. But finally, when she saw that it was music I wanted to do, she let me be.”

He explained that his mother’s fear stemmed from the fact that she believed all musicians were alcoholics and smokers. Obey said when his mother revealed her fears to him, he promised her that he would be a good example as a musician.

Obey said, “One day, I was bold enough to ask my mother why she did not want me to be a musician. Then she told me that musicians smoke cigarette, Indian hemp, and they are drunkards. She said that she did not give birth to a drunkard or Indian hemp smoker.

“I thank God that my mother did that to me because I promised that if those were the reasons she did not want me to become a musician, I will go into music and I will be a good example. It was a good warning because everything that my mother said, I met them when I started music; however, I always remembered my mother’s words.

“By the grace of God, I thank God that I promised my mother that I would be a good example and I have been a good example.”

The veteran singer further stated that his mother witnessed his success before she died at the age of 97 in 1995.

“My mother was alive to see part of my success. My mother went to be with the Lord in the year 1995. She saw my success and she was very happy that her dream for me to be a successful person came through, even though it was not being through a doctor or a lawyer, as she wanted me to be; but she was a happy mother.

“She knew that my name was all over the world. She knew that I had taken my music to almost all the parts of the world. She was a proud mother. She was very happy. She died at the age of 97. She was fulfilled before she went to meet the Lord.”