Theresa May rules out a second Brexit referendum and second hand fashion industry is going big in UAE.
African leaders in China as cooperation summit kicks off
China was expected to announce fresh investment pledges Monday at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit, despite allegations that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was a debt-trap strategy aimed at gaining control of Africa’s strategic infrastructure, the Global Times reported.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is among the continent’s leaders in Beijing for the summit.
Emphasising Africa’s need for China, the Global Times report added, “African countries are in a dire need for infrastructural development. They are entering the phase of industrialisation and have key advantages like a young population and natural resources.”
The first phase of BRI is built to focus on infrastructure development, while the second will involve industrial production.
Theresa May says second Brexit referendum will be ‘gross betrayal’
British Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out a second referendum on Britain’s exit from the European Union, CNN reported. Calling it a “gross betrayal”, May wrote in The Sunday Telegraph that she would not “give in to those who want to re-open the whole question with a second referendum”, adding, “to ask the question all over again would be a gross betrayal of our democracy — and a betrayal of that trust”.
Her comments come at a time when campaigns for a second Brexit referendum are garnering popularity and receiving a lot of monetary support. ‘The People’s Vote’ campaign group, one of the groups calling for another referendum, has secured a $1.3 million donation from a popular British fashion house. Supporters of a fresh referendum include several high-profile names, including former PM Tony Blair, the CNN report added.
The June 2016 referendum seeking people’s vote on whether to leave the EU resulted in a narrow victory for those in support of a split. The UK’s formal separation from the European Union is due to take place on 29 March 2019, followed by a 21-month transition period.
Second-hand retail is big business in this luxury destination
The UAE has emerged as one of the biggest markets as apparel resale goes big among luxury buyers.
The apparel resale market was worth $20 billion in 2017, and has the potential to rise to $41 billion by 2022, according to an estimate by US online reseller ThredUp. CNN reports that this has spawned multiple second-hand outlets in Dubai, a place generally associated with vast wealth and luxury. “And what’s helping these businesses is the sheer abundance of luxury to hand,” the report adds.
Micha Maatouk, managing director of Garderobe, one such company, says the global financial crisis of 2008 played a big role in aiding the second hand luxury business. “It was a tough time in Dubai — all over the world I think — in 2008-2010,” she said. “When we thought about opening this business, part of it was because people weren’t spending in the same way as they used to on luxury.”
While a lot of international brands are looking at the resale market with approval, it still accounts for only one per cent of retail sales.
Fire at Brazil’s oldest museum, no casualties
A huge fire broke out at the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro Sunday, CGTN reported.
According to local media reports, no casualty or deaths were reported. The extent of damage at the 200-year-old museum is yet to be estimated, the reports added.
The fire broke out after visiting hours. Established in 1818, the National Museum of Brazil is the oldest scientific institution in the country. It hosts over 20 million priceless items.
The ‘queen of soul’ never made a will
Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul who died last month at the age of 76, did not have a will, triggering confusion around the distribution of her assets, reported The Guardian.
According to the report, estate law experts expressed surprise to find a wealthy person without a will. In her defence, her lawyer Don Wilson said, “She understood the need. It just didn’t seem to be something she got around to.”
Franklin is survived by four sons aged 48-63. A niece has accepted the role of executor.
According to Michigan state law, in the absence of a will, her sons will equally divide their mother’s estate among themselves.
Where world’s ‘largest unfinished aircraft’ lies hidden
One of the largest aircraft ever conceived lies unfinished in an industrial building outside Kiev in Ukraine, CNN reports.
The Antonov An-225 is a mammoth aircraft designed by Soviet engineers in the last days of the Cold War to prove the then Soviet Union’s “dominance of the skies”.
Manufacturer Antonov could complete only one An-225 and named it Mriya (Ukranian for dream). It first took flight on 21 December 1988 and has been in service ever since, drawing crowds of admirers wherever it takes off into the skies. However, the second such aircraft never got completed — and this is the one that lies in the Kiev building. However, Antonov remains optimistic of getting it off the ground.
The story of An-225 began in the 1970s, when the Soviet Union needed a cargo plane to transport heavy loads to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the Soviet launchpad in the deserts of Kazakhstan. Thus was conceived the An-225, which was built to transport the Buran spacecraft — Soviet Union’s answer to the NASA space shuttle.
“To this day, Mriya remains the heaviest aircraft ever built,” the report adds. It is powered by six turbofan engines and has a maximum payload weight of 250 tonnes. She boasts of the largest wingspan of any airplane in operational service.