The world will soon see a second Titanic, and the UN says France’s niqab ban violates human rights.
Only the rich kids in China can take this internet challenge
Millennials in China are expecting to gain more followers on social media platforms by posting videos of the latest internet challenge, ‘Falling stars’, that has gone viral in the country, South China Morning Post reports.
Known as “flaunt your wealth” challenge in Mandarin, the trend is reported to have originated in Russia and has taken China by storm in the recent times where rich Chinese millennials are willing to spend on luxury items and letting the world know that they can.
In the challenge, influencers post pictures or videos of themselves lying face down as if they have tripped while getting off their sports cars and private jet while spilling designer shoes, purses and even wads of cash.
The latest challenge has also resulted in a series of satirical memes making fun of rich kids, with apparent Chinese soldiers, firefighters and students lying face down surrounded by service certificates, firefighting equipment and scattered documents.
“The challenge highlights the growing number of wealthy Chinese and the equally rapidly widening wealth gap,” the SCMP added.
Credit Suisse’s Global Wealth Report had last year predicted that the number of millionaires in China would increase to 2.7 million by 2022.
Khashoggi’s body parts found in Saudi envoy’s home, says Sky News
Body parts of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi have been found in the Saudi consul general’s home in Istanbul, Sky News reported quoting two sources.
According to Sky News, the sources have said that the Saudi journalist had been “cut up” and had his face “disfigured”.
This contradicts the earlier claims by Saudi officials that Khashoggi’s body had been rolled in a carpet and given to a local collaborator.
The latest disclosure in the case comes in the wake of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s comment that Saudi Arabia had planned Khashoggi’s murder in advance.
Several conflicting claims and evidence have surfaced in the case of Khashoggi’s murder, while none have been able to provide concrete proofs to establish state authorities’ involvement in the case.
A second Titanic set to sail in 2022
A full-size replica of the ill-fated liner RMS Titanic — the Titanic II — will be ready to take its maiden journey by 2022, reports CNN.
The project to build an exact replica of the ship that sank on its maiden voyage in April 1912 is the initiative of Australian businessman and politician Clive Palmer.
Contrary to the original one, Titanic II will be equipped with modern radar equipment and plenty of lifeboats.
The ship will make its original journey carrying passengers from Southampton to New York, but will also circumnavigate the globe, Palmer is reported to have said in a statement.
According to another report by CruiseArabia, the ship will make its maiden journey from Dubai to New York.
Outfitted exactly like the original, it will have 835 cabins with the capacity to accommodate 2,435 passengers and have first, second and third class tickets like the original.
An unusual attraction for tourists is that they will have the opportunity to dive to the Titanic wreck site. Arranged by American company OceanGate, the company is reported to have scheduled diving trips for 2019, costing $105,129 per person.
France’s ban on niqab violates human rights, says UN panel
The UN Human Rights Committee Tuesday said France’s niqab ban violates human rights, reports Reuters.
The committee’s findings follow complaints by two French women convicted in 2012 under a 2010 law banning the garment.
Failing to make its case on the ban, the committee has now given 180 days to France to report back on what actions it had taken on the issue.
“In particular, the committee was not persuaded by France’s claim that a ban on face-covering was necessary and proportionate from a security standpoint or for attaining the goal of ‘living together’ in society,” it said.
The ban applies to hiding one’s face, not to any type of religious clothing that leaves the face uncovered, he told reporters, said a French foreign ministry spokesman.
A protest for equal pay in Scotland
Thousands of public-sector workers are reported to have walked off their jobs Tuesday in Glasgow, Scotland, to mark the beginning of a 48-hour strike over a pay dispute, CNN reported.
An estimated total of 8,000 workers, mostly women from nurseries, daycares, catering and cleaning businesses are expected to join the industrial action and protest against unequal pay based on sex. It is reportedly the largest protest of its kind for the cause of equal pay since the UK passed the 1970 Equal Pay Act.
Many are complaining that the local government, Glasgow City Council, has been too slow to act on legal claims of decade-old equal pay. Last year, Scotland’s highest civil court had ruled that an equal-pay programme launched in 2006 had discriminated against women and some 12,000 complaints lodged against such discrimination soon would be addressed. Ten months later, workers complain that the government has taken no action to address the issue, the CNN report said.
According to Action 4 Equality Scotland — a legal action campaign group — the claims could cost the local government between £500 million and £1 billion.
“We understand why many of our workforces are angry about equal pay, but there is nothing that this strike can achieve that we are not already doing,” CNN quoted a Glasgow City Council spokesperson as saying.
Indonesians pay with plastic bottles, instead of money
Bus commuters are paying with plastic bottles, instead of money in Indonesia, reports Reuters.
In a latest attempt to encourage people to recycle plastic bottles, Indonesia’s second largest city Surabaya launched a scheme in April that allows commuters to drop off plastic bottles at terminals or ‘pay’ for the tickets during the ride.
The number of plastic items to be deposited depends on the time taken to reach the destination. For example, a two-hour bus ticket costs 10 plastic cups or up to five plastic bottles, depending on their size, Reuters added.
After collecting the bottles, the plastic is auctioned off to recycling companies, money earned from which goes towards running bus operations and to fund green spaces in the city.
Surabaya, which is the first city in Indonesia to implement the scheme, hopes to meet an ambitious target of becoming free of plastic waste by 2020, the report added.
Emerald Fennell to play Camilla Parker Bowles in Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ season 3
Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ announced on Twitter Tuesday that British actress Emerald Fennell will be joined the third season of the show.
Emerald Fennell will play Camilla Shand in The Crown Season Three. pic.twitter.com/vQVnOWzaN9
— The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) October 23, 2018
Fennell will be playing the role of Camilla Parker Bowles, the second wife of Prince Charles and Duchess of Cornwall, reports Variety.
“I’m absolutely over the moon, and completely terrified, to be joining so many hugely talented people on ‘The Crown,’” Fennell said.
‘The Crown’ which has received critical acclamation for its first two seasons, will launch the third season in 2019.