London: Priti Patel, British employment minister, said that there would be 14million job openings in the next decade and youngsters should be ready to take them not dreaming of a get-rich-quick life as a minor celebrity. The Essex MP warned the jobless will be expected to seek work experience or training to fill vacancies and not start a life on benefits. She slammed reality TV shows for the portrayal of an easy life of partying, fashion and holidays by sending the wrong message to the show's millions of fans.
Zimbabwe bows out at 35 quadrillion a dollar
Harare: Zimbabwe's currency has been set to retire after reaching 35 quadrillion dollars to $ 1 USD. The demonetization started on Monday, 15 June, and will run till September 30. The country had been using the US dollar since 2009, where a multi-currency system has been in operation for the last 6 years. South African rand and the US dollar were accepted currencies in 2009, while the Chinese yuan, Australian dollar, Japanese yen and the Indian rupee joined the list in 2014. People with accounts of up to 175 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars will be paid $5 and those who preserved bills at home will receive a rate of 250 trillion to $1 for their 2008-issued notes and 250 to $1 for their 2009-issued notes.
Israel, Saudi Arabia want to improve ties
Cairo: On June 4th, Saudi Arabia and Israel admitted at a conference in the US that they have held a series of meetings to improve ties, a step the countries have decided to take after deliberation over the shared strategic interests. Former head of Israel's National Security Council, Ilan Mizrahi said, “ Like us, the Saudis are worried about Iran, IS and the fear that America is no longer committed.” Both the countries have taken steps to mend their fences with each other earlier too. In the 1960s, Saudi Arabia and Israel armed Yemen's royalists to defeat Egypt's then President Gamal Abdel Nasser's military.
Rosetta to land next to Phillae
London: The team behind the Rosetta comet landing will attempt to set down the orbiter next to lander Philae in a final mission next year. The European Space Agency’s spacecraft has been orbiting comet 67p/Churyumove-Gerasimenko since releasing the space probe last November. The mission which was due to end in September will now likely run to 2016. Project scientist Matt Taylor said the team would try to place the orbiter next to lander Philae 'for emotional reasons,' so that 'mother and child' could be reunited. They are hoping to use the remaining dregs of fuel to move Rosetta to within 5 km of the comet before trying to land.
More than 80,000 shops could close by 2017
London: The retail industry in Britain has warned in a study of the controversial business rates tax system that if the government does not examine the tax, more than 80,000 shops face the risk of shutting down by 2017. Even the best case scenario would be 9,073 fewer shops in the next two years and given one business will put 10 people out of work, it is still putting 80,000 jobs at risk, as per the British Retail Consortium. The results are based on retailers not renewing their leases on the 60 pc of high street stores that will see their rental agreement expire by 2017.
Rachel Dolezal falsely portrayed herself as black
Washington: Following the filing of complaints by NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal who believed she was being targeted for her race, her parents have revealed her to be Caucasian, part German and part Czech to be precise, as opposed to her claims of being African-American. They claimed she spent years deliberately misleading the public and her colleagues about her race. Dolezal later confirmed the allegation and said she understood why people may feel misrepresented, she said, “I can understand that. And like I said, it's more important to me to clarify that to the black community, and with my executive board, than it really is for me to explain it to a community that I quite frankly don't think understands the definitions of race and ethnicity.”
How Tony Blair built a business empire in China
Abu Dhabi: Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has privately begun to act as broker between Abu Dhabi and China. He has been courting some of the most influential Chinese political and business leaders, and introducing them to the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund he works for. He has also facilitated talks between the chief executive of Dow Chemical and a series of Chinese government and business figures. The role Blair is currently playing shows his prominence in one of the most important areas of global economic cooperation this century; between the extremely wealthy and strategically important Middle Eastern emirate and the emerging superpower of China.
University of Cambridge to hire ‘professor of Lego’
London: The University of Cambridge has announced its intentions to hire a Lego professor to run its new research centre that focuses on “play in education, development and learning” that was helped launch by a $2.3 million donation from the Lego Foundation. The job isn’t exactly playing with Legos, but is focused on how children learn and develop through play and interacting with others. And it’s safe to assume Lego blocks will play a role. Cambridge isn’t the only institution with ties to the Lego Foundation. Lego has gotten together in similar research with MIT in the United States and Tsinghua University in China.
Magna Carta: ‘Turgid’ document was eclipsed by the French, says top judge
London: One of Britain's most senior judges has dismissed the Magna Carta as a “turgid” document which is far less significant in the development of modern rights than the French Revolution. Lord Sumption, Justice of the Supreme Court said the British document was only relevant to a “small minority of rich Englishmen” and pales into insignificance as compared with the French declaration of the Rights of Man. “I am a Magna Carta sceptic,” Lord Sumption, who is also a distinguished medieval historian, said in a speech at a conference of the Franco-British Council in London.
World’s first penis transplant recipient to become a father
Johannesburg: A South African man who made headlines in March for having the world's first successful penis transplant is to become a father, his surgeon reported. The man’s girlfriend is four months pregnant, Professor Andre van der Merwe said, proving “the transplant worked”. "This is what we intended, that he should be able to stand up and be able to urinate and have intercourse, so it is a milestone for him," the Doctor said. The 21-year-old recipient, who has not been identified, lost his penis in a botched traditional circumcision three years ago and had the ground-breaking, nine-hour surgery in December
Woman dies after being struck by a train at Kingsbury
London: An unidentified woman died after being struck by a train at Kinsgbury Tube Station. A spokesman for British Transport Police said: “We were called to Kingsbury Underground station just after 3 pm on Monday, 15 June, after a report that a person had been struck by a train. “BTP officers attended the southbound Jubilee line platform, alongside colleagues from London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade. “A woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers are currently working to identify the woman and inform her family.
