December 2023 – Page 2 – World Top News Now

$33,000 in cash stolen from passengers in mid-air heist on Scoot flight

21Dec

By AdminsNo Comments

$33,000 in cash stolen from passengers in mid-air heist on Scoot flight

A man has been charged with theft after allegedly stealing more than $23,000 in cash from three fellow passengers while on a budget flight from Vietnam to Singapore. The man was named in court charge sheets as Zhang Xiuqiang, a 52-year-old Chinese national who was on board a flight operated by Scoot, the budget wing of Singapore Airlines. An airline spokesperson told CNN that it "was aware of an incident" that occurred on board a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore on December 16. "Our cabin crew was alerted by a passenger to a suspected theft in the cabin and activated the Airport Police Division," the spokesperson said. "The involved passengers were escorted off the aircraft by airport authorities for further investigation, and disembarkation proceeded as usual for the ...

Hermès billionaire wants to bequeath fortune to his gardener

21Dec

By AdminsNo Comments

Hermès billionaire wants to bequeath fortune to his gardener

A descendant of Europe's richest family has reportedly begun a process to adopt his middle-aged gardener, planning to leave him at least half of his roughly €12 billion ($19.48 billion) fortune. Nicolas Puech, 80, a fifth-generation descendant of the founder of French luxury goods company Hermes, wants to cancel a contract that would bequeath his fortune to the Isocrates Foundation, which he founded, and instead make his employee a legal heir. Swiss newspapers Tribune de Geneve and 24 heures reported the news earlier this month. The charitable foundation is contesting Puech's plan to cut ties, which it says it learned of only recently. "From a legal point of view, a unilateral cancellation of the contract of inheritance seems void and unfounded," the organisation ...

Rudy Giuliani ordered to pay nearly $223 million to two US election workers he defamed

16Dec

By AdminsNo Comments

Rudy Giuliani ordered to pay nearly $223 million to two US election workers he defamed

A Washington, DC, jury has ordered Rudy Giuliani to pay nearly $US150 million ($223 million) to two Georgia election workers for the harm caused by defamatory statements he made about them following the 2020 election. Ruby Freeman was awarded $US16,171,000 ($24 million) for defamation and $US20 million ($29 million) for emotional distress. Shaye Moss, Freeman's daughter, was awarded $US16,998,000 ($25 million) for defamation and $29 million for emotional distress. The jury also awarded $US75 million ($111 million) in punitive damages to both plaintiffs. Giuliani watched intently as the verdict was read, using a stylus on a touch-screen device, apparently taking down notes on the figures he'd been ordered to pay. After leaving the courtroom, the former New Yor...

Scientists are bringing molecules back from the dead in quest to fight superbugs

16Dec

By AdminsNo Comments

Scientists are bringing molecules back from the dead in quest to fight superbugs

The quest for new antibiotics is going back to the Stone Age. The urgency to identify possible candidates has never been greater as the global population faces nearly 5 million deaths every year that are associated with microbial resistance, according to the World Health Organisation. A research team led by bioengineering pioneer César de la Fuente is using artificial intelligence-based computational methods to mine genetic information from extinct human relatives such as Neanderthals and long-gone ice age creatures such as the woolly mammoth and giant sloth. A figure of a Neanderthal man is seen at London's Natural History Museum. Researchers are using AI-based computational methods to mine genetic information from extinct human relatives such as Neanderthals. (CNN) ...

Firefighter dies while extinguishing blaze at luxury home in Sydney’s north-west

12Dec

By AdminsNo Comments

Firefighter dies while extinguishing blaze at luxury home in Sydney’s north-west

A firefighter has been killed while working to extinguish a large house fire in Sydney's north-west. The blaze erupted at a luxury seven-bedroom AirBnB in Grose Vale, 10km west of Richmond, just before 8am. The 51-year-old firefighter was among the first crews to respond to the fire, which had engulfed the house. NSW Police said the man collapsed at the scene while fighting the flames. 9News understands the man was struck by a falling beam while firefighting. "FRNSW and NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) firefighters both performed CPR until paramedics arrived and the man was pronounced dead at the scene," Fire and Rescue NSW said in a statement. NSW Police and FRNSW are working to investigate the circumstances of the death. Authorities are also pro...

Prince Harry ordered to pay Daily Mail publisher legal fees for failed court challenge

12Dec

By AdminsNo Comments

Prince Harry ordered to pay Daily Mail publisher legal fees for failed court challenge

A judge has ordered Prince Harry pay nearly £50,000 ($96,000) in legal fees to the publisher of the Daily Mail tabloid for his failed court challenge in a libel lawsuit. The Duke of Sussex is suing Associated Newspapers Ltd. over an article that said Harry tried to hide his efforts to retain publicly funded protection in the UK after leaving his role as a working member of the royal family. Justice Matthew Nicklin ruled Friday in the High Court in London that the publisher has a “real prospect” of showing that statements issued on Harry’s behalf were misleading and that the February 2022 article reflected an “honest opinion” and wasn't libellous. “The defendant may well submit that this was a masterclass in the art of ‘spinning,’” Nicklin wrote, in refusing to strike t...