Friday, April 19th, 2019 - 02:26GMT

Cycling 2019

Massive pledges to Notre-Dame restoration

PARIS -- Tycoons, companies, local authorities and individuals have stepped forward with large donations totalling almost €900 million, while other pledges include free transport, timber and renovation work.

Activity seen at North Korea nuclear site

YONGBYON -- Activity detected at North Korea’s main Yongbyon nuclear site suggests that Pyongyang may be reprocessing radioactive material into bomb fuel, according to U.S. think tank Beyond Parallel.

Leonardo da Vinci died 500 years ago

HISTORY -- Leonardo da Vinci, renowned Renaissance artist and polymath, died on May 2, 1519, aged 67. His prodigious talents also included music, maths, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany and cartography.

EU carmakers face €30bn emission fines threat

BRUSSELS -- Carmakers must cut average fleet emissions to less than 95 grammes per kilometre of carbon dioxide from 2021, or face a €95 fine for every gramme of CO2 that exceeds the target, multiplied by the number of cars sold.

Teams save Notre-Dame’s art and relics

PARIS -- France has announced an international architecture competition to rebuild the spire of Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral after President Emmanuel Macron pledged to rebuild the 850-year-old cathedral within five years.

Sabre engine passes Mach 3 test

ABINGDON -- Sabre is an experimental air-breathing rocket engine, designed to power a craft from standstill on a runway to hypersonic flight at over Mach 5 (6,300km/h), before switching over to rocket mode to reach Mach 25.

History of Notre-Dame Cathedral

PARIS -- It took 182 years to build and has stood for more than eight centuries. The cathedral was commissioned by King Louis VII, and the first stone is believed to have been laid by Pope Alexander III in 1163. Notre-Dame now stands in ruins.

Australia’s rising gun ownership

MELBOURNE -- A drive-by shooting in Melbourne, Australia, killed a security guard and wounded three others on Sunday. There are around 3.15 million civilian-held firearms in Australia – many of them owned illegally.

Apr 15: Game of Thrones’ epic finale

LONDON -- HBO aired episode one of the final season of Game of Thrones simultaneously in the U.S. and UK with British fans waiting until 01:00GMT to return to the Westeros winter for the first time since August 2017.

£108.7 million cost of European Parliament ballot

LONDON -- It will cost the UK Government more than £100 million to take part in the European Parliament elections on May 23, according to an analysis of the cost of staging the last ballot in 2014.

Timeline of Omar al-Bashir’s leadership

KHARTOUM -- Tens of thousands of jubilant Sudanese marched toward the centre of the capital Khartoum Thursday after the army toppled President Omar al-Bashir after 30 years in power.

Harry and Meghan’s royal baby due soon

LONDON -- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are preparing to welcome their first child, with reports indicating the newest royal baby will be born by the end of April or beginning of May.

Battle rages for Libya’s capital

TRIPOLI -- Fighting between the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) of warlord Khalifa Hifter and the UN-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli is threatening to disrupt oil supplies.

U.S. responds to China’s power game

HAWAII -- The U.S. military has renamed its former Pacific Command as the Indo-Pacific Command, reflecting Washington’s growing attention to China’s “two-ocean” strategy in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Candida auris infections around the world

LONDON -- A fungus called Candida auris, often acquired in hospitals and preying on people with weak immune systems, is spreading across the globe. It can be resistant to the three major classes of anti-fungal drugs.

Van Gogh's possible suicide weapon up for auction

PARIS -- The art world's most famous weapon, a 7mm pocket revolver believed to have been used by Vincent van Gogh to take his own life in 1890, is to go under the hammer at an auction in Paris on June 19.

Burger King to serve plant-based burger

ST LOUIS -- Burger King has become the first global quick-service restaurant to embrace plant-based “meats” from startups including Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat -- both backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Apr 11- May 19: India holds world’s largest poll

INDIA -- India’s general election pits Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling BJP against a raft of opposition parties under the Indian National Congress banner. Around 900 million people will vote during the five-week election.

Google launches Stadia game-changer

TECH -- Google has unveiled a new cloud gaming platform called “Stadia” which promises to bring console-quality games to multiple devices, streaming to TVs, PCs, tablets and smartphones.

First abdication of Japanese emperor in 200 years

TOKYO -- Japan’s Emperor Akihito becomes the first emperor to abdicate in 200 years, passing the Chrysanthemum Throne to his son Crown Prince Naruhito, when he steps down on April 30.

Oct 7-20: On this day in history

Transport and motoring

Military and conflicts

Aviation and aerospace

Rohingyas and Myanmar

Science and technology

Chicken egg drug factories

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