(Reuters) — Nearly 60 elephants enjoyed a huge fruit banquet at a Thai botanical park on Sunday as the Southeast Asian country marked its annual Elephant Day. Elephants are a source of national pride and cultural identity for Thailand and are used for labor, transport, and battlefield triumphs by warriors and kings. The event is commonly observed in various other parts of the country, but due to the pandemic and economic woes, some have scaled down celebrations this year. At Nong Nooch Tropical Garden in eastern Chonburi province, elephants were treated to two tons of fruits and vegetables laid out…

Biyombo had been a free agent after leaving the Charlotte Hornets but took time away from the sport to care, and then grieve, for his father Francis. Now back on the court, Biyombo’s sole mission is to dedicate his season to his father’s memory — channeled through his performances and the efforts of his Bismack Biyombo Foundation. “I think once my Dad passed, the love of the game kind of fell a little bit because he was my everything — my friend, my business partner, my mentor and everything,” Biyombo said in a video posted to the foundation’s Youtube channel….

Military experts have in the past warned of the risk of accidents or miscalculations by the nuclear-armed neighbors, which have fought three wars and engaged in numerous smaller armed clashes, usually over the disputed territory of Kashmir. Tensions have eased in recent months, and the incident — which may have been the first of its kind — immediately raised questions about safety mechanisms. “On 9 March 2022, in the course of a routine maintenance, a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile,” the Indian Ministry of Defence said in a three-paragraph statement. “It is learnt that the…

A spokesperson for the 49-year-old did not disclose the amount of a potential bid. “We are examining the details of yesterday’s announcement and we are still interested in making a bid​,” said Candy’s spokesperson in a statement to CNN, referring to the new UK government sanctions on Abramovich. “Clearly this is a time of great uncertainty for all Chelsea fans,” added the statement. “In our view, no one is the owner of a football club — you are the custodian of it for the fans and the community.” Earlier this month Abramovich announced his intention to sell Chelsea, as it…

Globally, official reports through the end of 2021 show that 6 million people have died directly because of Covid-19. But researchers estimate in a new study that from the start of 2020 through the end of 2021, there have been at least 18 million more deaths than researchers would typically expect over the course of two years. Some of this excess mortality may have been missed in official counts due to lack of diagnostic or reporting resources. But some may be attributed to other indirect effects of the pandemic, such as lack of access to health care, behavior changes during…

Russia is already paying a price for its aggression — countries around the world are imposing sanctions and the Russian ruble has plunged even further against the dollar, hitting record lows. “The situation is monstrous, of course. This is a disgrace for the International Paralympic Committee,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters following the decision. The IOC also announced that it had withdrawn the Olympic Order — the highest award of the Olympic movement — from Putin. “The IOC was viewed as having a close relationship with Russia,” Michael Payne, former head of marketing at the IOC, told CNN….

QAnon’s core prophecy has always been that there is a “plan” and that former President Donald Trump will rid the world of an evil cabal, culminating in the unmasking, imprisonment or even execution of cabal members. But that prophecy dates back to when Trump was actually president — now that he’s not, believers have been convincing themselves there is evidence that the plan is still very much in place, maybe even more so than ever before. In the Kremlin’s disinformation, some have seen that hope. There are US-funded biolabs in Ukraine, that much is true. But they are not building…

The Hiawatha crater was exceptionally well preserved despite glacier ice being incredibly effective at erosion. Its state fueled talk that the meteorite might have hit as recently as 13,000 years ago. However, the crater, which is one of the world’s largest, has now been definitively dated — and it is much, much older. In fact, it slammed into the Earth just a few million years after dinosaurs went extinct, about 58 million years ago. “Dating the crater has been a particularly tough nut to crack, so it’s very satisfying that two laboratories in Denmark and Sweden, using different dating methods…

Waving signs and wearing white sashes emblazoned with the words “Vote for Women,” they accused presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol of attempting to appeal to anti-feminists to garner support ahead of the election. “You don’t deserve to be a presidential candidate, Yoon,” the mainly female crowd chanted. “Go away.” The protest highlighted how heated South Korea’s gender war has become ahead of the country’s March 9 presidential vote, with both leading candidates wading into the issue to win over young voters who are increasingly split along gender lines. Facing a hypercompetitive job market and skyrocketing housing prices, anti-feminists claim the…