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Lifestyle • Travel
Super Nintendo World opens in Osaka
Super Nintendo World
Super Nintendo World

The first Super Nintendo World has opened Thursday at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, featuring a real-world version of Mushroom Kingdom designed by Shigeru Miyamoto.

“This is an area where everyone from children to adults can use their five senses to enjoy,” Miyamoto said. “I want people from around the world to visit once the coronavirus pandemic is over.”

Lifestyle • Religion
Vatican explicitly rejects blessing of same-sex couples claiming God "cannot bless sin"
St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican
St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican Credit: Érico Andrei (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0)

The Vatican issued a statement approved by Pope Francis on Monday, saying that the Catholic Church will not bless same-sex unions as they are a "choice" and a "sin" and therefore "cannot be recognized as objectively ordered to the revealed plans of God".

"At the same time, the Church recalls that God Himself never ceases to bless each of His pilgrim children in this world, because for Him 'we are more important to God than all of the sins that we can commit'. But he does not and cannot bless sin: he blesses sinful man, so that he may recognize that he is part of his plan of love and allow himself to be changed by him. He in fact 'takes us as we are, but never leaves us as we are'," the statement read. "For the above mentioned reasons, the Church does not have, and cannot have, the power to bless unions of persons of the same sex in the sense intended above."

Lifestyle • Religion
Pope Francis starts his Iraq trip
Pope Francis and Mustafa al-Kadhimi
Pope Francis and Mustafa al-Kadhimi Credit: Vatican News

For the first time, a Catholic leader has travelled to Baghdad.

At the start of his trip, the Pope called for the coexistence of religions. Speaking at a reception with Head of State Barham Salih at the presidential palace, Francis said it was crucial to involve all political, social and religious groups and guarantee the fundamental rights of all citizens. "No one should be considered a second-class citizen," he said. At the same time, he called for an end to violence: "Let the guns be silent".

Lifestyle • Travel
Thailand to allow tourists to quarantine in hotel facilities
Thailand to allow tourists to quarantine in hotel facilities
Credit: unsplash.com / Katie Musial

Thailand plans to allow foreign visitors to quarantine in local hotel facilities in a bid to revive its dormant tourism sector. The plan is initially planned for April or May in five provinces, including Phuket and Krabi, says Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn. Visitors would usually stay there for between one and three months.

Tourists would then have to be quarantined there for 14 days. But if there is a negative corona test after three days, they are allowed to leave their rooms and move freely around the hotel complexes. In 2020, tourism revenues in Thailand had plummeted by more than 80 percent to just under $11 billion (about 9 billion euros).

Lifestyle • Food
'Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare' 60-Year-Old Whisky auctioned for one million pounds
'Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare' 60-Year-Old Whisky auctioned for one million pounds
Credit: Courtesy of Whisky Auctioneer

At an auction in Scotland, the targeted world record for a bottle of whisky was missed. According to the auction house, the highest bid for the 0.75-litre bottle of "The Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare" was ultimately one million pounds (the equivalent of about 1.16 million euros).

In autumn 2019, a bottling from the same cask had gone under the hammer for just under 1.5 million pounds. The whisky comes from a legendary stock, for enthusiasts it is said to be the "holy grail".

Lifestyle • Food
Long criticized Aunt Jemima rebrands as "Pearl Milling Company"
Long criticized Aunt Jemima rebrands as "Pearl Milling Company"
Credit: PepsiCo.

Quaker Oats's "Aunt Jemima" is being rebranded as "Pearl Milling Company", PepsiCo, the parent company for Quaker Oats, said. The name change was announced in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter protests against systemic racism and police brutality.

"Pearl Milling Company-branded pancake mixes, syrups, cornmeal, flour, and grits products will start to arrive in market in June 2021. Pearl Milling Company will offer people all their favorite pancake mix and syrup varieties in the same familiar red packaging previously found under the Aunt Jemima brand. Products will continue to be available under the Aunt Jemima name without the character image until June," so PepsiCo.

Lifestyle • Religion
Orthodox Church under fire in Romania after baptism death

Over 60,000 people in Romania petitioned for the abolition of immersing babies in baptism ceremonies, as the Ortodox Church blames the parents and stands by its practices following a baby’s death.

“Immersion has been practiced for two millennia and will continue for the next 1,000 years”, said the archbishop of Tomis to a nationalist TV broadcaster.

Lifestyle • Religion
First woman appointed to the Synod of Bishops
Sister Nathalie Becquart
Sister Nathalie Becquart Credit: Peter Potrowl (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0)

In a world-first, The Pope has appointed a woman to the role of undersecretary to the Synod of Bishops.

The woman, named as Sister Nathalie Becquart from France, will have voting rights in the body which advises the pontiff and debates some of the most controversial issues in the Catholic Church.

Lifestyle • Food
McDonald's is testing its new plant-based "McPlant" burger in Sweden and Denmark
McDonald's is testing its new plant-based "McPlant" burger in Sweden and Denmark
Credit: McDonald's

McDonald's has started a trial run for its new plant-based "McPlant" burger in select locations in Sweden and Denmark earlier this year. The burger is co-developed with plant-based meat substitutes producer Beyond Meat Inc. and is made from pea-based protein.

"Our new McPlant contains a steak that is juicy, spicy and plant-based - and then it is made from i.a. pea and rice protein. In addition, the burger contains a slice of melted cheese with cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mayo, mustard and ketchup, all in a delicious sesame bun," the description reads in the Danish McDonald's website.

Lifestyle • Food
First vegan restaurant has been awarded a Michelin star
First vegan restaurant has been awarded a Michelin star
Credit: ONA (Instagram Restaurant)

The Michelin Guide has awarded a star to a vegan restaurant in France for the first time. It was awarded to ONA, where top chef Claire Vallée avoids meat, fish, dairy products and honey in her dishes.

Vallée founded ONA in 2016 with the help of crowdfunding and a loan from an eco-bank. Gourmet lovers will find it in Arès, west of Bordeaux.

The name of the restaurant, which is currently closed due to the pandemic, stands for "Origine Non Animale," meaning ingredients that are not of animal origin. According to the Guide Michelin, guests could choose from seven gourmet dishes using ingredients such as pine nuts, celery, sake or tonka beans.

Lifestyle • Travel
Disneyland Paris reopening delayed until April
Disneyland Paris reopening delayed until April
Credit: unsplash.com/Lyle Hastie

Disneyland Paris announced on Monday that it would delay reopening until at least April 2nd. The park had initially planned to reopen on February 13th.

The company said in a statement that "due to the prevailing conditions in Europe, Disneyland Paris will not reopen on the 13th of February as initially planned. If conditions permit, we will reopen Disneyland Paris on the 2nd of April, 2021 and will welcome reservations from that date forward."

Lifestyle • Travel
Ten Nepalese make first winter ascent of K2
Ten Nepalese make first winter ascent of K2
Credit: Courtesy of Twitter

For the first time in history, mountaineers have climbed K2 in winter. The 8611-meter peak in the Karakoram in Pakistan is the second-highest mountain in the world and is considered extremely difficult. The group of Sherpas had paused at a point 70 meters from the summit to wait for each other before entering the world's history books together.

Lifestyle • Religion
German Pastor Olaf Latzel sentenced for incitement of the people
German Pastor Olaf Latzel sentenced for incitement of the people
Credit: Courtesy of St. Martini Gemeinde zu Bremen

The Bremen District Court has convicted the Lutheran pastor Olaf Latzel of the regional church St Martini parish in the Hanseatic city, of incitement of the people. The fundamentalist pastor had made homophobic and sexist remarks at a marriage seminar in October 2019, and a recording was posted online in March with his consent on his YouTube channel, which has nearly 25,000 subscribers.

According to the court, the statements are incitement and could emotionally justify violence against homosexuals.

Bernd Kuschnerus, the senior theologian of the Bremen Protestant Church, said he was "deeply saddened that a pastor of our church has been convicted of incitement of the people." The statements on which the verdict was based were unacceptable and damaged the reputation of the church, he said. There had been strong opposition to Latzel from the congregations of the Bremen Protestant Church for years. The church leadership has initiated disciplinary proceedings against the pastor, but these are suspended until a legally binding judgment is reached. Latzel's defense filed an appeal.

Lifestyle • Religion
Pope's personal physician dies of Covid-19 complications after already heaving cancer

Pope Francis' personal physician, Fabrizio Soccorsi, has died as a result of an infection with the coronavirus. As reported by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, the 78-year-old died after "complications" from a Covid 19 infection. Soccorsi had been admitted to Rome's Gemelli University Hospital on Christmas Day due to cancer.

The 84-year-old pontiff wants to be vaccinated as soon as possible.

Lifestyle
Elon Musk becomes world's richest person as wealth tops $185bn
Musk speaks to the news media during a news conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after the successful liftoff of the company’s Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A.
Musk speaks to the news media during a news conference at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after the successful liftoff of the company’s Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A. Credit: NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur was pushed into the top slot after Tesla's share price increased on Thursday.

He takes the top spot from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who had held it since 2017.

Lifestyle • Religion
Vatican: "Morally acceptable" to receive Coronavirus vaccines using abortion cell lines
Vatican: "Morally acceptable" to receive Coronavirus vaccines using abortion cell lines
Credit: Raffaele Esposito, via Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0)

The Vatican said that it is "morally acceptable" to receive a Coronavirus vaccine even if cell lines from tissues of aborted fetuses were used in its production. The Vatican stated that the use of such vaccines "does not in itself constitute a legitimation, even indirect, of the practice of abortion".

Lifestyle • Food
German court bans manufacturer from selling cookies containing sawdust
German court bans manufacturer from selling cookies containing sawdust
Credit: unsplash.com / Kolby Milton

The Administrative Court of Karlsruhe has dismissed a complaint by the cookies manufacturer after the city had forbidden him to distribute cookies containing sawdust. "The biscuits may not be marketed because they are not safe food but objectively unsuitable for human consumption," a spokesman for the court said on Monday.

The manufacturer argued that sawdust is a vegetable product and claims he uses only microbiologically safe wood flour.

The company had manufactured and distributed the sawdust cookies for about 20 years and had also specified sawdust as an ingredient.

Lifestyle • Travel
Super Nintendo World in Osaka's Universal Studios Japan to open in February
Screenshot of Super Nintendo World Direct
Screenshot of Super Nintendo World Direct Credit: Nintendo via YouTube

Super Nintendo World in Osaka's Universal Studios Japan is set to open in February. During the company’s latest Direct live stream, game director Shigeru Miyamoto led a video tour through the new theme park that's modelled after the Mushroom Kingdom.

Visitors can use smart wristbands, the so-called "Power-Up Band", to interact with the attractions, such as punching question mark or POW blocks.

Super Nintendo World is set to open to visitors on February 4, 2021 and is planning to launch parks in other cities across the world.

Lifestyle • Religion
Religious leaders call for end of gay conversion therapy
Religious leaders call for end of gay conversion therapy
Credit: Jmquez, via Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)

Over 370 religious leaders from around the world are calling for an end to the criminalisation of LGBT+ people and a ban on gay conversion therapy, the pseudoscientific practise of trying to change an individual's sexual orientation. The leaders stated that "certain religious teachings have often, throughout the ages, caused and continue to cause deep pain and offence" to LGBTQ+ people and further have "created, and continue to create, oppressive systems that fuel intolerance, perpetuate injustice and result in violence."

Among those who signed are eight archbishops, including South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu; over 60 rabbis, including former Chief Rabbi of Ireland David Rosen; the Catholic former president of Ireland Mary McAleese and various senior Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and Hindus.

Lifestyle • Food
German chocolate producer Milka shrinks Santa Claus candy but increases price
Milka's Santa Claus candy
Milka's Santa Claus candy Credit: Milka, Screenshot

The chocolate Santa Claus candies of the German chocolate producer Milka have become smaller this year - but more expensive, reports the consumer center Hamburg after having taken samples in eight supermarkets. Instead of 50 and 100 grams, the hollow figures of the flavour Milka alpine milk weigh only 45 and/or 90 grams instead. In addition, the price has increased as the 45-gram Santa Claus now costs 1.19 euros. In the previous year, it was retailed at 99 cents for the figure with five-gram more mass.

According to a statement of the consumer center, it is also harder to detect the size decrease. Due to a flap with a folded edge, the two shrunken Santa Clauses appear even larger.

Lifestyle • Cruises
First Caribbean cruise in months: Five passengers test positive for Covid-19
First Caribbean cruise in months: Five passengers test positive for Covid-19
Credit: Courtesy of Twitter

At least five passengers of the SeaDream 1 have tested positive for Covid-19. It's the first cruise ship taking passengers on a cruise since Covid-19 shut down the cruise industry. The ship left Barbados on Saturday and had traveled to Saint Vincent, Canouan Island, and Tobago Cays, according to Gene Sloan from Points Guy.

Lifestyle • Religion
NXIVM sex cult leader Keith Raniere sentenced to 120 years in prison
NXIVM sex cult leader Keith Raniere sentenced to 120 years in prison
Credit: US Government, Eastern District of NY, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Keith Raniere, founder and leader of American multi-level marketing, cult-like company NXIVM, was convicted of racketeering, sex trafficking, child pornography possession and other crimes last year and has now been sentenced to 120 years in prison on October 27.

Lifestyle • Travel
"Very nice" catchphrase from Borat adopted by Kazakhstan for tourism campaign
"Very nice" catchphrase from Borat adopted by Kazakhstan for tourism campaign
Credit: User Skssoft on de.wikipedia; Michael Bulcik / SKS Soft GmbH Düsseldorf / via Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons Attribution 2.5)

After banning the first Borat movie featuring the fictional Kazakhstani journalist Borat in the country, Kazakhstan has now picked up the catchphrase "very nice", that the character uses repeatedly, for a tourism campaign to attract new people coming and visiting the country.

The deputy chairman of Kazakh Tourism, Kairat Sadvakassov, has stated that "Kazakhstan's nature is very nice. Its food is very nice. And its people, despite Borat's jokes to the contrary, are some of the nicest in the world,".

Lifestyle • Religion
Pope Francis endorses same-sex civil unions
Pope Francis
Pope Francis Credit: Long Thiên (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0)

Pope Francis as made his most explicit endorsement of same-sex civil unions since becoming pontiff while being interviewed for the feature-length documentary “Francesco,” which premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival.

"Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God," Francis said in one of his sit-down interviews for the film. "You can't kick someone out of a family, nor make their life miserable for this. What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered."

Lifestyle • Travel
Japanese tourist is the first visitor to Machu Picchu following the Covid-19 closure
Japanese tourist is the first visitor to Machu Picchu following the Covid-19 closure
Credit: Jesse Katayama (Instagram)

The Japanese Jesse Katayama was the first visitor on Machu Picchu, after months of Covid-19 closure.

Katayama had a entry ticket and permit to enter the UNESCO World Heritage site on March 16, the same day the Peruvian government opted to close the site. His original plan was to spend three days in the area, but with flights cancelled and movement limited by the virus, Katayama was stuck there for months.

"I thought that I wouldn’t be able to go, but thanks to all of you who pleaded with the mayor and the government, I was given this super special opportunity," he wrote on his Instagram account.

Lifestyle
Delphine Boël wins a lawsuit to be recognized as the daughter of former Belgium king
Delphine Boël wins a lawsuit to be recognized as the daughter of former Belgium king
Credit: Luc Van Braekel / Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0)

Delphine Boël has won a seven-year legal battle to be recognized as the daughter of the former king of Belgium, Albert II. She will now be called Delphine of Saxen-Coburg-Gotha, princess of Belgium, following a ruling of the Brussels Court of Appeal.

Lifestyle • Religion
Vatican official Cardinal Becciu resigns unexpectedly
Vatican official Cardinal Becciu resigns unexpectedly
Credit: Claude Truong-Ngoc / Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0)

The second most senior official in the Vatican's Secretariat of State, Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, has unexpectedly resigned from office after being involved in a controversial deal to use church funds to invest in the purchase a London building. Becciu has denied any wrongdoings.

"Holy Father accepted the resignation from the office of Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and from the rights connected to the Cardinalate, presented by His Eminence Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu," so the Holy See.

"An investment was made on a building. It was good and opportune occasion, which many people envy us for today," Becciu earlier this year.

Lifestyle • Travel
India: Taj Mahal reopens after six-motnh-long closure
India: Taj Mahal reopens after six-motnh-long closure
Credit: unsplash.com/Koushik Chowdavarapu

The Taj Mahal has reopened its doors to visitors after a six-month-long closure. To ensure people's safety, various Coronavirus measures have been implemented, e.g. reduced capacity, temperature checks and mandatory face masks.

Lifestyle • Citytrips
Cluj-Napoca, a city in Romania, in the finals for European Capital of Innovation
Cluj-Napoca, a city in Romania, in the finals for European Capital of Innovation
Credit: European Commission

The finals include the following cities: Espoo (Finland), Helsingborg (Sweden), Leuven (Belgium), Valencia (Spain), Vienna (Austria), and Cluj-Napoca (Romania).

The winner of the competition, to be announced on September 24, receives €1 million, which is to be used in consolidating activities which innovate the infrastructure. The five runners-up will receive  €100,000 each.

Lifestyle • Travel
India: Taj Mahal will reopen despite India's high Coronavirus cases
India: Taj Mahal will reopen despite India's high Coronavirus cases
Credit: unsplash.com/Koushik Chowdavarapu

The Taj Mahal will reopen on September 21st," mit Srivastava, deputy director of Uttar Pradesh state’s tourism department has announced. Masks, social distancing and other Covid-19 protocols will be required for visitors. Instead of the usual daily 20,000 visitors, only 5,000 will be allowed. Visitors will have to buy tickets only as no physical tickets will be sold.