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Thousands of couples have attended a mass wedding held by the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, also known as the Unification Church, in South Korea.

The ceremony was held at the Cheongshim Peace World Centre in Gapyeongin near the capital Seoul despite fears the event could help spread the coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan in China.

South Korea has confirmed 24 cases of the coronavirus - the latest a South Korean airlifted from Wuhan last week.
Some of the couples wore masks for the ceremony but not everyone saw a mask as a necessary precaution.
Nearly 6,000 people from more than 60 countries were married at the event. Such events have been a feature of the Unification Church since the 1960s.Attendees were checked for coronavirus symptoms. Other large-scale events in South Korea have been cancelled. The church did however ban couples from China from attending.
The Unification Church handed out face masks to the 30,000-strong crowd - but not everyone wore them.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51414560

A cartoon cat, sick of the annoying mouse living in his home, devises a plot to take him out with a trap loaded with cheese. The mouse, wise to his plan, safely removes the snack and saunters away with a full belly.

You can probably guess what happens next. The story ends as it almost always does: with the cat yelling out in pain as yet another plan backfires.

The plot may be familiar, but the story behind it may not be. From Academy Award wins to secret production behind the Cold War's Iron Curtain - this is how Tom and Jerry, who turn 80 this week, became one of the world's best known double-acts.

The duo was dreamt up from a place of desperation. MGM's animation department, where creators Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera worked, had struggled to emulate the success of other studios who had hit characters like Porky Pig and Mickey Mouse.

Out of boredom, the animators, both aged under 30, began thinking up their own ideas. Barbera said he loved the simple concept of a cat and mouse cartoon, with conflict and chase, even though it had been done countless times before.

Puss gets the Boot was the first they released, in 1940. The debut was a hit and won the studio an Oscar nomination for best animated short. Despite their work, the animators were not credited.

Managers initially told them not to put all their eggs in one basket. A change of heart came only when a letter arrived from an influential industry figure in Texas asking when she would see another one of those "wonderful cat and mouse cartoons".

Jasper and Jinx, as they were first known, became Tom and Jerry.According to Barbera there was no real discussion about the characters not speaking, but having grown up with silent films starring Charlie Chaplin, the creators knew they could be funny without dialogue. Music composed by Scott Bradley underscored the action and Tom's trademark human-like scream was voiced by Hanna himself.

For the best part of the next two decades, Hanna and Barbera oversaw the production of more than 100 of these shorts. Each took weeks to make and cost up to $50,000 to produce, so only a handful could be made every year.

These Tom and Jerrys are almost universally considered the best, with rich hand-drawn animation and detailed backdrops helping win them seven Academy Awards and cameos in Hollywood feature films."I'll bet when you watched them as a child, or even if you look at them right now, you would be hard-pressed to know when they were made," says Jerry Beck, a cartoon historian who has worked in roles across the industry.

"There's something about animation. It's evergreen, it doesn't fade," he says. "A drawing is a drawing, it's like when you go see paintings. Yes, we know they're from the 1800s or 1700s - it doesn't matter and it still speaks to you today."

"That's the thing with these cartoons. What we've learned in time is that they really are great art. They're not disposable throwaway entertainment."When producer Fred Quimby retired in the mid-1950s, Hanna and Barbera took over MGM's cartoon department just as budget cuts closed in. Studio bosses, threatened by the growing popularity of television, realised they could make almost as much money by re-issuing the old shorts as they could by making new ones.

When their department was closed down in 1957, Hanna and Barbera set up their own production company.

But only a few years later, MGM decided to revive Tom and Jerry without its original creators. In 1961 they outsourced to a studio in Prague to save on costs. Chicago-born animator Gene Deitch was tasked with heading the remake, but struggled with a tight budget and staff with no knowledge of the original.

His studio also secretly made episodes of other cartoons, including Popeye. Czech names were Americanised on the credits to stop viewers associating the shows with Communism.Because of the Iron Curtain, the animators in the studio here in Prague had never ever even seen a Tom and Jerry cartoon," Deitch later told Radio.cz.

He knew, being the first to follow up the classics, that he would be "in the line of fire" from fans, and his 13 cartoons are regularly labelled the worst. In interviews Deitch was honest about their bad reputation and revealed he even received a death threat over them.

After him the task fell to Chuck Jones, best known for his work on Looney Tunes at Warner Brothers. Under him, Tom's eyebrows grew thicker and his face more twisted, and was more like the Dr Seuss character the Grinch that Jones also animated.Mark Kausler, 72, is one of many people who have warm memories of Tom and Jerry growing up. He dragged his father to see reels of the shorts, over and over, at his local cinema in St Louis. He began making his own cartoons, partly inspired by the characters, and went onto an extensive animation career of his own.

"So much of it is based on the way they look and the timing and the way the music works and everything," he says. "It was such a wonderful formula, the way everything interconnected."

"And when they tried to disassemble and reassemble it with another crew and with another type of designer and other comedy - it just rings inauthentic to me, if you know what I mean."He came a little too late into the industry to work on Tom and Jerry itself, but remembers the excitement of the "monumental" moment Hanna and Barbera showed up to his animation school.

At MGM, television had been seen as a "bad word", but after going it alone Hanna and Barbera pivoted into the platform. With longer episodes and smaller budgets, they adapted their animation style and used tricks to save time and money.

Their cartoons dominated children's television for decades. They first found success in the early 1960s with characters like Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear and soon, more hits like The Flintstones, Top Cat and Scooby Doo followed.

In the 1970s the pair returned to Tom and Jerry. By then, many of the early episodes were considered "too violent" under fresh guidelines issued to networks. New episodes, with the duo as friends, never lived up to the success of the originals.Like other cartoons of the time, the show's legacy has also been complicated by long-standing criticism of its depictions of race. In particular, the character of "Mammy Two Shoes" - a black housemaid with an exaggerated southern accent usually seen from the waist down - has been labelled an offensive racial caricature. Parts of the series also contain jokes using blackface and derogatory depictions of Asians and native Americans.

When the originals were broadcast on US television in the 1960s, some scenes were edited out with "Mammy" replaced with new characters added by Jones's team. Today the worst-offending episodes are usually cut from re-release collections and streaming platforms. Attention was drawn to this in 2014 when Amazon Prime Instant Video added a "racial prejudice" warning to the series.

Tom and Jerry, with its slapstick violence and dark comedy, remains extremely popular around the world today. It can be found on children's television everywhere from Japan to Pakistan and a new mobile phone game has more than 100m users in China.

The show has also, surprisingly, found itself in news headlines. In 2016, a top Egyptian official tried to blame the cartoon for rising violence in the Middle East and Iran's Supreme Leader has compared their US relations to Tom and Jerry at least twice.

As a regular on the BBC schedule for decades, it became particularly well liked in the UK and a 2015 poll named Tom and Jerry as the most popular cartoon in Britain among adults.

In the 80 years since their creation, the cat and mouse have appeared in everything from a "kids" version to a 1992 musical movie where they sang and spoke.

Bill Hanna died in 2001 and Joe Barbera passed away in 2006. A year before his death, Barbera was credited for the last time on a Tom and Jerry short - which was also his first without his former partner.

"We understood each other perfectly, and each of us had deep respect for the other's work," he said of their working relationship.Warner Brothers, who now own the rights to Tom and Jerry, will release a new live-action film just before Christmas this year. Not much is known about the project, except that actors including Chloë Grace Moretz and Ken Jeong have signed on.

For Jerry Beck, Tom and Jerry's enduring appeal comes in part from the character's universal relatability.

"I think most people can identify with little Jerry because there's always an oppressor in our lives," he says.

"We always have someone, our boss, our landlord, politics - whatever it is. And we're just trying to live our lives and somebody wants to disturb it."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51357832

A soldier who killed 26 people in a gun rampage in the Thai city of Nakhon Ratchasima has been shot dead by the security forces, Thai police say.

Jakraphanth Thomma on Saturday killed his commanding officer before stealing weapons from a military camp.

The suspect continued his attack on the streets and in a shopping centre in Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat.

The gunman, who posted material to social media, was shot dead after being cornered all night in the building.

Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha gave the higher death toll on Sunday, an increase from an earlier figure of 20. Fifty-seven people are wounded.

"It is unprecedented in Thailand, and I want this to be the last time this crisis happens," he said, after visiting the wounded at a hospital in Nakhon Ratchasima.

He said the motive for the attack appeared to be Jakraphanth's grudge over his belief that he had been cheated in a property deal.Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul posted on his Facebook page on Sunday morning, congratulating the security forces for their actions in the north-eastern Thai town.

"Thank you police and army for ending the situation. Shooter shot dead!!!"

What happened at the shopping centre?
Shortly after 03:00 local time (20:00 GMT on Saturday) gunfire was heard as the security forces raided the building, trying to dislodge the gunman.

Several people were led out of the centre, but there were concerns that more people were being held hostage.

At 09:30 (02:30 GMT) on Sunday, police confirmed that the gunman had been shot dead, but so far there are no more details about how the operation concluded.

Earlier reports said the gunman, aged 32, had tried to escape via the back of the building.

The suspect's mother was also brought to the shopping centre to try to persuade him to give himself up.

One of the people freed told the BBC how she and others hid in a bathroom on the fourth floor, before fleeing to the second and hiding under a restaurant table for three hours, hearing at least four gunshots before she saw some soldiers and could get to safety.

Charlie Crowson, a teacher of English who lives in Nakhon Ratchasima, told the BBC there were "bodies on the streets" of the normally peaceful town.

He said that one of his girlfriend's former students was among those killed in the attack that lasted for many hours.

How did the attack unfold?
It began at about 15:30 local time on Saturday (08:30 GMT) at the Suatham Phithak military camp, where the commanding officer, named by the Bangkok Post as Col Anantharot Krasae, was killed.

The Post said a 63-year-old woman, Col Anantharot's mother-in-law, and another soldier were also killed there.

The suspect seized arms and ammunition from the camp before taking a Humvee-type vehicle.

He then opened fire at a number of sites before arriving at Terminal 21 at about 18:00 local time (11:00 GMT).

Local media footage appeared to show the suspect getting out of his vehicle and firing shots as people fled.

CCTV footage showed him inside the shopping centre with a raised rifle.

What did the suspect post on social media?
He posted on his social media accounts during the attack, with one post on Facebook asking whether he should surrender.

He had earlier posted an image of a pistol with three sets of bullets, along with the words "it is time to get excited" and "nobody can avoid death".

Facebook has now taken the page down.

It said: "Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and the community affected by this tragedy in Thailand. There is no place on Facebook for people who commit this kind of atrocity, nor do we allow people to praise or support this attack."

That's bum short not pant.

Congratulations to her.

Real definition of "risky"

I agree with fixed bad roads = Less traffic.

As for others- CIAO

Khaleell001:
Sperm will not finish, it will only reduce because of our environmental behavior towards certain things we use.

Read well before quoting.

If sperm could finish,with the way some guys go about digging, some guys would be left with nothing even before 30.

Rilikoko:
There is actually a movie series about him, telling his story shortly after Pablo’s death.....too bad I can’t recollect the name again but it’s in Spanish and subtled to English

Narcos

Una mumu don do.

I'm not fat buy this gym of a thing. Is it expensive?

SultanOfPuna:
Ok, mine is weird but I'll say it anyway

One afternoon I saw one hungry Ant strolling on its own, so I placed a cube of sugar on its way.
The Ant stopped, first check the sugar to know if it is real or fake.
Then started giving the sugar some good licking.
After few seconds the Ant stopped licking then decided to go back and inform his ant friends to come and join him with the Huge Cube of Sugar He discovered..

When I saw the Ant rolling with his niggas coming back to devour the sugar, I quickly removed the sugar before they arrived.
When they arrived they saw nothing.
The Ant felt so embarrassed infront of his Bros as they insulted him for lieing to them
About finding Sugar..
I hope that Ant has not comitted Suicide

Craze man

I no just like this meek mill.

To both of them:

This life ehn.

Weddings don't always go exactly to plan - but one couple found themselves unable to even attend their own.
Joseph Yew and his wife Kang Ting had returned to Singapore from Hunan province in China just three days before their wedding.

Guests who found out about this expressed concerns about attending. The couple decided to live-stream into the wedding to allay their fears.

Hunan province borders Hubei - the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.

In China alone, there are now more than 24,300 cases of the virus, with the death toll at 490.

There is a much smaller number of cases in other countries around the globe - two people outside mainland China have died of the disease.

Singapore has reported 28 cases of the infection so far, including local transmission of the disease.

'No other options'
On 24 January, Mr Yew and Ms Kang - who is from Hunan province - flew back to spend Lunar New Year with her family.
Mr Yew told the BBC that there had been no sense of panic when they were back in Hunan, especially since the area they were visiting was quite rural.

They returned on 30 January, with their wedding due to take place on 2 February at M hotel - a hotel in downtown Singapore.

The couple actually got married in China in October, but this second wedding - a grand dinner banquet - was held for all of Mr Yew's family and friends who were unable to make it to China.

It is not uncommon in Asian culture for two weddings to be held, especially when both bride and groom come from different countries. But when guests found out the couple had just returned from China, they started to get worried.

"Some of them said they were not coming," he said.
"We wanted to postpone the wedding but the hotel was not willing to. They said everything had been arranged and it was non-negotiable. So we felt like we had no choice but to proceed with the wedding."

The couple decided they would not attend the wedding to allay their guests fears."We told the guests we would video conference in... some of them were shocked," he said. "I think if we had been there, the atmosphere would be different. People would have been wary.

"My parents were not [happy about it] at first but they eventually agreed."

Ms Kang's parents were also unable to attend the wedding as multiple travel restrictions have been put in place amid fears of the virus spreading.

In the end, only 110 of 190 guests made it - with some still skipping the event for various other reasons.

On the evening of 2 February, the couple dialled into the wedding from where they were staying - one of the rooms at M hotel where the wedding was held.

"We thanked the guests for coming and told them to enjoy the dinner," said Mr Yew.

The hotel also delivered champagne to the couple. They popped the cork in their room after giving their celebratory toasts and speeches, which was all live-streamed for guests at the wedding.

"We were not sad but a bit disappointed," said Mr Yew of his wedding.


"I think there were no other option so [I have] no regrets."

Finland's new government has announced plans to give all parents the same parental leave, in a push to get fathers to spend more time with their children.
Paid allowance will increase to a combined 14 months, which works out as 164 days per parent.

Neighbouring Sweden has Europe's most generous system of parental leave with 240 days each after a baby's birth.

Finland says it wants to "promote wellbeing and gender equality".

Health and social affairs minister Aino-Kaisa Pekonen told reporters that "a radical reform of family benefits" had begun, with the aim of strengthening the relationship of parents from the start.

Pushing fathers to take their leave
Under the current system in Finland, maternity leave is 4.2 months, while fathers are given 2.2 months until the child turns two. On top of that, another six months' parental leave can be shared.

However, on average only one in four fathers take what they are given. The current plans now talk only of parental leave.

Each parent would receive 6.6 months' leave (164 days under Finland's six-day-week benefit system) and pregnant women would get an additional month's allowance.

Parents would be allowed to transfer 69 days of their quota. Single parents would be allowed to use both allowances.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said last month that her country still had some way to go to achieve gender equality, and complained that too few fathers were spending time with their children when they were young.

Rest of Europe heading the same way
Anne Lise Ellingsaeter, a University of Oslo professor who led a Nordic inquiry into parental leave, told the BBC that the Nordic countries had been leading the way on giving fathers entitlement that could not be transferred to the mother.

The EU is also heading that way, with a 2019 directive giving member states three years to provide each parent with at least four months' leave, including two months that can not be transferred.
Portugal already has a gender-neutral system, with 120 days paid at 100% of salary and another optional 30 days at 80% of salary.

Prof Ellingsaeter said giving fathers increased rights had not been a complete success in the Nordic countries.

"Norway was the first country in 1993 to have non-transferable leave for fathers and then Sweden followed suit. But Denmark instituted a father quota in 1998 and abolished it later, and it hasn't been re-introduced," she said.

Fathers in Denmark get two weeks after a birth and the mother and father can share a further 32 weeks between them.

Since December, Finland has been governed by a five-party coalition and each party is led by a woman. Ms Marin, 34, has said it is "not that big a deal" in Finnish terms to have women in power.

The government estimates that the changes will cost an extra €100m (£84m; $110m).

Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Estonia and Portugal were praised in a Unicef report last year for offering the best family-friendly policies.

It ranked the UK, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus and Switzerland the lowest of 31 "rich countries".

Lalasticlala

Sabi boy

Ha!! Death is everywhere.

Wtf??

Too late. I already have 5.

Hm

Grammar everywhere.

S