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Collector sets dog figurine world record

Spanish collector Maria Gabarro did not care for real dogs but won a posthumous place in the Guinness World Records this year for the largest collection of canine-related items – 5,025 figurines, soft toys or dog-head walking sticks. Gabarro, a sales manager from Terrassa, a town about 30 km (19 miles) from Barcelona, started his mammoth collection of figurines in his 60s. When he died last year aged 94, his children decided to see if the haul could claim a record as a tribute to their parents.

Reuters

3 hours ago

Africa

10 hours ago

Rwanda and Congo edge closer to peace deal

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have agreed on an outline for the regional economic integration framework, as the two countries take steps toward delivering on a peace deal signed in Washington in June. The tenets agreed on Friday summarise the framework, which includes elements of cooperation on energy, infrastructure, mineral supply chains, national parks and public health, the State Department said in a statement. Rwanda and Congo signed a peace deal in Washington in June at talks held by US President Donald Trump’s administration, which aims to bring an end to fighting that has killed thousands and attract billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.

Reuters

10 hours ago

Foreign visitors to be charged at tourist sites

New Zealand will make it easier to run businesses in conservation zones and charge foreign tourists to enter some areas in an effort to create jobs and increase economic growth. The decision by the centre-right government, elected in 2023, is part of its efforts to boost New Zealand’s tourism industry and stimulate a limp economy. ”Tourists make a massive contribution to our economy, and no one wants that to change. But I have heard many times from friends visiting from overseas their shock that they can visit some of the most beautiful places in the world for free,“ said Conservation Minister Tama Potaka.

Reuters

12 hours ago

Trump fires job numbers chief

US President Donald Trump has fired the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after data showed weaker-than-expected employment growth in July and massive downward revisions to the prior two months’ job counts. Trump accused McEntarfer, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, of faking the jobs numbers. There is no evidence to back Trump’s claims of data manipulation by the BLS, the statistical agency that compiles the closely watched employment report as well as consumer and producer price data.

Reuters

15 hours ago

Slow progress in US-Canada trade talks

A proposed US-Canada trade deal could still be weeks away, Ottawa’s chief negotiator has said, a day after US President Donald Trump imposed higher tariffs on imports from Canada. Trump - who had set an August 1 deadline for an agreement - signed an executive order increasing tariffs on Canadian goods to 35 per cent from 25 per cent on all products not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Prime Minister Mark Carney insisted on the talks to reset bilateral relations, saying Trump’s tariffs have upended decades-old trading and security ties. The negotiations, though, have so far produced little.

Reuters

16 hours ago

Reuters

McKeown snaps up double

Collector sets dog figurine world record

Rwanda and Congo edge closer to peace deal

Foreign visitors to be charged at tourist sites

Trump fires job numbers chief

Slow progress in US-Canada trade talks