If you are Japanese then you’re likely annoyed with Kim’s Kimono and we understand. Meanwhile, we sympathise with the family of the victims of the Tunisia bombings. Didn’t hear of it? Catch up with our Rave News Digest which summarizes some of the hottest global news you need to catch up on, saving you time and energy. Consider it your daily news fix.
Here is a rundown of five of the hottest news topics…
1. Tunisia’s capital rocked by suicide bombings
At least one person is dead and several others injured after Tunisia’s capital was hit by two suicide bombings on Thursday.
The first blast occurred in central Tunis when a bomber targeted a police patrol on the city’s main thoroughfare, Charles De Gaulle Avenue, according to an Interior Ministry statement.
A police officer was killed in the bombing, the state-run TAP news agency cited the Interior Ministry as saying.
It also injured three civilians and security personnel, who “received varying degrees of injuries,” the ministry said.
Ten minutes later, a police station in the city was hit by a second bomber. “One person blew themselves up behind the back door of the police department in El Gorjani neighbourhood,” the statement said.
At least four security personnel were injured in the El Gorjani bombing, two of them seriously, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Sofien Zaak.
The attack comes a day after the fourth anniversary of the Sousse attack, in which gunman went on a rampage on a Tunisian seaside resort, killing 38 people. ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack.
It is still unclear who was responsible for the attacks in Tunis as no sect has claimed responsibility.
2. Kim’s Kimono enrages Japanese
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has drawn the ire of the Japanese by naming her new line of shapewear ‘Kimono.’
The actress unveiled the new ‘Kimono’ line on Twitter, revealing that she had been working on the underwear for a year in a bid to offer “solutions for women that actually work.”
But the product has received mixed reactions especially in Japan where it has angered a few. The Japanese have called the trademarked brand a blatant disrespect for traditional clothing.
Originally, the kimono is a long-sleeved robe typically tied with a sash and dates back to 15th century Japan. It is considered the national dress of Japan and is mostly worn during special occasions.
Giving the stark contrast between Kim’s trademarked brand and the actual meaning of the word “kimono,” the pop culture icon has received heavy criticisms online.
Many people have taken issue with the fact that she is trying to trademark a word of great significance to the Japanese culture and pass it off as hers.
Others are enraged that what is considered a traditional garment, now shares the same name with an underwear line.
Some people have been tweeting with the hashtag #KimOhNo to express their anger and criticism of the brand.
3. Bitcoin rises to 18-month high, then crashes
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency on Wednesday, surged to its highest price since January 2018. But being as volatile as always, it soon came crashing down again.
According to industry site CoinDesk, the world’s first and largest cryptocurrency soared to a high of $13,485.85 Wednesday afternoon, but prices later dropped back below the $12,000 level.
The sharp price decline came at the same time as an outage on popular cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase. A Coinbase spokesperson via a statement said that the site was down “for a short period of time due to high volume.”
Bitcoin started trading this year at around the $3,700 level and has more than tripled since. Although, prices are still short of their all-time high near $20,000 reached in December of 2017.
But still, Wednesday’s price change brings bitcoin’s one-week gains to more than 35%, and its year-to-date increase to more than 240%.
While Bitcoin price fluctuations are rather unpredictable, analysts largely attributed the bounce back from the lows of 2018 to more interest in the currency following Facebook’s announcement of a cryptocurrency project called Libra which is set to be launched in 2020.
4. Beth Chapman dies after battle with cancer
Dog the Bounty Hunter star, Beth Chapman, has died aged 51. News of her death comes after her husband Duane “Dog” Chapman, revealed that she was admitted to Hawaii’s Queen’s Medical Centre on June 22.
According to reports, when she was rushed to the medical centre, she was put into a medically induced coma over the weekend after battling cancer for years.
Making the announcement of his wife’s death on Twitter on Wednesday, Duane wrote, “It’s 5:32 in Hawaii, this is the time she would wake to go hike Koko Head mountain. Only today, she hiked the stairway to heaven. We all love you, Beth. See you on the other side.”
The couple first opened up about Beth’s illness in September 2017 when they publicly announced her stage II throat cancer diagnosis.
In November 2018, Beth was hospitalised in Los Angeles for emergency surgery to clear a throat blockage that was obstructing her airways. During that period, her husband Duane admitted that she was “not doing well”.
Beth underwent surgery to remove the tumour from her throat but struggled with the recovery process. She died in the early hours of Wednesday morning. She is survived by her husband and four children.
5. Super Eagles progress to Round of 16
Despite not quite hitting the heights, the Super Eagles became the first team to qualify for the Round of 16 in the Africa Cup of Nations as Nigeria beat Guinea 1-0 on Wednesday evening.
Kenneth Omeruo scored the only goal of the game when he headed in a 73rd-minute corner by Moses Simon.
With the win, Nigeria now has six points from two matches after also defeating Burundi in their opening game of the competition.
The points will be sufficient enough to see the Eagles through irrespective of the outcome of their final game at hand as they go top of Group B.
A reminder that the top two nations in each of the six groups advance, along with four best losers.
The other two nations in Group B, Madagascar and Burundi, will play on Thursday after which Burundi will take on Guinea and Madagascar will face Nigeria in the final round of qualifying fixtures on Sunday.
Elsewhere in the competition, hosts Egypt continued their perfect start to the campaign as they thrashed the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-0 to go top of Group A and become the second nation to qualify for the Round of 16 knockout stages.
Muslihat Shaka reporting
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