While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Jan 23 edition

Yemeni President quits, throwing nation deeper into chaos

Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi resigned on Thursday, a government spokesman said, throwing the country deeper into chaos days after Huthi rebels battled their way into his presidential palace.

Hadi, an ally of the United States, stood down abruptly shortly after Prime Minister Khaled Baha had offered his government's resignation, saying it did not want to be dragged into "an unconstructive political maze".

This was an apparent reference to a stand-off between Mr Hadi and the Shi'ite Muslim Huthi movement which has been holding the President a virtual prisoner in his own official residence.

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Davos 2015: Britain's Prince Andrew denies underage sex claim

Britain's Prince Andrew on Thursday made his first public comment on allegations that he had had sex with an underage girl, reiterating previous official denials of the accusations.

Speaking before world and business leaders at an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the 54-year-old second son of Queen Elizabeth II said he wanted to address the events of the last few weeks.

"I just wish to reiterate and to reaffirm the statements which have already been made on my behalf by Buckingham Palace," he said. "My focus is on my work."

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Climate change, nuclear threat bring world 'two minutes closer' to doomsday: Scientists

Climate change and the danger of nuclear war pose an ever-growing threat to civilisation and are bringing the world closer to doomsday, a group of prominent scientists and Nobel laureates said Thursday.

"It is now three minutes to midnight," said Kennette Benedict, executive director of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, as the group moved its symbolic "Doomsday Clock" two minutes forward.

The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947. It has changed 18 times since then, ranging from two minutes to midnight in 1953 to 17 minutes before midnight in 1991.

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Football: $300 million World Cup stadium closes after just eight months for repairs

Brazil's World Cup stadium at Cuiaba is undergoing emergency repairs, just eight months after its inauguration, the government of the central western state of Mato Grosso said Thursday.

"The Pantanal Arena will have emergency repairs to resolve various construction problems with a view to offering security to its users," a state government statement read.

The US$250 million (S$330 million) stadium, holding 44,000 fans, was built in a race against the clock in time for the World Cup last June and July.

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Football: Real Madrid agree to sign Brazil midfielder Lucas Silva

Cruzeiro have agreed to sell defensive midfielder Lucas Silva to Real Madrid, the Brazilian champions said on Thursday.

Spanish media reported the fee would be around €15 million (S$23 million).

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