How long was Italy’s mafia boss on the run? And How is My First Barbie different from the traditional Barbie? (14 questions)

China last saw a population decline during the Great Leap Forward at the end of the 1950s. Mao Zedong’s campaign for collective farming and industrialization led to a massive famine that killed tens of millions.

Why is China’s population declining now?

The population in China is starting to decline nine to ten years earlier than predicted. On Jan. 17, 2023, China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported a population decline of 850,000 as of the end of 2022. The reasons: The expense of raising kids in cities and changing attitudes in East Asia, where birthrates have fallen in previous years.

Is China still the most populous nation on Earth?

China has long been the world’s most populous country, but with a population of over 1.4 billion and growing. India is expected to overtake it soon.

Announcing her resignation on Jan. 19, 2023, Jacinda Ardern will not run in New Zealand’s Oct. 14, 2023, general election. She’ll be a lawmaker until then. Ardern was a role model for women worldwide after becoming Prime Minister in 2017 at 37. Despite being lauded globally for her handling of the Coronavirus pandemic, Ardern faced growing criticism at home.

Fun Fact

Ardern is the second world leader who has given birth while holding office.

The notorious Cosa Nostra Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro was arrested in Sicily on Jan. 16, 2023, after 30 years on the run. More than 100 armed forces members were involved in the arrest of Italy’s most wanted Mafia boss.

What were the charges?

In 2002, Matti Messina Denaro was tried in his absence and sentenced to life in prison for multiple murders. In addition to killing anti-Mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, he was also convicted of bombings in Milan, Florence, and Rome in 1993 and kidnapping a mafia boss’s son, torturing him, and killing him.

What was Matteo Messina Denaro’s nickname?

Nicknamed “Diabolik” – the name of an uncatchable thief in a comic book series – and “U Siccu” (Skinny), Messina Denaro was also known as the last “secret keeper” of Cosa Nostra. He is believed to hold all the information and names of those involved in high-profile crimes by the Mafia.

On Jan. 18, 2023, Maria Ressa, a veteran journalist and Nobel laureate, was acquitted of tax evasion charges in the Philippines, where she is regarded as the “face of the free press.” Rappler, her news outlet, has been known for its in-depth coverage of Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly drug war. In what’s considered a silencing campaign, Ressa has been charged with several civil and criminal offenses since 2018. In 2021, she won the Nobel peace prize for “safeguarding freedom of expression.“

Is that the end of Ressa’s legal fights?

Ressa and Rappler face three more legal cases, a separate tax case filed by prosecutors in another court, her supreme court appeal on an online libel conviction, and Rappler’s appeal against the closure order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points in his career. LeBron James became the second NBA player to score 38,000 career points on Jan. 15, 2023. He also broke the record for being the youngest player to ever reach every career scoring milestone from 21,000 to 38,000 points. If the Lakers star keeps his current rate, he could become the top all-time scoring player as early as February.

My First Barbie launched on Jan. 12, 2023, ahead of July’s live-action Barbie movie. Two inches taller than the traditional doll, My First Barbie is $19.99 and comes with four shades of skin and hair textures. It has a bigger waist that de-emphasizes her bust line and flesh-tone modesty undergarments permanently attached. The limbs are moveable, like in previous versions, but with connected fingers and thumbs so that the new Barbie’s hands won’t get caught in her clothes when kids try to put them on.

Lisa Marie Presley, the singer-songwriter and only child of Elvis Presley, died on Jan. 12, 2023, in Los Angeles. She was 54. In 1977, at age nine, she lost her father, one of the most celebrated performers in music history. In 2020, her only son, Benjamin Keough, committed suicide.

Lisa Marie Presley Facts

She married the singer and songwriter Danny Keough in 1988. From 1994 to 1996, Presley was married to Michael Jackson. In 2002, Presley married Nicolas Cage, and in 2006, she married Michael Lockwood, a guitarist who produced her 2005 album. The two divorced in 2021. She leaves her daughter with Keough, actress Riley Keough, and her twin daughters with Lockwood, Harper, and Finley.

One of the post-World War II era’s first major European sex symbols, Gina Lollobrigida, died on Jan. 16, 2023, in Rome, at 95. Lollobrigida’s first English-language movie was John Huston’s 1953 camp drama, “Beat the Devil,” in which she played Humphrey Bogart’s wife and partner in crime. Lollobrigida also had a diverse second career as an artist and a filmmaker and ran unsuccessfully for the European Parliament in 1999.

By Jan. 22, 2023, James Cameron’s blockbuster sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water” had grossed $2 billion worldwide. It overtook “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($1.91 billion) as the sixth-highest-grossing picture in box office history and the highest-grossing picture released during the pandemic. One of the most expensive films in history, the sequel cost roughly $460 million to produce and promote. Historically, only five pictures have crossed $2 billion: Avatar ($2.9 billion), Avengers: Endgame ($2.79 billion), Titanic ($2.2 billion), Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($2.069 billion), and Avengers: Infinity War ($2.04 billion).

James Cameron revealed in an interview that each of the remaining three “Avatar” sequels would feature a different narrator. Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, was the narrator in “Avatar” and “Avatar: The Way of Water.” For the upcoming and still-untitled “Avatar 3,” Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) will take over as narrator.

Anything else we already know about Avatar 3?

James Cameron says he intends to tweak “Avatar 3” based on the audience’s reaction to Avatar: The Way of Water. “The fire will be represented by the ‘Ash People.‘”, Cameron told the French TV show 20 Minutes about the next sequel. “I want to show the Na’vi from another angle because, so far, I have only shown their good sides.” Avatar: The Way of Water producer Jon Landau confirmed the return of tulkun hunter Mick Scoresby in Avatar 3.

HBO premiered its big-budget version of gaming sensation “The Last of Us” on Jan. 15, 2023. The series’ creators, Craig Mazin (“Chernobyl”) and Neil Druckmann (a creator of the video game) incorporated a scene before the opening credits in which a scientist explains that a mind-controlling fungus could thrive on a warming planet.

Is there a zombifying fungus?

When the zombie-ant fungus, AKA Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, infects a carpenter ant, it grows through the insect, hijacking its mind, and forcing it to lock its mandibles around a leaf forever. It takes about a week for the ant to leave the safety of its nest and climb a nearby plant stem. When the ant climbs a leaf that overhangs its colony, fungal spores fall onto its sisters below and infect them.

Screenshot: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert / CBS

The TV series adaptation of Roger Zelazny’s “The Chronicles of Amber” is being executive produced by Stephen Colbert through his Spartina production company.

In the book series, The hero wakes up without a memory to discover he is the prince of a royal family that can travel through different dimensions of reality. Over 15 million copies of the books have been sold worldwide. There is currently no network or streaming service attached to the adaptation.

Fun Fact

“Game of Thrones” was influenced by these books, according to George R.R. Martin, who has previously stated that The Chronicles of Amber deserves adaptation.

On Jan. 16, 2023, Madonna announced “The Celebration Tour,” which will take fans on Madonna’s artistic journey through four decades. Tickets go on sale on Jan. 20. Starting in Vancouver, BC, on July 15, 2023, the tour will stop in Detroit, Chicago, New York, Miami, and Los Angeles before wrapping in Amsterdam in Dec. 2024. It’s Madonna’s 12th concert tour.

Giancarlo Esposito, who was the unforgettable Gus Fring on Breaking Bad, plays the main antagonist of The Mandalorian, Moff Gideon. The third season starts on Disney+ on Mar. 1, 2023. Minari’s Lee Isaac Chung and Black Panther’s Rachel Morrison will helm some new episodes. Watch the trailer.