Wrestling star Bray Wyatt has died aged 36, WWE announced on Thursday.
Wyatt, real name Windham Rotunda, passed away unexpectedly, according to an article on the company's website. No cause of death was provided.
Sean Ross Sapp, managing editor of news outlet Fightful, said he was told Rotunda died of "heart issues exacerbated by Covid-19" despite previously having made progress towards recovery.
WWE’s chief content officer Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H, confirmed Rotunda's death on X, formerly Twitter, stating: "Just received a call from WWE Hall of Famer Mike Rotunda who informed us of the tragic news that our WWE family member for life Windham Rotunda – also known as Bray Wyatt – unexpectedly passed earlier today. Our thoughts are with his family and we ask that everyone respect their privacy at this time.”
Rotunda began wrestling in 2009 for Florida Championship Wrestling, before joining WWE's developmental roster at NXT, under the name Husky Harris with Cody Rhodes as his tag partner. In 2012, he formed the Wyatt Family stable alongside Erick Rowan and Luke Harper (Jon Huber), who also died unexpectedly in 2020.
Rotunda, who was also known for his character The Fiend and tag team partnership with wrestler Matt Hardy, won the WWE Championship in 2017 and most recently performed at the Royal Rumble in January.
He came from a family line of wrestlers, including his grandfather Robert Deroy Windham (Blackjack Mulligan), father Mike Rotunda, two uncles Barry and Kendall Windham and brother Taylor Rotunda (Bo Dallas), who all performed in WWE. He is survived by his fiance Joseann Offerman and their two children, as well as his two children with ex-wife Samantha Rotunda.
Tributes poured in from other wrestlers. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson said: "I'm heartbroken over the news of Bray Wyatt’s passing. Always had tremendous respect and love for him and the Rotunda family. Loved his presence, promos, in ring work and connection with the WWE universe.
"Very unique, cool and rare character, which is hard to create in our crazy world of pro wrestling. Still processing losing the goat, Terry Funk yesterday and now Bray today. My love, light, strength and mana to the Rotunda family and Funk family during this tough, heartbreaking time."
American wrestler The Miz posted on X: "The world lost a good one today. Bray Wyatt’s storytelling ability along with his unique creativity in the ring was a force that kept your eyes glued to the television screen.
"Windham Rotunda’s fun-loving, free spirit paired with his infectious laugh is what I will truly miss the most. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Rotunda family. Rest well my friend."
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Director: Andrew Rossi
Starring: Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, John Paul Gaultier, Rihanna
Three stars
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
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PULITZER PRIZE 2020 WINNERS
JOURNALISM
Public Service
Anchorage Daily News in collaboration with ProPublica
Breaking News Reporting
Staff of The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.
Investigative Reporting
Brian M. Rosenthal of The New York Times
Explanatory Reporting
Staff of The Washington Post
Local Reporting
Staff of The Baltimore Sun
National Reporting
T. Christian Miller, Megan Rose and Robert Faturechi of ProPublica
and
Dominic Gates, Steve Miletich, Mike Baker and Lewis Kamb of The Seattle Times
International Reporting
Staff of The New York Times
Feature Writing
Ben Taub of The New Yorker
Commentary
Nikole Hannah-Jones of The New York Times
Criticism
Christopher Knight of the Los Angeles Times
Editorial Writing
Jeffery Gerritt of the Palestine (Tx.) Herald-Press
Editorial Cartooning
Barry Blitt, contributor, The New Yorker
Breaking News Photography
Photography Staff of Reuters
Feature Photography
Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin of the Associated Press
Audio Reporting
Staff of This American Life with Molly O’Toole of the Los Angeles Times and Emily Green, freelancer, Vice News for “The Out Crowd”
LETTERS AND DRAMA
Fiction
"The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)
Drama
"A Strange Loop" by Michael R. Jackson
History
"Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America" by W. Caleb McDaniel (Oxford University Press)
Biography
"Sontag: Her Life and Work" by Benjamin Moser (Ecco/HarperCollins)
Poetry
"The Tradition" by Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press)
General Nonfiction
"The Undying: Pain, Vulnerability, Mortality, Medicine, Art, Time, Dreams, Data, Exhaustion, Cancer, and Care" by Anne Boyer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
and
"The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America" by Greg Grandin (Metropolitan Books)
Music
"The Central Park Five" by Anthony Davis, premiered by Long Beach Opera on June 15, 2019
Special Citation
Ida B. Wells
SPECS
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Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
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- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
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10 - major trophies won.
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- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
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Torque: 623Nm
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What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
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Admission: Free
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Racecard
The results of the first round are as follows:
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Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
