News OF THE World

Rome’s not lovin’ it. Italy’s highest administrative court blocked McDonald’s from building an 11,000-square-foot franchise by the famous Baths of Caracalla, The Art Newspaper reported.

The massive public baths, called thermae, date to the early 200s AD. They’re a UNESCO World Heritage Site and tourist attraction — and where Italy’s culture ministry had approved a Golden Arches drive-thru before the mayor of Rome raised an outcry.

At least a dozen people were killed and at least 16 injured in a stampede at a holy shrine in northern India, CNN reported.

Thousands of pilgrims were visiting the Mata Vaisho Devi Shrine in Jammu, when the fatal trampling occurred. The cause of the chaos hasn’t yet been determined.

Two members of Pussy Riot — the international activist musical act — have been branded “foreign agents” by the Russian justice ministry, the BBC reported.

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Nika Nikulshina will now have to register and disclose certain financial and political activities — as well as put their new “foreign agent” label in social-media posts and other public messages.

Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry Co. plan to launch the world’s first wooden satellite in 2023, Japan Today reported.

The sylvan satellite will be cheaper than conventional aluminum ones — and burn up upon reentry to Earth’s atmosphere, reducing the environmental impact of space exploration. The 10-centimeter cube will be covered in wood and solar cells, and include an antennae inside — because, unlike most satellites, radio waves will be able to penetrate its exterior.

The People’s Republic of China promised to “severely punish all kinds of tax evasion and show no forgiveness” in 2022, says the South China Morning Post.

The statement, issued by the State Taxation Administration, marked a departure from 2021, when the tax collector’s agenda focused on the negative effects government levies have on private enterprise.