Top News Stories –

Pope takes Mass with 6 million people –
Pope Francis finishes his tour of the Philippines giving Mass in front of an estimated 6 million people in Rizal Park in the capital Manila. This appears to be a record attendance for a papal event eclipsing the 5 million who saw Pope John Paul II in Manila in 1995.

AB de Villers gets fastest ODI ton –
A new record for the fastest 100 in a one-day international (ODI) by South Africa batsman AB de Villiers who hit a century off 31 balls during an innings of 149 against the West Indies in Johannesburg. Including 8 fours and 10 sixes to beat the previous ODI record of 36 balls by New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson against West Indies on January 1st 2015 but doesn’t match Chris Gayle’s 100 from 30 balls in the Indian Premier League on April 23rd 2013. See List of the Day below.

Vonn’s record causes Tiger to lose a tooth –
American skier Lindsey Vonn (@lindseyvonn) has won her 63rd World Cup downhill title with a win in the super-G race in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy overtaking the record set by Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell over 35 years ago. Vonn’s boyfriend is golfer Tiger Woods who surprised her by being at the podium after the event. In the media scrum to get pictures of the skier a hand-held camera knocked out one of Wood’s front teeth. She celebrated with this tweet:

Lindsey Vonn

Video of the Day –

Wetness from The Coastal Crew on Vimeo.

List of the day –

Fastest One Day International Centuries in Cricket (According to ESPN)

Top Twitter Trends –

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israeli–Lebanese conflict
  • An Israeli helicopter strike near the border with Syria kills two senior IRGC figures and six members of Hezbollah.(Reuters), (Xinhua)
• Boko Haram militants kidnap 80 people and kill three others from villages in north Cameroon. (Daily Mirror)
• A clash with Hindu villagers in Sarayian village in India‘s Bihar state leaves at least three Muslim villagers burned to death. (AP)
• Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
  • State-sponsored army and Islamist-sponsored opposition declare a ceasefire. (AFP via Al-Arabiya)

Arts and culture

• 2015 Papal visit to Sri Lanka and the Philippines
  • Pope Francis celebrates Holy Mass in Manila to a crowd of 6 to 7 million, the largest papal gathering since 1995 World Youth Day mass celebrated by late Pope John Paul II in the same place, despite pouring rain. (CNN),(BBC), (Rappler)
  • In his homily, Pope Francis speaks out against poverty and corruption but he sends a message about the importance of family, particularly children. (Reuters), (AP via Fox News)

Disasters and accidents

• Icy roads from a freezing-rain storm cause at least four deaths in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. (KGO)(Bloomberg), (ABC News America) (NBC10)

Law and crime

• Indonesia executes six people for drug trafficking including foreign citizens from Brazil, Malawi, the Netherlands, Nigeria, and Vietnam. Brazil and the Netherlands withdraw their ambassadors in protest. (News Limited), (ABC Australia),(BBC)
• Chinese police shoot dead two ethnic Uighurs in Pingxiang, Guangxi while they attempt to cross into Vietnam after members of their group resisted arrest with knives. The public security ministry accuses a separatist group of orchestrating hundreds of cases of human smuggling. (The New York Times)

Sports

• AB de Villiers made the fastest century in ODI cricket history, reaching 100 off just 31 balls against the West Indies.(BBC)
• Lennar Urban cancels their demolition plans to implode Candlestick Park due to concerns over public health issues from the concrete dust and pollution. (KTVU)
• The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots win their respective conference championships to advance to the February 1 Super Bowl XLIX. (NFL.com)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource