Top News Stories –
Nepal earthquake: Dozens die in new tremor near Everest –
A major earthquake has struck eastern Nepal, near Mount Everest, two weeks after more than 8,000 people died in a devastating quake. At least 48 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured, officials say. At least 17 have also died in India. The latest earthquake hit near the town of Namche Bazaar and sent thousands of panicked residents on to the streets of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. It had a magnitude of 7.3, compared with the 7.8 of the 25 April quake. [BBC]
Tom Brady: ‘Deflate-gate’ player banned for four matches –
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been suspended for four games by the National Football League after an inquiry into under-inflated balls. Brady, 37, will not receive any pay during his ban, while the team were fined $1m (£642,000) for a scandal that has become known as ‘Deflate-gate’. The NFL said on Monday the club were sanctioned after “failure to cooperate in the subsequent investigation”. According to reports, 11 of the 12 game balls they provided for the rain-affected match were under-inflated by about two pounds per square inch, giving Brady more grip in the cold and wet conditions. [BBC] The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl in April.
Tom Brady
Vienna brings in gay pedestrian crossing lights –
Dozens of traffic lights in the Austrian capital have been changed to show gay couples crossing the road instead of the traditional lone figure. Vienna has changed the signal images at 120 pedestrian crossings – also showing heterosexual couples – in preparation for the Eurovision Song Contest. Officials said the signals were a sign of Vienna’s open-mindedness. Toni Mahdalik of the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria called the initiative gender politics “gone mad”. He said the money would have been better spent on reducing poverty and improving unemployment figures. [BBC]
Verizon to buy AOL for $4.4bn –
US telecommunications giant Verizon has agreed to buy AOL in a deal worth $4.4bn (£2.8bn). Buying AOL will broaden the amount of advertising Verizon can sell and will increase video production. AOL owns websites such as the Huffington Post, Techcrunch, Engadget, Makers and AOL.com. Verizon is offering $50 a share for AOL, compared with AOL’s closing price of $42.59 on Monday. [BBC]
Arianna Huffington co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post
Video of the Day –
The Bull Rider from I Am Los Angeles – Joris Debeij on Vimeo.
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Other News Stories –
- Business and economy
- The Philippines establishes regulations for ride-sharing apps, like Uber, making it the first country to do so. (Wired)
- Verizon Communications Inc. announces that it will buy AOL Inc. for US$4.4 billion. (Fox Business)
- Bus drivers in the Indian city of Delhi call off a strike to protest the murder of a driver after the state government invokes the Essential Service Maintenance Act. (NDTV)
- Disasters and accidents
- An explosion on a train in the Indian city of Kolkata results in at least 17 people being injured. (Hindustan Times)
- Typhoon Noul arrives at the southern Japanese islands at Amami Oshima before moving through Kyushu and then Honshu. (AP)
- May 2015 Nepal earthquake
- A magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes the town of Namche Bazaar, Nepal, near the Tibetan border and the base camp for Mount Everest.(MSN), (BBC), (ABC News Australia), (Reuters via Daily Mail)
- The reported death toll from this earthquake is at least 66 people, including 17 in neighboring India and one in Tibet. Many more have been injured. (NBC News) (Reuters)
- A United States Marine Corps Bell UH-1Y Venom helicopter on a relief mission goes missing over Charicot, Nepal, with eight people on board.(The Guardian), (NBC News)
- May 2015 Amtrak derailment
- An Amtrak train derails in the Frankford neighborhood of the American city of Philadelphia causing cars to roll over. At least 5 people have been killed, 50 people are injured in the derailment, and 100 people total have been taken to hospitals.(USA Today)(Huffington Post),(CNN)
- International relations
- United States Secretary of State John Kerry will meet President of Russia Vladimir Putin during his first visit to Russia since the Ukraine crisisbegan. (BBC)
- Democrats in the United States Senate block passage of a fast-track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership sought by President Barack Obama. Government officials are not allowed to publicly reveal the content of what is officially described as a “trade deal” but was revealed by wikileaks to contain legal restrictions on US citizens outside of USA law. (The Hill)
- Law and crime
- Bangladeshi secular blogger Ananta Bijoy Das is cut to pieces by a masked gang wielding machetes in the city of Sylhet. He is the third secular blogger to be killed in Bangladesh this year. (BBC)
- Shooting of Tony Robinson
- Officer Matt Kenny of the Madison Police Department will not face charges in relation to the shooting of Tony Robinson in March 2015 in the American city of Madison. (CNN)
- Science
- Russia delays the return of three astronauts from the International Space Station due to a recent failure of a supply mission. (AFP bia France 24)
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