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Andy Murray claims Wimbledon crown, beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets

ANDY Murray ended Britain’s agonising 77-year wait for a Wimbledon men’s singles champion on Sunday when he destroyed world number one Novak Djokovic, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the blistering heat of the All England Club.

The 26-year-old became the country’s first male winner since Fred Perry in 1936, the year the Spanish Civil War started, Jesse Owens defied Hitler at the Berlin Olympics and Gone With The Wind was published.

It was Murray’s second Grand Slam title to follow his breakthrough triumph at the US Open in 2012 which followed his Olympic gold medal as well as a heartbreaking, tearful loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.

However, Sunday’s title showdown, between two men who have now contested three of the last four Grand Slam finals, rarely lived up to expectations.

[News.com.au]

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Armed conflicts and attacks

• A serial blast injures 5 people near Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya, in the Indian state of Bihar. (TOI)

Disasters and accidents,

• A De Havilland Otter air taxi crashes near the Soldotna Airport in Soldotna, Alaska, killing all ten on board. (Associated Press via ABC News) (Peninsula Clarion)

Law and crime

• Abu Qatada, a Palestinian Muslim cleric allegedly affiliated with al-Qaeda, is deported from the United Kingdom to Jordan to face charges of terrorism. (BBC)
• Police in Sweden fatally shoot a knife-wielding man after he allegedly stabbed three people, an elderly woman fatally. (AP via News 24)

Politics and elections

• Opponents of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi call for demonstrations to be held today in the aftermath of the 2013 Egyptian coup d’état (AAP via Herald Sun)

Sport

• Andy Murray of the United Kingdom wins the Men’s Singles at Wimbledon, defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in straight sets. Murray becomes the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936. (News Limited)

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South Africa’s Nelson Mandela dies in Johannesburg

South Africa’s first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has died at the age of 95.

Mr Mandela led South Africa’s transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison for his political activities.

He had been receiving intensive medical care at home for a lung infection after spending three months in hospital.

Announcing the news on South African national TV, President Jacob Zuma said Mr Mandela was at peace.

“Our nation has lost its greatest son,” Mr Zuma said.

Mr Zuma said Mr Mandela – who is known affectionately by his clan name, Madiba – had died shortly before 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT). He said he would receive a full state funeral, and flags would be flown at half-mast.

Crowds have gathered outside the house where Mr Mandela died, some flying South African flags and wearing the shirts of the governing African National Congress, which Mr Mandela once led.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was one of the world’s most revered statesmen after preaching reconciliation despite being imprisoned for 27 years.

[BBC]

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Armed conflict and attacks

• Unidentified militants attack a Defense Ministry compound in Sana’a, Yemen, killing at least 52 people and injuring 167 others. Most of the victims appear to be doctors and nurses, working at a hospital within the property. (Al Jazeera) (CNN)
• 2013 Central African Republic coup d’état:
  • The United Nations approves the creation of the MISCA peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic, initially led by the African Union with French military support, to help quell the ongoing civil war, as reports emerge of more than 100 people killed during recent clashes in the capital Bangui. (Reuters)
• Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
  • Militants in Kirkuk, Iraq, attack a mall and police headquarters, killing 10 people and injuring another 70. (Xinhua)
• Post-civil war violence in Libya:
  • Unidentified gunmen shoot and kill a U.S. teacher at an international school in Benghazi, Libya. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

• Thalía is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (Variety)

Disasters and accidents

• A major winter storm called Bodil hits the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany, disrupting traffic and causing four people to be dead or missing and widespread damage amid fears of flooding along the North Sea coast. (BBC), (AFP via France 24)

International relations

• Australia and South Korea successfully negotiate a free trade agreement. (AAP via News Limited)
• Vice President of the United States Joe Biden criticizes the People’s Republic of China for a recent crackdown of foreign journalists in the country. (The Washington Post)
• United States Secretary of State John Kerry meets with the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem to talk about many topics including the nuclear program of Iran. (U.S. Department of State)
• Myanmar‘s Thein Sein and the Philippines‘ Benigno Aquino III ink trade agreements including those that involve renewable energy, mass media, and visa-free travel. (GMA News)

Law and crime

• Indonesia jails 14 Rohingya asylum seekers for their role in a deadly brawl in a North Sumatra detention centre that claimed 8 lives. (AP via ABC News America)
• Pope Francis, in his first major action on the still very pressing issue, gives his assent during meetings on reform of the Roman Curia to the creation of a permanent expert-member Pontifical Commission which would advise the Catholic Church on how to deal with cases of the sin and crime of sex abuse of minors by those in Church ministries (as of now, it would not be able to take corrective action against lax Bishops; dioceses and then the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith are in charge of laicizing abusive clerics). (Catholic News Service)

Politics and elections

• 2013 Thai protests:
  • The King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej calls for stability as he celebrates his 86th birthday. (AP via ABC News America)
• Nobel prize winner, anti-Apartheid activist, and former South African president, Nelson Mandela, dies at age 95. (World News) (BBC)

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