January 1, 2016

Top News Stories –

Rat on a plane: Air India flight returns to Mumbai after rodent spotted on board –
An Air India plane flying to London was forced to return to Mumbai after passengers spotted a rat on board, the airline said on Thursday. Though the rat was not found, the pilot returned to Mumbai on Wednesday keeping passenger safety in mind, Air India said in a statement. Passengers were later flown by a separate aircraft to London. The aircraft would be fumigated and checked before it is returned to service. Maintenance workers would have to make sure that the rat did not damage equipment or chew any wires and the plane is certified to be rodent-free, an airline official said. [Daily Telegraph]

China’s new two-child policy law takes effect –
Married couples in China will from Friday (Jan 1) be allowed to have two children, after concerns over an ageing population and shrinking workforce ushered in an end to the country’s controversial one-child policy. The change, which was announced in October by the ruling Communist Party, takes effect from Jan 1, 2016, Beijing’s official Xinhua news agency reported over the weekend. The “one-child policy”, instituted in the late 1970s, restricted most couples to only a single offspring through a system of fines for violators and even forced abortions. For years, authorities argued that it was a key contributor to China’s economic boom and had prevented 400 million births. [Channel News Asia]

Video of the Day –

Philips Presents: The Longest Night from T Brand Studio on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

100 Things we didn’t know last year – by the BBC (1-33)

1. It costs £300 to operate on a constipated goldfish.

Find out more

2. Traditionally, police horses in England’s Thames Valley force can be called Odin, Thor or Hercules, but not Brian.

Find out more

3. Barack Obama calls David Cameron “bro”.

Find out more (Time)

4. The first sports bra was made from two jockstraps.

Find out more

5. One in 10 of Britain’s train carriages still flush toilet waste straight on to the railway tracks.

Find out more

6. Jamaica, Colombia and Saint Lucia are the only countries in the world where a woman is more likely to be a boss than a man.

Find out more (Washington Post)

7. You don’t have to speak French to become French-language Scrabble world champion.

Find out more

8. Kolo Toure, the Ivory Coast and Liverpool defender, hasn’t touched his own dog for seven years.

Find out more (Metro)

9. An egg can be unboiled.

Find out more (Metro)

10. There are four different ways to pronounce diplodocus, and the way children say it is probably more technically correct than the academics’ preferred option.

Find out more

11. A 51-year-old software engineer named Bryan Henderson has edited Wikipedia 47,000 times to remove the ungrammatical term “comprised of”.

Find out more (Backchannel)

12. Buzz Aldrin claimed $33.31 in travel expenses connected to his trip to the moon.

Find out more (Daily Telegraph)

13. Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond once played a ghost in a Bollywood soap opera.

Find out more (Buzzfeed)

14. “Let us turn ours into a country of mushrooms by making mushroom cultivation scientific, intensive and industrialised!” is an official slogan of North Korea.

Find out more

15. Roughly 56% of average monthly earnings in Malawi are spent on mobile phone charges, compared with about 0.11% in Macau, China.

Find out more

16. Quentin Tarantino still records films from TV on VHS cassettes.

Find out more (Independent)

17. Lollipop men and ladies who “high five” pedestrians may be breaching official protocol.

Find out more

18. Squid can fly – but they tend to do it under cover of darkness.

Find out more

19. It’s possible to trick the brain into thinking it can hear Mariah Carey sing All I Want For Christmas Is You.

Find out more (New Scientist)

20. King Arthur may have been Glaswegian.

Find out more (The National)

21. A man-sized lobster lived 480 million years ago.

Find out more

22. At Hotel Football, run by ex-Manchester United players, Gary Neville is represented in the bathroom by blackcurrant-extract shampoo while brother Phil is a bar of soap.

Find out more (Financial Times)

23. Vicars and priests have the highest job satisfaction of all UK workers.

Find out more

24. Narwhals’ long tusks – an exaggerated front tooth used for courtship – are super-sensitive.

Find out more

25. There is only one concert grand piano in Gaza.

Find out more

26. Boston in Lincolnshire is one of the most neurotic places in Great Britain while Orkney is one of the least.

Find out more

27. Michael Jackson made a series of prank calls to Russell Crowe.

Find out more (Guardian)

28. Breaking Bad is the show people most often lie about having watched.

Find out more (Radio Times)

29. The UK’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency does not permit the wearing of colanders on heads in driving licence photos, even for religious reasons.

Find out more (Daily Mirror)

30. People who swear have larger vocabularies.

Find out more (Toronto Sun)

31. The Queen likes to have her pre-lunch gin and Dubonnet in front of BBC Two’s The Daily Politics.

Find out more (Daily Mail

32. In September 1944 the New York Times explained pizza to its readers and included a rare use of its plural “pizze” – there was an earlier article but it only mentioned pizza in passing.

Find out more (New York Times)

33. There is little international trade in onions – about 90% are consumed in their country of origin.

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4	#Feliz16ComDetremuraSdv	#HowWeLivinMusicVideo	#wcoc2016
5	#Em2016EuAindaNao	#MummersParade	#LondonNYE
6	#الهلال_الشباب	#FiestaBowl	#2016IsZaynsYear
7	Página 1 de 366	#NewYearsDay	#Hello2016
8	#НОЧЬШЕРЛОКА	#outbackbowl	#Hootenanny
9	#1şeydiyeceğim	#2015TweepAwards	#ResolutionsFor2016
10	#2016IsZaynsYear	Tel Aviv	Entered 2016

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A shooting takes place at a pub in Tel Aviv, Israel, leaving two dead and eight injured. The police claim to know the identity of the shooter and have launched a nationwide manhunt. (Haaretz)

Arts and culture

A new 28-foot tall statue of Jesus, dubbed “Jesus de Greatest,” is unveiled on New Year’s Day outside St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Abajah village, Nigeria’s Imo state, which is described as the tallest Jesus statue in Africa. (USA Today)

Disasters and accidents

About one thousand houses in Manila’s Tondo district in the Philippines are set ablaze following New Year’s Eve firecracker festivities that left one dead and 380 others injured. (AP via CTV News)

International relations

The EU-Ukraine Free Trade deal officially comes into force, coinciding with a Russian food embargo on Ukraine. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Law and crime

The two-child policy takes effect in China, allowing couples in the country to have at most two children, replacing the controversial one-child policy. The change in law was announced by the ruling Communist Party on October 29 and passed the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on December 27, five days prior to its effect. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)

Politics and elections

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who has been the President of Iceland for 20 years, announces in his new-year speech that he will not seek relection for a sixth term when presidential elections will be held in June. (Visir)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 2, 2016

Top News Stories –

Royal Shakespeare Company reveals its high-tech tips: carrots, cereal and tea bags –
The Royal Shakespeare Company is to open up its archives for the first time, sharing the behind-the-scenes secrets that have made their most accomplished productions. Anyone hoping to hear the highest-tech tricks of the trade, however, may be in for a surprise, as they disclose techniques even a schoolboy could master. The RSC’s first permanent exhibition of its own archives will show visitors how the company uses carrot sticks, rice crispies, and glue to pull off specific special effects. It will also how it uses tea bags and water to age the look of ordinary paper to make it appear Elizabethan: a trick used by schools up and down the land. The visitor attraction, called The Play’s The Thing, will open in June 2016, making it the RSC’s first exhibition devoted to the making of Shakespeare plays. It will be part of the restoration of the Swan Wing, built in 1879 and the oldest part of the Stratford-Upon-Avon theatre. [Daily Telegraph]
Swan_Theatre_Stratford

Video of the Day –

Leftfield “Head and Shoulders” from Ewan Jones Morris on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

100 Things we didn’t know last year – by the BBC (34-66)

34. Chewing something can partially excise earworms – songs that stick in the mind.

Find out more (the Times)

35. Former UK Liberal Democrat party leader Lord Ashdown told his successor that he used to eat hedgehogs.

Find out more (Evening Standard)

36. In north-eastern England, Conservative candidates used to wear red, Liberals blue and Labour green rosettes until the 1970s.

Find out more

37. Larry King tweets by calling a dedicated voicemail, which is listened to by an assistant who then transcribes his thought to Twitter.

Find out more (Vox)

38. Mali has two tax rates – 3% and 30% – and you might be asked which you’d rather pay.

Find out more

39. The world’s favourite colour is blue.

Find out more (YouGov)

40. Radiohead’s Thom Yorke appears on the front of an Iranian self-help book about marital and sex problems.

Find out more (Daily Mirror)

41. Tom Cruise advised Nasa on how to design their website.

Find out more (Daily Telegraph)

42. Drug dealers in Marseille offer loyalty cards.

Find out more (The Local)

43. The worst times to drink coffee are between 08:00-09:00, 12:00-13:00 and 17:30-18:30. The best is about an hour after waking up, regardless of the time.

Find out more (AsapSCIENCE)

44. The chances of a successful bank robbery are higher in the morning – but it’s also among the least lucrative crimes.

Find out more

45. Iceland has the world’s happiest gay men.

Find out more (Planet Romeo)

46. Chinese authorities consider the phrase “your mum” too coarse for the internet.

Find out more (Bloomberg)

47. There are only three non-gentrifying neighbourhoods in New York City.

Find out more (Gawker)

48. Reddit has a very detailed 9,000-word guide to the dos and don’ts of giving away Game of Thrones spoilers.

Find out more (Reddit)

49. Oliver Cromwell supposedly called the Magna Carta the “Magna Farta” – he didn’t like it.

Find out more (New Yorker)

50. Most kangaroos are left-handed.

Find out more

51. Marvel Comics stipulates that Peter Parker must be white and straight but Spiderman can be of any ethnicity or sexual orientation.

Find out more (Washington Post)

52. The word “twerk” dates back to 1820.

Find out more

53. Heaven exists but hell does not, according to the theology of Sepp Blatter.

Find out more

54. UK officials discussed plans to relocate the entire 5.5 million population of Hong Kong to Northern Ireland in 1983.

Find out more

55. Three-times F1 world champion Niki Lauda swapped his trophies for unlimited free car washes.

Find out more (Reuters)

56. Playing Tetris for 12 minutes the day after a traumatic event can reduce flashbacks.

Find out more (Smithsonian magazine)

57. There are four main personality types into which people can be categorised when drunk: “Mary Poppins”, “Hemingway”, “Nutty Professor” and “Mr Hyde”.

Find out more (the Drinks Business)

58. Minions are all male because their creator believed they were too stupid to be female.

Find out more (The Wrap)

59. Nando’s is one of the biggest buyers of contemporary South African art.

Find out more (FT)

60. In Ohio, it’s illegal to disrobe in front of a man’s portrait.

Find out more (Slate)

61. A UK court can determine how short your shorts should be.

Find out more (Caerphilly, Ystrad Mynach and Bargoed Campaign)

62. Butt-dials aren’t considered private conversations in the US.

Find out more (Slate)

63. A baby is born on its predicted due date just 4% of the time.

Find out more

64. For three months, Leicestershire police didn’t investigate attempted burglaries if they occurred at odd-numbered properties.

Find out more (The Times)

65. Reindeer migration is a major live television event in Norway.

Find out more

66. Real Paleolithic people, contrary to some of the followers of the fashionable modern diet named after them, appear to have eaten plenty of carbohydrates.

Find out more (Quartz)

Top Twitter Trends –

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7	#ALDUBHappyBAEdayALDEN	#AskEthanAndGrayson	#Sherlock
8	#新年なので改めて�…	#PardonMeButDoYouHave	Lil Kesh
9	#Pathankot	GRRM	Happy New Year
10	#今年一年仲良くし�…	#FastFoodHorrorFilms	Don Jazzy

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Terrorism in India
- 2016 Pathankot attack
  - Heavily armed terrorists, reportedly members of Jaish-e-Mohammed, attack an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab; three security force personnel and four of the terrorists are reported to have been killed. (DNA)
Mexican Drug War, List of politicians killed in the Mexican Drug War
- Gisela Mota Ocampo, mayor of Temixco in Mexico‘s Morelos state is assassinated by gunmen at her home, less than a day after taking office. Morelos Governor, Graco Ramírez, attributed Mota’s killing to organized crime, without citing a particular drug cartel or gang. (AP via Daily Mail)
Militia occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
- Armed militiamen, including members of the Bundy family of Nevada, take over and occupy the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon following a peaceful rally in support of Dwight and Steve Hammond, who were convicted of arson in 2012 for setting fires on public land adjacent to their property. (Oregon Live)

Law and crime

Sheikh Nimr, 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests
- The Saudi Arabian government executes Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia Muslim cleric and leader of the anti-government Shia opposition group. The execution faced worldwide reactions by politicians, Muslim religious figures, and Shia people.(BBC) (The Nation) (Indian Express) (Reuters)
- Iranian protesters ransack and set fire to the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran, in response to the Saudi execution of Nimr al-Nimr. (The New York Times)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 3, 2016

Top News Stories –

Paul McKenna: I chose my wife by Excel spreadsheet –
Paul McKenna, the hypnotist and self-help guru, has disclosed that he decided who to marry by using an Excel spreadsheet. The 52-year-old revealed the software – normally used by accountants and office administrators – helped him to choose his wife-to-be, his long-time personal assistant Kate Davey. McKenna, who is worth around £40m, said a friend had pointed out that although he had dated a “lot of beautiful women”, he “didn’t actually like them”. He was encouraged to “make an Excel spreadsheet” to find out who he loved – and it turned out to be Kate, who has worked with him for 20 years. The pair revealed their feelings to each other three years ago and are now engaged to be married. [Daily Telegraph]
Paul McKenna

Video of the Day –

Infinity Room – [TIEE] from Refik Anadol on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

100 Things we didn’t know last year – by the BBC (67-100)

67. MI5 erroneously suspected novelist Doris Lessing of running a brothel.

Find out more (Independent)

68. US Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders released a spoken-word folk album in 1987.

Find out more (Dangerous Minds)

69. It is possible to have orgasms in your left foot.

Find out more (New York magazine)

70. The formula for the perfect poohstick is PP = A x I x Cd.

Find out more

71. Silk can be made from the solidified saliva of a clam.

Find out more

72. Gorillas have individual tastes in music.

Find out more (Discover Magazine Blogs)

73. The simpler and more repetitive a song’s lyrics, the more likely it is to reach number one in the Billboard Hot 100, debut in the top 40 and climb the chart more rapidly.

Find out more (Psychology Today)

74. The producer who was Gordon the Gopher’s puppeteer ended up as the BBC’s head of editorial standards.

Find out more

75. Bill Cosby was the first choice to play Sam Malone in Cheers, ahead of Ted Danson.

Find out more (Hollywood Reporter)

76. In their spare time, US fighter pilots play a mash-up of pool and rugby called crud.

Find out more (New York Times)

77. Scots have 421 words for snow.

Find out more

78. Lies are more convincing when the person telling them needs to urinate.

Find out more (Daily Telegraph)

79. Spotify’s shuffle is not truly random but sprinkles different genres evenly across a playlist and alternates songs by the same artist.

Find out more

80. The English composer Benjamin Britten wrote a national anthem for Malaysia, only for it to be rejected in favour of a cabaret tune.

Find out more

81. Elephants almost never get cancer.

Find out more (Nature News)

82. Actor Brian Blessed says that he delivered a baby in a park, bit through the umbilical cord and then licked the infant’s face clean.

Find out more

83. People who like their coffee black are more likely to be psychopaths.

Find out more (Huffington Post)

84. American toddlers shoot one person a week on average.

Find out more (Washington Post)

85. Biff Tannen’s older self, as portrayed in Back to the Future Part II, was based on Donald Trump.

Find out more (Daily Beast)

86. The US used to relocate beavers by parachuting them out of planes.

Find out more (Mashable)

87. Dancing to Gangnam Style could raise people’s pain thresholds.

Find out more (Wired)

88. Pregnancies conceived in December have the best chance of success.

Find out more (Netmums)

89. Men with beards have a greater tendency to hold sexist attitudes than their clean-shaven counterparts.

Find out more (Mental Floss)

90. Footballers have worse teeth than the general population.

Find out more

91. It’s possible to hallucinate a foreign accent.

Find out more (Brain Decoder)

92. Victoria’s Secret Bombshell perfume is almost as good at repelling mosquitoes as commercial insect sprays containing Deet.

Find out more (Daily Beast)

93. Germaine Greer wrote a 30,000-word love letter to Martin Amis in 1976.

Find out more (the Guardian)

94. You’re So Vain definitely is about Warren Beatty (and two other men).

Find out more

95. A 17th Century scientist planned to paint the bubonic plague on to hats to create a biological weapon.

Find out more (New Scientist)

96. The Churchill household spent around £1,160 each year on wine, £104,400 in today’s money.

Find out more (the Economist)

97. A cow’s flatulence could fill a 55-gallon (250-litre) bag with methane in one day.

Find out more (Grist)

98. It would cost £11,602.25 to send a letter to Mars from the UK.

Find out more (Daily Mirror)

99. Text messages that end with a full stop are seen to be less sincere than those that don’t.

Find out more (Wired UK)

100. Employees who say they love following the rules are the ones who are most likely to be fired for breaking them.

Find out more (New York Magazine)

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#زد_رصيدك51	#OregonUnderAttack	Gary Anderson
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9	#UFC195	#PHIvsNYG	The Dark Knight
10	#ConfesionesNocturnas	#YallQaeda	#ANWTC3

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for a suicide bomb attack on a Iraqi Army base (Camp Speicher, now known as Tikrit Air Academy), near the town of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, that killed at least 15 and injured 22. (Reuters)
Terrorism in India
- 2016 Pathankot attack
  - Gunfire and loud explosions are heard at an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab, as anti-terrorist operations continue. A further two militants, for a total of six, are reported to have been killed; seven military and paramilitary personnel are reported to have been killed, with up to 20 other security personnel wounded. (DNA)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 South Pacific cyclone season
- Fiji warns residents to prepare for the impact of severe tropical cyclone Ula. (AFP via France 24)
In the United States, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo orders communities statewide to place homeless people in shelters when temperatures reach freezing. (The Washington Post)

Environment

The United Kingdom designates Ascension Island and its surrounding waters in the Atlantic Ocean as a Marine protected area. The reserve will be almost as big as the UK with just over half of the protected area completely closed to fishing. (BBC)

International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- North Korea may be preparing for an imminent thermonuclear weapon test at its Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, located in the country’s North Hamgyong Province where previous tests took place in 2006, 2009 and 2013, according to a South Koreanmilitary report. (Yonhap News Agency)
Saudi Arabia breaks off diplomatic relations with Iran after Sheikh Nimr’s execution. (BBC)

Law and crime

Mexican Drug War
- Two suspects are killed in a clash with police, and three others are arrested in connection with yesterday’s assassination of Temixco, Morelos’s newly inaugurated mayor Gisela Mota Ocampo. Governor Graco Ramírez, who attributed Mota’s killing toorganized crime, calls for three days of mourning. (AP via ABC news)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 4, 2016

Top News Stories –

Sexy China TV drama busted, returns to air more sedate –
A Chinese television drama that was pulled off the air after the female characters appeared on screen showing cleavage has returned to the screen, though this time showing only the actresses’ heads, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday. The drama, “The Empress of China” also known as the “Saga of Wu Zetian”, was removed by commercial satellite station Hunan TV for “technical reasons” in late December, Xinhua said. Chinese Internet users responded by complaining about the censorship on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. Several complained that they would not be able to see the hundreds of costume changes by Fan Bingbing, one of China’s most popular actresses, who plays the Empress Wu. [Reuters]

Video of the Day –

Behind Eugene • Making A Viral BuzzFeed Video

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#PrimeiraSegundaDoAnoSdvDTr	#mondaymotivation	#backtowork
2	#mondaymotivation	#NationalSpaghettiDay	#StolenOnStolen
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9	#あなたの薄い本で�…	#njwk10	#WarAndPeace
10	#2016DeseoQue	Zidane	BBC Three

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Two Sunni mosques are bombed in central Iraq and a muezzin is killed amid fears of renewals of sectarian strife following Saudi Arabia‘s execution of Shi’ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia. (AFP via Straits Times)
Killing of captives by ISIL
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) releases a video showing the killing of five men accused of committing espionage on the militant group for the United Kingdom. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office released a statement saying that they are examining the content of the video. (AFP via ABS-CBN News) (CBS News)
2016 Pathankot attack
- Five of the terrorists who attacked an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, Punjab are reported to have been killed; mopping-up and search operations continue. National Security Guard officials state the operations will continue until the air base is made safe. (Indian Express)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant‘s branch in Libya attacks the Libyan oil port of Sidra, which is Libya’s largest oil depot. Two members of the Petrol Facilities Guard militia, which is defending Sidra, were reportedly killed in clashes. Islamic State militants were reportedly pushed back from the port, but the group now says it controls the town of Bin Jawad, 30km west of Sidra on the road from its stronghold in Sirte. (BBC)

Business and economy

2015 Chinese stock market crash
- Trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange are suspended for the day after stock indices plummeted by 6.85% and 8.1% respectively. (CNBC)
- In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average closes 275 points down due to concerns over the Chinese economy. (NBC News)
Nokia, the telecommunications giant based in Finland, announces that it has gained control of French counterpart Alcatel-Lucent, and sets the date for formal consolidation as January 14. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Northeast India earthquake
- At least six people are killed and dozens injured from a 6.7 magnitude earthquake that struck 20 miles from the city of Imphal, the capital of the Indian state of Manipur, near the border with Myanmar. (NBC News) (The Times of India), (Ap), (AFP via Yahoo! News)

International relations

Foreign relations of Iran
- Sudan and Bahrain follow Saudi Arabia‘s lead and cut diplomatic relations with Iran, and the United Arab Emirates downgrades diplomatic ties. (BBC)
- Saudi Arabia will end all air traffic and trade links with Iran, and demands that Iran must “act like a normal country” before it would restore severed diplomatic relations. (Reuters)
- Syria‘s political opposition in-exile urges all Arab countries to sever diplomatic ties with Iran. The Turkey-based Syrian National Coalition declared its support for Riyadh‘s move, calling on “all Arab and Islamic countries to take a similar step”, and criticized what it said was Iran’s support for Shia militias in Syria and Iraq. (Jerusalem Post)
European migrant crisis
- In efforts to control an influx of migrants, Denmark introduces ten days of identity checks on its southern border with Germany, while Sweden introduces similar measures on the Øresund Bridge between itself and Denmark. All three countries are subject to the Schengen Agreement on the free movement of people. (BBC)

Law and crime

The President of the United States Barack Obama announces executive orders to expand background checks for firearms and toughen regulation of firearms. (The New York Times)
New Year’s Eve Cologne sex attacks
- German police begin investigations into a gang of up to 1,000 men of North African and Arab appearance who committed sexual assaults on women in Cologne‘s main square on New Year’s Eve. (AFP via The New York Times)

Politics and elections

Marshallese general election, 2015
- Casten Nemra is elected President of the Marshall Islands by the Nitijela. Nemra narrowly defeated Alvin Jacklick by a 17-16 vote. (Marshall Islands Journal)
Former “Peking University prodigy” Li Shulei is named the Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the municipality of Beijing. (SCMP)

Science and technology

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry confirms the addition of four new chemical elements to the periodic table after scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratoryin Livermore, California, United States provided sufficient evidence to fill the elements 113, 115, 117 and 118, which were temporarily named ununtrium, ununpentium, ununseptium and ununoctium, respectively. (The Guardian)

Sports

In association football, La Liga powerhouse Real Madrid sack manager Rafael Benítez, replacing him with former Real and France great Zinedine Zidane. (ESPN FC)
In American football, the National Football League receives relocation applications from the San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders to relocate to Los Angeles. (ESPN)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 5, 2016

Top News Stories –

German carpenter invents on-off contraception switch for sperm –
A German carpenter has invented a valve which he claims will revolutionise contraception, by allowing a man to turn the flow of sperm from his testicles on and off at the flick of a switch. Clemens Bimek told Spiegel magazine the idea first came to him some 20 years ago, when he was watching a television documentary about contraception, and wondered whether it would be possible to control the flow of sperm with a simple valve. When he discovered that no one had ever filed a patent for such a device, he decided to develop his own. “Many of the doctors I consulted didn’t take me seriously. But there were some who encouraged me to go on tinkering and helped me with their expertise,” Mr Bimek said. Now the valve he has developed is to be implanted in 25 men in trials – starting this year. [Daily Telegraph]

Cricket record: Pranav Dhanawade hits 1,009 in school match –
An Indian teenager scored more than 1,000 runs in a single innings to set a new world record in school cricket. Fifteen-year-old Pranav Dhanawade broke the previous record of 628 set by Arthur Collins in 1899 on Monday. But he continued his innings in the HT Bhandari Cup inter-school tournament and reached 1,009 runs. He smashed 59 sixes and 127 fours in 395 minutes before his KC Gandhi School declared the innings at 1,465 against Arya Gurukul School on Tuesday. [BBC]
Sachin Tendulkar tweet

‘Anti-IS group’ claims BBC website attack –
A group that says it targets online activity linked to so-called Islamic State (IS) has claimed it was behind an attack on the BBC’s website. All the BBC’s websites were unavailable for several hours on New Year’s Eve after what a BBC source described as a “distributed denial of service” attack. The group, calling itself New World Hacking, said it had carried out the attack as a “test of its capabilities”. In a tweet to BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones, the group said: “We are based in the US, but we strive to take down Isis [IS] affiliated websites, also Isis members. “The reason we really targeted [the] BBC is because we wanted to see our actual server power.” Earlier, New World Hacking had said: “It was only a test, we didn’t exactly plan to take it down for multiple hours. Our servers are quite strong.” [BBC]

Video of the Day –

The Wire from Elliot Lim on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#TEENWOLF5BTODAY	#NationalBirdDay	#NTA2016
2	#TercaDetremuraSdv	#ElCambioComienzaHoy	Coachella
3	#زد_رصيدك53	#TooColdTuesday	Tyga
4	#ElCambioComienzaHoy	#TEENWOLF5BTODAY	#HousingBill
5	#PSYBringBackAngYna	#BillyManziel	LCD Soundsystem
6	#NocheDeReyes	#StopGunViolence	#SilentWitness
7	#FelizMartes	#BadStarWars8Names	Troy Deeney
8	Página 5 de 366	#LArain	#WheresRey
9	#ご利益のある人ラ�…	Brian Urlacher	#pointswestlive
10	#ALosReyesLesPido	#TWUG	#FatCatTuesday

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- A United States Army soldier is killed and two others wounded in a joint operation with Afghan National Security Forces in Afghanistan‘s southern Helmand Province. (Washington Post)
2016 Kaliachak riots
- Violent riots break out in Kaliachak, West Bengal, India, after political activist Kamlesh Tiwari allegedly insulted the Muslim prophet Muhammad. (Times of India)
Nimr al-Nimr
- One Shia protester is killed and a child is injured by Saudi police in Al-Awamiyah, Eastern Province. (FT)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- Islamic State militants continue to besiege the Libyan oil port of Sidra, attacking checkpoints on the road to the port, leaving seven guards dead. The National Oil Corporation (NOC) said an oil storage tank in the port was set on fire by a long-range rocket, and that the oil tank fire started just as firefighters were close to bringing under control another blaze at an oil tank that was hit during fighting in the nearby Ra’s Lanuf Refinery on Monday. (Reuters)
The Islamic State, following Saudi Arabia’s execution of 47 people on Saturday, threatens to destroy the Saudi’s Tarfiya and al-Ha’ir Prisons holding Al-Qaeda and ISIL supporters. (Reuters) (Daily Mail)

Disasters and accidents

A bus catches fire in the Chinese city of Yinchuan resulting in at least 14 deaths and over 30 injured. (AP via Fox News)

Environment

2015–16 North American winter
- Droughts in the United States
  - California’s state climatologist Michael Anderson mentions that the recent El Niño-fueled storms will put a dent in the ongoing drought, but not end the conditions citing larger reservoirs that are still below normal. (USA Today)
- 2014–16 El Niño event
  - Back-to-back-to-back storms from the current El Niño, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says ties the strongest on record (1997–98), are likely to produce dangerous flooding and mudslides in the Western United States with as much as 15 inches (30cm) of rain, and about 2 feet (60cm) of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains over the next two weeks. (UPI) (NBC News)

International relations

Syrian Civil War
- Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir says the country’s recent tensions with Iran will not interfere with Syrian peace talks scheduled to begin in Geneva, Switzerland, later this month. (Reuters) (The Washington Post)
China-Taiwan Relations
- China says flights from the Chinese cities of Nanchang, Kunming, and Chongqing, will be allowed to stop at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport before flying to a third destination. Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou applauded this step toward normalizing relations between the two states. Taiwan’s opposition party expressed concern that Beijing is trying to interfere with the country’s January 16, 2016, presidential and legislative elections. (Reuters) (The Straits Times) (Central News Agency)

Politics and elections

Reform of the People’s Liberation Army in China:
- The Second Artillery Corps is re-organized into the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force.
- The People’s Liberation Army Strategic Support Force is founded, with Gao Jin as its inaugural commander and Liu Fulian as Political Commissar.
- The Ground Force is re-organized under the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force Command, under commander Li Zuocheng. (SCMP)
Former Beijing Deputy Communist Party Secretary Lu Xiwen is expelled from the Communist Party of China for “interfering with the market economy and law enforcement” and “living a luxurious lifestyle”, among other offenses. (SCMP)
United States presidential election, 2016
- On January 18, 2016, the British Parliament will debate a petition, signed by more than 560,000 people, calling for the Home Secretary to ban United States Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump from entering the United Kingdom because of ‘hate speech‘ that is unacceptable behavior, non-conducive to the public good. The conclusion reached by the lawmakers will not be binding on the UK government. (The Washington Post) (AP via The Washington Post)
United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- The United Kingdom‘s Prime Minister David Cameron announces he will suspend collective responsibility ahead of the referendum on the country’s EU membership, allowing ministers to campaign for the UK to leave the European Union. A member of his cabinet was reportedly due to resign over the issue within 24 hours. (The Telegraph)

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January 6, 2016

Top News Stories –

Twitter closer to allowing longer tweets of up to 10,000 characters –
Twitter is considering ditching its 140-character limit in tweets. After 24 hours of speculation it seems the the social media company is considering a new 10,000 character limit – the same as for Direct Messages. It’s the latest effort by the firm to appeal to a wider audience. Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey has said he isn’t definitely set on sticking with 140 characters. [BBC] See Top twitter Trends

Netflix extends its service to almost all the world –
Netflix has gone live in nearly every country in the world. The firm announced it had switched on its service in 130 additional countries. It said it was still trying to expand to China. The other exceptions are North Korea, Syria and Crimea, where it is banned from operating by US law. The announcement was made by the firm’s chief executive Reed Hastings at his keynote speech at the CES tech show in Las Vegas. He also confirmed that Netflix would begin offering HDR (high dynamic range) content later this year. The company’s shares jumped to about 8% over their opening price following the announcements. [BBC]

‘Star Wars: Force Awakens’ Tops ‘Avatar’ to Become No. 1 Film of All Time in North America –
J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the highest-grossing film of all time in North America, not accounting for inflation. On Wednesday, the Disney and Lucasfilm mega-blockbuster overtook the $760.5 million earned by James Cameron’s Avatar. Force Awakens — which grossed $8 million on Tuesday for a domestic total of $758.2 million — achieved the milestone in only 20 days in release, a remarkable feat. [Hollywood Reporter]

Video of the Day –

Bei Hai / 北海‬ (animation Rob Jabbaz. music Howie Lee) from Rob Jabbaz on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

People’s Choice Television Award winners:
Favourite show: The Big Bang Theory
Favourite network comedy: The Big Bang Theory
Favourite comedic actor: Jim Parsons
Favourite comedic actress: Melissa McCarthy
Favourite network drama: Grey’s Anatomy
Favourite dramatic actor: Taylor Kinney
Favourite dramatic actress: Ellen Pompeo
Favourite cable comedy: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Favourite cable drama: Pretty Little Liars
Favourite cable actor: Kevin Hart
Favourite cable actress: Sasha Alexander

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SoyMuyFelizCuando	#kroenkecomplaints	#Twitter10k
2	#زد_رصيدك54	#Twitter10k	North Korea
3	#QuartaSnapDetremuraSdv	Rosa Parks	#newsnight
4	#ALDUBONLYYou	#WasteHisTime2016	#woofwoofwednesday
5	#NoTeLoPerdonareJamasCarmena	#1lineWed	Gemma Collins
6	#حزب_الله_يقتل_…	#Powerball	Christopher Maloney
7	#Twitter10k	Griffey	Jonathan
8	#QuandoABadBateEu	#DmMeCarter	#ZaynStayStrong
9	#SeImpusoLaConstitucion	Pierre Boulez	Megan
10	#あなたの特殊能力	#IdolPremiere	Pat McFadden

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- The Islamic State‘s Libyan branch continues attacks on Libya‘s oil ports of Sidra and Ra’s Lanuf, resulting in at least 10 security personnel deaths and 40 injured. The National Oil Corporation (NOC) reports that fires continue to rage in both Sidra and Ra’s Lanuf after oil storage tanks were hit by shells. (Al-Jazeera) (BBC)
Bahrain says it has dismantled a terrorist cell allegedly linked to Iran‘s Revolutionary Guard and Lebanon‘s Hezbollah. (The National)

Arts and culture

Star Wars: The Force Awakens becomes the highest-grossing film ever in the United States and Canada, overtaking Avatar. (Hollywood Reporter)

Business and economy

TransCanada, the firm that unsuccessfully applied for cross-border permission to build the Keystone XL pipeline, files a lawsuit against the United States alleging that the refusal of permission violated theNorth American Free Trade Agreement. (Reuters)

International relations

2016 North Korean nuclear test
- A 5.1 magnitude earthquake near Sungjibaegam, North Korea, is suspected to be a nuclear explosion at the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site. North Korea announces it has conducted a hydrogen bomb test. They claim to have tested a miniaturized bomb. If not true it would mean that the test partially failed. (AFP via ABC News Australia) (AP) (Bloomberg) (The Guardian)
- The Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban-Ki Moon demands that North Korea should cease any further nuclear activity. (ABC News Australia)

Law and crime

German police temporarely seal off the main entrance to the chancellery building because of a suspicious package. (Reuters) (AP via USA Today) (Al Arabia)
Texas state trooper Brian Encinia is charged with perjury in connection with the death of Sandra Bland. (AP via Fox 32)

Sport

In Major League Baseball, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Griffey was named on all but three of the 409 ballots received, surpassing Tom Seaver for the highest voting percentage in Hall history. Griffey and Piazza will be formally inducted on July 24. (NBC News)

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January 7, 2016

Top News Stories –

Igloo built in middle of downtown Chicago road stumps the internet –
An igloo built in the middle of a busy road in downtown Chicago has captivated the internet and left people passing by a little confused. Internet users speculated the 5ft-tall igloo home built under a streetlight near a busy intersection had been constructed by a homeless person. However the person who created the home from slabs of ice has been identified as local resident David Sudler. He built the chilly fort over two nights using the ice blocks and a milk crate to stack the slabs and create the roof. [Daily Telegraph]
Adam Robinson Tweet

Facebook wants to kill off your phone number –
The days of the phone number are, quite literally numbered, thanks to the inexhorable rise of the company’s Messenger app, according to David Marcus, Facebook’s vice president of messaging products. “Think about it: SMS and texting came to the fore in the time of flip phones. Now, many of us can do so much more on our phones; we went from just making phone calls and sending basic text-only messages to having computers in our pockets,” Marcus wrote in a blog post. “With Messenger, we offer all the things that made texting so popular, but also so much more,” he said. “Yes, you can send text messages, but you can also send stickers, photos, videos, voice clips, GIFs, your location, and money to people. You can make video and voice calls while at the same time not needing to know someone’s phone number.” [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Dillon Francis – Not Butter from Brandon Dermer on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

People’s Choice Music Award winners:
Favourite male artist: Ed Sheeran
Favourite female artist: Taylor Swift
Favourite group: Fifth Harmony
Favourite breakout artist: Shawn Mendes
Favourite male country artist: Blake Shelton
Favourite female country artist: Carrie Underwood
Favourite country group: Lady Antebellum
Favourite pop artist: Taylor Swift
Favourite hip-hop artist: Nicki Minaj
Favourite R&B artist: The Weeknd
Favourite album: Title by Meghan Trainor
Favourite song: What Do You Mean? by Justin Bieber
Favourite music icon: Madonna

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	unavailable	#UnpopularMusicOpinionhour	#CharlieHebdo
2	unavailable	#NationalBobbleheadDay	Tom Allin
3	unavailable	$675 Million	#BirdCelebs
4	unavailable	Tila Tequila	#WasteHisTime2016
5	unavailable	#ZaynOnBillboard	#PeoplesChoiceAwards
6	unavailable	#IdolPremiere	Craig David
7	unavailable	#okquake	#bodyshockers
8	unavailable	Zora Neale Hurston	#PCAs
9	unavailable	#DirectionersShazam	#selfieforseb
10	unavailable	#BirdCelebs	#GreatBarrierReef

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- Zliten truck bombing
  - At least 65 people are killed after a truck bomb hit a police training center in the Libyan town of Zliten. (Reuters)
Terrorism in Egypt
- Gunmen open fire on tourists at a hotel close to the Giza pyramids. There were no casualties in the attack, which caused some damage to the hotel, and the attackers were arrested shortly afterwards.(BBC)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Iran says last night, Saudi warplanes bombed its embassy in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, wounding several of its guards. The Associated Press reports there is no visible damage to the building. A Saudi-alliance spokesman promises to investigate the accusations. (RT) (The Washington Post) (AP) (Reuters)
- Saudi-led coalition airstrikes today reportedly hit the presidential palace and a mountain military base to the south of Sana’a, causing children and teachers in several schools to flee. There were no immediate reports of casualties. (Reuters)
Militia occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
- Tribal chair Charlotte Rodrique of the local Burns Paiute Tribe has joined in asking the occupiers to leave saying “The protesters have no claim to this land”. Charlotte further cites a treaty that was never ratified by the United States Congress giving ownership of the land to the tribe. (The Washington Post) via MSN)
French police shoot dead a knife-wielding man, who was shouting “Allahu Akbar”, outside a police station in Goutte d’Or, located in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. A piece of paper with an Islamic State flag and claim for the attack written in Arabic was found on his body. The incident is noted for taking place on the anniversary of last year’s Charlie Hebdo shooting. (BBC)

Business and economy

2015–16 Chinese stock market crisis
- Trade is suspended on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange for a second time in a week after share prices tumble following the devaluation of the yuan. (Business Insider)
- The Chinese securities regulator introduces legislation limiting the sale of shares by shareholders. (Reuters)
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average declines by just under 400 points as a result of concerns over the Chinese economy. (Fox Business)

Disasters and accidents

2009–16 Oklahoma earthquake swarms
- In the United States, a swarm of 30 (and counting) earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or greater struck Oklahoma from Wednesday evening through Thursday mid-afternoon. The biggest, a magnitude 4.8, happened yesterday at 10:27 p.m. CST, 32 kilometers (20 miles) northwest of Fairview, Oklahoma. (The Weather Channel)

International relations

2016 North Korean nuclear test
- South Korea says it will resume cross-border propaganda broadcasts and limit entry to the Kaesong Industrial Region in response to yesterday’s nuclear test at the North’s Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site.North Korea considers the propaganda broadcasts to be “an act of war”. (The Guardian)
Iran–Saudi Arabia relations
- Iran bans imports of all products made in Saudi Arabia and reiterates that the ban on Iranians traveling to the Saudi holy city of Mecca remains in place.(Reuters via Haaretz) (news.com.au)

Law and crime

The bodies of six people are found in a rural village in Guerrero state in southern Mexico. (La Prensasa)
Scotland Yard confirms that they are investigating a triple murder in relation to the death of British actress Sian Blake and her two sons after the discovery of their dead bodies on Tuesday. (AAP via News Limited)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 8, 2016

Top News Stories –

Secret Netflix code unlocks thousands of hidden genres –
Netflix’s incredibly niche, personalised subgenres have long captivated movie nerds, from “Steamy Crime Movies from the 1970s” to “Period Pieces About Royalty Based on Real Life”.
The genres, based on a complicated algorithm that uses reams of data about users’ viewing habits to recommend exactly what a particular user is into, number in the tens of thousands. When Netflix thinks you’ll like sentimental Spanish-language dramas or gritty tearjerkers, they’ll show up on your home screen, but aside from that, they’re not easy to find. But a simple web address trick has emerged showing how you can find any one of these genres simply by switching a number in a URL. If you’re logged into Netflix, enter:
http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/XXXX
where “XXXX” is a series of digits – into your browser’s toolbar to bring up one of the thousands of genres in Netflix’s library. 1089 is “Mind-bending Movies”, for example; while 354 is “Movies Starring Matthew McConaughey” – currently a genre of one film. Not all numbers will result in a subgenre, and given Netflix’s ever-changing algorithms, they might move around every now and then, while there may be regional differences meaning that some codes don’t work. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

James Corden and Meghan Trainor: All About That Change

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SrDasTagsDaMafiaNoSDV	#Its2016AndWeStillDont	#FridayFeeling
2	#EnTuiterSoy	#FlashbackFriday	#LoseAFriendIn3Words
3	#KathNielFaceOfTheYearVietnam	Untitled 2	#LipSyncBattle
4	#FridayFeeling	#FridayFeeling	#FirstLineToMyNovel
5	#Enem	#BundySnackMovieTitles	#alcoholguidelines
6	#زد_رصيدك56	#LoseAFriendIn3Words	Winston
7	#LoseAFriendIn3Words	Deadwood	#UnpopularMusicOpinionhour
8	#ALDUBTrust	Peach	#AskOzil
9	#يوم_الجمعه	#ElvisPresley	#ageofloneliness
10	#يارب_انا_محتاج	#jobsreport	#Jericho

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Hurghada attack
- Two suspected ISIS militants are killed and three tourists injured in an unsuccessful attack on a hotel in the city of Hurghada. (BBC)
2016 Philadelphia police officer shooting
- A gunman stating to have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) shoots and seriously wounds a Philadelphia police officer before being arrested. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 Australian bushfire season
- Three people are unaccounted for and at least 135 structures are destroyed, including the historic Yarloop Workshops, following a bushfire in the small Western Australian town of Yarloop. Reports coming out of the area suggest the town of Yarloop has been almost completely destroyed with one local official, Murray Cowper, saying, “A big fireball came through and there was no way they were going to stop it. This could well be the end of the town”. (SBS) (BBC)

Law and crime

New Year’s Eve sexual assaults in Germany
- The chief of Cologne‘s police force, Wolfgang Albers, is relieved of his duties following criticism of his handling of violent clashes and sexual assaults by migrant gangs in the city on New Year’s Eve. (The Independent)
Mexican Drug War
- The Mexican Navy recaptures escaped drug lord Joaquín Guzmán, also known as “El Chapo”, in Los Mochis, Sinaloa. (RT)
Dragan Vasiljković, a former Serbian paramilitary commander, is charged with war crimes in Croatia. (ABC News Australia)

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January 9, 2016

Top News Stories –

Cheryl Fernandez-Versini ‘to end stormy second marriage after 19 months’ –
Cheryl Fernandez-Versini is lodging divorce papers to end her stormy second marriage, it was reported on Sunday. The X Factor judge will cite her French husband Jean-Bernard’s “unreasonable behaviour” and formally end their marriage after 19 months, it is claimed. The Sun on Sunday reports former Girls Aloud star Cheryl, who was previously married to footballer Ashley Cole, has been unhappy that Jean-Bernard, 35, didn’t like her spending time with other men. [Daily Telegraph] In November 2015 Fernandez-Versini took legal action over ‘white powder’ bathroom picture after the 2015 British Fashion Awards.
Cheryl Fernandez-Versini

Video of the Day –

The Science Of Motivation – ASAP Science

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#DetremuraNoPagodeDoSdv	#ResistCapitalism	Peach
2	#لو_انت_مو_سعود…	#KCvsHOU	#TOTP81
3	#زد_رصيدك57	#ICantGiveYouAnythingBut	#Its2016AndWeStillDont
4	#FelizSabado	#IfIWasntHashtagging	Winston
5	#KathNielGapGoVaChaoHoiVie…	#PowerballFever	#jesuismilo
6	#AyşeÖğretmenYalnızDe�…	#WDWHalf	Bogdan
7	#ALDUBToSeeYouAgain	#BuyMadeInTheAM	Eastleigh
8	#EsteAñoNecesito	#KempForum16	Danny Murphy
9	#AustinMoreRespectForHarry	#RoseHamid	El Chapo
10	#GeneracionBolivarChavez	#JeSuisMilo	#BursaryOrBust

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Terrorism in Egypt
- Two police officers are shot dead by gunmen near the Giza pyramids, on the outskirts of Cairo. (The Independent)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- A major power station in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi is shelled by militants. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War, Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
- Russian airstrikes on a Al-Nusra Front (Al-Qaeda‘s branch in Syria)-run prison complex in the northern town of Maarrat al-Nu’man, Idlib, leaves nearly 60 people dead. Most of those killed were rebels imprisoned by Al-Nusra, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (The National), (AFP via Daily Mail)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 Australian bushfire season
- Two dead bodies have been found in Yarloop, Western Australia, and residents of four towns urged to evacuate in under threat as the Waroona bushfire continues to burn out of control. (West Australian via Yahoo! Online), (ABC News), (The Australian)
- A bushfire burning near the town of Esperance, Western Australia, is threatening lives and properties. (West Australian via Yahoo! Australia)

International relations

Brussels Agreement (2013), Kosovo–Serbia relations
- Anti-Serbian protesters set fire to the government’s headquarters in Kosovo‘s capital, Pristina, over an EU-brokered deal that will give Kosovo’s ethnic Serb minority greater local powers. (RT)

Law and crime

Sian Blake‘s partner Arthur Simpson-Kent is arrested in Ghana in connection with the murder of Blake and her two children. (The Guardian)

Sport

2016 Dakar Rally
- A Bolivian spectator dies in the seventh stage between Bolivia and Argentina after being hit by a Mitsubishi driven by French driver Lionel Baud. (ABC News Australia)

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January 10, 2016

Top News Stories –

David Bowie dies of cancer aged 69 –

Singer David Bowie has died at the age of 69 from cancer. Tributes have been paid from around the world to the “extraordinary artist” whose last album was released days ago. His son, film director Duncan Jones, confirmed the news and a statement was issued on his social media accounts. “David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer,” it said, asking for privacy for the family. [BBC]
Iman and David Bowie

‘El Chapo’ Guzman: Sean Penn interview provokes US scorn –
The Obama administration and a US presidential hopeful have criticised Sean Penn’s interview with Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. It was conducted in October in the Mexican jungle after Guzman’s jail break, and published by Rolling Stone. A White House spokesman said the Hollywood actor’s “so-called interview” was “maddening”, while Republican Marco Rubio said it was “grotesque”. Guzman, 58, was recaptured on Friday after months on the run. Unnamed Mexican officials say Penn’s secret meeting helped lead them to the boss of the Sinaloa drug cartel. He has now been returned to the maximum-security Altiplano jail, from where he escaped in July via a tunnel dug to the shower in his cell. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

“Starman” 1972 from David Bowie on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#DomingoComOClubeSdv	#GBvsWAS	Sean Penn
2	#MeSientoBienCuando	Timbs	Cheryl Fernandez-Versini
3	#زد_رصيدك58	#GoldenGlobes	#smearthedocs
4	#FelizDomingo	Angus Scrimm	#TheVoiceUK
5	#6YearsOfDilmer	$1.3 Billion	#ResistCapitalism
6	#عام_من_رحيل_ال…	#LuciferIsComing	Alison McGovern
7	#لا_تذهبي_معه_ا…	#SEAvsMIN	#JustinBieberFeatOneDirection
8	#MasterCardGrazWOSP	#jacobandbeasoundcloud	#BuyMadeInTheAM
9	#SupermercadosVacios	#AndIWasScarredForLife	#6YearsOfDilmer
10	#PITvsCIN	Paid in Full	#takemeout

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

PKK rebellion (2015–present)
- Turkish security forces kill at least 32 Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants over the weekend, in military operations across the embattled Kurdish-majority southeast. (Reuters)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
  - A suspected Saudi missile strike on a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinic in Razih, located in Yemen‘s northern Saada Governorate, leaves at least five people dead and around a dozen injured.(RT)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- The Afghanistan defense ministry reports its forces have recaptured Darqad District in northern Takhar Province. According to the ministry, twenty Taliban militants and one Afghan soldier were killed in two days of fighting. (The Gulf Today) (Reuters)

Arts and culture

The 73rd Golden Globe Awards are held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. (Los Angeles Times)
- The Martian wins the award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and lead actor Matt Damon winning Best Performance by an actor in a musical or comedy. (AP)
- The Revenant wins the award for best drama with lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio winning best actor in a drama. (Variety)
British musician and actor David Bowie dies, aged 69. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 South Pacific cyclone season
- Residents of the islands of Tafea are urged to seek shelter as Severe Tropical Cyclone Ula approaches Vanuatu. (Radio New Zealand)
Twenty people are killed after a bus carrying amateur football players and fans plunges into a river in Veracruz, eastern Mexico. (Business Standard), (AP)
The two-month-old Nipigon River Bridge near Nipigon, Ontario is closed to traffic after a mechanical failure, severing the Trans-Canada Highway and forcing a detour into the United States. (CBC), (National Post)

International relations

2016 North Korean nuclear test
- A United States Air Force B-52 long-range strategic bomber makes a low-level flight over South Korea, close to the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), in a show of force following North Korea‘s fourth nuclear test on January 6, before returning to its base in Guam. (Reuters)
Germany–Poland relations
- Poland summons the German ambassador in Warsaw over “anti-Polish” remarks made by German politicians. (BBC)

Law and crime

U.S. Army officials set August 8 as the start date for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s court-martial. Bergdahl, charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, was held captive by the Taliban for five years after he left his base in Afghanistan. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for early this week. (AP)
Mexican Drug War
- Mexican authorities want to question American actor Sean Penn and Mexican actress Kate del Castillo about a secret October meeting and interview with Joaquín Guzmán, published by Rolling Stonemagazine yesterday. Mexico Attorney General Arely Gomez says it was the Penn interview that led authorities to a Guzman hiding place. (CNN) (CBS News) (USA Today) (Rolling Stone)

Politics and elections

Catalan independence
- The newly appointed President of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, vows to continue his predecessor Artur Mas i Gavarró‘s plans to secede from Spain within 18 months. (BBC)

Sport

Lawyers for former FIFA chief Sepp Blatter confirm that he will appeal his eight year ban from the organisation. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 11, 2016

Top News Stories –

Lionel Messi wins Ballon d’Or over Ronaldo & Neymar –
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or award for the world’s best player for the fifth time. The 28-year-old Argentine had 41.33% of the vote, with Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo (27.76%) second and Barca’s Neymar (7.86%) third. Either Messi or Ronaldo, who became a three-time winner last year, have won the past eight awards. United States midfielder Carli Lloyd, who scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final, won the women’s award. England coach Mark Sampson was beaten to the women’s football coach of the year award by USA boss Jill Ellis. [BBC] See List of the Day
Lionel Messi

Video of the Day –

EHANG184, world’s first Autonomous Aerial Vehicle

List of the Day –

Past Ballon d’Or winners

2014: Cristiano Ronaldo	2008: Cristiano Ronaldo
2013: Cristiano Ronaldo	2007: Kaka
2012: Lionel Messi	2006: Fabio Cannavaro
2011: Lionel Messi	2005: Ronaldinho
2010: Lionel Messi	2004: Ronaldinho
2009: Lionel Messi	2003: Zinedine Zidane

Messi’s 2015 in numbers

61 games, 52 goals and 26 assists.
A goal every 101 minutes and an assist every 202 minutes.
Best minutes-per-goal rate – 80 – of anyone scoring a minimum of 10 goals across Europe’s top five leagues during 2015.
Directly involved in 49 goals in La Liga – 34 scored and 15 assists – which was the joint-most with Ronaldo in 2015 across the top five European leagues.
Scored in all six club tournaments in 2015, as Barcelona won five of them.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SegundaDetremuraSdv	David Bowie	#BallondOr
2	#زد_رصيدك59	#BallondOr	#MondayMotivation
3	#FelizLunes	#NationalChampionship	#GoldenGlobes
4	#BallondOr	Alice Paul	#TUBill
5	#LunesDeGanarSegidores	Hunky Dory	Young Americans
6	David Bowie	#NAIAS	#BringSnacksToAMovie
7	#من_علامات_الج�…	#alayma	David Bowie
8	#FracasasteSi	$1.4 BILLION	Rebel Rebel
9	DAIGO	#IWriteAboutItBecause	#FACupDraw
10	#VHMCensurado	#WorkTogether	Davey Cameron

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- At least 51 people are reportedly killed in an attack on a shopping centre in Iraq‘s capital, Baghdad, and a car bombing outside an illegal casino in Miqdadiyah, east of Baghdad, with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claiming responsibility for both attacks. (BBC), (AAP via SBS) (Reuters)
American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)
- A U.S. airstrike destroys an ISIL money and payroll hub in central Mosul. (CNN)
Militia occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
- Armed militiamen, also known as the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, who are occupying the USFWS administered Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon, tear down a part of a fence that they claim was erected by the federal government in order to allow privately owned cattle to graze on the adjacent public land. USFWS condemns the actions through a written statement which states that, “Removing fences, damaging any refuge property, or unauthorized use of equipment would be additional unlawful actions by the illegal occupiers. Any movement of cattle onto the refuge or other activities that are not specifically authorized by [the Fish and Wildlife Service] constitutes trespassing.” (The Guardian), (The Oregonian)

Business and economy

Arch Coal, the second largest coal-mining concern in the United States, files for chapter 11 protection because it has been hit hard by the collapsing market demand for that commodity. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade in the Australian city of Melbourne warn residents about haze from a large industrial fire burning in the suburb of Broadmeadows. (Melbourne Age)
2015–16 Great Britain and Ireland floods
- Philip Dilley, chairman of the UK‘s Environment Agency resigns after receiving heavy criticism for not returning from a family holiday in Barbados during the recent heavy floods in Northern England andScotland. (Belfast Telegraph)

Law and crime

New Year’s Eve sexual assaults in Germany
- Thousands of protesters in Leipzig demonstrate against a record refugee influx they blame for mass sexual violence at New Year’s Eve events in Cologne and other German cities. Many chanted ‘We are the people’, ‘Resistance!’ and ‘Deport them!’. The rally was organized by a local chapter of PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident). Six Pakistani men and one Syrian man were also attacked by so-called vigilantes in Cologne, following calls on social media for “revenge” in the wake of the New Year’s Eve assaults. (Daily Mail)

Sport

In association football, Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona and Argentina wins the 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or, his fifth such award. (AP via Sportsfan)
In Australian football, 34 current and former players with the Essendon Football Club are banned from playing in the Australian Football League during the 2016 AFL season after the Court of Arbitration for Sport finds that they took the banned substance thymosin-beta 4. (AAP and The Australian)
2016 College Football Playoff National Championship
- In American football, the Alabama Crimson Tide defeat the Clemson Tigers 46-40 to win the College Football Playoff National Championship. (NCAA)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 12, 2016

Top News Stories –

Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall announce engagement –
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and actress-model Jerry Hall are to get married.
They announced their engagement in the births, marriages and deaths section of the Times newspaper, which is owned by Mr Murdoch’s News Corporation company. It will be the fourth marriage for Mr Murdoch, 84, and the first for Miss Hall, 59, although she lived with singer Sir Mick Jagger for many years. The new relationship reportedly began in the summer. A spokesman said: “They have loved these past months together.” [BBC]
Rupert Murdoch
Jerry Hall

Video of the Day –

Hiérophante – Clichés (Official Music Video) from Hiérophante on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Not Available	#FreeformLaunch	#HappyBirthdayZayn
2	Not Available	#KissAGingerDay	#KissAGingerDay
3	Not Available	#SOTU	#JuniorDoctorsStrike
4	Not Available	#HappyBirthdayZayn	#InternetABook
5	Not Available	#PleasePutMeInARoomWith	#AUSvIND
6	Not Available	The Brutalism of Ted Cruz	#CharityTuesday
7	Not Available	#JuniorDoctorsStrike	#EVEL
8	Not Available	#Twug	Jerry Hall
9	Not Available	Estambul	#PleasePutMeInARoomWith
10	Not Available	#AUSvIND	#Benidorm

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Istanbul bombing
- At least 10 people are killed and 15 injured, mostly German tourists, following an explosion in Istanbul‘s Sultanahmet Square. A Syrian suicide bomber, an ISIL member, is responsible, according to Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. (Nine MSN), (BBC), (Reuters via Sky News Australia), (The New York Times) (CNN)
- Sixty alleged Islamic militants are arrested in Turkey with twenty one people arrested in the city of Sanliurfa. (ITV)
Syrian Civil War
- 2015–16 Latakia offensive
  - The Syrian Army, backed by Russian airstrikes, retakes control of the strategic town of Salma in the northern Latakia Governorate. The town had been mostly under rebel (FSA) and jihadist (Al-Nusra Front) control since 2012. (AFP via Yahoo)
- United Nations War Crimes Commission investigators are gathering information about conditions in the western town of Madaya, where an aid convoy just brought the first food and medical relief for three months. The city has been under a siege by Syrian government forces since July. Doctor Without Borders is treating 250 people with severe acute malnutrition. (Reuters) (Médecins Sans Frontières)

Business and economy

Junior doctors in the United Kingdom go on strike over a proposed new contract. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Pacific hurricane season
- Hurricane Pali becomes the earliest hurricane on record in the central Pacific Ocean. It is currently no threat to land. (Weather Channel)
Five people are dead and 65 people are injured after trucks carrying garment workers crash in Cambodia‘s Kampong Speu Province. (Today Online)
An Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantom II fighter jet crashes near the southeast port city of Konarak while on a training mission, killing both the pilot and co-pilot. (RT)

International relations

Kuwait sentences two people to death for spying for Iran and Hezbollah. (Al-Arabiyah)
In accordance with a major point of a nuclear agreement reached with several world powers, Iran removed a plutonium core and filled with concrete the Arak nuclear reactor, setting the stage for the removal ofsanctions against Iran. (Washington Post)
North Korea–United States relations, North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- The United States House of Representatives votes overwhelmingly in favor of legislation to tighten sanctions on North Korea in response to the North’s latest nuclear test. (The Hill)
Iran–United States relations
- Iran seizes the crew of two small United States Navy boats near Farsi Island, in the Persian Gulf, after they had allegedly entered Iranian waters. Pentagon spokesman, Peter Cook, told Associated Pressthat Iran has assured the United States that the crew and vessels will be returned promptly. (AP)

Law and crime

Anti-corruption campaign in China
- Li Dongsheng, a former Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of Public Security, is jailed for 15 years for corruption. (Reuters)
Saudi Arabia arrests Samar Badawi, a human rights activist who received the International Women of Courage Award from the United States in 2012. Badawi is to appear in court on Wednesday, according toAmnesty International. Both her brother, Raif Badawi, publisher of the “Free Saudi Liberals” blog, and former husband, Waleed Sami Abulkhair, are currently imprisoned. (CNN) (Amnesty International)(The Guardian)

Science and technology

Windows 8 along with Internet Explorer versions 8, 9 and 10 are now officially unsupported by Microsoft. (Forbes)

Sport

The St. Louis Rams and potentially San Diego Chargers are approved for relocation to Los Angeles by a 30-2 NFL Vote. (NFL), (Los Angeles Times)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 13, 2016

Top News Stories –

Winning tickets in the nearly $1.6-billion Powerball lottery were sold in California, Florida and Tennessee, officials said on Thursday, leaving at least three people to split the record-setting jackpot. California Lottery officials confirmed that the winning six numbers had been purchased at a convenience store outside Los Angeles, as well as at locations in Florida and Tennessee. The identity of the winners was not yet known. Lottery officials said it could be several hours before it is known whether there are other winners in the 44 states, Washington, D.C. and two U.S. territories where Powerball is played. In Chino Hills, a suburb east of Los Angeles, crowds descended on a 7-Eleven store where the winning ticket had been bought, snapping pictures and congratulating staff. The store will receive a $1-million bonus for selling the ticket. The odds of picking a winning combination were 1 in 292 million. [Daily Mail]

Video of the Day –

Prison Da Vinci No. 1 Painting With Skittles from TCOLondon on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

The final 100 Sexiest Women List from FHM Magazine (closing after 30 years)

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#QuartaSnapDetremuraSdv	#MakeAPromise	#WednesdayWisdom
2	#FelizMiercoles	#WednesdayWisdom	#NationalAnthem
3	#زد_رصيدك61	#1lineWed	#SOTU
4	#WednesdayWisdom	#BigBlockOfCheeseDay	#BenefitsLobby
5	#ALDUBTheBAEisBACK	#DST1913	#MakeAPromise
6	#كيف_تعرف_انه_ا…	#FriendsReunion	#StargazingLive
7	#ذكري_بيعه_الم�…	#IfIWonPowerball	#wifm16
8	#MeAgarraUnAtaqueSi	#NYSOS	Tiffany
9	#kamervoorzitter	Deltas	#PLLChat
10	#AnittaLugarDeGemerÉNaCama	Hump Day	#DerrenBrown

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Terrorism in Pakistan
- At least 15 people are killed and dozens injured after a bomb explodes near a polio centre near the Pakistani city of Quetta. (Samaa)
Korean border incidents
- South Korean soldiers fire warning shots at a suspected North Korean drone near the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The “unidentified flying object” was spotted around 29 miles north of Seoul, near South Korea’s Dora Observation Post. (Sky News)
War in Afghanistan
- Islamic State militants attack Pakistan’s consulate in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, killing 9 people and injuring 12 more. (NDTV)
Syrian Civil War
- Following the death of its leader, Zahran Alloush, Jaysh al-Islam names Essam al-Buwaydhani as its new leader. (The News Hub)
2016 Istanbul bombing
- Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala says yesterday’s ISIS suicide bomber had registered with Turkish immigration authorities but was not on any known militant suspects list. (Reuters)
- Turkish police arrest three people with Russian citizenship in the southern province of Adana on suspicion of belonging to ISIS. (ABC News) (Leader Call)

Arts and culture

Three winning Powerball lottery tickets are sold in the U.S. states of California, Florida, and Tennessee. Each will share the estimated jackpot of US $1.6 billion dollars, the largest lottery jackpot in world history. (ABC News)

Business and economy

Al Jazeera America announces that it will close in April due to poor ratings. (The New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Atlantic hurricane season
- Subtropical Storm Alex is located 785 miles (1,260 km) south-southwest of the Azores. Alex is one of just four tropical or subtropical storms to occur in January since 1851, the first year records were kept. The hurricane season begins on June 1 of each year. Alex is expected to hit the Azores on Friday with average rain accumulations of 3 to 5 inches. (The Washington Post) (NHC)
An avalanche kills three and injures one at the Les Deux Alpes ski resort in Isère département of the French Alps. Officials are searching for other possible victims. (CNN)

International relations

Iran–United States relations
- Iran claims that it has interrogated ten United States Navy personnel that it captured allegedly in its territorial waters. (Sky News Australia)
- All 10 U.S. sailors are freed by Iran and are in U.S. custody. The U.S. Naval Forces Central Command says, “There are no indications that the sailors were harmed during their brief detention.” (The Washington Post)
Israel–Sweden relations
- Israel says Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström is no longer welcome in the country after she called for investigations into “suspected extrajudicial executions” of Palestinians by the Israeli army. Sweden has for many years financed NGOs such as B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence operating in Israel. (Breaking Israel News)
Cuba–United States relations
- A major indication that relations between Cuba and the U.S. are increasingly normalized will be the island nation’s participation later this month at an annual Caribbean security conference in Jamaica, according to the outgoing head of the United States Southern Command, General John F. Kelly. (Military Times)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 14, 2016

Top News Stories –

Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard actor, dies aged 69 –
Actor Alan Rickman, known for films including Harry Potter, Die Hard and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, has died at the age of 69, his family has said. The star had been suffering from cancer, a statement said. He became one of Britain’s best-loved acting stars thanks to roles including Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films and Hans Gruber in Die Hard.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling led the tributes, describing him as “a magnificent actor and a wonderful man”. [BBC]
Alan Rickman in 2011

Hatton Garden heist: Three men found guilty over £14m jewellery raid –
Three men have been found guilty of involvement in the Hatton Garden safe deposit raid, the largest burglary in British legal history. Jewellery and valuables worth an estimated £14 million were stolen when a gang of thieves carried out the “sophisticated” and meticulously planned break-in over the Easter weekend last year. The group used a drill to bore a hole 20in deep, 10in high and 18in into the wall of a vault in London’s jewellery quarter, before ransacking 73 safety deposit boxes. Following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court, Carl Wood and William Lincoln were found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property, while Hugh Doyle was convicted of concealing, converting or transferring criminal property. [Daily Telegraph]
Hatton Garden road sign

Video of the Day –

Bygone Behemoth from Harry Chaskin on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

10 Highest US Lottery jackpots [See January 13, 2016]
1. $656.0 million, Mega Millions, March 30, 2012 (three tickets, from Kansas, Illinois and Maryland)
2. $636 million, Mega Millions, Dec. 17, 2013, (two tickets, from California and Georgia)
3. $590.5 million, Powerball, May 18, 2013 (one ticket, from Florida)
4. $587.5 million, Powerball, Nov. 28, 2012 (two tickets, from Arizona and Missouri)
5. $564.1 million, Powerball, Feb. 11, 2015 (three tickets, from North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Texas)
6. $448.4 million, Powerball, Aug. 7, 2013, (three tickets, one from Minnesota and two from New Jersey)
7. $425.3 million, Powerball, Feb. 19, 2014 (one ticket, from California)
8. $414 million, Mega Millions, March 18, 2014, (two tickets, from Florida and Maryland)
9. $399.4 million, Powerball, Sept. 18, 2013, (one ticket, from South Carolina)
10. $390.0 million, Mega Millions, March 6, 2007 (two tickets, from Georgia and New Jersey)

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#LittleMixBRITs	#GOPDebate	#transinquiry
2	#زد_رصيدك62	Jakarta	#OscarNoms
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4	#1128katil	#PrivacyCon	Chris Grayling
5	#QuintaDetremuraSdv	Alan Rickman	#bbcqt
6	#もし女子高生にな�…	#AskPOTUS	Jakarta
7	#ALDUB26thWeeksary	#RuinALoveSong	Shami Chakrabarti
8	Shaolin	Indonesia	#StargazingLive
9	#結婚からの予測変�…	#SuperDraft	Giroud
10	#معلومه_لاتعرف…	#IHaveADreamFor2016	#CarpoolKaraoke

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Jakarta attacks
- Bomb blasts and gunfire are reported in the centre of the Indonesian capital Jakarta. At least seven deaths have been reported. (ABC News Australia), (AP), (The Australian), (Reuters)
- Indonesian police suspect Islamic State militants are responsible for the attacks with five attackers reported dead. (AP), (AFP via Channel News Asia)
Turkey–PKK conflict
- PKK rebellion (2015–present)
  - Turkish police headquarters in Midyat and Çınar, Diyarbakır, are hit by car bombs, killing six people and injuring 39. No group has claimed responsibility but the government accuses PKK rebels of carrying out the attack. (BBC) (Middle East Eye)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
- A foiled stabbing attack resulted in Israeli soldiers shooting and killing a Palestinian at Beit Einun. (The Jerusalem Post)

Arts and culture

88th Academy Awards
- The nominations are announced for the 88th Academy Awards at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Hollywood. (E! Online)
Actor Alan Rickman dies from cancer, aged 69. (BBC)
Archbishops of the Anglican Communion meeting in England vote to sanction the U.S. branch of the Communion for its unilateral decision to allow same-sex marriages.(New York Times)
René Angélil, manager and husband of singer Celine Dion, dies at age 73 after a long battle with throat cancer.(BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Atlantic hurricane season
- Hurricane Alex becomes the first hurricane to form in the Atlantic Ocean in January since 1938 with warnings issued for the Azores. (Weather Channel)

Business and economy

A Brazilian court suspends the licence for the Belo Monte Dam weeks before it was due to start operating until operator Norte Energia SA and the government of Brazil reorganizes Fundação Nacional do Índio, a protection agency for indigenous Brazilians. (Reuters via CNBC)

Health

Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa
- The World Health Organisation declares an end to the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa with Liberia the last country to be declared free of the virus. (AFP via Yahoo!)
- A person dies of the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone hours after the WHO makes its declaration. (BBC)

International relations

2016 North Korean nuclear test
- South Korea and the People’s Republic of China will hold talks to develop a joint response to last week’s North Korean nuclear test. (Yonhap)

Politics and elections

Thousands of people in Moldova march against proposed candidate for Prime Minister Vlad Plahotniuc. (AP via ABC News)

Science and technology

Astronomers announce the discovery of supernova ASASSN-15lh, the biggest yet seen by scientists. (Los Angeles Times)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 15, 2016

Top News Stories –

Wikipedia Celebrates its 15th birthday –
If you want a modern wonder of the internet, look no further than Wikipedia, which turns 15 years old today. It’s gigantic (more than five million articles in English alone), and gigantically useful for those seeking a grounding in any topic. It has illustrated how the internet and the power of the crowd can disrupt established businesses: both the book-based Encyclopaedia Britannica and Microsoft’s CD-based Encarta fell before the onslaught of a simple collaborative document that anyone could edit and enhance. Even Google failed with its rival, launched in 2008 and killed amid indifference in 2012. It even has a creation myth; people think it was the effort of Jimmy Wales alone, but in fact he and Larry Sanger (an “internet project developer” – thanks, Wikipedia) were working on the idea of an online encyclopedia called Nupedia, which began in 1999. [Daily Telegraph] [This web site is a supporter of Wikipedia]
Jimmy Wales

Video of the Day –

22×22 rubik’s cube World Record

List of the Day

15 amazing things since the idea of Wikipedia was launched to the world on January 15, 2001. [Wikipedia]

Millions of people have gathered all this knowledge by working together from everywhere around the world.

Ward Cunningham designed the wiki, the first internet platform that allowed many people to work on a document at the same time. He named it ‘wiki,’ a Hawaiian word that means ‘quick.’ (There is even a wiki-wiki shuttle in Honolulu.)

You know the encyclopedia, but there’s so much more.

Did you also know there’s a free dictionary, free textbooks, quotes, learning tools, a travel guide, and more?

The first Wikipedia exhibition opened on March 17, 2006.

It was held at the Göttingen University Library in Germany.

Behind the scenes, bots do some of the repetitive jobs so that volunteers don’t have to.

There are almost 2,000 bots approved for use on the English Wikipedia alone, and they even have names. PhotoCatBot helps people find articles that need images.

Wikipedia became one of the top 10 websites in the world in 2007.

It’s the only non-profit anywhere near the top.

An angry elephant holding a glass of whiskey

People who work on Wikipedia are called “Wikipedians”.

Building the world’s largest database of information with people from all over can be challenging. Wikipedians write rules, guidelines and essays to help other people understand being a Wikipedian. “No angry mastodons” suggests that you shouldn’t edit when you’re hungry or intoxicated.

The first photo ever uploaded to Commons was a pair of quail.

…while this scan of the world’s first photograph uploaded to Wikimedia Commons is entirely inscrutable. Speaking of birds and photos, there is such a thing as pigeon photography: “A homing pigeon was fitted with an aluminium breast harness to which a lightweight time-delayed miniature camera could be attached.” (There was even a stamp for pigeon mail. It’s adorable and shaped like a triangle.)

One of the first articles ever written was for the standard poodle.

It simply said, “A dog by which all others are measured.” The English Wikipedia page for poodleis now more than 5,000 words, and includes the many names that people have invented for poodles crossed with other dog breeds: Labradoodle, Poochon, Cockapoo, Spoodle, Maltipoo, Goldendoodle, Schnoodle, Pekapoos, Cavapoo, and Bernedoodle.

A screenshot from the Wikipedia blackout

Wikipedia helps keep the Internet open and free.

In 2012, the Wikipedia communities blacked out the site to protest SOPA.

The second-most-edited English Wikipedia article of all time is about pro wrestling.

One of the competition entries for a new Wikivoyage logo was a snake on a magic towel.

British army officer Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart’s Wikipedia article has been retweeted more than 3,500 times.

“Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Paul Ghislain Carton de Wiart VC, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO (5 May 1880–5 June 1963) was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration awarded for valour “in the face of the enemy” in various Commonwealth countries. He served in the Boer War, First World War, and Second World War; was shot in the face, head, stomach, ankle, leg, hip, and ear; survived two plane crashes; tunnelled out of a prisoner-of-war camp; and bit off his own fingers when a doctor refused to amputate them. Describing his experiences in the First World War, he wrote, ‘Frankly I had enjoyed the war.’”

Wikipedians keep lists of controversies and hoaxes on Wikipedia.

One hoax claimed that Lord Byron kept a crocodile and a honey badger as pets. It would not be easy to uncover this hoax—during his lifetime, in addition to numerous cats, dogs and horses, Byron kept a fox, monkeys, an eagle, a crow, a falcon, peacocks, guinea hens, an Egyptian crane,a badger, geese, a heron, and a goat. He took a bear to college when he found that dogs were not allowed.

Researchers can predict the spread of illness from data on Wikipedia.

“Researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory were able to make extremely accurate forecasts about the spread of dengue fever in Brazil and flu in the U.S., Japan, Poland and Thailand by examining three years’ worth of Wikipedia search data.”

It would take 16 years to read all of English Wikipedia.

And that’s if you didn’t take any breaks, and never slept.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SextaFavQSdvDetremura	#FlashbackFriday	#9YearsOfKidrauhl
2	#9YearsOfKidrauhl	#9YearsOfKidrauhl	#spacewalk
3	バルス	Cloverfield	#FridayFeeling
4	#زد_رصيدك63	#NationalHatDay	#BadDoctorIn5Words
5	#ALDUBMyOneAndONLY	#AKA1908	#GOPDebate
6	#HoyTengoGanasDe	#NewYorkValues	#LGBTSTEMinar
7	#MensajeAlPueblo	#spacewalk	#FlashbackFriday
8	Cloverfield	#NWSLDraft	#TWGlobes
9	#GOPDebate	#NewMusicFriday	Cloverfield
10	#LloreCantando	#BuyGOLDoniTunes	Megan

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Ouagadougou attack
- Gunmen armed with heavy weapons attack a restaurant called Cappuccino and the Splendid Hotel, taking hostages, in the heart of Burkino Faso‘s capital, Ouagadougou. At least 20 people are reportedly killed. (BBC) (The Guardian)
- Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claims responsibility for the attack, which if confirmed would the first Islamic terrorist attack in the city. (AFP/Reuters via ABC News Australia)
2016 Jakarta attacks
- Three men are arrested in the outskirts of Jakarta in connection with the attacks. Police have identified the attackers killed in the raid with two of the men having been imprisoned for terrorism related offences. (AP via Newser)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- al Shabaab militants overrun an African Union base in southern Somalia with unconfirmed reports of dozens of soldiers dead. (Reuters) (BBC)
Syrian Civil War
- UNICEF confirms severe malnutrition in the besieged Syrian town of Madaya. Russia calls for humanitarian aid to be let into besieged towns like Madaya, Fua and Kafraya. (Reuters via Trust) (Reuters via Daily Mail)

Arts and culture

Wikipedia celebrates its 15th anniversary. (Wikipedia)

Business and economy

China‘s Haier Group buys General Electric‘s appliance unit for $5.4 billion. (Bloomberg)

Disasters and accidents

A tour bus carrying skiers runs off the road in Japan‘s Nagano Prefecture with at least 14 people dead and injuring another 27. (Bloomberg) (Irish Independent)
2016 Atlantic hurricane season
- Hurricane Alex heads towards the Azores with hurricane warnings in place for several islands. (National Hurricane Center)
Twelve people are feared dead following a road accident in the Udhampur district of India‘s Jammu and Kashmir state. (Greater Kashmir)
The United States Coast Guard in Hawaii are searching for twelve American service personnel off the northern coast of Oahu following a crash between two United States Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallionhelicopters that were conducting an overnight training flight. (CNN) (Wall Street Journal)
The U.S. state of Michigan asks for assistance from the federal government to assist with a water crisis in the city of Flint. (Reuters)
2015–16 South Pacific cyclone season
- A tropical cyclone warning is issued for the northern Cook Islands as Tropical Cyclone Victor approaches. (Radio New Zealand)

Health

BIA 10-2474
- One person is brain dead and five people are critically ill in Rennes, France, from a clinical trial of an experimental drug made by Portuguese drug company Bial. The six men, aged 28 to 49, had been in good health prior to the start of this test. All trials on the drug are suspended. (The Guardian) (Reuters via New Zealand Stuff) (Reuters)
Brazil Zika virus outbreak (2015 – present)
- The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns pregnant women against visiting 14 countries and territories in South America, Central America and the Caribbean due to the Zika virusoutbreak. (CDC)

Law and crime

The Seoul Central District Court fines two Korean baseball players Seung-hwan Oh and Lim Chang-yong for illegal gambling in Macau. (Yonhap)
2013–14 Thai political crisis
- Former Prime Minister of Thailand Yingluck Shinawatra appears in court to face corruption charges. (Reuters via Trust)
A trial of the facts regarding allegations of child abuse against 12 former residents of children’s homes in Leicester by British lord Greville Janner ends due to his death. (BBC)
American rapper Mos Def is banned from South Africa for five years, having been living illegally in the country since 2013 on a tourist visa. (BBC)
Kosovo War
- A special court is set up at The Hague to try Kosovo Liberation Army suspects for alleged war crimes against ethnic minorities and political opponents. (BBC)

Politics and elections

PKK rebellion (2015–present)
- Twelve Turkish academics are detained for signing a declaration opposing military action against Kurdistan Workers Party forces in southeast Turkey. (AP via Washington Post)
Anti-corruption campaign in China
- Wei Hong, Governor of Sichuan province, is announced to be under investigation for “breaching discipline” by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. (BBC)
Azerbaijani National Police use tear gas and water cannons to forcibly disperse protesters in the Quba District who were protesting the country’s worsening economic situation, resulting in scores being arrested. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 16, 2016

Top News Stories –

Obama issues order lifting nuclear-related sanctions on Iran –
U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order on Saturday lifting sanctions on Iran related to its nuclear program after Tehran fulfilled requirements under a nuclear agreement with world powers, the White House said. Obama determined that Iran’s implementation of the pact “marks a fundamental shift in circumstances with respect to Iran’s nuclear program,” he wrote in the order, released by the White House. [Daily Mail]

Video of the Day –

Sia | Draw My Life

List of the Day –

100 jokes by 100 comedians

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Burkina Faso	Tony Stewart	#MakeMeThinkIn5Words
2	#زد_رصيدك64	#ChangeAConsonantSpoilAMovie	Lord Bramall
3	#FelizSabado	#StartupIndia	Burkina Faso
4	I LOVE ZAYN	#IranDeal	#fab16
5	#StartupIndia	#ImplementationDay	#PutNamesInSongs
6	#MakeMeThinkIn5Words	Aaliyah	Alan Rickman
7	#ALDUB6thMonthsary	I LOVE ZAYN	#StartUp2016
8	#SabadoDetremuraSdv	#MakeMeThinkIn5Words	#NationalHatDay
9	#MeEnfermaEsoDe	Hagelin	Nancy
10	ちんぽ10連ガチャ	#DoYourJob	#ZoellaTo10MillionMeetUp

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Ouagadougou attack
- Burkina Faso security forces storm the Hotel Splendid which had been under attack by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb militants. Over 126 people have been freed and at least 29 people have died. (AP via the Daily Mail), (BBC), (CNN), (AFP via Daily Star)
- At least 10 bodies have also been found in the Cappucino cafe which was also attacked by the militants. (AP via Miami Herald)
- Two Australians, a doctor and his wife, have been abducted in northern Burkina Faso. The Al Qaeda-linked, Mali-based “Emirate of the Sahara” is responsible, according to SITE. (AP) (AFP via Yahoo! News)
2016 Jakarta attacks
- Indonesia blocks access to radical Islamist websites and social media sites after the recent terror attacks in Jakarta. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- At least 75 Syrian Army soldiers and pro-Assad militiamen are killed following a multi-front attack on the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant forces. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports ISIL fighters had advanced into the northern tip of Deir ez-Zor city, and captured the suburb of Al-Baghaliyeh. The pro-government Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reports that government forces had repelled an attack on the city leaving dozens of militants dead. (AFP via the Daily Mail)
- Hundreds of civilians are reportedly killed by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants throughout the city of Deir ez-Zor. Syria‘s state news agency SANA, quoting residents, said “around 300 civilians” were killed. If confirmed it would be one of the deadliest days in Syria’s nearly five-year war. (AFP via Yahoo)
Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen, Drone strikes in Yemen
- A U.S. drone strike on a vehicle in Yemen‘s Shabwah Governorate kills three suspected Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

A suspected gas explosion in the Italian town of Arnasco kills at least five people. (Business Insider)
U.S. President Barack Obama declares the city of Flint, Michigan, to be in a federal public health state of emergency due to an ongoing crisis that involves lead contamination (and possibly Legionella which has caused 87 cases of Legionnaires’ disease which lead to 10 deaths) in its local water supply. (The Flint Journal on MLive)

International relations

Iran–United States relations
- Iran releases four Iranian-American prisoners including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and Christian pastor Saeed Abedini. The United States is to release seven Iranian-Americans held in the United States for violating sanctions against Iran. (New York Times), (IRNA) (Reuters) (Washington Post)
Nuclear program of Iran
- The International Atomic Energy Agency states that Iran has complied with its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, paving the way for international sanctions to be lifted by theUnited States and European Union. (IEAE), (New York Times), ” (BBC)
European migrant crisis
- Austria is to deploy its army on its borders with Germany and Slovenia in the wake of surging numbers of migrants entering the Central European country. (Local Austria)

Politics and elections

Taiwanese general election, 2016
- Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is elected the first female President of Taiwan. Eric Chu, the ruling Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) candidate concedes defeat and announced his resignation as party leader. Ms. Tsai vowed to preserve the status quo in relations with China. The DPP supports independence for the island. (BBC) (CNN)
- Current ruling party Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) lost its majority in the Legislative Yuan, a first since the country’s founding in 1911 (The Guardian)
Argentinian left wing lawmaker Milagro Sala is detained at her home for allegedly instigating public disturbances. (Telesur TV)

Sports

In motor sport, The 2016 Dakar Rally finishes with Stephane Peterhansel of France winning his 12th victory in the cars and Toby Price of Australia winning his first victory in the motorcycles. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 17, 2016

Top News Stories –

Russia may nuke asteroids –
The European Commission funded Russian scientists to develop plans to save the world from rogue asteroids by blowing them up with nuclear weapons. Scientists from the Russia’s top space research institute teamed up with missile and rocket engineers to look at ways of sending a warhead into space under a European Commission funded program called NEOShield. “Work was distributed among various participants from different countries and organisations, and work on deflecting dangerous space objects with nuclear explosions was conducted by Russia” between 2012 and 2015, the Central Scientific Research Institute of Machine Building, part of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said in a press release on Saturday. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Miike Snow “Genghis Khan” // Dir: Ninian Doff from Ninian Doff on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

The winners for the Critics’ Choice Awards 2016
BEST PICTURE: Spotlight
BEST ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
BEST ACTRESS: Brie Larson – Room
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Sylvester Stallone – Creed
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS: Jacob Tremblay – Room
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE: Spotlight
BEST DIRECTOR: George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Charles Randolph and Adam McKay – The Big Short
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Revenant – Emmanuel Lubezki
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Mad Max: Fury Road – Colin Gibson
BEST EDITING: Mad Max: Fury Road – Margaret Sixel
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Mad Max: Fury Road – Jenny Beavan
BEST HAIR & MAKEUP: Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Inside Out
BEST ACTION MOVIE: Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE: Tom Hardy – Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE: Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST COMEDY: The Big Short
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY: Christian Bale – The Big Short
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY: Amy Schumer – Trainwreck
BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE: Ex Machina
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Son of Saul
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Amy
BEST SONG: Furious 7 – “See You Again”
BEST SCORE: The Hateful Eight – Ennio Morricone

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#FelizDomingo	#IfTwitterWasntAThing	#takemeout
2	#DomingoNoClubeSDV	#DemDebate	#IfTwitterWasntAThing
3	#IfTwitterWasntAThing	#PITvsDEN	Celine Dion
4	#من_علامات_الج�…	#FaceTimeMeNash	#AUSvIND
5	Meek	#PurpleReign	#GBvsAZ
6	#ازاي_تستفز_شخ�…	#SEAvsCAR	Purple Reign
7	#1ÇiftSözümVar	Meek	#SAvENG
8	#JesusEstaVoltando	#FakeGrownUpFacts	#snow
9	#ConsejosParaUnTuitero	#askkendallschmidt	#GetawayCar
10	#ConLaBerisoTeDigoQue	Adam Driver	#ChangeAConsonantSpoilAMovie

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Jakarta attacks
- The death toll from this week’s attacks rises to eight. (Reuters via Jerusalem Post)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- A suicide bomber kills at least thirteen people and injures 14 in the Afghan city of Jalalabad. (Reuters via LBC Australia), (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Syrian Civil War
- ISIL militants abduct at least 400 civilians from the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor. (Sky News)

Disasters and accidents

At least five people are killed and ten injured in a microbus crash in Egypt‘s New Valley Governorate. (Ahram Online)

Health

Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa
- Sierra Leone imposes quarantine on hundreds of people following a recent death from the Ebola virus. (AFP via ABC News)

Politics and elections

Iran–Saudi Arabia relations
- Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif and army chief General Raheel Sharif will visit Riyadh on Monday and Tehran on Tuesday to launch mediation efforts between Iran and Saudi Arabia for normalization of relations and to ease the tensions in the region after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr and an attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran. (DAWN) (Pakistan Today) (India Times)
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
- Europe and the United States lift sanctions imposed on Iran regarding its nuclear programme, and Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action begins to be implemented. (BBC)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 18, 2016

Top News Stories –

Friends Reunited website to close down –
Friends Reunited – one of the UK’s first social networks – has announced it will soon close. One of its founders Steve Pankhurst explained in an email that the platform was still used by “a handful of members” but that it was “no longer used for the purpose it was built for”. Friends Reunited launched in the year 2000 and was bought by broadcaster ITV for £175m ($250m) in 2005. However, it failed to keep pace with other social networks. It was sold to comic publisher DC Thompson for only £25m in 2009 and Mr Pankhurst wrote in a blog post that the company had offered it back to him a couple of years ago. [BBC]

Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey, 67, dies –
Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey has died at the age of 67, the band has announced. He died in New York City on Monday from complications arising from rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and pneumonia. “Words can neither describe our sorrow, nor our love and respect for all that he has given to us,” his family and fellow band members said. The Eagles were one of the most successful bands of the 1970s, with multiple hit singles, including Hotel California in 1976. Frey co-founded the Eagles in 1971 with Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner. [BBC]
Glenn_Frey

Video of the Day –

Branded Dreams – The Future Of Advertising from STUDIO SMACK on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

The full list of winners for the 36th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards:
FILM OF THE YEAR: Mad Max: Fury Road
BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR: 45 Years
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR: The Look of Silence
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR: Am
ACTOR OF THE YEAR: Tom Courtenay — 45 Years
ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: Charlotte Rampling — 45 Years
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR: Mark Rylance — Bridge of Spies
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: Kate Winslet — Steve Jobs
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR: George Miller — Mad Max: Fury Road
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy — Spotlight
BRITISH/IRISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR: Tom Hardy — Legend, London Road, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant
BRITISH/IRISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: Saoirse Ronan — Brooklyn, Lost River
YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR: Maisie Williams — The Falling
PHILIP FRENCH AWARD FOR BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER: John Maclean — Slow West
BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM OF THE YEAR: Stutterer — Benjamin Cleary
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Ed Lachman, cinematography — Caro
DILYS POWELL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM: Kenneth Branagh

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#زد_رصيدك66	Happy MLK	#MLKDay
2	#FelizLunes	#WhatWomenWantIn5Words	#BlueMonday
3	#MendigoComMafiaSDV	#mondaymotivation	#AusOpen
4	#BlueMonday	#BlueMonday	Stephanie
5	#WhatWomenWantIn5Words	Linda Perry	#UFCBoston
6	#UFCBoston	#MLKDay	#TennisRacket
7	#MLKDay	#TheLiesOfDepression	#WhatWomenWantIn5Words
8	#وش_تسوي_اذا_ال…	AP YAMS	#DemDebate
9	#TenerMuyMalaSuerteEs	No More Parties	#HSMReunion
10	#자신의_전공을_최��…	#ReclaimMLK	#CABLive

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2014–16 Russian military intervention in Ukraine
- Ukraine says that a cyberattack on Boryspil International Airport near Kiev came from Russian computers. (Sky News)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- A Saudi-led coalition airstrike on a police building in Yemen‘s capital, Sana’a, kills at least 26 people and injures 15 others. (RT)
Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- A rocket fired from ISIL-controlled territory in Syria‘s Aleppo Governorate, kills at least one person and injures another in the Turkish city of Kilis, close to the Syria–Turkey border. The Turkish militaryresponded with artillery fire on ISIL positions. (AFP via Daily Mail)

Arts and culture

Glenn Frey, a founding member of The Eagles, dies of complications arising from rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and pneumonia. (BBC)

Business and economy

Reuters reports that Xiao Gang, the head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, has offered to resign after a sharp sell-off in two of China’s stock exchanges. (Reuters)
Tata Steel is to cut 1,050 jobs in the United Kingdom, with the majority going in South Wales. The Indian multinational steel-making company announced there will be 750 job losses at its Port Talbot Steelworks in Port Talbot, Wales while another 300 jobs will go at its plants in Corby and Hartlepool in England. (Bloomberg)

Disasters and accidents

At least five French Foreign Legion soldiers are killed and six injured in an avalanche while on a training exercise in the Alps, close to the Italian border. The soldiers were members of the 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment. (BBC)

Law and crime

November 2015 Paris attacks
- A man linked to the Paris attacks is arrested in Mohammedia, Morocco. (Sky News)
MASSOB
- Biafran separatists claim that police killed 8 protesters calling for independence. (AP via WTOP)

Politics and elections

The Russian Duma rejects a Communist Party bill banning homosexual expression. (Radio Free Europe)

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January 19, 2016

Top News Stories –

North Korea claims to invent ‘alcohol which doesn’t give you hangover’ –
They already claim to have cured cancer, Aids and Ebola with a miracle drug produced from ginseng root.
Now North Korean scientists seem to have scaled new heights of greatness with their latest invention – a special blend of liquor which doesn’t give you a hangover. According to the state-controlled newspaper Pyongyang Times, the drink also relies on ginseng root for its medicinal qualities and has been hailed as a “national scientific and technological hit.” The recipe replaces sugar with burnt rice, supposedly eliminating the liquor’s bitter taste along with any risks of a hangover. The drink “is suave and causes no hangovers”, claimed the Pyongyang Times piece, which was entitled: “Liquor wins quality medal for preserving national smack.” It is the latest in a string of outlandish claims made by North Korea’s state media, which once congratulated its supreme commander for learning to drive at the age of three. [Daily Telegraph]

Twitter down in global outage –
Twitter went offline on Tuesday morning for users of both its website and mobile apps. Visitors to the social network were met with a “Something is technically wrong” message on a blue background. Twitter’s status page said: “Some users are currently experiencing problems accessing Twitter. We are aware of the issue and are working towards a resolution.” “Something is technically wrong,” a notice on the Twitter website said. “Thanks for noticing – we’re going to fix it up and have things back to normal soon.” At around 10am service resumed as usual, although was down again shortly before midday and at various times over Tuesday afternoon. [Daily Telegraph] The social network later said an “internal code change” had led to the problem, which lasted six hours 10 minutes. “We reverted the change, which fixed the issue,” it added.
Twitter error page

Video of the Day –

NYC Gifathon from James Curran on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#TercaDetremuraSdv	#NationalPopcornDay	#LHHNY
2	#FelizMartes	Sarah Palin	#NationalPopcornDay
3	#زد_رصيدك67	#TravelTuesday	#CharityTuesday
4	#ALDUBFirstCondition	#HowIStaySaneInMyWorkspace	#ThingsThatShouldBeIllegal
5	#كلمه_تعور_قلبي	#BeliebersDay	#universitychallenge
6	조경태	#1YearOfWorthIt	#BlueMonday
7	#CorridaMalucaNoClubeSDV	#twitterdown	#TheUndateables
8	#HrantDink	Edgar Allan Poe	Aunt Viv
9	#BeliebersDay	#MISOTS16	Angie
10	#NationalPopcornDay	#InequalityIs	Glenn Frey

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan
- At least 9 people are killed and 35 injured after a suicide bomber strikes near a security checkpoint near Peshawar, Pakistan. (Geo TV), (AFP via RTE)
Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that scores of Syrian Army troops have been killed in fighting with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant over the past few days with the fiercest battles near the city of Deir ez-Zor. (Jerusalem Post)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- The United Nations Commission on Human Rights releases a report stating that at least 18,802 civilians have been killed and another 36,245 wounded between 1 January 2014 and 31 October 2015 with approximately half the deaths occuring in Baghdad. (United Nations)

Arts and culture

Pakistan lifts a three year ban on YouTube after Google launches a local version that allows the government to demand removal of material it considers to be offensive. (Reuters via Youtube)

Business and economy

The price of oil drops below $28 a barrel, the lowest since 2003. (The Huffington Post via MSN)

Disasters and accidents

The roof of the renovated Hôtel Ritz in Paris is damaged by fire just weeks before the planned re-opening. (BBC) (Reuters)

International relations

OIC and Iran-Saudi relations
- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister has left Tehran for Saudi Arabia for participation in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation ministerial meeting in Jeddah which was called for by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to discuss the consequence of attack at Saudi Embassy in Tehran following the execution of Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr. (IRIB World Service) (OIC)

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January 20, 2016

Top News Stories –

2015 was hottest year ever recorded ‘by far’ –
Blistering heat blanketed the Earth last year like never before, making 2015 by far the hottest year in modern times and raising new concerns about the accelerating pace of climate change. Not only was 2015 the warmest worldwide since 1880, it shattered the previous record held in 2014 by the widest margin ever observed, said the report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “During 2015, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.62 Fahrenheit (0.90 Celsius) above the 20th century average,” said the NOAA report. “This was the highest among all years in the 1880-2015 record.” Compared to 2014, last year was 0.29 Fahrenheit (0.13 Celsius) warmer, the “largest margin by which the annual global temperature record has been broken.” [Daily Telegraph]

New evidence suggests a ninth planet lurking at the edge of the solar system –
Astronomers at the California Institute of Technology announced Wednesday that they have found new evidence of a giant icy planet lurking in the darkness of our solar system far beyond the orbit of Pluto. They are calling it “Planet Nine.” Their paper, published in the Astronomical Journal, estimates the planet’s mass as five to 10 times that of the Earth. But the authors, astronomers Michael Brown and Konstantin Batygin, have not observed the planet directly. Instead, they have inferred its existence from the motion of recently discovered dwarf planets and other small objects in the outer solar system. Those smaller bodies have orbits that appear to be influenced by the gravity of a hidden planet – a “massive perturber.” The astronomers suggest it might have been flung into deep space long ago by the gravitational force of Jupiter or Saturn. [Washington Post]

Video of the Day –

Australia Day Lamb 2016 | Commence Operation Boomerang

List of the Day –

National Television Awards 2016, London

Talent Show

Winner: Strictly Come Dancing

Britain’s Got Talent

The Voice UK

The X Factor

Challenge Show

Winner: The Great British Bake Off

Bear Grylls: Mission Survive

MasterChef

The Apprentice

Serial drama

Winner: EastEnders

Coronation Street

Emmerdale

Hollyoaks

Comedy

Winner: Peter Kay’s Car Share

Benidorm

Birds Of A Feather

Not Going Out

Drama

Winner: Downton Abbey

Broadchurch

Casualty

Doctor Who

New drama

Winner: Doctor Foster

Humans

Ordinary Lies

Poldark

Factual entertainment

Winner: Gogglebox

DIY SOS: The Big Build

Paul O’Grady: For The Love Of Dogs

Top Gear

Live magazine show

Winner: This Morning

BBC Breakfast

Loose Women

The One Show

Drama performance

Winner: Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster)

Sheridan Smith (Black Work)

David Tennant (Broadchurch)

Aidan Turner (Poldark)

Entertainment programme

Winner: I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway

Celebrity Juice

The Graham Norton Show

Newcomer

Winner: Shayne Ward (Coronation Street)

Gemma Atkinson (Emmerdale)

Richard Blackwood (EastEnders)

Parry Glasspool (Hollyoaks)

Serial drama performance

Winner: Danny Dyer (EastEnders)

Alison King (Coronation Street)

Michael Parr (Emmerdale)

Rakhee Thakrar (EastEnders)

International

Winner: The Big Bang Theory

Game Of Thrones

Orange Is The New Black

Daytime

Winner: The Chase

Pointless

The Jeremy Kyle Show

The Paul O’Grady Show

TV presenter

Winner: Ant & Dec

Graham Norton

Mel & Sue

Rylan Clark

Impact/TV moment

Winner: Aiden Turner, Poldark

Special recognition award

Winner: Billy Connolly

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Unavailable	#PenguinAwarenessDay	Unavailable
2	Unavailable	#NationalCheeseLoversDay	Unavailable
3	Unavailable	#1lineWed	Unavailable
4	Unavailable	#BachaKhanUniversity	Unavailable
5	Unavailable	Stacey Dash	Unavailable
6	Unavailable	#MuseumSelfie	Unavailable
7	Unavailable	Ricardo Durán	Unavailable
8	Unavailable	#YouCouldntPayMeTo	Unavailable
9	Unavailable	#ImSoEstablishment	Unavailable
10	Unavailable	#WEF16	Unavailable

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan
- 2016 Charsadda university attack
  - Gunmen attack a university in Charsadda, Pakistan. At least 21 people are reportedly killed. (BBC News)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present), Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL
- Satellite images released by the Associated Press reveal the historic Saint Elijah’s Monastery near the Iraqi city of Mosul, the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq that predates Islam, has been completely razed by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants. (Independent)
A suicide bomber in Kabul targets Tolo News, killing four and wounding 20. (BBC News)

Science and technology

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announce that 2015 was the hottest year on record since the beginning of meteorological records in 1890. (Mashable)
A team of astronomers at Caltech infer the existence of a potential new planet (Planet Nine) in the outer Solar System (Washington Post)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 21, 2016

Top News Stories –

President Putin ‘probably’ approved Litvinenko murder –
The murder of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 in the UK was ‘probably’ approved by President Vladimir Putin, an inquiry has found. Mr Putin is likely to have signed off the poisoning of Mr Litvinenko with polonium-210 in part due to personal “antagonism” between the pair, it said. Home Secretary Theresa May said the murder was a “blatant and unacceptable” breach of international law. But the Russian Foreign Ministry said the public inquiry was “politicised”. Litvinenko aged 43 in London in 2006, days after drinking tea poisoned with the radioactive substance. The former Russian spy – who is believed to have later worked for MI6 – had been a fierce critic of the Kremlin. [BBC]

Norwegian in underwear clings to car roof to stop thief –
A man clad only in boxer shorts stopped a thief from stealing his car in southern Norway – by clinging on to the roof in a hair-raising ride at -17C. Police say the owner was left “pretty bloody” after the car crashed into a safety barrier on a bridge. A suspect has been taken into police custody. The owner, 25, woke up in Kristiansand in the early hours of Wednesday when he heard his car engine firing up. He raced out, grabbed a car door-handle and refused to let go. The thief drove the car at up to 90km/h (56 mph), he said, but the owner managed to smash the back window with his knee and grappled with the thief before the car hit the safety barrier. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

SEAN PETTIT | Full Part 2015 from SUPER PROOF on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#MeGustaCuando	#NationalHugDay	#SquirrelAppreciationDay
2	#quintaupcomoclubesdv	#SquirrelAppreciationDay	#NationalHugDay
3	#NationalHugDay	#BeAnEngineer	#specialtiesin6words
4	#FelizJueves	#DanielHoltzclaw	#Litvinenko
5	#زد_رصيدك69	#RIPBelieberLinda	#RIPBelieberLinda
6	the 100 today	#ToTheGirls2016	#hsm10
7	#تويتر_بلا_بنات	#DumbWaysIHurtMyself	#FishHipHop
8	#nosvanadarperobien	#CitizensUnited	#NTAs
9	#aldub27thweeksary	#BlizzardWatch	kevin nolan
10	#Lauren4KODE	#favoritethrowbackcouple	#thevampstruthordare

Other News Stories

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Somalia (2009–present)
- Gunmen attack the Lido or beach area in Mogadishu. (BBC)

Arts and culture

Local Tajikistan police have shaved nearly 13,000 men’s beards, closed more than 150 shops selling traditional Muslim clothing, and convinced around 1,800 women and girls to stop wearing headscarves in 2015 as part of a campaign to eradicate foreign influences in the former Soviet Republic. (Al Jazeera via MSN) (TIME)

Health

Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa
- The World Health Organisation confirms a second new case of Ebola virus in Sierra Leone. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

International relations

Burundian unrest (2015–present)
- Two former Presidents of Burundi call for the United Nations Security Council to authorise the use of peacekeeping troops in Burundi to prevent a potential civil war. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Dominic Ongwen, a former commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, appears before the International Criminal Court in a hearing to determine whether a criminal trial should go ahead. (Reuters)
The State Council of Crimea issues an arrest warrant for the leader of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and former Soviet dissident Mustafa Dzhemilev. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
A British inquiry alleges that Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably” personally approved the FSB‘s murder of Alexander Litvinenko in November 2006 based on findings from a public enquiry. (CNN)

Politics and elections

The 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam convenes in Hanoi for eight days to select the country’s leadership for the next five years. (AP via ABC News America)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 22, 2016

Top News Stories –

It Cost Google One Billion Dollars to Keep its Search Bar on iPhones –
Google’s search bar has been a fixture on Apple devices for years, something that’s always seemed counter-intuitive, what with Android being iOS’s only real competitor. According to Bloomberg, Google’s search engine is only exists there because of a $1 billion payment made to Apple in 2014. Bloomberg found the details in court proceedings from an Oracle vs Google lawsuit. Oracle has been fighting Google since 2010 over the search giant’s use of Oracle’s Java software in the development of Android. Somewhere along the way, Oracle’s lawyers got their hands on internal Google finances, which were brought up in open court, before Google’s attorneys pleaded to have the transcript redacted and sealed. According to Oracle’s lawyers — and neither confirmed nor denied by Google’s side — Google paid Apple $1 billion (that equates to around £701,000,000) in 2014 to keep its search bar on Apple devices. The two companies then have a revenue-sharing agreement to split any profits Google makes from Apple’s devices, although the breakdown is not known. [Gizmondo]

Video of the Day –

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SextaBoaPraSdvDetremura	White Privilege II	#AsAChildIUsedToThink
2	#ま行の後に監禁し�…	#FlashbackFriday	#ImFamous
3	#WelcomeBabyTomlinson	Macklemore	Macklemore
4	#زد_رصيدك70	#blizzard2016	#WelcomeBabyTomlinson
5	#ALDUBShareTheLOVE	#WelcomeBabyTomlinson	#FridayFeeling
6	#NoEs14DeFebreroPero	#BroadwayCon	#SAvsENG
7	#PraNamorarComigoÉPreciso	#DevuelvanLosReales	#SquirrelAppreciationDay
8	#BuenViernes	#Roe43	#DateMyMum
9	#يوم_الجمعه	#ChaseTheDay	#FlashbackFriday
10	#AsAChildIUsedToThink	Jalen Rose	#10000BC

Other News Stories –

Arts and culture

Douglas Borough Council announces that the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway, at Douglas, Isle of Man, ran for the last time at the end of the 2015 season. (BBC)

Business and economy

Steve Zadesky, who has been running the electric car project for Apple Inc. for two years, will leave that company soon for personal reasons, according to the Wall Street Journal. (Wall Street Journal)

Disasters and accidents

January 2016 United States winter storm
- Millions of people in the Mid-Atlantic states brace for a winter storm. (BBC)(CNN)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- The United States government implements new restrictions to its visa waiver program which now requires, with limited exceptions, European, Japanese and Australian travelers to the United States who either have been visitors in the last five years to or are dual-citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Sudan to obtain a travel visa. The new visa policies were mandated by legislation which was passed, in the aftermath of November 2015 Paris attacks, by Congress on the grounds of national security. (CNN), (NYT), (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Law and crime

La Loche Community School shooting
- A former La Loche Community School student shot and killed two brothers at home, and two females, one a teacher, at the school in La Loche, Saskatchewan, Canada, while injuring others. A suspect has been arrested. (CBC) (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Wei Hong resigns as Governor of Sichuan province in China after it was revealed that he was undergoing investigation for “breaching party discipline.” Former World Health Organization executive committee member Yin Li becomes acting governor. (SCMP)

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January 23, 2016

Top News Stories –

Blizzard blankets eastern seaboard of US in deep snow –
A huge blizzard has blanketed the US eastern seaboard in snow, bringing New York and Washington DC to a standstill and affecting some 85 million people. Up to 40in (102cm) of snow settled in parts, paralysing rail and air links, and cutting power to 200,000 people. A travel ban in New York, which saw its second highest snowfall on record, is set to be lifted later on Sunday. At least 18 deaths, from road accidents but also snow shovelling, have been blamed on the weather since Friday. New York’s Central Park received 26.8in, the second-biggest fall recorded since 1869 and just shy of the all-time high, 26.9in, recorded in February 2006. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Tian Tian in the Snow Jan. 23, 2016

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Unavailable	#jonasblizzard	#WelcomeHistory
2	Unavailable	#6abcAction	#MakeMeFeelAwkwardIn7Words
3	Unavailable	#ChelseaDoes	#FirstDates
4	Unavailable	#WeWillAlwaysBeThereJustin	#MyRoutineIn5Words
5	Unavailable	#CongratulationsLouis	#ukgc16
6	Unavailable	#CBS3Snow	Steve Harper
7	Unavailable	#NationalPieDay	#bbws
8	Unavailable	#OneCarolina	#DespiteBeingTaughtInWelsh
9	Unavailable	#WelcomeHistory	#blizzard2016
10	Unavailable	Tian Tian	#GrahamNorton

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Deir ez-Zor offensive (January 2016)
- Airstrikes on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-controlled areas in Syria‘s eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate, leaves at least 47 civilians dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Sky News Australia)
Jordanian–Syrian border incidents during the Syrian Civil War
- Jordanian soldiers kill 12 “infiltrators” and wound several others, on the border with Syria, foiling an attempt by dozens of smugglers to cross into the kingdom. The soldiers also confiscated more than 2 million narcotics pills that were left behind. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

January 2016 United States winter storm
- This potentially record storm, which is predicted to generate blizzard conditions through a third day on Sunday, has caused at least 10 deaths, knocked out power to hundreds of thousands, led to more than 8,300 canceled flights, stranded many travelers on major highways and, with up to 70 mph winds, produced record-high tides along the Delaware and New Jersey shores. (NBC News) (Reuters)(ESPN)

International relations

China–Iran relations
- China and Iran agree to expand trade ties between the countries worth $600 billion over the next decade following Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s visit to Tehran. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, said the trade deal marked “the beginning of an important era” in Iran-China relations. (Bloomberg)

Law and crime

European migrant crisis
- Around 200 migrants storm the French port of Calais,near the underground tunnel to Britain, after a demonstration in support of migrants living in the nearby Calais jungle camp, with approximately 50 of them boarding the P&O Ferries operated MS Spirit of Britain cross-border ferry. The port was closed following the incident. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is seriously considering a possible independent presidential run if Donald Trump or Texas Senator Ted Cruz would face Vermont Senator Bernie Sandersin the general election. (The New York Times) (CNN) (NBC News)
Polish Constitutional Court crisis, 2015, Committee for the Defence of Democracy
- Poland surveillance law plan angers protesters: Thousands of Poles have taken part in marches in Warsaw and other cities to protest about plans of the conservative government, which they say will curtail privacy and freedom. (BBC News)

Science and technology

Blue Origin‘s rocket New Shepard has been reflown in Texas. (BBC)

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January 24, 2016

Top News Stories –

Tokyo police roll out 3D mug shots –
Tokyo’s police force is to start taking 3D mug shots of suspects being held in custody, it’s reported. The images will form part of a database which officers hope will make it easier to analyse CCTV footage, the the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reports. All of the Japanese capital’s 102 police stations will be fitted with a 3D camera as part of the new process, which will begin in April. “As we can identify the suspects more quickly and accurately, our arrest rate is expected to become greater,” one senior officer tells the paper. Unlike regular two-dimensional mug shots, the 3D images can be adjusted to match the angle of security camera footage, which is often shot from above, rather than at face height. At the moment police only photograph suspects’ faces from the front and diagonally, making it difficult to match mug shots to CCTV images. Tokyo’s police force says it is the first to roll out the cameras across all of its stations – until now they have only been installed at some regional police headquarters in Japan. [BBC]

Australia makes ‘captain’s call’ on best words of 2015 –
Captain’s call – a phrase “plucked” from the cricket pitch and politicised by former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott – has become the Macquarie Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2015. Mr Abbott’s controversial choice to award Prince Philip a knighthood was one of his many “captain’s calls”. The noun is defined as “a decision made by a political or business leader without consultation with colleagues”. The dictionary said the word “perfectly encapsulates” Australia in 2015. [BBC] See List of the Day

Video of the Day –

Liquid Ping Pong in Space – RED 4K

List of the Day –

Australian Word of the Year runners-up

lumbersexual: a portmanteau of lumberjack and metrosexual – referring to urban men who adopt the style of an outdoorsman as a fashion statement.

deso: Colloquially refers to a designated driver, who refrains from drinking alcohol in order to drive others safely home. Also, deso driver.

open kimono: A business policy of sharing information freely with an outside party.

keyboard warrior: a person who adopts an excessively aggressive style in online discussions which they would not normally adopt in person-to-person communication, often in support of a cause, theory, world view, etc.

ghost plate: a clear plastic numberplate cover which becomes opaque when viewed from certain angles, thereby obscuring the registration number; designed to circumvent identification by speed cameras.

athleisure: clothing, shoes, etc., designed for both exercise and general casual wear.

tri-tip: a cut of beef, taken from the bottom of the sirloin.

digital disruption: Commerce the impact of digital technology in making various established industries and products obsolete.

abandoned porn: a genre of photography which romanticises abandoned buildings and urban areas in a state of decay. Also, ruin porn.

wombat gate: a swing gate installed in a ditch going underneath a fence, so that wombats, who follow very predictable patterns at night, can come and go without destroying the fence.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#growingupwithmyname	#growingupwithmyname	#PillowTalk
2	#TengoAltoVicioPor	SNOWBOARDING WITH THE NYPD	#GrowingUpWithMyName
3	#زد_رصيدك72	#RoyalRumble	#DespiteBeingTaughtInWelsh
4	#DomingoDetremuraSdv	Djokovic	#AustraliaUpAMovieOrActor
5	#FelizDomingo	#NEvsDEN	#InspirationalQuoteILiveBy
6	#UğurMumcu	#SelenaOnSNL	Mahrez
7	#PillowTalk	#ToBeManagementMaterial	#ToniBraxtonMovie
8	#MeGustasPeroDeberias	Sydney Rain	Norwich
9	#HappyBirthdayCalumHood	#NationalPeanutButterDay	#CongratulationsLouis
10	#congratsarzaylea	#DCDigOut	#TheVoiceUK

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Army takes control of the strategic Turkmen town of Rabia in Syria‘s Latakia Governorate. The town had been under rebel control since 2012. (AFP via Global Post)

Disasters and accidents

Heavy snowfall in western and central Japan leaves at least two people dead and over a hundred injured. Snowfall was also recorded for the first time in 155 years on Amami Ōshima, a subtropical island in Japan’s southern Kagoshima Prefecture. (The Japan Times)
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes southwestern Alaska, leaving 10,000 in the Anchorage area without power and forcing the evacuation of several homes on the Kenai Peninsula. The National Weather Service reported that there was no tsunami following the earthquake. (USGS) (ABC) (The Los Angeles Times)

Politics and elections

Portuguese presidential election, 2016
- Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is elected President of the Portuguese Republic. (ABC News)

Sports

In sumo, Kotoshōgiku Kazuhiro wins his first makuuchi (top division) championship to end a decade-long drought of a Japanese-born championship winner. (Kyodo via Nikkei Asia Review) (Reuters via Daily Mail)
2015–16 NFL playoffs
- The Denver Broncos beat the New England Patriots 20-18 to win the AFC Championship and qualify for Super Bowl 50. (Washington Post)
- The Carolina Panthers beat the Arizona Cardinals 49-15 to win the NFC Championship and qualify for Super Bowl 50. (The Guardian)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 25, 2016

January 25, 2106

Top News Stories –

Irish potato picture sells for £750,000 –
Yearning for starchy carbohydrates after a few drinks is nothing new – but a businessman has taken it to a new level. After a few glasses of wine, he bought a picture of an Irish potato for £750,000. “It’s not the first time that someone has bought the art right off my wall,” photographer Kevin Abosch told The Sunday Times newspaper. “We had two glasses of wine and he said, ‘I really like that.’ “Two more glasses of wine and he said, ‘I really want that.’ We set the price two weeks later.” Abosch took the picture of the organic Irish potato back in 2010 as part of a series, but he’s already known for snapping celebrities like Johnny Depp and Steven Spielberg. A starting price for one of his portraits will reportedly set you back around £200,000 at least. The artist had the spud delivered to him in a batch of organic vegetables, and says he understands how some people could see the price tag as being a little “absurd”. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Snowboarding with the NYPD

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#AMiMeMolestaMuchoQue	#mondaymotivation	#mondaymotivation
2	#SegundaDetremuraSdv	#CMAD	#BurnsNight
3	#زد_رصيدك73	#musicmonday	Conchobar
4	#BurnsNight	#NationalBreakfastWeek	#EUWargames
5	#50sfumaturedigrigio	#BurnsNight	#VLWorld2016
6	#كيف_بتدفي_حبيبك	#DemTownHall	#CMAD
7	Fran Rivera	Rick Perry	#RoyalRumble
8	#AnittaNaoCantaAnittaGeme	#5WordsForAFriend	#NationalBreakfastWeek
9	#SeAcabaElMundo	B.O.B	#NDA2015
10	Conchobar	Blac Chyna	#MusicMonday

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram insurgency
- Suicide bombers kill at least 32 people and injure 66 others in northern Cameroon, near the border with Nigeria. (Reuters Africa)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- A Saudi-led coalition airstrike kills a senior Yemeni judge and seven members of his family in Sana’a. The judge had previously presided over treason cases against ousted President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. (AFP via Yahoo! News) (RT)

Arts and culture

Officials from the New York State parks system have proposed to temporarily “shut off” the American portion of Niagara Falls (also known as American Falls) within three years. The shut off will allow the replacement of two 115-year-old pedestrian stone bridges that are unsafe for the public. (Sky News)

Disasters and accidents

January 2016 East Asia cold wave
- At least eighty-five people are killed in Taiwan and tens of thousands stranded in airports as an unprecedented cold snap hits several Asian countries including China and South Korea. (Focus Taiwan),(CNN)
January 2016 United States blizzard
- The death toll from the blizzard in the Eastern United States rises to at least 30. (AP)
British explorer Henry Worsley dies at the age of 55 while attempting to be the first person to cross Antarctica unaided. (BBC)
A MiG-31 fighter jet crashes in the Krasnoyarsk Krai region in Siberia, Russia. The pilots were able to eject safely, according to the Russian Defence Ministry. (RT)

Health

Zika virus outbreak in Brazil (2015 – present)
- The World Health Organisation warns that the Zika virus could spread to most countries in the Americas. (BBC)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- Greece faces suspension or expulsion from the European Union‘s Schengen Area if it can not prevent waves of migrants from crossing over the country into Macedonia. (The Telegraph)

Law and Crime

The United States Supreme Court ruled in Montgomery v. Louisiana (2016) that its prohibition of mandatory life sentences for juveniles convicted of murder (under Miller v. Alabama (2012)), had to be applied retroactively, potentially affecting 1300 to 2300 cases nationally.(New York Times)
In Texas, a grand jury has cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing while it has indicted two anti-abortionists who were involved in making videos of the organization. (New York Times)

Politics and elections

Bob Brown, former Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens, is arrested during a protest in the Tasmanian village of Lapoinya over proposed clear-fell logging of a nearby forest. (The Australian)

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January 26, 2016

Top News Stories –

Australians choose alternative flag which removes the Union flag in new survey –
Australians have chosen a favourite alternative national flag amid calls to remove the Union flag from the current “outdated” design which has been flown since 1901. The preferred design, labelled the Southern Horizon, was the most popular of six options and captured 31 per cent of the vote in a survey conducted by the University of Western Sydney. The second most popular option, the Reconciliation Flag, received 28 per cent of the vote. The competition was prompted by the New Zealand government’s decision to hold a referendum on changing the flag – a process which is due to be completed in March. [Daily Telegraph]
Southern Horizon flag

Video of the Day –

What If You Only Drank Soda?

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#GossipGirlDay	#LetsMakeTodayBetterBy	#AustraliaDay
2	#TercaNoClubeSDV	#TravelTuesday	#RepublicDay
3	#FelizMartes	#NationalSpousesDay	#LetsMakeTodayBetterBy
4	#شخصيه_عامه_مص�…	#WordsThatDontDescribeHillary	#TravelTuesday
5	#زواج_للشواذ_ب�…	Blake Griffin	#CharityTuesday
6	#زد_رصيدك74	Doomsday Clock	Kristen Stewart
7	#ALDUBLihimNgKahapon	#MyAwkwardSuperpower	#Sepsis
8	#LetsMakeTodayBetterBy	#RearrangeAWordChangeAFilm	#StateOfEmergencyIn5Words
9	#멘션온_첫경험이나…	Detective Pikachu	Beatrix Potter
10	#5MillonesAlGallinero	#1DHistoryVideo	#Benidorm

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- A suicide bomb attack on a Syrian Army (SAA) checkpoint in the city of Homs kills at least 22 people, including around a dozen soldiers. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the attack. (AFP via Daily Mail) (Reuters Canada)
- Second Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin
  - The Syrian Army, backed by Hezbollah militiamen and Russian airstrikes, retakes full control of the strategic town of Al-Shaykh Maskin in Syria‘s southern Daraa Governorate, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- A U.S. drone strike kills at least 6 ISIL militants in Afghanistan‘s Nangarhar Province, according to the Afghan defense ministry. (The New Indian Express)
- An Afghan police officer, allegedly tied to Taliban, poisons and kills ten of his colleagues in Urozgan province. (AL Jazeera)

Business and economy

French taxidrivers, air traffic controllers and school teachers go on strike over working conditions and competition from non-traditional services such as Uber. (AP via ABC News America)

Disasters and accidents

January 2016 United States blizzard
- The death toll from the blizzard rises to 38. (AP via ABC News America)
Malaysian authorities find 13 bodies washed up on Johor beach believed to be Indonesian migrants. (Reuters via Channel News Asia)

Health

Zika virus outbreak in the Americas (2015–present)
- Virologists find the Zika virus in Australian tourists returning from South America. (ABC News Australia)

International relations

Moldova–Romania relations
- Romania offers neighboring Moldova a $65 million (60 million euros) loan to help stave off economic collapse and keep the former Soviet Republic on a pro-European course, provided the Moldovan government implements major reforms. Government funds were needed to cover more than $1 billion that “disappeared” from three Moldovan banks in November 2014. In the frigid capital Chișinău, 15,000 people from both the pro-European and pro-Russian sides of the political divide, protested on Sunday against the current government and demanded new elections. Prime Minister Pavel Filip, who took office last week, is the country’s sixth PM in a year. (AP) (Reuters) (The New York Times)

Law and crime

The Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak is cleared of corruption by the Attorney-General of Malaysia Apandi Ali after returning US$607 million worth of donations to his personal account from the Saudi Royal Family. (Channel News Asia)
Authorities in the People’s Republic of China say that Wang Baoan is under suspicion for “serious violation of discipline” (a phrase usually associated with corruption charges) as the head of that country’s powerful National Bureau of Statistics. (BBC)
Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
- U.S. federal authorities arrest militia leader Ammon Bundy and several of his followers following an exchange of gunfire at a traffic stop on U.S. Route 395 in Harney County, Oregon. One person, LaVoy Finicum, a rancher from Arizona and spokesman for the militia, was killed in the shootout. (CNN), (Oregon Live)
Homelessness in Seattle
- Two people are killed and three others are hospitalized, two with life-threatening injuries, following a shooting in the “The Jungle” homeless encampment in the U.S. city of Seattle, Washington. Police are searching for two suspects. (NBC News) (seattlepi.com)
Terrorism in the United States
- The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation arrests a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, man who is alleged to have been planning a machine gun mass shooting at a local Masonic Temple. (The Washington Post)(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) (FBI)

Politics and elections

Marshall Islands President Casten Nemra is defeated in a vote of no confidence. Nemra had just been elected President in early January 2016. A successor is expected to be selected soon. (Radio New Zealand International)

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January 27, 2016

Top News Stories –

Hapless US sailors rescued for ninth time during bid to cross the Atlantic –
Two ‘Captain Calamity’ sailors have been rescued for a ninth time in seven months while trying to sail from Norway to America. Bungling Bob Weise and Steve Shapiro, both 71, managed to set their boat on fire having left a candle burning while it was moored, just the latest in a long line of mishaps to delay their sailing adventure. The hapless US yachtsmen set off from Scandinavia in their 40ft sailing boat Nora for a ‘last hurrah’ expedition last July but have since endured a catalogue of disasters. Their 18-ton boat suffered “considerable” damage in the latest incident after it tipped over while in Hayle Harbour, Cornwall, exacerbated by the fact they had left a candle burning when they popped ashore for groceries. [Daily Telegraph]

Record-breaking $6.2M raised for mental health during Bell Let’s Talk Day –
It’s a new Bell Let’s Talk Day record. Bell says 125,915,295 calls, texts, tweets and shares on Wednesday raised $ 6,295,764.75 for Canadian mental health. “I’m truly overwhelmed by the depth and breadth of the non-stop conversation about mental health this year and by what we’ve all built together,” said Clara Hughes, Canada’s six-time Olympic medalist and Bell Let’s Talk national spokesperson since the initiative began in 2010. [CTV News Windsor] See Top Twitter Trends

Video of the Day –

Jurassic Parkour

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#BellLetsTalk	#BellLetsTalk	#bellletstalk
2	#QuartaDetremuraSdv	#NationalChocolateCakeDay	#HappyBirthdayMark
3	#ElAmorEsMejorCuando	#HolocaustMemorialDay	Joseph Fiennes
4	FRASE DO MEU TÚMULO	Barney Hall	#ChocolateCakeDay
5	#FelizMiercoles	#FaceTimeMeNash	#MakeAMovieWhiter
6	#زد_رصيدك75	#ShawnWorldTour	#ShawnWorldTour
7	#اكتر_حاجه_بتح�…	#MyLast4Words	#Winterwatch
8	#HolocaustMemorialDay	#MovinOnUp	Safari
9	#SiempreQuiseTener	#1linewed	Wembley
10	#ShawnWorldTour	#MakeAMovieWhiter	#mycalvins

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram insurgency
- Suicide bombers blow themselves up in the northeast Nigerian town of Chibok, killing at least 13 and injuring at least 30 others. (AFP via Yahoo) (Reuters)
- Cameroon closes most of its northern markets on the Nigerian border. (The News) (Voice of America)

Business and economy

Shareholders of Royal Dutch Shell approve that company’s acquisition of BG Group, a deal expected to close on February 15. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

January 2016 United States blizzard
- The death toll from the blizzard that hit the Eastern United States rises to 50. (AP)

Health

Zika virus outbreak
- Several Zika virus cases have been reported in Denmark, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. (RT)

International relations

China–United States relations
- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agree, on principle, that a strong United Nations Security Council resolution is needed regarding North Korea’s nuclear test earlier this month. (Reuters) (CNN)

Law and crime

Human rights in Iran
- Amnesty International reports that at least 160 young Iranians are currently awaiting execution and 73 others have been put to death between 2005 and 2015, which including sentencing girls as young as 9 and boys as young as 15 to death. (The Huffington Post)

Politics and elections

Hilda Heine is elected President of the Marshall Islands by Parliament, becoming the country’s first female president, as well as the first woman to serve as president of any Micronesian country. She succeeds outgoing President Casten Nemra, who lost a vote of no confidence on January 26. (Radio New Zealand International)
November 2015 Paris attacks
- Christiane Taubira, differing with President François Hollande concerning pending terrorist/citizenship legislation, resigns as the Minister of Justice in France. (France 24) (CNN)
Vietnam reelects conservative Nguyễn Phú Trọng as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, a member of the Politburo, is expected to replaceNguyễn Tấn Dũng as prime minister. Dũng is not eligible for another term. (AP via ABC News) (Channel NewsAsia)

Science and technology

Artificial intelligence
- A computer program called AlphaGo, powered by DeepMind, beats the European Go champion Fan Hui, 5-0. This is the first time artificial intelligence has defeated a professional player in this ancient Chinese abstract strategy board game. (BBC) (MIT Technology Review)

Sports

Association of Tennis Professionals, Women’s Tennis Association
- In tennis, the sport’s governing bodies launch an independent inquiry into the anti-corruption unit following a report published by the BBC and BuzzFeed about allegations of failing to pursue allegations ofmatch fixing. (ABC Australia)

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January 28, 2016

Top News Stories –

Peta’s NSFW Super Bowl 50 advert banned by TV execs –
An advert produced by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, intended to air during the Super Bowl next month, has been barred from viewers’ screens by TV executives. The advert, depicting two couples having sex, is intended to encourage people to adopt veganism. “Vegans last longer. See the side by side proof here,” reads the supporting text, as the vegan and meat-eating couples are shown going at it hammer-and-tongs. The meat-eaters’ love-making is over within moments of the advert beginning – while the vegans keep going until the end. PETA says it planned for the clip to be aired during the Super Bowl, where advertisers pay millions of dollars to target US TV’s largest, most receptive audience of the year. “We did try to submit the ad last fall but we didn’t get a response from the executives at CBS,” a spokesman for the animal rights organisation said. However, since news broke that the advert was banned it’s received a huge amount of attention, winning 1.1 million YouTube views in just three days. [Daily Telegraph] See Video of the Day
PETA Tweet

Video of the Day –

Last Longer | Vegan Sex Drive Shown in Steamy Scene

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#زد_رصيدك76	#IllNeverBeTooOldTo	#BaeIn3Words
2	#QuintaDetremuraSdv	#Barbie	#GirlsinSTEM
3	#TeDedicoEsaQueDice	#pottermore	#StormGertrude
4	#SeTerminaEneroYYo	Goodnight Gotham	Kiss It Better
5	#FelizJueves	#Challenger	Gillian
6	#BrazilianFansAreTheBest	#ThereMayBeFootageOf	#MyLast4Words
7	#عطني_صفه_فيك	#BaeIn3Words	#GBBOSportRelief
8	#コピースロット	#MakeAMovieAmish	#monkigras
9	#ALDUB28thWeeksary	#TroyeOnEllen	#TrollHunters
10	#NoEntiendoPorque	Dennis Wideman	#TheBeautifulGamers

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- At least seven people are killed in a suicide bomb attack near the presidential palace in Aden, Yemen. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims it was behind the attack. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

European migrant crisis
- A boat carrying Iraqi Kurd migrants sinks off the Greek island of Samos in the Aegean Sea off Turkey’s Anatolian coast, killing at least 24 people, including several children, with 11 others missing. (The New York Times) (NBC News)

Health

Zika virus outbreak in the Americas (2015–present)
- The World Health Organization forms an emergency committee to tackle the spread of the Zika virus in the Americas. (The Washington Post)

International relations

Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- The President of Taiwan Ma Ying-jeou visits Taiping Island, Taiwan‘s largest island in the South China Sea, despite the United States warning it could provoke diplomatic tensions with the People’s Republic of China and other nations in the area. (AP via US News and World Report)
European migrant crisis
- Swedish Interior Minister Anders Ygeman tells financial newspaper Dagens Industri that Sweden is disallowing about 45 percent of asylum applications which means around 60,000-80,000 asylum-seekerscould be deported in coming years. (AP via CBS News)
Russo-Georgian War
- Georgia welcomes the ICC‘s investigation into alleged war crimes committed during the 2008 South Ossetia war, which will be the first inquiry by the ICC into possible abuses by Moscow and/or Georgia.(Radio Free Europe)

Law and crime

The trial of former President of the Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo for crimes against humanity begins at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. (BBC)
Six people, including the gunman, are dead in a murder-suicide in Chesapeake, Virginia, U.S. (Yahoo! News)

Politics and elections

Republican Party presidential debates, 2016
- The seventh Republican Party presidential debate, the second hosted by Fox News, and the final debate before voting begins with the Iowa caucuses on February 1, is held in Des Moines, Iowa. The seven candidates featuring in the primetime debate were Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio. Donald Trump, the current front-runner in the polls, was also invited to the primetime debate but opted to boycott the debate and instead hosted a town hall with charitable proceeds going to veterans groups. (Fox News)

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January 29, 2016

Top News Stories –

Italian town welcomes first baby for 28 years –
A small town in northern Italy is celebrating the arrival of its first baby since the 1980s. The mayor of Ostana, which lies in the mountains of the Piedmont region, says the new arrival is a “dream come true” for the tiny community, which has seen its population plummet over the past 100 years. Baby Pablo, who was born in a Turin hospital last week, takes the number of inhabitants to 85, although only about half live there permanently, La Stampa newspaper reports. Mayor Giacomo Lombardo says that while 1,000 people called Ostana home in the early 1900s, a steady drop in the birth rate began after World War Two. “The real decline started in 1975, with 17 babies between 1976 and 1987, when the last boy was born – until little Pablo,” he says. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

All 24 Types Of Males Explained

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#VemSextaChegouClubeSDV	#FlashbackFriday	#FridayFeeling
2	#EuAmoMeuSignoPorque	#KanyeAnalPlaylist	#StormGertrude
3	#زد_رصيدك77	#HPCelebration	#KanyeAnalPlaylist
4	#KanyeAnalPlaylist	#PanthersPride	#FlashbackFriday
5	#LuisMarizNossoJustinBR	Bank of Japan	#PillowTalk
6	#BuenViernes	LA Confidential	#CatSongs
7	#TipicaFraseDeAbuela	Mac Dre	#bbcqt
8	#ALDUBTurnBackTime	#NewMusicFriday	#IllNeverBeTooOldTo
9	#AmbulanceToCizre	#EqualPay	#FirstDates
10	#MeSientoMasIgnoradoQue	#SoNotMeh	#GOPDebate

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Terrorism in Saudi Arabia
- At least 3 people are killed and 7 wounded in an attack on a Shia mosque in Saudi Arabia‘s Eastern Province. (The News Hub)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- A pipeline used to generate around half the electricity in Iraqi Kurdistan is blown up, knocking out power across the region. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Mexico launches a wholesale telecoms network tender today. (Reuters via Yahoo! Finance)
The Bank of Japan adopts a negative interest rate policy to support the economy. (Bloomberg)
U.S. corporation Xerox announces it will split into two companies, separating its business process outsourcing line from its legacy business, document technology. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 Australian region cyclone season
- Tropical Cyclone Stan gathers strength as it heads towards the Pilbara and Kimberley regions of Western Australia. (ABC News Australia)
2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season
- Storm Gertrude impacts the British Isles with 90mph winds knocking out power lines and causing travel disruption. (The Telegraph)
An avalanche near McBride in the Canadian province of British Columbia kills five people. (CBC)

International relations

Japan–North Korea relations
- Japan places its military on alert over a possible North Korean ballistic-missile launch after detecting “increased activity” at a North Korean missile site. Japan’s Minister of Defense, Gen Nakatani, has ordered Kongō-class destroyers stationed in the Sea of Japan, equipped with Aegis combat systems to target any North Korean projectiles heading for Japan. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Human rights in China
- Human rights activists claim that three pro-democracy advocates have been sentenced up to five years imprisonment on charges of attempting to overthrow the Communist Party government inGuangzhou. (AP via Star Tribune)
Hillary Clinton email controversy
- The Government of the United States rules that 22 emails on Hillary Clinton‘s home server contained closely guarded information rated as “Top Secret”. (AP)

Science

Scientists from the University of California conclude that study of the geology of the Earth and Moon indicate that both consist of a mixture of rocks from the original Earth and a hypothesized planetary-mass object called Theia after a collision. (The Telegraph)

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January 30, 2016

Top News Stories –

Lebanon returns Israeli vulture cleared of spying –
A huge vulture detained in Lebanon on suspicion of spying for Israel has been returned home after UN peacekeepers intervened, Israeli officials said. The bird, which has a 1.9m (6ft 5in) wing span, flew over the border from an Israeli game reserve and was caught by Lebanese villagers on Tuesday. They became suspicious as the griffon vulture had a tracking device attached to its tail. It is part of a conservation project to reintroduce raptors to the Middle East. Wildlife officials say the vulture was brought from Spain last year and set free about a month ago in the Gamla Nature Reserve in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Tel Aviv University is involved in tracking the bird, and as well as a GPS transmitter, it had tags on its wings and an engraved metal ring on its leg saying: “Tel Aviv Univ Israel”. [BBC]

People are freaking out over their results on the JK Rowling approved Harry Potter Sorting Hat test –
There have been Harry Potter Sorting Hat quizzes online for years, but this one has actually been approved by the author. JK Rowling has made, or approved, a quiz to go on her Pottermore website, which purports to accurately tell you what house you should be in. The quiz asks a series of personality questions, and sorts you in to your true house.
It tells you whether you are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. You can take the Pottermore quiz here. {Daily Telegraph]
In October 2015 JK Rowling dismissed Harry Potter fan theories about time travel and werewolves
J. K. Rowling

Video of the Day –

If Google Was A Guy (Part 5)

Top Twitter Trends –

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1	#SabadoDetremuraSdv	#HappyBirthdayPhil	#HappyBirthdayPhil
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9	#MrAndMrsSotto	#5WordHorribleIceBreaker	Rooney
10	#NoMeVa	#FilmsIntoBandNames	Jordan Rhodes

Other News Stories –

Business and economics

Social networking service Facebook, and its photo-sharing subsidiary Instagram, ban private, person-to-person sales of guns via their services. (CNBC) (The Christian Science Monitor)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 Australian region cyclone season
- Western Australia‘s Pilbara region braces for the impact of Cyclone Stan, which is expected to make landfall as a Category Three storm. (ABC News Australia)
A helicopter fighting forest fires in South Korea‘s North Jeolla Province crashes near the Geumsansa Temple in Gimje. The 61-year-old pilot dies in the crash. (Yonhap News)
European migrant crisis
- Almost 40 people are killed and 75 are rescued after a boat carrying migrants sinks between Turkey and Greece. (Reuters)

Health

Zika virus outbreak in the Americas (2015–present)
- Jamaican health officials confirm the country’s first case of the Zika virus in a 4-year-old child who recently returned from a trip to Texas. (USA TODAY)
- More than 2,100 pregnant Colombian women are infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus. (Reuters)

International relations

Global surveillance disclosures (2013–present), Edward Snowden
- NSA documents show the US and UK spied on Israeli military drones and fighter jets. (CNN) (The Verge)
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- A United States Navy guided missile destroyer, USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54), sails within 12 nautical miles of the disputed Triton Island. The Pentagon said that the mission aimed at countering the “excessive maritime claims of parties that claim the Paracel Islands”, while China’s Ministry of Defense said the U.S. action “severely violated the law.” (BBC), (The Washington Post)

Law and crime

2015 FIFA corruption case
- Reuters reports that a million dollars in FIFA funding is missing from the accounts of the National Football Federation of Guatemala. (Reuters)
Orange County Men’s Central Jail escape
- Two of the inmates who escaped from a jail in Santa Ana, California, were arrested in San Francisco. (San Francisco Chronicle)
National Western Complex shooting
- At least one person is killed and multiple others injured in a fight between two outlaw motorcycle gangs in the American city of Denver, Colorado. (9 News)

Politics

An estimated half-million Italians protest in Rome’s Circus Maximus against pending legislation that would legalize same-sex unions. The legislation would extend to civil unions the same rights they would have under marriage, including adoption of children. (AP via The New York Times) (Reuters) (NBC News) (The Local)

Sports

2016 Australian Open
- In tennis, Angelique Kerber of Germany tops (2–1) defending champion Serena Williams of the United States, 6-4, 3–6, 6–4, to win the Women’s Singles. This is Kerber’s first Grand Slam title. (ABC News Australia), (The Guardian)

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January 31, 2016

Top News Stories –

Sir Terry Wogan: Tributes paid to veteran broadcaster –
Tributes have poured in for veteran BBC broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan who has died aged 77, after a short illness. BBC director general Tony Hall hailed him as “a broadcasting legend”. Sir Terry hosted a long-running TV chat show, fronted the Eurovision Song Contest and was the face of Children in Need, while his Radio 2 breakfast show regularly had around 8m listeners. Sir Terry, who had not been seen in public since November when he pulled out of hosting the annual Children in Need telethon, died “after a short but brave battle with cancer”, his family said. He leaves his wife Helen and their three children. The couple also had a daughter who died in infancy. [BBC]
Terry Wogan in 2005 receiving his Knighthood

Video of the Day –

Stormtrooper Homer from Capture the Moment Media on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Bill Gates 8 Desert Island Discs [BBC]
David Bowie and Queen – Under Pressure: “In my 20s and 30s, I worked a lot. But a few Fridays and Saturdays we’d go out and dance so this kind of reminds me of those disco days.”
Willie Nelson – Blue Skies: “My wife Melinda and I love Willie Nelson. So as a surprise gift for her, I had him show up the night before we got married. We were on a beach in Hawaii and he kind of walked down the beach with his guitar and I said, ‘Well here he is, let’s have this guy sing some songs for us.'”
Ed Sheeran – Sing: “My kids, who are 19, 16, and 13, refresh my musical taste by tuning the radio or calling up songs on their phones. And so this is one that my 13-year-old, Phoebe, happens to like.”
Jimi Hendrix – Are You Experienced: “Because I was younger [Paul Allen] would sometimes taunt me with the title of this song – Are You Experienced – because I hadn’t gotten drunk or other various things, so this is one of our favourites.”
U2 – One: “Paul told me that I should meet Bono, and I didn’t prioritise it. We finally did get to meet and I was amazed how he had thought about [global health] read about it, and so started a partnership. He has been absolutely amazing.”
The Beatles – Two of Us: “Steve [Jobs] was really into music and he loved the Beatles and so did I. And he actually mentioned the song, Two of Us, saying that was kind of like this journey we’d been on where we’d been competing and working together.”
How Can Love Survive, from the Sound of Music: “Melinda and I both love the Sound of Music and as I met [investor and philanthropist] Warren Buffett, he and his first wife Susie sang a song from The Sound of Music. In fact this is one we’d never heard because it was in the Broadway musical and not in the movie. It’s kind of a cute song so Melinda and I think of this as one of our favourites.”
My Shot from Hamilton, the musical: “It’s about a young person saying, ‘Hey I’m going to take a risk – I’m going to get out there and try and do something new and different.'”

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
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9	#sagawards	#NHLAllStar	#NZvPAK
10	#SeninleyizMehmetçik	#kylieradio	#TheVoice

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram insurgency
- At least 100 people are killed and hundreds others injured in an attack by Boko Haram militants on Dalori Village 4 kilometers from Maiduguri, Nigeria. (Sahara Reporters)
Syrian Civil War
- 2016 Sayyidah Zaynab bombings
  - At least 60 people are killed and 110 wounded in a twin-suicide bomb attack in the town of Sayyidah Zaynab, Rif Dimashq Governorate, near Syria‘s holiest Shi’ite shrine, the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claim responsibility for the attack. (NBC News) (The Jerusalem Post)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 Australian region cyclone season
- Tropical Cyclone Stan makes landfall on the Western Australian coast east of Pardoo. (ABC News Australia)
Seven people are killed after a truck collides with a train near Cairo, Egypt. (Business Standard)
At least 21 people are killed and 16 injured in a multi-car pile-up on a road near the city of Beni Suef, Egypt. (Omaha)
A huge fire at a factory in Moscow‘s eastern Sokolniki District, kills at least 12 people. Police suspect arson may be involved. (RT)

International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction, Japan–North Korea relations
- Japan deploys two MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile interceptor systems in Tokyo in preparation for any North Korean ballistic missiles potentially heading for the city. The deployment comes amid concerns of an imminent North Korean missile launch following the detection of “increased activity” at a North Korean missile facility. (RT)

Sport

2016 Australian Open
- In tennis, defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia defeats second seed Andy Murray of the United Kingdom in the men’s singles in straight sets. It is Djokovic’s third straight Grand Slam title. (ABC News Australia), (BBC)

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