2016 - The 2010s

June 5, 2016

Top News Stories –

French Open: Novak Djokovic completes grand slam collection –
The first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win four straight grand slams. The eighth man to complete the career grand slam. The first man to claim the first two majors in a calendar year since Jim Courier in 1992. Novak Djokovic made plenty of history Sunday when he beat Andy Murray 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-4 in the French Open final. Djokovic, especially in the past two seasons, never hid how desperately he wanted to win the world’s premier clay-court tournament. He had lost three finals, including last year to Stan Wawrinka. When Murray sent a backhand into the net on a third match point, Djokovic fell to the court on his back. Finally the Coupe des Mousquetaires was his. [CNN]
Novak_Đoković

Video of the Day –

How Mosquitoes Use Six Needles to Suck Your Blood | Deep Look

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)
- Turkish Air Force bombs Kurdistan Workers’ Party targets in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey killing at least 27 militants. (Reuters)
2016 Aktobe shootings
- Three people are killed and 10 more are injured following an attack on a military base in Aktobe, Kazakhstan, by suspected Islamists. (RT)
War in Afghanistan
- David Gilkey, an NPR photojournalist and a 2015 winner of the Edward R. Murrow Award, and Afghan journalist and translator Zabihullah Tamanna are killed when the Afghan army unit they were accompanying comes under fire near Marjah in Helmand Province. (AP) (NPR) (Corporation for Public Broadcasting)

Business and economy

English/American comedian John Oliver buys and then forgives $15,000,000 (USD) in medical debt to about 9,000 people, making it the biggest ever giveaway in television history. (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

Australian east coast low
- New South Wales facing evacuations and a rising flood threat as heavy rain and high winds hit Sydney and Newcastle. Parts of Victoria and Tasmania are braced for wild weather. (The Guardian)
Hermalle-sous-Huy train collision
- A passenger train crashes into a goods train in the Belgian town of Hermalle-sous-Huy in the municipality of Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse, resulting in at least three deaths and more than 40 injuries.(Reuters) (Reuters² via ABC News Australia)
2016 Calabasas fire
- Firefighters have contained about 80 percent of the 516-acre brush fire in Calabasas, California. Evacuation orders affecting at least 5,000 people in the Los Angeles area are being lifted. The fire started yesterday when a pickup truck struck a power pole. (CNN) (NBC News)
2016 Atlantic hurricane season
- Tropical Storm Colin
  - Tropical Storm Colin forms in the Gulf of Mexico and is likely to hit Florida‘s Gulf Coast tomorrow. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Six people are hurt as an unknown assailant fires shots at a Czech tourist bus on the A7 autoroute near Saulce-sur-Rhône in southeastern France. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Okinawa prefectural election, 2016
- Voters in Okinawa, Japan, go to the polls to elect the members of the next Okinawa Prefectural Assembly. The election results give the camp supporting Governor Takeshi Onaga a clear majority in the assembly. Onaga is opposed to the central government’s plan to relocate MCAS Futenma to Henoko Bay in Nago. (Kyodo) (Japan Times) (Nikkei Asian Review)
Peruvian general election, 2016
- Voters in Peru go to the polls for the second round of voting in a presidential election where Keiko Fujimori and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski are the remaining candidates. (International Business Times)
- Early results indicate Kuczynski has a slight lead over Fujimori, 50.59 percent to 49.41 percent, with about 52% of the votes counted. (Reuters)
Romanian local elections, 2016
- Voters in Romania go to the polls to vote in the local elections. (Adevarul)
- Estimate predictions show centre-left PSD candidate Gabriela Firea as the winner for Mayor of Bucharest, making her the first female occupant of this position. (Ziare.com)
Swiss referendums, 2016
- Voters in Switzerland go to the polls to vote in a number of referenda including a proposal for a basic income of 2,500 francs a month. (AP via Daily Mail)
- 77% of Swiss voters reject the proposed basic income plan. (BBC)
United States presidential election, 2016, Puerto Rico Democratic primary, 2016
- Amid frustrations with the ongoing economic crisis, Puerto Rican Democrats vote in the Commonwealth’s primary with front-runner Hillary Clinton forecast to win following yesterday’s sweep in the Virgin Islands’ caucus, moving even closer to locking up her party’s presidential nomination. There are 60 pledged delegates at stake. (AP via U.S. News & World Report), (CNN)
- Hillary Clinton wins Puerto Rico’s Democratic presidential primary and, according to the Associated Press, is now less than 30 delegates short of the 2,383 needed to win the nomination. (AP) (NPR)

Sport

2016 French Open – Men’s Singles
- Novak Djokovic tops Andy Murray to win the French Open men’s championship. This completes his non-calendar year Grand Slam. Djokovic is the the first man since 1969 (Rod Laver) to hold all four Grand Slam singles titles at once. (CNN)
Indian bodybuilder Mr Universe Manohar Aich Dies at age 104.

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June 6, 2016

Top News Stories –

Playboy mansion bought by Hugh Hefner’s neighbour –
The Playboy mansion, home to Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, is being sold to a private equity boss who lives next door. Daren Metropoulos, 32, is buying the 200,000 sq ft ((1,858 sq m) property, which was on the market for $200m (£138m). He bought the neighbouring property from Mr Hefner in 2009 for $18m. Mr Metropoulos is a principal at Metropoulos & Co, which is run by his father Dean. “The heritage of this property transcends its celebrity and to have the opportunity to serve as its steward would be a true privilege,” Daren Metropoulos told The Wall Street Journal. The mansion was built in 1927 and purchased by Playboy in 1971 for a reported $1.1m, making it the most valuable real estate deal in Los Angles at the time. It features a tennis court, free-form swimming pool, wine cellar, home theatre and games house but needs renovating to meet the same standards as other Beverly Hills homes. Neither party has confirmed what the mansion was sold for. Mr Hefner, 89, has the right to remain living in the property until his death. The LA estate eventually replaced the original Playboy Mansion, which opened in 1959 in Chicago. [BBC]
Hugh Hefner in 2010

Video of the Day –

MAR from Finisterre on Vimeo.

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Five people working for Jordanian intelligence are killed in an attack in a Palestinian neighborhood near Amman. (Al Arabiya)

Disasters and accidents

Australian east coast low
- Three bodies have been discovered in flood waters: two in the state of New South Wales and one in the Australian Capital Territory. Two people are missing in Tasmania. (ABC News Australia)
A soldier is killed and another injured after a fire spread to an ammunition dump at the Salawa army camp near Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo. Thousands of people in the area were evacuated. The fire is under control, according to a military spokesman. (AP)
2016 Atlantic hurricane season
- Florida Governor Rick Scott declares a state of emergency as Tropical Storm Colin‘s rain and gusty winds pelt the state’s west coast. Maximum sustained winds at 1:00 p.m. EDT are 50 mph (85 kpm). Between three and five inches of rain are forecast for northern Florida, with some areas getting up to eight inches. (Miami Herald) (NHC)
- The National Hurricane Center says this is the earliest a third named storm has ever formed in the Atlantic basin. (CBS News)

Health and medicine

Singapore researchers report, in the nanomaterials journal Small, the creation of a new antimicrobial material capable of neutralizing E. coli bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria such asStaphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. (UPI) (Wiley Online Library)

Law and crime

Researchers report that testing of 5,000 forgotten Cuyahoga County, Ohio, police rape kits for unsolved cases between 1993 and 2010 has led to more than 250 criminal convictions. (UPI) (Case Western Reserve University)

Politics and election

Peruvian general election, 2016
- With more than 92% of the vote counted, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is ahead of Keiko Fujimori by just over 103,000 votes, 50.3 percent to 49.6 percent, in the electorate of 23 million citizens. Ballots ofPeruvians living abroad will begin to arrive tonight. Mariano Cucho, the head of the electoral office, says the count may not be finalized until Thursday or Friday. (CNN via WFXP) (Reuters) (Fox News Latino)
- With 96.13% of ballots counted, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski‘s lead shrinks to less than 50,000 votes, with 50.14 percent of the votes versus Keiko Fujimori‘s 49.85 percent. (Financial Times)
Haitian presidential election, 2015–16
- Haiti will redo its presidential election after findings of widespread voter fraud in last years voting. Additional measures will be put in place for the first round in October this year. (Fox News)
Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
- The Associated Press reports that Hillary Clinton has the support of enough delegates to secure the Democratic Party nomination. Since delegates do not vote until the convention though, she is thepresumptive nominee of the party. (AP)

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June 7, 2016

Top News Stories –

Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro settles dismissal case –
Former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro has settled her dismissal claim against the club on confidential terms. Dr Carneiro, who claimed constructive dismissal against Chelsea, also reached a discrimination settlement against the club’s former manager Jose Mourinho. Chelsea said it apologised “unreservedly” to the former first team doctor for the distress caused. On Monday it emerged Chelsea had offered Dr Carneiro £1.2m to settle her claims, which she had rejected. Dr Carneiro claimed she was sexually discriminated against after she went on to the pitch to treat Chelsea player Eden Hazard during the opening day of the Premier League season last August. She claimed that Mr Mourinho shouted the Portuguese phrase “filha da puta” at her, which means “daughter of a whore”, as she ran on to the pitch. Dr Carneiro left the club in September after being demoted. [BBC]
Eva Carneiro in 2014

Video of the Day –

Max Man & Maya Man from WOW inc on Vimeo.

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Armed attacks and conflicts

June 2016 Istanbul bombing
- Seven police officers and four civilians are killed, and 36 people are wounded, three critically, by a car bomb explosion near the main tourism district in Istanbul, Turkey. The explosives, detonated by remote control, wrecked a passing police bus, reports CNN Türk. There is no immediate claim of responsibility. (Reuters) (AP)
- Turkish police detain four people for interrogation. (The Daily Star)
- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemns today’s terrorist attack in Istanbul. Ban says, “The UN stands in solidarity with the people and Government of Turkey at this difficult time.” (UN News Centre)
2016 Aktobe shootings
- Kazakhstan police report the death toll from Sunday’s attack in Aktobe is now 19 — three civilians, three National Guard servicemen, and 13 attackers. (Reuters)

Business and economics

The U.S. Justice Department announces pharmaceutical companies Genentech Inc. and OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. will pay $67 million to settle False Claims Act allegations for misleading statements about the effectiveness of the drug Tarceva in treating non-small-cell lung carcinoma. (UPI)

Disasters and accidents

Australian east coast low
- The search continues for three missing people in the Australian states of New South Wales and Tasmania. Four deaths have so far been confirmed in the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania and NSW.(AAP via 9 News), (ABC)
A pickup truck reported to be driving erratically mowed down a group of nine bicycle riders, killing five and injuring four near Kalamazoo, Michigan. The driver was arrested after fleeing. Authorities have not established any contributing causes of what is being called the worst bicycle accident in the county. (Atlantic) (CTV News)

Health and medicine

Johns Hopkins University researchers report, in the journal Health Affairs, that media reports about people accused of committing violent crimes having mental illnesses rarely discuss successful treatment of patients, and thereby overstate the problem. Most people exhibiting the types of psychological conditions the media mention are not generally violent. The researchers suggest coverage reinforces fear of mental illness and the people who have it, and, because of the social stigma, discourages people from seeking treatment. (UPI) (Health Affairs)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Voters go to the polls in six states, including California and New Jersey, with Hillary Clinton gaining enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. She will be the first woman nominee by a major party to run for President of the United States. (Reuters), (Fox News)
- Hillary Clinton wins in California, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota. Bernie Sanders wins in Montana and North Dakota. (AP²) (NMPolitics.net)
- Donald Trump wins the Republican Party primaries in California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota. (AP) (AP²)

Sport

A German federal court upholds the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s 2009 blood doping ruling against Olympic speed skating champion Claudia Pechstein who is seeking compensation from the International Skating Union for the two-year ban. (AP)

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June 8, 2016

Top News Stories –

Maria Sharapova banned for two years for failed drugs test but will appeal –
Maria Sharapova has been banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation for using a prohibited drug. The Russian was provisionally banned in March after testing positive for meldonium at January’s Australian Open. The heart disease drug, which 29-year-old Sharapova says she has been taking since 2006 for health issues, became a banned substance on 1 January 2016. The five-time Grand Slam winner said she “cannot accept” the “unfairly harsh” ban – and will appeal. Sharapova will challenge the suspension, which is backdated to 26 January 2016, at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas). [BBC]
Maria Sharapova

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Aberdeen : A Montage of Kurt Cobain's Artwork & Journals from Tourist Pictures on Vimeo.

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- The Taliban kills 12 members of Afghanistan’s security forces who were captured in recent ambushes in the Ghazni Province on June 3 and 5. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
- June 2016 Tel Aviv shooting
  - Two Palestinian gunmen open fire in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv killing at least four people and injuring at least 18 others. The two gunmen are arrested. (AP)
Syrian civil war
- Airstrikes in rebel-held districts of Aleppo kill at least 15 people and wound dozens while three hospitals are hit including one of the few that still provides pediatric services. UNICEF says medics had to take babies out of incubators. It is unclear who was responsible, though government forces, backed by the Russian Air Force, have run operations to regain control of the divided city. (BBC) (Deccan Chronicle)

Disasters and accidents

A road collapse at a major intersection near the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa, Ontario, forces evacuation of a mall, a hotel, the Shaw Convention Centre, and a book store because of the smell of gas. Power and water are now shut off. (CBC)

International relations

A United Nations commission of inquiry says that Eritrea should be referred to the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity committed in the country, including the enslavement of between 300,000 and 400,000 people through military conscription. (AP)

Law and crime

Papua New Guinea student protests
- Police open fire on University of Papua New Guinea students in Port Moresby protesting against the government of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. Four people have been killed and seven injured. However, according to the police, nobody was killed while a university spokesperson claims police only fired tear gas. (ABC News) (Radio New Zealand)
- A Papua New Guinea court grants an injunction barring university students from protesting on campus. Thousands of students across the nation have been protesting and boycotting classes for weeks calling for Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s resignation over corruption allegations. (Reuters)
Eritrean Mered Medhanie, aka The General, leader of one of the largest criminal operations unsafely smuggling migrants from Africa to Europe for up to €5,000 (£3,900; $5,680), is extradited to Italy. Police say in one attempt at least 359 migrants died when their boat sank near the Italian island of Lampedusa in October 2013. (BBC)
Governor John Kasich signs a bill legalizing medical marijuana, making Ohio the 25th state in America to approve its use. (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Science and technology

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry proposes final names for four new chemical elements: nihonium (atomic number 113), moscovium (#115), tennessine (#117), and oganesson (#118).(CNN)

Sport

The International Tennis Federation suspends Russian star Maria Sharapova for two years for failing a drug test for meldonium at the Australian Open. (BBC)

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June 9, 2016

Top News Stories –

Experiment ‘turns waste CO2 to stone’ –
Scientists think they have found a smart way to constrain carbon dioxide emissions – just turn them to stone. The researchers report an experiment in Iceland where they have pumped CO2 and water underground into volcanic rock. Reactions with the minerals in the deep basalts convert the carbon dioxide to a stable, immobile chalky solid. Even more encouraging, the team writes in Science magazine, is the speed at which this process occurs: on the order of months. “Of our 220 tonnes of injected CO2, 95% was converted to limestone in less than two years,” said lead author Juerg Matter from Southampton University, UK. “It was a huge surprise to all the scientists involved in the project, and we thought, ‘Wow! This is really fast’.” [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Office Pet | The Dude Perfect Show

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Somalia (2009–present)
- Al-Shabaab says it has killed at least 60 Ethiopian soldiers in an attack on a AMISOM base in central Somalia. (BBC)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Two separate car bombs explode in Baghdad, killing at least 20 people. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Arts and culture

Thailand celebrates the 70th anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s accession to the Thai throne. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

A bus plunges over a ravine in Brazil‘s São Paulo state, resulting in at least 18 people killed and 28 injured. (Globo.com)
A Northrop F-5 of the Swiss Air Force crashes during an air show at the Leeuwarden Air Base in the Netherlands. (RTL Nieuws)
Three people aboard a small plane are killed when the aircraft crashes into a parked car near the Houston, Texas, Hobby Airport. (AP)
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake hits the northwestern coast of Nicaragua not far from the Honduran border. La Prensa reports the walls of a church collapsed in the city of Chinandega. There are no immediate reports of casualties. (AP)

Health

2015–16 Zika virus epidemic
- The World Health Organization advises women in areas where the Zika virus is prevalent to delay pregnancies. (New York Times)

International relations

Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
- Israel suspends 83,000 entry permits for Palestinians for Ramadan following a mass shooting in downtown Tel Aviv that killed four and injured 17 people. (AFP via Naharnet)
China–Japan relations, Senkaku Islands dispute
- Japan summons China‘s ambassador, Cheng Yonghua, to Tokyo after a People’s Liberation Army Navy warship sailed close to its territorial waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Seafor the first time. (Reuters)
2016 Bilderberg Conference
- The 64th annual conference of the secretive Bilderberg Group takes place at the Taschenbergpalais hotel in Dresden, Germany. (The Independent)
Yemeni civil war
- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon temporarily removes the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen from a U.N. blacklist for violating children’s rights because its supporters threatened to stop funding many U.N. programs. (AP)
Fiji–New Zealand relations
- New Zealand Prime Minister John Key visits Fiji, the first time a Kiwi leader has done so since the 2006 coup d’état. Key is hoping to improve relations between the two countries though it’s clear their political tensions don’t have easy solutions. (AP)

Law and crime

Papua New Guinea student protests
- Papua New Guinea student protest leader Noel Anjo says demonstrations will continue despite the court order barring protests. “The students are not going to give up until and unless the prime ministerresigns or surrenders himself to police and is arrested and charged,” Anjo said. (BBC) (Reuters)
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules there is no Second Amendment protection for concealed weapons, upholding a California law that does not consider “general self-defense” sufficient for a license.(CNN)
Venezuelan opposition lawmaker, Julio Borges, is left bloodied after being hit in the face with a pipe in downtown Caracas. He spoke at a press conference after the attack with blood streaming down from his nose and mouth, and bloody stains on his button-down shirt, accusing the attackers of being supporters of President Nicolás Maduro. (AP via ABC News)
California’s right to die law, that allows physicians to prescribe medicines to terminally ill patients to hasten their deaths, goes into effect. California is the fifth state in America where this practice is legal. Opponents sue to overturn the law as unconstitutional because it denies terminally ill patients protections afforded other citizens. (Los Angeles Times)

Politics and elections

2016 United States presidential election
- U.S. President Barack Obama endorses Hillary Clinton for President of the United States. (The Hill)
Peruvian general election, 2016
- Election officials announce all ballots have been processed and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski wins the closest presidential contest in five decades with 50.1 percent of the votes versus 49.9% for Keiko Fujimori. Fujimori has yet to concede defeat. As many as 50,000 ballots still need to be reviewed, but experts say Fujimori can not make up the difference of roughly 40,000 votes separating her from Kuczynski.(BBC News) (ABC News) (AP)

Science and technology

Researchers in Iceland report, in the journal Science, that carbon dioxide emissions can be pumped into the earth and changed chemically to stone — significantly faster than expected. (Phys.org) (Science)

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June 10, 2016

Top News Stories –

Spanish town’s giant dog dropping goes walkies –
A town in Spain is facing an unexpected bill after thieves apparently made off with a giant dog dropping being used as part of a local campaign. Torrelodones, a municipality just outside the capital Madrid, is 2,400 euros ($2,726; £1,885) out of pocket after the three-metre high inflatable bought as part of a campaign to encourage pet-lovers to pick up after their dogs went missing, El Pais newspaper reports. The bizarre inflatable disappeared after it had been packed away in its carry-case and the police are now on the trail of the 30 kilogramme dog poop, town officials say. Speaking to the ABC newspaper, town councillor Angel Guirao said staff were shocked and perplexed by the theft, and a replacement excrement was already on order because “we know that the campaign has been a great success”. The inflatable is not the only symbol of the municipality’s “Lay an egg” campaign. Torrelodones has also left a number of concrete dog poops around the town bearing the message “This is a big blockage to living together. If you have a dog, help us”. People taking the time to engage with the campaign by posting photos on social media can win “Lay an egg” T-shirts, tastefully illustrated with a picture of a hen’s egg. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

A Brief History of Video Game Title Design from Art of the Title on Vimeo.

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- A blast occurs at a mosque in a small village in the Nangarhar Province, killing four people and injuring nearly 40 more. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
2016 Aktobe shootings
- Kazakh police kill five additional suspected militants in Aktobe as part of a “counterterrorism operation”. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Conflict in the Niger Delta
- The Niger Delta Avengers blow up an oil pipeline operated by Italy‘s Eni in the Niger Delta. (Reuters)
Syrian civil war, Manbij offensive
- Kurdish-led fighters completely encircle the ISIL-held town of Manbij, near the Turkish border, while Syrian forces move closer to ISIL’s de facto capital, Raqqa. (AP)

Business and economy

Gawker Media files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after losing an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit brought by former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, and has sold its blog network to Ziff Davis. (Bloomberg) (The New York Times), (Ad Week)
- The bankruptcy auction for the company gets underway when Gawker accepts tech publisher Ziff Davis’s bid for all seven of its brands and other assets, reportedly for $90 million to $100 million. (CNN)
Amazon.com Inc is preparing to start a stand-alone streaming music service, in direct competition with Apple Music and Spotify, according to sources who spoke to Reuters. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports a magnitude 5.1 earthquake strikes near Borrego Springs, Southern California. The Los Angeles County Fire Department and Riverside County Sheriff’s Department say they have received no reports of serious damage. (NBC News)
The United States Geological Survey also reports that a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Malaita island, Solomon Islands. However, no tsunami warning has been issued. (Radio New Zealand)

International relations

Israel temporarily bans all Palestinians from entering its territory until Sunday following the June 2016 Tel Aviv shooting. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Russia–United States relations
- Russia‘s Foreign Ministry warns of “retaliatory measures” over the entry of the United States Navy destroyer, USS Porter. The USS Porter arrived in the Black Sea port of Varna, Bulgaria, earlier this week for what the U.S. Navy called a routine deployment. (USA Today)
Cuba–United States relations
- The U.S. Department of Commerce approves service by six commercial airlines from five U.S. cities, including Miami and Philadelphia, to nine international airports in Cuba. Approval for routes to the capital Havana are still pending. Most of the carriers plan to begin their new service this fall and winter. (Miami Herald)

Law and crime

A Maldives court convicts Ahmed Adeeb, the country’s former vice president, of masterminding a plot to kill President Abdulla Yameen. He is sentenced to 15 years in prison. Earlier this week, Adeeb was sentenced to 10 years for firearms possession. (AP)
Christina Grimmie, a former contestant on The Voice and, at that point, a singer with Before You Exit, is shot by an unknown male assailant. She was hospitalized in critical condition and pronounced dead hours later due to her injuries. The band was signing autographs following a concert at The Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida, when the assault occurred. The shooter killed himself while attempting to flee. (NBC News) (WCAU) (Daily News)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016:
- In a substantial swing, the “Leave” camp is 10 points ahead of “Remain” with less than two weeks to go before Britain’s referendum on whether to stay in the European Union, according to a poll by ORB.(The Independent)
Georgia Senator David Perdue is criticized for remarks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority conference in which his quote of Psalm 109:8, “Let his days be few, and may another have his office,” appears to be a prayer for President Barack Obama’s death. Perdue says, “It was a little humor and I said it in a way that we were talking about his days as president.” (UPI) (The Daily Beast)

Sport

Gordie Howe, who scored 801 goals, was a six-time most valuable player during 26 years in the National Hockey League and won four Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings, dies at the age of 88. (CNN)

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June 11, 2016

Top News Stories –

Bicycle thief suspect lassoed by rancher in Oregon –
A rancher in the US state of Oregon has used his lassoing skills to nab a would-be thief, police say. Robert Borba told local media he reacted when he heard a woman scream that someone was trying to steal her bicycle from a bike rack outside a Walmart store in Eagle Point. Mr Borba said he got his horse out of its trailer and cornered the suspect before lassoing him around the legs. He said he got on his horse and rode over to the man who was apparently struggling with the bike gears and then decided to flee on foot. “I just roped him and the rope went down around his feet and I just rode off like I would if I’d roped a cow or something by myself”. The rancher said the would-be thief then tried to grab a tree and escape, but he managed to keep the rope tight until police arrived and arrested the suspect. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Aberdeen : A Montage of Kurt Cobain's Artwork & Journals from Tourist Pictures on Vimeo.

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- Fighting breaks out between ISIL militants and Afghan police in the Haska Mina District, Nangarhar Province, leaving six police officers and 15 militants dead, according to officials. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- Libyan forces claim to have captured the port in the city of Sirte after heavy fighting with ISIL. (BBC)
Syrian Civil War
- According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, two suicide bombings occur near the Sayyidah Zaynab shrine in a Damascus suburb, killing at least 20 people. (Reuters)

Law and crime

American singer Christina Grimmie, best known for her appearances on The Voice, dies after having been shot at a concert venue in the city of Orlando, Florida. (Fox News)

Sports

UEFA Euro 2016
- English and Russian football fans riot before the England–Russia Euro 2016 match in Marseille and fight afterwards. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. (AP)
- Fighting breaks out between supporters of Northern Ireland and France in Nice. (The Telegraph)
2016 Belmont Stakes
- Creator, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. and trained by Steve Asmussen, wins the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes. (NBC News)

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June 12, 2016

Top News Stories –

Orlando shooting: At least 50 killed in Pulse nightclub mass shooting –
A heavily armed gunman has killed at least 50 people, with another 53 injured, at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The mass shooting is the worst in US history and US President Barack Obama has branded it “an act of terror and an act of hate”.

At least 50 people killed, 53 injured in mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida
Gunman Omar Mateen took hostages, killed when police stormed building
Mateen was armed with an assault rifle and handgun, police say
US President Barack Obama brands shooting an act of terror and hate
Armed man arrested in LA had assault rifles in car, said he was going to the LA Pride festival, police said

[ABC Australia]

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- In the Third Battle of Fallujah, ISIL militants attack a military barracks east of Fallujah, killing more than 50 government soldiers and militia members. At least 12 militants were also killed in the assault. (Al Jazeera)
Yemeni civil war
- Missiles, fired from a U.S. drone, strike a four-wheel drive vehicle in southern Yemen, killing two and injuring another suspected militant. (Press TV)

Arts and culture

Around 10,000 people attend a street party in front of Buckingham Palace to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday. (Reuters)
70th Tony Awards
- The 70th Tony Awards are held at the Beacon Theater in New York City with The Humans winning the Best Play and Hamilton winning the Best Musical. (Variety)
- Hamilton sweeps the Tonys, winning 11 of Broadway’s top awards including best musical, best actor (Leslie Odom, Jr.), best direction (Thomas Kail), best featured actress (Renée Elise Goldsberry), and best featured actor (Daveed Diggs). Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda won for best score and for best book of a musical. (Otago Daily Times) (Forbes)
- Hamilton fell just short of‎ The Producers record of 12 wins in 2001‎. (Los Angeles Times)

International relations

European migration crisis
- Italy‘s Coast Guard picks up 1,230 migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. More than 4,000 people have been saved at sea in the past week. (Reuters via Trust)

Law and crime

2016 Orlando nightclub shooting
- In what is the deadliest mass shooting and the worst terror attack since 9/11 to occur in the United States, a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in the U.S. city of Orlando, Florida, kills at least 50 people, including the shooter, and injures 53. (BBC) (CNN) (Australian Broadcasting Co.)
- ISIL’s Amaq News Agency claims that the assault, “… was carried out by an Islamic State fighter”. (Reuters) (CBS New York)
- The FBI identifies the deceased gunman as Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, a 29-year-old American citizen born in New York to Afghani parents, and living in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Mateen called 9-1-1 during the attack and pledged allegiance to ISIL. (CBS New York)
- Mateen’s father, Seddique Mir Mateen, says, “We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident. This had nothing to do with religion.” Seddique says that during a recent outing in Miami, his son got very angry when he saw men kissing and touching each other. According to the elder Mateen, Omar said, ‘Look at that. In front of my son they are doing that.’ (NBC News)
- The City of Orlando requests, via Twitter, citizens, “… hold off on vigils — they represent a serious strain on our limited resources, which we need to dedicate to law enforcement and victims.” (The New York Times)
The scheduled L.A. Pride parade is held in West Hollywood Park in California. A 20-year-old man, whose car was filled with explosive materials and weapons, is arrested before he reached the parade area. He is misquoted as saying he wanted to harm people at the event. (Los Angeles Daily News)
An explosion at Shanghai Pudong International Airport injures at least three people; the explosive appears to be homemade. (AP via The Guardian)
Lawyers for former President of Chad Hissène Habré, who was recently found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison, appeal the verdict. However, a tribunal spokesman said the appeal process is not expected to be done before April 2017. (Al Jazeera)

Sports

UEFA Euro 2016
- UEFA opens an inquiry into the Russian Football Union after massive fights between Russian and English hooligans during and after the match between Russia and England in Marseille. Dozens of injuries, including at least one Briton in critical condition, and multiple arson attacks occurred throughout the city. (BBC)
2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
- In golf, Brooke Henderson of Canada wins the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. (Seattle Times)
2016 Stanley Cup Finals
- In ice hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins win their fourth Stanley Cup title defeating the San Jose Sharks 4 games to 2 in the finals. (ESPN)

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June 13, 2016

Top News Stories –

Microsoft to buy LinkedIn in $26.2 billion deal –
The networking site for white-collar workers will be acquired by technology titan Microsoft for $26.2 billion in an all-cash deal, the companies said Monday. LinkedIn Chief Executive Jeff Weiner will continue at the helm of the company but will report to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, according to a joint statement. LinkedIn will keep its “distinct brand, culture and independence,” the companies said. Over the past year, LinkedIn has been striving — and struggling — to grow beyond its roots as a resume-on-the-web service and become more of a daily hub for professionals, much as Facebook has become more than simply a site for sharing family photos. Steps in that direction include last year’s $1.5 billion acquisition of online training site Lynda.com and a thorough upgrade of its mobile app. The 13-year-old service has 433 million users worldwide. It’s free to use, but charges for features such as advanced search and the ability to send messages to strangers. [CNET]
Jeff Weiner

Video of the Day –

Are You More Forgetful Than A Fish? – ASAP Science

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Orlando nightclub shooting
- City officials in Orlando, Florida, continue to identify the bodies of the victims in yesterday’s attack. So far, 33 of the reported 49 victims have been identified and their families notified. (City of Orlando)
Moro Conflict
- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government has “compelling reason to believe” that Robert Hall, who was held hostage in the Philippines, has been killed by his captors, presumably the same Abu Sayyaf militants who beheaded another Canadian, John Ridsdel, on 25 April 2016. (AP)
Kurdish–Turkish conflict
- A car bomb injures at least nine people, three in serious condition, in the mainly-Kurdish southeast region in Turkey’s Tunceli Province. The explosion occurred close to housing for courthouse employees in the town of Ovacik. There is no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. (Al Jazeera) (AP)
June 2016 Magnanville stabbing
- A senior French police commander is killed by a knife-wielding 25-year-old man outside his home in Magnanville near Paris, France. The attacker, who retreated inside the house, is also killed when elite police commandos storm the residence after negotiations failed. The commander’s partner, a female administrative police official, is found dead inside the home, while a young boy is rescued physically unharmed. The Islamic State, via its Amaq News Agency, claims responsibility for the attack. (BNO News) (Le Parisien) (Huffington Post) (Reuters)

Business and economics

Microsoft agrees to buy professional networking site LinkedIn for $26.2 billion (£18 billion). (CNET) (BBC)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- Police in northern Greece move more than 400 Syrians and Iraqis by bus from a makeshift camp near the Macedonian border to a shelter near the northern city of Thessaloniki. More than 50,000 migrants remain stranded in Greece following European border closures, and the European Union’s agreement with Turkey. (AP)
Germany–Turkey relations
- Eleven Turkish-German members of Germany’s Parliament, the Bundestag, who voted in support of declaring the Ottoman Turks slaughter of Armenians in 1915 a genocide, are under police protection. The legislators have faced heavy criticism from Turkish officials, as well as from Turkish Germans. (UPI) (UPI²)
The Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg says that the military alliance plans on sending four multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in order to boost their defense. However, Stoltenberg said that the battalions will only be deployed on a rotational basis instead of being based permanently. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

International relations

Fiji‘s ambassador to the United Nations Peter Thomson is elected as President of the United Nations General Assembly for its 71st session. (AP via WRAL)

Law and crime

A 22-year-old Dutch woman held in Qatar for nearly three months after telling police she had been raped is released following the court ruling of a one-year suspended prison sentence. The Associated Pressreports it isn’t clear “[…] what sentence was given to the man she accused of rape.” (AP)
Trial of Oscar Pistorius
- South African Paralympic sprinting medalist Oscar Pistorius’s sentencing hearing begins. He faces a minimum 15-year jail term since his original manslaughter charge for the 2013 killing of Reeva Steenkamp has been upgraded to murder. The hearing is set to last for five days. (Reuters) (Sky News)

Politics and elections

The United States Supreme Court strikes down a Puerto Rican law that would have allowed it to restructure the debts of its public utilities over the objections of creditors. Puerto Rico’s agencies have a $2 billion debt payment due July 1 and has already defaulted on a $370 million debt payment for its Government Development Bank back on May 1. (Bloomberg)

Science and technology

An international team of scientists report in the journal Nature Communications the discovery of a material (SBMOF-1) that can clear nuclear waste gases, produced by reprocessing plants, more efficiently, cheaply, and safely than currently available methods. (R&D Magazine) (The Statesman)(Nature Communications)

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June 14, 2016

Top News Stories –

Iceland strengthens road signs to stop thefts –
Iceland has strengthened its road signs in order to stop tourists stealing them to take home as novel souvenirs, it’s reported. The most popular signs to be pinched are the sort rarely found in other countries, specifically those marking fords that cross rivers, blind rises and gravel tracks, according to Iceland’s RUV national broadcaster. Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson of the Road and Coastal Administration says they are now “using bolts that can’t be dismantled with an ordinary car toolkit”, and making the signs too heavy to carry off easily. Mr Ingolfsson, who is also a noted crime novelist, designed some of the signs. He tells RUV that the international Vienna Road Traffic Agreement “simply doesn’t provide for our topography”, and this makes unique Icelandic signs particularly appealing to memento-hunter. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Tokyo Aglow (At The CONFLUX Part Two) from Justin Tierney on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes
- Afghan and Pakistani soldiers clash at the Torkham border crossing between the two countries, leaving one Afghan soldier and a Pakistani major killed. At least 22 other people were also injured. Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have grown since the latter’s attempts to build a gate at the crossing. (Al Jazeera)
June 2016 Magnanville stabbing
- The attacker is identified as Larossi Abballa, a 25-year-old man who, according to police sources, was a neighbor of the murdered couple. Abballa was one of eight men convicted in Paris in 2013 for making plans to travel to Pakistan for terrorist training, and then to commit terrorists acts. Abballa was sentenced to three years in prison. He was released after the trial as six months of the sentence was suspended, and he had already spent two years in jail awaiting trial. (The Telegraph) (The New York Times)
- Abballa was recording the attack and posting it on Facebook Live, according to French officials. (CBSNews)
2016 Orlando nightclub shooting
- Six of the wounded are critically ill, five remain in “guarded” condition, and 16 more are still hospitalized. Forty-four people were brought to the Orlando Regional Medical Center after the shooting. (The Washington Post via The Providence Journal)

Disasters and accidents

A Vietnamese air force Su-30MK2 goes missing during a trial flight along the coast of Nghệ An Province (Reuters via Euronews)
A Cessna 208 Caravan plane crashes in the small town of Yahukimo in Papua, Indonesia, injuring at least seven people. (Radio New Zealand)
Three fishermen are killed, and six others injured, during the crash of a van in Atka, Alaska, United States.(Alaska Dispatch News)

International relations

European Union-Turkey relations
- Hansjörg Haber (de), the European Union’s top envoy to Turkey, resigns effective August. Ömer Çelik, Turkish Minister of European Union Affairs, had complained that Haber had shown disrespect for Turkey’s national values, and for President Tayyip Erdoğan. EU officials declined to comment on the reason for Haber’s resignation. (Prensa Latina)
- Turkey’s EU accession process has been stalled over the EU’s requirement that Turkey reform its counter-terrorism laws concerning their application against intellectuals, Kurdish sympathizers, and critics of Erdoğan. Tomorrow, EU envoys are scheduled to formally agree to open negotiations on financial and budget issues. (Reuters)

Law and crime

An armed man, holding two people hostage in a Walmart in Amarillo, Texas, is shot and killed by a police SWAT unit. No other injuries are reported. (Reuters)
United States presidential election, 2016
- Alleged Russian hackers have penetrated the computer network of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and have gained access to the entire database of research on Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump, according to committee officials and security experts. The DNC says that no financial, donor or personal information appears to have been accessed or taken, suggesting that the breach was traditional espionage, and not the work of criminal hackers. (The Washington Post)
A U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit three-judge panel upholds the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules that prohibit broadband providers from giving or selling access to faster internet service to selected customers. (Reuters)
An Egyptian Misdemeanor Court acquits 52 people charged with taking part in anti-government demonstrations in April. Thousands rallied on April 25 to protest the transfer of Red Sea islands Tiran andSanafir to Saudi Arabia. Police arrested nearly 300 demonstrators; government reports indicate all have been released from prison. (AP via ABC News)
Los Angeles, California, police arrest a 21-year-old homeless man after five bodies of apparent transients are found in the wreckage of a vacant former medical building that burned down Monday night. Firefighters had been able to rescue three people. (Los Angeles Times) (LA Weekly) (UPI)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
- Rupert Murdoch-controlled tabloid The Sun, Britain’s second biggest selling newspaper, endorses Brexit, saying that the people of UK should “Take back control and BeLeave in Britain”. (The Guardian)
United States presidential election, 2016
- Hillary Clinton wins the Washington D.C. Democratic Party primary, the last scheduled primary on the party’s schedule before the 2016 Democratic National Convention in late July. (NBC News)

Sport

UEFA Euro 2016
- UEFA fines the Russian Football Union €150,000 (US$168,000) for the violence that broke out between Russian and English supporters in Marseille on June 11. UEFA also warned that any further misconduct will disqualify the Russian team. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
In ice hockey, ESPN reports that the NHL will place an expansion team in Las Vegas, provided the team’s backers can pay a US$500 million expansion fee. The team, which would enter the league no earlier than the 2017–18 season, would be the first major professional sports team in Las Vegas. The league’s board of governors is scheduled to hold a formal vote on the expansion on June 22. (ESPN)

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June 15, 2016

Top News Stories –

Duke of Cambridge: Attitude magazine features first royal cover star –
The Duke of Cambridge has become the first member of the Royal Family to appear on the cover of a gay magazine. He spoke to Attitude about the issue of homophobic bullying, saying: “No-one should be bullied for their sexuality or any other reason.” The duke invited the magazine to bring members of the LGBT community to Kensington Palace to discuss bullying and its mental health repercussions. Kensington Palace said William had been “moved” by the stories he heard. The nine people who attended the meeting last month spoke of low self-esteem, suicide attempts, drug addiction and depression. William said that “no-one should have to put up with the kind of hate that these young people have endured in their lives”. [BBC]
Prince William Attitude cover [Image copyright ATTITUDE/LEIGH KEILY/PA]

Video of the Day –

American Ninja Warrior – T. Rex on American Ninja Warrior

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Syrian government airstrikes hit rebel-held areas in Aleppo, killing at least 34 people. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

A scaffolding on a bridge under construction near Werneck, Germany, collapses, killing at least one worker and injuring six more. (BBC)
EgyptAir Flight 804
- A deep sea search vessel discovers the wreckage of the lost aircraft in the Mediterranean Sea. (CNN) (BBC)

International relations

European Union-Turkey relations
- Turkey fails to meet the criteria set forth by the European Union in order to obtain visa-free travel to its member states. The EU promised to grant Turkey visa-free travel only if it met specific conditions on border security and human rights. (The Guardian)
Ukraine–NATO relations
- NATO’s defense ministers agree to boost support for Ukraine with a “comprehensive package of assistance”, which will help it strengthen defense and to modernize its armed forces. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Israel–Palestine relations
- Israel announces plans for construction of a three-story residential building for Jews in the Silwan neighborhood near the City of David in east Jerusalem. (Reuters)

Law and crime

2014–16 Venezuelan protests
- Venezuelan police arrest at least 400 people in the city of Cumaná after food riots and looting broke out yesterday. (Reuters)
November 2015 Paris attacks
- The father of Cal State Long Beach student Nohemi Gonzalez, the only American killed in the November 13, 2015, Paris massacre, files suit in San Francisco, California, federal court against Twitter,Facebook, and Google, alleging the companies provided “material support” to the Islamic State and other extremist groups. While generally free of liability under U.S. law which provides a legal safe harborfor content posted, this case targets the behavior social media companies enable. The suit is very similar to a case brought against Twitter in January by the widow of a contractor killed in the November 9, 2015, attack in Jordan. (AP via San Francisco Chronicle) (Daily Mail) (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

Yōichi Masuzoe resigns as the Governor of the Japanese capital Tokyo over a political funding scandal. He was due to face a no-confidence motion in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly later today. (AP via ABC News America)
Senator Murphy gun control filibuster
- United States Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn) launches a filibuster on the Senate floor in an effort to pass gun control legislation in the wake of the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting. (Politico)
The Canadian House of Commons approves a bill to make the lyrics in the country’s national anthem gender neutral. The bill would change the words in O Canada from “in all thy sons command” to “in all of us command.” (Reuters)
The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Council approves a a 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened and diet beverages, effective January 1, 2017. This the first so-called sugary drinks tax in a major U.S.city. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Science and technology

Scientists confirm a second detection of gravitational waves by LIGO. (The Guardian) (BBC)

Sport

Violence at UEFA Euro 2016
- Renewed clashes take place between English and Russian football fans in the French city of Lille following Russia’s 2-1 defeat against Slovakia. Riot police fired tear gas at England supporters outsideGare de Lille Europe. (The Guardian) (BBC)
- Police arrest at least 36 people in Lille following clashes between French police and football fans at the tournament. French authorities report 16 people were taken to hospital. (BBC)
In baseball, Ichiro Suzuki reaches a combined total of career hits of 4,257 spanning Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball. It passes Pete Rose‘s career total encompassing Major League Baseball only of 4,256 but the MLB is considered to be a higher quality competition. (ESPN)

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June 16, 2016

Top News Stories –

Russian ‘runaway robot’ causes traffic jam –
A robot escaped from a science lab and caused a traffic jam in one Russian city, it’s reported. Scientists at the Promobot laboratories in Perm had been teaching the machine how to move around independently, but it broke free after an engineer forgot to shut a gate, says the local edition of the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper. The robot found its way to a nearby street, covering a distance of about 50m (164ft), before its battery ran out, the daily says. An eyewitness video posted online shows a vaguely humanoid machine standing in the middle of a busy road, guarded by a traffic policeman. It is then wheeled off by a human, presumably an engineer from the company that developed the robot. Russian Channel 5 TV also showed footage of the incident, and said that the robot spent about 40 minutes at large. But not everyone is convinced that the robot’s escape was accidental: some in the Russian media have argued that it’s all a ploy devised by Promobot to draw attention to its creation. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Simon’s Cat Logic – Why Do Cats Sleep in Unusual Places?!

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- A suicide bombing kills at least 10 security force members in the village of Abu Qurayn, west of Sirte. (Al Jazeera)
Syrian Civil War
- The United States accuses Russia of bombing U.S.-backed forces in southern Syria near al-Tanf. (Washington Examiner)
- Dozens of American diplomats send a memo, via the State Department’s dissent channel, critical of U.S. policy in Syria. The memo was signed by 51 mid- to high-level State Department officers involved with advising on Syrian policy, and calls for airstrikes against President Bashar al-Assad’s government to stop its persistent violations of the United Nations-sponsored February ceasefire. (New York Times) (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Flooding in southern Ghana caused by heavy rain leaves at least 10 people dead and the streets of Accra under water. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

China cancels an invitation to a Taiwanese children’s choir after it performed the island’s national anthem at last month’s inauguration of President Tsai Ing-wen; the Puzangalan Choir consisting of children from the Paiwan aboriginal tribe had been due to take part in a choral festival in Guangdong province in July. (AP) (The New York Times) (BBC)
Violence at UEFA Euro 2016
- France deports twenty Russian football fans including Alexander Shprygin, the leader of the All-Russia Supporters Union, following violence at the England–Russia match in Marseille. (BBC)
Switzerland–European Union relations
- Switzerland‘s Federal Assembly votes to officially withdraw the country’s application to join the European Union. Following the vote, foreign minister Didier Burkhalter was quoted as saying that thegovernment will now tell the EU to “consider the application as withdrawn”. (Malta Today) (Euronews)

Law and crime

Thai police raid the Dhammakaya Buddhist temple, north of Bangkok, to arrest Abbot Phra Dhammachayo, who is accused of conspiring to launder money by accepting stolen cash from a credit union. His followers deny the allegations and claim the charges are politically motivated. (Reuters) (BBC)
Labour Party MP Jo Cox dies at Leeds General Infirmary after being shot and stabbed as she prepared to hold a meeting with constituents in Birstall, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. A woman suffered serious injuries; a man was slightly wounded. West Yorkshire police have arrested a 52-year-old male suspect. (NBC News) (ABC News) (BBC) (Reuters) (The Guardian)
European migrant crisis
- Nigerien authorities discover the bodies of 34 migrants, mostly children, left behind in the Sahara desert by people smugglers who were taking them to Algeria and then to Europe. (The Guardian)
A Ugandan soldier kills at least seven people in a shooting spree at a military police barracks in the capital, Kampala. The soldier, Sgt Isaac Obua, was then shot dead himself. He is reported to have been drunk. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Senator Murphy gun control filibuster, 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting
- Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy ends a nearly 15-hour filibuster after Republican Party leaders reportedly agree to allow votes on two proposed gun control measures. (NBC News)
The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Council approves a 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened and diet beverages, effective January 1, 2017. This is the first so-called sugary drinks tax in a major U.S.city. (‘Philadelphia Inquirer)

Sport

Ten Olympic weightlifters fail a drug test in a reanalysis of samples from the 2012 Summer Olympics. Among them are four Kazakh gold medalists: Ilya Ilyin, Zulfiya Chinshanlo, Svetlana Podobedova andMaiya Maneza. The other athletes represent Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. All ten lifters are provisionally suspended by the International Weightlifting Federation and are expected to be stripped of their titles. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
UEFA Euro 2016
- Northern Ireland achieves their first victory in a UEFA European Championship by defeating Ukraine 2–0; other results eliminate Ukraine. (BBC)
2016 NBA Finals
- The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the NBA finals 115-101, forcing a Game 7 which will be held in Oakland, California on June 19.(The New York Times)

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June 17, 2016

Top News Stories –

New Zealand pays people to leave Auckland –
New Zealand is offering cash to people in its largest city who need social housing – if they’re willing to move to another part of the country. The scheme launches in Auckland on Monday, and is part of efforts to tackle the city’s housing crisis, the New Zealand Herald reports. Anyone willing to up sticks will get a grant of up to NZ$5,000 ($3,500; £2,500), as long as they’re currently eligible for social housing. The government is stressing that it’s a voluntary scheme aimed at removing the “cost barrier” that could prevent people from moving to less-populated areas, where they may already have family or other connections. Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett says 130 have voiced an interest in the scheme so far, and that the scheme will help people deal with “a very tight housing market”. Auckland has seen house prices boom in recent years, and a shortage of affordable housing has left some families living in dire conditions. In May, a Salvation Army spokesman said some streets in South Auckland had people living in every garage. Other families have been found living under bridges and one had taken refuge in a shipping container. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Simon Beck – Snowartist from #inspirasjonstryn on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present), Military intervention against ISIL, Third Battle of Fallujah
The Iraqi government recaptures the main government compound in Fallujah. (AFP via Daily Mail)
Kurdish separatism in Iran
2016 West Iran clashes
Kurdish rebels and Iranian Revolutionary guards clash in Oshnavieh, killing 12 rebels and three guards. There is dispute over who the rebels were. Iranian authorities claim it was the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan movement while a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan claimed their group was responsible for the fighting. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Boko Haram insurgency
Boko Haram militants attack a funeral in the village of Kuda in the Adamawa State of Nigeria, killing 18 women, with more reportedly still missing. (Al Jazeera)
Insurgency in the North Caucasus
Four Russian security officers and six militants are killed in an anti-terrorism operation in Dagestan. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Business and economy
The U.S. Justice Department has decided against an action against Angelo Mozilo, former chief executive of Countrywide Financial, arising out of the issuance of mortgage backed securities during his tenure there. (Reuters).
Disasters and accidents
EgyptAir Flight 804
The second flight recorder from the wreckage of ill-fated EgyptAir Flight 804 is recovered from the crash site in the Mediterranean Sea. (Channel News Asia)
A wildfire in Santa Barbara County, California doubles in size overnight to 4,000 acres. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office says mandatory evacuations remain in effect for areas such as El Capitán State Beach. The blaze is currently 5% contained, according to Los Padres National Forest officials. (Los Angeles Times)
Law and crime
2002 Gujarat riots
A court in India sentences dozens of people to prison, some of them for life, for their roles in riots that killed 69 Muslims in the city of Ahmedabad in 2002. (BBC)
Sport
2016 Summer Olympics
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) upholds its ban on Russian track and field athletes participating in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro due to various doping scandals. IOC officials plan to gather next Tuesday to discuss the matter further. (BBC)
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June 18, 2016

Top News Stories –

UK astronaut Tim Peake returns to Earth –
UK astronaut Tim Peake is back on Earth after a historic six-month stay on the International Space Station. A Soyuz capsule carrying Major Peake and two other crew members touched down in Kazakhstan at 10:15 BST. He called the journey back “the best ride I’ve been on ever”, adding: “The smells of Earth are just so strong.” Maj Peake is the first person to fly to space under the UK banner since Helen Sharman in 1991 and made the first spacewalk by a UK astronaut. During the 186-day mission, Maj Peake also remotely steered a robot on Earth and ran the London Marathon. Just before 15:00 BST, Maj Peake landed by helicopter on the runway at Karagandy airport. [BBC]
Timothy Peake

Video of the Day –

WALT from justinclifton on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Ten longest human space flights [Wikipedia]

#	Time in space	Crew	Country	Launch date (Launch craft)	Landing date (Landing craft)	Space Station or mission type
1	437.7 days	Valeri Polyakov	Russia	1994-01-09 (Soyuz TM-18)	1995-03-22 (Soyuz TM-20)	Mir
2	379.6 days	Sergei Avdeyev	Russia	1998-08-13 (Soyuz TM-28)	1999-08-28 (Soyuz TM-29)	Mir
3	365.0 days	Vladimir Titov Musa Manarov	Soviet Union	1987-12-21 (Soyuz TM-4)	1988-12-21 (Soyuz TM-6)	Mir
4	340.4 days	Mikhail Korniyenko Scott Kelly	Russia United States	2015-03-27 (Soyuz TMA-16M)	2016-03-01 (Soyuz TMA-18M)	International Space Station
5	326.5 days^[	Yuri Romanenko	Soviet Union	1987-02-05 (Soyuz TM-2)	1987-12-29 (Soyuz TM-3)	Mir
6	311.8 days	Sergei Krikalev	Soviet Union/ Russia	1991-05-18 (Soyuz TM-12)	1992-03-25 (Soyuz TM-13)	Mir
7	240.9 days	Valeri Polyakov	Soviet Union	1988-08-29 (Soyuz TM-6)	1989-04-7 (Soyuz TM-7)	Mir
8	237.0 days	Leonid Kizim Vladimir Solovyov Oleg Atkov	Soviet Union	1984-02-08 (Soyuz T-10)	1984-10-02 (Soyuz T-11)	Salyut 7
9	215.4 days	Mikhail Tyurin Michael López-Alegría^]	Russia United States	2006-09-18 (Soyuz TMA-9)	2007-04-21 (Soyuz TMA-9)	International Space Station
10	211.4 days	Anatoli Berezovoy Valentin Lebedev	Soviet Union	1982-05-13 (Soyuz T-5)^[19]	1982-12-10 (Soyuz T-7)^[19]	Salyut 7

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Terrorism in the European Union
- Twelve people are arrested and three men are subsequently charged with terrorism offences in Belgium after dozens of raids were carried out mainly in the Brussels region. (BBC)
Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports at least eight people, including four children, are shot and killed, and another eight wounded by Turkish border guards. The group was trying to cross from northwestern Syria into Turkey’s Hatay Province. (The Times of Israel) (AP)

Disasters and accidents

A week of heavy rains and flooding in south China results in at least 25 deaths, six people missing and 33,000 people displaced. (ABC News)
Six people are killed and 10 injured when a van crashes in the U.S. state of Virginia. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Death of Jo Cox
- Thomas Mair from the town of Birstall, West Yorkshire, is charged with the murder of British MP Jo Cox. (West Yorkshire Police), (BBC)
A 73-year-old gunman shoots dead a police officer, and seriously wounds another before shooting himself dead in Vihti, Finland. Finnish broadcaster Yle reports it is the first time a police officer in Finland has been killed in the line of duty since 2007. (AP via Daily Mail)
Mohamed Morsi, former President of Egypt, is sentenced to life imprisonment and another 15 years for his role in allegedly leaking government secrets to Qatar. Six people, including two Al-Jazeeraemployees, are sentenced to death. (Daily News Egypt), (Al-Jazeera)
At least six people have been shot dead and 12 injured as a result of 18 shootings in the American city of Chicago, Illinois. (ABC7 Chicago)

Politics and elections

Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile
- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir declares a four-month ceasefire in the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan in order to give rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North a chance to join the peace process and to lay down arms in order to end the conflict which has been ongoing since 2011. (Al Jazeera)
United States presidential election, 2016, 2016 Republican National Convention
- Apple Inc. notifies the GOP that this year it will not fund or provide other support for the party’s 2016 presidential convention, citing Donald Trump’s controversial comments about women, immigrants and minorities. (Politico)

Science and technology

Three astronauts return from a mission to the International Space Station, Briton Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, Timothy Kopra of NASA and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko. (BBC)

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June 19, 2016

Top News Stories –

Cavaliers become first team to rally from 3-1 series deficit in NBA Finals –
LeBron James cradled the shiny gold trophy and struggled to sum up what might be his sweetest championship yet, the one he is so proudly bringing home to his native northeast Ohio just as he promised to do when he returned to the Cavaliers two summers ago. Later, flanked by his three children on Father’s Day, a cigar between his lips and winning net as a necklace with the lingering stench of champagne, James began to understand the magnitude of his accomplishment for Cleveland after a half-century wait. James and his relentless, never-count-them-out Cavs pulled off an improbable NBA Finals comeback, and Cleveland is title town again at long last. James delivered on a vow to his home state and brought the Cavs back from the brink as they became the first team to rally from a 3-1 Finals deficit, beating the defending champion Golden State Warriors 93-89 on Sunday night to end a 52-year major sports championship drought in Cleveland. [ESPN]
LeBron James

List of the Day –

NBA champions

Teams	Win	Loss	Total	Year(s) won	Year(s) lost
Boston Celtics	17	4	21	1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968,1969, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1986, 2008	1958, 1985, 1987, 2010
Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers	16	15	31	1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987,1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010	1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1983,1984, 1989, 1991, 2004, 2008
Chicago Bulls	6	0	6	1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998	—
San Antonio Spurs	5	1	6	1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014	2013
Philadelphia/San Francisco/Golden State Warriors	4	4	8	1947, 1956, 1975, 2015	1948, 1964, 1967, 2016
Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers	3	6	9	1955, 1967, 1983	1950, 1954, 1977, 1980, 1982, 2001
Fort Wayne/Detroit Pistons	3	4	7	1989, 1990, 2004	1955, 1956, 1988, 2005
Miami Heat	3	2	5	2006, 2012, 2013	2011, 2014
New York Knicks	2	6	8	1970, 1973	1951, 1952, 1953, 1972, 1994, 1999
Houston Rockets	2	2	4	1994, 1995	1981, 1986
Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder	1	3	4	1979	1978, 1996, 2012
Baltimore/Washington Bullets (now Washington Wizards)	1	3	4	1978	1971, 1975, 1979
St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks	1	3	4	1958	1957, 1960, 1961
Cleveland Cavaliers	1	2	3	2016	2007, 2015
Portland Trail Blazers	1	2	3	1977	1990, 1992
Dallas Mavericks	1	1	2	2011	2006
Milwaukee Bucks	1	1	2	1971	1974
Rochester Royals (now Sacramento Kings)	1	0	1	1951	—
Baltimore Bullets (original) (folded in 1954)	1	0	1	1948	—
New Jersey Nets (now Brooklyn Nets)	0	2	2	—	2002, 2003
Utah Jazz (formerly New Orleans Jazz)	0	2	2	—	1997, 1998
Orlando Magic	0	2	2	—	1995, 2009
Phoenix Suns	0	2	2	—	1976, 1993
Indiana Pacers	0	1	1	—	2000
Washington Capitols (folded in 1951)	0	1	1	—	1949
Chicago Stags (folded in 1950)	0	1	1	—	1947

Other News Stories –

Arts and culture

Pan-Orthodox Council
- A gathering of Eastern Orthodox Churches, the first of its kind in a millennium, opens on the Greek island of Crete. However, the Russian, Bulgarian, Georgian and the Greek Orthodox Church of Antiochrefused to attend after a dispute. The gathering will last until June 27. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

Heavy rain in Central Java has caused landslides and flooding with 24 people dead and at least 26 missing in the Indonesian province. (AFP via ABC News Australia)
At least 14 people, mostly children, are killed in a storm that struck Lake Syamozero in the Republic of Karelia, Russia. Those killed were among 49 people who went rafting on the lake late at night before a storm capsized their boats. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

International relations

Japan–United States relations
- Over 50,000 people protest in Okinawa capital Naha against U.S. military presence on the Japanese island, spurred on by last month’s arrest of an U.S. Marine veteran, civilian contractor for the rape and killing of a 20-year-old local woman. (Reuters) (AP) (The Washington Post)

Law and crime

Clashes between the Mexican police and members of the radical Mexican teachers union National Coordinator of Education Workers in Oaxaca leaves at least six people dead. (AP via Fox News)

Politics and elections

Italian local elections, 2016
- Voters in the Italian capital of Rome go to the polls for a runoff election to select a new Mayor of Rome with exit polls showing Virginia Raggi of the Five Star Movement will become the first female Mayor.(BBC), (France 24)
Wukan protests, 2016’s events :
- Thousands of people are reported to have spontaneously marched in southern China’s village of Wukan in Guangdong province over the arrest of the village’s democratically elected leader, 70-year-old Lin Zuluan, who had been planning meetings and protests about corruption, illegal land grabs, and the government’s failure to return land to the people, per the 2011 agreement. (AP) (South China Morning Post)
- City of Lufeng prosecutors said in a statement that Lin was being held on suspicion of taking bribes. Renmin University’s Zhang Mingin, a political science professor, says the bribery charge was “strange” since a village chief does not have the authority to approve projects that could result in kickbacks. (U.S. News & World Report)
- Plainclothes policemen and policemen in riot-control gear establish checkpoints, guard government buildings, and increase patrols on the streets of Wukan. The earlier operation to arrest Lin included hundreds of police. (South China Morning Post) (The Scotsman)

Sport

In golf, American golfer Dustin Johnson wins the 2016 U.S. Open, his first major. (New Zealand Herald)
In basketball, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in seven games to win the 2016 NBA Championship. Cleveland, winning its first NBA title in the franchise’s 45-year history, also became the first NBA team to rally from a 3-1 deficit and win the crown. Tonight’s victory also ends the 52-year title drought of Cleveland’s major sports teams; in 1964, the Cleveland Browns shut out the Baltimore Colts for the NFL title. Cleveland’s LeBron James is unanimously voted the Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals, his third such award. (The Guardian), (Ohio.com) (ESPN)

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June 20, 2016

Top News Stories –

Finding Dory breaks US box office record –
Finding Dory has taken $136.2m (£93.3m) on its opening weekend – making it the most successful launch for an animated film in US box office history. The sequel to Finding Nemo has unseated Shrek the Third – which took $121.6m (£83.1m) on its release in 2007. It is also the second most successful opening weekend of 2016, behind Marv el’s Captain America: Civil War. Ellen DeGeneres voices the lead character in Finding Dory. [BBC]
Ellen DeGeneres (and others)

Video of the Day –

Why Don’t We Ever See Baby Pigeons? | Dolan Life Mysteries

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- A minibus carrying private security guards explodes in Kabul resulting in the death of at least 12 people and injuring several others. (Reuters and NBC News)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- A suicide bombing strikes Camp Taji, killing four Iraqi Army soldiers. (Radio New Zealand)

Business and economy

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed an appeals court ruling that would have narrowly interpreted the auto salesman’s exemption from overtime pay rules mandated by statute under rules promulgated by theU.S. Labor Department, remanding the matter for further consideration. (slip opinion).

International relations

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the number of people displaced by conflicts in the world is at its highest level ever recorded, with an estimated 65.3 million people either being refugees, internally displaced or asylum seekers. (BBC)

Law and crime

Human rights in Bahrain
- Bahraini authorities strip Isa Qassim, the kingdom’s most influential Shia cleric, of his citizenship after they accused him of promoting “sectarianism and violence”. (BBC)
According to an environmental report by Global Witness, 2015 was the deadliest year ever for environmental activists, with the reported deaths of 185 activists, as a result of falling commodity prices prompting forceful land grabs by mining and foresting companies. (Deutsche Welle)
Gun politics in the United States
- The U.S. Supreme Court declines to review assault weapons bans in Connecticut and New York, as it did last December concerning Chicago, Illinois, city law. Five other states and Washington, D.C. have similar restrictions. (AP via Fox News)

Politics and elections

Croatian MPs vote to dissolve the Parliament, setting the stage for snap election, which are expected to take place in early September. This comes as Croatia is facing an escalating political crisis following thelast election in November 2015. (Al Jazeera)
2014–16 Venezuelan protests
- Per Venezuela’s National Electoral Council’s ruling, citizens across the country queue up for fingerprint validation of 1,850,000 signatures on referendum to recall President Nicolás Maduro. The oppositionDemocratic Unity Roundtable must validate 197,000 signatures (1 percent of registered voters) by Friday, in this first step of the recall referendum process. (Reuters) (TeleSUR)

Science and technology

Solar Impulse 2, a plane powered only by the sun, leaves New York on the 15th leg of its round-the-world journey, a 90-hour flight over the Atlantic Ocean to Western Europe. (Reuters) (Business Standard)

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June 21, 2016

Top News Stories –

Albania football win brings team diplomatic passports –
Albania says it will reward its national footballers with diplomatic passports for having beaten Romania 1-0 at the Euro 2016 tournament. The country has never played before in a major football competition. But it is not yet clear whether Albania will qualify for the next round in France. The team will get €1m (£770,000; $1.1m) in extra funding as well as the new passports, the government said. Albania lost their other two matches, coming third in their Euro 2016 group. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama captured the nation’s excitement on Sunday by tweeting “Goooooooooool….” when Armando Sadiku headed the winning goal against Romania in the first half. The award of diplomatic passports is mainly symbolic, as many of the Albanian players are already with clubs elsewhere in Europe and Albanians enjoy visa-free travel to the EU. They will not enjoy diplomatic immunity, as that is reserved for official diplomats, but they will benefit from easier international travel. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

MAN IN PHONE – Short Film from Mackenzie Sheppard on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Jordanian–Syrian border incidents during the Syrian Civil War
- A car-bomb explodes near a Jordanian Armed Forces outpost in the extreme north-eastern point of Rukban, a makeshift Syrian refugee camp, leaving 6 soldiers dead and 14 injured. (BBC)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- Five Kenyan police officers are killed when Al-Shabaab militants ambush their convoy near El Wak, Kenya. (Al Jazeera)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A 15-year-old Palestinian teen is shot and killed by Israel Defense Forces while traveling in his family’s car through an area where stones had been thrown that injured two tourists and an Israeli. The IDF says an official investigation has been opened. Preliminary results indicate Mahmoud Rafat Baderan, the teen who was shot, was not involved in any stone throwing on the highway. (Haaretz)

Disasters and accidents

Five people, all foreign holidaymakers, are killed and 23 are injured when their bus swerves off a highway en route to Belgrade, Serbia. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

International relations

Japan–North Korea relations
- Japan places its military on high alert to be ready to shoot down any missile heading for its territory amid reports of a possible North Korean launch of an intermediate-range missile from its east coast.(Reuters) (RT)
Egypt–Saudi Arabia relations
- An Egyptian court, while not final, reverses the decision by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to cede Tiran and Sanafir Island to Saudi Arabia. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo, and a former Congolese vice president, is sentenced to 18 years in prison by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, and for sexual violence crimes against humanity in neighboring Central African Republic during 2002 and 2003. (BBC) (The Times)

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June 22, 2016

Top News Stories –

Democrats stage sit-in on House floor to force gun vote –
Dozens of House Democrats staged a sit-in on the House floor Wednesday in protest of the GOP leadership’s refusal to allow a vote on a gun control measure following the Orlando massacre. Led by Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the civil rights icon, and John Larson (D-Conn.), more than 40 Democrats walked into the chamber just before noon and pledged to “occupy” the House floor until GOP leadership allowed a vote. In one hour, their numbers more than tripled — even as Republicans recessed the House, turning off C-SPAN cameras and the video feed to the public. Democrats countered the TV camera blackout by streaming everything on their cellphones, which ended up on C-SPAN anyway. [Politico]

Mark Zuckerberg masks Mac webcam and microphone –
A photograph of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg shows tape has been used to cover his MacBook Pro’s webcam and mic. Facebook has not responded to requests for comment about the picture, shared to celebrate Instagram reaching its 500 million monthly user milestone. FBI director James Comey has previously said he also covers his laptop’s webcam to prevent hackers spying on him. And digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said it regularly sold its webcam “stickers”. [BBC]
Mark Zuckerberg

Video of the Day –

World’s LARGEST NERF GUN!!

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Moro conflict
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant declares war on the Philippines. (The Philippine Star)
Syrian Civil War
- According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, airstrikes on ISIL-held Al-Raqqah kill at least 18 civilians. The group was unable to determine who carried out the airstrikes. (BBC)
Battle of Fallujah (2016)
- The United Nations reports 80,000 civilians have fled Fallujah, as Iraqi Army and Shia militias retake most of the city from ISIL. (The Christian Science Monitor)
Sectarianism in Pakistan
- Gunmen kill Sufi devotional singer Amjad Sabri in Pakistan with a faction of the Pakistani Taliban claiming responsibility. (New York Times)
Gunmen kill a Nigerian driver and kidnap seven people near Calabar, Nigeria. The group, which was escorted by a security pickup that reportedly had four armed policemen, includes five expatriate and two Nigerian contractors working for Macmahon Holdings’ United Cement Company plant in the Akpabuyo district. Police report two of the workers escaped. Police commissioner Jimoh Ozi-Obeh says no ransom has been received. (Times Media Group) (Daily Post)

Disasters and accidents

Lightning strikes in the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh kill at least 70 people, mostly farm labourers. (Al Jazeera)
A severe thunderstorm and tornado near Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, China, kills at least 51 people. (BBC)(The Seattle Times)

International relations

North Korea–South Korea relations, North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- South Korea claims that North Korea has tested two BM25 Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missiles. (CNN)
Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- Jordan declares its borders with Syria and Iraq are to be closed military zones following yesterday’s suicide bomb attack in Rukban, Mafraq Governorate, that killed six soldiers. (BBC)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016:
- European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker warns the British voters, saying that there would be no re-negotiations with Britain whatever outcome of its membership referendum. (Independent)
2016 House Democrats sit-in
- Georgia Representative John Lewis leads about 40 U.S. House of Representatives Democrats in a sit-in after the U.S. Senate failed to approve any of four gun control measures Monday night. (NBC News) (Politico)
United States President Barack Obama signs the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act into law. The legislation is the first major overhaul of toxic chemicals rules in America in 40 years. (The Washington Post) (AP via The New York Times)
Greek debt crisis
- The European Central Bank reinstates the waiver that enables Greek banks to use the country’s bonds as collateral for regular loans, for the first time in more than a year. (AP) (Reuters)

Science and technology

India’s ISRO successfully launches 20 satellites in a single mission. (Times of India)

Sport

In ice hockey, the NHL awards Las Vegas an expansion team to begin play in the 2017–18 season. The Board of Governors defers Quebec City‘s bid with the league, citing factors such as conference imbalance, difficulty of bringing two teams at the same time, and the weakening Canadian dollar. (NHL)

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June 23, 2016

Top News Stories –

BRITAIN VOTES FOR ‘BREXIT’ IN HISTORIC REFERENDUM –
Britain has voted to leave the European Union in a referendum, defying its prime minister and confounding most analysts’ expectations. The result raises questions over the future of Prime Minister David Cameron, and over the future of Scotland within the United Kingdom. The results expose a British electorate deeply divided by age, class and geographical location. Most large urban centers elected to stay part of the European Union, particularly in London, where many local authorities delivered vast majorities for the pro-EU campaign. Polls completed before the vote suggested the young were significantly more likely to back EU membership than the old, and that poorer, less-educated voters were likelier to be Brexiters. Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU. Wales surprised many observers by voting in favor of a “Leave” vote, with just over 850,000 Welsh voters choosing to leave the bloc, and a little more than 770,000 voting to Remain. [Newsweek] See List of the Day

Solar plane lands in Spain after three-day Atlantic crossing –
An airplane powered solely by the sun landed safely in Seville in Spain early on Thursday after an almost three-day flight across the Atlantic from New York in one of the longest legs of the first ever fuel-less flight around the world. The single-seat Solar Impulse 2 touched down shortly after 7.30 a.m. local time in Seville after leaving John F. Kennedy International Airport at about 2.30 a.m. EDT on June 20.
The flight of just over 71 hours was the 15th leg of the round-the-world journey by the plane piloted in turns by Swiss aviators Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg. [Reuters] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

Solar Impulse Airplane – Leg 15 – Flight New York to Seville

List of the Day –

How the home nations voted in the EU Referendum [BBC]

England

Leave 53.4%

15,188,406 VOTES

Remain 46.6%

13,266,996 VOTES

Counting complete

Turnout: 73.0%

Northern Ireland

Leave 44.2%

349,442 VOTES

Remain 55.8%

440,437 VOTES

Counting complete

Turnout: 62.9%

Scotland

Leave 38.0%

1,018,322 VOTES

Remain 62.0%

1,661,191 VOTES

Counting complete

Turnout: 67.2%

Wales

Leave 52.5%

854,572 VOTES

Remain 47.5%

772,347 VOTES

Counting complete

Turnout: 71.7%

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram insurgency
- According to Médecins Sans Frontières, more than 1,200 people have died of starvation and illness at a refugee camp for those fleeing Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Jiangsu tornado
- A tornado, accompanied by heavy rainfall and hailstones, kills at least 98 people and injures 800 in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu (JSTV). One-hour rainfall reached 102 millimeters (about four inches) in Lianshui County. (Reuters) (China Radio International)

International relations

Holy See–Turkey relations
- Pope Francis’s visit to Armenia this weekend may stress relations with Turkey. The Pope is seeking to avoid reigniting the diplomatic dispute that arose last year when he described the 1915 mass killings of Armenians as a genocide. The Vatican prefers the Armenian phrase “Medz Yeghern,” which roughly translates as “the great evil or calamity.” (Reuters), (PanARMENIAN.Net) (NBC News)
South Sudanese Civil War
- The United Nations announces that peacekeepers in the country will be sent home over a “lack of responsiveness” during an attack on a UN-run refugee camp last February in Malakal that killed at least 40 people. (Al Jazeera)
European migration crisis
- The Italian Coast Guard rescues 4,500 migrants at sea. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- The United Nations Security Council condemns North Korea’s most recent ballistic missile launches as a grave violation of the international ban, and urges all countries “to redouble their efforts” to fully implement the March sanctions. (Reuters) (AP)

Law and crime

Supreme Court of the United States
- The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 4–3 decision, upholds the University of Texas’s practice of considering race in college admissions. Justice Elena Kagan recused herself for prior work on the case as United States solicitor general. (Reuters) (AP) (The New York Times)
- The Supreme Court deadlocks (4–4) in the challenge to President Barack Obama’s executive order that set up the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans plan, which could have shielded up to five million illegal immigrants. The tie leaves in place an earlier ruling against the plan. (NBC News) (The New York Times)
2016 Summer Olympics
- The government of Kuwait sues the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for US$1.3 billion in damages over the suspension of its Olympic committee last October due to the government’s interference in sports. (Al Jazeera)
Death of Freddie Gray
- Baltimore police officer Caesar Goodson is cleared of all charges for the murder of Freddie Gray, a black detainee, on April 19, 2015. (BBC)
Viernheim shooting
- An unidentified man who had been reported to have fired shots inside a theater has been shot dead by police in Viernheim, Germany. No other fatalities were reported. (BBC)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
- Voters in the United Kingdom go to the polls to vote in a referendum on whether the UK should leave the European Union. (The Telegraph), (BBC),
- Polling stations are closed, and ballots are being counted in centres around the UK with the result expected Friday morning. (BBC)
Colombian conflict
- The government of Colombia and FARC rebels sign a ceasefire deal, putting an end to 50 years of conflict in the country between the two sides. (BBC)
United States presidential election, 2016, 2016 Republican National Convention
- A federal district judge, in a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, rules Cleveland’s regulations governing protests and marches during next month’s Republican National Convention infringe on the right of free expression. Judge James Gwin orders both sides into mediation to begin negotiating new rules with another federal judge overseeing those talks. (AP)

Science and technology

Solar Impulse 2, a plane powered only by the sun, lands safely in Seville, Spain, shortly after 7.30 a.m. local time after a flight of just over 71 hours. The 15th leg of the round-the-world journey had been expected to take up to 90 hours. (Reuters) (Reuters²)

Sport

2016 NBA draft
- In basketball, the NBA draft is held with the Philadelphia 76ers choosing Australian Ben Simmons as the number one pick. (ESPN)

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June 24, 2016

Top News Stories –

Brexit fallout, Cameron quits, markets rocked –
Britain has voted to leave the European Union, forcing the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron and dealing the biggest blow since World War Two to the European project of forging greater unity. Global stock markets plunged on Friday, and the British pound saw its biggest one day drop in history, as results from a referendum defied bookmakers’ odds to show a 52-48 percent victory for the campaign to leave the bloc Britain joined more than 40 years ago. The United Kingdom itself could now break apart, with the leader of Scotland, where nearly two-thirds of voters wanted to stay in the EU, saying a new referendum on independence from the rest of Britain was “highly likely”. In an emotional speech on Friday, UK Prime Minister Cameron, who led the campaign to remain in Europe to defeat, after promising the referendum in 2013, said he would leave office by October. Lawmakers from the opposition Labour Party launched a no-confidence motion to topple their leader, leftist Jeremy Corbyn, accused by opponents in the party of campaigning tepidly for its Remain stance. The British pound fell as much as 10 percent against the U.S. dollar on Friday to levels last seen in 1985 on fears the decision could hit investment in the world’s fifth-largest economy, threaten London’s role as a global financial capital, and usher in months of political uncertainty. The euro slid 2.0 percent against the U.S. dollar. [Reuters] In February Cameron secured a deal with the EU to try to avoid an exit vote.
David Cameron

Video of the Day –

Brexit: UK prime minister David Cameron addresses British voters on leaving the EU

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Moro conflict
- Seven Indonesian sailors are kidnapped off the coast of Sulu near Mindanao in the southern Philippines raising terrorism fears. (The New York Times), (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
War in North-West Pakistan
- At least three people are killed and 32 more are wounded by a bomb in Quetta. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Business and economy

Brexit impact
- The British pound and FTSE 100 Index for the London Stock Exchange both fall in trading as early results from the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum show a stronger than expected result for Leave. (Bloomberg), (The Telegraph)
- Asian markets drop as Leave campaign continues to lead in the Brexit referendum. (New York Times)
- U.S. futures markets fall by 650 points as the UK votes to leave. (CNBC)
- The Dow Jones ends the day down 611.21 points to 17,399.86, marking the biggest drop in 10 months. (NBC)(CNBC) (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

West Virginia police report powerful flash floods last night killed at least twenty-three people and swept away a toddler from Ravenswood, West Virginia. Up to 10 inches of rain fell in White Sulphur Springs in the southern part of the state. Almost 500,000 customers are without power including thousands in Virginia. (NBC News), (NBC News), (Yahoo News)
The U.S. Geological Survey reports a 5.5 magnitude earthquake in north Chile, 116 miles (187 km) from the city of Copiapó at a depth of 80.8 miles (130 km), in the country’s copper mining area. Chile is the world’s largest producer of copper. (Reuters) (USGS)

International relations

Pope Francis, in his first speech upon arrival at the presidential palace of Serzh Sargsyan in the Armenian capital Yerevan, denounces the planned genocide of Armenians by Ottoman-era Turks a century ago, though the word “genocide” was not included in his prepared speech. (AP) (NPR)
Brexit impact
- Spain’s Foreign Minister José García-Margallo y Marfil says Spain will seek to jointly govern Gibraltar with Britain. Gibraltar, which is at the southern end of the Iberian peninsula bordering Spain, overwhelmingly voted in favor of Britain remaining in the EU. (Reuters)
Indonesia–Philippines relations
- Indonesia restricts the exports of coal to the Philippines after the abduction of Indonesian sailors by the Abu Sayyaf. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Volkswagen emissions scandal
- South Korea issues an arrest warrant for a Korean-based Volkswagen AG executive in relation to the emissions scandal which is the first warrant issued for a Volkswagen executive anywhere in the world.(Reuters via Daily Mail)
Crime in the Philippines
- More than 50 people accused of dealing in illegal drugs have been murdered in the Philippines within a month after incoming president Rodrigo Duterte called for more extrajudicial killings against suspected criminals. (Rappler)
- Duterte wants to return capital punishment in the country so he can hang people. (Rappler)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
- The United Kingdom votes, 52% to 48%, to leave the European Union. Prime Minister David Cameron, who called the referendum three years ago, announces his resignation indicating he will leave office by October. (BBC) (BBC²) (Newsweek) (Reuters)
The price of nickel is expected to skyrocket after the incoming Philippine government appoints an anti-mining bureaucrat Gina Lopez to the national cabinet. The Philippines is the biggest exporter of nickel toChina. (South China Morning Post)

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June 25, 2016

Top News Stories –

Los Angeles glass slide opens 1,000ft up skyscraper –
A glass slide fixed 1,000ft (305m) along the outside of a skyscraper in Los Angeles opens to the public on Saturday. The Skyslide spans 45 ft from the 70th to the 69th floor of the US Bank Tower in the city. Despite being made of glass just one inch thick, it is built to withstand hurricane-force winds and earthquakes. Tickets cost $25 (£18) each. It is part of the Skyspace renovation that also includes an observation deck. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Greenpeace holds a historic performance with pianist Ludovico Einaudi on the Arctic Ocean

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Moro conflict
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant urges its supporters in Indonesia and Malaysia to go to the Philippines and fight against newly-elected president Rodrigo Duterte. (Rappler)
Syrian Civil War
- At least three people are killed and three more injured as hundreds of Syrian Kurds flee Aleppo Province villages controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which continues to abduct and enslave Kurds. Yesterday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported ISIL militants have kidnapped about 900 civilians over the past three weeks. (The New York Times) (Fox News)
Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
- Five Indian paramilitary soldiers are killed and another 20 injured when suspected rebels ambush their convoy in the outskirts of Srinagar in the Indian portion of Kashmir. Two of the attackers are killed by return fire; the others escape. (AP via ABC News)
War in Somalia
- A suspected Al-Shabab suicide bomber blows open the gate of Mogadishu’s Nasa-Hablod hotel in Somalia, before militant fighters storm the building. Officials said at least 15 were killed, 25 injured, and an unknown number of guests were taken hostage. (AP via NBC News) (AP), (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

2016 West Virginia flood
- The Kanawha County sheriff’s office reports the death toll is now 26—three more victims were found overnight. It is the third-deadliest flood in West Virginia history. (USA Today)
Two women and seven men of the Extra Young Ohangla band die and eight other band members survive after their boat sinks in Lake Victoria at Kenya’s Lihunda beach. The 15-member band was headed to Ndeda Island. (Kenya Star) (The Standard)
Erskine Fire, 2016 California wildfires
- A massive wildfire destroys at least 150 homes and leaves two people dead in Kern County, California. The Governor of California Jerry Brown declares a state of emergency for Kern County as more homes are threatened by the fire. (Reuters)

International relations

Cross-Strait relations
- The People’s Republic of China cuts communication mechanism with Taiwan after the new government refuses to acknowledge the One China policy. (Reuters)
United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- Diplomats from Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg meet in Berlin to discuss the consequences of the United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union. (AP via Daily Mail)
- Lord Hill resigns as European Commissioner after the United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union. (BBC)
- Germany and France call for Britain to negotiate a quick divorce from the European Union. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2014–16 Venezuelan protests
- Venezuelan opposition leaders say they have now secured enough signatures on a petition to move to the next stage in a recall referendum of President Nicolás Maduro. The process must now be validated by electoral officials. (BBC)
Icelandic presidential election, 2016
- Voters in Iceland head to the polls to elect a new president with a historic low voter turnout expected. Independent candidate Guðni Th. Jóhannesson claims victory. (DPA) (Iceland Review)
United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
- A petition calling for a second EU referendum has topped two million signatures – more than doubling the highest signed in UK parliamentary history. (Daily Mirror)
- Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Opposition, sacks Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn after Benn’s support for a “no-confidence motion” after Corbyn’s perceived poor campaign for Remain. (BBC)

Science and technology

Five new species of orchid are discovered in the Philippines. (Times of India)

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June 26, 2016

Top News Stories –

Lionel Messi announces international football retirement after Argentina loses Copa America final –
Argentina superstar Lionel Messi says he is finished with the national team after the side’s loss to Chile in the Copa America final. The five-time world player of the year announced as much in the immediate aftermath of Argentina’s gut-wrenching loss to Chile, 4-2 in a penalty shootout on Monday. “The national team is done for me,” Messi told reporters. The 29-year-old was booked for simulation and sent his attempt over the crossbar in the decisive shootout as he fell short for the fourth time in a major international final. “It’s difficult, it’s a hard moment for any analysis. In the dressing room I thought that the national team is not for me,” he added. [ABC] In April Messi scored his 500th career goal.
Lionel Messi

Video of the Day –

Fastest time to pop 100 balloons by a dog – Guinness World Records

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Battle of Fallujah (2016)
  - The head of the counter terrorism forces which partook in the offensive says that the city of Fallujah has been “fully liberated”. (AP)
Boko Haram insurgency
- Fighting in various remote villages in the Borno State of Nigeria kill at least one civilian and six Boko Haram militants. According to the Nigerian Army, they’ve rescued more than 5,000 hostages from the militants. (Al Jazeera)
Syrian Civil War
- Airstrikes reportedly kill at least 82 people, including 58 civilians, in Syria‘s eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

The expanded Panama Canal opens after a $4.5 billion expansion allowing larger ships to use it. (Los Angeles Times)

Disasters and accidents

A bus fire kills at least 35 people in China’s Hunan Province. (AFP via Geo TV)(Reuters)
A roller coaster derails and crashes at M&D’s theme park in Motherwell, Scotland. Ten people are reportedly injured. (BBC)
Five people are killed in the American state of Colorado after an Amtrak train collides with a minivan carrying six people near the town of Trinidad, Colorado. (9 News) (Denver Post)

Law and crime

Unidentified men with bush knives attack the Papua New Guinea University of Technology in the city of Lae, killing one student, and set fire to various buildings on the campus. (Radio New Zealand)
Organized crime in Italy
- Ernesto Fazzalari, Italy‘s second most-wanted fugitive and member of ‘Ndrangheta, is arrested by the Carabinieri near Molochio in Calabria, Southern Italy, after two decades on the run. Interior Minister Angelino Alfano described Fazzalari as “one of the most important fugitives and a leading underworld figure”. (The Guardian)
Police report multiple stabbings at a planned “white pride” rally in Sacramento, California between the Traditionalist Workers Party and counter-protesters. The Sacramento Fire Department reports seven people were taken to local hospitals, two with life-threatening wounds. (CBS News) (ABC News)

Politics and elections

Spanish general election, 2016
- Voters in Spain go to the polls for a general election six months after an inconclusive election. Polls indicate that no party will be in position to form a government. (AP)
United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, says that Scottish Parliament has the power to veto the United Kingdom‘s exit from the European Union. (BBC)
- Heidi Alexander, Gloria De Piero, Ian Murray, Lilian Greenwood, Lucy Powell, Kerry McCarthy, Seema Malhotra, Vernon Coaker, Charlie Falconer, Karl Turner and Chris Bryant resign en masse from theLabour Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn in protest at Jeremy Corbyn‘s leadership over the EU referendum, and the firing of Hilary Benn. (BBC)
- The petition calling for a second referendum passes three million signatures. (Parliament UK)

Sport

Copa América Centenario
- In football, Chile wins the Copa América, defeating Argentina in a penalty shootout after regular time and extra time end scoreless. (Daily Mirror)
- Argentina star Lionel Messi, who became Argentina’s all-time leading goalscorer during the Copa, announces his retirement from international football after the game. (ABC News)

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June 27, 2016

Top News Stories –

Euro 2016: Roy Hodgson resigns after England lose to Iceland –
Roy Hodgson has resigned as England manager after his side’s 2-1 defeat by Iceland saw them knocked out of Euro 2016. The 68-year-old had been in charge for four years after replacing Italian Fabio Capello but has won just three of 11 games in major tournament finals. Iceland – with a population of just 330,000 – were among the lowest-ranked teams in France at 34 in the world. “I’m sorry it will have to end this way but these things happen,” Hodgson said. “I hope you will still be able to see an England team in a final of a major tournament soon,” he added. “Now is the time for someone else to oversee the progress of a hungry and extremely talented group of players. They have done fantastically, and done everything asked of them.” [BBC]
Roy Hodgson

Video of the Day –

case / lang / veirs – Atomic Number (Official Music Video) from KANGMIN KIM on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon
- A suicide bomber attacks the Lebanese village of Qaa near the Syrian border, with at least six people dead and 13 people injured. (BBC)
At least two people are killed and 72 are injured following a grenade attack on a concert at the Mahamasina Municipal Stadium in Madagascar‘s capital, Antananarivo. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Brexit impact
- The value of the British pound initially falls by more than 2% as Asian markets open to a decline. (Reuters)
- A number of analysts, including Ralf Preusser from Bank of America and Ric Deverell from Credit Suisse, believe that the United Kingdom economy is heading into a recession. (Poundsterlinglive)
- The Dow Jones drops by more than 300 points in early trading, but rebounds a bit to close at a loss of 260.51. (CNBC)
- Standard & Poor’s downgrades the UK credit rating from AAA to AA with a negative outlook. Fitch follows by downgrading UK from AA+ to AA. (The Guardian)
Volkswagen emissions scandal
- Volkswagen faces settlement costs of $15 billion to settle lawsuits in the United States resulting from the rigging of emissions tests. (Bloomberg)

Disasters and accidents

Singapore Airlines Flight 368
- A Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER en-route to Milan‘s Malpensa Airport makes an emergency landing at Singapore‘s Changi Airport after the pilots received an engine oil warning message, whereafter the plane’s right engine caught fire. Singapore Changi Airport’s aircraft rescue and firefighting services extinguished the fire and Singapore Airlines confirmed that all 222 passengers and 19 crew members evacuated safely. (CNN) (The Sydney Morning Herald)
2016 West Virginia flood
- Two men initially thought to have died when a camper was swept away in Greenbrier County are found alive, lowering the death toll from the disaster to 20 confirmed fatalities and three others missing and presumed dead. (AP via Fox News)

International relations

India formally joins the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). (The Times of India)
Russia–Turkey relations, 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan writes Russian President Vladimir Putin to offer condolences to the family of the deceased Russian pilot of the Sukhoi Su-24 warplane shot down last November. The Kremlin has insisted on a personal apology for months. A Turkish spokesman says this is a step toward improving bilateral relations between the two countries. (The Washington Post) (The Guardian
Israel–Turkey relations
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım announce their countries have agreed on a pact to normalize diplomatic relations that have been strained for six years since the Gaza flotilla raid when nine Turkish activists were killed. (Christian Science Monitor) (Los Angeles Times) (The Times of Israel)

Law and crime

Former Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat is sentenced to prison for nine years after being found guilty of corruption and abuse of power. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt
- The Supreme Court of the United States strikes down a law that would have required abortion clinics in Texas to upgrade in order to meet new “hospital-like” standards. Supporters of abortion rights said that the proposed law would force nearly all abortion clinics in the state to shut down, while their opponents argued for women’s health benefits. (CNN)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union:
- Peter Altmaier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, warns Britain of dire consequences of exit from the European Union, saying in a newspaper interview that UK leaders should not rule out the possibility of another referendum on the same issue. (Daily Mail) (Bloomberg)
- Joining their 12 colleagues from the day before, Luciana Berger, Angela Eagle, Maria Eagle, Kate Green, Nia Griffith, John Healey, Lisa Nandy and Owen Smith resign from the Labour Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn, alongside 18 junior shadow ministers and 9 additional frontbenchers, while Angela Smith and Steve Bassam of the House of Lords leadership will boycott attending Shadow Cabinet meetings, all in protest at Jeremy Corbyn‘s leadership over the EU referendum, and the firing of Hilary Benn. (The Guardian)
- The European Union refuses informal talks with the United Kingdom until they trigger Article 50 to leave. (BBC)

Sport

UEFA Euro 2016
- Underdogs Iceland defeat England 2-1 at the Allianz Riviera in Nice to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA European Championship. (BBC)
- Roy Hodgson announces his resignation as England manager following the team’s defeat to Iceland. (BBC)

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June 28, 2016

Top News Stories –

Japan uses anime to target young voters –
Japanese cities are using manga and anime to persuade young people to vote in forthcoming elections. The popular formats feature in local electoral commission materials aimed at newly enfranchised 18- and 19-year-olds, which explain why going to the polls is important, The Japan Times website reports. Last year, Japan lowered the voting age from 20 to 18 – the first change in seven decades. An election on 10 July to choose members of the upper house of parliament will be the first national poll since the law changed. Officials in the city of Nara have created a five-minute-long anime video on the importance not only of voting, but of making an informed decision at the ballot box. It shows three girls celebrate turning 18, two of whom don’t intend to use their votes. Other characters then warn the girls that it’s never been more important to make their voices heard. It ends with what the paper describes as a “perky, off-key song” about nearing adulthood and thinking for yourself. [BBC]See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

エンジェルは選挙権がお好き / 井上涼【18歳選挙権】- Nara City Voting video

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War
- Three Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant bombings in Yemen’s southern port city of Al Mukalla kill 38 government forces and injure 24 others. (Reuters)
Iraqi Civil War
- At least 12 people are killed and 32 more are injured in a suicide bombing in Baghdad. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Atatürk Airport attack, Turkey–ISIL conflict
- Suspected ISIL militants attack Turkey‘s Istanbul Atatürk Airport. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım says 36 people were killed, as were the three suicide bombers. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ says 147 were wounded. (BBC) (The Guardian) (AP via Toronto Star), (The Australian) (AP)
Syrian Civil War
- Al-Bukamal Offensive
  - Rebels of the New Syrian Army begin an offensive to capture the eastern town of Al-Bukamal, currently held by ISIL militants. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Balochistan conflict
- Gunmen kill four police officers and four paramilitary soldiers in separate attacks in the city of Quetta. (AP via ABC News America)
Kurdish–Turkish conflict
- Turkish Armed Forces state two soldiers are killed and three wounded in a pair of attacks by Kurdistan Workers’ Party fighters in Diyarbakır Province in the country’s southeast. (Reuters) (Daily Sabah)(Azeri-Press Agency {APA})

Business and economics

Volkswagen emissions scandal
- Volkswagen and the United States Justice Department agree on a $14.7 billion settlement for its emissions-cheating program. The breakdown: $10 billion to consumers to cover buybacks and fixes; $2 billion for green energy funds investment; and, $2.7 billion to offset diesel emissions. In addition, VW agrees on a settlement with 44 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico that will cost at least $600 million. As for Europe, Volkswagen says its diesel vehicles don’t violate European Union emissions standards. (Reuters) (Nasdaq)
IKEA is to recall 27 million Malm chests of drawers in North America due to the danger they pose to children. Since 2014, at least three children have died when the drawers toppled over on them. (BBC)
Toyota is recalling 1.43 million hybrids worldwide—Toyota Prius, Toyota Prius Plug-in, and Lexus CT200h—from model years 2010-2012 because of a possible airbag inflator defect. The company says it is not aware of any injuries or deaths related to this issue. (Reuters) (AP via U.S. News & World Report)

Disasters and accidents

EgyptAir Flight 804
- One of the flight recorders of EgyptAir Flight 804 has been fully repaired in Paris after being found in the Mediterranean Sea and will now be sent to Egypt to be analyzed. (Euronews)
Three crew members are missing and one worker is injured following the head-on collision of two BNSF Railway freight trains near the American town of Panhandle, Texas. Officials, concerned that flames from box car fires could cause a fast-moving grass fire, order an evacuation of some nearby areas. (AP via MSN)
A huge explosion completely destroys a house and damages 24 others in Mississauga, Canada. At least one person is dead and 13 others are injured, according to Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services. Thousands of residents are forced to evacuate and many spend the night at a local community shelter. (CBC News) (CP24)

International relations

Bolivia, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, and Sweden are elected to be non-permanent members in the United Nations Security Council. (ABC News)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- The European Parliament’s first debate on the UK’s vote to leave is marked by bitter exchanges as prominent pro-Brexit figure Nigel Farage is booed and heckled by members of the European Parliamentand European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is heckled after saying that he is neither a robot nor a bureaucrat. (BBC)
- Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn refuses to resign after losing a vote of no confidence, with 80% of voting members of the Parliamentary Labour Party voting against him. Critics which include fellowMPs cite his failure to do more in the effort for the UK to remain in the EU as the main issue. (The Guardian)
- Prime Minister David Cameron will turn over his office no later than 9 September 2016. (Daily Mail)
- Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon schedules a meeting Wednesday with European Parliament President Martin Schulz about remaining in the EU, and intends to discuss the Scottish issue with theEuropean Commission. (Time) (Reuters)
Following a South African Constitutional Court order, the National Treasury reports President Jacob Zuma should pay back $500,000, the public funds spent upgrading his private residence. (Gulf News)(Business Standard)

Science and technology

Durham and Oxford universities’ geologists, working with a helium exploration company, discover an at least 54 billion cubic foot field of helium in the Tanzanian East African Rift Valley. Previously, helium has only been found in small quantities. This field, found using a new exploration approach connected to volcanic activity, could potentially meet global demand for several years. (BBC) (Phys.org)(Goldschmidt conference)

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June 29, 2016

Top News Stories –

Facebook gives friends higher priority in News Feeds –
Facebook is to give posts by users’ friends and family greater prominence in their News Feeds. The social network said its members had expressed concerns that they were missing “important updates” from the people they cared about. The move reverses a trend towards giving more space to content posted by the news media and brands. One expert said it highlighted that newspapers and broadcasters’ interests did not always match those of the firm. Facebook said that in several surveys it had carried out, users had told it they wanted to see more “friend content”, and it was altering its algorithms to accommodate this. [BBC]

Vietnam capital sets target to ban motorbikes –
Officials in Hanoi are aiming to ban motorbikes from the city centre within 10 years, it’s reported. The local government wants streets to be motorbike-free by 2025 as part of efforts to tackle congestion, the Thanh Nien News website says. The Vietnamese capital has notoriously chaotic roads, with around five million motorbikes vying for space alongside half a million cars. That situation is forecast to get worse in years to come: the authorities estimate that by 2020 there will be seven million motorbikes, and the number of cars will double. “This means the traffic situation in Hanoi will become extremely complicated in the next four to five years, so we really need a timely solution to this,” says mayor Nguyen Duc Chung. The city’s transport authority wants to reduce the number of individual vehicles and boost public transport instead, and its chairman wants the number of buses to double. Construction of a new urban rail system is already under way. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Watch NYers’ Hearts Break As They JUST Miss The Subway Train

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Istanbul airport attack
- The death toll from the attack on the Istanbul Atatürk Airport rises to 42. (CNN)
Syrian Civil War
- At least 10 people are killed and nine others are wounded following a car bomb attack in Tell Abyad, near the Syria–Turkey border, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (AFP via Daily Mail)
- 2016 al-Bukamal offensive
  - New Syrian Army rebels fail to capture the border town of Al-Bukamal from ISIL militants, with an ISIL affiliated news source claiming the group killed 40 rebels and captured 15 more in a counter-attack. (Reuters)
War in Somalia
- Kenyan army forces kill five suspected Al-Shabaab militants, four during a clash at a military camp in Lamu County, and another in Malindi. (Reuters)

Business and economics

Toyota, which on Tuesday announced a recall of 1.43 million hybrids because of an airbag problem, today announces the recall of 2.87 million vehicles worldwide, produced between April 2006 and August 2015, because of a possible problem with their evaporative fuel emissions control unit. (Reuters)
The Lesedi La Rona diamond, the largest uncut diamond in the world, went on sale at an auction in Mayfair with it expected to sell at £52 million, or US$70 million. However, the diamond only managed to draw a high bid of US$61 million, falling short of the reserve price to sell it. (BBC) (CBC News)
The London FTSE index recovers from its losses after the result of the European Union membership referendum, closing at its highest level since April. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

The Vietnamese Ministry of Defense says eight bodies from a Coast Guard plane that crashed June 16, 2016, have been found. The search continues for the ninth crew member. The CASA C-212 Aviocarwas on a search and rescue mission for the then-missing pilot of a crashed Su30-MK2 fighter jet; the pilot’s body was found on the 17th. (AP) (Tuổi Trẻ)
EgyptAir Flight 804
- Data from one of the flight recorders from EgyptAir Flight 804 shows that there was smoke on board when the Airbus A320 crashed into the water. Soot has also been found on the wreckage. (AFP via ABC News Australia)

International relations

Philippines v. China
- On his final day as President of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III says he was right when he sued China over the South China Sea. (Rappler)
United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- European Union leaders advise the United Kingdom that, after their EU exit, to retain access to the bloc’s lucrative single market, the UK must allow free movement for EU workers. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande reiterated that freedom of movement of EU citizens is non-negotiable. (BBC) (Reuters)

Law and crime

A prosecutor in Michigan, United States, is considering whether the words of an African grey parrot could be used to try the woman accused of killing the pet parrot’s owner. (The Guardian)
Luxembourg Leaks
- Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet, two whistleblowers who revealed the Luxembourg Leaks financial scandal, are found guilty of leaking the documents and are given a 12 and nine month suspended sentence and fined €1,500 and €1,000 respectively, while Edouard Perrin, the journalist who was given the leaks, is acquitted of all charges. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Mongolian legislative election, 2016
- Voters in Mongolia go to the polls for a legislative election at a time of economic slowdown. (The Guardian)
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2016
- The process to elect a new leader of the Conservative Party to replace outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron begins in the United Kingdom. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Stephen Crabb is the first Conservative Party politician to announce his official candidacy for leader. (BBC)
United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- Prime Minister David Cameron tells the House of Commons that legal experts advise that the UK-wide Brexit result binds the entire nation, even though Northern Ireland and Scotland voted to stay in the EU. Yesterday, both Scottish and Northern Irish representatives told the European Parliament’s plenary session they will leave the UK if that is the required price to keep their homelands fully connected to Europe. (The News Letter) (New Europe)
2016 United States presidential election, 2016 Republican National Convention
- The Cleveland Board of Control approves changes to convention security rules negotiated with the ACLU, per Federal District Judge James Gwin’s June 23rd court order. (The Hill) (The Plain Dealer)
North American Leaders’ Summit aka the Three Amigos Summit
- Takes place in Ottawa, Canada as US President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. President Obama later gives a special address to the Parliament of Canada. (Toronto Star) (CBC)

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June 30, 2016

Top News Stories –

Boris Johnson rules himself out of Conservative leader race –
Ex-London mayor Boris Johnson has ruled himself out of the race to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister. In a speech in London – billed as his campaign launch – Mr Johnson said he did not believe he could provide the leadership or unity needed. It comes after Justice Secretary and fellow Brexit campaigner Michael Gove’s surprise announcement on Thursday morning that he would run for leader. Home Secretary Theresa May is among the candidates. Nominations closed at noon. Also in the running are Energy minister Andrea Leadsom and former Defence Secretary Liam Fox – who campaigned to leave the EU – and Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb, who backed Remain. The contest was sparked after David Cameron announced he would resign following the EU referendum result, which saw the UK vote by 52% to 48% to leave the EU. Mr Johnson’s unexpected – and dramatic – announcement that he would not stand for Tory leader or prime minister, positions he is long thought to have harboured ambitions for, has dramatically altered the race. Mr Gove and his team of advisors clearly did not believe Boris Johnson had the spine to fully divorce Britain from the EU. Nor did a number of Tory Mps trust Mr Johnson to deliver the promises he was making in terms of personnel and jobs. When Mr Gove made his move, hardened Brexit believers instantly went with him, sinking Boris Johnson. The irony of course is that Boris Johnson, who did so much to take Britain out of the EU, has seen his own ambitious crushed in the aftermath. It could be that the big winner from this vicious Tory drama is the woman in charge of law and order – Theresa May. [BBC]
Boris Johnson

Video of the Day –

CLIMBING THE EIFFEL TOWER + DRONE

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- An Afghan National Security Forces convoy outside Kabul was attacked in a coordinated ambush including suicide bombers and heavy machine guns resulting in over 40 deaths. (BBC)
Boko Haram insurgency
- At least 15 people are killed and 50 are wounded following two suicide bombings in Cameroon‘s Far North Region. (AP via The New York Times)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Battle of Fallujah (2016)
  - According to reports, at least 250 ISIL militants were killed during fighting in the city of Fallujah while fighting Iraqi Army forces with assistance from U.S. airstrikes. (Reuters via Euronews)
2016 Istanbul airport attack
- A Turkish official reports the three suspected Islamic State suicide bombers who killed 44 people and wounded 238 others, were Russian, Uzbek, and Kyrgyz nationals. (Reuters)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A 17-year-old Palestinian stabs and kills a sleeping 13-year-old Israeli girl in her bedroom. The assailant is fatally shot by security guards. (AP via Post-Bulletin) (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

European migrant crisis
- At least 10 people drown off the coast of Libya when their dinghy sinks. The Italian Navy managed to rescue over 100 more people. (BBC)

International relations

Armenia–Russia relations
- Armenia’s parliament, by a 102-8 vote, ratifies an agreement to create an Armenia-Russia joint Air Defense system. (Reuters) (Armenpress)
The United Nations agrees to appoint an observer to investigate violence against LGBT people, despite opposition from various countries. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Law and crime

Colombian, Italian, and U.S. police seize 11 tonnes of cocaine smuggled to various countries and arrest 33 people across Colombia and Italy after the discovery of seven laboratories in the Colombian jungle run by local organized criminal groups and ‘Ndrangheta. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2016
- British home secretary Theresa May enters into the Tory leadership contest, saying that Article 50 of the EU Treaty should not be invoked before the end of this year, implying that formal Brexit negotiations with the EU institutions be put on hold until 2017 at the earliest. (Wall Street Journal)
- Former Mayor of London Boris Johnson rules himself out of running in the Tory leadership contest, a move believed to be influenced by Michael Gove‘s announcement earlier in the day to run for the leadership. (BBC)
Presidential transition of Rodrigo Duterte
- Rodrigo Duterte is inaugurated as President of the Philippines and Leni Robredo as Vice President. (The Manila Bulletin), (The Wall Street Journal)
Political reshuffle in the Communist Party of China
- Luo Huining leaves his position as party chief of Qinghai and becomes party chief of Shanxi province, replacing Wang Rulin. (SCMP)
- Qiang Wei leaves his post as party chief of Jiangxi; Governor Lu Xinshe becomes the new party chief of Jiangxi. (SCMP)
- Hubei governor Wang Guosheng becomes party chief of Qinghai province. (SCMP)
- Lu Wei is replaced as head of the Cyberspace Administration of China by Xu Lin. (SCMP)
Bosnia and Herzegovina officially releases its first census report since the end of the Bosnian War after multiple delays, showing that the country had lost one fifth of its population from 4.4 million to 3.5 million between then and 2013. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu dismisses 50 high-ranking Navy officers, including Baltic Fleet Commander Viktor Kravchuk and Chief of Staff Sergei Popov, following a month-long inspection that found incompetence, deficiencies in training, and misinformation regarding the state of the fleet. (UPI) (Reuters)

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July 1, 2016

Top News Stories –

Lindsay Lohan set to turn on Christmas Lights in Kettering… after her furious tweet about Northamptonshire town went viral during EU referendum vote –
She took the internet by storm when her impassioned tweets about the EU referendum went viral. And Lindsay Lohan – who was staunchly in the Remain camp – appears to have made amends with the people of Kettering after angering MP Philip Hollobone with her comments during the results night when the town voted Leave by a margin of 61 to 39 per cent. But despite disagreeing with the Brexit result, the 29-year-old actress has now pledged her support to the Northamptonshire town by accepting to turning on their Christmas lights. A furious backbench Tory slammed the US star for criticising his home town of Kettering in a series of tweets Miss Lohan sent on the night of the referendum. Philip Hollobone demanded that the actress should visit the Midlands town – while a Cabinet Minister suggested that a trip to Kettering could boost the career of the troubled A-lister. [Daily Mail]
Lindsay Lohan

Battle of the Somme: Royals at Somme centenary commemoration –
Thousands of people, including members of the Royal Family, have attended a ceremony in France to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were at the Thiepval Memorial for the event. Earlier, a UK-wide two-minute silence at 07:28 BST marked the start of the World War One battle on 1 July 1916.
More than a million men were killed or wounded on all sides at the Somme. The Battle of the Somme, one of WW1’s bloodiest, was fought in northern France and lasted five months, with the British suffering almost 60,000 casualties on the first day alone. The British and French armies fought the Germans in a brutal battle of attrition on a 15-mile front. [BBC]

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Gulshan attack
- Gunmen storm a restaurant, exchange fire with security, and take at least twenty hostages in the Gulshan neighborhood of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Two policemen are killed. The Islamic State claims responsibility. (ABC News) (CNN) (USA Today)
War in Somalia
- At least six people are shot and killed and several people wounded by suspected Al-Shabaab militants who ambushed two buses in Mandera, Kenya, near the Somalian border. (Al Jazeera) (AP)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A Palestinian woman, in what was construed to be an attempt to stab Israeli Border Police officers at the entrance to the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, is shot and later dies. (PNN)(The Times of Israel)
- In response to violence in the Hebron area, including the killing yesterday of a 13-year-old Jewish girl asleep in her home in the Kiryat Arba settlement by a Palestinian assailant, the Israel Defense Forcesplaces a closure on Hebron, brings additional troops to the area and announces a cut to tax funds it collects for the Palestinian Authority, saying it would deduct the amount the Palestinian leadership pays to the families of militants. (Al Jazeera) (The Times of Israel)
- A 63 year old Palestinian man dies during a clash at the Qalandiya checkpoint; Palestinian sources claim his death was due to tear gas inhalation while Israeli sources say the man suffered a fatal heart attack. (Ma’an) (The Times of Israel)
- Rabbi Michael Mark is murdered and his two children badly injured when terrorists shoot at his car on the highway south of Hebron.(The Jerusalem Post) (The Times of Israel)
- Palestinian militants fire two rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip; one explodes outside a preschool in the town of Sderot, causing damage to property but no injuries, and the second rocket exploded in an open area in the Sha’ar Hanegev region. (The Times of Israel)

Arts and culture

British–American Academy Award–winning film actress Olivia de Havilland, one of the last leading movie stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, celebrates her 100th birthday. (CNN)
Thousands of people attend a ceremony at the Thiepval Memorial in Picardy, France, to mark the centenary of the start of the Battle of the Somme. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

Four Hungarian Defence Force soldiers are killed and one is injured following an explosion at a military firing range in eastern Hungary. (Reuters)

International relations

Taiwan‘s navy mistakenly launches a supersonic Hsiung Feng III missile towards China, killing one person and injuring three in a Taiwanese fishing boat. (BBC) (The Guardian)
Russia–European Union relations, Ukrainian crisis
- The European Union extends economic sanctions on Russia until 31 January 2017 over Moscow’s continued support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. (Reuters)
Canada announces that it will deploy 1,000 soldiers of the Canadian Armed Forces to Latvia to bolster one of the four NATO battalions stationed there. (The Guardian)
Israel-Palestine relations
- The report of the diplomatic Quartet to the Security Council — the United Nations, Russia, the United States, and the European Union — calls on Israel to end settlement construction and expansion policy, and calls on Palestinians to act decisively to stop incitement to violence and to clearly condemn terrorist acts. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov tells the UNSC, “The main objective of this report is not about assigning blame … (rather) it focuses on the major threats to achieving a negotiated peace.” (AP) (UN News Centre) (The Times of Israel)
Yanghee Lee, the United Nations special human rights envoy to overwhelmingly Buddhist Myanmar, says more than 100,000 of the Muslim Rohingya minority remain in squalid camps they were forced to four years ago by violence. The government does not recognize most of these people as citizens, and has treated even long-term residents as illegal immigrants. Lee is encouraged by last March’s peaceful transition to a democratically elected and civilian-led government. (AP)
Finland–Russia relations
- Following his meeting at Finnish President Sauli Niinistö’s residence, Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Russia would respect Finland’s choice whether to join NATO, though as part of NATO’s military infrastructure, Finnish Defence Forces would overnight be at the borders of the Russian Federation. Putin and Niinistö call for improved security in Baltic airspace where Russian and Westernaircraft have had close encounters in recent months. (Oneindia) (Reuters)

Law and crime

Crime in the Philippines; Philippine Drug War
- Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte urges Filipino citizens to murder people suspected of using illegal drugs. (The Guardian)
U Gambira, a former Burmese monk and one of the most visible leaders during Myanmar’s 2007 Saffron Revolution, is released from prison after having the charges against him dropped. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Austrian presidential election, 2016
- Austria’s highest court orders a repeat of the presidential elections narrowly lost in May by right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria candidate Norbert Hofer. The margin of votes was less than 1%.(The Telegraph)
Causeway Bay Books disappearances
- Thousands of people take to the streets of Hong Kong, demanding answers over China’s alleged abduction of five booksellers in late 2015 and that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying resign from office.(The Guardian)
The new Belarusian ruble replaces the old Belarusian ruble during redenomination. (Belarus segodnya) (in Russian) (Construction.RU)
Paris, France, implements a pollution-reduction program that bans residents from driving cars built before 1997, and motorcycles built before 2000, on weekdays inside the city limits between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.(NPR)

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July 2, 2016

Top News Stories –

Five police officers shot dead at a protest in Dallas –
At least one sniper, who said he wanted to shoot white police officers, killed five officers and wounded seven others at a demonstration in Dallas on Thursday night against police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana, officials said. The sniper was killed, and three other people are in custody, officials said. During an hours long standoff after the attack, in which two civilians were also wounded, the gunman told police negotiators that “he was upset about Black Lives Matter,” the Dallas police chief, David O. Brown, said on Friday. “He said he was upset about the recent police shootings,” Chief Brown said. “The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers.” The police killed the suspect using an explosive delivered by a robot, he said, and arrested three other people. [New York Times]

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Gulshan attack
- 13 hostages were rescued following a standoff with the Rapid Action Battalion. (Reuters)
- Twenty hostages and two policemen were killed, and six gunmen are dead with one captured alive. (CNN)
War in Afghanistan
- At least two people are killed and dozens more are wounded in a suicide bombing in Jalalabad, Nangarhar Province. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Iraqi Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL
- According to The Pentagon, two senior ISIL leaders have been killed by a United States-led coalition airstrike in Mosul. (The Guardian) (BBC)
Syrian Civil War
- Syrian government airstrikes in Damascus kill at least 30 people. According to the rebels, the airstrikes were revenge for the killing of a Syrian Air Force pilot by Al-Nusra Front yesterday. The airstrikes reportedly targeted a medical centre and a school. (The Guardian)
2016 Istanbul airport attack
- Turkish police arrest a total of 41 people in connection with the Istanbul Atatürk Airport terrorist attack. (UPI.com)

Law and crime

A lone gunman opened fire at a café in Žitište, Serbia, killing five people and injuring 20 more. The perpetrator was arrested shortly afterward while attempting to flee the scene. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Four children are stabbed to death by their mother in Memphis, Tennessee. The mother was taken into custody. (Local 8 News)

Politics and elections

Australian federal election, 2016
- Australians vote to elect a government for the next three years. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, leader of the conservative Liberal Party-led Coalition, dissolved both houses of Parliament in May in a bid for a Senate more friendly to his agenda. The latest News Corp Australia poll shows the coalition at 50.5 percent, one point ahead of Labor. (Reuters) (Sydney Morning Herald)
Aftermath of the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
- In pro-EU rallies, thousands of people protest in London against the United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union and ask that Article 50 not be invoked. (The Guardian)

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July 3, 2016

Top News Stories –

New Zealand record cocaine seizure in horse’s head –
New Zealand police say they have made their biggest ever seizure of cocaine, hidden inside a novel kind of drug mule. They intercepted the $10m (£7.6m) worth of cocaine inside a huge diamante-encrusted statue of a horse’s head. The shipment of 35kg (77lb) bricks was air-freighted from Mexico to the city of Auckland in May. An American and two Mexicans were arrested over the weekend following a six-week investigation. The horse’s head weighed 365kg and was 1m (3ft) tall, the New Zealand Herald reported. “This is a significant win for New Zealand,” said Det Supt Virginia Le Bas. “We should proud to have detected it at the earliest of stages.” [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Auto from Conner Griffith on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed attacks and conflicts

Iraqi Civil War
- Twin bombings in a pair of crowded commercial areas in Baghdad kill at least 125 people. ISIL claims responsibility. (AP) (The Independent) (BBC)

Business and economics

Libya‘s National Oil Corporation agrees to merge with the rival company of the same name in the east of the country after being split by the two rival governments. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

At least 31 people are killed and several more remain missing after flash floods ravage the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)
Rescue workings in Russia‘s Irkutsk Oblast discover the remains of a Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane which went missing last Friday after going on a firefighting mission. Six people have been killed in the crash.(Reuters)

International relations

Switzerland–European Union relations
- The European Union warns Switzerland that it will lose access to its single market if it goes through with its plan to impose restrictions on the free movement of EU citizens. In a referendum held back in February 9, 2014, Swiss voters approved limiting the movement of economic migrants from the EU in the country. Current laws allow migrants to enter Switzerland without visas. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

Human rights in the Philippines; Philippine Drug War
- Ten people are killed by the Philippine National Police within a week after Rodrigo Duterte took office as president and made statements encouraging the murder of illegal drug addicts. (Channel News Asia)

Politics and elections

French presidential election, 2017
- Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy resigns as leader of The Republicans party and announces his candidacy for President again. (The Guardian)

Sport

2016 Formula One season
- Lewis Hamilton wins the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. (BBC)
2016 Summer Olympics
- The Russian Olympic Committee appeals the ban of its track and field team from participating in the upcoming summer Olympics by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), because of large scale doping, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. A hearing on the case will take place on July 19. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

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July 4, 2016

Top News Stories –

UKIP leader Nigel Farage stands down –
Nigel Farage says he is standing down as leader of the UK Independence Party. Mr Farage said his “political ambition has been achieved” with the UK having voted to leave the EU. He said the party was in a “pretty good place” and said he would not change his mind about quitting as he did after the 2015 general election. Leading UKIP was “tough at times” but “all worth it” said Mr Farage, who is also an MEP. He added that the UK needed a “Brexit prime minister”. Mr Farage announced his decision to stand aside in a speech in London, saying: “I want my life back, and it begins right now.” He has been leader of UKIP for most of the past eight years, standing down briefly in 2009 and being re-elected the following year. He said he would quit after failing to win his seat at last year’s general election, but stayed on after the party rejected his resignation. [BBC]
Nigel Farage

Video of the Day –

EDMOND from ninagantz on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Terrorism in Malaysia
- Malaysia confirms it has suffered its first bombing by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant during the previous week raising fears about the spread of influence of the militant group. (The New York Times)
CPP–NPA–NDF rebellion; Philippine Drug War
- The Communist Party of the Philippines agrees to fight drug lords after its legal wing Bagong Alyansang Makabayan joins the government cabinet of Rodrigo Duterte. (GMA News) (The Philippine Star)
Syrian Civil War, Israel–Syria relations
- Israel’s military attacks two Syrian Army targets in Syrian territory from the Golan Heights after a fire from the fighting damages a security fence on the border. (Reuters)
2016 Saudi Arabia bombings
- A suspected suicide bomber detonates his belt near the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, killing himself and wounding two guards. (BBC)
- A suicide bomber detonates a device near the security headquarters of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia, killing four security guards. (Daily Mail) (BBC) (Pakistan Today)
July 2016 Baghdad bombings
- The Baghdad Provincial Council deputy head reports the death toll has passed 200, with at least 225 more injured. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, visiting the Kerrada site, is jeered by onlookers who blame his government for not stopping ISIL-related bloodshed. (UPI)

Business and economics

United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- Standard Life Investments suspends trading in its UK property fund, in response to increased withdrawal calls since the vote, to protect the interests of all investors in the fund. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

Flooding caused by torrential rain in China kills at least 180 people, mostly along the Yangtze river. (BBC)

International relations

Blockade of the Gaza Strip
- A Turkish ship carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip docks at the Israeli port city of Ashdod, the first warming move between the two countries since relations began to improve. Relations betweenTurkey and Israel were tense since the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid but ended last week when Turkey agreed to normalize ties in a diplomatic treaty. (The Guardian)
Russia–Turkey relations
- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu says Turkey’s cooperation with Russia in combating the Islamic State in Syria does not include Russia’s use of its Incirlik Air Base, which some have interpreted from his comments yesterday. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Eight members of the Cuba men’s national volleyball team, which is supposed to participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics, are arrested for aggravated group rape in Tampere, Finland, with two later being released. (BBC) (YLE)
Ling Jihua, former top aide to paramount leader Hu Jintao, is sentenced to life in prison for illegally obtaining state secrets and taking over $11 million in bribes. Ling’s misfortunes started when he was accused of trying to cover up a scandal connected to his 23-year-old son’s deadly crash in a Ferrari in 2012. (UPI)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- Nigel Farage resigns as leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) but says he and other MEPs/MPs of the party would continue to carry out their term in the European Parliament. (BBC via Radio New Zealand)
Riots break out in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, after police attempt to disperse a protest by the city’s taxi drivers. (Reuters)
Australian federal election, 2016
- The election deadlock continues as neither Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull nor opposition leader Bill Shorten has the minimum number of Lower House seats (76) needed to form a government. Shorten leads Turnbull, 71-67, with only six seats undecided. (UPI) (Newstalk ZB)
Political reshuffle in the Communist Party of China
- Zhejiang governor Li Qiang is transferred to neighbouring Jiangsu province to serve as party chief. He is succeeded as Zhejiang governor by Xinjiang deputy party chief Che Jun. (Sina)
- Xian Hui is named acting Chairwoman of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, succeeding Liu Hui. It is the first time in the history of the People’s Republic that a woman has succeeded another woman in a provincial government leadership position. (Sina)

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July 5, 2016

Top News Stories –

Juno probe enters into orbit around Jupiter –
The US space agency has successfully put a new probe in orbit around Jupiter.
The Juno satellite, which left Earth five years ago, had to fire a rocket engine to slow its approach to the planet and get caught by its gravity. A sequence of tones transmitted from the spacecraft confirmed the braking manoeuvre had gone as planned. Receipt of the radio messages prompted wild cheering at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “All stations on Juno co-ord, we have the tone for burn cut-off on Delta V,” Juno Mission Control had announced. “Roger Juno, welcome to Jupiter.” Scientists plan to use the spacecraft to sense the planet’s deep interior. They think the structure and the chemistry of its insides hold clues to how this giant world formed some four-and-a-half-billion years ago. Engineers had warned in advance that the engine firing was fraught with danger. No previous spacecraft has dared pass so close to Jupiter; its intense radiation belts can destroy unprotected electronics. One calculation even suggested the orbit insertion would have subjected Juno to a dose equivalent to a million dental X-rays. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Mission Juno – NASA

Other News Stories –

Armed attacks and conflicts

Iraqi Civil War
- Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. airstrikes, advance north towards ISIL-held Qayyarah Airfield West south of Mosul. (Reuters)
- The United Nations reports a mortar attack on a camp for displaced Iraqis south of Baghdad kills three people, including two children, and injures 13 others, two critically. (The New York Times)
Terrorism in Indonesia
- A suicide bomber attacks a police station in Solo, Indonesia, killing himself and injuring a police officer. Solo is the birthplace of President Joko Widodo. (Time) (Reuters)
Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
- Suspected Allied Democratic Forces rebels hack nine people to death in the village of Oicha, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Reuters)
Syrian civil war, ISIL involvement
- A suicide bomb explosion in Kurdish-controlled Al-Hasakah in northeastern Syria kills at least 16 people, including three children and two women. ISIL claims responsibility. (Reuters)

Business and economics

International sanctions during the Ukrainian crisis
- The Central Bank of Russia announces it will start buying the Chinese yuan in an attempt to diversify its foreign-currency reserves away from the Euro and the U.S. dollar and to become less vulnerable to Western sanctions. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Disasters and accidents

At least seven people are killed and eight are injured after a helicopter carrying Turkish Armed Forces personnel crashes in Turkey‘s northern Giresun Province, on the Black Sea coast. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Human rights in the Philippines; Philippine Drug War
- Dozens of petty criminals and alleged drug addicts die in the Philippines within a few days after Rodrigo Duterte took the presidency. He actively encouraged extrajudicial killing of drug addicts and petty criminals before and after the election. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian)
Protests occur in the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S., after a man, Alton Sterling is fatally shot by a police officer. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

European migrant crisis
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announces that the country will hold a referendum on October 2 where voters will get to choose whether or not to accept European Union-imposed quotas on the distribution of migrants. (BBC)
Hillary Clinton email investigation
- The FBI recommends, with numerous reservations about her actions, no charges be filed against Hillary Clinton over her emails. (BBC) (The New York Times)
July 2016 Baghdad bombings
- Iraqi Interior Minister Mohammed Salem Al-Ghabban says he has submitted his resignation. Al-Ghabban cited a lack of “coordination among security systems” demonstrated by Sunday’s bombings in Baghdad that killed over 200 people and injured at least 175 others. No report yet that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has accepted this resignation. (CNN) (The New York Times)
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2016
- Home Secretary Theresa May gets 165 votes after the first ballot of Conservative members of parliament to select a new Leader and the next Prime Minister. Her nearest rival, Minister of State for Energy Andrea Leadsom, picked up 66 votes. Secretary of State for Justice Michael Gove won 48 votes, and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Stephen Crabb got 34 votes. Former Secretary of State for Defence Liam Fox is eliminated from consideration as he received just 16. Later, Crabb pulled out of the race and endorsed front-runner Theresa May. Fox also endorsed May. (Reuters) (Sky News)(Reuters²)

Science and technology

NASA‘s Juno spacecraft reaches Jupiter and enters into its orbit after a five-year flight. (BBC)
Cybersecurity software maker Check Point reports HummingBad malware has infected at least 10 million Android devices, mostly in China and India. Check Point says a team of developers based in Beijing is behind HummingBad which gives hackers administrative-level access to infected devices. Apple devices have been hit by similar malware. (Time)

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