2016 - The 2010s

December 18, 2016

Top News Stories –

Zsa Zsa Gabor: Hollywood legend dies at 99 –
Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor has died at he age of 99 after suffering a heart attack, her husband has confirmed. On the point of tears, Frederic von Anhalt told the AFP news agency his wife had passed away at home, surrounded by her friends and family. “Everybody was there. She didn’t die alone,” he said. Born in Hungary, she emigrated to the United States during World War Two and made her Hollywood debut in 1952. She was married nine times. She appeared in more than 70 films, but was more famous for her celebrity lifestyle. She first married at the age of 20 and for the last (and longest) time when she was nearly 70 to the man who outlived her. By her own reckoning she was only married eight-and-a-half times – she said she didn’t really count a Spanish duke in 1982. [BBC]
Zsa Zsa Gabor in 1959

Video of the Day –

INDIAN PACIFIC FIFTEEN from Tom Jennings on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Zsa Zsa Gabor Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Director	Note
1952	Lovely to Look At^[68]	LeRoy
	We’re Not Married!^[69]	Goulding
	Moulin Rouge^[69]	Huston
1953	The Story of Three Loves^[70]	Minelli
	Lili^[69]	Walters
	L’ennemi public no. 1 (The Most Wanted Man)	Verneuil
1954	Sangre y luces (Love in a Hot Climate)^[71]	Rouquier/Suey
1954	3 Ring Circus^[69]	Pevney
1956	Death of a Scoundrel^[69]	Martin
1957	The Girl in the Kremlin^[72]	Birdwell
1958	The Man Who Wouldn’t Talk	Wilconx
	Country Music Holiday^[72]	Ganzer
	Touch of Evil^[69]	Welles
	Queen of Outer Space^[69]	Bernds
1959	For the First Time	Mate
1960	Pepe^[1]	Sidney
1962	The Road to Hong Kong^[73]	Panama	Cameo
1962	Boys’ Night Out^[69]	Gordon
1966	Picture Mommy Dead^[69]	Gordon
1966	Drop Dead Darling^[74]	Hughes
1967	Jack of Diamonds^[75]	Taylor
1972	Up the Front	Kiliett
1976	Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood^[76]	Winner
1978	Every Girl Should Have One	Hyatt
1984	Frankenstein’s Great Aunt Tillie^[77]	Gold
1987	A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors^[78]	Russell	Cameo
1992	The Naked Truth^[72]	Mastorakis
1993	Happily Ever After^[79]	Blossom	Voice only
1993	The Beverly Hillbillies^[80]	Spheeris	Cameo

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War, Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016)
- Rebels attack and burn several buses en route to evacuate ill and injured people from the besieged Syrian villages of Al-Fu’ah and Kafriya. (The Guardian)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- December 2016 Aden suicide bombings
  - An explosion outside a military camp in southern Yemen kills at least 49 people and injures many more. The explosion is believed to have been caused by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest. (AP) (BBC)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A rock throwing 19-year old Palestinian is killed by IDF troops amid clashes in the West Bank village of Beit Rima. (Daily Sabah) (Haaretz)
2016 Al-Karak attack
- Unknown militants stage a number of attacks across the city of Al-Karak in Jordan, killing five people and injuring at least 10 others. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Stephanie Del Valle of Puerto Rico is named as Miss World 2016. (The Telegraph)

Disasters and accidents

At least 49 people die in Irkutsk, Russia after consuming hawthorn-scented bath essence as if it were alcohol. The product has been found to contain methanol. (The New York Times) (BBC News)
2016 Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crash
- An Indonesian military Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane crashes in Papua province killing all 13 people on board. (AP via Star Tribune)

International relations

Gambian presidential election, 2016
- Leaders from the West African bloc ECOWAS and from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation plead with Gambian long-time President Yahya Jammeh who lost in the recently held elections to step aside or face consequences. (Al-Jazeera) (Quartz)

Politics and elections

Ivorian parliamentary election, 2016
- Côte d’Ivoire votes. (The Voice of America)

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December 23, 2016

Top News Stories –

Carrie Fisher heart attack –
Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher is currently in intensive care after suffering a massive heart attack on a plane from London to Los Angeles.Passengers performed CPR on the 60-year-old after she went into cardiac arrest on the United Airlines flight yesterday, TMZ reported. Actress Anna Akana was on board the aircraft when Carrie went into medical distress and she described the upsetting scene in a series of tweets. Akana wrote that the actress wasn’t breathing “for 10 minutes or so” and CPR was administered until the plane landed at LAX. Carrie’s daughter, Billie Lourd, and her beloved dog Gary were both spotted at the UCLA Medical Centre as the star received treatment. [Mirror]
Fisher with fellow Star Wars actors Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, July 2015

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- The bodies of over 100 Syrian Army POWs are reportedly found in what was the last rebel held territory of East Aleppo. Syrian Army officers claim they were executed by rebel forces. (Al-Masdar News)
2016 Berlin attack
- The 24-year-old Tunisian who is suspected of driving the truck that smashed through a Berlin market is killed in a shoot-out in Milan. (Reuters)
Afriqiyah Airways Flight 209
- An Afriqiyah Airways flight originating from Sabha, Libya, is hijacked and forced to make an emergency landing in Malta. Hijackers threaten to blow up the aircraft with grenades, but the standoff ends peacefully with all hostages released and both hijackers surrendering. (Chicago Tribune)

Arts and culture

Carrie Fisher, the actress best known for the role of Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, suffers a massive heart attack while on a flight and is rushed to a hospital near Los Angeles International Airport in critical condition. (Mirror)

Business and economy

As new Libyan production comes on line, the world price of crude oil falls below $55 a barrel. (Reuters)
Bonanza Creek Energy says it plans to file for bankruptcy on or by January 5, 2017 and hopes to exit the process quickly, within the first quarter. (Reuters)

Health

Former Philippines president and current mayor of Manila Joseph Estrada is hospitalized for pneumonia. (Rappler)

International relations

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334
- The United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power abstains from voting in a 14–0 Security Council decision condemning Israeli settlement of the Palestinian territories. (The Washington Post)

Law and crime

Terrorism in Australia
- Australian police raid several Melbourne properties and arrest seven Arab Australian men, who were believed to be plotting a terrorist attack on several sites in Melbourne for Christmas Day. (ABC News)

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December 25, 2016

Top News Stories –

Ex-Wham! singer George Michael dies –
Singer George Michael has died aged 53, his publicist has said. The star, who launched his career with Wham! in the 1980s and later continued his success as a solo performer, is said to have “passed away peacefully at home”. Thames Valley Police said South Central Ambulance Service attended a property in Goring in Oxfordshire at 13:42 GMT. Police say there were no suspicious circumstances. Michael, who was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in north London, sold more than 100m albums throughout a career spanning almost four decades. Earlier this month it was announced that producer and songwriter Naughty Boy was working with Michael on a new album. In a statement, the star’s publicist said: “It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period. [BBC]
Michael performing on stage on the Faith World Tour in 1988.

Other News Stories –

Arts and culture

Pope Francis pleads for peace in a Christmas Mass in the Vatican. (Voice of America)

Business and economy

Bezeq, an Israeli telecoms company, says that it has received word from the country’s telecoms regulator that it will be allowed to end the “structural separation” of its business operations by product (i.e. mobile phone, internet, land lines). (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Chiloé earthquake
- A magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Chile spurs tsunami warnings. (BBC)
2016 Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 crash
- A Russian Tu-154 military passenger airplane carrying 92 people including the Alexandrov Ensemble crashes into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff from Sochi. The airplane was headed towards Khmeimim, Syria. The Russian Armed Forces are actively involved in the Syrian Civil War. (The Telegraph) (Al Jazeera) (FOX News)
2016 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Nock-ten (Nina) strikes the Philippines. (BBC)
The German city of Augsburg is evacuated after a World War II-era explosive is discovered in the town. Explosive experts later defused the bomb. (The New York Times)

Health

Medical research reveals shrinkage in women’s brains as a result of pregnancy. Loss of gray matter in certain regions of the brain may make the brain more efficient and specialized for child-rearing. There is also evidence of links to long-term changes in brain. (ScienceNews) (Nature)

International relations

Afghanistan‘s first female Air Force pilot Niloofar Rahmani files for asylum in the United States. (Reuters)
Pakistan releases Indian fishermen caught in its territory as a gesture of goodwill. (Deutsche Welle)

Law and crime

2016 Turkish purges
- Turkey probes around 10,000 social media users for allegedly insulting government officials or supporting “terror-related activity.” (BBC)
A producer of Al Jazeera is arrested in Egypt. (Reuters)

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December 27, 2016

Top News Stories –

Carrie Fisher, Star Wars actress, dies aged 60 –
US actress Carrie Fisher, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars series, has died aged 60, days after suffering a cardiac arrest. Fisher was taken ill on a flight from London to LA on Friday and was taken to hospital when the plane landed. But a family statement said with “deep sadness” she died on Tuesday morning. As well as starring in other films such as The Blues Brothers and When Harry Met Sally, Fisher also wrote four novels and three memoirs. The daughter of singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher made her film debut opposite Warren Beatty in 1975’s Shampoo. But far greater fame was to follow when she played Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, a role she reprised in last year’s reboot The Force Awakens. She endured a difficult private life, and has often discussed her years of mental illness and drug addiction. [BBC]
Fisher with fellow Star Wars actors Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, July 2015

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War
- Government forces push to capture a Houthi enclave in Bayhan District, on the border between Shabwa and Marib provinces, resulting at least 28 Houthi militants and 12 Yemeni soldiers killed. (Dunya News)

Arts and culture

Carrie Fisher, the actress and writer best known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, dies following complications from a heart attack. (E! News)

Business and economy

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission gives the antitrust go ahead to Abbott Laboratories in its acquisition of St. Jude Medical. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Pacific typhoon season, Typhoon Nock-ten (2016)
- The Philippine Coast Guard looks for 18 missing sailors from a ship sunk by Typhoon Nock-ten (Nina). At least seven people are confirmed to have died in the storm. (AP via Daily Mail)
At least 27 people are killed after drinking toxic alcohol in Pakistan. (The New York Times), (UPI)

International relations

Israel‘s Foreign Ministry announces that it is “reducing” ties with some of the UN Security Council countries that voted to pass United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334. (Business Insider), (NBC News)
Japan–United States relations
- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe makes a landmark visit to Naval Station Pearl Harbor in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, offering “sincere and everlasting condolences” to the victims of the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese empire on December 7, 1941. (BBC)

Law and crime

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the Christian Governor of the Indonesian capital Jakarta, will face prosecution for blasphemy. (ABC)
Former President of Argentina Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is indicted on corruption charges. (The Telegraph)
Cuba‘s National Assembly of People’s Power approves a law banning commemorative statues of late President Fidel Castro, and the naming of public places after him, in accordance with the wishes of Castro, who died last month. (Reuters)

Science and technology

The cheetah faces extinction after it is discovered that only 7,100 specimens are left alive in the wild as a result of a sudden crash in population. (BBC)

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The 2010s

The story of a decade

Yearly Archives: 2016

December 18, 2016

Film

December 23, 2016

December 25, 2016

December 27, 2016