Top News Stories –

Lorry full of honey bees overturns in Washington State –
A lorry carrying honeybees has overturned in the US state of Washington, spewing bees across a motorway. The accident scattered boxes “containing millions of live bees across the highway”, KIRO 7 News reported. Each of the boxes contains about 5,000 live bees, some were crushed in the accident while others were freed. Beekeepers used smoke to try and calm the bees before the sun rose, which would raise temperatures and agitate the bees. At daybreak many of the boxes remained on the road and the bees became more active. The fire brigade was called to spray the bees with foam, which resulted in their death. [BBC]

All Nippon Airways Announces ‘Star Wars’ Project With R2-D2 Painted Jet –
In honor of the iconic movie series, the airline will paint one of its brand-new Boeing 787s with an R2-D2 motif. An apparent video rendering of the R2-D2 plane, released on YouTube Thursday, shows the nose of the plane decorated with R2-D2’s signature blue and white stripes, along with graphics depicting the robot’s various ports. A massive “Star Wars” logo dominates the rear of the plane. The R2-D2 jet marks the start of five-year All Nippon Airways “Star Wars” project, which will include “a range of novel initiatives,” the airline announced on its website. (also see Video of the Day) [The Huffington Post]

Japan’s magnetically levitated vehicle train sets new speed record –
Japan’s magnetically levitated (maglev) train has set a new speed record, hitting 366.61mph on a test track. Central Japan Railway Co., which is developing a vehicle that it sees as the long-distance, mass transportation system of the future, is aiming to break the 600km per hour (372.82mph) in more tests scheduled for next week. The seven-car maglev surpassed the previous record, which it sent in December 2003, for a period of 19 seconds on JR Central’s test track in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, on Thursday. The company is pushing ahead in its development of the maglev, which uses magnetic pulses to propel the carriages, doing away with the need for wheels, axles and bearings, after being granted approval to construct a track between Tokyo and Nagoya. [Daily Telegraph]
The SCMaglev test track in the Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan

James Anderson breaks Sir Ian Botham’s England wicket record –
English cricketer James Anderson surpassed Sir Ian Botham as England’s highest Test wicket-taker with his 384th dismissal in his 100th match. Anderson, 32, had West Indies’ Denesh Ramdin caught at first slip on the final day of the first Test in Antigua. The seamer, who began the Test on 380 wickets, was mobbed by his team-mates as his family celebrated in the crowd. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Teaser #2 –

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Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant:
  • Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad says that the “most dangerous” leaders of ISIS are Scandinavians. (The Local)
  • Up to 150,000 civilians flee the Iraqi city of Ramadi which is under siege from Islamic State. (BBC/AFP via ABC News Australia)
  • Iraqi officials claim that militia leader Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri has been killed in fighting in Salahuddin province. Al-Douri was the highest ranking member of Saddam Hussein’s government not to be captured.(BBC)
  • A suicide car bombing outside the U.S. consulate in Erbil in Iraq’s Kurdish region kills three and injures 14. ISIS claims responsibility. (Miami Herald) (CBS News) (Reuters)
• Mexican Drug War
  • Gunfire and roadblocks are reported in the city of Reynosa on the border with the US after local leader “El Gate” of the Gulf Cartel is arrested.(Reuters via Daily Mail)

Arts and culture

• Univisión announce that Sábado Gigante, the longest-running television variety series in history, will end after 53 years on September 19, 2015.(THR)

International relations

• Satellite images show that the China is rapidly building a runway on the Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea. (BBC)

Religion

• Francis Eugene Cardinal George, who served as Archbishop Emeritus of Chicago and as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), dies after a multi-year battle with bladder and kidney cancer at age 78. (Chicago Tribune) (Archdiocese of Chicago)

Science

• Bouvier’s red colobus, a species of monkey last seen in the 1970s and thought to possibly be extinct, is rediscovered in the Republic of Congo.(Discovery News)

Sports

• In cricket, James Anderson becomes the highest wicket taking bowler for England in test cricket in a drawn test match against the West Indies inAntigua. (The Telegraph)

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