2015-07 - The 2010s

July 1, 2015

Top News Stories –

Katy Perry plans to buy former convent scuppered by nuns –
Katy Perry’s plans to buy a former convent in Los Angeles are being held up by a group of nuns. The sisters, who used to live on the site in the San Gabriel Mountains, say they’ve already sold it to a local restaurateur, Dana Hollister. But the local archbishop says the convent isn’t theirs to sell and has started legal action to stop it. Perry, the daughter of two Pentecostal preachers, reportedly met with the nuns in May to plead her case. “I found Katy Perry and I found her videos and… if it’s all right to say, I wasn’t happy with any of it,” Sister Rita Callanan told the Los Angeles Times. [BBC Newsbeat]
Katy Perry

Hottest July day ever recorded in UK –
The UK has seen the hottest July day on record, with temperatures hitting 36.7C (98F). The Met Office said the reading had been registered at Heathrow – breaking the previous record set in 2006. 38.5C (101.3F) is the hottest temperature ever recorded in the UK in Faversham, Kent in August 2003. A level 3 “heatwave action” heat-health alert has been declared for all parts of England. [BBC] See Top Twitter Trends

Billy Joel Bests Elton John, Sets New Record at MSG –
Billy Joel set a record for most performances by a single artist at Madison Square Garden with his 65th show Wednesday night, besting Elton John. “I didn’t know I’d be here 65 times, amazing,” Joel said. “I want to thank you very much for making this possible.” A banner rose to the top of the stage in honor of Joel’s 65th show. Actor-comedian Kevin James came onstage to help the veteran musician celebrate. [Elton] John, 68, previously had the MSG record with 64 performances. Joel sang John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” as yellow lights beamed from the stage.
Billy Joel

Video of the Day –

Steve Jobs – Official Trailer

List of the Day –

Billy Joel studio albums

Cold Spring Harbor (1971)
Piano Man (1973)
Streetlife Serenade (1974)
Turnstiles (1976)
The Stranger (1977)
52nd Street (1978)
Glass Houses (1980)
The Nylon Curtain (1982)
An Innocent Man (1983)
The Bridge (1986)
Storm Front (1989)
River of Dreams (1993)
Fantasies & Delusions (2001)

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#BuyCoolForTheSummerOniTunes	#LiesIveToldMyParents	#hottestdayoftheyear
2	#hottestdayoftheyear	#CanadaDay	#InternationalJokeDay
3	#LiesIveToldMyParents	#InternationalJokeDay	1st of July
4	#BienvenidoJulio	#AddGoatRuinAQuote	#AddGoatRuinAQuote
5	#الوليد_بن_طلا�…	#AskPOTUS	#CanadaDay
6	#MasterChefBR	Anthony Davis	Sir Nicholas Winton
7	#CanadaDay	Kevin Love	#BuyCoolForTheSummerOniTunes
8	#AddGoatRuinAQuote	Dukes of Hazzard	Debbie Harry
9	SASUKE	Aminu	Heathrow
10	Tiembla Chile	#BuyCoolForTheSummerOniTunes	#USAGER

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War (2015)
- Shells fired by Houthi forces have killed at least 18 people near the southern port city of Aden, meanwhile United Nations officials have warned that a deadly dengue fever outbreak is rapidly gaining pace in the war-torn country. (Reuters)
Sinai insurgency
- Militants launch attacks on Egyptian Armed Forces checkpoints in North Sinai, leaving dozens of security personnel and insurgents killed. TheIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the assaults. (Times of India)(AP)
Egypt‘s security forces kill nine ‘terrorists’ during a raid in a Western Cairo suburb. The group were among “the most dangerous terrorists” wanted in Egypt according to Giza deputy security director Magdy Abd El-Aal. It has also been reported that Nasser El-Hafi, a former MP and a leading lawyer for the Muslim Brotherhood was among those killed. (Ahram)

Arts and culture

The Episcopal Church in the United States adopts its liturgy for same sex marriages. (General Convention), (NBC News)

Business and economy

Greek government-debt crisis
- Greece becomes the first advanced economy to miss a payment to the International Monetary Fund in the 71-year history of the IMF, unwinding decades of precedent and affecting consequences for the fund’s future rescues. (Financial Times) (IMF)
- The Prime Minister of Greece Alex Tsipras has written to creditors claiming he will accept a bailout but with conditions. (Daily Telegraph)
- Moody’s Investors Service downgrades Greek bonds further to caa3 saying that it expects the country to default further without further support from official creditors. (Reuters)
The World Bank urges the People’s Republic of China to undertake financial reforms to keep economic growth on track. (AP)
The United Kingdom Airports Commission issues its report recommending a new runway at Heathrow. (BBC), (ITV)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Indonesia Hercules C-130 crash
- The death toll from yesterday’s crash in the Indonesian city of Medan rises to 141. (The Guardian)

International relations

The Russian gas company Gazprom suspends shipments of gas to Ukraine following a payment dispute. (BBC)
The United States and Cuba officially announce that embassies will be reopened in each other’s countries for the first time since 1961. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Thousands of people are expected at a pro-democracy demonstration in Hong Kong on a holiday to mark the transfer from British to Chinese rule.(AP)
Burundian legislative election, 2015
- The President of Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza claims victory for his National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy coalition despite the fact that opposition parties did not contest the election. (African Media Agency via Mail and Guardian)
The Constitutional Court of Russia rules that it is constitutional to hold the 2016 legislative election in September rather than early December. (AP via Fox News)

Science and technology

The black hole in the Milky Way galaxy‘s V404 Cygni system wakes up (becomes energized, with a flow of gamma rays and very brief intense flashes of light) after 26 years, as determined by a telescope and other instruments. (MSN)

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July 2, 2015

Top News Stories –

Robot kills man at Volkswagen plant in Germany –
A robot has killed a man at a Volkswagen car factory in Germany. The 22-year-old worker died from injuries he sustained when he was trapped by a robotic arm and crushed against a metal plate. The man, who has not been named, was part of a team that was setting up the automated machinery at the factory in Kassel, north of Frankfurt, according to Volkswagen. The robot in question is a mechanical arm that moves car parts into place, said Heiko Hillwig, a spokesman for the company. [Daily Telegraph]

Wimbledon 2015: Rafael Nadal dumped out of tournament by inspired Dustin Brown –
Wimbledon has a new cult hero. Dustin Brown, in a blur of flying dreadlocks and pure inspiration, on Thursday night produced one of the most thrilling upsets ever witnessed on these lawns by defeating the great Rafael Nadal in four breathlessly brilliant sets. With a combination of Sampras-esque serving and improvised groundstrokes that would not have looked out of place on the local park courts, the Jamaican-born German, who enraptured Centre Court by his Rastafarian cool, found an abundance of raw adrenalin to close out his astonishing 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 triumph. [Daily Telegraph] See Top Twitter Trends
Dustin Brown

Selfies to replace passwords in Mastercard online payments trial –
Mastercard is testing new app that could allow customers to make purchases online by taking a selfie rather than entering a password. Currently, Mastercard customers use a system called SecureCode to verify their identity while shopping online. This requires them to enter a password at the point of sale. Participants in Mastercard’s trial will be prompted to snap a photograph of their face using the Mastercard app on their smartphone at the online checkout point, rather than entering a password. This app then converts the photo into 1s and 0s using facial recognition technology, and transmits it over the internet to MasterCard, which compares it with a stored code representing the cardholder’s face. If the two codes match up, then the purchase will be approved. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Wingsuit Flight Through 2 Meter Cave – Uli Emanuele By GoPro Original Productions

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SiYoFueraPresidente	#ThingsIGetAlot	#BBHMMVideo
2	#EstaComoPara	#AyeMaOniTunes	Alton Towers
3	Jacobo Zabludovsky	#HowIShowMyAge	#Lionesses
4	#BBHMMVideo	#BuyDirtyWorkOniTunes	#HowIShowMyAge
5	#محاكمه_العواج…	#BBHMMVideo	Val Doonican
6	#UnutMadımaklımda	#LiesIveToldAGuy	Dustin Brown
7	#TrocoGenteFalsaPor	#ComicConAilments	#AskZoella
8	#هل_تتزوج_فتاه_…	#100DaysSinceZaynLeft	#CILIPConf15
9	#CunhaGolpista	Dustin Brown	#LiesIveToldMyParents
10	#QuintaDoFavQSdv	Cadet Kelly	Laura Bassett

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Sinai insurgency: July 2015 Sinai attacks
- Egypt vows to continue an offensive on the Sinai Peninsula until ISIL militants have been removed. A hundred people have been killed in fighting in the past two days. (BBC)
- Egyptian Air Force air strikes in the Sinai Peninsula kill at least 23 ISIS-linked militants a day after the deadliest clashes in the region in years.(Reuters)
Boko Haram
- Boko Haram gunmen kill scores of people in attacks on the Nigerian towns of Kukawa and Musarram in recent days. (Agencies via WA Today)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Airstrikes on Sanaa kill eight, according to Houthi officials. (AP)
An attack on a convoy in northern Mali kills six UN Peacekeepers. (AP)

Business and economy

Deepwater Horizon oil spill
- London-based BP agrees, pending court approval, to pay $US18.7 billion to compensate the United States government and the five Gulf Coast states–Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas–for damages stemming from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The settlement includes a civil penalty of $US5.5 billion under the Clean Water Act. (Fortune) (AP via Washington Post)
According to a statement from Ukraine‘s nuclear energy authority, Yadernoye Toplivo, a private U.S. nuclear energy company, ConverDyn, could begin helping Ukraine in the production of enriched uranium (specifically, jointly building the uranium hexafluoride production facilities), which at lower or moderate levels is used for peaceful nuclear fuel purposes in civilian nuclear reactors. This comes a day after Russia shut off natural gassupplies to the country after the two failed to reach agreement; Poland and Slovakia can provide their needs until the winter months. (MSN)

Disasters and accidents

Sinking of the Kim Nirvana
- The Kim Nirvana ferry capsizes off the Philippines en route from the city of Ormoc to Camotes island with 173 people onboard. So far at least 33 people are confirmed dead while at least 50 people have been rescued. (AFP via ABC Online), (BBC)

Law and crime

The Washington Navy Yard, in the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C., was locked down after a 7:29 a.m. report of gunfire in the building that was the site of the 2013 Washington Navy Yard shooting, which killed 12 and injured three. The police declared “all clear” around 10:00 a.m. after a thorough search found no signs of a shooter or any weapons. Earlier this week, U.S. Homeland Security had issued a warning about possibleJuly 4th Holiday incidents. (MSN) (CNN) (Washington Post)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Former Senator Jim Webb announces that he will seek the Democratic Party nomination. (Fox News)

Health and medicine

Health officials announced that a 21-year-old woman from Bishop, California had died June 20th at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno,Nevada from cardiac arrest caused by the rare brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri. Originally diagnosed as meningitis, primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) cases are rare but generally fatal. (Reno Gazette-Journal) (Inquisitr.com)
The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Stroke Association publish guidelines saying that, as emergency treatment for stroke, the use of stent retrievers (blood clot removal devices), when given at specialized centers, after the use of human tissue plasminogen activator(tPA) to treat some types of ischemic strokes involving blockages in the main arteries that supply the human brain (cerebral arteries), can significantly improve prognosis (mortality and morbidity rates and the chances of avoiding handicap or disability and regaining full or better function). (AHA)
The U.S.’s National Institute of Medicine (IOM), a branch of the U.S. National Academies, releases a report calling for wider and improved training in basic life support (BLS): rapid and correct cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), for the unconscious with no breathing and no pulse, followed as soon as possible, if available and a shockable rhythm is present, crucial defibrillation by an increasingly common automated external defibrillator (AED). They advocate for a major public education effort, making it a high school graduation requirement, and for more training among seniors. (Huffington Post), (IOM)

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July 3, 2015

Top News Stories –

Solar Impulse completes epic flight to Hawaii –
Solar Impulse, the aeroplane that is powered only by the sun, has landed in Hawaii after making a historic 7,200km flight across the Pacific from Japan. Pilot Andre Borschberg brought the vehicle gently down on to the runway of Kalaeloa Airport at 05:55 local time (15:55 GMT; 16:55 BST). The distance covered and the time spent in the air – 118 hours – are records for manned, solar-powered flight. The duration is also an absolute record for a solo, un-refuelled journey. Mr Borschberg’s time betters that of the American adventurer Steve Fossett who spent 76 hours aloft in a single-seater jet in 2006. [BBC] See Video of the Day
Solar Impulse

Music streaming reaches a record high in 2015 –
Music streaming has reached a record high in the UK, with the number of songs played rising by 80% compared to this time last year. New figures from the British Phonographic Industry show there have been 11.5 billion streams in the first six months of 2015. That’s compared to 14.8 billion for the whole of 2014. Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk is the most streamed track of the year, with 45 million plays. [BBC Newsbeat]
Mark Ronson

BP reaches £12bn record settlement over Gulf oil spill –
British Petroleum has agreed to pay the largest settlement by a single company in US history over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. deal, which is still awaiting approval, will be worth $18.7bn (£12bn). Over 125 million gallons of oil were spilt into the Gulf after an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in 2010. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Solar Impulse Airplane: Landing in Hawaii

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	サマーウォーズ	#SingleBecause	#100DaysSinceZaynLeft
2	#SingleBecause	#NothingMoreAmericanThan	#SingleBecause
3	#LoUnicoQuePidoEs	#ThingsIRevoltAgainst	#fridayfeeling
4	#100DaysSinceZaynLeft	#ToughenUpACartoon	#ThingsIGetAlot
5	#استشهاد_رجل_ا�…	Humana	#NothingMoreAmericanThan
6	#JustinBiberSatanista	#1Droasts	Falcao
7	#BuenViernes	#4thofJulyweekend	Kids Company
8	Hayırlı Cumalar	Serena	#bbcqt
9	BuyCoolForTheSummerOniTunes	#USMNT	Kyrgios
10	#NaMinhaInfanciaEu	Happy 4th of July	#celebritymasterchef

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Turkey deploys additional troops along its border with Syria as fighting intensifies. (france24 with Reuters)
Boko Haram insurgency
- Toll of Boko Haram massacre in northeastern Nigeria rises to nearly 170.(News 24)(Naij)

2015 Sousse attacks
- The United Kingdom holds a minute of silence at midday to commemorate the 38 people – including 30 Britons – killed in Tunisia a week ago.(BBC)
Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
- A United States drone strike kills at least four militants in Yemen. (AFP via Frnce24)

Arts and culture

The XV International Tchaikovsky Competition concludes with a ceremony awarding top prizes to Dmitry Masleev in piano, Yu-Chien Tseng in violin, Andrei Ionuț Ioniță in cello, as well as Yulia Matochkina and Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar in voice. (medici.tv) (Reuters)

Business and economy

American health insurer Aetna agrees to buy competitor Humana in a $37 billion deal. (AP)
A UBS whistle blower is assisting the government of Brazil in its investigation of currency manipulation by global banks, according to a Brazilian paper. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Six people are dead following an explosion at a chemical plant in Ulsan in South Korea. (Yonhap), (AP via ABC News America)
2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Chan-hom strengthens as it heads towards the Pacific island of Guam. (Accuweather)
At least four people are dead and 48 injured following a 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Pishan County in China‘s Xinjiang region. (BBC)
Sinking of the Kim Nirvana
- The death toll from yesterday’s capsizing of the M/B Nivana off the coast of the Philippines rises to 56 as murder charges are filed against the owner and crew. (AP via USA Today), (AFP via Straits Times)

Health and medicine

Research shows that during the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa, the ReEBOV Antigen Rapid Test, developed by Corgenix, showed promise as a bedside rapid Ebola test, successfully detecting Ebolavirus. (Harvard), (Corgenix), (The Lancet)
At least 29 people have died in a cholera outbreak in South Sudan. (AFP via Daily Star)

Law and crime

Phil Walsh, the coach of the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League, is stabbed to death in his home with his son charged with murder. (ABC News Australia)
Dutch police detain 200 young people in The Hague for not following curfew as violence continues in the Schilderswijk district for a fourth night.(AFP via Daily Star)
Jeffrey Webb, a former Vice President of FIFA and President of CONCACAF, is reportedly charged with healthcare fraud in his native Cayman Islands. (Eurosport via Yahoo!)

Politics and elections

Danish general election, 2015
- Pia Kjærsgaard becomes the first woman to be elected speaker of the Danish parliament, the Folketing. (Politiko.dk/Berlingske)

Science and technology

The U.S. Air Force‘s outgoing chief scientist, Mica Endsley, announces plans for an unmanned hypersonic flying weapon by 2023, which could travel at least up to Mach 5. (CNN)
Solar Impulse project
- The solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse 2 landed in Hawaii from Japan, completing the longest leg of its circumnavigation trip starting in Abu Dhabi. (BBC)

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July 4, 2015

Top News Stories –

Matt Stonie beats Joey Chestnut in Fourth of July hot dog eating contest –
America’s Independence Day celebrations were overshadowed on Saturday by the shock defeat of the country’s champion hot dog eating star. Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, 32, began strongly at the annual Nathan’s Famous contest in Coney Island, New York, before being overhauled and beaten by Matt “Megatoad” Stonie, who polished off 62 frankfurters and buns in 10 minutes (to add to a bacon eating record he claimed earlier this year). Mr Chestnut, unbeaten for eight years, fell two short. He managed a smile as he conceded defeat in front of thousands of fans. [Daily Telegraph] See List of the Day
Joey Chesnut

Chile beat Argentina on Penalties to win Copa America –
Chile secured the first major trophy in their history on home soil courtesy of a penalty shootout win over Argentina in the Copa America final.
Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez slotted in the winning spot-kick after Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain fired over and Ever Banega was denied by Claudio Bravo.
Higuain had earlier missed from close range after 90 minutes of few chances. Sanchez came closest in extra time for Chile, who scored all four of their penalties in the shootout. [BBC]
Alexis Sanchez (playing for Arsenal)

England finish third in the Women’s World Cup beating Germany 1-0 –
Fara Williams’s extra-time penalty ensured England beat Germany for the first time in 31 years to finish third at the Women’s World Cup. The performance was the second best by an England team following the 1966 win by the men’s side and eclipsed the 1990 men’s team, who finished fourth in Italy. The Lionesses had not beaten two-time World Cup winners Germany in 20 attempts but they more than matched their opponents and won the spot-kick in the second period of extra-time after substitute Lianne Sanderson was brought down by Tabea Kemme. Williams, who is England’s record cap holder and was homeless at one point in her England career, beat retiring German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer for her third penalty of the tournament. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Car Chase by Vania Heymann

List of the Day –

Joey Chesnut World Eating Records (as of July 4, 2015)

Deep Fried Asparagus Eating Championship in Stockton, California, May 2014: 12.8 lbs. deep fried asparagus in 10 minutes.
Pork ribs: 13.76 pounds pork rib meat in 12 minutes at John Ascuaga’s Nugget Casino Resort during the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off in Sparks, Nevada on August 28, 2013.
(Hot Dogs) Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs and buns (HDB): 69 HDB in 10 minutes during the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, New York on July 4, 2013.
Matzoh Balls: 78 matzoh balls in 8 minutes at Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen Restaurant in Houston, Texas on March 2, 2008
Bratwurst: 70 bratwursts in 10 minutes at Oktoberfest Zinzinnati in Cincinnati, OH on September 22, 2013.
Hard Boiled Eggs: 141 hard-boiled eggs in 8 minutes at the Radcliff Fall Festival in Radcliff, KY on October 5, 2013.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Happy 4th of July	Happy 4th of July	Happy 4th of July
2	#MeEncantaQue	Joe Budden	#IndependenceDay
3	#HarrysFriendIsMissing	#BeastInTheEast	#storm
4	#VamosVamosArgentina	#MakeABandUnhealthy	#ToughenUpACartoon
5	#EsMuyComunEnMiQue	#dontjudgechallenge	Skepta
6	Çinli	#CookoutNewsNetwork	#MakeABandUnhealthy
7	#IndependenceDay	#HarrysFriendIsMissing	#BeastInTheEast
8	#LasMinasQueremos	#americanproblemsnight	#HarrysFriendIsMissing
9	#musicday	Roy Hibbert	Fawkes
10	Beligoy	#DescribeYourSexLifeWithAMeal	Joe Budden

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Donbass
- A rally of war veterans in Kiev calls for Ukraine to abandon the Minsk II ceasefire agreement and to declare war on pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region. Despite two ceasefire agreements since September combat operations, including the use of heavy artillery and ballistic missiles, never stopped.(BBC)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Yemen‘s Houthi rebels shell the Saudi Arabian cities of Jizan and Najran with claims of several Saudi soldiers being killed. (Reuters via Daily Star)
Second Libyan Civil War
- At least ten civilians are killed when three separate car bombs exploded simultaneously in the eastern coastal city of Derna. (Yahoo news via AP)
Sinai insurgency
- A shell kills a woman and her two children as fighting continues on the Sinai Peninsula between the Egyptian Army and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants. (AFP via Times of India)
Syrian Civil War
- Mosque bombing in northern Syria kills 15 members of Al Qaida’s affiliate Nusra Front. (Fox News via Associated Press)
- The Syrian Army and Hezbollah launch an offensive to capture the rebel-held Syrian city of Zabadani. (Al-Arabiyah)
- Kurdish People’s Protection Units advance on the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant de-facto capital city of Raqqa. (ALJazeera)
- ISIL militants execute 25 Syrian Army soldiers in the ancient city of Palmyra. (Al-Arabiya)
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- The Azerbaijani military shoots down two Armenian drones over Azeri positions according to Azerbaijan’s defense ministry. (TREND)

Arts and culture

The Republic of China (Taiwan) holds a large military parade in Taipei to commemorate World War II in support of its claims that Kuomintangforces led by Chiang Kai-Shek played a leading role in the defeat of the Empire of Japan with the Chinese Communist Party under Mao Tse-Tungplaying a minor role. (AP)
UNESCO adds new sites to the World Heritage List including the French wine producing regions of Champagne and Burgundy. (AFP via Straits Times)

Disasters and accidents

At least nine people have been killed and 30 injured following a factory collapse in the city of Wenling in Zhejiang province. (AP via Star Tribune)
A wildfire in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan forces 8,000 people from their homes. (CBC)

Law and crime

A South Korean navy officer is charged with leaking confidential information to China. (RTHK)(AFP via Sky News)
Abdul Gani Patail, the Attorney General of Malaysia, says that a probe of troubled state owned investment bank 1Malaysia Development Berhadhas uncovered documents that show the transfer of money into private accounts of the Prime Minister Najib Razak. (Market Watch)

Politics

2015 Sousse attacks
- Tunisia’s President Beji Caid Essebsi declares state of emergency. (VOA News)
Tupou VI is officially crowned as the King of Tonga. (BBC)
Fidel Castro makes his first public appearance at a Cuban cheese factory since February 2015. (UPI)

Sport

2015 Tour de France
- In cycling, the 2015 Tour de France gets underway in the Dutch city of Utrecht with an individual time trial. (The Guardian)
2015 Super Rugby season
- The Highlanders from the New Zealand region of Otago defeat the Hurricanes from the New Zealand capital Wellington in the Super Rugby final 21-14. It is the Highlanders first Super 15 final. (The Age)
2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup
- In association football, England defeats Germany 1-0 through a extra time penalty goal by Fara Williams to win third place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. (BBC)
2015 Copa América
- In football, the Chile national football team win the Copa América for the first time, defeating Argentina 4–1 in a penalty shoot-out following a 0–0 draw.(The Guardian), (BBC)

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July 5, 2015

Top News Stories –

Greece votes ‘No’ and gambles its future –
Greek voters have delivered a defiant response to Europe. Political leaders and heads of government had lined up to warn the Greeks that a “No” vote would be a vote to leave the euro. It did not deter them. Indeed many voters seemed to revel in their resistance. The European Project is now facing its gravest crisis. [BBC]

USA beat Japan 5-2 in Women’s FIFA World Cup Final –
Carli Lloyd scored an incredible 13-minute hat-trick as the United States thrashed Japan to win their third Women’s World Cup title. In a repeat of the 2011 final, which Japan won on penalties, the Nadeshiko could not live with their stronger and quicker opponents, who went 4-0 up when Lloyd scored an astonishing third from the halfway line. The pulsating finale to an entertaining tournament was the highest-scoring final in the tournament’s history, and matched the highest scoring men’s final, when Brazil defeated Sweden by the same scoreline in 1958. [BBC] See Video of the Day
Carli Lloyd

Video of the Day –

List of the Day –

FIFA Women’s World Cup results [from Wikipedia]

Year	Host	Champions	Score	Runners-up	Third Place	Score	Fourth Place	Teams
1991	China	United States	2–1	Norway	Sweden	4–0	Germany	12
1995	Sweden	Norway	2–0	Germany	United States	2–0	China PR	12
1999	United States	United States	0–0 a.e.t. (5–4 pen)	China PR	Brazil	0–0 ^[A] (5–4 pen)	Norway	16
2003	United States	Germany	2–1 asdet	Sweden	United States	3–1	Canada	16
2007	China	Germany	2–0	Brazil	United States	4–1	Norway	16
2011	Germany	Japan	2–2 a.e.t. (3–1 pen)	United States	Sweden	2–1	France	16
2015	Canada	United States	5–2	Japan	England	1–0 a.e.t.	Germany	24

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#ToNoTwitterPq	Happy 5th of July	#greekreferendum
2	#QueLindoEstariaQue	#USAvJPN	Chile
3	デスノート	#dontjudgechallange	Messi
4	#Grefenderum	#ImThatGirlfriend	#UKBuyWorthIt
5	AGUANTE MESSI CARETAS	#YouMightBeARacist	#PutWalesinaFilm
6	Dragon Ball Super	#WeLoveYouHalsey	Argentina
7	#كم_رصيد_حسابك	#BadCharitiesToDonateTo	#YouMightBeARacist
8	#شي_مانستغني_عنه	#MakeAMovieMoreAmerican	Sanchez
9	Messi	Best 4th of July	#BritishGP
10	Vidal	Take Jackson Off the $20 Bill	#marr

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts

American-led intervention in Syria
- A United States bombing campaign against ISIL has killed at least 30 people in the Syrian city of Al-Raqqah. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Iraq War (2014–present)
- Iraqi government air strikes kill at least 73 people in the ISIL held cities of Ramadi and Fallujah. (Al-Jazeera)
War in North-West Pakistan
- A roadside bomb in North Waziristan kills at least three Pakistan Army soldiers and injures six others. (AFP via Daily Star)
Boko Haram
- A suicide bomber attacks a church in the Potiskum area of Nigeria‘s Yobe State, killing five and raising the toll of Boko Haram attacks for the past week to 200. (BBC) (DailyStar via AP)

Arts and culture

UNESCO adds more sites to the World Heritage List including the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park in the US city of San Antonio, Texasand Scotland‘s Forth Bridge. (My San Antonio), (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Over 1000 people in the Philippines are stranded temporarily by Severe Tropical Storm Linfa (Egay) as landslides occur in Palawan province.(GMA Network)
Canadian wildfires
- More than 60 wildfires start in the Canadian province of British Columbia over the weekend leading to several communities declaring a state of emergency. (CBC)
- Nearly 1,000 military personnel are sent to fight wildfires in Saskatchewan, (CTV)

Politics and elections

Greek bailout referendum, 2015
- Greek voters solidly rejected (61.3 percent) the latest austerity proposal of the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and theEuropean Central Bank. (Sky News), (The Guardian) (Reuters)
- The Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and the President of France Francois Hollande call for an international summit of Eurozone leaders to discuss the next moves. (Bloomberg)
- The Greek opposition leader Antonis Samaras resigns as leader of his party, New Democracy; the new temporary leader is Evangelos Meimarakis. (To Vima)

Science and technology

A Russian space capsule reaches the International Space Station allowing resupply of provisions after the crash of the SpaceX space capsule last week. (CNN)

Sports

2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup
- The United States defeats defending champion Japan, 5-2, to win the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Vancouver, British Columbia,Canada. (BBC) (AP via Washington Post)
2015 British Grand Prix
- In motorsport, Lewis Hamilton wins the race for the second consecutive year with team mate Nico Rosberg finishing second. (News24)

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July 6, 2015

Top News Stories –

Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro held at gunpoint for second time in year as robbers steal his car –
Armed thieves carjacked Rio de Janeiro’s archbishop, making off with his car and briefly holding the driver hostage in the 2016 Olympic host city’s latest brazen act of street crime. Archbishop Orani Tempesta was returning home with two Italian friends late on Sunday after celebrating Mass when his car was attacked in northern Rio, police and the archbishop’s office said on Monday. [Daily Telegraph]

Rory McIlroy sustains major ankle injury in build-up to Open –
World number one and defending champion Rory McIlroy is a doubt for the Open after totally rupturing an ankle ligament playing football with friends. The 2015 Open begins in nine days’ time at St Andrews in Scotland. McIlroy, 26, wrote on Instagram: “Total rupture of left ATFL (ankle ligament) and associated joint capsule damage in a soccer kickabout with friends. “Continuing to assess extent of injury and treatment plan day by day. Rehab already started.” [BBC]

Rory McIlroy Instagram

Astronomers discover ‘monster black holes’ –
Five monster black holes that were previously hidden by dust and gas have been uncovered by astronomers. The British-led discovery suggests there may be millions more “supermassive” black holes in the universe than were previously thought. Supermassive black holes are powerful cosmic “drains” sucking material into a point of infinite density formed from the compressed mass of hundreds of thousands to billions of suns. High energy X-rays emitted from around the newly identified black holes revealed their presence at the centre of five galaxies. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Elsewhere from Stefaan De Croock on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#ConEsteFrioYo	#mondaymotivation	#MondayMotivation
2	#FelizLunes	#HappyBirthdayAshton	Hope Solo
3	東京女子大学篠崎��…	#RipRosalind	#InternationalKissingDay
4	#HojeÉoDiaDoBeijoEEu	#NationalFriedChickenDay	Carli Lloyd
5	#HappyBirthdayAshton	#musicmonday	#USAvJPN
6	Hope Solo	Bill Cosby	#HappyBirthdayAshton
7	飼育難易度	Frank Ocean	Yanis Varoufakis
8	#QuieroYa	Rory McIlroy	Alex Morgan
9	Alex Morgan	#WeekendRegretsIn5Words	#iofnfc
10	#お前らしくないツ�…	Kourtney and Scott	Kourtney and Scott

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraq War (2014–present)
- An Iraqi Air Force Sukhoi Su-25 jet, returning from a bombing raid against ISIL militants in the north, accidentally drops a bomb on Baghdaddestroying several homes and killing at least 7 civilians. (Sky News)
Yemeni Civil War (2015)
- An air-strike by the Saudi-led coalition on the southern port city of Aden kills at least 30 people. It is unclear how many of the dead are civilians or Houthi rebels. (BBC)
Boko Haram insurgency, Timeline of Boko Haram insurgency
- Two bomb attacks on the central Nigerian city of Jos have left at least 44 people dead. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

A Russian Su-24 military aircraft crashes while taking off from an airfield in the Khabarovsk region in Russian Far East on a nighttime training flight and both pilots are killed. (NY Times)

International relations

Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, calls for a new investigation into the death of former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld in a plane crash after a panel he appointed uncovers new evidence. (New York Times)

Politics and elections

Greek bailout referendum, 2015
- Yanis Varoufakis resigns as the Greek Minister of Finance despite the success of the “no” vote which supported his views. (AFR)
- Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras calls Russian President Vladimir Putin in the wake of the referendum; Putin expresses his support for theGreek people in the call. Many western officials express concerns that, like Egypt, Greece may increase its ties to Russia at the expense of the west. Greece is a member of the NATO military alliance. (Yahoo)

Sports

In auto racing, Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins the NASCAR 2015 Coke Zero 400 at the Daytona International Speedway after a four-hour rain delay. On the final lap, a major crash sent Austin Dillon into the catch fence in front of the grandstands, causing minor injuries to five fans. Dillon himself walked away unhurt. (ESPN)
2015 Tour de France
- In cycling, the 2015 Tour de France race is neutralized 100km into the third stage due to a major crash involving about 30 riders. Yellow jerseyleader Fabian Cancellara is injured in the crash. The race is eventually stopped 50km from the finish with Briton Chris Froome taking the yellow jersey. (News24) (BBC)

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July 7, 2015

Top News Stories –

Fat people ‘are better at sniffing out food’ –
Fat people could be gaining weight because their sense of smell is stronger and more vivid, scientists have found. A study by Yale University showed a heightened ability to imagine odours was linked to food cravings and in turn to higher body weight. Researchers found the ability to vividly imagine the smell of popcorn, freshly baked biscuits and even non-food odours is greater in obese adults. They said most people can imagine the view of a favorite location or sing a song to themselves, but struggle to imagine smells associated with our favourite foods. [Daily Telegraph]

Bill Cosby admitted he gave woman drugs before sex –
US comedian Bill Cosby admitted he obtained sedatives with the intent of giving them to women he wanted to have sex with, court papers from 2005 show. The unsealed files, obtained by the Associated Press news agency, show Mr Cosby made the admission in a sex abuse civil case brought by a woman. That case was settled for an undisclosed sum in 2006. Mr Cosby, now 77, is facing a series of sexual assault accusations dating back decades. He has denied the claims. Mr Cosby has never been criminally charged. [BBC] See Top Twitter Trends
Bill Cosby in 2011

World’s oldest man dies in Japan aged 112 –
The world’s oldest man, Sakari Momoi, has died in Japan at the ripe old age of 112. Momoi, born months before the Wright brothers made their first successful flight, passed away late on Sunday, said the official at Saitama City, north of Tokyo, where he had lived for many years. The supercentenarian, recognised as the world’s oldest male at the age of 111 last year, died of kidney failure in a care home in Tokyo. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

This Is Your Body Over 24 Hours

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#QuisieraDespertarY	#ExciteYourPartnerIn4Words	#sevenseven
2	#CANCELYOURENGAGEMENTZAYN	#6YearsOfOneTime	Bill Cosby
3	Bill Cosby	Paula Deen	#4YearsOfJanoskians
4	#MeCaesParaElOrtoSi	Subway	Darmian
5	#SinMessi	#CANCELYOURENGAGEMENTZAYN	#CANCELYOURENGAGEMENTZAYN
6	메이플2	Han Solo	#7thJuly2005
7	#sevenseven	Tyga	Ariana
8	#LetsSeeTheRestOnShots	#LetsSeeTheRestOnShots	#AskPiers
9	短冊メーカー	Faizon Love	#RawChicago
10	메플2	#HappyBirthdayAlly	Tony Blair

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen (2015-present)
- Air strikes and combat kill 200 in Yemen, highest daily toll so far. (Reuters via SANAA)
Terrorism in Kenya, War in Somalia (2009–present)
- Al-Shabaab militants kill 14 in northern Kenya. (US News)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- A NATO convoy is hit by a suicide car bomb in Kabul. Three or four civilians are injured; no fatalities have been reported. (NBC News)

Business and economy

Greek debt crisis timeline
- Eurozone leaders hold a crisis meeting to discuss options on Greek debt following the referendum as Greek banks are near to running out of cash. For the last week Greek banks allowed to withdraw only 50 euros a day. (Reuters)
- The Government of Greece does not present any new proposals and Greek banks are unlikely to reopen this week. (AP)
- The European Union gives Greece a deadline of Thursday to develop new proposals for discussion at an emergency summit on Sunday.(BBC)

Disasters and accidents

A United States Air Force F-16 collides with a privately-owned Cessna to the north of Charleston, South Carolina. The pilot of the jet ejects safely, but the Cessna breaks up mid-air, killing the two unidentified occupants. (CNN)

Law and crime

1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal
- Malaysian authorities order a freeze on six accounts associated with alleged payments by development bank 1Malaysia Development Berhadto the Prime Minister Najib Razak. (Wall Street Journal)
The FBI, U.S. Postal Service, and Indiana State Police seize electronics and other items from the Zionsville, Indiana home of Subway commercial spokesman Jared Fogle. The seizure comes two months after the former head of Fogle’s foundation was arrested on child pornography charges.(Indianapolis Star)

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July 8, 2015

Top News Stories –

US district judge cancels the trademark of the Washington Redskins –
For the first time in a legal battle that has stretched over 20 years, a federal judge on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of the Washington Redskins’ trademark registration, ruling that the team name may be disparaging to Native Americans. The ruling does not bar the team from using the Redskins name if it wishes. The team could even still sue for trademark infringement, but winning such a case could prove more complex without the legal protections that come with a federally registered trademark. Redskins President Bruce Allen said the team will appeal. [Associated Press]
The Redskins logo © Washington Redskins

Silvio Berlusconi found guilty of bribing Italian senator –
[Former Italy president] Silvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to three years in prison for bribing a senator in 2006 as part of a plot to topple the then-centre-left government. But Berlusconi, 78, will not have to serve the sentence because the statute of limitations in the corruption case will lapse in the autumn, before appeals can be completed. The Italian justice system dictates that two levels of appeals must be exhausted before a defendant begins a sentence. [Daily Telegraph]
Silvio Berlusconi

Video of the Day –

GOOSEBUMPS – Official Trailer

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#action1D	DeAndre Jordan	#TubeStrike
2	#7x1Day	#action1D	#budget2015
3	발사이즈	#LastRelationshipTaughtMe	#action1D
4	#NoSoportoAEsosQue	Tom Selleck	#Ashes
5	#budget2015	#NYSE	Han Solo
6	#CosasFeasY	#MyLifeCouldUseMore	#UnlikelyInventionsOfTheFu…
7	#MasterChefBR	#TeenChoice	Tyga
8	#NadaMasAsquerosoQue	#FloridaLingoChallenge	Joe Root
9	Meg Ryan	Aunt May	#pmqs
10	#LaCumbiaVilleraMeEnseño	#BuyRumorsOniTunes	#ToughEnough

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram insurgency, Timeline of Boko Haram insurgency
- Suspected militants from the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram killed 26 people in attacks on two villages on Lake Chad, Chad. (Daily Star via Reuters)
Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
- The Yemeni government in exile announces that it has reached a truce with the Houthi rebels. (Al-Arabiya)
At least 22 people are killed in clashes between Arab and Berber communities in Ghardaia, Algeria. (BBC)

Business and economy

The British bank Barclays fires Chief Executive Antony Jenkins for his failure to reduce head count and the pace of cost cutting with ChairmanJohn McFarlane to act as interim CEO until a replacement is appointed. The bank was recently convicted of earning billions through fraud as part of the LIBOR scandal (BBC), (The Guardian)
The Shanghai stock market falls 30% over the past three weeks as 1,400 companies, or more than half listed, file for a trading halt in an attempt to prevent further losses. (The Guardian)
Microsoft announces another 7,800 job cuts primarily in its struggling phone division acquired from Nokia. (Wired)
The New York Stock Exchange stops trading for nearly four hours due to a technical error. (CNN)
Staff workers for the London Underground begin a 27-hour strike after management and labor unions were unable to reach a deal regarding overnight train services. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

A ground stop of all U.S. airport-based United Airlines (UAL) mainline flights following a system-wide network connectivity issue is lifted after a 1 hour, 21 minute suspension of morning service. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is also investigating, says all of United Continental Holdings Inc. regional airlines are now unaffected. This follows a similar issue on June 2, 2015 due to automation problems. (Reuters, via MSN) (Los Angeles Times)
2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Chan-hom (Falcon) hits the Philippines with two people killed and two people injured. (Xinhua)

International relations

Russia vetoes a UN resolution that would have condemned the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre of more than 8,000 Bosniaks as a genocide.(Reuters)
Tens of thousands of people are being evacuated from western Canada as firefighters continue to battle wildfires in Saskatchewan, Alberta andBritish Columbia. (AP via Star Tribune)

Law and crime

1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal
- Malaysian police raid the offices of government owned by 1Malaysia Development Berhad in relation to a corruption scandal. (The Star)
Baltimore quadruple shooting
- Gunmen kill three, wound one, Tuesday evening near the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus in what police report was an apparently targeted shooting unrelated to the college. (AP via The Globe and Mail) (NBC News) (Reuters)
2015 Baltimore protests
- The Mayor of the US city of Baltimore, Maryland Stephanie Rawlings-Blake fires the Commissioner of the Police Department, Anthony Batts.(Baltimore Sun)

Sports

Gerald Bruce Lee, a United States District Court judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, cancels the trademark of the Washington Redskins in theNational Football League on the grounds that the team name may be offensive to native Americans. (AP)

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July 9, 2015

Top News Stories –

Parisians will be swimming in the Seine by 2024, promises French capital’s mayor –
Paris’ Socialist mayor on Thursday pledged to have resident of the French capital swimming in the Seine river by 2024, in her latest bid to clean up the city. Anne Hidalgo made the promise days after kicking off Paris’ bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games, after the city lost out to London in 2012.
She said it was her dearest wish that the swimming phase of the Games’ triathlon “should take place in the Seine”. Contestants for the event in London took to Hyde Park’s Serpentine. [Daily Telegraph]

Anne Hidalgo

French police allowed to sport beards and tattoos –
French policeman are finally going to be allowed to let their hair down a little after unions won a battle to relax rules on officers sporting beards and tattoos. While London recently went wild over a “hipster cop” spotted policing a far-Right march, there have been no known sightings of any Gallic equivalents, with policemen in France famous for their short-cropped hair and clean-shaven look. That could all change, however, after the force’s Left-wing Force Ouvrière trade union representatives won a campaign for the right to grow beards and have tattoos. However, there are restrictions. Beards, the union stipulated, must remain “short-cropped”, “neat and compatible with the wearing of equipment”. Tattoos, meanwhile, “must not be racist, political, religious or xenophobic.” [Daily Telegraph]

Paris to allow cyclists to skip red lights –
Cyclists in Paris are to be allowed to ride through some red lights in a bid by the mayors office to get more people on their bikes. At several junctions there will be separate signals for cars and bikes, and while cars will be held by a red light, cyclists will be permitted to turn right or go straight ahead. In such scenarios, they would have to give way to pedestrians and other road users where necessary. The new road rules will be rolled out from the end of July, the mayors office said, adding in a statement that the new rules will “help improve the flow of cycle traffic”. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

100 Years of Men’s Fashion in 3 Minutes –

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#AlgoQueNecesitoYaEs	#IfIOnlyHad24HoursIWould	#Sherlock
2	High School Musical	#5ONTHEWALL	#BigSocial
3	ノーブラの日	#AyeMaMusicVideo	#5ONTHEWALL
4	DeAndre Jordan	#TakeASongToBreakfast	#LabWorks
5	#5ONTHEWALL	Lizzie McGuire	#LastRelationshipTaughtMe
6	#TeenChoice	South Carolina House	#TeenChoice
7	#سعود_الفيصل	That’s So Raven	Sharapova
8	#Gracias5eba	#SoNewOrleans	#TakeASongToBreakfast
9	#جده_ارهب_مدين�…	Chuck Blazer	Chuck Blazer
10	#FelizDiaDeLaIndependencia	#bayarealingochallenge	#tubestrikes

Other News Stories –

Business and economy

Chinese stock market collapse
- Values of Chinese stock markets drop despite efforts by the government to prevent a crisis. (CNN) (The Guardian)
- The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) imposes a six-month ban on stockholders owning more than 5 percent of a company’s stock from selling those stocks, resulting in a 6 percent rise in stock markets. (Reuters)
Puerto Rican debt crisis
- The United States Congress refuse to offer a bailout to Puerto Rico. (Politico)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Hong Kong starts closing schools as Typhoon Linfa approaches. (South China Morning Post)

International relations

Philippines v. China
- The Philippines asks the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague to invalidate China‘s claims to virtually all of the South China Sea. The hearing was attended by observers from Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. (AP viaThe Washington Post)
Prince Zeid bin Ra’ad, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, warns that violence can explode into armed conflict in Burundifollowing events of the current presidential election. (AP via ABC News America)

Politics and elections

The South Carolina House of Representatives agrees to a bill previously passed by the Senate to remove the Confederate flag from the capitol grounds with Governor Nikki Haley signing the legislation into law. (AP via ABC News America), (NBC)
Ugandan police arrest two presidential hopefuls, former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi and opposition leader Kizza Besigye. (AlJazeera)
Same-sex marriage in Puerto Rico
- The US Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit rules the ban in the region 2–1 unconstitutional, paving way for same-sex marriages. (Washington Blade)
- The health department announces issuing licenses early next month. (AP)
The European Parliament rejects a plan to abolish Freedom of Panorama. (Amateur Photographer)(NOS (Dutch)).
The Thai consulate in Istanbul is attacked by Turkish protestors after about a hundred Uighurs were deported by Thailand back to China despite concerns over persecution. (BBC)

Sports

2015 FIFA corruption case
- FIFA suspends former Executive Committee member Chuck Blazer for life for assorted ethical breaches including accepting bribes. (FIFA Governance)

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July 10, 2015

Top News Stories –

Omar Sharif, actor – dies aged 83 –
Omar Sharif was the most famous Egyptian actor of his generation. He brought a smouldering intensity to films such as Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. A man of striking good looks he escorted some of the world’s most beautiful women. But he quit acting to become a ubiquitous presence at the world’s most exclusive gaming tables. [BBC]
Omar Sharif

Greece’s Parliament Approves Prime Minister’s Bailout Plan –
Setting the stage for a pivotal deal with Europe, the Greek Parliament early Saturday approved Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s proposal for a three-year, $59 billion rescue package with harsh austerity terms that was remarkably similar to the one Greek voters rejected in a referendum less than a week ago. With a Sunday deadline looming for a decision on the bailout, a crunch point that all sides see as Greece’s last chance to avoid bankruptcy and stay in the euro currency zone, the plan passed by an overwhelming margin. [NY Times] Alexis Tsipras was elected on January 25, 2015 and vowed to reverse many of the austerity measures adopted by Greece since a series of bailouts began in 2010.
Alexis Tsipras

Video of the Day –

Game of Thrones: Audition Reel (HBO)

List of the Day –

Omar Sharif filmography [from Wikipedia]


Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	Shaytan al-Sahra^[56]		Known as Devil of the Sahara
1954	Sira` Fi al-Wadi	Ahmed	Also known as The Blazing Sun or Struggle in the Valley or Fight in the Valley
1955	Ayyamna al-Holwa	Ahmed	Also known as Our Best Days
1956	Sira` Fi al-Mina	Ragab
1957	Ard al-Salam	Ahmed	Known as Land of Peace
1957	The Lebanese Mission	Mokrir	Original title was La Châtelaine du Liban; credited as Omar Cherif
1958	La Anam	Aziz	Also known as Sleepless and No Tomorrow
1958	Goha	Goha	Credited as Omar Cherif
1959	Sayyidat al-Qasr	Adel	Lady of the Palace
1959	Siraa fil Nil^[57]	Muhassab	Struggle on the Nile
1960	Bidaya wa Nihaya	Hassanien
	Hobi al-Wahid		My Only Love
	Esha’a hob	Hussein	A Rumor of Love
	Nahr al-Hob	Khalid	The River of Love
1961	A Man in our House^[57]	Ibrahim	في بيتنا رجل
1962	Lawrence of Arabia	Sherif Ali	Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor Nominated – Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1964	The Fall of the Roman Empire	Sohamus
	Behold a Pale Horse	Francisco
	The Yellow Rolls-Royce	Davich
1965	Genghis Khan	Genghis Khan
	Marco the Magnificent	Sheik Alla Hou, ‘The Desert Wind’
	Doctor Zhivago	Dr. Zhivago (Yuri)	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
1966	The Poppy Is Also a Flower	Dr. Rad
1967	The Night of the Generals	Major Grau
1967	More Than a Miracle	Prince Rodrigo Fernandez
1968	Funny Girl	Nick Arnstein
1968	Mayerling	Archduke Rudolf
1969	Mackenna’s Gold	Colorado
	The Appointment	Frenderico Fendi
	Che!	Che Guevara
1970	The Last Valley	Vogel
1971	The Horsemen	Uraz
1971	The Burglars	Abel Zacharia	simultaneously shot in French as Le Casse with the same cast
1974	The Tamarind Seed	Feodor Sverdlov
1974	Juggernaut	Captain Axel Brunel
1975	Funny Lady	Nicky Arnstein
1976	Ace Up My Sleeve	Andre Ferren	also known as Crime and Passion
1976	The Pink Panther Strikes Again	Egyptian assassin	uncredited cameo
1979	Ashanti: Land of No Mercy	Prince Hassan
1979	Bloodline	Ivo Palazzi
1980	SHE^[58]	Baron Cesare Magnasco	SHE: Security Hazards Expert
	The Baltimore Bullet	The Deacon
	Oh! Heavenly Dog	Bart
1981	Green Ice	Meno Argenti
1981	Inchon	Indian officer	uncredited cameo
1984	Top Secret!	Agent Cedric
1987	Grand Larceny	Rashid Saud
1988	The Possessed	Stepan	Les Possédés
1988	Les Pyramides bleues (fr)^[59]	Alex	The Novice
1989	Al-aragoz ^[60]	Mohamed Gad El Kareem	The Puppeteer
1990	The Rainbow Thief	Dima
1991	Mowaten masri		An Egyptian Citizen
1992	Beyond Justice	Emir Beni-Zair
	Mayrig	Hagop
	588 rue paradis	Hagop	Mother
1993	Dehk we le’b we gad we hob^[57]		Laughter, Games, Seriousness and Love
1997	Heaven Before I Die	Khalil Gibran
1998	Mysteries of Egypt	Grandfather	Documentary
1999	The 13th Warrior	Melchisideck
2001	The Parole Officer	Victor
2003	Monsieur Ibrahim	Monsieur Ibrahim	César Award for Best Actor
2004	Hidalgo	Sheikh Riyadh
2006	One Night with the King	Prince Memucan
2006	“The 10 commandments“	Jethro (شعيب)
2008	Hassan & Marcus	Hassan/Morcus	Hassan wa Morcus
2008	10,000 BC	Narrator	Voice only
2009	The Traveller	Older Hassan	Commonly known as Al Mosafer
2009	J’ai oublié de te dire^[61]	Jaume	I forgot to Tell You
2013	Rock the Casbah	Moulay Hassan
2015	1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham	Grandfather/Narrator	Voice; final film role^[4]

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#OhNoHarry	#DescribeTwitterIn3Words	#DescribeTwitterIn3Words
2	#DescribeTwitterIn3Words	Deron Williams	#fridayfeeling
3	#FanArmyFaceOff	#USWNTParade	#OhNoHarry
4	#WeForgiveYouAriana	#WhiteGirlsDoItBetter	#BattleOfBritain
5	Omar Sharif	#VoteMoose	Omar Sharif
6	#NoEresMujerSi	#OhNoHarry	#WeForgiveYouAriana
7	#MatiasElegidos	#WeForgiveYouAriana	Prince Philip
8	#BuenViernes	Omar Sharif	#WeCantBeFriendsIf
9	Federer	Go Set a Watchman	#bbcqt
10	おおかみこども	Dirty Sprite 2	Go Set A Watchman

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Somalia (2009–present)
- Al Shabaab militants have stormed two hotels in Somalia‘s capital Mogadishu killing at least 10 civilians. (ABC News AU) (Business Standard via AFP)
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
- Turkey arrests 21 people with alleged links to Daesh (ISIL). (New York Times)

Businesses and economy

Greek government-debt crisis
- A bailout plan is submitted two hours before the midnight deadline. The plan would raise a retirement age to 67 and cut pensions by 15% for those retiring at 62. (LA Times)(Money Control)
Ellen Pao resigns as the interim CEO of Internet site reddit following a user backlash over the deletion of some subreddits for harassment and sacking of a popular admin. Site co-founder Steve Huffman will take her place. (WSJ)

Disasters and accidents

At least 23 people have been killed and 50 injured following a stampede at a free clothing drive in the northern Bangladeshi city of Mymensingh.(BBC)
Wildfires continue to rage throughout the western Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. (ABC News)
2015 Pacific typhoon season
- China is dealing with two typhoons in a week. Typhoon Linfa lost power after making landfall in southern China’s Guangdong province Thursday. Typhoon Chan-hom (Falcon) is headed for landfall in eastern China near Shanghai this weekend. (CNN) (CRI English)(Weather Channel)
Indonesia closes four airports including Bali International Airport due to an ongoing eruption by the Raung volcano on Java. (Reuters via Trust)

International relations

The United States State Department criticizes Thailand for deporting ethnic Uyghur back to China. The predominantly Uyghur Xinjiang province is the site of an ongoing political and religious crackdown in response to a wave of Muslim terrorist attacks in China. (NPR)

Law and crime

The Federal Bureau of Investigation admits that Dylann Roof, the suspect in the Charleston church shooting, should not have passed abackground check to obtain a gun licence. (ABC News)

Politics and elections

Katherine Archuleta resigns as the director of the United States Office of Personnel Management following the hacking of 21.5 million data records. (CNN)
Following public outcry after the Charleston church shooting, the Confederate Battle Flag is lowered at the South Carolina State House after 54 years. (CNN)

Science and technology

The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launches five commercial satellites for the United Kingdom. (IBN Live)

Sport

2015 Pan American Games
- The Games officially commence following Friday’s opening ceremony in Toronto. (Canadian Press via CP24)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 11, 2015

Top News Stories –

Williams Wins Wimbledon for ‘Serena Slam’ –
Serena Williams let herself briefly bask in the joy of a sixth Wimbledon championship, 21st Grand Slam singles trophy overall and fourth consecutive major title Saturday, even balancing the winner’s silver dish atop her head — Look, Ma, no hands! — as she sauntered off Centre Court. “I was peaceful, feeling really good,” Williams said. “Maybe a little after that, I started thinking about New York.” On to the next one. When the U.S. Open begins at Flushing Meadows in August, Williams will pursue pretty much the only accolade to elude her so far: a calendar-year Grand Slam, something no one has accomplished in tennis in more than a quarter-century. [NY Times]
Serena Williams

Earth heading for ‘mini ice age’ within 15 years –
The earth is 15 years from a “mini ice-age” that will cause bitterly cold winters during which rivers such as the Thames freeze over, scientists have predicted. Solar researchers at the University of Northumbria have created a new model of the sun’s activity which they claim produces “unprecedentedly accurate predictions”. They said fluid movements within the sun, which are thought to create 11-year cycles in the weather, will converge in such a way that temperatures will fall dramatically in the 2030s. Solar activity will fall by 60 per cent as two waves of fluid “effectively cancel each other out”, according to Prof Valentina Zharkova. [Daily Telegraph]

Kylie Jenner’s hair causes Instagram race row –
Kylie Jenner’s been accused of “appropriating black culture” in a row on Instagram. Hunger Games actress Amandla Stenberg made the claim after the reality star posted a picture of her hair in cornrows. The 16-year-old argued Kylie wasn’t using her fame to help black people. She accused her of “directing attention towards wigs instead of police brutality or racism”. Kylie replied: “Mad if I don’t, Mad if I do…. Go hang w Jaden or something.” Amandla went to a prom with Jaden Smith in May. [BBC Newsbeat]

©KylieJenner/Instagram

Manhunt for escaped Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman –
The Mexican President, Enrique Pena Nieto, says he has faith that the security forces will recapture one of the world’s most powerful drug lords, who has escaped from a high security prison. Mr Pena Nieto said he wanted a full investigation into Joaquin Guzman’s escape. Guzman, known as El Chapo, or “Shorty”, is believed to have made his way through a tunnel more than a kilometre long from showers near his cell. [BBC] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

Watch “El Chapo” Guzmán’s escape and his amazing 4,921-foot tunnel

List of the Day –

Serena Williams Grand Slam tournament performances

Tournament	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	SR	W–L
Australian Open	2R	3R	4R	QF	A	W	A	W	3R	W	QF	W	W	A	4R	QF	4R	W	6 / 15	68–9
French Open	4R	3R	A	QF	W	SF	QF	A	A	QF	3R	QF	QF	A	1R	W	2R	W	3 / 14	54–11
Wimbledon	3R	A	SF	QF	W	W	F	3R	A	QF	F	W	W	4R	W	4R	3R	W	6 / 16	79–10
US Open	3R	W	QF	F	W	A	QF	4R	4R	QF	W	SF	A	F	W	W	W		6 / 15	79–9
Win–Loss	8–4	11–2	12–3	18–4	21–0	19–1	14–3	12–2	5–2	19–3	19–3	23–2	18–1	9–2	17–2	21–2	13–3	21–0	21 / 60	280–39

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#MeEnamoroCuando	Roger Rees	Schweinsteiger
2	#KULOTPALASIHARRY	#WhyImNotGoingToYourFuneral	#WhiteGirlsDoItBetter
3	#SabadoDeGanarSeguidores	Capo	Bastian
4	Roger Rees	Hocus Pocus	#5YearsSinceLouisAudition
5	#PorCulpaDeTwitter	#BatmanvSuperman	Roger Rees
6	DAME ESTA NOCHE	#dontgotoseaworld	#BandsWithMeat
7	#EsteFinde	#FreeSlurpeeDay	#durhamminersgala
8	#5YearsSinceLouisAudition	#AngerABook	Jidenna
9	#CamComeThrough	Serena	#legup
10	Jidenna	#CamComeThrough	#TheForceAwakens

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram insurgency
- A suicide bomber attacks the Nigerian city of Maiduguri killing at least one person. (Reuters)
- A suicide bomber in a burqa kills 14 people in Chad‘s capital of N’Djamena. (Reuters) (Chron via AP)
South Thailand insurgency
- At least seven people have been killed and dozens injured in a series of attacks in southern Thailand. (AFP via The Daily Star)
2015 Bombing of the Cairo Italian Consulate
- A car bomb explodes outside the Italian consulate in the Egyptian capital Cairo, resulting in at least one death and four people injured; ISISclaims responsibility. (The Daily Star) (BBC), (CNN)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- At least six people and four militants are killed in attacks on two hotels in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. (Reuters)
Yemeni crisis, Saudi-led intervention in Yemen (2015-present)
- A truce brokered by the United Nations due to last for the remainder of Ramadan is broken within an hour with both sides exchanging blame.(AP via US News and World Report)

Business and economy

Greek government-debt crisis
- The Hellenic Parliament passes a package of economic reforms to end the current stage of the debt crisis. (BBC)
Steve Huffman is re-appointed as the CEO of Reddit as Ellen Pao steps down over a dispute with the website’s users over the firing of a popular employee. (Irish Times)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Eastern China braces for the impact of Typhoon Chan-hom with the province of Zhejiang evacuating 865,000 people in coastal areas.(CNN), (Business Insider)
Volcán de Colima
- Hundred of villagers are evacuated from near the Colima volcano following recent eruptions. Authorities fear that it could be on the same scale as a 1913 eruption. (BBC)

Law and crime

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić is pelted with stones and other objects as he attempts to pay respects to the victims of the Bosnian Genocide, Vučić is a former member of the Serbian Radical Party, a far right anti-Islam party. (AP via New York Times)
Russian military intervention in Ukraine
- Dozens of Russian soldiers face trial for fleeing a training ground in Maikop, fearing deployment to Ukraine. (Deutsche Welle)
Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín Guzmán Loera escapes from a maximum security prison the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1. (AP)

Politics and elections

Aung San Suu Kyi announces that the National League for Democracy will participate in Myanmar’s general election later this year. (Wall Street Journal)

Sport

2015 Wimbledon Championships
- Serena Williams defeats Garbiñe Muguruza to win the 2015 Wimbledon Women’s Singles title. (The Guardian)

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July 12, 2015

Top News Stories –

Wimbledon 2015: Novak Djoković beats Roger Federer in final –
Defending champion Novak Djoković saw off seven-time champion Roger Federer in four sets to win his third Wimbledon and ninth Grand Slam title.
The Serb, 28, won 7-6 (7-1) 6-7 (10-12) 6-4 6-3 to overtake the likes of Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi and Ivan Lendl in the all-time list of major winners. Federer, 33, had hoped to become the first man to win Wimbledon eight times. The Swiss won a thrilling second set tie-break but Djoković came through to win in two hours and 56 minutes. [BBC] No-one in the crowd proposed to his girlfriend unlike Djoković’s match in January 25, 2015.
Novak_Đoković

Woman, 30, changes name to log in to Facebook –
A woman has told how she has been forced to change her name by deed poll to match her “ridiculous” Facebook pseudonym after being locked out of her account. Jemma Rogers, 30, a holistic therapist, from Lewisham, south-east London, set up a profile on the social network in 2008. Wanting to avoid annoying friend requests from old friends and strangers, she created the profile under the pseudonym Jemmaroid Von Laalaa. But last month she got a message from Facebook asking her to send identification to prove it was a genuine name and account. In a desperate bid to get the profile back, she changed her name by deed poll and is now officially Ms Von Laalaa. What’s more, despite her extreme efforts, she’s still locked out of her account even after sending over her new ID to Facebook. [Daily Telegraph]

$1 million reward offered for Judy Garland’s stolen ruby slippers –
An anonymous donor has offered a $1 million reward for credible information leading to the recovery of a pair of Judy Garland’s sequined, ruby red slippers stolen from a museum in her Minnesota hometown. The late actress wore the slippers in “The Wizard of Oz.” Three other pairs still exist, including one on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. John Kelsch, executive director of the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, says the donor is from Arizona and is a huge fan of Garland and the 1939 movie. The reward offer requires the exact location of the slippers and the perpetrator’s name.

Video of the Day –

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Comic-Con Trailer

List of the Day –

Novak Djokovic Grand Slam record

Tournament	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	SR	W–L	Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	1R	1R	4R	W	QF	QF	W	W	W	QF	W	5 / 11	50–6	89.29
French Open	2R	QF	SF	SF	3R	QF	SF	F	SF	F	F	0 / 11	48–11	81.36
Wimbledon	3R	4R	SF	2R	QF	SF	W	SF	F	W	W	3 / 11	52–8	86.67
US Open	3R	3R	F	SF	SF	F	W	F	F	SF		1 / 10	50–9	84.75
Win–Loss	5–4	9–4	19–4	18–3	15–4	19–4	25–1	24–3	24–3	22–3	20–1	9 / 43	200–34	85.47

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	El Chapo	El Chapo	#UFC189
2	#WimbledonFinal	#WhatIdTell18YearOldMe	Ojuelegba
3	#UFC189	#NoteToSelf	Robbie Keane
4	#AlgoQueMeEncantaEs	#WimbledonFinal	#WimbledonFinal
5	Justin and Selena	Jaden	El Chapo
6	#حزب_الي_ما_تجي…	Camille Cosby	#WhatIdTell18YearOldMe
7	#OTRASantaClara	#FaceTimeMeNash	Justin and Selena
8	オナネタ	#OTRASanDiegoWasLouder	#placenameamovie
9	#HoyDomingoPintaPara	#NerdistSDCC	Suicide Squad
10	SAI2	Satoru Iwata	Brian Toomey

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen (2015-present)
- Saudi-led coalition forces bomb Houthi targets in several provinces of Yemen, killing at least 15 people, despite a UN-brokered truce.(Business Standard)
2015 Sousse attacks
- Tunisia arrests 127 people suspected of being members of terrorist groups following last month’s attack. (Al-Arabiya)
- Tunisia’s Interior Minister Najem Gharsalli claims that the country has targeted the al-Qaida-linked Oqba Ibn Nafaa brigade. (AP)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- A suicide car bomb kills 25 people and wounds 10 in southeastern Afghanistan close to a U.S. base. (Reuters)
Colombian conflict (1964–present)
- The Government of Colombia and FARC announce plans to negotiate a ceasefire to end the fifty year old dispute. (AP)

Business and economy

Greek government debt crisis
- A European Union leaders’ summit to discuss the Greek debt crisis is cancelled due to failure of finance ministers to agree on Greek proposals. However, Eurozone leaders do meet, with discussions continuing into the night. (BBC), (Sky News) (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Chan-hom weakens as it heads to northeastern China. (Xinhua)

Law and crime

War on Terror
- An independent report reveals that the American Psychological Association was complicit in the participation of its members with the use oftorture during the Iraq and Afghan wars, such as in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. Many experts suspected that the bizarre torture and humiliation were not “a few bad apples” but meticulously planned techniques. (The Guardian)

Sports

2015 Wimbledon Championships
- In tennis, Novak Djokovic defeats Roger Federer in the mens singles in four sets to claim his third title. (BBC), (BBC)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 13, 2015

Top News Stories –

Lewis Hamilton refused entry to Wimbledon’s Royal Box because he was ‘not smart enough’ –
Lewis Hamilton was barred from entering the Royal Box during the Wimbledon final on Sunday because he was not wearing a jacket and tie. Despite receiving an invitation to watch the men’s singles final from the Royal Box, the Formula One champion missed the match owing to an “unfortunate misunderstanding regarding the dress code at Wimbledon”, according to his spokesman. Earlier in the day Hamilton posted a picture on Instagram showing his Royal Box invitation package, saying he was “honoured” to have received it. He later posted another picture of himself on Instagram dressed in a colourful shirt and trousers, with the caption “Wimbledon”. [Daily Telegraph]
©Lewis Hamilton/Instagram

FIFA Turns Down Request for Blatter to Attend U.S. Senate Panel Hearing –
A U.S. Senate panel invited FIFA President Sepp Blatter to answer questions at a hearing this Wednesday about the corruption scandal that has badly tarnished soccer’s global governing body but FIFA declined on his behalf, a congressional official said. FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment and Blatter’s legal representative in the U.S. declined to comment. Blatter said last week in an interview with German newspaper Welt am Sonntag that he “won’t take any travel risks until everything has been cleared up”. [NY Times]
Sepp Blatter

Video of the Day –

Suicide Squad – Comic-Con First Look

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#ZAYNHASNOCHILL	#mondaymotivation	#ThisIsACoup
2	Cota 905	#2YearsWithoutCory	#2YearsWithoutCory
3	Satoru Iwata	Scott Walker	#mondaymotivation
4	岩田社長	#ZAYNHASNOCHILL	#RIPIwata
5	#FelizLunes	#1GottaGo	#ZAYNHASNOCHILL
6	#2YearsWithoutCory	50 Cent	50 Cent
7	#mecca_live	#TodaysKidsWillNeverKnow	Ed Woodward
8	#TeLoDigoDeOnda	#WHCOA	Live Aid
9	50 Cent	#HRDerby	Satoru Iwata
10	#اوامر_ملكيه	Suicide Squad	Primark

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Burundi‘s army kills 31 suspected rebels and captures 170 others in fighting in the country’s north. (ABC News via AP)
Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen (2015-present)
- An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition kills 25 civilians and wounds 50 in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. Last week a ceasefire agreement was reached. (STL Today) (CTV News via AP)

Business and economy

Greek government-debt crisis, timeline
- Eurozone leaders agree on a bailout deal for Greece providing the Hellenic Parliament passes reforms into law by July 15. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

All the missing 42 people have been found following the collapse of a Russian Army barracks in the Omsk Oblast of southwestern Siberia with 23 deaths. (TASS)

International relations

Georgia accuses Russia of violating its sovereignty by placing border markers on the edge of the South Ossetia region, leaving part of an international oil pipeline in territory under Russian control. The area was the site of the Russo-Georgian war in 2008. (Reuters)

Law and crime

The Prime Minister of Romania Victor Ponta is charged in an on-going corruption scandal. (BBC)
Former United Kingdom Independence Party Member of the European Parliament Ashley Mote is jailed for 5 years for fraudulently claiming almost £500k in European Parliament expenses. (BBC)
Rapper Curtis James Jackson III, better known by his stage name 50 Cent, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. (MarketWatch)
President Barack Obama commutes the sentences of 46 American prison inmates serving long sentences for drug related offences. (CNN)
Son of Boston police captain is charged with a foiled plot to bomb a university, inspired by Boston Marathon bombing, on alleged behalf of ISIS. He is scheduled Tuesday for a bail hearing at a federal court in Springfield. (AP)
Alaa Bader Abdullah, 31, is executed in the United Arab Emirates for the murder of Ibolya Ryan, a Romanian-American teacher. (Reuters)
The male defendant is found not guilty of death threats on US Majority Speaker of the House, John Boehner, by reason of insanity. He is still in jail and due for another trial on August 21 to determine his ability to adjust to society. (USA Today)

Politics and elections

Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem was re-elected president of the Eurogroup for a second term. (Reuters)
United States presidential election, 2016
- Scott Walker, the Governor of Wisconsin, announces that he will be seeking the Republican Party nomination. (NBC News)

Sport

Football at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- The male New Zealand national under-23 football team are disqualified from the qualifying tournament by the Oceania Football Confederationfor fielding allegedly ineligible player Deklan Wynne.(BBC)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 14, 2015

Top News Stories –

Large Hadron Collider discovers new particle – the pentaquark –
A new kind of particle, called the pentaquark, was discovered by scientists at the Large Hadron Collider yesterday [July 13, 2015]. Physicists had theorised the existence of the pentaquark since the 1960s, but had never been able to prove it until its detection by the world’s most powerful particle smasher at Cern. The discovery of the pentaquark comes after the LHC was used in 2012 to prove the existence of another particle, the Higgs Boson, which confers mass. Large Hadron Collider spokesman Guy Wilkinson said the pentaquark represented a way to combine quarks – the sub-atomic particles that make up protons and neutrons. [Daily Telegraph]
The CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider

Deal Reached on Iran Nuclear Program –
Iran and a group of six nations led by the United States reached a historic accord on Tuesday to significantly limit Tehran’s nuclear ability for more than a decade in return for lifting international oil and financial sanctions. The deal culminates 20 months of negotiations on an agreement that President Obama had long sought as the biggest diplomatic achievement of his presidency. Whether it portends a new relationship between the United States and Iran — after decades of coups, hostage-taking, terrorism and sanctions — remains a bigger question. Mr. Obama, in an early morning appearance at the White House that was broadcast live in Iran, began what promised to be an arduous effort to sell the deal to Congress and the American public, saying the agreement is “not built on trust — it is built on verification.” [NY Times]

New Horizons: Spacecraft survives Pluto encounter –
A signal received from the New Horizons spacecraft shows that it survived its historic encounter with Pluto. Data in its first call home since Tuesday’s flyby suggest the spacecraft experienced no upsets as it hurtled past the icy world at 14km/s (31,000mph). The signal came through a giant dish in Madrid, Spain – part of a Nasa network of communications antennas. The message took four hours 25 minutes to traverse 4.7 billion km of space. [BBC]
Pluto by the New Horzons spacecraft – from NASA

Raheem Sterling: Manchester City sign Liverpool winger in £49m deal –
Manchester City have signed Liverpool and England forward Raheem Sterling for a fee that could reach £49m. City will pay an initial £44m for the 20-year-old, making him the most expensive English player ever. Sterling had asked to leave Anfield and was the subject of two bids from City in June, both of which were rejected. City boss Manuel Pellegrini described Sterling, who has signed a five-year deal, as “one of the best attacking players in world football”. Sterling, who is only behind Gareth Bale on the list of most expensive British players, will wear the number seven shirt. [BBC] See List of the Day
Raheem Sterling

Video of the Day –

Great white shark beaches and is saved in Cape Cod

List of the Day –

Highest transfer fees for Football (soccer) players (as of 14 July 2015)

Rank	Player	From	To	Fee (M £)	Fee (M €)	Year
1	Gareth Bale	Tottenham Hotspur	Real Madrid	£85.3	€100	2013
2	Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	Real Madrid	£80	€94.4	2009
3	Luis Suárez	Liverpool	Barcelona	£75	€94	2014
4	James Rodríguez	AS Monaco	Real Madrid	£63	€79.5	2014
T-5	Ángel Di María	Real Madrid	Manchester United	£59.7	€75	2014
T-5	Zinedine Zidane	Juventus	Real Madrid	£46	€75	2001
7	Raheem Sterling	Liverpool	Manchester City	£49	€69.5	2015
8 ¹	Zlatan Ibrahimović	Inter	Barcelona	£59	€69	2009
9	Kaká	Milan	Real Madrid	£56	€65	2009
10	Edinson Cavani	Napoli	Paris Saint-Germain	£55	€64	2013

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#HarryBeCareful	#HarryBeCareful	#TodaysKidsWillNeverKnow
2	#IranDeal	#IranDeal	#ApplePay
3	#NadaMasLindoQue	#TodaysKidsWillNeverKnow	#IranDeal
4	Joan Sebastian	#BastilleDay	#BastilleDay
5	의정부고	#GrowingUpBlack	#mecca_live
6	Honeymoon	Ty Lawson	Carl Froch
7	#HRDerby	#OhNoLouis	Mhairi Black
8	印刷部数	Honeymoon	#1GottaGo
9	#amanhecernaglobo	#RidiculousExcusesToStayHome	#HarryBeCareful
10	#PlutoFlyby	#PlannedParenthood	Suicide Squad

Other News Stories –

Disasters and accidents

At least 27 people are killed in a stampede at the Godavari Maha Pushkaram Hindu festival in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. (NY Times)
A Russian Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bomber crashes about 80 km (50 mi) from Khabarovsk in Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District, killing two of the seven crew members. (The Daily Mail)
A helicopter belonging to the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) with four people on board (two crew members, a patient, and a person accompanying the patient) crashes in the Persian Gulf. (Tasnim)
Two people are dead and six are missing due to flash flooding in Kentucky. (NBC News), (Fox News)

International relations

Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- The Google Maps website removes the Chinese name for the Scarborough Shoal bitterly disputed by China and the Philippines from its maps service, following an outcry from Filipinos. (The Economic Times)
Negotiation of a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran
- A nuclear deal is reached in Vienna between Iran and P5+1. This Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action if signed by the entities involved, will cut off Iran’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon whilst allowing for the peaceful use of nuclear energy, inspections, and the lifting of sanctions.(BBC) (CNN) (NY Times)

Law and crime

North Korea announces a criminal amnesty in honor of the 70th anniversary of independence from Japanese rule. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

Science and technology

NASA‘s New Horizons spacecraft completes a historic flyby of the dwarf planet Pluto and its five moons. Measurements, along with many high-quality photos and reams of data, were taken, including conclusive information regarding the diameter of Pluto and its moons.(Gizmodo)(CNN) (official NASA page)
Scientists at Northumbria University in northeast England develop a computerized statistical model of the Sun‘s solar cycle (a measurement of the number of sunspots and solar flares, in this case between 1976 and 2008, and their intensity and activity). While preliminary, and not yet peer-reviewed, the data predicts irregularities in the cycle: the Northern Hemisphere could experience a slight lowering in temperatures in the 2030s.(CNN) (Washington Post)
An article published in Science suggests that recent climate change would still cause a 6-meter (20-feet) sea-level rise even if greenhouse gasemissions were reduced today. (Times of Malta), (Science)
Scientists at CERN‘s Large Hadron Collider announce discovery of the pentaquark. (BBC) (ABC News)

Sport

A panel appointed by the Supreme Court of India recommends that two Indian Premier League cricket teams, the Chennai Super Kings andRajasthan Royals be suspended for two years due to a corruption scandal. (BBC)
2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
- In baseball, the American League defeats the National League 6-3 to win home-field advantage in the 2015 World Series. (Sports Illustrated via Twitter)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 15, 2015

Top News Stories –

Kim Kardashian on the cover of Rolling Stone? It’s the death of rock’n’roll! –
Kim Kardashian has been accused of many things over the years, but this week brought a new addition to the charge sheet: killing rock’n’roll. The accuser? Sinéad O’Connor, who adduced that the presence of Kardashian and her cleavage on the cover of US magazine Rolling Stone was evidence that “music has officially died”. “Bob Dylan,” she added, “must be fucking horrified.” [Guardian]
Rolling Stone magazine cover

Donald Trump declares personal wealth of more than $10 billion –
Donald Trump, the property mogul turned US presidential candidate, has declared his personal wealth to be over 10 billion dollars (£6.4bn) in his official forms submitted to the US government’s election commission. In a typically flamboyant statement extolling his own vast wealth, Mr Trump complained that the Federal Election Commission forms did not have sufficient boxes to accommodate a man of his stature. “This report was not designed for a man of Mr. Trump’s massive wealth,” said a statement issued by Trump campaign headquarters. [Daily Telegraph]
Donald Trump

Video of the Day –

The Death Of Bees Explained – Parasites, Poison and Humans

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#JustinBieberComeBackTo1D	#PrimeDay	#OhNoLouis
2	あなたの精神年齢	Best Buy	Nick Cave
3	#OhNoLouis	#GrowingUpUgly	#GrowingUpScottish
4	#MasterChefBR	Wellington	#woofwoofwednesday
5	Aimar	Major Garrett	Briana
6	#FelizMiercoles	#5ONTHEWALL	#BackTheBBC
7	#HappyBirthdayLuke	#ESPYS	#PMQs
8	プラカード	#JustinBieberComeBackTo1D	#5ONTHEWALL
9	#5ONTHEWALL	#JimmyV	#JustinBieberComeBackTo1D
10	Best Buy	#DailyLifeIn4Words	Theresa May

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram
- At least 33 people are killed in Boko Haram attacks in recent days in northeastern Nigeria. (CNN)
Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
- Loyalists of exiled President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi capture Aden International Airport after four months of being under Houthi control. (Al-Arabiyah)

Disasters and accidents

A preliminary report from the Dutch Safety Board of the investigation of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) disaster points to pro-Russian rebels as being responsible for the shooting down of the passenger flight on 17 July 2014. (CNN)

Business and economy

Greek government-debt crisis, Greek government-debt crisis timeline
- The Hellenic Parliament votes to approve the Greek bailout package despite many senior lawmakers from the ruling Syriza Party refusing to vote for the deal. (AP via New York Times), (BBC)
Puerto Rico government debt crisis
- Standard & Poor’s cut the credit rating of Puerto Rico‘s Government Development Bank to ‘CC’, saying a near-term default is a virtual certainty.(Reuters)
Pabst Brewing Company announces plans to brew again at their historic brewery located in Milwaukee. (JS)
Spanish manufacturer Talgo announces Saudi Arabia’s cancellation of a $201-million contract for six high-speed trains. (Reuters via Arabian Business)

Health

Two South Korean airlines, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, will resume flights to Japan after suspending flights during the recent MERS outbreak.(TASS)

Law and crime

Oskar Gröning, known as the “Auschwitz book-keeper”, is sentenced to four years imprisonment for being an accessory to the murder of 300,000Jews. (BBC)

Politics and elections

President of Russia Vladimir Putin signs a law that sets the date for an early parliamentary election on 18 September 2016. (Bloomberg)

Science and Technology

The circumnavigation attempt of Earth by the solar-powered Solar Impulse plane, currently in Hawaii, has been suspended for the rest of 2015 in order to perform necessary repairs. (BBC)
NASA publishes the first close up photos of Pluto from the New Horizons spacecraft. They show geologically young mountains made of water ice.(The Guardian), (Wired)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 16, 2015

Top News Stories –

German squirrel arrested after woman complained it was stalking her –
An “aggressive” squirrel has been arrested by German police officers after a woman complained it was stalking her. Police in North Rhine-Westphalia received the bizarre emergency call on Wednesday from a woman who claimed the rodent was chasing her. The woman, from Bottrop, tried to give the pursuant rodent the slip but eventually rang the police out of desperation. Officers captured the squirrel and “arrested it,” according to a message posted on the force’s Facebook page. [Daily Telegraph]

Tom Selleck to pay $20k settlement to California after he was accused of water theft –
Actor Tom Selleck will pay $21,000 (£13,500) to a Southern California water district, which voted to settle the lawsuit accusing the American TV actor and film producer of obtaining water he was not entitled to. Selleck, 70, who is most famous for his lead role in the television series Magnum P.I, was accused earlier this month by the Calleguas Municipal Water District in Ventura County of stealing water from a public fire hydrant in Calleguas. The water was purportedly used for his 60-acre avocado ranch in Westlake Village, just outside the region. [Daily Telegraph]
Tom Selleck

Bernard Tomic charged with trespassing and resisting arrest at Miami Beach hotel party –
Australian tennis player Bernard Tomic has been charged with trespassing and resisting arrest following complaints over a noisy penthouse party at a Miami hotel, police said on Thursday. Security guards were called to a £4,500-a-night penthouse in the W Hotel in South Beach early Wednesday following multiple noise complaints. Tomic was described as “aggressive and belligerent” by a Miami police report. The 22-year-old tennis player, ranked 25th in the world by the Association of Tennis Professionals, refused to turn down the music and slammed the door in the guards’ faces, according to an arrest affidavit. [Daily Telegraph]
Bernard Tomic

Video of the Day –

Animated Flyover of Pluto’s Icy Mountain and Plains [See story from July 15, 2015]

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#NoMientoSiDigoQue	#SandraBland	#newsrw
2	#OdioQue	Ida B. Wells	#HappyBirthdayLuke
3	#ESPYS	#DescribeBabiesIn3Words	Valdes
4	#OTRASeattle	James Holmes	Tim Farron
5	#الثوره_ضد_STC_م�…	#GrowingUpSpoiled	#askboris
6	Tigres	#Chattanooga	Prince Philip
7	Angie	#OTRASeattle	#TheOpen2015
8	#FelizJueves	#GrowingUpADirectioner	Jeremy Hunt
9	Emmy	#HappyBirthdayLuke	#ESPYS
10	#EuAcho	Apocalypse	#EidMubarak

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2014–15 India–Pakistan border skirmishes
- India and Pakistan exchanged gunfire and mortar bombs along their disputed frontier, killing five civilians and injuring more than a dozen.(Reuters)
Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
- Members of exiled President of Yemen Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi‘s Cabinet tour the southern city of Aden for the first time in several months.(Reuters via Daily Mail)
Sinai insurgency
- The Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) has claimed its first naval attack on an Egyptian patrol boat in the Mediterranean, just off the coast of Sinai. (Time) (Ahram Online)
Boko Haram, Timeline of Boko Haram insurgency
- Twin blasts at a market in Gombe, Nigeria kill at least 49 people. (BBC)
- Boko Haram militants kill a dozen villagers in Niger. (Reuters)
South Thailand insurgency
- Two Thai Army soldiers are killed in an ambush in Thailand‘s Narathiwat Province. (Bangkok Post)
At least 11 people are killed and many others injured in a tribal fight in a remote area of Papua New Guinea. (AFP via ABC Australia)

Arts and culture

Nominations for the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards are announced with Game of Thrones receiving 24 nominations. (Variety)

Business and economy

The European Union launches an antitrust action against American semiconductor company Qualcomm, for possible abuse of a dominant market position, on the one hand, and predatory pricing, on the other hand. (European Union)

Disasters and accidents

Sixty-five thousand people in the Indian state of Assam are affected by floods and heavy rainfall. (NDTV)
Ash from the Raung volcano closes five airports in Indonesia, while ash from the Gamalama volcano closes the Babullah Airport in Ternate.(Channel News Asia)
2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Nangka makes landfall on the Japanese island of Shikoku. (Weather.com)]
The Nexen pipeline at the Long Lake facility near Fort McMurray, Alberta, spills 5,000,000 litres (1,100,000 imp gal; 1,300,000 US gal) of oil emulsion. (CBC)

Law and crime

2015 Chattanooga shootings
- A shooting occurs at a United States Navy recruiting office and a Navy operational support center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, killing four U.S. Marines and the gunman and wounding a police officer, a Marine Corps recruiter and a sailor who is listed in serious condition. (Reuters via MSN) (The Tennessean), (NBC News), (WRCB) (CNN)
James Eagan Holmes, a former University of Colorado neuroscience student, is found guilty of first-degree murder in the July 2012 Aurora movie theater massacre, which killed 12 and injured 70; he had plead not guilty by reason of legal insanity. (Reuters, via MSN)

Politics and elections

Japan’s lower house of parliament passes a pair of bills changing the country’s security laws, allowing Japanese soldiers to fight overseas for the first time since the end of World War II under certain conditions, over strong protests from opposition lawmakers, who walked out of the vote, and demonstrators outside the National Diet Building. (BBC) (NHK)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 17, 2015

Top News Stories –

Jules Bianchi: F1 driver dies from Suzuka crash injuries –
French Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi has died, nine months after suffering severe head injuries in a crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. Bianchi, 25, had been in a coma since crashing his Marussia into a recovery vehicle at October’s rain-hit race. His family said: “Jules fought right to the very end, as he always did, but today his battle came to an end.” The Marussia team, now known as Manor, said Bianchi had left an “indelible mark on all our lives”.
Jules Bianchi

Video of the Day –

Ciara – Dance Like We’re Making Love

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#1DRADIOPARTY	#1DRADIOPARTY	#1DRADIOPARTY
2	#WorldEmojiDay	#WorldEmojiDay	#fridayfeeling
3	#SHESKINDAHOT	#SHESKINDAHOT	#WorldEmojiDay
4	Kiko Casilla	David Brooks	Eid Mubarak
5	#GrowingUpWithStrictParents	#EidMubarak	#SHESKINDAHOT
6	#BuenViernes	The Revenant	Fabian Delph
7	Fabian Delph	#LyricsThatShouldBeShouted	#GrowingUpWithStrictParents
8	Luis Coronel	#GrowingUpWithStrictParents	#DavisCup
9	時かけ	#Take10MinutesADayTo	James Holmes
10	Gawker	Gawker	Gawker

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram, Timeline of Boko Haram insurgency
- Suicide bombers killed at least 64 people in multiple blasts in the northeastern towns of Gombe and Damaturu, Nigeria. (WSJ via AP)(Local 10) (BBC)
- Niger’s army killed at least 30 suspected Boko Haram fighters as it searched for militants in villages just over the border with Nigeria. (NewsDay Zimbabwe)
At least six people are killed in clashes between supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood and Egyptian police. (BBC)
Iraq War (2014–present), ISIL
- A car bomb in Khan Bani Saad City massacres more than 100 people, mostly Shias, celebrating the Eid after end of Ramadan. ISIL claims responsibility. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Australian artist Nigel Milsom wins the 2015 Archibald Prize for a portrait of barrister Charles Waterstreet who represented Milsom when he was sentenced for armed robbery. (ABC News Australia)
Holy Trinity University, Puerto Princesa, Philippines has been named as a new center to research ancient Palawan man, Tabon Caves, and large sculptures found along Palawan’s coast.(Palawan-News)

Business and economy

Greek government-debt crisis
- Bundestag, the German lower house of parliament, approves Greece’s bailout plan by 439–119 with 40 abstained. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Nangka passes through the western part of the main Japanese island of Honshu, causing at least two deaths, widespread flooding and the evacuation of 100,000 people. (Reuters)
Indonesian volcano eruptions
- Thousands of Indonesians are stranded on the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of Ramadan as five airports remain closed as a result of the eruption of the Raung and Gamalama volcanoes. (BBC)
At least five people are dead and three are missing after a coal mine in the Philippines province of Antique collapses. (AP)
Two commuter trains collide at the Booysens train station in Johannesburg, South Africa, injuring more than 250 people. (News24)

International relations

The People’s Republic of China releases 10 South African tourists held for allegedly distributing terrorist material. (News 24)
Ukraine expels Valery Shibeko, Russia’s top envoy to Odessa, after declaring the consulate general “persona non grata” for conducting unnamed activities “incompatible” with his diplomatic work. (AFP)

Law and crime

The Pakistan Rangers, a paramilitary group, raid the Karachi headquarters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party on the grounds that it had allegedly been producing hate speech, and arrest two people. (Reuters via Business Insider)
A man goes on a shooting spree in Maine, U.S., killing two people and wounding three others in the towns of Lee and Benedicta. A manhunt is executed, and the suspect is arrested in Houlton. (CBC)

Sport

List of world records in athletics
- Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia breaks the world record for women’s 1500 metres at the Herculis IAAF Diamond League event in Monacorunning three minutes 50.08 seconds. (BBC)

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July 18, 2015

Top News Stories –

South Korea spy kills himself amid hacking scandal –
An employee of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) spying agency has been found dead in his car after apparently taking his own life on a mountain road, police say. His death comes as a scandal over phone-hacking gathers pace. The man left a suicide note admitting that he had deleted important information about the hacking. It has emerged that mobile phones were tracked and monitored just before the presidential election in 2012. [BBC]

North Korean elections – not too close to call –
Worker’s Party expected to fare well in polls this Sunday with only one name on ballot paper and punishment for anyone who fails to endorse Kim Jong-un’s policies. To indicate support for the approved candidate, the voter goes into a booth and carries out his democratic duty. Anyone who does not agree with the name on the ballot paper must go to a different booth and cross out the candidate’s name. With the every move closely scrutinised, it would be an act of extreme bravery in a nation that is not known for tolerating dissenting voices for that to happen. [Daily Telegraph]
Kim Jong-un (sketch)

Bratz are back after Barbie owner fails to kill franchise –
After almost a decade of a back-and-forth legal battle between Mattel and Bratz-owner MGA, the spunky dolls are back and ready to take on an already weak Barbie. Years before toys of Frozen characters knocked Barbie off her perennial perch, a gaggle of ethnically-diverse fashionistas known as Bratz temporarily toppled the word-famous doll – and now they’re back after winning a protracted legal battle with Barbie-owner Mattel.
Bratz, which first came to market in 2001, is relaunching this weekend with a revamped look, an extra character and new range of accessories in an attempt to regain its place at the top of toytown. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Chuck Jones – The Evolution of an Artist from Tony Zhou on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#ZaynAppreciationDay	McCain	#lyricsthatshouldbeshouted
2	Stereo Kicks	#UFCGlasgow	#ZaynAppreciationDay
3	#ArianaRESPECTLouis	#MandelaDay	Nazi
4	あなたの心の壁	#arianarespectlouis	#ImInWorkJeremy
5	#MeGustaCuando	#OTRAVancouver	#RIPJules
6	#RIPJules	#LyricsThatShouldBeShouted	Jules Bianchi
7	DEIXA ELE SOFRER MUSIC VIDEO	#GrowingUpWithSiblings	#UFCGlasgow
8	ICFES	Van Miller	#ArianaRESPECTLouis
9	#OTRAVancouver	#ROWYSOVegas	Stereo Kicks
10	jules bianchi	#LouisAppreciationDay	#DavisCup

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Terrorism in Pakistan
- In a failed suicide blast, a security guard intercepted a suicide bomber clad in female clothing attempting to enter Quetta’s Hazara town, who then detonated their device that contained 6 to 7 Kg of explosive material, killing themselves and the guard. (Dawn).
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
- The Kurdish‘s People’s Protection Units and independent monitors accuse ISIL of using poison gas while fighting in northern Syria late in June.(Reuters)
- Saudi Arabia arrests 431 people accused of links to Islamic State. (Al-Arabiyah)
- ISIL claims responsibility for kidnapping three African Christians in Libya. (Reuters via Trust)
War in Donbass, Timeline of the war in Donbass (July 2015–present)
- Three civilians have been killed in shelling in the Donbass town of Avdiivka. Despite being in government-held territory local residents claimed they were fired on by pro-Ukrainian forces. (Reuters)
Sinai insurgency
- Militants kill at least five soldiers in attacks on two Egyptian Army checkpoints. (AP via ABC America)

Disasters and accidents

At least four people are dead, seven injured and a girl trapped as a four story building collapses in West Delhi in India‘s National Capital Territory of Delhi. (NDTV)

2015 Cajon Pass wildfire
- The wildfire burning in San Bernardino County, California has burned over 3,500 acres, and destroyed 16 homes and other buildings. The fire has also burned over 60 passenger vehicles and tractor-trailers. (CBS-Los Angeles)

Law and crime

2015 Chattanooga shootings
- The sailor wounded in Thursday’s shooting at two military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee, dies a little after 2 a.m. Saturday, bringing the death toll of the shooting to five. (Chattanooga Times-Free Press)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 19, 2015

Top News Stories –

Surfer Mick Fanning escapes shark attack in South Africa –
An Australian surfer has made an incredible escape after encountering two sharks during a major competition in South Africa. Mick Fanning was competing in Jeffreys Bay, on the eastern Cape, when one of the sharks approached his surfboard. The final of the J-Bay Open had only just started when Fanning was knocked off his surfboard and into the sea. Fanning, the defending champion, escaped injury. The tournament was called off soon afterwards. “I was just sitting there and I felt something just get stuck in my leg rope, and I was kicking trying to get it away,” Fanning told Fox Sports. “I just saw fins. I was waiting for the teeth.” Fanning, a three-time world champion, said he was able to “get a punch into its back” and startle it. [BBC] See Video of the Day
Mick Fanning

Little Mix’s Jesy gets engaged to Rixton’s Jake on stage with Ed Sheeran –
Jesy from Little Mix has got engaged to Jake from Rixton. It happened on stage with Ed Sheeran and it seems that Ed helped out as a favour to Jake. Jake tweeted to Ed: “Travelled 5 hours to sing our favourite song on his day off. I will never ever be able to repay you. Love you pal.” It seems that Ed gave up one of his rest days to play an acoustic version of Tenerife Sea at a Little Mix sound check. During the song Jake went down on one knee to pop the question.
Jesy Nelson

Video of the Day –

Shark Attacks Mick Fanning at J-Bay Open

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#louisappreciationday	#NationalIceCreamDay	#GrowingUpWithSiblings
2	#SophiamIsEngaged	#growingupwithmyname	#LouisAppreciationDay
3	#GrowingUpWithMyName	#MyUnpopularBlackOpinion	#GrowingUpWithMyName
4	#TengoGanasDe	#SophiamIsEngaged	Frampton
5	Mick Fanning	Alex Rocco	James McClean
6	UCAB	Mick Fanning	#SophiamIsEngaged
7	梅雨明け	#BernieSoBlack	Paul Dunne
8	#FeelBetterJustin	#LouisAppreciationDay	mick fanning
9	花火綺麗	#FeelBetterJustin	#bbcsp
10	#GrowingUpWithSiblings	#johnsonmatters	Crolla

Other News Stories –

Disasters and accidents

British police resume the search for four people missing after an explosion at a mill in Cheshire. (BBC)

Arts and culture

Fourteen sufi mausoleums in the city of Timbuktu in northern Mali have been rebuilt, three years after they were destroyed by Islamist militants from Ansar Dine group. (BBC)

International relations

2014–15 India–Pakistan border skirmishes, India–Pakistan relations
- The Pakistan Foreign Office lodges an official report with India over what it calls a series of “unprovoked ceasefire violations” in the disputedHimalayan region of Kashmir. (AP via Asian Correspondent)

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July 20, 2015

Top News Stories –

Grooveshark co-founder Josh Greenberg, 28, found dead –
The co-founder of a recently-shut down music streaming website has been found dead in his Florida home, local police have said. Josh Greenberg, who was aged 28, created Grooveshark in 2006. There was “no evidence of foul play or suicide,” police in Gainesville said via Twitter. Grooveshark closed in April this year following years of legal action from several record labels. A US court had determined that the site could be liable for $736m (£472m) in damages after it was judged to have wilfully breached copyright when building the service’s music library. [BBC]

Open 2015: Zach Johnson triumphs in Open play-off –
American Zach Johnson claimed his second major title with victory in a three-man play-off on a thrilling final day in the 144th Open Championship. The 2007 Masters winner finished a shot ahead of South African Louis Oosthuizen and three ahead of Australian Marc Leishman over four extra holes. Earlier, the three ended on 15 under to lead a competitive field at St Andrews. Jordan Spieth’s hopes of a Grand Slam were ended as he finished on 14 under along with Australia’s Jason Day. [BBC] See List of the Day
Zach Johnson

Lee Nelson showers Fifa president Sepp Blatter with dollar bills –
Fifa president Sepp Blatter was showered with fake banknotes by a notorious prankster at a press conference in his Zurich headquarters. The comedian Lee Nelson – real name Simon Brodkin – managed to infiltrate the press conference, which was being held to announce reforms planned to world football’s governing body, and a date for the presidential election. The press conference was delayed by around 10 minutes as organisers cleaned up the notes. [Daily Telegraph] See Video of the Day

Canadian-Owned Infidelity Dating Site Suffers Cyber Attack –
A Canadian-owned dating website for married people seeking affairs says it has suffered a cyberattack after hackers claimed to have stolen confidential customer information, threatening to publish it unless the company is shut down. Avid Life Media, which owns Toronto-based site AshleyMadison.com, said Monday that it had taken steps to secure its sites. Ashley Madison, whose slogan is “Life is short. Have an affair,” claims it has more than 37 million anonymous worldwide members. Online security blog KrebsOnSecurity.com posted what appeared to be a screenshot of the site’s home page on Sunday bearing a message from the hackers, who said they acted to expose alleged lies Ashley Madison told customers about a service that allows members to erase profile information. [NY Times]

Video of the Day –

Comedian throws money at Blatter during press conference

List of the Day –

Zach Johnson PGA Tour wins (from Wikipedia)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Apr 4, 2004	BellSouth Classic	69-66-68-72=275	−13	1 stroke	Mark Hensby
2	Apr 8, 2007	Masters Tournament	71-73-76-69=289	+1	2 strokes	Retief Goosen, Rory Sabbatini, Tiger Woods
3	May 20, 2007	AT&T Classic (2)	71-66-69-67=273	−15	Playoff	Ryuji Imada
4	Oct 12, 2008	Valero Texas Open	69-66-62-64=261	−19	2 strokes	Charlie Wi, Tim Wilkinson, Mark Wilson
5	Jan 18, 2009	Sony Open in Hawaii	69-65-66-65=265	−15	2 strokes	Adam Scott, David Toms
6	May 17, 2009	Valero Texas Open (2)	68-67-60-70=265	−15	Playoff	James Driscoll
7	May 30, 2010	Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial	65-66-64-64=259	−21	3 strokes	Brian Davis
8	May 27, 2012	Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (2)	64-67-65-72=268	−12	1 stroke	Jason Dufner
9	Jul 15, 2012	John Deere Classic	68-65-66-65=264	−20	Playoff	Troy Matteson
10	Sep 16, 2013	BMW Championship	64-69-70-65=268	−16	2 strokes	Nick Watney
11	Jan 6, 2014	Hyundai Tournament of Champions	67-66-74-66=273	−19	1 stroke	Jordan Spieth
12	Jul 20, 2015	The Open Championship	66-71-70-66=273	−15	Playoff	Marc Leishman, Louis Oosthuizen

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#LiamAppreciationDay	Ashley Madison	#GrowingUpShy
2	#SuruçtaKatliamVar	#mondaymotivation	#LiamAppreciationDay
3	ashley madison	Zach Johnson	Carter
4	#GrowingUpShy	#LiamAppreciationDay	#mondaymotivation
5	Carter	Blake and Miranda	#wwebattleground
6	Blatter	#GrowingUpWithGlasses	Ashley Madison
7	#AmigoEAqueleQue	#GrowingUpShy	Zach Johnson
8	Macri	Action Bronson	Lee Nelson
9	Ortega Cano	#TurnOffs	#extremism
10	#TomaraQueCaia	Carter	#WelfareBill

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- In a friendly fire incident, a NATO air strike hits an Afghan National Army outpost in Logar Province, about 30 miles east of Kabul, with at least seven soldiers killed and five wounded. (CNN) (The Independent – UK)
Spillover of the Syrian Civil War, Suruç bombing
- A huge explosion in the mostly Kurdish border town of Suruç, Turkey, targeting The Socialist Youth Associations Federation, kills at least 31 people and injures over 100. Preliminary evidence suggests an ISIS suicide attack. (BBC) (The Daily Star)

Business and economy

Greek government-debt crisis timeline
- Greek banks reopen for the first time in three weeks with strict capital controls. (AP)
Lockheed Martin agrees to buy United Technologies Corp‘s Sikorsky Aircraft for $9 billion. (Reuters)
Venezuela orders producers to divert supplies to state stores amid a chronic shortage of goods. (AP)

International relations

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
- The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves the Nuclear Pact between Iran and a group of six world powers in return for sanctions relief. (Voice of America) (Reuters)
The United States and Cuba resume full diplomatic relations after five decades. (AP)

Science

Rosetta mission:
- Philae lander on 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko comet has lost contact with the European Space Agency (ESA) ground control. (DW),(CNN)

Sports

2015 Open Championship
- In golf, the final round of The Open Championship is played at the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland with Zach Johnson winning a four hole playoff with Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen. (The Guardian), (The Independent)
FIFA announces it will hold an extraordinary session on February 26, 2016, in order to elect a new president to replace Sepp Blatter. (BBC)

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July 21, 2015

Top News Stories –

Toshiba chief executive resigns over scandal –
Toshiba’s chief executive and president Hisao Tanaka has resigned after the company said it had overstated its profits for the past six years.
He will be succeeded by chairman Masashi Muromachi, with vice-chairman Norio Sasaki also stepping down.
On Monday, an independent panel appointed by Toshiba said the firm had overstated its operating profit by a total of 151.8bn yen ($1.22bn, £780m).
The overstatement was roughly triple an initial estimate by Toshiba. [BBC]

Nasa releases amazing high-resolution picture of sunlit Earth from one million miles away –
Nasa has released the first image taken from its new deep space satellite DSCOVR. If Carl Sagan was impressed with the Pale Blue Dot, he would have been equally blown away by this incredible image (launch high-resolution version) of Earth taken from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR). While the image taken by Voyager in 1990 from 3.7 billion miles away showed our planet as just one pixel, the new picture reveals Earth at incredible detail from one million miles. It was taken by NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) and generated by stitching together three separate photographs. It shows North America, the Gulf of Mexico and down into South America. At the top right it is just possible to make out the western coasts of Europe. [Daily Telegraph]
©NASA, 2015

Khloe Kardashian to Host ‘Hybrid’ Talk Show on FYI Channel –
The FYI channel says Khloe Kardashian will host and produce a “hybrid” talk series titled “Kocktails With Khloe.” Kardashian will be joined in the kitchen and at the dinner table by celebrity guests and friends for conversation, cooking and party games, FYI said Tuesday. She’s been part of her family’s TV empire in shows including “Keeping up With the Kardashians” and “Khloe and Lamar,” which featured NBA player Lamar Odom. Odom and Kardashian were married, but she filed for divorce in 2013. “Kocktails With Khloe” is set to debut in late 2015. [NY Times]
Khloe Kardashian

Video of the Day –

Chop My Money from Theo Anthony on Vimeo.

A day in the life of three street kids in the Eastern Congo.

Directed by Theo Anthony
Produced by Allen Amani

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#NiallAppreciationDay	#NationalJunkFoodDay	#GrowingUpWithGlasses
2	#SigoEsperandoQue	#ExplainEarthToSpaceAliens	#NiallAppreciationDay
3	#vmas	John Kasich	#iHeart5SOS
4	Meus Documentos	#NiallAppreciationDay	#WomensAshes
5	#SiTuvieraUnSuperPoder	#TheLiesWeTellKids	#TheLiesWeTellKids
6	#MeRemilRompeLasPelotasQue	#GrowingUpAGirl	#CiaoJules
7	Siria	#HistoricalRealityShows	#ExplainEarthToSpaceAliens
8	#GrowingUpWithGlasses	Jaden Smith	#GrowingUpAGirl
9	#من_اسباب_تخلف_…	#3WordsToRegret	Bill Turnbull
10	#OneDirection	#VMAs	Prince George

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and human rights organizations say that YPG fighters have captured one juvenile prison and a power station in the south of Hasaka, a Syrian province mostly controlled by ISIL. (kurdpress)

Business and economy

Greek government-debt crisis timeline
- The government of Greece submits more legislation to the Hellenic Parliament required by its creditors to start a bailout package. (Reuters)
Hisao Tanaka stands down as the CEO of Japanese company Toshiba following a $1.2 billion accounting scandal. (Financial Times)

International relations

The Philippines announces plans to increase its defense budget by 25% amid ongoing tension in the South China Sea. (AFP via Straits Times)

Law and crime

Authorities in Waller County, Texas announce that the death of activist Sandra Bland in police custody will be treated as a murder investigation.(CNN)

Politics and elections

Burundian presidential election, 2015
- Voters in Burundi go to the polls for a presidential election amidst gunfire and violence with President Pierre Nkurunziza seeking a third term and opposition parties boycotting the election. At least two people have been killed in election violence. (BBC), (Reuters via SABC)
United States presidential election, 2016
- The Governor of Ohio John Kasich becomes the 16th person to seek the nomination of the Republican Party. (NBC News)

Sports

The National Hockey League announces that it has received formal applications for expansion teams from ownership groups in Las Vegas andQuebec City. If granted, the expansion teams would begin play in the 2017–18 season. (CBC)

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July 22, 2015

Top News Stories –

Madonna compares herself to Pablo Picasso –
Madonna thinks artists deep into their careers should stop if they do not have anything more to say. But at 56, the singer says she wants to keep going – and feels like Pablo Picasso. “I like to compare myself to other kinds of artists like Picasso. He kept painting and painting until the day he died. Why? Because I guess he felt inspired to do so,” she said. “Life inspired him, so he had to keep expressing himself, and that’s how I feel.” Madonna released her self-titled debut album in 1983, and her latest album, “Rebel Heart,” earlier this year. She said the key to sticking around is her continual desire to inspire others. “I don’t think there’s a time, a date, an expiration date for being creative,” she said. “I think you go until you don’t have any more to say.” [Daily Telegraph] Madonna launched her latest video on June 17, 2015
Madonna

Taylor Swift Chinese clothing line with ‘TS’ and ‘1989’ touches Tiananmen Square nerve –
Taylor Swift has accidentally touched a political nerve in the lead up to her China tour by promoting merchandise with the letters ‘TS’ and the date ‘1989’ — shared by the Tiananmen Square massacre, which remains heavily censored in mainland China. The American star was due to launch her new range of clothing on China’s biggest retailer platforms, Taobao and Jing Dong (JD.com), in the run up to her forthcoming China tour. However, the tour slated for November, could be jeopardised given the sensitive nature of the cack-handed reference. Both the tour and album were named after Swift’s date of birth, 1989, but also allude to the year in which reportedly thousands of innocent civilians were mown down by government forces in Beijing among student protests. [Daily Telegraph]
Taylor Swift

A $7 Billion Charge at Microsoft Leads to Its Largest Loss Ever –
An accounting charge wiped out Microsoft’s profit for the quarter, leading to its largest loss ever, the company said on Tuesday, making clear the cost of its missteps in the mobile business. The $7.5 billion accounting charge, stemming from Microsoft’s troubled acquisition of Nokia’s cellphone business, was disclosed by the company earlier this month, along with plans to eliminate 7,800 jobs, mostly in the company’s phone operations. While the accounting charge was on paper and will not diminish the company’s huge cash hoard, it was a psychic blow to Microsoft, one of the biggest money makers in tech. [NY Times]

Video of the Day –

SPECTRE – James Bond trailer

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#HarryAppreciationDay	#UnexcitingVideoGames	#HarryAppreciationDay
2	Drake	#IfICouldTalkToGod	#Spectre
3	#TwitterBlockinTurkey	#Spectre	Oh My Vlog
4	#MasterChefBR	#5YearsOfOneDirection	Tony Blair
5	#تخصص_تحبه_وما�…	Space Jam 2	Drake
6	#nochedeconfesiones	North Brunswick	#Savebees
7	#OTRAEdmonton	Drake	#UnexcitingVideoGames
8	Lily Rabe	#BabyJams	Piers Morgan
9	#EuSeiQue	#OTRAEdmonton	Taylor
10	#افضل_ماده_درس�…	OG Maco	#HappyBirthdayPrinceGeorge

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

A suicide bomb attack kills at least 15 people in northern Afghanistan. (CNN)
Two explosions in the Nigerian city of Gombe killed at least 29 people. (Reuters)

Arts and Culture

The University of Oxford has radiocarbon dated fragments, of what apparently is the world’s oldest Quran, to between 568 A.D. and 645 A.D. The animal skin parchment was found hidden inside the pages of another book in England’s University of Birmingham library. (Daily Mail) (Deutsche Welle)

Business and economy

The European Central Bank provides an extra 900 million euros to the Greek banks. (The Independent)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Studénka train crash
- Three people die in a collision between a Pendolino train and a lorry that occurred near Studénka, north Moravia, in the Czech Republic.(Yahoo news) (ABC news) (ČTK)

Law and crime

Charleston church shooting
- Dylann Roof, the suspect in the murder of nine people in the American city of Charleston, South Carolina, is indicted on dozens of federal offenses including hate crimes. (The Guardian)
The former prime minister of Egypt, Ahmed Nazif, is sentenced to five years in prison after losing appeal against 3-year prison sentence forcorruption. (Cairo Post)

Science and technology

The finals of the robot football World Cup are held. A Chinese team defeats the Netherlands in the finals of the middle-weight non-humanoid league, while another lost in the final of the small humanoid class to a team from Japan. (DutchNews) (BBC)

Health and medicine

Scientists, led by study leader Jeff Taubenberger, at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), expose mice to non-infectious H proteins (hemagglutinins; 18 types known): one of two protein classes, along with N proteins (neuraminidases; 9 types known), that line influenza (flu) viruses. They then later exposed the mice to species of the flu they hadn’t experienced before, and the mice were protected. This approach toward finding a new universal flu vaccine works better than the current approach of using live or weakened infectious whole flu strains, especially because of the virus’s capability to mutate successfully easily, such as when a person is infected with more than one strain of it at a time. Human trials could start in 2016. (NIAID)

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July 23, 2015

Top News Stories –

‘Earth 2.0’ found in Nasa Kepler telescope haul –
A haul of planets from Nasa’s Kepler telescope includes a world sharing many characteristics with Earth. Kepler-452b orbits at a very similar distance from its star, though its radius is 60% larger. Mission scientists said they believed it was the most Earth-like planet yet. Such worlds are of interest to astronomers because they might be small and cool enough to host liquid water on their surface – and might therefore be hospitable to life. Nasa’s science chief John Grunsfeld called the new world “Earth 2.0” and the “closest so far” to our home. It is around 1,400 light years away from Earth. [BBC]

Taylor Swift apologises to Nicki Minaj –
Taylor Swift has apologised to Nicki Minaj following their Twitter row over the MTV VMA nominations. The singer’s admitted she misunderstood Nicki’s initial tweets, which attacked the music industry for favouring white females. “I thought I was being called out. I missed the point, then misspoke, I’m sorry, Nicki,” Taylor wrote. Nicki has accepted her apology by tweeting back: “That means so much Taylor, thank you.” It all started after Nicki voiced her disappointment at Anaconda not getting a nomination for video of the year. [BBC Newsbeat]

Nicki Minaj

Sony Pictures buys rights to make an emoji movie –
Sony Pictures Animation has bought the rights to turn emoji icons into a movie. The studio plans to create an animated feature film about the smiley, winky and unhappy characters used in texts and on social media. At this stage, it’s not clear how it will turn the static yellow round faces into a Hollywood blockbuster. Commentators claim the success of The Lego Movie showed that any subject matter can be turned into a hit. Emojis were developed in Japan in the late 1990s as smiley-faced emoticons. [BBC Newsbeat]

Video of the Day –

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 Official Trailer – “We March Together”

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#ThankYou1Dfor	#JusticeForSandraBland	#ThankYou1Dfor
2	#CoolForTheSummerVideoToday	#thankyou1dfor	#GrowingUpInLondon
3	#5YearsOfOneDirection	#NationalHotDogDay	Kay Burley
4	#Sharknado3	#3WordWorstCaseScenario	#NationalHotDogDay
5	#MockingjayPart2Trailer	Jurassic World 2	#sandrabland
6	下ネタ許容	#DisappointASong	#APMAs
7	Karylle On GGV	#CalibraskaEP	Earth 2.0
8	Japón	Broken Arrow	#5YearsOfOneDirection
9	Kepler-452b	Financial Times	Jamaica
10	#APMAs	Lou Lamoriello	John Prescott

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- Turkey scrambles fighter jets and Turkish tanks open fire on ISIS positions along the Syrian border following an exchange of fire which left one Turkish soldier dead and two injured. The clashes are the first direct combat between the Turkish military and ISIS forces. (Telegraph)
- Turkey agrees to allow the United States access to İncirlik Air Base, near the city of Adana (in close proximity to the Syrian border) for the US-led coalition forces’ air strikes against ISIS. (Today’s Zaman)
China’s People’s Liberation Army conducts a series of military exercises simulating an attack on Taiwan’s Presidential Office Building. (Focus Taiwan) (Quartz) (Wall Street Journal)

Business and economy

Greek government-debt crisis timeline
- A majority in the Greek parliament votes to approve a second bailout reform package. (Euronews)
Pearson PLC agrees to sell Financial Times Group to Nikkei Inc. for £844 million. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

At least 15 people are killed in a boat crash on Egypt‘s Nile. (BBC)

Law and crime

Broken Arrow killings
- Five people are killed and a girl is wounded in a stabbing at a home in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, U.S. Two teenage suspects are arrested.(CNN)
2015 Lafayette shooting
- Seven people are wounded, and three are dead (including the shooter) after a 58 year-old gunman opens fire at the Grand 16 Movie Theater in Lafayette, Louisiana during a showing of Trainwreck. (NBC)[(CNN)

Science and technology

NASA scientists announce the discovery of Kepler-452b, the first near-Earth sized exoplanet discovered orbiting the habitable zone of a Sun-like star. (NASA), (BBC)

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July 24, 2015

Top News Stories –

WWE Cuts Ties With Hulk Hogan Amid Report That He Used Slurs –
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. has severed ties with Hulk Hogan amid a report that one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling history used racial slurs in a conversation caught on a sex tape. The company deleted most references to Hogan on its website and issued a statement Friday saying it had terminated its contract with him. WWE did not give a reason, but issued a statement saying it is “committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide.” On Friday, a joint report from RadarOnline.com and The National Enquirer said that Hogan had used racial slurs in a conversation caught on a sex video that is the subject of an invasion of privacy lawsuit. [NY Times]
Hulk Hogan in 2014

Converse launches first Chuck Taylor update in 98 years –
Converse has announced it is launching a Converse Chuck Taylor All Star II – the first update to the iconic canvas shoe in nearly a century. The update is made of durable Tencel canvas, as opposed to the cotton kind, with higher tech shock absorption in Nike Lunarlon for the footbed. The idea is to make the show [sic – sole] more comfortable. Jim Calhoun, the 48-year-old chief executive of Converse, said many customers had complained that the original Converse was not supportive enough. The easily recognisable rubber toe cap will remain. The new shoe goes on sale on July 28 in black, white, red and blue. [Daily Telegraph]
The new Converse red

Apple patents Apple TV remote with Touch ID –
Entering passwords to log into Netflix could become a thing of the past after a patent for an Apple TV remote complete with fingerprint scanner emerged. Apple has been granted a patent for an Apple TV remote with inbuilt Touch ID sensor, allowing users to use their biometric data to enter TV passwords, created personalised profiles or controlling connected devices. The patent, filed in January 2014, explores how biometric information collected through fingerprint sensors could be harnessed to personalise user profiles and access accounts without the need for ‘annoying and/or burdensome’ logins. Data could also be supplied through retinal or facilia images, palm, toe or hand prints, voice samples and gesture patterns, according to the filing. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Janet Jackson – “No Sleeep” Feat. J. Cole

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Hulk Hogan	Hulk Hogan	Hulk Hogan
2	#ZaynIsComingBackOnJuly26	#NationalTequilaDay	#FridayFeeling
3	#QueLindoMeVendria	#ZaynIsComingBackOnJuly26	#CalibraskaEP
4	#CalibraskaEP	Dennis Rodman	lord harris
5	土用の丑の日	#LafayetteShooting	#NationalTequilaDay
6	次の漢字の読み	#ClearedMyHistoryBecause	#Lafayette
7	#5anos1DRadioTalent	#APositiveMessage	#UberIceCream
8	#TodaviaSigoEsperandoQue	#Lafayette	#GetStupidOutNow
9	tsunami	#CalibraskaEP	#ZaynIsComingBackOnJuly26
10	#Tomorrowland	#fridayreads	DJ Derek

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War, Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- Turkish warplanes strike ISIS positions in northern Syria following an exchange of gunfire on the Turkish-Syrian border which left one Turkish soldier dead. The airstrikes are said to have killed as many as 35 ISIS militants. (Yahoo)

Business and economy

Health insurance company Anthem Inc. agrees to buy Cigna in a deal worth $48 billion. (Wall Street Journal)

Disasters and accidents

A large explosion, which triggers other explosions and a fire (which threatens a nearby forest) at a fireworks factory in southeastern Italy(Modugno, Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia Region) kills 7 people and injures several more, some seriously. Emergency vehicles were on the scene and the cause is being investigated; it is the peak season for fireworks in Italy because of the summer festivals there. (BBC)

Law and Crime

The United States Department of Transportation opens an investigation into whether airlines engaged in price gouging by raising ticket prices in the Northeastern United States following the 2015 Philadelphia train derailment in May. (AP)

Politics and elections

Burundian presidential election, 2015
- The President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, is elected for a third consecutive term. (BBC)
Anti-corruption campaign in China:
- Zhou Benshun, the Communist Party chief of China’s Hebei province, is detained for investigation by the party’s anti-graft body. He is first incumbent provincial leader to be investigated since the anti-corruption campaign began in 2013. (WSJ)

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July 25, 2015

Top News Stories –

Parking attendant ‘mistakenly gives away’ Grandmaster Flash’s car –
Hip-hop pioneer says he returned to garage to find his customised Dodge Charger had been given to someone “dressed like him”. When you leave your customised muscle car with a valet parking service in New York, you assume it is in safe hands.Particularly if you are a hip-hop superstar. But when Grandmaster Flash returned to the garage in Manhattan where he had left his Dodge Charger for two hours he was told by the attendant that his “whip” – slang for souped-up car – had been given to someone else. To make matters worse, he had left thousands of dollars of vintage vinyl in the car. [Daily Telegraph]

Has Kim Kardashian just fixed Twitter? –
Reality TV star wants to be able to edit misspelled tweets and Twitter co-founder says ‘great idea’. It is easily one of the most annoying things about Twitter: the inability to edit tweets that contain mistakes, spelling errors or just came out sounding a bit wrong. Instead, Twitter users have the delete the tweet, and repost a new version, which leads to all kinds of problems if the earlier tweet had been retweeted, and on it goes. But hopefully not for long. Enter Kim Kardashian, the reality TV star and unofficial queen of Twitter, who uses the site daily to communicate with her 33.8 million followers and promote herself. On Friday, Kardashian turned her attention to the workings of the site, asking why it wasn’t possible to simply edit tweets. Not long afterwards, she got a reply from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, which suggests a fix for the problem isn’t far off. [Daily Telegraph]
Kim Kardashian Twitter fix with Jack Dorsey

Kim Kardashian

Video of the Day –

Otherwise Engaged from Jack Sidey on Vimeo.

Written and Directed by Alicia MacDonald @AliciaMacDonald

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	iPhone 7	#RespectForCarter	#RespectForCarter
2	あなたの行動年齢	#MTVHottest	#APositiveMessage
3	#RespectForCarter	iPhone 7	#LessPopularChildrensBooks
4	#حاجات_بسيطه_ب�…	#MakeAFunnyMovieSerious	The Breakfast Club
5	#EyŞanlıOrduEyŞanlıAsker	#LessPopularChildrensBooks	iPhone 7
6	#MTVHottest	#NationalDanceDay	#MTVHottest
7	花火大会	#UFCChicago	#WorldCup2018
8	#OTRAWinnipeg	Cole Hamels	#OTRAWinnipeg
9	#اسباب_تخلف_ال�…	billy burns	Hulk Hogan
10	#APositiveMessage	Charged Up	#EmiratesCup2015

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- The Saudi-led military coalition announces that a 5-day humanitarian ceasefire has been agreed to, set to begin just before midnight Sunday.(Wall Street Journal)
Two suicide bombings at a swimming pool in northern Iraq killed at least 12 people. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Chris Brown leaves the Philippines after he is prevented from leaving for four days due to a financial dispute between Brown and the Christian sect Iglesia ni Cristo. (The New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

A large fire 12 miles (19 kilometres) west of the French city of Bordeaux ravages more than 350 hectares (860 acres) of forest. (The Daily Star)

Politics and election

The Tunisian parliament approved a new anti-terror law that allows the death penalty for terrorists. (Reuters)

Sports

Dutch cyclist Niek Kimmann wins his first UCI BMX Supercross series world title, while Venezuelan Stefany Hernandez finished first at the elite women’s race. (British Cycling)

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July 26, 2015

Top News Stories –

Lord Sewel faces call to quit Parliament over drugs claim –
Senior peer Lord Sewel has been urged to resign from the House of Lords after he was filmed allegedly taking drugs with prostitutes. He could also face a police inquiry over the Sun on Sunday’s footage.The original footage released appeared to show Lord Sewel snorting powder from a woman’s breasts with a £5 note. Lords Speaker Baroness D’Souza condemned his behaviour, saying it was “shocking and unacceptable” and the allegations would be referred to the House of Lords commissioner for standards and the Metropolitan Police. [BBC]

Tour de France: Chris Froome completes historic British win –
Chris Froome became the first Briton to win the Tour de France twice when he safely reached the finish line in Paris at the end of the three-week race. The 2013 champion finished alongside his team-mates on the final stage, behind a sprint won by Andre Greipel. Mark Cavendish, seeking a fifth win on the Champs-Elysees, finished sixth after the 109.5km race from Sevres. The win for Froome means a Briton, and Team Sky, have now won three of the last four of cycling’s showpiece races. Froome, 30, beat Colombia’s Nairo Quintana to the yellow jersey by 72 seconds with Spain’s Alejandro Valverde third. [BBC] See List of the Day
Chris Froome

Bobbi Kristina Brown dies after coma –
Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of late singer Whitney Houston, has died aged 22, a family representative has said. Kristen Foster said she passed away on Sunday surrounded by her family and was “finally at peace in the arms of God”. [BBC] She fell into a coma after she was found in a bathtub on January 31, 2015.

Bobbi Kristina Brown and Whitney Houston in 2009

Video of the Day –

6ft Man in 6ft Giant Water Balloon – 4K – The Slow Mo Guys

List of the Day –

Tour de France Winners

Tour de France general classification winners
Year	Country	Cyclist	Sponsor/Team	Distance	Time/Points	Margin	Stage wins	Yellow jerseys
1903	France	Maurice Garin	La Française	2,428 km (1,509 mi)	94h 33′ 14″	+ 2h 59′ 21″	3	6
1904	France	Henri Cornet	Conte	2,428 km (1,509 mi)	96h 05′ 55″	+ 2h 16′ 14″	1	3
1905	France	Louis Trousselier	Peugeot–Wolber	2,994 km (1,860 mi)	35	26	5	10
1906	France	René Pottier	Peugeot	4,637 km (2,881 mi)	31	8	5	12
1907	France	Lucien Petit-Breton	Peugeot	4,488 km (2,789 mi)	47	19	2	5
1908	France	Lucien Petit-Breton	Peugeot	4,497 km (2,794 mi)	36	32	5	13
1909	Luxembourg	François Faber	Alcyon	4,498 km (2,795 mi)	37	20	6	13
1910	France	Octave Lapize	Alcyon	4,734 km (2,942 mi)	63	4	4	3
1911	France	Gustave Garrigou	Alcyon	5,343 km (3,320 mi)	43	18	2	13
1912	Belgium	Odile Defraye	Alcyon	5,289 km (3,286 mi)	49	59	3	13
1913	Belgium	Philippe Thys	Peugeot	5,287 km (3,285 mi)	197h 54′ 00″	+ 8′ 37″	1	8
1914	Belgium	Philippe Thys	Peugeot	5,380 km (3,340 mi)	200h 28′ 48″	+ 1′ 50″	1	15
1915	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1916	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1917	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1918	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1919	Belgium	Firmin Lambot	La Sportive	5,560 km (3,450 mi)	231h 07′ 15″	+ 1h 42′ 54″	1	2
1920	Belgium	Philippe Thys	La Sportive	5,503 km (3,419 mi)	228h 36′ 13″	+ 57′ 21″	4	14
1921	Belgium	Léon Scieur	La Sportive	5,485 km (3,408 mi)	221h 50′ 26″	+ 18′ 36″	2	14
1922	Belgium	Firmin Lambot	Peugeot	5,375 km (3,340 mi)	222h 08′ 06″	+ 41′ 15″	0	3
1923	France	Henri Pélissier	Automoto	5,386 km (3,347 mi)	222h 15′ 30″	+ 30 ’41”	3	6
1924	Italy	Ottavio Bottecchia	Automoto	5,425 km (3,371 mi)	226h 18′ 21″	+ 35′ 36″	4	15
1925	Italy	Ottavio Bottecchia	Automoto	5,440 km (3,380 mi)	219h 10′ 18″	+ 54′ 20″	4	13
1926	Belgium	Lucien Buysse	Automoto	5,745 km (3,570 mi)	238h 44′ 25″	+ 1h 22′ 25″	2	8
1927	Luxembourg	Nicolas Frantz	Alcyon	5,398 km (3,354 mi)	198h 16′ 42″	+ 1h 48′ 41″	3	14
1928	Luxembourg	Nicolas Frantz	Alcyon	5,476 km (3,403 mi)	192h 48′ 58″	+ 50′ 07″	5	22
1929	Belgium	Maurice De Waele	Alcyon	5,286 km (3,285 mi)	186h 39′ 15″	+44′ 23″	1	16
1930	France	André Leducq	Alcyon	4,822 km (2,996 mi)	172h 12′ 16″	+ 14′ 13″	2	13
1931	France	Antonin Magne	France	5,091 km (3,163 mi)	177h 10′ 03″	+ 12′ 56″	1	16
1932	France	André Leducq	France	4,479 km (2,783 mi)	154h 11′ 49″	+ 24′ 03″	6	19
1933	France	Georges Speicher	France	4,395 km (2,731 mi)	147h 51′ 37″	+ 4′ 01″	3	12
1934	France	Antonin Magne	France	4,470 km (2,780 mi)	147h 13′ 58″	+ 27′ 31″	3	22
1935	Belgium	Romain Maes	Belgium	4,338 km (2,696 mi)	141h 23′ 00″	+ 17′ 52″	3	21
1936	Belgium	Sylvère Maes	Belgium	4,442 km (2,760 mi)	142h 47′ 32″	+ 26′ 55″	4	14
1937	France	Roger Lapébie	France	4,415 km (2,743 mi)	138h 58′ 31″	+ 7′ 17″	3	4
1938	Italy	Gino Bartali*	Italy	4,694 km (2,917 mi)	148h 29′ 12″	+ 18′ 27″	2	8
1939	Belgium	Sylvère Maes*	Belgium	4,224 km (2,625 mi)	132h 03′ 17″	+ 30′ 38″	2	4
1940	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1941	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1942	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1943	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1944	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1945	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1946	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1947	France	Jean Robic	France	4,642 km (2,884 mi)	148h 11′ 25″	+ 3′ 58″	3	1
1948	Italy	Gino Bartali*	Italy	4,922 km (3,058 mi)	147h 10′ 36″	+ 26′ 16″	7	9
1949	Italy	Fausto Coppi*	Italy	4,808 km (2,988 mi)	149h 40′ 49″	+ 10′ 55″	3	5
1950	Switzerland	Ferdinand Kübler	Switzerland	4,773 km (2,966 mi)	145h 36′ 56″	+ 9′ 30″	3	11
1951	Switzerland	Hugo Koblet	Switzerland	4,690 km (2,910 mi)	142h 20′ 14″	+ 22′ 00″	5	11
1952	Italy	Fausto Coppi*	Italy	4,898 km (3,043 mi)	151h 57′ 20″	+ 28′ 17″	5	14
1953	France	Louison Bobet	France	4,476 km (2,781 mi)	129h 23′ 25″	+ 14′ 18″	2	5
1954	France	Louison Bobet	France	4,656 km (2,893 mi)	140h 06′ 05″	+ 15′ 49″	3	14
1955	France	Louison Bobet	France	4,495 km (2,793 mi)	130h 29′ 26″	+ 4′ 53″	2	6
1956	France	Roger Walkowiak	France	4,498 km (2,795 mi)	124h 01′ 16″	+ 1′ 25″	0	8
1957	France	Jacques Anquetil	France	4,669 km (2,901 mi)	135h 44′ 42″	+ 14′ 56″	4	15
1958	Luxembourg	Charly Gaul	Luxembourg	4,319 km (2,684 mi)	116h 59′ 05″	+ 3′ 10″	4	2
1959	Spain	Federico Bahamontes*	Spain	4,358 km (2,708 mi)	123h 46′ 45″	+ 4′ 01″	1	6
1960	Italy	Gastone Nencini	Italy	4,173 km (2,593 mi)	112h 08′ 42″	+ 5′ 02″	0	14
1961	France	Jacques Anquetil	France	4,397 km (2,732 mi)	122h 01′ 33″	+ 12′ 14″	2	21
1962	France	Jacques Anquetil	Saint–Raphaël	4,274 km (2,656 mi)	114h 31′ 54″	+ 4′ 59″	2	3
1963	France	Jacques Anquetil	Saint–Raphaël	4,138 km (2,571 mi)	113h 30′ 05″	+ 3′ 35″	4	5
1964	France	Jacques Anquetil	Saint–Raphaël	4,504 km (2,799 mi)	127h 09′ 44″	+ 55″	4	6
1965	Italy	Felice Gimondi	Salvarani	4,188 km (2,602 mi)	116h 42′ 06″	+ 2′ 40″	3	18
1966	France	Lucien Aimar	Ford–Gitane	4,329 km (2,690 mi)	117h 34′ 21″	+ 1′ 07″	0	6
1967	France	Roger Pingeon	Peugeot–BP–Michelin	4,779 km (2,970 mi)	136h 53′ 50″	+ 3′ 40″	1	17
1968	Netherlands	Jan Janssen	Pelforth-Sauvage–Lejeune	4,492 km (2,791 mi)	133h 49′ 42″	+ 38″	2	1
1969	Belgium	Eddy Merckx	Faema	4,117 km (2,558 mi)	116h 16′ 02″	+ 17′ 54″	6	18
1970	Belgium	Eddy Merckx*	Faemino	4,254 km (2,643 mi)	119h 31′ 49″	+ 12′ 41″	8	20
1971	Belgium	Eddy Merckx	Molteni	3,608 km (2,242 mi)	96h 45′ 14″	+ 9′ 51″	4	17
1972	Belgium	Eddy Merckx	Molteni	3,846 km (2,390 mi)	108h 17′ 18″	+ 10′ 41″	6	15
1973	Spain	Luis Ocaña	Bic	4,090 km (2,540 mi)	122h 25′ 34″	+ 15′ 51″	6	14
1974	Belgium	Eddy Merckx	Molteni	4,098 km (2,546 mi)	116h 16′ 58″	+ 8′ 04″	8	18
1975	France	Bernard Thévenet	Peugeot	4,000 km (2,500 mi)	114h 35′ 31″	+ 2′ 47″	2	8
1976	Belgium	Lucien Van Impe	Gitane–Campagnolo	4,017 km (2,496 mi)	116h 22′ 23″	+ 4′ 14″	1	12
1977	France	Bernard Thévenet	Peugeot	4,096 km (2,545 mi)	115h 38′ 30″	+ 48″	1	8
1978	France	Bernard Hinault	Renault–Elf–Gitane	3,908 km (2,428 mi)	108h 18′ 00″	+ 3′ 56″	3	3
1979	France	Bernard Hinault	Renault–Elf–Gitane	3,765 km (2,339 mi)	103h 06′ 50″	+ 13′ 07″	7	17
1980	Netherlands	Joop Zoetemelk	TI–Raleigh	3,842 km (2,387 mi)	109h 19′ 14″	+ 6′ 55″	2	10
1981	France	Bernard Hinault	Renault–Elf–Gitane	3,753 km (2,332 mi)	96h 19′ 38″	+ 14′ 34″	5	18
1982	France	Bernard Hinault	Renault–Elf–Gitane	3,507 km (2,179 mi)	92h 08′ 46″	+ 6′ 21″	4	12
1983	France	Laurent Fignon^#	Renault–Elf–Gitane	3,809 km (2,367 mi)	105h 07′ 52″	+ 4′ 04″	1	6
1984	France	Laurent Fignon	Renault–Elf–Gitane	4,021 km (2,499 mi)	112h 03′ 40″	+ 10′ 32″	5	7
1985	France	Bernard Hinault	La Vie Claire	4,109 km (2,553 mi)	113h 24′ 23″	+ 1′ 42″	2	16
1986	United States	Greg LeMond	La Vie Claire	4,094 km (2,544 mi)	110h 35′ 19″	+ 3′ 10″	1	7
1987	Ireland	Stephen Roche	Carrera Jeans-Vagabond	4,231 km (2,629 mi)	115h 27′ 42″	+ 40″	1	3
1988	Spain	Pedro Delgado	Reynolds	3,286 km (2,042 mi)	84h 27′ 53″	+ 7′ 13″	1	11
1989	United States	Greg LeMond	ADR Agrigel	3,285 km (2,041 mi)	87h 38′ 35″	+ 8″	3	8
1990	United States	Greg LeMond	Z Vêtements	3,504 km (2,177 mi)	90h 43′ 20″	+ 2′ 16″	0	2
1991	Spain	Miguel Indurain	Banesto	3,914 km (2,432 mi)	101h 01′ 20″	+ 3′ 36″	2	10
1992	Spain	Miguel Indurain	Banesto	3,983 km (2,475 mi)	100h 49′ 30″	+ 4′ 35″	3	10
1993	Spain	Miguel Indurain	Banesto	3,714 km (2,308 mi)	95h 57′ 09″	+ 4′ 59″	2	14
1994	Spain	Miguel Indurain	Banesto	3,978 km (2,472 mi)	103h 38′ 38″	+ 5′ 39″	1	13
1995	Spain	Miguel Indurain	Banesto	3,635 km (2,259 mi)	92h 44′ 59″	+ 4′ 35″	2	13
1996	Denmark	Bjarne Riis^[A]	Team Telekom	3,765 km (2,339 mi)	95h 57′ 16″	+ 1′ 41″	2	13
1997	Germany	Jan Ullrich^#	Team Telekom	3,950 km (2,450 mi)	100h 30′ 35″	+ 9′ 09″	2	12
1998	Italy	Marco Pantani	Mercatone Uno-Bianchi	3,875 km (2,408 mi)	92h 49′ 46″	+ 3′ 21″	2	7
1999^[B]	~~United States~~	~~Lance Armstrong~~	~~US Postal~~	3,687 km (2,291 mi)	~~91h 32′ 16″~~	~~+ 7′ 37″~~	4	15
2000^[B]	~~United States~~	~~Lance Armstrong~~	~~US Postal~~	3,662 km (2,275 mi)	~~92h 33′ 08″~~	~~+ 6′ 02″~~	1	12
2001^[B]	~~United States~~	~~Lance Armstrong~~	~~US Postal~~	3,458 km (2,149 mi)	~~86h 17′ 28″~~	~~+ 6′ 44″~~	4	8
2002^[B]	~~United States~~	~~Lance Armstrong~~	~~US Postal~~	3,272 km (2,033 mi)	~~82h 05′ 12″~~	~~+ 7′ 17″~~	4	11
2003^[B]	~~United States~~	~~Lance Armstrong~~	~~US Postal~~	3,427 km (2,129 mi)	~~83h 41′ 12″~~	~~+ 1′ 01″~~	1	13
2004^[B]	~~United States~~	~~Lance Armstrong~~	~~US Postal~~	3,391 km (2,107 mi)	~~83h 36′ 02″~~	~~+ 6′ 19″~~	5	7
2005^[B]	~~United States~~	~~Lance Armstrong~~	~~Discovery Channel~~	3,593 km (2,233 mi)	~~86h 15′ 02″~~	~~+ 4′ 40″~~	1	17
2006	Spain	Óscar Pereiro^[C]	Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears	3,657 km (2,272 mi)	89h 40′ 27″	+ 32″	0	8
2007	Spain	Alberto Contador^#	Discovery Channel	3,570 km (2,220 mi)	91h 00′ 26″	+ 23″	1	4
2008	Spain	Carlos Sastre	Team CSC	3,559 km (2,211 mi)	87h 52′ 52″	+ 58″	1	5
2009	Spain	Alberto Contador	Astana	3,459 km (2,149 mi)	85h 48′ 35″	+ 4′ 11″	2	7
2010	Luxembourg	Andy Schleck^#^[D]	Team Saxo Bank	3,642 km (2,263 mi)	91h 59′ 27″	+ 1′ 22″	2	12
2011	Australia	Cadel Evans	BMC Racing Team	3,430 km (2,130 mi)	86h 12′ 22″	+ 1′ 34″	1	2
2012	United Kingdom	Bradley Wiggins	Team Sky	3,496 km (2,172 mi)	87h 34′ 47″	+ 3′ 21″	2	14
2013	United Kingdom	Chris Froome	Team Sky	3,404 km (2,115 mi)	83h 56′ 20″	+ 4′ 20″	3	14
2014	Italy	Vincenzo Nibali	Astana	3,660.5 km (2,274.5 mi)	89h 59′ 06″	+ 7′ 37″	4	19
2015	United Kingdom	Chris Froome*	Team Sky	3,660.3 km (2,274.4 mi)	84h 46′ 14″	+ 1′ 12″	1	16

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Charged Up	#5WordsToMakeItAwkward	#5WordsToMakeItAwkward
2	#ДЕНЬВЗАИМНОГ�…	Cueto	#WILD
3	#شي_جميل_بحرف_ا…	#ChangeAWordSpoilTheBook	Lord Sewel
4	#كلمه_ماتستغني…	#BowWowHive	#ChangeAWordSpoilTheBook
5	#TengoEnormesGanasDe	How High	#UFCChicago
6	#MePuedeTerriblementeQue	#UnderTheCoverOfDarkness	#scottishamovie
7	#CarnetALaCTM	#YouDontUnderstand	#HungarianGP
8	#MTVHottest	#BadExcusesForBlockingSomeone	#marr
9	#اوصف_لنا_نادي_…	#Brickyard400	hamilton
10	#FelizDomingo	Mike Huckabee	Charged Up

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram insurgency in Cameroon
- A 13 year old female suicide bomber attacks in the Cameroonian town of Maroua, killing 20 people and injuring another 70. (Voice of America)
- Cameroonian officials order the closing of mosques and Islamic schools, and bar underage children from being at public places, following the recent strings of suicide bombings. (AP via Fox News)
A suicide bomber detonates a vehicle loaded with explosives at a hotel in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, killing 15 people. (CNN)
A bomb detonates on a bus carrying Egyptian military conscripts in Arish, injuring 18. (Daily News Egypt)

Business and economics

German marketplace organizer Deutsche Börse agrees to purchase trading platform 360T for €725 million. (Wall Street Journal)
Verizon employees in nine states (Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia) and Washington, D.C. go on strike because of disputes between the union and the company. (New Haven Register)
Nike agrees to pay a combined $2.4 million to consumers of Nike+ FuelBand over false advertising. (Times Gazette)

Arts and culture

Bobbi Kristina Brown, age 22, the daughter of the late Whitney Houston (d. 2012), dies, approximately 6 months after having been put in amedically induced coma since being found face-down in a bathtub in her Roswell, Georgia home near Atlanta on January 31, 2015. (CNN),(MSN)

Disasters and accidents

A light plane crashes in the Tokyo residential area of Chōfu, killing three people. (ABC Online)

Law and crime

Palestinian youth and Israeli police clash at the Al-Aqsa Mosque as the youth attempted to block Jews access to the site. (New York Times)
At least 20 people are killed as gunmen open fire at a wedding celebration in Afghanistan‘s Baghlan province. (Al-Jazeera)

Politics and elections

John Sewel, Baron Sewel steps down from his position as Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords following a drug scandal. (BBC)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 27, 2015

Top News Stories –

Vladimir Putin says Sepp Blatter deserves Nobel Prize –
Vladimir Putin has said that Sepp Blatter deserves to win the Nobel Prize and does not believe a word of the corruption allegations against the Fifa president. In an interview with Swiss broadcaster RTS, the Russian president gave his full support to the Fifa president just days after Mr Blatter had assured him that Russia had Fifa’s “complete trust” as hosts of the next World Cup finals in 2018. Mr Putin added that he believed that bribery scandal being investigated by US, Swiss and other law enforcement agencies was as a result of the failure of England and the US to win the rights to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. [Daily Telegraph]
Vladimir Putin

Norwegian court orders bank to cover man’s £23k lap-dance and drinks bill –
A Norwegian court has ordered a bank to cover a £23,400 drink and lap-dance bill run up by one man during a night at a Polish strip club. The court made the decision after it concluded he had been drugged and could not be held responsible for his actions. Sparebank 1 will now have to make up for its client’s losses even though an investigation by Polish police into the incident at the club in the up-market seaside town of Sopot has been discontinued. The court rejected Sparebank’s argument that the man was responsible for how he spent his money, saying all the evidence suggested he was doped, and therefore a victim. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

The High Voltage Ejector Bed

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#3YearsOfFifthHarmony	#DirtyWorkMusicVideo	Sergio Romero
2	#OTRAMinneapolis	#WhenTrumpIsElected	#3YearsOfFifthHarmony
3	#LaPeliQueMeHizoLlorar	WWGTM	#mondaymotivation
4	Martinoli	#3YearsOfFifthHarmony	#BobbiKristina
5	Sergio Romero	#BuyBEAToniTunes	Conley Thompson
6	#dirtyworkmusicvideo	#mondaymotivation	Khloe Kardashian
7	Bugs Bunny	#ImStrongestWhen	#OTRAMinneapolis
8	#CiteCoisasQueOdeiaNoFacebook	#IWasSoHighOneDay	#ImHardLeft
9	Gago	Bugs Bunny	#jaiappreciationday
10	#MexicanPartyCopaOro	Google+	Lord Sewel

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

At least 7 people are killed and many injured after gunmen attack an Indian police station in Punjab. (The Hindu)
Syrian Civil War, Battle of Sarrin (June–July 2015)
- YPG led forces capture the town Sarrin from ISIL after a month-long offensive. (The Daily Star)

Business and economy

2015 Chinese stock market crash
- The Shanghai Composite Index drops 8.5%, the largest one-day decline in the index since 2007. (Bloomberg)

Law and crime

The Turkish National Police warns of possible bomb attacks on crowded places in central Istanbul, including metro stations and bus stops, following the escalation of Turkey–ISIL conflict. (Hürriyet Daily News)

Politics and elections

Philippines President Benigno Aquino III holds his final State of the Nation Address before stepping down in 2016. He advocates the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law and an anti-dynasty bill. (CNN Philippines), GMA News Online
French farmers protesting low prices within the country turn back hundreds of trucks suspected of carrying foreign agricultural products at the country’s border with Germany. (AP)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 28, 2015

Top News Stories –

Cecil the lion’s killer revealed as American dentist –
Cecil the lion – the most famous creature in one of Zimbabwe’s national parks – was killed by an American hunter who has boasted about shooting a menagerie of animals with his bow and arrow. Walter James Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota, is believed to have paid £35,000 to shoot and kill the much-loved lion with a bow and arrow. The animal was shot on July 1 in Hwange National Park. Two independent sources have confirmed the hunter’s identity to the paper, which has also seen a copy of the relevant hunting permit. [Daily Telegraph]

Yahoo launches Livetext messaging app to rival Snapchat and WhatsApp –
Yahoo’s unveiled a messaging app to take on the likes of Snapchat, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Livetext will allow users to exchange live video, text and emoticons, but without audio. The app is available now for Apple and Android devices in the UK, US, Canada, Germany and France. Yahoo says video calls can be better than texts for expressing emotions, but their audio component makes private conversations public. With Livetext, you message friends by typing, just like texting, but you see video of friends without the audio. [BBC Newsbeat]

Clive Rice: Former South Africa and Notts captain dies aged 66 –
Former South Africa and Nottinghamshire captain Clive Rice has died aged 66.
Rice was South Africa’s first skipper in one-day cricket after their readmission in 1991 following their sporting isolation during apartheid. The all-rounder played for Nottinghamshire between 1975 and 1987, winning the County Championship in 1981 and 1987, and was later appointed coach at Trent Bridge. He had been ill with a brain tumour. Rice was 42 when he made his official international debut and played only three ODIs, despite an outstanding first-class record which saw him average 40.95 with the bat and 22.49 with the ball. [BBC] (See List of the Day)

Video of the Day –

Angry Birds 2 – Official Gameplay Trailer

List of the Day –

Clive Rice career statistics

Competition	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	3	482	479
Runs scored	26	26331	13474
Batting average	13.00	40.95	37.32
100s/50s	0/0	48/137	11/79
Top score	14	246	169
Balls bowled	138	48628	17738
Wickets	2	930	517
Bowling average	57.00	22.49	22.63
5 wickets in innings	0	23	6
10 wickets in match	n/a	1	n/a
Best bowling	1/46	7/62	6/18
Catches/stumpings	0/-	401/-	175/-

Source: CricketArchive, 18 January 2008

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#ExcusasCuandoLlegoTarde	#CecilTheLion	Ribena
2	Diego Barisone	#TenThingsNotToSayToAWriter	#TenThingsNotToSayToAWriter
3	#TenThingsNotToSayToAWriter	Reyes	#RuinAWestern
4	#شي_حلو_بحرف_ال…	Tulo	#unexcitingmovies
5	#فريق_متسحيل_ت�…	#RuinAWestern	#CecilTheLion
6	#ruinawestern	#UnexcitingMovies	#GetCalibraskaOniTunes
7	#AmoFuertementeQue	Tom Brady	#AskLydia
8	#nochedeconfesiones	Safaree	#GBBO
9	Safaree	#BatmanDatingProblems	#TechTuesday
10	Hot 97	#CaliforniaMusicVideo	House of Lords

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram attacks in multiple northern Nigerian villages leaves at least 29 dead. (Bloomberg)

Business and economy

Dutch aerospace company Fokker Technologies is acquired by the British multinational GKN. (GKN)

Disasters and accidents

Rescuers find 13 dead migrants in a boat off the Libyan coast. (Al-Arabiyah)
Florida law enforcement and civilians continue the search for two boys, both aged 14, who were intending to travel to the Bahamas by boat. (USA Today)
At least 25 people have been killed and 22 injured at a fire in a furniture factory in Obour City near the Egyptian capital Cairo. (Reuters via Egypt Independent) (BBC)
At least six people have been killed and several are missing following a building collapse in the Indian city of Thane. (CNN)

Law and crime

A Libyan court sentences Saif al-Islam Gaddafi to death in absentia for alleged atrocities in 2011. (AP via Fox News)
Police in Santa Cruz, California, find what they suspect is the body of 8-year-old Madyson Middleton, who was last seen on footage on the afternoon of Sunday, July 27, riding her new scooter. A 15-year-old male minor has been arrested on suspicion of homicide. (MSN)
2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape
- Joyce Mitchell, who had smuggled hacksaw blades inside frozen meat to Richard Matt and David Sweat in prison, before withdrawing as their getaway driver, pleads guilty to a first-degree felony of promoting prison contraband and to a misdemeanor count of fourth-degree criminal facilitation. She faces up to 7 years in prison when sentenced. (MSN)

Politics and elections

1Malaysia Development Berhad
- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak fires Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. (The New York Times)
Barack Obama is the first US president to speak in front of the African Union (AU). He encourages the world to strengthen economic ties with the continent, but also criticises the lack of democracy. (WSJ)

July 29, 2015

Top News Stories –

Windows 10 launch: Microsoft releases new operating system –
Microsoft starts rolling out its new operating system, Windows 10, to customers around the world today, with members of its ‘Insider’ programme being the first to receive the free upgrade. Following a hostile reception to Windows 8, which launched in 2012 and introduced the concept of ‘live tiles’ for touch-based computing, Microsoft decided to bypass Windows 9 and jump straight to Windows 10, combining what it describes as the “best elements” of Windows 7 and Windows 8. Live tiles still feature in Windows 10, offering shortcuts to the user’s favourite applications, but are far less obtrusive than in Windows 8. Microsoft has also brought back the Start menu from Windows 7, allowing users to browse through a list of their most-used programs. [Daily Telegraph] See List of the Day

Gerard Depardieu banned from Ukraine for supporting Russia over Crimea –
Gerard Depardieu has been banned from Ukraine for five years for making public comments suggesting he supported Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The Ukrainian Security Service, the country’s main successor agency to the KGB, said the 66-year old French film star had been added to a blacklist of public figures considered hostile to Ukraine in its on-going confrontation with Russia. “The SBU has decided to ban Mr Depardieu for 5 years on the recommendation of the ministry of culture,” agency spokesman Elena Gitlyanskaya said. [Daily Telegraph]
Gerard Depardieu

Video of the Day –

1 Man + 12 Hairstyles

List of the Day –

Windows Operating Systems history [from Wikipedia]

Date	Title	Architecture
20 November 1985	Windows 1.0	x86 – 16-bit
9 December 1987	Windows 2.0	x86 – 16-bit
27 May 1988	Windows 2.10	x86 – 16-bit
13 March 1989	Windows 2.11	x86 – 16-bit
22 May 1990	Windows 3.0	x86 – 16-bit
20 October 1991	Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions	x86 – 16-bit
6 April 1992	Windows 3.1	x86 – 16-bit
27 October 1992	Windows for Workgroups 3.1	x86 – 16-bit
27 July 1993	Windows NT 3.1	IA-32, DEC Alpha, MIPS
8 November 1993	Windows for Workgroups 3.11	x86 – 16-bit
21 September 1994	Windows NT 3.5	IA-32, DEC Alpha, MIPS
30 May 1995	Windows NT 3.51	IA-32, DEC Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC
24 August 1995	Windows 95	IA-32
24 August 1996	Windows NT 4.0	IA-32, DEC Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC
25 June 1998	Windows 98	IA-32
5 May 1999	Windows 98 SE	IA-32
17 February 2000	Windows 2000	IA-32
14 September 2000	Windows ME	IA-32
25 October 2001	Windows XP	IA-32
25 October 2001^[1]	Windows XP 64-Bit Edition (v2002)	Itanium
31 October 2002	Windows XP Media Center Edition	IA-32
28 March 2003^[2]	Windows XP 64-Bit Edition (v2003)	Itanium
24 April 2003	Windows Server 2003	IA-32, x64, Itanium
30 September 2003	Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004	IA-32
12 October 2004	Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005	IA-32
25 April 2005	Windows XP Professional x64 Edition	x64
6 December 2005	Windows Server 2003 R2	IA-32, x64, Itanium
8 July 2006	Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs	IA-32
8 November 2006	Windows Vista for Business use	IA-32, x64
30 January 2007	Windows Vista for Home use; released in fifty countries	IA-32, x64
7 November 2007	Windows Home Server	IA-32, x64
27 February 2008	Windows Server 2008	IA-32, x64
22 October 2009	Windows 7	IA-32, x64
22 October 2009	Windows Server 2008 R2	x64
6 April 2011	Windows Home Server 2011	x64
4 September 2012	Windows Server 2012	x64
26 October 2012	Windows 8	IA-32, x64
26 October 2012	Windows RT	ARM
18 October 2013	Windows 8.1	IA-32, x64
18 October 2013	Windows RT 8.1	ARM
18 October 2013	Windows Server 2012 R2	x64
29 July 2015	Windows 10	IA-32, x64, ARM

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Nuno Silva	#ChangeTheWorldIn5Words	#Windows10
2	#BackToBack	#SamDubose	#RIPBuddy
3	#Windows10	Mullah Omar	#CaliforniaMusicVideo
4	#قبل_١٥_سنه	#DirtyPolitics	Sir Peter O’Sullevan
5	#OTRAKansasCity	#NationalLipstickDay	Calais
6	#MasterChefBR	Robert Kraft	#BackToBack
7	#RIPBuddy	#NationalChickenWingDay	#PLLChat
8	Mullah Omar	#BackToBack	#ChangeTheWorldIn5Words
9	Cristian Castro	#HarryPotterAMovie	#ManBooker2015
10	#SamDubose	#UnplannedParenthood	#HarryPotterAMovie

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- The Afghan government claims that Taliban leader Mohammad Omar died in April 2013 in Pakistan of natural causes. (BBC) (Reuters)
War in North-West Pakistan
- Malik Ishaq, leader of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, is killed during a shootout in which supporters of the group ambushed a prisoner convoy. The shootout killed 13 of the attackers, injured six police officers, and also killed two of Ishaq’s sons. (New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

The Wragg Fire in Northern California continues to burn at 80% containment with over 6,991 acres being destroyed and mandatory evacuations.(KQED)
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
- Debris found near the Indian Ocean island of Réunion is consistent with material from a Boeing 777 and is being examined to confirm whether it is from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. (CNN)
At least 27 people are killed and 149 injured after a out of control truck runs into a religious procession in the Mexican state of Zacatecas. (AP viaWashington Post)

Health

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia announces that 8-year old Zion Harvey became the first pediatric patient to receive a double hand transplant earlier this month. (ABC)

International relations

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari visits neighboring Cameroon to bolster support for a multinational army to fight Boko Haram. (AP viaWashington Post)

Law and crime

University of Cincinnati Police officer Ray Tensing is charged with murder for the July 19, 2015 shooting death of Samuel DuBose. (Yahoo News)
Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeffrey Rosell announces that Adrian Jerry Gonzalez, a 15-year-old will be tried as an adult in the murder of 8-year-old Madyson Middleton. (ABC News)

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July 30, 2015

Top News Stories –

Iran city hits suffocating heat index of 165 degrees, near world record –
Wherever you live or happen to travel to, never complain about the heat and humidity again. In the city of Bandar Mahshahr (population of about 110,000 as of 2010), the air felt like a searing 165 degrees (74 Celsius) today factoring in the humidity.
Although there are no official records of heat indices, this is second highest level we have ever seen reported. To achieve today’s astronomical heat index level of 165, Bandar Mahshahr’s actual air temperature registered 115 degrees (46 Celsius) with an astonishing dew point temperature of 90 (32 Celsius). [Washington Post]

Nuns lose court bid to block convent sale to Katy Perry –
Judge says California nuns’ attempt to sell the $15 million property to a restaurateur, instead of the pop star, is “invalid”. A pair of nuns have suffered a major setback in their legal battle to stop the sale of their convent to pop star Katy Perry. Sisters Rita Callanan, 77, and Catherine Rose Holzman, 86, dressed in blue habits, looked disappointed as the ruling was given in the very temporal surroundings of the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. The bespectacled Sisters of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary had objected to a plan by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose Gomez, to sell the eight-acre property to Miss Perry, purveyor of risque hits like I Kissed A Girl. [Daily Telegraph]See July 1 2015
Katy Perry

MH370 search: key questions as plane debris ‘found’ –
A metallic object described as six to nine feet long and three feet wide was found on a beach on the east coast of Reunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean. The object had the code number “BB670” on it. Locals said the object had shells on it and appeared to have been in the water for some time. There are two main reasons investigators are confident the part comes from the missing MH370 aircraft. First, aviation experts say the object appears to be from a Boeing 777 – and no other such aircraft is believed to have gone missing in the region. If the object is from MH370, it will mark the first sign of the Boeing 777 since it disappeared on March 8 2014. But such confirmation will come as difficult news for the families of the 239 passengers who were on aboard. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Learn to Fly – Foo Fighters Rockin1000 Official Video
1000 musicians play Learn to Fly by Foo Fighters to ask Dave Grohl to come and play in Cesena, Italy

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#FriendshipDay	#FriendshipDay	#FriendshipDay
2	#ماذا_تقول_لمن_…	#NationalCheesecakeDay	#NewHarryPotterBooks
3	#NewHarryPotterBooks	#NewHarryPotterBooks	#NationalCheesecakeDay
4	#NecesitoYQuieroQue	Tink	Stuart Baggs
5	#noconfioenlagenteque	#ICONiacMemories	Amazon Prime
6	#اختصر_وطنك_في_…	Top Gear	Ai Weiwei
7	Learn to Fly	James Woods	#realmusic
8	Pratto	Lizzie McGuire	#swarm
9	Corinthians	Sheldon Richardson	#MH370
10	#UsoOTwitterPq	#ABDC	British Gas

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Turkey–PKK conflict
- An ambush on a Turkish military convoy in the south-eastern Şırnak Province by PKK militants kills 3 Turkish soldiers. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

A heat wave hits the Middle East with Baghdad recording a top temperature of 50 °C (122 °F) and the Iranian city of Bandar Mahshahr recording a near world record heat index temperature of 67.8 °C (154.0 °F). (Washington Post)
At least 30 people are killed in a landslide that struck villages near Pokhara, Nepal. (Reuters UK)

International relations

A Taiwanese high school student commits suicide by charcoal fumes after a protest against controversial Sinocentric revisions in a curriculum guideline; hundreds storm the education ministry in response. (AFP via Yahoo) (Taipei Times) (BBC) (AP via Yahoo) (Los Angeles Times)
Russia vetoes a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have established an international criminal tribunal to investigate the downing ofMalaysia Airlines Flight 17. (WSJ)

Law and crime

The Israeli Knesset passes a controversial law that legalizes forced-feeding of Palestinian prisoners. (Middle East Eye)
India executes Yakub Memon for his role in the 1993 Bombay bombings. (BBC)

Politics and elections

After days of debate, the Taliban announce Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as the successor to Mullah Omar over his son, Yaqoob Omar. (BBC)
Anti-corruption campaign in China:
- Former Central Military Commission Vice-Chairman, General Guo Boxiong, is accused of taking bribes in exchange for the promotion of officers and expelled from the Communist Party of China. (BBC)
Chen Min’er replaces Zhao Kezhi as the Communist Party Secretary of Guizhou province, China. Zhao awaits assignment. (CRI)

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July 31, 2015

Top News Stories –

Facebook unveils solar-powered drone that can beam the internet down to earth –
Facebook has unveiled a full-scale prototype of its Aquila drone – the high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft that the Californian tech giant wants to use to beam internet to people in parts of the world that are not yet connected. Aquila, which is solar-powered and named after the eagle in Greek mythology that carried Jupiter’s thunderbolts, is based on technology developed by Somerset-based company Ascenta, which Facebook bought in March 2014 for an estimated £12.5m. “Aquila has the wingspan of a 737 but weighs hundreds of times less, thanks to its unique design and carbon-fiber frame,” said Jay Parikh, vice president of global engineering and infrastructure at Facebook, in a blog post. [Daily Telegraph] See Video of the Day

Naomi Campbell guilty of assault on Sicilian paparazzo –
Naomi Campbell was convicted of assault by a Sicilian court on Friday after she scratched the eye of a paparazzo photographer who took pictures of her and her former boyfriend. The incident occurred in August 2009 when the British supermodel and her then partner Russian billionaire Vladimir Doronin moored their yacht off the Sicilian island of Lipari to visit the local town. They had just arrived from St Tropez. A photographer, Gaetano Di Giovanni, took several photos of Campbell as she walked through the narrow streets. Campbell then hit photographer with her handbag, scratching one of his eyes. [Daily Telegraph]
Naomi Campbell

Beijing to host 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics –
Beijing has been chosen to host the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, beating the bid of Kazakhstan’s Almaty. Having hosted the 2008 Olympics, the Chinese capital will be the first city to host both a summer and winter Games. Beijing and Almaty were considered outsiders when the 2022 bid race opened two years ago. But after a host of European cities withdrew for political or financial reasons, the Chinese bid beat Almaty by 44 votes to 40 with one abstention. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Inside Facebook’s Connectivity Lab

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#MilGanasDe	#LiesMenTell	#fridayfeeling
2	#DragMeDown	#DragMeDown	#DragMeDown
3	#حرقوا_الرضيع	#GotDumpedBecause	#WannaKnow
4	#SiempreMePasaQue	#BlueMoon	Rickie Lambert
5	#AysunAltay	#HappyBirthdayJKRowling	#HappyBirthdayJKRowling
6	San Félix	Russell Wilson	#ChoiceYouTuber
7	永遠の0	Cespedes	#LeaveAMark
8	Hayırlı Cumalar	Lynn Anderson	#HappyBirthdayBeau
9	ブルームーン	Roddy Piper	#AskMadison
10	#MeVendriaEstupendoQue	Supa	#LiesMenTell

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the Haqqani Network, is reported as having died in 2014. (BBC)
Turkey–PKK conflict
- Two Turkish police officers and two PKK militants are killed following a PKK raid on a police station in the south-eastern town of Pozantı. Also, in the eastern province of Kars, PKK militants bombed a railway line and then fired at repair workers, leaving one dead. (BBC)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Houthi shelling kills four Saudi Arabian soldiers and wounds eight others in the Saudi town of Aseer near the volatile Yemeni border. Jazeera)

Business and economy

Swiss National Bank reports a first half loss of 50 billion CHF as a result of the franc to euro peg removal earlier this year. (BBC)
Russian financial crisis (2014–present)
- The Central Bank lowers interest rate to 11%, while the ruble falls 1.5% on the day to close at 60.60 against the dollar. (Reuters UK)

Disasters and accidents

Four people including members of the Bin Laden family are killed in a business jet crash close to Blackbushe Airport in the United Kingdom.(BBC), (BBC)
More than 21 people are killed in Myanmar Flood and up to 150,000 people are displaced.

Law and crime

2015 West Bank Arson attack
- Suspected Jewish settlers set fire to a West Bank home and burned a sleeping Palestinian toddler to death in an attack that drew Palestinian rage and widespread Israeli condemnation. (KLTV)(NY Times)

International relations

India and Bangladesh have swapped control of some 160 small pockets of land on each other’s territory. Residents were asked to choose where they wanted to live and which nationality they would prefer. Most of them decided to change nationality and stay where they live. (BBC)
France agrees to pay Russia €1.16bn in refund and compensation after the cancellation of the sale of two warships following the military intervention in Ukraine. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Philippine presidential election, 2016:
- President Benigno Aquino III endorses the presidential candidacy of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas in 2016. (Rappler),(AP via Yahoo! News)
- Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas announces his presidential candidacy in 2016. (Rappler)

Sports

The International Olympic Committee selects Beijing as the host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Lausanne in Switzerland is chosen as the host city for the 2020 Youth Olympic Winter Games. (The Guardian). (USA Today)

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The 2010s

The story of a decade

Category Archives: 2015-07

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