July 12, 2019

Top News Story –

Facebook ‘to be fined $5bn over Cambridge Analytica scandal’

US regulators have approved a record $5bn (£4bn) fine on Facebook to settle an investigation into data privacy violations, reports in US media say.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been investigating allegations that political consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly obtained the data of up to 87 million Facebook users.

The settlement was approved by the FTC in a 3-2 vote, sources told US media.

Facebook and the FTC told the BBC they had no comment on the reports.

The consumer protection agency the FTC began investigating Facebook in March 2018 following reports that Cambridge Analytica had accessed the data of tens of millions of its users.

The investigation focused on whether Facebook had violated a 2011 agreement under which it was required to clearly notify users and gain “express consent” to share their data.

The $5bn fine was approved by the FTC in a 3-2 vote which broke along party lines, with Republican commissioners in favour and Democrats opposed.

(BBC)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Asasey Hotel attack
- A car bomb and a gun attack kill at least 26, including two prominent journalists and nine foreigners, in Kismayo, Somalia. (BBC)
War in Afghanistan
- A suicide bomber kills nine people and injures 40 others at a wedding in the Nangarhar Province in Afghanistan. The bomber is believed to be a minor. (BBC) (Reuters)
2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis
- The Venezuelan government arrests two members of disputed Interim President Juan Guaidó‘s personal security. The government claims that the pair were trying to sell weapons stolen from the national army and organising the failed coup attempt on 30 April. The opposition denies the weapons charges. (Reuters)

International relations

Russia–Turkey relations
- Turkey receives its first shipment of the S-400 missile system from Russia, defying U.S. and NATO calls to cancel the deal. (BBC)

Law and crime

Oulu child sexual exploitation scandal
- Oulu District Court hands down the last sentences concerning the cases involving eight foreign-born men who abused the same girl victim. (Yle)

Politics and elections

U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta announces his resignation from office amid growing public criticism over his past role in securing a 2008 plea deal for former financier Jeffrey Epstein, after Epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking of minors. He is to be replaced by Acting Secretary Patrick Pizzella effective July 19. (NBC News)

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July 13, 2019

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New York’s power is coming back after Manhattan spent hours in the dark

Power was starting to come back to parts of New York on a warm Saturday night as ConEdison restored electrical service on the west side of Manhattan after widespread power outages canceled shows and sent tens of thousands of people onto darkened streets, officials said.

There were 16,000 customers without power in Midtown Manhattan and the Upper West Side, utility company ConEdison said.

At its peak, the number was about 72,000, it said. The company estimated most customers will have power restored by midnight. As he spoke to reporters, the lights came on in buildings behind him and the crowd cheered loudly.

Just before the lights and air conditioners began to come back on, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the numbers of customers without power had soared from 20,000 right after the blackout started because transformers kept tripping.

(CNN)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Taliban gunmen storm a hotel in Badghis Province, killing four soldiers and two civilians. Three of the five gunmen are killed and two are arrested. (RFE/RadioLiberty)
- A U.S. soldier is also killed in a separate bombing in Wardak Province. (Al Jazeera)
Terrorism in the United States
- Four policemen kill a suspect attempting to attack an ICE immigrant detention center in Tacoma, Washington. The perpetrator was armed with a rifle and incendiary devices, and had left a three-page manifesto advocating political violence (BBC) (Heavy)

Disasters and accidents

Monsoon of South Asia

Three days of heavy rain in Nepal trigger floods and landslides resulting in at least 67 deaths. India was also affected by heavy floods, resulting in the death of 34 people, while 29 others died in Bangladesh. (BBC)

Tropical Storm Barry increases to 121 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour), becoming the first hurricane of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season.

Politics and elections

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence says the conditions under which asylum seekers are being held in facilities along the U.S. border with Mexico are unacceptable, after visiting two federal detention centers in Texas, remaining the highest-ranking member of the Trump administration to say so. He calls upon the U.S. Congress to act. (CNN)

Sports

2019 Wimbledon Championships
- Simona Halep defeats Serena Williams (6–2, 6–2) to win the 2019 Wimbledon women’s singles championship, her first Wimbledon victory and her second Grand Slam singles title. Williams was attempting to equal Margaret Court‘s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles. (The Guardian)

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July 14, 2019

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Epic final tied, Super Over tied, England win World Cricket Cup on boundary count

New Zealand 241 for 8 (Nicholls 55, Woakes 3-37) tied with England 241 (Stokes 84*, Buttler 59, Neesham 3-43)
Super over England 15 beat New Zealand 15 on boundaries scored

It was never going to be easy, was it? Two teams without a World Cup title between them in 44 years of the men’s competition. After 100 overs, the last couple of which contained almost as much drama as a few previous finals in their entirety, nothing could separate England and New Zealand. For the first time in World Cup history, a Super Over was required to determine the winner.

Asked to score 16 from six balls, Jimmy Neesham coolly struck Jofra Archer‘s second legitimate delivery way back into the Mound Stand, making the equation seven off four. A brace of twos followed, before Archer’s bumper took Neesham off strike. Martin Guptill, at the end of a tournament of personal trial, needing to hit two more otherwise England would take the trophy on boundaries scored. Archer found a yorker, Guptill found deep midwicket and Jason Roy’s throw found Guptill short; Jos Buttler completed the run-out at full stretch to end all those years of hurt and an afternoon of exquisite agony.

(ESPN)

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Disasters and accidents

A GippsAero GA8 Airvan sky diving operation plane crashes on an island outside Umeå, Sweden, killing all nine people onboard. (The Guardian)

International relations

Argentina–Brazil relations
- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro renews his support for the re-election of Argentine President Mauricio Macri. “We’re brothers, and I want prosperity for our nations,” he concludes in an interview. (Clarín)

Science and technology

The European Union‘s Galileo satellite navigation system suffers a major outage due to a “technical incident related to its ground infrastructure,” taking all active Galileo satellites offline. (BBC)

Sports

2019 Wimbledon Championships
- In the men’s singles final match, Serbian Novak Djokovic beats Swiss Roger Federer in five sets for his 16th Grand Slam title win in a match that lasted four hours and 56 minutes. It was the longest Wimbledon final of all time, and also the first men’s singles final in any of the four Grand Slam events that went to a fifth-set tiebreaker. (Wimbledon) (ESPN)

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July 15, 2019

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Anorexia stems from body as well as mind – study

The origins of the eating disorder anorexia nervosa are in both the mind and the body, according to an international study.

Anorexia is seen as a serious psychiatric disease.

But doctors at King’s College London showed changes hardwired into some people’s DNA altered the way they processed fats and sugars and may make it easier to starve their bodies.

The eating disorder charity Beat said the findings were groundbreaking.

The researchers looked at 16,992 people with anorexia and 55,525 people without the disease, from 17 countries.

All their DNA – the blueprint for the human body – was analysed to find mutations in genetic instructions that were more common in anorexia patients.

The study, published in Nature Genetics, found some mutations also presented in other psychiatric disorders such obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and schizophrenia.

But they also found mutations in the instructions that control the body’s metabolism, particularly those involving blood sugar levels and body fat.

“There is something in those systems that has gone awry,” Prof Janet Treasure, from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, told BBC News.

(BBC)

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Law and crime

A police raid on a neo-Nazi group in northern Italy results in the arrest of three people. Sophisticated weaponry, including a Matra Super 530F air-to-air missile, are seized during the operation. (BBC)

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July 16, 2019

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ESA confirms asteroid will miss Earth in 2019

Asteroid 2006 QV89, a small object 20 to 50 metres in diameter, was in the news lately because of a very small, one-in-7000 chance of impact with Earth on 9 September 2019.

In the first known case of ruling out an asteroid impact through a “non-detection,” ESA and the European Southern Observatory have concluded that asteroid 2006 QV89 is not on a collision course this year—and the chance of any future impact is extremely remote.

Asteroids come and go, quite literally, often frustrating astronomers. You can catch sight of a hurtling space rock, take some measurements to narrow down its orbit, and days later it’s gone—potentially remaining unobservable for decades.

In general, when an asteroid is found to have even a tiny chance of impacting Earth, further observations and measurements are taken. These “astrometric” data refine our understanding of the asteroid’s path, improving our understanding of the risk it poses and often excluding any chance of collision altogether.

However, the case of asteroid 2006 QV89 is peculiar. The object was discovered in August 2006 and then observed for only ten days. These observations suggested it had a 1-in-7000 chance of impacting Earth on 9 September 2019.

(phys.org)

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Disasters and accidents

2018–19 Kivu Ebola epidemic
- The World Health Organisation declares the most recent Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. (The Guardian)
A national emergency is declared in the Philippines after more than 100,000 people contract dengue fever. (Fox News)

International relations

Turkey–United States relations
- The United States removes NATO ally Turkey from the Joint Strike Fighter program, following the country’s acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile system. Turkey had planned to buy 100 F-35 Lightning II jets. (BBC)

Law and crime

AMIA bombing
- At the request of Israel and the United States, Argentina officially declares Hezbollah a terrorist organization, freezing assets and expelling all members of the organization from the country. It also holds it responsible for the 1994 attack against AMIA. (Clarín) (Perfil) (TN)
Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán is sentenced to life in prison plus thirty years, and is ordered to forfeit US$12.6 billion. He accused the U.S. government of “torture and corruption” during his sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York. He will likely be sent to ADX Florence in Colorado to serve his sentence. (CNBC)
Pakistan arrests Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has been blamed by the United States and India for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that left more than 160 people dead. (CBS News)
A shooting in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, leaves two dead, including a Turkish diplomat. (DW)

Politics and elections

President-elect of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen resigns from her position as Federal Minister of Defence of Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel appoints Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the leader of the ruling CDU, as her successor. (Deutsche Welle)
2018–19 Sudanese protests
- Representatives of Sudan‘s military and the civil opposition sign the first of two parts of a power-sharing deal which is supposed to last until free elections in 2022. (DW)
The U.S. House of Representatives votes 332–95 to table an impeachment-related measure against U.S. President Donald Trump. (CNN)
During a campaign rally, U.S. President Donald Trump says “Squad” members “hate our country”. In light of recent statements made by Trump deemed as racist, the crowd of Trump supporters started chanting “send her back” in regards to Representative Ilhan Omar. (USA Today)

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July 17, 2019

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Trump Twitter row: US House condemns ‘racist comments’

The row over US President Donald Trump’s tweets attacking four Democratic congresswomen shows little sign of abating. The House of Representatives has passed a motion denouncing “racist comments that have legitimised fear and hatred of New Americans and people of colour”.

The motion got through the Democrat-controlled House by 240 votes to 187. It follows Mr Trump tweeting that Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib – who are all US citizens – should “go back” to their own countries.

After the House’s decision, the president has come out fighting on Twitter again, writing that there is not “a racist bone in my body”.

BBC

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Disasters and accidents

2018–19 Kivu Ebola epidemic
- The World Health Organisation declares the most recent Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. (The Guardian)
A national emergency is declared in the Philippines after more than 100,000 people contract dengue fever. (Fox News)

International relations

Turkey–United States relations
- The United States removes NATO ally Turkey from the Joint Strike Fighter program, following the country’s acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile system. Turkey had planned to buy 100 F-35 Lightning II jets. (BBC)

Law and crime

AMIA bombing
- At the request of Israel and the United States, Argentina officially declares Hezbollah a terrorist organization, freezing assets and expelling all members of the organization from the country. It also holds it responsible for the 1994 attack against AMIA. (Clarín) (Perfil) (TN)
Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán is sentenced to life in prison plus thirty years, and is ordered to forfeit US$12.6 billion. He accused the U.S. government of “torture and corruption” during his sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York. He will likely be sent to ADX Florence in Colorado to serve his sentence. (CNBC)
Pakistan arrests Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has been blamed by the United States and India for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that left more than 160 people dead. (CBS News)
A shooting in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, leaves two dead, including a Turkish diplomat. (DW)

Politics and elections

President-elect of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen resigns from her position as Federal Minister of Defence of Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel appoints Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the leader of the ruling CDU, as her successor. (Deutsche Welle)
2018–19 Sudanese protests
- Representatives of Sudan‘s military and the civil opposition sign the first of two parts of a power-sharing deal which is supposed to last until free elections in 2022. (DW)
The U.S. House of Representatives votes 332–95 to table an impeachment-related measure against U.S. President Donald Trump. (CNN)
During a campaign rally, U.S. President Donald Trump says “Squad” members “hate our country”. In light of recent statements made by Trump deemed as racist, the crowd of Trump supporters started chanting “send her back” in regards to Representative Ilhan Omar. (USA Today)

Science and technology

Astronomers rule out the chances of ~30-meter asteroid 2006 QV89‘s impacting Earth in September 2019 by eliminating the possibility of its passing through an area where it would have to be if it were on an impacting orbit. Prior to this, the asteroid had been given a one-in-7,000 chance of impacting Earth. (phys.org)

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July 18, 2019

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UK would have to ‘face the consequences’ of no-deal Brexit

The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier says British counterparts “never” told him during negotiations that the UK might opt to leave without a deal.

One senior EU figure describes the realisation of this in Brussels: “Oh my God, they haven’t got a plan… it’s like Lance Corporal Jones.”

Nato chief calls on Russia to save missile treaty

We have to be prepared for a world… with more Russian missiles.” So says Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who tells the BBC that time is running out to save the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty, signed by the US and USSR in 1987, which bans short and medium-range missiles. Both the US and Russia have suspended their obligations under the treaty, amid concern over Moscow’s plans for new weapons systems. Mr Stoltenberg says the Russian missiles are in “clear violation of the treaty”, being nuclear capable, mobile, very hard to detect, and able to reach European cities within a few minutes.

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Twelve people are killed and over 80 injured by two car bombs at a gate outside police headquarters in Kandahar, Afghanistan. (Reuters)
Sinai insurgency
- A suicide bombing kills two people in northern Sinai a day after four bodies were found decapitated. (Al Jazeera)
President Donald Trump reports the United States Navy‘s USS Boxer “destroys” an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) drone in a “defensive action”, in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian drone reportedly came within 1,000 yards (3,000 ft) of the U.S. vessel and ignored multiple calls to stand down. (CNBC)

International relations

Iran confirms its seizure of a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker traveling from the United Arab Emirates, and its 12 crewmembers, in the Persian Gulf last week. The tanker is being held at Qeshm Island, and is accused by Iran of smuggling oil. The United Arab Emirates denies owning or operating the tanker. (USA Today)
Argentina–Iran relations
- Argentine Justice and Human Rights Minister Germán Garavano says that all countries are responsible to extradite the Iranian accused of the AMIA bombing to Argentina in case they ever set foot on their soil. (Perspectiva Sur)

Law and crime

Kyoto Animation arson attack
- A 41-year old man sets fire to the main offices of Kyoto Animation, an animation studio based in Kyoto, Japan. At least 34 people are confirmed dead and 35 injured. Many of the victims are in their 20s and 30s, as well as being mostly female. (The Guardian)

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July 19, 2019

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Dangerous heatwave starts hitting US and Canada

Extremely hot weather has started to hit most of the United States, with temperatures set to peak over the weekend, meteorologists say.

The heatwave could affect about 200 million people in major cities like New York, Washington and Boston in the East Coast, and the Midwest region too.

In some places, temperatures could be close to or exceed 100F (38C). Parts of Canada are also being hit.

Experts link more frequent heatwaves in recent years to climate change.

The world experienced its hottest June on record this year, with an average temperature worldwide of 61.6F (16.4C), according to new data. (BBC)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Iran–United Kingdom relations

Iranian Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps captures British tanker Stena Impero and temporarily seizes British-operated and Liberian-flagged tanker Mesdar in the Persian Gulf. British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt says there will be “serious consequences” if Iran does not release the tanker. (CNN) (Yahoo) (BBC)

Iran–United States relations

Iran denies that one of its drones was shot down by the United States on July 18, saying all of their drones “returned to their bases.” (USA Today)

Disasters and accidents

Skydive Umeå Gippsland GA8 Airvan crash
- The Gippsland GA8 Airvan is grounded in Australia, New Zealand and the European Union following a fatal crash on July 14. (The Guardian) (New Zealand Herald)

Politics and elections

Ramush Haradinaj, Prime Minister of Kosovo, resigns after receiving a summons from the Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor’s Office as a war crimes suspect. (DW)

Sports

2019 Africa Cup of Nations
- Algeria defeats Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations Final, winning their second continental championship. (The Guardian)

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July 20, 2019

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‘Avengers: Endgame’ passes ‘Avatar’ to become the highest-grossing film ever

“Avengers: Endgame,” the Disney and Marvel blockbuster, will move past “Avatar” on the list of all-time highest grossing films on Sunday in its 13th weekend of release, Disney reported Saturday night.”Avatar,” James Cameron’s science fiction film set on the planet of Pandora, held the record for 10 years.

The latest “Avengers” film, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, has made more than $2.789 billion worldwide.”A huge congratulations to the Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios teams, and thank you to the fans around the world who lifted ‘Avengers: Endgame’ to these historic heights,” Alan Horn, co-chairman and chief creative officer of The Walt Disney Studios, said in a statement.

To get to the top spot, “Endgame” passed some of the biggest blockbusters in film history such as “Titanic,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and its predecessor, “Avengers: Infinity War.””

‘Endgame’ has cemented the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a cornerstone of modern mythos that will be passed down to generations of fans,” Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com, told CNN Business. “That would have been true regardless of its monetary position relative to ‘Avatar.'”Robbins added that the title of highest-grossing film of all time is “the cherry on top for Marvel’s first decade.”

(CNN)

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Business and economy

British Airways halts flights to Cairo for at least seven days, citing security concerns. Lufthansa also halts all flights, although only for one day. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

An explosion at a gas factory in China‘s Henan Province kills at least 15 people and leaves 256 injured. (DW)

Sports

Manny Pacquiao vs. Keith Thurman
- In boxing, Manny Pacquiao defeats Keith Thurman via split decision held in MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. (ABS-CBN News)

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July 21, 2019

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Ireland’s Lowry breezes to victory at The Open

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Shane Lowry made the 68 years between Open Championships in Northern Ireland worth the wait.

The silver claret jug is staying on the Emerald Isle.

Lowry, the 32-year-old Irishman with stout nerves and a soft touch around the greens, endured the worst weather of the week and the Sunday pressure of a sellout crowd cheering him along to win The Open by six shots at Royal Portrush.

Even as the rain stopped, the tears began flowing.

“I can’t believe this is me standing here,” Lowry said as he cradled golf’s oldest trophy. “I can’t believe this is mine.”

It was never really in doubt.

Lowry closed with a 1-over 72, the first time since 1996 the Open champion was over par in the final round, and it was no less impressive. More difficult than the rain was wind strong enough to break an umbrella. Lowry began making bogeys in the middle of the round without losing ground. No one from the last 12 groups broke par.

(ESPN)

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Business and economy

German airline Lufthansa resumes flights between Cairo and Frankfurt and Munich, while British Airways flights to Cairo remain cancelled for six more days. The UK Foreign Office warns against “all travel” to certain parts of Egypt, but its standard advice for Cairo is for passengers to check for changes. (BBC) (UK Foreign Office)

International relations

United States–Venezuela relations
- The Venezuelan military reports that on Friday, an American Naval reconnaissance plane entered its national airspace, threatening flights to Maiquetia Airport; the United States asserts that their aircraft was over international waters in the Caribbean on an approved mission. The US plane was followed for a prolonged time by a Venezuelan fighter. (Bloomberg) (The Guardian)
Foreign relations of Argentina
- President Mauricio Macri and Justice and Human Rights Minister of Argentina Germán Garavano say that Argentina will start to receive reports of human rights abuses and criminal accusations against the Venezuelan government. Macri also reiterates his support for Juan Guaidó. (TN)

Law and crime

Taiwan Customs officers discover 9800 cartons of cigarettes worth more than 200,000 USD smuggled in five trucks of presidential motorade when President Tsai Ing-wen has returned from an official trip to the Caribbean and leaves the airport via a VIP lane. A security agent of National Security Bureau within Tsai’s entourage allegedly pre-ordered the cigarettes duty-free from China Airlines and stored them at a warehouse of the airline’s catering company at Taoyuan International Airport. National Security Bureau Director-General Peng Sheng-chu resigns over the scandal on the following day. (Taiwan News)(CNA)(Taipei Times)
2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests
- A mob of suspected masked triad members dressed in white and armed with batons attack commuters indiscriminately at Yuen Long station, injuring 45, including a pro-democracy legislator and a pregnant woman. Hong Kong police have been accused of allowing the violence to happen due to their delayed response and decision to limit emergency services in the area. (The Guardian) (SCMP)
- Pro-Beijing legislator Junius Ho applauds the assailants for their actions, saying they should be “pardoned for defending their homes” and calling them his “heroes”. (HKFP) (SCMP)
A former Venezuelan state oil executive at PDVSA, Juan Carlos Márquez Cabrera, is found hanged in an apartment in Madrid during a trial for which he was testifying of corruption in PDVSA and money laundering of the former Spanish ambassador. (BBC)

Politics and elections

2019 Japanese House of Councillors election
- Japanese citizens head to the polls to elect one half of the members of the country’s House of Councillors. (Japan Times)
- The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, led by Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, wins a clear, but reduced, majority of the seats but falls short on gaining the two-thirds supermajority needed to start the pursued process of amending the constitution. (Reuters)
2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election
- Ukrainian citizens vote for the new members of the Verkhovna Rada, following its dissolution by President Volodymyr Zelensky in May. (DW)
- Servant of the People, President Zelensky’s party, wins most of the seats with a comfortable majority. (The Guardian)

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July 22, 2019

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Marvel Phase 4: A new era for diversity in Hollywood?

Comic book fans have been left giddy with anticipation by the bumper crop of superhero offerings unveiled by Marvel Studios at this year’s Comic Con.

Details of Marvel’s so-called “Phase 4” have also raised hopes about a real step forward for diversity in Hollywood.

The next stage of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will feature its first deaf superhero, its first Asian-American superhero and an openly gay superhero.

It will also see more women than ever taking the directorial reins.

The casting of deaf actress Lauren Ridloff as superhero Makkari in 2020 release Eternals has been particularly applauded on social media.

Other social media users praised Marvel for casting the black actress as a character who has always been depicted as a white male in its comic books.

On Saturday, Ridloff herself expressed delight at the prospect of co-starring with Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden and others under Chloe Zhao’s direction.

Meanwhile, Hawaiian director Destin Daniel Cretton revealed that Canadian star Simu Liu will play the MCU’s first Asian-American superhero, in Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings.

(BBC)

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Arts and culture

2019 in American music
- Billboard reports that Lil Nas X has tied the all-time record on the Billboard Hot 100 with his song “Old Town Road“, as it spends its sixteenth week atop the chart; the other record-holders are Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men with “One Sweet Day“, and Luis Fonsi with “Despacito” featuring Daddy Yankee. (Billboard)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Second Libyan Civil War, Libya–Tunisia relations
- Tunisia‘s Ministry of Defence says a pilot has been arrested after a damaged Libyan warplane, reported to be a L-39 Albatros, makes an emergency landing on a road near the southern town of Beni Khadash. (Reuters)

International relations

Iran–United States relations
- The Iranian government announces the arrest of 17 citizens in the last months who are accused of spying in favour of the CIA. (DW)

Science and technology

The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launches Chandrayaan-2 to survey lunar water from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India‘s second lunar exploration mission. If successful, Chandrayaan-2 will become the first spacecraft to land on the lunar south pole. (BBC)

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July 23, 2019

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Boris Johnson wins race to be Tory leader and PM

Boris Johnson has been elected new Conservative leader in a ballot of party members and will become the next UK prime minister.

He beat Jeremy Hunt comfortably, winning 92,153 votes to his rival’s 46,656.

The former London mayor takes over from Theresa May on Wednesday.

In his victory speech, Mr Johnson promised he would “deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn”.

Speaking at the Queen Elizabeth II centre in London, he said: “We are going to energise the country.

“We are going to get Brexit done on 31 October and take advantage of all the opportunities it will bring with a new spirit of can do.

“We are once again going to believe in ourselves, and like some slumbering giant we are going to rise and ping off the guy ropes of self doubt and negativity.”

(BBC)

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Hyperloop test pod sets speed record

A competition helping to drive development of the futuristic hyperloop transport system has been won by engineering students from Munich.

The hyperloop idea involves passengers in pods travelling at very high speeds down sealed tunnels.

The team’s pod hit 457km/h (290mph) on a 1.2km (0.75 mile) test track.

Run by the SpaceX aerospace company, the competition aims to refine the technologies that could underpin the super-fast transport system.

The win is the third in a row for the Technical University of Munich team.

The competition saw student teams from universities around the world gather in California to put their prototype pods through their paces.

The idea for hyperloop, which would see pods speed through a sealed tunnel to reduce friction or air resistance, has been around for decades and was fleshed out by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2012.

He suggested that pods could travel along the system’s tunnels at speeds in excess of 1,000km/h.

Critics have voiced concerns about the potential cost of building a large hyperloop and whether its technical demands can be met.

Mr Musk’s SpaceX company has run a series of competitions to drive development of the concept.

In the latest round of the competition, the Munich team, Warr Hyperloop, outpaced rival capsules, which could manage speeds of only 88mph (Delft University) and 55mph (EPF Loop, from Switzerland), to beat its own record speed, 323km/h, set in the second competition, in September 2017.

(BBC)

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International relations

Foreign relations of Venezuela
- Through Argentine Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Faurie, the Lima Group say that “the use of force in Venezuela will be implemented when required”. (El Nacional)
Hezbollah foreign relations
- Hezbollah condemns Argentina over its designation of their group as a “terrorist organization”, saying Argentina did so under “United States pressure”. (Itón Gadol)

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July 24, 2019

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Climate crisis blamed as temperature records broken in three nations

Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands have recorded their highest ever temperatures as the second extreme heatwave in as many months to be linked by scientists to the climate emergency grips the continent.

The Dutch meteorological service, KNMI, said the temperature reached 39.2C(102.5F) at the Gilze-Rijen airbase near Breda on Wednesday afternoon, exceeding the previous high of 38.6C set in August 1944.

In Belgium, the temperature in Kleine-Brogel hit 38.9C on Wednesday afternoon, fractionally higher than the previous record of 38.8C set in June 1947, and then subsequently rose to 39.9C. Forecasters said temperatures could climb further on Thursday.

Germany’s national weather service, DWD, said it believed a new all-time national high of 40.5C – 0.2C higher than the record – had been set in the town of Geilenkirchen near the Dutch and Belgian borders, but had still to confirm it.

“The most extreme heat will build from central and northern France into Belgium, the Netherlands and far western Germany into Thursday,” said Eric Leister of the forecasting group AccuWeather.

The latest heatwave, caused by an “omega block” – a high-pressure pattern that blocks and diverts the jet stream, allowing a mass of hot air to flow up from northern Africa and the Iberian peninsula – follows a similar extreme weather event last month that made it the hottest June on record.

(Guardian)

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Armed attacks and conflicts

Somali Civil War
- A suicide bomber detonates inside the office of Mogadishu‘s mayor Abdirahman Abdi Osman, killing six government officials. Osman is seriously injured in the attack and his condition is critical. (BBC)

Business and economy

Boeing 737 MAX groundings
- Boeing reports its largest-ever quarterly loss, of US$2.9 billion, as a result of the grounding of its 737 MAX series, with the company saying that it could halt its production. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

Premiership of Theresa May, Premiership of Boris Johnson
- Theresa May visits Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace to officially resign and recommend her replacement as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. (Royal Communications)
- Greenpeace protesters block The Mall, the drive to Buckingham Palace, holding up Prime Minister-designate Boris Johnson on his way to visit the Queen. (The Guardian)
- Johnson is asked by the Queen to form a government, making him the 55th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. (BBC)
- Multiple cabinet members resign on the day of Johnson’s ascension to premiership, or in the days preceding it, in response to Johnson’s politics and views on Brexit, including Philip Hammond, Jeremy Hunt, David Gauke, Sir Alan Duncan, Rory Stewart, Anne Milton, and David Lidington. (The Guardian), (Financial Times), (The Times)
Secretary-General of the European Commission Martin Selmayr is appointed as EC representative in Austria from November 1 on. (Politico) (Deutsche Welle)
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is sworn in as German defence minister. (Deutsche Welle)

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July 25, 2019

Top News Story –

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac face carjacking gang

Two Premier League footballers have been involved in a carjacking attempt by an armed gang in a London street.

Arsenal players Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac were targeted, the club confirmed, but both escaped uninjured.

Footage on social media appears to show Kolasinac chasing the robbers in Platts Lane, near Golders Green, at about 17:00 BST.

Arsenal said in a statement: “We have been in contact with both players and they are fine.”

(BBC)

Mesut Özil

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Japan–North Korea relations
- North Korea tests two new missiles that land in the Sea of Japan, though not within Japanese territory. Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya condemns the testing as “extremely regrettable”. (Al Jazeera) (DW)

Health and environment

July 2019 European heat wave
- Paris reaches a new all-time high temperature of 42.6 °C (108.7 °F). (Accuweather) (The Guardian)
- The Netherlands also reaches an all-time highest recorded temperature, 40.7 °C (105.3 °F), recorded in Gilze en Rijen.
- The United Kingdom records its second-highest temperature reading of 38.1 °C (100.6 °F) in Cambridge.

Law and crime

Capital punishment in the United States
- U.S. Attorney General William Barr resumes the federal usage of the death penalty. Five inmates are expected to be executed between December 2019 and January 2020. If carried out, these would be the first federal executions in the United States in sixteen years. (CNBC) (The New York Times)
At least four people are killed and two wounded in a shooting spree that spread across multiple Los Angeles neighborhoods. Police tackled and arrested the suspect, Gerry Zaragoza, after a 12-hour manhunt. (CNN) (Reuters via AOL.com)

Politics and elections

The 92-year-old and first freely elected President of Tunisia, Beji Caid Essebsi, dies. Tunisian parliament President Mohamed Ennaceur takes the role of interim president. (Associated Press), (BBC News)
2019 Algerian protests
- Algerian interim president Abdelkader Bensalah appoints a six-member panel to set a presidential election date. The previous date of July 4 was cancelled due to lack of candidates amid mass protests. (Reuters)

Sports

Outfielder Stevie Wilkerson of the Baltimore Orioles becomes the first position player in Major League Baseball history to record a save, doing so in a 10–8 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. (CBS)

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July 26, 2019

Top News Story –

US Supreme Court gives go-ahead for Trump wall funding

The US Supreme Court has said that President Donald Trump can use $2.5bn (£2bn) of Pentagon funds for a section of wall on the southern border.

The court ruled by five votes to four to block a ruling by a federal judge in California that barred the president from spending the money on the wall.

The wall, dividing the US and Mexico, was Mr Trump’s major campaign promise during the 2016 election.

It is fiercely opposed by Democrats.

The decision by the Supreme Court means that the money will be used for wall projects in California, Arizona and New Mexico.

The court in California had argued that Congress had not specifically authorised the funds to be used for constructing the wall.

In a tweet, Mr Trump described the ruling as a “big victory”.

Twitter post by @realDonaldTrump: Wow! Big VICTORY on the Wall. The United States Supreme Court overturns lower court injunction, allows Southern Border Wall to proceed. Big WIN for Border Security and the Rule of Law!

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Business and economy

The U.S. Department of Justice approves a $26 billion merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. If finalized, they will become the third-largest mobile network operator in the nation. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Heavy rains in Al Haouz Province, Morocco, trigger a landslide, resulting in the deaths of 15 people. (The New York Times) (Morocco World News)
Two people die and more than 17 are injured when an internal balcony collapses at a nightclub in the South Korean city of Gwangju. (BBC)
At least nine people are killed and 60 others injured when two earthquakes strike the province of Batanes in the Philippines. (InquirerNet)

Health and environment

Saudi Arabia suspends visas for Hajj pilgrims arriving from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, amid safety concerns regarding the ongoing Ebola epidemic in Kivu. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

A man from the Bronx, New York City, is arrested for attempting to join the Taliban. (ABC News)
Sixteen American marines are arrested at Camp Pendleton, California, on suspicion of aiding human smuggling and drug charges. (CBS News)

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July 27, 2019

Top News Story –

‘Mass brawl’ breaks out on P&O cruise ship Britannia

Plates and furniture were reportedly used as weapons after a mass brawl broke out on a British cruise ship.

Six people were hurt as P&O’s Britannia sailed to Southampton after a week-long trip to Norway’s fjords, police said.

A man, 43, and a 41-year-old woman have been arrested on suspicion of assault.

Good Morning Britain journalist Richard Gaisford, who was on board, said an emergency tannoy summoned security staff to the ship’s restaurant in the early hours of Friday.

Writing on Twitter, he said: “Witnesses told me they were so frightened they had to hide, as family groups fought,” he said.

A police spokeswoman said: “The incident took place during the early hours of Friday, 26 July, on board P&O’s Britannia while it was en route to Southampton from Bergen.”

She said three men and three women were assaulted, with their injuries including significant bruising and cuts.

The man and the woman arrested, both from Chigwell, Essex, are in police custody.

(BBC)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Japan–North Korea relations
- Japan warns on Saturday that the new North Korean projectiles have trajectories that are not typical for conventional ballistic missiles, making them difficult or impossible to intercept en route to Japan. (Al-Manar)
Boko Haram insurgency
- At least 65 people are killed and 10 injured in an attack by Boko Haram at a funeral in Maiduguri, Nigeria. (CNN)

Law and crime

Two American teenagers are arrested in Rome for extortion and murder of an Italian military officer. (The New York Times)

Politics and elections

President Félix Tshisekedi and the Congolese parliament, controlled by a rival party, agree to form a new government following negotiations, six months after he replaced Joseph Kabila during the 2018 DR Congo general election. Sylvestre Ilunga will be formally nominated for the post of Prime Minister in the coming week. (News24)
Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro again accuses the United States of flying over its national waters. (El Sol de Mexico)
2019 Moscow City Duma election
- Several thousand people attend a rally in Moscow organized by opposition members due to several opposition candidates being disqualified from regional elections. The protests turned violent and policedetained about 1,000 people, including politician Alexei Navalny. (BBC)

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July 28, 2019

Top News Story –

US teenager wins $3m as Fortnite world champion

A US teenager has won a record-breaking $3m (£2.4m) to become world champion of the computer game Fortnite.

It is the largest prize pool in the history of e-sports, with $30m shared amongst the winners.

Kyle Giersdorf, 16, won the solo event of the competition in the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, which hosts the US Open tennis tournament.

Jaden Ashman – a 15-year-old from Hornchurch, London – won almost £1m for coming second in the duos event.

And another British teenager – 14-year-old Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson from Sidcup, Kent – also walked away with a major prize.

Mr Giersdorf, known online as Bugha, stood laughing and shaking his head as the crowd erupted when his name was announced.

He told the BBC he wants to save most of his prize. “All I want is a new desk and maybe a desk for my trophy,” he said.

The final game was described by the commentators as a “ridiculous victory lap” as the winner played with a smile on his face whilst beating his rivals.

(BBC)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

28 July 2019 Kabul suicide bombing
- Gunfire and an explosion kills 20 and injures over 50 in an attack at the Kabul office of the vice-president candidate Amrullah Saleh who was slightly injured in the attack. (BBC)
Libyan Civil War
- An airstrike kills five doctors in a hospital in the southern outskirts of Libya‘s capital Tripoli. (BBC)
During conflicts in the state of Amapá in northern Brazil, armed miners invade a native reserve and stab to death an indigenous man. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

At least 36 people die in a landslide striking a village in southern China. (BBC)
Heavy storms across central Italy kill three people and cause damages. One death was caused by lightning, one by a tornado, and one by getting caught in a flood. (Il Messaggero)

Law and crime

Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting
- A gunman opens fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California, killing three people and wounding at least twelve others. The gunman is killed after engaging with the police. Police believe his handler is still at large. (SF Chronicle) (CBS News)

Politics and elections

Hong Kong protests
- Tens of thousands of protesters demanding the resignation of pro-China Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam take over the streets in Sai Wan and Causeway Bay, near China’s Hong Kong Liaison Office, despite an official police ban on protests near the Chinese government building. (BBC)
- During protests, Hong Kong groups organize to put pressure on the United Kingdom, asking for help to uphold the city-state’s legal rights. The Joint Agreement of 1997 signed by the UK and China outlines that Hong Kong will have legislative and judiciary independence, based on systems implemented there under British rule. (The Guardian)
2021 Peruvian general election
- President Martín Vizcarra announces that he will present a constitutional reform that calls a snap election for April 2020. (Reuters)

Sports

2019 Tour de France
- In road cycling, Colombia‘s Egan Bernal wins the Tour de France by 1:11 on general classification over his British teammate Geraint Thomas. The 22-year-old Bernal is the first Colombian and first Latin American rider to win the Tour, and the youngest rider to do so since 1909. (BBC)

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July 29, 2019

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India’s tiger population rises to 3,000 despite cities expanding

India’s tiger population has grown to nearly 3,000 and has been described by the country’s prime minister as a “historic achievement”.

India estimates its tiger population every few years and the number for 2018 was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.

The tiger population was 2,226 in 2014 and just 1,400 about 15 years ago.

Mr Modi said the number of protected areas for tigers rose from 692 in 2014 to 860 last year while the number of community reserves went from 43 to 100 over the same period.

“With around 3,000 tigers, India has emerged as of one of the biggest and safest habitats for them in the world,” he said.

Belinda Wright, founder of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, based in New Delhi, said India “still has a long way to go to secure a long-term future for wild tigers”.

But she also said India should, nevertheless, be pleased with the results of what was the largest and most thorough estimation of the tiger population.

(SKY News)

‘Definitely weird’: man bites snake

An Indian man who was bitten by a snake got his revenge on the reptile by biting it back and killing it, the man’s father said on Monday.

The man, Raj Kumar, was relaxing at home, enjoying a drink on Sunday, when a snake slithered into his house in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, and bit him, said his father.

“A snake bit him. So, in turn, he bit it and chewed it into pieces,” said the father, Babu Ram.

The man’s family took him to hospital where media said his condition was critical. The snake that bit him was reported to have been a rat snake, which experts regard as usually not venomous.

“This is definitely weird,” said Raj Kumar’s doctor, N.P. Singh.

“I’ve seen people coming in with snakebites, but never somebody who bit a snake and then brought it with him in a bag.”

(Reuters)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- An Afghan National Army soldier kills two U.S. service members in a suspected “insider attack” in Kandahar, Afghanistan. (BBC)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Ten civilians, including children, are killed after a Saudi Arabian-led coalition air strike hits a market in northern Yemen. (The Washington Post)
2018–19 Sudanese protests
- Five students are shot dead after security forces open fire in the city of El-Obeid during a protest. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Billboard reports that Lil Nas X has broken the all-time record on the Billboard Hot 100 with his song “Old Town Road“, as it spends its seventeenth week atop the chart; the previous record-holders are Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men with “One Sweet Day“, and Luis Fonsi with “Despacito” featuring Daddy Yankee. (Billboard)

Business and economy

International sanctions during the Venezuelan crisis
- Venezuelan officials are accused of using the cryptocurrency Bitcoin in order to circumvent United States sanctions. (Yahoo Finance)
Capital One announces that a major data breach occurred on July 19, 2019, by one individual who compromised the data of about 106 million people in the United States and Canada. The Federal Bureau of Investigation have a made an arrest after the alleged hacker, 33-year-old Paige Thompson from Seattle, boasted about her actions online. (BBC)

Law and crime

An eight-year-old boy is killed and his mother injured after being pushed by a man into the path of an oncoming train at Frankfurt‘s main station, in Hesse, Germany. The attacker, a 40-year-old immigrant Eritrean man, also attempted to knock a third person onto the tracks. The suspect and the victims did not appear to have known one another. (Sky News)
2019 Altamira prison riot
- At least 57 people are killed, including sixteen who were beheaded, during prison riots in Pará, Brazil, which saw rival gangs battle for five hours. (BBC)

Politics and elections

After two FARC leaders go into hiding from drug trafficking charges in Colombia and the United States, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro makes a public statement saying they are welcome to take refuge in his country. He also welcomes other FARC rebels to Venezuela, calling them “leaders of peace”. (Reuters)
2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests
- The Chinese government‘s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office condemns protests in Hong Kong as “evil and criminal acts committed by the radical elements”, saying that Hong Kong’s top priority is to “punish violent and unlawful acts in accordance with the law”. Hong Kong legislators and journalists reject the statement from Beijing, expressing concern that this will worsen tensions. (BBC)

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July 30, 2019

Top News Story –

Chinese vlogger who used filter to look younger caught in live-stream glitch

Fans of a popular Chinese video blogger who called herself “Your Highness Qiao Biluo” have been left stunned after a technical glitch during one of her live-streams revealed her to be a middle-aged woman and not the young glamorous girl they thought her to be.

The revelation has led to discussions about standards of beauty across the country’s social media platforms.

The blogger, who initially boasted a follower count of more than 100,000 on Douyu, is believed to have used a filter on her face during her appearances, and had been renowned for her “sweet and healing voice”.

China’s Global Times said she had been “worshipped” as a “cute goddess” by some members of her loyal audience with some fans even giving her more than 100,000 yuan ($14,533, £11,950).

However, live-streaming platform Lychee News says the incident happened on 25 July, during a joint live-stream with another user, Qingzi on the Douyu platform.

The Global Times reports that all was as normal and that her fans urged her to show her face and remove her filter but she refused, instead apparently saying: “I can’t show my face until I receive gifts worth 100,000 yuan ($11,950). After all, I’m a good-looking host.”

Followers began to send her donations with the largest reported to be 40,000 yuan ($5,813, £4,780) during the session.

However, at some point, it seems the filter being used by the vlogger stopped working and her real face became visible to her viewers.

She is reported to have noticed only when people who had signed up to her VIP access room started exiting en masse.

Many of her original followers – especially men – are said to have stopped following her and withdrawn their transactions after seeing her true identity.

Your Highness Qiao Biluo without a filter and with a filter — Your Highness Qiao Biluo’s real appearance (left) and her filtered face (right) on Douyu

(BBC)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan
- Four are killed and over 20 injured in a bomb blast near a police station in Quetta, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

At least 18 people, including thirteen civilians and five crew members, are killed and 12 others injured after a small military plane crashes into a residential area near the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Al-Sultan Abdullah is crowned as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia at Istana Negara, Kuala Lumpur. (Berita Harian)
Romanian Interior Minister Nicolae Moga resigns just six days into office amid outrage and protests over the slow response by police to the disappearance, rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl near the city of Caracal. (RFERL)

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July 31, 2019

Top News Story –

YouTube ‘King of Random’ dies in paragliding accident

YouTuber Grant Thompson, star of the “King of Random” channel, has died in a paragliding accident.

The 38 year old, whose channel had 11 million subscribers with billions of views, failed to return from a trip in Utah on Monday.

Thompson had a GPS device which helped locate his body the next day.

His YouTube channel was known for its creative – and sometimes dangerous – experiments such as “What does Liquid Nitrogen do to Your Face?”

Thompson’s death was officially announced on his Instagram page, with calls for his fans to “do a random act of love or kindness today in honour of The King of Random”.

In an interview with MediaKix in 2017, Thompson explained how he was bullied at school but eventually became a pilot. After flying planes for more than a decade, he went into real estate, became “semi-retired” and started his YouTube channel.

“I started making videos on YouTube showing people what I was tinkering with and what I was coming up with,” he said at the time.

(BBC)

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Armed conflict and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- Thirty-two civilians are killed and over 20 are injured after their bus hits a land mine in Afghanistan. (New York Post)
War on Terror
- Unnamed U.S. officials say they have received intelligence that Hamza bin Laden, son of Osama bin Laden and wanted al-Qaeda terrorist, has been killed. The time, location and cause of death has not been disclosed. (The Guardian), (NBC News)

Business and economy

Argentina-United States relations, Brazil-United States relations, Paraguay-United States relations, United States-Uruguay relations
- Brazil announces that Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay are negotiating a free trade deal with the United States of America. (Clarín))

Disasters and accidents

2019 wildfire season
- Russian President Vladimir Putin orders the Russian Ground Forces to join firefighting efforts to help tackle raging wildfires in Siberia. A state of emergency has been declared in Irkutsk Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Buryatia and Sakha Republic where millions of hectares are currently burning out of control. (BBC)
A United States Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet crashes in Death Valley National Park, California, leaving seven visitors on the ground with minor injuries. A search and rescue operation is underway for the pilot. (The Los Angeles Times)

International relations

Iran–United States relations, United States sanctions against Iran
- The United States Department of the Treasury sanctions Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for implementing the “reckless agenda of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei“. (BBC)

Law and crime

2019 Hong Kong protests
- At least 10 people are injured after fireworks were shot from a moving car into a crowd of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. (BBC)

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August 1, 2019

Top News Story –

Milky Way galaxy is warped and twisted, not flat

Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is “warped and twisted” and not flat as previously thought, new research shows.

Analysis of the brightest stars in the galaxy shows that they do not lie on a flat plane as shown in academic texts and popular science books.

Astronomers from Warsaw University speculate that it might have been bent out of shape by past interactions with nearby galaxies.

The new three dimensional map has been published in the journal Science.

The popular picture of the Milky Way as a flat disc is based on the observation of 2.5 million stars out of a possible 2.5 billion. The artists’ impressions are therefore rough approximations of the truer shape of our galaxy, according to Dr Dorota Skowron of Warsaw University.

“The internal structure and history of the Milky Way is still far from being understood, in part because it is extremely difficult to measure distances to stars at the outer regions of our galaxy,” she said.

(BBC)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War
- At least 36 security forces, including Southern Movement commander Munir Al Yafi, are killed and scores wounded in a rocket attack on a military camp near the city of Aden, Yemen. In an earlier attack, 13 people are killed by a suicide bomber in Sheikh Othman. The rocket attack was claimed by Houthi movement, while the suicide bombing was claimed by Islamic State. (Anadolu Agency)
Somali Civil War
- Mayor of Mogadishu Abdirahman Abdi Osman dies from injuries he sustained during the 24 July 2019 Mogadishu bombing. (The New York Times)

Business and economy

China–United States trade war
- President of the United States Donald Trump announces in a tweet that the United States will impose import tariffs of 10% on US$300 billion worth of Chinese exports starting September 1. (CNBC)

Disasters and accidents

The town of Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire, England, is evacuated after heavy rain and flooding causes structural damage to the nearby dam at the Toddbrook Reservoir amid fears the dam could collapse. A severe flood warning has been issued for communities situated along the River Goyt. (BBC)

International relations

2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis
- U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says that the United States has “a blueprint” to recover Venezuela’s economy if Nicolás Maduro leaves office as the nation’s disputed President. (Wall Street Journal)
- U.S President Donald Trump says that he is considering a blockade of Venezuela as the U.S increases pressure on President Maduro to step down.(Reuters)

Science and technology

List of nearest exoplanets
- Astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy announce the discovery of red dwarf star GJ 357 and its three confirmed exoplanets in the Hydra constellation, one of which (GJ 357 d) is highly likely to be a super-Earth planet located in the system’s circumstellar habitable zone where life can exist. The discovery was made using NASA‘s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). (The Independent)

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August 2, 2019

Top News Story –

Lionel Messi Suspended 3 Months and Fined $50,000 for CONMEBOL Criticism

The Argentine star Lionel Messi was barred on Friday from playing for his national team for three months and was fined $50,000 by CONMEBOL, the South American soccer governing body, after he heavily criticized the organization during the Copa América.

Messi, 32, accused CONMEBOL of corruption after he was sent off against Chile in the third-place playoff match during the tournament in Brazil, which ended last month.

Messi was angered by two incidents during the Copa.

Argentina was denied two penalty claims in its 2-0 semifinal loss to the hosts, after which Messi claimed Brazil was “managing a lot in CONMEBOL these days.” And when he was harshly dismissed in the next game, which Argentina won, 2-1, he could not contain his anger.

“Corruption and the referees are preventing people from enjoying the football, and they’re ruining it a bit,” Messi said.

He was given his marching orders after a first-half scuffle with Chile’s captain, Gary Medel, although television images suggested he had done little wrong.

In a statement on its website, CONMEBOL did not specify why Messi was being punished but said the punishment was related to articles 7.1 and 7.2 of the organization’s disciplinary regulations.

(NY Times)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War, Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
- At least 19 Yemeni soldiers are killed by an Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula attack on a military camp in Abyan, Yemen. (Al Jazeera)
2019 Bangkok bombings
- Multiple bomb blasts hit Bangkok, Thailand, as United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends a regional security summit. At least four people are injured. (DW)

International relations

Russia–United States relations
- The United States formally withdraws from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia. (CNN)

Law and crime

2019 Zagreb shooting
- A gunman opens fire in the home of his ex-wife in Zagreb, Croatia, killing six, including a ten-year-old child. He later committed suicide after a manhunt. (Reuters)
Women’s rights in Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Arabia grants women the right to travel without permission from a male guardian, and expands their marriage and custodial rights in a series of royal decrees. (Reuters)
Capital punishment in Japan
- Japan carries out the first executions this year, hanging Koichi Shoji, 64, who killed two women in 2001, and serial killer Yasunori Suzuki, 50, who killed three women between 2004 and 2005 in Fukuoka Prefecture. (Kyodo News)

Politics and elections

UK House of Commons: 2019 Brecon and Radnorshire by-election
- The Liberal Democrats gain the Brecon and Radnorshire seat from the Conservatives. This marks the first time a seat has changed hands in a by-election triggered by a successful recall petition. The working majority of the Conservative government is reduced to one. (The Guardian)
Political appointments by Donald Trump
- President Trump announces he will not nominate Representative John Ratcliffe to replace Dan Coats as Director of National Intelligence when he resigns on August 15, and plans to block Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Sue Gordon from serving as acting director. (The New York Times) (The New York Times²)
Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă sacks Minister of Education Ecaterina Andronescu for her controversial comments in a television interview about murdered 15-year-old girl Alexandra Macesanu, saying she was “taught not to get in cars with strangers”. A 65-year-old man has since admitted killing Alexandra Macesanu and another teenage girl who has been missing since April. (BBC)
Deforestation in Brazil
- Brazil‘s National Space Research Institute Director-General Ricardo Galvão is dismissed from office as a result of the release of data showing a rise in Amazon deforestation. President Jair Bolsonarohas called the release of the data “irresponsible and sensationalist”. (BBC) (The Guardian)

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August 3, 2019

Top News Story –

El Paso Shooting: Massacre at a Crowded Walmart in Texas Leaves 20 Dead

A 21-year-old gunman armed with a powerful rifle turned a crowded Walmart store in this majority-Hispanic border city into a scene of chaos and bloodshed on Saturday, stalking shoppers in the aisles in an attack that left at least 20 people dead and 26 others wounded, the authorities said.

For several minutes late on Saturday morning, the packed Walmart near the Cielo Vista Mall on the city’s East Side filled with gun smoke and the echo of gunfire. Workers and customers, some bloodied, fled out the doors. Others huddled in the aisles or on the ground.

“Texas grieves for the people of El Paso today,” the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, told reporters. “On a day that would have been a normal day for someone to leisurely go shopping, turned into one of the most deadly days in the history of Texas.”

The authorities identified the gunman as Patrick Crusius, from a Dallas suburb. He was taken into custody after he surrendered to the police outside the Walmart. The authorities said they were investigating a manifesto Mr. Crusius, who is white, may have posted before the shooting, which described an attack in response to “the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

(NY Times)

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Arts and culture

Indian authorities issue evacuation orders for thousands of people, including tourists and Hindu pilgrims heading to the Amarnath Temple for yatra (which has been cancelled) to immediately leave Jammu and Kashmir because of security alerts about possible militant attacks. Also, the pilgrimage to Machel Mata for yatra, which also began on 01 July, has been suspended. (BBC) (CNN-News18)

International relations

Argentina–United States relations
- President of Argentina Mauricio Macri receives the United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross who expresses full support from the U.S. for his re-election. (La Nación)

Law and crime

2019 El Paso shooting
- At least 20 people are dead and multiple others injured after a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. A suspect is in custody. (CNN)

Politics and elections

2018–19 Sudanese protests, 2019 Sudanese transition to democracy
- The African Union announces the Sudanese military council and the opposition agreed to a constitutional declaration that will pave the way to a new transitional government. It calls for the new government to be headed by six citizens and five generals, and formally places the Rapid Support Forces under military command. (BBC)
Several hundred people are detained by Russian police at opposition protests in Moscow, because several opposition candidates were disqualified from running in the upcoming Moscow City legislative election. (RT)

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August 14, 2019

Top News Story –

The 12,000-calorie burger: why one pub is offering a meat feast – and cash towards your gravestone

‘It’s just 10 burgers piled up on top of each other between mounds of cheese and 25 rashers of bacon.’ The Big Ben Number 10. Photograph: Craig Harker/SWNS.COM

Name: The Big Ben Number 10.

Price: £28.95.

Appearance: 12,000 calories of possible death.

Jesus Christ, what is that thing? Oh, you mean that towering stack of charred meat, cheese, bacon and grease? That’s the Big Ben Number 10. Fancy a bite?

No! Oh, come on, try some. I know it looks like a still from a documentary about a zoo that burned down, but what have you got to lose?

I don’t know, my basic artery function? Listen, sure the Big Ben Number 10 is a big burger. Sure it’s just 10 burgers piled up on top of each other between mounds of cheese and 25 rashers of bacon. Sure, it weighs 1.5kg. Sure, you might actually die trying to eat it. But it’s OK because they have thought of that.

Who’s thought of what? The George Pub and Grill in County Durham has thought of this burger actually killing someone. It comes with advice that customers eat it at their own risk, plus the owner has promised to pay £500 towards the headstone of anyone who drops dead during the challenge.

Seems like a nice guy. He’s got a big heart. And so will you once you’ve clogged your entire circulatory system with damp wads of half-chewed meat.

Has anyone actually attempted this? Apparently so. Competitive eater Kyle Gibson recently took on the Big Ben Number 10, and polished the whole thing off in just under 22 minutes. He claimed it was the best burger he’d ever tasted, which very possibly means he enjoys gorging to the point of nausea on food that went cold 15 minutes previously.

Do you get anything if you finish it? The owner of the George says you get “bragging rights”. Because your friends love nothing more than when you waddle up to them and boast about how you’ve become the unofficial poster boy for the sort of uncontrolled consumption that will almost certainly result in the end of humanity itself.

And how many calories did you say it had? 12,000.

Can you put that into perspective? Well, the NHS states that a healthy adult male should aim to eat about 2,500 calories a day. So this burger isthe equivalent of eating everything you should normally eat in a working week.

I still don’t get it. Can you put it in Guardian terms for me? Oh, fine, it’s like eating 10kg of quinoa.

(Guardian)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- A Syrian Air Force Sukhoi Su-22 jet is missing, reportedly shot down by rebel forces near the town of Khan Shaykhun in the Idlib Governorate, Syria. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham jihadists say they have captured the pilot. (BBC) (Al Masdar News)

Business and economy

Economy of Germany
- The Federal Statistical Office of Germany discloses that Germany‘s gross domestic product shrank by 0.1% in the second quarter. (The Guardian)
The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, a U.S.-based organization that aims to keep educational materials broadly accessible, has asked the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department to halt a planned merger between two large textbook companies, a merger it claims will cause students “irreparable harm.” (Reuters)

Health and environment

California regulators announce a ban on chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate nerve agent used as a pesticide. (Los Angeles Times)
France bans electric pulse fishing. (AFP via Yahoo News}

Law and crime

August 2019 Philadelphia shooting
- Six police officers are shot, sustaining non-life threatening injuries, by a gunman in Philadelphia; a seventh officer is injured in a related automobile accident nearby. (CNN) (NBC News)
Nisour Square massacre
- In a third trial, Nicholas Slatten is sentenced to life in prison. (AFP via VoA)

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November 6, 2019

Top News Story –

Dying for a better life: South Koreans fake their funerals for life lessons

A South Korean service is offering free funerals – but only to the living.

More than 25,000 people have participated in mass “living funeral” services at Hyowon Healing Center since it opened in 2012, hoping to improve their lives by simulating their deaths.

“Once you become conscious of death, and experience it, you undertake a new approach to life,” said 75-year-old Cho Jae-hee, who participated in a recent living funeral as part of a “dying well” program offered by her senior welfare center.

Dozens took part in the event, from teenagers to retirees, donning shrouds, taking funeral portraits, penning their last testaments, and lying in a closed coffin for around 10 minutes.

Funeral company Hyowon began offering the living funerals to help people appreciate their lives, and seek forgiveness and reconciliation with family and friends, said Jeong Yong-mun, who heads the healing center.

Jeong said he is heartened when people reconcile at a relative’s funeral, but is saddened they wait that long.

“We don’t have forever,” he said. “That’s why I think this experience is so important – we can apologize and reconcile sooner and live the rest of our lives happily.”

[Reuters]

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Terrorism in Tajikistan
- Twenty gunmen open fire around a border checkpoint between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, killing a border guard and a policeman. Fifteen assailants are killed and five others captured. (Al Jazeera)
A knife-wielding man launched a random assault wounding eight people, including four foreign tourists and four locals, before being arrested in Jerash, Jordan. A Mexican tourist and a Jordanian tour guide are seriously injured. Among the injured there is a bus driver stabbed while trying to stop the assailant from entering a cafeteria full of tourists. (BBC News)
Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
- Ten civilians are killed by ADF militiamen who crossed the border from Uganda into the Beni Territory, North Kivu, DR Congo. (France 24)
Insurgency in the Maghreb
- 2019 Fada N’gourma attack
  - Thirty-seven people are dead and 60 others are injured after gunmen attack a Canadian gold mining company convoy on a road in Burkina Faso. (BBC News)
- France announces it will send ground troops to three border areas in Burkina Faso. (Al Jazeera)
2019 Yala attack
- Gunmen kill 15 people and injure five at a security checkpoint in Yala Province, Thailand. The attack is the most deadly in years. (Reuters) (Bangkok Post)
2019 Hong Kong protests
- Hong Kong pro-government politician Junius Ho and his assistant are hospitalized after being stabbed by a man pretending to be a supporter. The perpetrator is arrested. (BBC News) (CNN) (South China Morning Post)
LeBarón family massacre
- A suspect has been arrested for the mass shooting in Sonora, Mexico. (USA Today)
2019 Iraqi protests
- At least three people are killed, and a further 17 wounded, when security forces fire at protestors trying to block a bridge in Baghdad. This is in spite of the government announcing the military was banned from using live rounds. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal
- A court filing by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra reveals for the first time that the state launched an 18-month investigation into Facebook’s privacy issues in response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The filing accuses the company of refusing to cooperate with investigators, and asks the court to require them to turn over information regarding third-party access to data and changes in privacy settings. (Reuters)

International relations

Israel–Jordan relations
- Israel releases two Jordanian citizens it held in detention since August, after the Jordanian government successfully negotiated for their release on Monday. (Al Jazeera)
Nuclear program of Iran
- French media reports that Iranian nuclear scientists began injecting uranium into centrifuges in the presence of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. Effectively it turns the plant from a research site into an active nuclear site, in further violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

Dutch police evacuate passengers and crew onboard an Air Europa flight at Amsterdam‘s Schiphol Airport to investigate reports of a “suspicious situation”. The airline later tweets it was a false alarm. (BBC News) (NL Times)
2019 Chilean protests
- Regional prosecutor for East Santiago Manuel Guerra announces his intentions to investigate 14 police officers for allegedly torturing protestors. (Reuters)
Two former Twitter employees are charged for spying on at least 6,000 users on behalf of Saudi Arabia. (BBC News)

Politics and elections

2019 Lebanese protests
- Protestors sit-in at numerous government ministries, offices of major utility company Électricité du Liban, and property development sites at Zaitunay Bay in Beirut as protests enter their fourth week. (Al Jazeera)
- Hundreds of students at schools and universities join the protests. (Al Jazeera)

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November 19, 2019

Top News Story –

‘The ducks have won’ – French court says they may keep on quacking

The ducks on a small French smallholding may carry on quacking, a French court ruled on Tuesday, rejecting a neighbour’s complaint that the birds’ racket was making their life a misery.

The court in the town of Dax ruled that the noise from the flock of around 60 ducks and geese kept by retired farmer Dominique Douthe in the foothills of the Pyrenees, southwestern France, was within acceptable limits, broadcaster France 3 said.

“The ducks have won,” Douthe told Reuters after the court decision. “I’m very happy because I didn’t want to slaughter my ducks.”

The complaint was brought by Douthe’s neighbour who moved from the city around a year ago into a property about 50 metres (yards) away from the enclosure in the Soustons district where Douthe keeps her flock.

The dispute is the latest in a series of court cases that have pitted the traditional way of life in rural France against modern values which, country-dwellers say, are creeping in from the city.

In a court ruling in September, a rooster named Maurice was allowed to continue his dawn crowing, despite complaints from neighbours who had also moved in from the city.

[Reuters]

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan, Afghan peace process
- In Zabul Province, the Taliban releases two foreign hostages, American professor Kevin King and Australian professor Timothy Weeks, who had been held captive since being kidnapped outside the American University of Afghanistan in 2016. Three high-ranking Taliban militants are released in exchange for the hostages. (BBC News)
- Afghan President Ashraf Ghani claims victory over ISIL, citing the surrender of over 600 of their fighters in the past weeks as an example that the group has given up. (Reuters)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- Libyan National Army (LNA) warplanes carry out airstrikes on the port city of Misrata. The LNA say they were targeting munitions and armored vehicles that had been delivered from Turkey. (Reuters)
2019 Iranian fuel protests
- Rioters armed with knives kill three members of Iran’s security forces, bringing the death toll up to 11. (Al Jazeera)
- Amnesty International reports that 106 protesters have been killed during the protest. Some reports indicate a much higher death toll. (BBC News) (National Post)
2019 Hong Kong protests
- After the attack on pro-democracy activist Jimmy Sham the month prior, another pro-democracy activist, Albert Ho, is attacked by masked men at a minibus stop. (South China Morning Post)
2019 Bolivian protests
- At least three people are killed and 22 injured after Bolivian police and military forces use armored vehicles and helicopters to unblock access to a major fuel plant that had been blockaded by supporters of former president Evo Morales. (The Guardian)
- Bolivia’s congress, controlled by lawmakers from Morales’ Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, said it would cancel a contentious vote in the legislature that had been expected to reject Morales’ resignation. (Reuters)

Business and economy

2019 Japan–South Korea trade dispute
- Officials from Japan and South Korea hold their second round of trade talks as part of the World Trade Organization‘s dispute settlement process. (NHK World-Japan)
- Japan and South Korea have failed to narrow their differences over Japan’s export controls in the second round of bilateral talks. (NHK World-Japan)
Amid continuing fallout over rape allegations against Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and controversy over his close friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, several businesses—including British banking group Standard Chartered, KPMG, Aon and drug giant AstraZeneca—cut ties with the Prince. Pitch@Palace, an initiative founded by Prince Andrew to support entrepreneurs, removes its entire web page listing its supporters. (Yahoo! News) (CNN)

Health and environment

Fifteen children are confirmed (and three more suspected) dead from measles in Samoa as the illness epidemic continues within the country. (Radio New Zealand)

International Relations

Hong Kong–United States relations, China–United States relations, 2019 Hong Kong protests
- The U.S. Senate unanimously passes the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which mandates that the State Department at least annually checks to see if Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to retain its special trade status with the United States. The Senate also unanimously passes another bill banning the sale of certain crowd-control munitions to the Hong Kong police. The former’s passage is condemned by China. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Assange v Swedish Prosecution Authority
- A Swedish prosecutor says she will drop charges of rape against Julian Assange after a review of the evidence. (Reuters)
Death of Jeffrey Epstein
- Two prison guards who worked at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City are arrested in connection with the death of American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The guards are accused of falsifying the records of their watch the night Epstein was found dead. (Washington Examiner) (New York Post)
The Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives calls for the impeachment of Governor Ralph Torres amid an ongoing Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation into his businesses. (Radio New Zealand)
Crime in Germany
- Son of former German president Richard von Weizsäcker, a physician, is stabbed to death during a lecture. The attacker is reported as 57 years old. (Deutsche Welle) (The Berlin Spectator)
Operation Car Wash
- A Rio de Janeiro judge issues an arrest warrant against former President of Paraguay Horacio Cartes, accusing him of operating a money laundering scheme with a friend, Dario Messer, who is prosecuted as part of Operation Car Wash. (EFE) (Clarín)

Politics and elections

Shinzō Abe becomes the longest-serving Prime Minister of Japan. (The Straits Times)
2019 Chilean protests
- An impeachment inquiry is launched against Chilean President Sebastián Piñera due to his alleged role in the violation of human rights in the ongoing protests. (World Socialist Web Site)
Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah is named by the Emir as the new Prime Minister of Kuwait, replacing Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. (Gulf News)
2019 Montserratian general election
- After his victory in the general election, Easton Taylor-Farrell is sworn in as Premier of Montserrat. (RJR News)
Silveria Jacobs is appointed as the new Prime Minister of Sint Maarten. (The Daily Herald)

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December 4, 2019

December 4, 2018

Top News Story –

15 year old Greta Thunberg takes a stand for climate change at COP24

15 year old Greta Thunberg made headlines last month through her uncompromising – and uncomfortable! – presentation to the United Nations’ COP24 Climate Change conference in Poland. For Greta, it’s as simple as this: climate change is a threat to our survival, and the world is not doing enough about it. Each Friday since August 2018, Greta has missed school to go on strike outside of the Swedish Parliament Building. She is demanding change, and has encouraged kids around the world to do the same until world leaders take serious action to reduce emissions and fulfil the mandates of the Paris Agreement.

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Operation Northern Shield
- Israel announces an operation to clear Hezbollah tunnels from Lebanon-Israeli border. (The Times of Israel)

Arts and culture

Russians vote to rename the two main airports of Moscow, Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo, after poet Alexander Pushkin and scientist Mikhail Lomonosov, respectively. (TASS)

Law and crime

The alleged boss of the Cosa Nostra mafia clan is arrested along with 45 suspected accomplices in the province of Palermo, Italy. They are accused of aggravated extortion. (Euronews)

Politics and elections

Yellow vests movement
- Following large protests against French President Emmanuel Macron‘s planned increases on fuel taxes, French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announces that these plans will be suspended for at least six months. (Bloomberg)
Brexit negotiations
- The Government of the United Kingdom is found to be in contempt of parliament for the first time in history. The motion, which passed by 311 to 293 votes in the House of Commons, was triggered by Theresa May‘s government failing to publish its legal advice on its Brexit withdrawal plan. (CNN)
Frank Scott Jr. is elected Mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas, defeating Baker Kurrus in the runoff. Scott will become the city’s first African-American mayor. (USA Today)

Sports

NHL expansion
- In ice hockey, the National Hockey League announces that its board of governors unanimously approved a new franchise for Seattle. The new team will start play in the 2021–22 season, bringing the league’s membership to 32 teams. (ESPN)

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December 12, 2019

Top News Story –

Election results 2019: Tories on course to win majority – exit poll

The Conservatives are set to win an overall majority of 86 in the general election, according to an exit poll for the BBC, ITV and Sky News.

The survey taken at UK polling stations suggests the Tories will get 368 MPs – 50 more than at the 2017 election – when all the results have been counted.

Labour would get 191, the Lib Dems 13, the Brexit Party none and the SNP 55.

The Green Party will still have one MP and Plaid Cymru will lose one seat for a total of three, the survey suggests.

The first general election results are due before midnight, with the final total expected to be known by Friday lunchtime.

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Armed conflict and attacks

2019 Jersey City shooting
- The attack on a kosher grocery in Jersey City is officially labeled an act of domestic terrorism and antisemitism. (Fox News)
A suicide bomber kills seven paramilitary soldiers and wounds three others near Samarra, Iraq. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Russia‘s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, catches fire while docked in Murmansk. (Ars Technica)

International relations

Former President of Bolivia Evo Morales lands in Argentina after being granted asylum. Foreign Minister of Argentina Felipe Solá says Morales will receive refugee status. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting
- A trial date has been set for September 2021, after families of the victims sue Remington for the “company’s reckless marketing of the Bushmaster AR-15“, the gun used by the perpetrator in the rampage. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Indian Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019
- As anger over the new citizenship law grows in the Indian states of Assam and Tripura, the government calls in the Army to restore peace. Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeals for calm. (BBC)
2019 Algerian protests, 2019 Algerian presidential election
- Thousands of protesters flood the streets of Algiers to protest the presidential election currently underway. As all five candidates have ties to ousted president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, protesters call the election a sham and demand that the military withdraw its influence from political life. (Al Jazeera)
2020 Israeli legislative election
- The Israeli parliament votes to dissolve itself and schedules an unprecedented third election in a year for 2 March 2020. (The Jerusalem Post)
2019 Chilean protests
- The impeachment process against President Sebastián Piñera is defeated by 79 votes against 73 in the Chamber of Deputies. The impeachment process was initiated after several human rights violations have been reported against protestors. (Al Jazeera)

Science and technology

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission designates 988 as the new phone number of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. (Associated Press)

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December 13, 2019

United Kingdom Election result

The Conservative Party has won a big majority after sweeping aside Labour in its traditional heartlands.

Boris Johnson – new British Prime Minister

What’s happened?

The Conservative Party has won a majority of at least 78, its biggest general election victory since 1987
With one constituency left to declare, the Conservatives have 364 seats, Labour 203, the SNP 48, the Liberal Democrats 11, the DUP 8, Sinn Fein 7, Plaid Cymru 4, the SDLP 2, the Green Party 1, the Alliance Party 1
St Ives, Cornwall, is yet to declare
The SNP has won more seats than in 2017
For the first time, nationalist parties in Northern Ireland have taken more seats than unionists
Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party failed to win a seat

The Brexit effect

The Conservatives increased their vote share in many areas that voted Leave in the 2016 EU referendum.

vote share changes in leave and remain areas

By contrast they lost votes in strong Remain constituencies such as those in Scotland and London. But Labour lost votes in both strong Remain and strong Leave areas.

Strong Leave and strong Remain constituencies are those where an estimated 60% or more of the electorate voted for that option at the EU referendum.

These estimates of constituency Brexit votes were modelled by Professor Chris Hanretty, as the 2016 referendum result was only recorded by local authority and not by Westminster constituency.

The Conservatives were clear winners in constituencies estimated to have voted majority Leave in 2016. They won almost three quarters of all these seats.

By contrast, there was no clear winner among Remain backing constituencies, with a crowded field of parties all winning substantial numbers of seats.

[BBC]

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Business and economy

China–United States trade war
- Both countries announce an initial deal where new tariffs to be mutually imposed on December 15 would not be implemented. China says it “will buy more high quality of American agricultural products”, while the United States says it will halve the existing 15% tariffs. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

2019 Chilean protests
- The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights releases a report regarding the situation in Chile. The report confirms the existence of severe and reiterative human rights violations, including excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions, torture and sexual violence. (Cooperativa)
Corruption in Ukraine
- An appeals court in Ukraine confirms head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine Artem Sytnyk‘s culpability and sentence for corruption. (UNIAN)

Politics and elections

Impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump
- The House Judiciary Committee votes along party lines to pass two articles for impeachment against President Donald Trump. The House of Representatives is expected to hold two votes, one for each charge, on Wednesday, December 18. (ABC News)
2019 Algerian presidential election
- Abdelmadjid Tebboune is elected in the first round. (NPR)

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December 16, 2019

Top News Story –

Driver ‘blows up’ car with ‘excessive’ use of air freshener

A driver caused an explosion in his car when he lit a cigarette after spraying air freshener.

He used “excessive” amounts of the aerosol scent before sparking up, according to firefighters.

Gas from the spray ignited, blew out the windscreen and windows and buckled the doors but the man escaped with only minor injuries.

Police said the incident in Halifax on Saturday “could’ve been worse” and warned people to follow safety advice.

The motorist was in stationary traffic in Fountain Street in the town at about 15:00 GMT on Saturday when the explosion happened.

It was so powerful it caused damage to windows at nearby businesses.

(BBC)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

2019 Lebanese protests
- The Lebanese Army clashes with supporters of Hezbollah and Amal Movement in Beirut. The Shiite Islamists were attempting to attack an anti-government protester camp in Martyrs’ Square. (Reuters)

Law and crime

The Supreme Court of the United States refuses to hear a case regarding homeless people sleeping in public parks, and on sidewalks, when no other shelter is available. In allowing the camping, the high court left intact a lower court ruling, calling such bans cruel and unusual punishment. (USA Today)
In rare protests, dozens are arrested in Kazakhstan during Independence Day. Protestors demand political reform and the sidelining of the family of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev. (Reuters)
Cannabis in Zambia
- Zambia legalizes the production and export of cannabis for economic and medicinal purposes, but recreational use of the drug remains illegal. (Reuters)
The human rights group International Rights Advocates formally launches a lawsuit in the United States against Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc. (Google), Tesla, Inc., Dell and Microsoft on behalf of 14 Congolese families whose children died or were injured in Copperbelt mines that supply cobalt for the firms’ lithium-ion battery products. (BBC)
Wanted criminal Ridouan Taghi has been arrested in Dubai. He was wanted by the Netherlands for large scale cocaine trafficking and multiple murders. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

2019 French pension reform strike
- On the twelfth day of the strike, Jean-Paul Delevoye resigns. Delevoye, who was in charge of the proposed pension reform, failed to disclose private posts and income in his asset declaration. (The Guardian)
Impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump
- The U.S. House Judiciary Committee releases its 658-page report on its inquiry of the impeachment of President Donald Trump, claiming he committed obstruction of Congress and abuse of power. (CNN)

Science and technology

SpaceX successfully launches the JCSAT-18 and Kacific 1 communications satellites on a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The satellites will bring Internet access to isolated islands in the Pacific Ocean. (CNN)

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December 29, 2019

Top News Story –

New Year Honours: Publication of addresses a ‘complete disaster’

The online publication of the addresses of more than 1,000 New Year Honours recipients was a “complete disaster”, a former cabinet minister has said.

Iain Duncan Smith, who was knighted, said ministers needed to ask “very serious questions” about how it had happened, while a former civil service chief called it a “serious failure”.

The Cabinet Office has apologised and says it is investigating.

Details of celebrities, senior police officers and politicians were released.

The list of 1,097 honours recipients – including high-profile names such as Sir Elton John, cricketer Ben Stokes, TV cook Nadiya Hussain and former director of public prosecutions Alison Saunders – was uploaded to an official website on Friday evening and removed on Saturday.

Most of the entries in the spreadsheet included full addresses – including house numbers and postcodes. The Cabinet Office said the document was visible for about an hour.

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- Security Belt forces say a missile fired by the Houthis hit a military parade in the southern separatist-held town of al-Dhalea, killing at least five people and injuring others. There are no claims of responsibility for the attack. (Reuters)
War in Donbass
- The Ukrainian government and separatist rebels exchange prisoners according to the “all identified for all identified” formula agreed upon during peace talks in Paris earlier this month. (NBC)
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- Local officials say Taliban have killed 17 local militiamen in an attack on their base in Khwaja Bahauddin District, Takhar Province. A Taliban spokesman says they killed 21 gunmen. The Taliban propose a 7 to 10-day nationwide ceasefire, after which a peace deal with the United States would be signed. (Al Jazeera)
2019 United States bombing of Kata’ib Hizbollah
- The United States Air Force carries out strikes using F-15E Strike Eagle jets and drones in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the death of an American civil contractor in a rocket attack on K-1 Air Base in Kirkuk Governorate. The strikes were targeted at the Iranian-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah militia group. A spokesman for Kata’ib Hezbollah, says 19 of its fighters were killed and 35 injured in the American strikes, while vowing to respond. (Reuters) (FRANCE 24) (The Washington Post)
- Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi condemns the unilateral American bombings inside Iraq, saying the U.S. strikes are a “violation of Iraqi sovereignty”, and a “dangerous escalation that threatens the security of Iraq and the region.” (USA Today)
- Iran warns of consequences after the airstrikes. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi stated it was “illegal” and “the United States must accept responsibility of the attack.” (CNN)
Terrorism in Russia
- Following a tip-off from the United States, Russia arrests two men planning a New Year’s Eve attack in the city of Saint Petersburg. (Sky News)
Somali Civil War (2009–present)
- The death toll of the attack in Mogadishu the previous day rises to 84 with over 25 others remaining missing. (Xinhua)
- The United States target Al-Shabaab in a series of airstrikes that killed four. The strikes were in coordination with the government of Somalia. (DW News)

Arts and culture

The world’s oldest rhinoceros, Fausta, dies in Tanzania at the age of 57. (BBC)

Business and economics

Citizenship Amendment Act protests
- The Indian tourism industry reports that, as a result of protests, December visits to the Taj Mahal and the state of Assam declined by 60% and 90% respectively compared to the same period last year. These declines are also occurring in the midst of general economic slowdown in the country. (Reuters)
Over 19 flights are cancelled as a three-day strike at Lisbon Airport comes to an end. The strike was instigated when airport owner Vinci refused to unfreeze wages for the employees. (Reuters)
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo announces his country will adopt the eco as its new currency, but insists to fellow members of the currency union that it should not be pegged to the euro. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

An official at Bangladesh‘s health directorate says at least 50 people have died of cold-related illnesses in December. A cold wave sweeps through the country, with a lowest recorded temperature of 4.5 °C (40.1 °F). (Thomson Reuters via CBC)

Health and environment

2019 Samoa measles outbreak
- The Samoan government lifts its six-week state of emergency after a mass immunization campaign against measles reduced the death and infection rates. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

West Freeway Church of Christ shooting
- A man kills two people and injures another at a church in White Settlement, Texas, United States before being killed by a security guard and a civilian. (ABC News) (BBC)

Politics and elections

2019 Guinea-Bissau presidential election
- Citizens of Guinea-Bissau head to the polls in the second round of the country’s latest presidential election. (Reuters)

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