Top News Stories –

Beer with balls –
The Stedji brewery in Iceland has announced its new beer will be flavoured with smoked fin whale testicles. The Hvalur 2 beer is being sold for a limited period to mark the Icelandic midwinter month of Thorri. The fin whale is the second-largest living mammal after the blue whale and can grow up to 27m (88ft).

Trevor “Dozy” Ward-Davies dies –
Trevor Ward-Davies, best known as Dozy from the 60s pop group Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich, died today at the age of 70 after a short illness. The bass guitarist was a founder member of the band that had hits in the 60s with “Hold Tight!”, “Bend It!” and the legendary UK number one “The Legend of Xanadu” complete with whip-crack sound effects. Between 1965 and 1969, the group spent more weeks in the UK singles charts than the Beatles.
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich in 1967

Model restaurant –
A restaurant in Zhengzhou, central Henan province, China, can get their meal for free if they are selected by staff from a cosmetic surgery as one of the best-looking within a group of diners. People have their photos taken on arrival and the five diners judged most attractive get a free meal.

Video of the Day –

Tall Tales Part 2 from Kilogramme on Vimeo.

List of the day –

Top Twitter Trends –

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Charlie Hebdo shooting
  • France announces plans to deploy 10,000 troops to protect sensitive sites across the country beginning tonight.(AFP/Reuters via ABC News Australia)
• 2014–15 Russian military intervention in Ukraine
  • A passenger bus comes under heavy fire near a check point in eastern Ukraine leading to at least ten civilians killed and many others injured. (ABC News Australia)
• Rob Wainwright, the Director of Europol, tells a British parliamentary committee that up to 5000 European Union citizens have joined jihadist groups in the Middle East. (The New Daily)

Disasters and accidents

• Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501
  • Divers recover the cockpit voice recorder from the crashed jet. The Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee states that by using the now collected recorders a preliminary report on the accident will be produced within a month and a final report after a year. (AFP/Reuters via ABC News Australia)
• The death toll from contaminated beer in the Mozambique rises to at least 72. (AP via Business Week)

Health

• The World Health Organization monitors an avian flu outbreak in Taiwan, as H5N8 avian flu virus infects nine farms.(Central News Agency)
• Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa
  • China sends an additional 232 People’s Liberation Army medical workers to West Africa to combat the outbreak (in addition to the 78 that had previously been stationed). (AP)

International relations

• Pope Francis arrives in Sri Lanka to begin a six day Asian tour. (BBC)

Law and crime

• Egypt‘s highest court overturns and initiates a retrial on the only remaining conviction against former President Hosni Mubarak (a May 2014 sentencing of three years in prison for embezzlement). (Reuters)
• The U.S. Supreme Court rules 9–0 in favor of homeowners that the Truth in Lending Act clearly states that a simple notice by the homeowner to the bank within three years seeking to rescind their mortgage suffices over an actual court-filed lawsuit. (Reuters)

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