Top News Stories –

Luis Figo enters FIFA presidential race –
Luís Figo the former Portuguese football who famously played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona has entered himself to stand for the FIFA presidential election and claims to have the required five nominations from among FIFA’s 209 members. He joins Prince Ali of Jordan, the Dutch FA president Michael van Praag, Jérôme Champagne and David Ginola facing up to current president Sepp Blatter.Luis Figo

Apple now have enough money to own the largest navy in the world –
Apple the tech company reports the biggest quarterly profit of any company in the world ever with revenues of $74.6bn and a net profit of $18bn. It’s cash holdings are now $178bn which according to The Guardian newspaper “is enough to commission 40 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, giving Apple more force capability than every other navy in the world – combined”.USS Nimitz (planes not included in price)

Cat survives car crash and burial –
A cat in Florida that was buried in a shallow grave after being apparently killed by a car has managed not only to survive but to dig its way out of the grave. Bart the zombie cat as he is now known was found by a neighbour and is now recovering after surgery on a broken jaw and damaged eye.

Video of the Day –

Sommersby Cider – The Somersby Store

List of the day –

List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel (from Wikipedia)

Flag	State	Active military	Reserve military	Paramilitary	Total	Total per 1000 capita	Active per 1000 capita
	Democratic People’s Republic of Korea	1,190,000	600,000	189,000	1,979,000	79.5	47.8
	Eritrea	201,750	120,000	0	321,750	50.4	31.6
	Israel	176,500	465,000	8,000	649,500	78.8	21.4
	Brunei	7,000	700	2,250	9,950	23.9	16.8
	Armenia	48,834	210,000	6,964	265,798	89.6	16.5
	Jordan	100,500	65,000	15,000	180,500	27.1	15.1
	Singapore	72,500	312,500	75,100	460,100	84.1	13.3
	Greece	143,350	216,650	4,000	364,000	33.8	13.3
	Oman	42,600	0	4,400	47,000	13.8	12.5
	Republic of China (Taiwan)	290,000	1,657,000	17,000	1,964,000	84	12.4
	Republic of Korea	630,000	2,970,000	130,000	3,730,000	72.7	12.3
	Lebanon	60,000	200,000	20,000	280,000	56.4	12.1
	Djibouti	10,450	0	2,500	12,950	14	11.3
	Cyprus	12,000	50,000	750	62,750	57.8	11.1
	Bhutan	8,000	0	1,000	9,000	12.1	10.8
	Morocco	325,000	150,000	50,000	525,000	16.8	10.4
	Colombia	449,415	790,000	144,097	1,383,512	29.2	9.5
	Iraq	271,400	0	531,000	802,400	27.7	9.4
	Cambodia	124,300	0	67,000	191,300	13.2	8.6
	Georgia	37,825	140,000	11,700	189,525	42.2	8.4
	Burma	406,000	0	107,250	513,250	10.7	8.4
	Angola	107,000	0	10,000	117,000	9.1	8.4
	Saudi Arabia	233,500	0	15,500	249,000	8.7	8.1
	Syria	178,000	314,000	108,000	600,000	26.7	7.9
	Sri Lanka	160,900	5,500	92,600	259,000	12.1	7.5
	Azerbaijan	66,950	300,000	15,000	381,950	40.2	7.1
	Uruguay	24,621	0	818	25,439	7.3	7
	Iran	523,000	350,000	40,000	913,000	11.4	6.5
	Turkey	510,600	378,700	102,200	991,500	12.3	6.3
	Bahrain	8,200	0	11,260	19,460	14.5	6.1
	Russian Federation	845,000	2,035,000	474,000	3,354,000	23.4	5.9
	Kuwait	15,500	23,700	7,100	46,300	17.2	5.8
	Afghanistan	170,700	0	136,100	306,800	9.9	5.5
	United Arab Emirates	51,000	0	0	51,000	5.5	5.5
	Qatar	11,800	0	0	11,800	5.5	5.5
	Vietnam	482,000	5,000,000	40,000	5,522,000	60.9	5.3
	Norway	24,450	45,250	0	69,700	15	5.2
	Ukraine	232,000	700,000	84,900	1,016,900	22.3	5.1
	Mauritania	15,870	0	5,000	20,870	6.7	5.1
	Belarus	48,000	289,500	110,000	447,500	46.4	5
	Egypt	438,500	479,000	397,000	1,314,500	14.9	5
	Malta	1,954	173	0	2,127	5.2	4.8
	Bolivia	46,100	0	37,100	83,200	8.5	4.7
	United States of America	1,492,000	843,750	14,000	2,349,750	7.3	4.7
	Thailand	305,860	200,000	158,700	664,560	10.1	4.6
	Botswana	9,000	0	1,500	10,500	5.3	4.5
	Turkmenistan	22,000	0	0	22,000	4.5	4.5
	Estonia	5,750	30,000	12,000	47,750	36.3	4.4
	Montenegro	2,984	0	10,100	13,084	19.5	4.4
	Namibia	9,200	0	6,000	15,200	7.2	4.4
	Bulgaria	31,300	303,000	16,000	350,300	47.6	4.3
	Laos	29,100	0	100,000	129,100	18.9	4.3
	Cuba	49,000	39,000	26,500	114,500	10	4.3
	Venezuela	115,000	8,000	0	123,000	4.6	4.3
	Malaysia	109,000	51,600	269,300	429,900	16.7	4.2
	Finland	22,200	340,000	2,800	365,000	66.7	4.1
	Portugal	42,634	211,957	47,700	302,291	28.2	4
	Ecuador	58,483	118,000	500	176,983	12.1	4
	Peru	115,000	188,000	77,000	380,000	12.9	3.9
	Republic of Macedonia	8,000	4,850	0	12,850	6.2	3.9
	Albania	14,250	0	500	14,750	4.1	3.9
	Algeria	130,000	150,000	187,200	467,200	13.7	3.8
	Serbia	28,184	50,171	10,000	88,355	12	3.8
	Slovenia	7,600	1,700	4,500	13,800	6.9	3.8
	Suriname	1,840	0	0	1,840	3.8	3.8
	Fiji[54]	3,500	6,000	0	9,500	10.1	3.7
	Croatia[37]	16,550	21,000	3,000	40,550	9	3.7
	Pakistan[122]	643,800	500,000	304,000	1,447,800	8.3	3.7
	Chile	59,059	40,000	44,712	143,771	8.7	3.6
	Denmark	18,628	53,507	0	72,135	13.1	3.4
	Belize	1,050	700	0	1,750	5.7	3.4
	Nepal	95,753	0	62,000	157,753	5.5	3.4
	Tunisia	35,800	0	12,000	47,800	4.6	3.4
	South Sudan	140,000	0	0	140,000	3.4	3.4
	Mongolia	10,000	137,000	7,200	154,200	50.7	3.3
	Romania	73,900	45,000	79,900	198,800	8.9	3.3
	France	215,019	27,680	98,155	340,854	5.3	3.3
	Belgium	34,336	1,400	0	35,736	3.4	3.3
	Trinidad and Tobago	4,063	0	0	4,063	3.3	3.3
	Kazakhstan	49,000	0	31,500	80,500	5.2	3.2
	European Union	1,596,017	2,329,112	621,020	4,546,149	9	3.1
	Gabon	4,700		2,000	6,700	4.4	3.1
	Rwanda	33,000	0	2,000	35,000	3.3	3.1
	Lithuania	10,640	6,700	14,600	31,940	9	3
	Italy	179,155	41,867	186,007	407,029	6.8	3
	Yemen	66,700	0	71,200	137,900	6	2.9
	Guinea-Bissau	4,450	0	2,000	6,450	4.2	2.9
	Slovakia	15,799	0	0	15,799	2.9	2.9
	Switzerland	22,650	161,250	74,000	257,900	31.5	2.8
	Austria	22,800	171,400	0	194,200	23.7	2.8
	Cape Verde	1,200	0	0	1,200	2.8	2.8
	Bahamas	860	0	0	860	2.8	2.8
	Sudan	109,300	85,000	17,500	211,800	5.2	2.7
	Australia[	56,552	20,440	0	76,992	3.6	2.7
	Poland	99,300	20,000	73,400	192,700	5	2.6
	Spain	123,300	16,000	80,210	219,510	4.7	2.6
	Dominican Republic	24,500	0	15,000	39,500	4.1	2.5
	Mexico	280,000	87,344	51,500	418,844	3.8	2.5
	Chad	25,350	0	9,500	34,850	3.4	2.5
	Republic of the Congo	10,000	0	2,000	12,000	3	2.5
	United Kingdom	156,330	27,270	0	183,600	2.9	2.5
	Hungary	22,587	44,000	12,000	78,587	7.9	2.3
	Seychelles	200	0	450	650	7.4	2.3
	Germany	186,450	40,320	0	226,770	2.8	2.3
	New Zealand	9,637	2,314	0	11,951	2.8	2.3
	Sweden	20,363	200,000	800	221,163	24.4	2.2
	El Salvador	15,500	9,900	17,000	42,400	5.9	2.2
	Zimbabwe	29,000	0	21,800	50,800	3.9	2.2
	Netherlands	37,400	3,200	5,900	46,500	2.7	2.2
	Czech Republic	23,650	0	3,100	26,750	2.5	2.2
	Latvia	4,600	10,666	0	15,266	6.8	2.1
	Burundi	20,000	0	31,050	51,050	5.4	2.1
	Equatorial Guinea	1,320	0	2,000	3,320	5.2	2.1
	Barbados	610	430	0	1,040	3.7	2.1
	Democratic Republic of the Congo	144,000	0	1,400	145,400	2.1	2.1
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	9,656	0	0	9,656	2.1	2.1
	Kyrgyzstan	10,900	0	9,500	20,400	3.8	2
	Ireland	9,350	4,630	0	13,980	3	2
	Antigua and Barbuda	170	75	0	245	2.9	2
	Nicaragua	12,000	0	0	12,000	2	2
	Sierra Leone	10,500	0	0	10,500	2	2
	Japan	247,764	56,378	12,250	316,392	2.5	1.9
	Luxembourg	900	0	612	1,512	3.1	1.8
	Canada	66,000	30,950	4,500	101,450	2.8	1.8
	Argentina	73,100	0	31,240	104,340	2.6	1.8
	People’s Republic of China	2,285,000	510,000	1,132,000	3,927,000	2.9	1.7
	Uzbekistan	48,000	0	20,000	68,000	2.5	1.7
	Brazil	318,480	1,340,000	395,000	2,053,480	10.3	1.6
	Ethiopia	138,000	0	0	138,000	1.6	1.6
	Paraguay	10,650	164,500	14,800	189,950	27.2	1.5
	Honduras	12,000	60,000	8,000	80,000	10.2	1.5
	Guyana	1,100	670	1,500	3,270	4.3	1.5
	Bangladesh	220,950	50,000	82,000	352,950	2.2	1.4
	Kosovo	2,500	800	0	3,300	1.9	1.4
	Togo	8,550	0	750	9,300	1.5	1.4
	Uganda	45,000	0	1,800	46,800	1.4	1.4
	Philippines	125,000	131,000	40,500	296,500	3	1.3
	South Africa	62,082	15,071	12,382	89,535	1.8	1.3
	Zambia	15,100	3,000	1,400	19,500	1.6	1.3
	Timor Leste	1,332	0	0	1,332	1.3	1.3
	Moldova	5,354	57,971	2,379	65,704	15.2	1.2
	Indonesia	302,000	400,000	280,000	982,000	4.1	1.2
	Tajikistan	8,800	0	7,500	16,300	2.2	1.2
	Guinea	12,300	0	7,000	19,300	1.9	1.2
	Guatemala	15,212	63,863	19,000	98,075	7.4	1.1
	Libya	7,000	40,000	0	47,000	7.4	1.1
	India	1,325,000	1,155,000	2,288,407	4,768,407	3.9	1.1
	Senegal	13,620	0	5,000	18,620	1.4	1
	Jamaica	2,830	953	0	3,783	1.3	1
	Lesotho	2,000	0	0	2,000	0.9	0.9
	Côte d’Ivoire	17,050	10,000	1,500	28,550	1.4	0.8
	Tanzania	27,000	80,000	1,400	108,400	2.6	0.7
	Cameroon	14,100	0	9,000	23,100	1.2	0.7
	Madagascar	13,500	0	8,100	21,600	1	0.7
	Burkina Faso	11,200	0	250	11,450	0.7	0.7
	Liberia	2,400	0	0	2,400	0.7	0.7
	Kenya	24,120	0	5,000	29,120	0.7	0.6
	Ghana	15,500	0	0	15,500	0.6	0.6
	Mali	7,350	0	7,800	15,150	1.1	0.5
	Nigeria	80,000	0	82,000	162,000	1	0.5
	Benin	4,750	0	2,500	7,250	0.8	0.5
	Central African Republic	2,150	0	1,000	3,150	0.7	0.5
	Mozambique	11,200	0	0	11,200	0.5	0.5
	Papua New Guinea	3,100	0	0	3,100	0.5	0.5
	Malawi	5,300	0	1,500	6,800	0.5	0.4
	Gambia	800	0	0	800	0.4	0.4
	Niger	5,300	0	5,400	10,700	0.7	0.3
	Somalia	2,000	0	0	2,000	0.2	0.2
	Palestine	0	0	56,000	56,000	14	0
	Panama	0	0	12,000	12,000	3.6	0
	Costa Rica	0	0	9,800	9,800	2.1	0
	Mauritius	0	0	2,000	2,000	1.6	0
	Iceland	0	0	130	130	0.4	0
	Haiti	0	0	2,000	2,000	0.2	0

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Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israeli–Lebanese conflict
  • Following a January 18 airstrike against a Hezbollah convoy, Hezbollah targets an Israeli military convoy near theLebanon border at the Shebaa farms area, killing two and wounding another seven. While the Israeli military responds with artillery fire upon several South Lebanon border villages and Shebaa Farms, Hezbollah responds with mortar shells. Cross fire fighting kills a Spanish UN peacekeeper in the town of Ghajar. (CNN)(BBC)(Reuters)

Business and economy

• The Chinese yuan becomes the fifth most-highly-used currency in the world. (AP)
• The US Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James picks the Boeing 747-8 for the next replacement of Air Force One.(Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• A Vietnamese military Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter crashes in southern Ho Chi Minh City killing four people. (AFP viaStraits Times)

Law and crime

• The High Court of Australia finds that a group of 157 Sri Lankan asylum seekers were legally detained by Australianauthorities at sea. The government acted lawfully and the group is not entitled to damages. (ABC News Australia)
• A federal judge in Albuquerque, New Mexico sentences an ex-Los Alamos physicist Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni, who pleaded guilty in 2013 to offering to spy on the US to help Venezuela develop a nuclear weapon, to five years imprisionment. (AP)(AP)
• The President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena reinstates former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake who had been sacked by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• Akram Hasson becomes leader of Israel‘s former government party Kadima and thus the first Druze ever to lead a Jewish party. (Israel National News)

Science and technology

• The Astrophysical Journal publishes research from the University of Rochester and the University of Leiden announcing the discovery of either a brown dwarf substellar object or a gas giant exoplanet titled J1407b. The object is the first known nonstar to have a super ring system. (AFP via ABC News Australia)

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