Top Stories –
I’ll be back… with the bill –
The governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, reveals deep spending cuts to contain the state’s $20bn (£12.5bn) budget deficit. Spending on health, welfare, transport and the environment is to be reduced.
Arnold Schwarzenegger

Forget eating an apple, wear eye-shadow –
A French study, published in the journal Analytical Chemistry, suggests the heavy eye make-up worn by ancient Egyptians such as Cleopatra may have had medical as well as aesthetic benefits.

Top Video

Rush Hour London from Chris Searson on Vimeo.

Top List –
Top 100 films of the Noughties (2000-2009)
List from Daily Telegraph By David Gritten, Tim Robey and Sukhdev Sandhu
Part 1 – 100-91

• 100 Avatar

James Cameron, 2009: On the basis of a sneak 15-minute show reel, it’s not premature to predict that this ground-breaking 3D sci-fi epic will change the way we look at movies.

• 99 Together

Lukas Moodysson, 2000: Astutely observed and delightfully delicate comic drama about a Swedish hippie commune in the Seventies.

• 98 Crash

Paul Haggis, 2005: Oscar voters loved this multi-stranded depiction of contemporary LA’s combustible race politics.

• 97 Tropical Malady

Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004: Thrill-seeking audiences rejoiced (while scratching their heads) at this mesmerising gay love story featuring soldiers adrift in Thai forests.

• 96 Shrek

Andrew Adamson, 2001: Charming, witty computer-generated animation fairy tale about a princess and an ogre. Hugely promising, but its sequels have fallen far short.

• 95 Michael Clayton

Tony Gilroy, 2007: In this intelligent, literate thriller, George Clooney, as a disillusioned fixer at a New York law firm, did his best acting work to date, proving that he’s a movie star for the ages.

• 94 The Brown Bunny

Vincent Gallo, 2003: Heckled at Cannes, the decade’s most reviled film is now destined to become a future lost classic.

• 93 Grizzly Man

Werner Herzog, 2005: Still fierce, still idiosyncratic, the German director’s superb documentary about two slain bear enthusiasts was riveting from first to last.

• 92 The Wrestler

Darren Aronofsky, 2008: Comeback of the decade from Mickey Rourke, in a lacerating saga of steroid overkill and trailer-trash redemption.

• 91 Atanarjuat: the Fast Runner

Zacharias Kunuk, 2001: This Inuit epic with extraordinary snow chases, based on a tale 2,000 years old, was a unique achievement that lingers.

Top News –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• The United States warns against an attack by “regional extremists” on an Air Uganda flight between Uganda and Sudan.(BBC) (New Vision) (Sudan Tribune)
• A bomb explodes outside the Greek Parliament in Athens with no casualties. (CNN) (China Radio International)
• A fourth church is attacked in Malaysia as a row over the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims deepens. (Reuters)(Malayasian Star) (Sydney Morning Herald)

Business and economy

• Venezuela‘s President Hugo Chávez announces that the national currency, the bolívar, will be devalued for the first time since 2005, by between 17% and 50%. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

• A magnitude 6.5 earthquake strikes offshore near Eureka, California, with reports of damage and local power outages.(CNN)
• Hundreds of flights are cancelled in Germany as the severe weather conditions across Europe continue. The government asks people to buy several days worth of food and retreat indoors for the rest of the week. (BBC)(Deutsche Welle)

International relations

• Egypt bans all future aid convoys to Gaza, following recent clashes with Viva Palestina. (Al Jazeera) (AFP)

Law and crime

• British MP and MLA Iris Robinson is expelled by the Democratic Unionist Party after further details emerge of her involvement in a political and sex scandal. (The Belfast Telegraph) (The Guardian)
• 30 people are injured after bottles of acid are thrown from a building into a busy street in Hong Kong. (Radio Television Hong Kong) (BBC)
• The Sri Lankan army releases over 700 former Tamil Tiger fighters after a rehabilitation program. (The Hindu) (AFP)
• An Indian man is set on fire in Melbourne, Australia, in the latest in a series of attacks on Indian nationals in the country.(Sydney Morning Herald) (Press Trust of India) (AFP)

Politics and elections

• South African President Jacob Zuma urges party unity and warns economic recovery will be slow at a gathering celebrating the 98th anniversary of the African National Congress. (Times LIVE) (Reuters) (BBC)
• Taiwan‘s opposition Democratic Progressive Party wins all three seats in by-elections against the ruling Kuomintang.(Taiwan News) (Radio Television Hong Kong) (Reuters India)
• Afghanistan‘s President Hamid Karzai resubmits his proposal for forming the cabinet after his previous selection was rejected by the National Assembly. (Press TV) (AFP)

Sport

• Togo national football team bus attack:
  • The Togo national football team withdraw from the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations as a third member of the team is confirmed dead following the attack on their team bus. (BBC) (Angola Press) (IOL) (The New York Times)
  • The Confederation of African Football announces that football matches will continue to be played in Cabinda Province where the attack took place. (The Daily Telegraph)
  • The Togo national football team later decide to reverse their decision to pull out of the Africa Cup of Nations. (AP via ESPN) (L’Équipe, in French)
  • The Togo government decides to pull them out anyway. (BBC Sport) (Philippine Times)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource