Top News Stories –

Rogue Russian spacecraft burns up in Earth’s atmosphere –
The Russian space agency says that its out-of-control spacecraft has burnt up as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere. Re-entry was over the Pacific, it said, and only a few fragments were expected to hit the sea. The unmanned cargo ship was launched from Kazakhstan on 28 April, but control was lost soon afterwards. The Progress M-27M was carrying more than three tonnes of supplies to the International Space Station. A Roscosmos spokesman told Reuters that the loss was valued at 2.59 billion roubles ($50.7m; £32.9m). [BBC]
The International Space Station

Nigella Lawson: US show The Taste axed by ABC –
Nigella Lawson’s US cookery show The Taste has been axed by TV network ABC after two series, following a dramatic ratings slump. The cooking competition lost more than half its viewers, falling from highs of seven million to less than three million viewers on New Year’s Day. Channel 4 axed the UK version of The Taste last year after just one series. [BBC]
Nigella Lawson

Freddie Flintoff shops his wife for driving off without paying for fuel –
England cricket hero Andrew Flintoff was contacted by police about driving off without paying for fuel – before revealing to the world the culprit was actually his wife. The 37-year-old – known by his nickname Freddie – received a letter from police in Wilmslow, Cheshire, to say someone using his car had left a petrol station without paying. After bailing his wife out by paying the unknown amount, Flintoff then told his 1.6m Twitter followers who was behind the incident, on Monday. Explaining his wife, Rachael, had forgotten to settle the fuel bill while paying for shopping, he even joked that police should “feel free to come round and take her!” [Daily Telegraph] Flintoff won the Australian version of “I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here” in March.
© Flintoff11
Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff

Video of the Day –

RC Gymkhana – The guys at HPI Racing put their own spin on Ken Block’s Gymkhana 6 using an RC car and a 1/18-scale track.

Top Twitter Trends –

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• North Korea claims to have successfully test fired a ballistic missile from a submarine. (CNN)
• Ongoing insurgency in Kumanovo between the National Liberation Army and the Macedonian army. 3 policemen are reported to have been killed. (CNN/N1INFO), (International Business Times)
• Iraqi insurgency (2011–present)
  • At least 6 guards and 30 prisoners are killed in an Iraq prison break while 40 prisoners escape. (AP via ABC News America)
• War in Donbass
  • Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of the rebel Donetsk People’s Republic said the insurgents had released two American aid workers. (AP via Yahoo! News)
• Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
  • Naxalite Maoists are holding 250 villagers hostage to protest the building of a bridge in India‘s Chhattisgarh state. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• 2015 Pacific typhoon season
  • Thousands of people are evacuated from the Philippines island of Luzon ahead of Typhoon Noul (Dodong). (Reuters via Daily Mail)
• 2015 Atlantic hurricane season
  • Tropical storm Ana forms near the states of North and South Carolina weeks before the official start of the hurricane season. (Accuweather)
• An Airbus A400M Atlas military transport aircraft crashes near the Spanish city of Seville with three people onboard killed. (The Telegraph)
• Tornadoes of 2015
  • At least one person is killed and another injured in a tornado in the town of Cisco, Texas with tornadoes also reported in eastern Colorado.(CNN)

Health

• Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa
  • The World Health Organization declares that the outbreak of the Ebola virus has ceased in Liberia after weeks of no cases there. (BBC)

International relations

• Russia stages its biggest ever military parade in Moscow‘s Red Square to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory Day despite a boycott by many world leaders due to Russian involvement in the Ukrainian crisis. (BBC)

Law and crime

• Former President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak and his two sons are sentenced to three years imprisonment and a fine for corruption. (AP viaWashington Post)
• Riots erupt in London following the reelection of the British Conservative Party. (AFP/Reuters via ABC Online)
• A man is arrested in Paraguay for allegedly raping and impregnating his ten-year-old stepdaughter. (AFP via ABC Online)

Politics and elections

• The Moro Islamic Liberation Front registers the United Bangsamoro Justice Party as its vehicle to run in future elections in the Philippines.(Inquirer)

Sport

• In cycling, the 2015 Giro d’Italia gets underway at San Lorenzo al Mare. (ABC News Australia)

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