Al Jazeera - The 2010s

April 24, 2016

Top News Stories –

Astronaut Tim Peake smashes the Guinness World Record for a space marathon –
British astronaut Tim Peake ran the London Marathon while aboard the International Space Station in a world record time. The spaceman is the second person to complete the 26.2 mile distance while on the ISS. However, Peake’s time of three hours, 35 minutes and 21 seconds was far faster than US astronaut Sunita Williams of four hours, 23 minutes and ten seconds. Williams ran her race in 2007 at the same time as the Boston Marathon. [Daily Mail]

Video of the Day –

Hello Tokyo from Christoph Gelep on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide	USA
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#UFC197	#HappyBirthdayKehlani
#توقع_واربح_كا�…	#LondonMarathon
#MiPrimerAcoso	#ClassicWrestlerFilms
#KathNielAtHimigHandog2016	#CanAnyoneExplainToMe
#ماذا_تعرف_عن_ع…	#TwitterWouldBeGreatIf
#LondonMarathon	#WhatTwitterTaughtMe

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War
- At least 14 people have been killed in suicide bombing attacks in Baghdad. (Daily Times)
Yemeni Civil War
- Saudi-led air strikes kill at least ten al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in southern Yemen. (Reuters)
- Yemeni and United Arab Emirates troops capture the seaport of Mukalla from al Qaeda. The Saudi Arabia led coalition claims to have killed more than 800 militants(Reuters), (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- Rockets fired by ISIL from northern Syria hit a poor neighborhood and a mosque in the Turkish city of Kilis, killing one person and injuring 26 others. Turkish security forces responded by returning fire into Syria. (Euronews) (Reuters)

International relations

North Korea–South Korea relations
- North Korea reportedly deploys 300 new multiple launch rocket systems along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. (Yonhap)
Syrian Civil War
- U.S. President Barack Obama rules out deploying U.S. ground troops in Syria and says military efforts alone cannot solve the country’s problems. He also said he did not think that ISIL would be defeated in his last nine months of office. (BBC)
- U.S. officials report President Obama will announce plans to send as many as 250 more U.S. troops to Syria to help fight ISIL militants. The troops are likely to include special operations forces and medical or intelligence support personnel, an official added. The decision is scheduled to be announced around noon tomorrow in Hanover, Germany, during the President’s farewell tour of Europe. (CBS News) (Reuters)
North Korea-United States relations
- President Barack Obama says the United States isn’t taking North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong’s proposal to halt nuclear activity seriously. Pyongyang would “have to do better than that,” he added.(AP)

Law and crime

Ebru Umar, a Dutch journalist of Turkish descent, is arrested in Kuşadası, Turkey, for tweets deemed critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This comes as a political storm erupted this week over reports that the Turkish consulate asked Turkish organizations in the Netherlands to forward emails and social media posts which insult Erdoğan or Turkey. (The Guardian)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Following an appeal, 12-year-old Dima al-Wawi is freed from an Israeli prison. She is believed to be the youngest female Palestinian ever imprisoned. Israeli civil law, which does not allow anyone under 14 to go to jail, did not affect her imprisonment. Palestinian residents in the occupied territories are subject to military law that can sentence suspects as young as 12 to prison. (AP via ABC News)

Politics and elections

Austrian presidential election, 2016
- Austrians vote in the first round of electing the next president. Preliminary estimates indicate FPÖ‘s Norbert Hofer won the first round with 36 percent of the vote. Greens‘ Alexander Van der Bellen, who is supported by the Green Party, garnered 20%, and another independent, Irmgard Griss, took 18.5 percent. President Heinz Fischer was not eligible to be re-elected. Candidates representing the two leading parties, that have ruled for the past 70 years, were eliminated. Hofer and Van der Bellen will compete in the runoff election on May 22, 2016. (Bloomberg) (Election website) (Deutsche Welle), (Euro News)
Equatorial Guinean presidential election, 2016
- Equatorial Guinean voters go to the polls with incumbent Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo expected to win as the opposition boycotts the election. (Voice of America) (Al Jazeera)
Japanese House of Representatives by-elections, 2016: By-elections were held for two seats controlled by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. (Japan Times)
- Hokkaido 5th district by-election, 2016: LDP candidate Yoshiaki Wada staved off the competition from independent candidate Maki Ikeda. Despite the LDP’s winning margin decreasing from 14% (in 2014) to 2%, this win is seen as a boost for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the upcoming upper house election.
- Kyoto 3rd district by-election, 2016: The newly formed Democratic Party wrested back the seat from the LDP after their candidate and former MP for the district Kenta Izumi won by a landslide.
Philippine presidential election, 2016.
- The final leg of the Philippine presidential debate series is held in Dagupan. (The Manila Bulletin)
Serbian parliamentary election, 2016
- Serbians elect a new parliament under the backdrop of its accession to the European Union. Preliminary results indicate the incumbent, pro-EU populists sweeping the election. (Bloomberg) (AP via The Washington Post)
2015–16 protests in Moldova
- Protests continue in Moldova as thousands of anti-government protesters demonstrate in the capital Chișinău despite concessions given to the protesters last month by the government. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Around 1,000 people stage a rare public protest in the Kazakh city of Atyrau, rallying against the government’s decision to sell land in auctions amid a heavy police presence, though they did not forcibly disperse the rally. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

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April 25, 2016

Top News Stories –

Is this the new Mojito? –
The Mojito, the Cuba Libre and the Dark and Stormy have all earned their place in the cocktail hall of fame. And now a new creation looks set to join their ranks: the ‘Venceremos’ – a bold new cocktail that gets its kick from a dash of sesame oil. And it’s all thanks to Gn Chan, the self-confessed ‘lightweight’ bartender from New York, whose most recent concoction has been named the best cocktail in the world at the 2016 BACARDI Legacy Global Cocktail Competition.The mixture of BACARDI rum and coconut liqueur with pineapple, cucumber and lime juice (topped off with a dash of sesame oil and garnished with a pineapple leaf) is now set to grace bars, clubs, restaurants and lounges across the world. Best of all, it’s simple to make. ‘Put everything together,’ says Chan, 29, who currently works at a speakeasy-style bar in Manhattan. ‘Shake. Strain. Done.’ Chan, who describes himself as an ‘accidental bartender’ explains that the Venceremos – Spanish for ‘we shall overcome’ – is a reflection of his own journey as he hustled his way to the top of his career. [Daily Mail]

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide	USA
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#MaduroEsOscuridad	#SummerSixteenTour
#لن_تقودي	#CureBoredomIn5Words
#HappyBdayDanielSharman	#AlecAppreciationDay

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)
- Two Turkish soldiers are killed and four are wounded in an attack by Kurdish militants in southeastern Turkey. (Daily Mail)
- The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) warns Turkey it is preparing to intensify its fight. (BBC)
Syrian Civil War
- At least eight people are reportedly killed as a car bomb explodes at a checkpoint south of Damascus. (Xinhua)
American-led intervention in Syria
- The President of the United States Barack Obama announces that the U.S. will send an additional 250 troops to fight ISIL in Syria. (The Guardian)
Burundian unrest (2015–present)
- A senior Burundian Army general, Athanase Kararuza, an ethnic Tutsi and security advisor to Burundi Vice-President Gaston Sindimwo, is shot dead by heavily armed men in the capital Bujumbura. (AFP via Daily Mail)
- The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights announces that the International Criminal Court will conduct a preliminary examination of the violence in Burundi over the past year that has killed hundreds, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee abroad. (The Washington Post)
Mexican Drug War
- Mexican police come under attack in a two-hour gunfight in the city of Acapulco, killing one gunman. At the same time, a separate group of gunmen attacked a federal police base in the city. (BBC)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- Yemeni and Saudi-led coalition forces recapture the port city of Al Mukalla from al-Qaeda militants. (BBC)
Moro conflict
- Abu Sayyaf militants, who threatened to kill three foreigners kidnapped in September, 2015, from a “high-end” Philippine resort, unless they were paid 900 million pesos (17 mil Euros) by midnight today (15:00 UTC), have beheaded one of the hostages, Canadian John Ridsdel. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III had ordered an all-out effort to rescue the hostages, including a Philippine woman, kidnapped by the Daesh-linked group. (Straits Times) (Journal of Turkish Weekly) (Reuters via EuroNews), (BBC)
Attacks on secularists in Bangladesh
- Xulhaz Mannan, a Bangladeshi employee of a U.S. charity (USAID), who is also an editor for the country’s only LGBT magazine, and a friend are hacked to death in Dhaka, Bangladesh, by suspectedIslamist militants. Guards at the building were also injured. (NBC News with Reuters) (Al Jazeera)

Business and economics

British department store chain British Home Stores (BHS) collapses into administration after a last-minute rescue deal fails. The collapse of the retailer, which employs 11,000 people, is the biggest failure on the UK’s high street since the collapse of Woolworths Group in 2008. (The Guardian)
Saudi Arabia’s Council of Ministers announces a broad-based economic reform plan, known as Vision 2030, which will help the oil-reliant state to diversify its economy over the next 14 years. (Al Jazeera)
In the United States, Gannett Company, Inc., announces that two weeks ago it made an unsolicited, $815 million takeover bid for the Tribune Publishing Company, whose holdings include a number of major newspapers, such as the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. Gannett, the publisher of the national American daily USA Today as well as 107 daily newspapers, made the offer public since Tribune had not yet responded. Last month, Tribune Publishing’s winning bid for the Orange County Register was blocked by the U.S. Justice Department because of an antitrust challenge. (Reuters) (Chicago Tribune) (Orange County Register)
Goldman Sachs, the American multinational investment banking firm, launches an FDIC-insured, Internet-based savings bank. The Wall Street institution, whose investment banking account minimums are in the millions, sets a minimum deposit of $1 dollar for GSBank.com. (TechCrunch) (GS Bank website)

Disasters and accidents

A Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16 fighter jet, taking part in a mock attack on Tarva on April 12, mistakenly opened fire on a control tower with three officers inside, who survived unharmed, according to the Norwegian military. (The Guardian)
At least 23 people have died and dozens of others have become sick in Karor Lal Esan, central Pakistan, after eating sweets suspected of being contaminated with pesticides. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
At least two people are killed and seven are injured following an explosion on a bus in Yerevan, Armenia. The cause of the blast is being investigated. (RT)
Hillsborough disaster
- The jury in the second inquest for the victims of the Hillsborough disaster reach their verdicts. These will be given at 11:00 BST tomorrow.(BBC)

International relations

The People’s Republic of China urges North Korea to abide by a United Nations Security Council resolution that bans the North from conducting ballistic missile tests, two days after Pyongyang claimed it conducted a test from a submarine. (Yonhap)
Belarus–United States relations
- The top U.S. diplomat in Belarus Scott Rauland and Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimer Makey said that their countries are ready to discuss the possible return of their ambassadors. Makey told reporters in Minsk that “there is readiness from both sides for a full normalization of our relations.” Belarus recalled its ambassador from Washington in 2008 after the United States imposed sanctions against Belarusian oil giant Belneftekhim following tensions between Minsk and the West. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
2016 Ecuador earthquake
- The United Nations World Food Programme announces it is stepping up assistance to Ecuador’s most vulnerable areas following an earthquake that killed over 650 people. (Euronews)
Afghanistan–Pakistan relations, Taliban insurgency
- Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani says Pakistan must take military action against Taliban, operating from Pakistan, who are waging an increasingly deadly insurgency across his country. Otherwise, “… we will be forced to turn to the UN Security Council and start serious diplomatic efforts.” (The New York Times) (Penske Media Corporation)
European migrant crisis
- Turkey says it has deported more than 3,300 foreigners suspected of links to jihadi groups, and barred another 41,000 foreigners from entering the country. (AP)

Law and crime

Shooting of Tamir Rice
- The U.S. city of Cleveland, Ohio, agrees to pay $6 million to settle a wrongful death civil rights lawsuit brought by the family of Tamir Rice. Rice was a 12-year-old boy who was walking outside a recreation center holding an air pellet gun when he was shot and killed by a Cleveland Police officer on November 22, 2014. Prosecutor Tim McGinty reported in December 2015 that an Ohio grand jury decided not to indict the police officers. (NPR) (CNN)
Constitution of Venezuela
- Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal rules that opposition’s proposed amendment to change the President’s term of office from six to four years can not be applied retroactively, thereby ending this attempt to cut short President Nicolás Maduro’s time in office. (BBC) (AP)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- The presidential campaigns of Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Governor of Ohio John Kasich announce they will now coordinate strategies to stop fellow Republican Donald Trump from becoming the party’s nominee. Cruz’s campaign will cut campaigning in Oregon and New Mexico to help Kasich, while the Kasich campaign will give Cruz a “clear path” in Indiana. (BBC)
United States presidential election in Arizona, 2016
- A Maricopa County, Arizona, judge rejects Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s request to throw out a court challenge prompted by major polling problems during the March primary. (KPNX)(KPNX²)

Sports

2015–16 Serie A
- Juventus win Italy’s association football championship for the fifth consecutive time. (BBC)
In American football, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals rules that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady must serve a four-game suspension imposed by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in the Deflategate scandal. The suspension had been stayed due to a lower court ruling. (ESPN)
In basketball, the Golden State Warriors, the top seed in the ongoing NBA playoffs, announce that the NBA’s reigning MVP, Stephen Curry, will miss at least two weeks with a sprained MCL. (ESPN)

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April 27, 2016

Top News Stories –

Facebook profits up almost 200% to $1.51 billion –
Facebook has revealed stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter, helped by a growing number of users and higher advertising revenue. The social network reported earnings of $1.51 billion, or 52 cents per share, up from $512 million, or 18 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier, and over 1.65 billion users now use the social network, with the average users visiting for 15 minutes a day. The results are in stark contrast to Apple and Twitter, who posted poor results yesterday, with Apple shares falling 7% today. Separately, Facebook also announced that it will create a new class of non-voting stock, known as ‘Class C capital stock,’ designated to let CEO Mark Zuckerberg keep tight reins on the company even as it issues more shares to compensate employees and investors. [Daily Mail]
Mark Zuckerberg

Video of the Day –

Reebok 25,915 Days

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide	USA
#ProjectHomeLouisDay	#ProjectHomeLouisDay
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#YoFirmoYoRevoco	#RoadToRio

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Moro conflict
- Philippine president Benigno Aquino III says that the Abu Sayyaf militants plan to kidnap his sister actress Kris Aquino and boxer Manny Pacquiao. (CBS)
2016 Bursa bombing
- A suicide bomber blows herself up in the Turkish city of Bursa, injuring at least seven people. (AP via The Washington Post)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli forces kill two Palestinian assailants at a checkpoint in the West Bank. (Reuters)
2016 Cape Verde army mutiny
- Cape Verdean police capture a suspect in the murder of 11 soldiers. (AFP)
2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes
- According to officials from the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, one of their soldiers was killed overnight by Azerbaijani troops. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
War in Donbass
- Representatives of the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic in Eastern Ukraine say at least five civilians are killed by artillery fire at a checkpoint in the town of Olenivka, with another 10 injured.Kiev denies the accusation. A local border-guard spokesman says there was an explosion at the checkpoint but he saw no artillery fired from either side, suggesting the blast could have been a bomb.(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
War in Afghanistan
- The U.S. military warns that the Kabul Attack Network, comprised of fighters from various jihadist groups such as the Taliban and Haqqani networks, is planning attacks on people in the Parwan, Khost,Kabul, and Logar Provinces, Afghanistan, and asks for information from the Afghan public. (The Long War Journal)

Arts and culture

Archaeologists in Taiwan discover 48 sets of remains unearthed in graves in Taichung. The most striking discovery among them is the 4,800-year-old skeleton of a mother looking down at a child cradled in her arms. (The Guardian)
The German cities of Augsburg and Cologne are testing a scheme of traffic lights embedded in the ground to reduce cell phone-texting pedestrian accidents with vehicles that happen when so-called “smombies” step out into the street against the signal. (The Christian Science Monitor) (Autoblog)

Business and economy

Philippine presidential election, 2016
- The Philippine peso sinks to become the “worst performing currency in Asia” as a result of a volatile and unpredictable presidential election. (Bloomberg)

Disasters and accidents

Heavy rain pelts earthquake-hit Ecuador causing floods, mostly in the town of Alluriquin in the Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas Province, killing at least four people and injuring several more. About 300 people have been affected by the floods after a local river burst its banks, engulfing the town with water. (Al Jazeera)

Health and medicine

In the United Kingdom, the Royal College of Physicians reports e-cigarettes are “much safer” than tobacco smoking, and should be widely promoted as an option for smoking cessation. (BBC) (Daily Mail)

International relations

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O’Neill states that the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre will be closed following the ruling of the Supreme Court and that he will ask the Australian Government to make alternative arrangements for the asylum seekers detained there. (ABC News)
Libyan Civil War
- The unrecognized House of Representatives, one of the rival governments based in eastern Libya, ships its first cargo of crude oil in defiance of the U.N.-backed authorities in the capital Tripoli in a move that could deepen divisions within the country. The Tripoli-based government asked the United Nations Security Council yesterday to blacklist the tanker. (The Guardian)
European migrant crisis
- The government of Austria passes a new law that restricts the right of asylum in the country and allows claimants to be rejected directly at the border, a move criticized by rights groups. Officials say they are also considering building a fence at the main border crossing with Italy at the Brenner Pass. (BBC)
Taliban insurgency
- The Taliban’s Qatar office confirms its leaders are in Pakistan to talk about Afghan refugees and the release of prisoners. The representative did not say if the delegation will discuss the peace process.(The Nation PK) (Pakistan Today)
United Nations Security Council members are considering a draft resolution that would restore the UN mission in Western Sahara to full functionality. Last month, Morocco expelled 75 UN staffers. (AFP via GlobalPost)
Iraqi Civil War
- Senior Kurdish and Shi’ite Muslim leaders agree to withdraw from Tuz Khurmato, Iraq, where recent violence has killed more than 10 people. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Two days before the one-year anniversary of the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the ringleaders of the Bali Nine, member Michael Czugaj is discovered to be in possession of drugs in prison. (SBS)
November 2015 Paris attacks
- Belgian prosecutors hand over Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the November 2015 Paris attacks, to French authorities. (Washington Post)
Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Dennis Hastert is sentenced to 15 months in prison for breaking banking laws in order to make payments to cover sexual misconduct from past decades. (Wall Street Journal)
Iraqi authorities ban Qatar-based satellite television network Al Jazeera from broadcasting in the country and closes its offices in Baghdad, accusing it of violating government guidelines issued in 2014 to regulate media “during the war on terror”. (Reuters)
Censorship in Iran
- Iran sentences four reformist newspaper journalists to long prison terms for so-called national security crimes. Analysts say this case indicates that President Hassan Rouhani’s calls for press freedoms will likey face an unsympathetic hearing from Iran’s conservative judiciary. (UPI)

Politics and elections

An Iranian asylum seeker self-immolates himself in Nauru to protest Australia’s treatment of refugees. The protest coincides with a visit by representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to the island. Instead of admitting refugees into the country, Australia has been sending them to Nauru or Papua New Guinea. (Radio New Zealand)
The government of North Korea announces its ruling Workers’ Party of Korea will hold a party congress on May 6, the first in nearly 40 years. (BBC)
United States presidential election, 2016, Ted Cruz presidential campaign, 2016
- Texas Senator Ted Cruz names former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina as his vice-presidential running mate. (CNN)
Bradford West MP Naz Shah is suspended from the opposition Labour Party over comments she made on Facebook about Israel. (BBC)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office confirms German Federal Intelligence Service President Gerhard Schindler will be replaced by Bruno Kahl. Schindler has been widely criticized following the disclosure his agency spied for the U.S. National Security Agency. (BBC)

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April 29, 2016

Top News Stories –

Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry respond to Obamas’ Invictus Games challenge –
When US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama challenged Prince Harry on social media, he responded by bringing in a big gun — the Queen. The Obamas posted a video of themselves on Twitter promoting the Invictus Games, an international sports event for wounded, disabled and sick military personnel and veterans. Harry, fifth-in-line to the throne and a patron of the Invictus Games, responded to the US President and his wife in kind. “Unfortunately for you, Flotus and Potus, I wasn’t alone when you sent me that video,” the Prince tweeted to the Obamas. He also added a video of his own, showing him chatting amiably with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, while they thumbed through an Invictus Games brochure, just as the Obamas’ challenge lands in his cellphone. [ABC News] See Video of the Day

Large Hadron Collider: Weasel causes shutdown –
The Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator at Cern is offline after a short circuit – caused by a weasel. The unfortunate creature did not survive the encounter with a high-voltage transformer at the site near Geneva in Switzerland. The LHC was running when a “severe electrical perturbation” occurred in the early hours of Friday morning. A spokesman for Cern said that the weasel did not get into the tunnels, just the electrical facilities. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

The Queen vs the President ‘Boom’

Unfortunately for you @FLOTUS and @POTUS I wasn’t alone when you sent me that video 😉 – H.https://t.co/sjfSQvkzb6

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 29, 2016

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Worldwide	USA
#حلب_تحترق	#InternationalDanceDay
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#InternationalDanceDay	#HomeDay
#OFrioEBomPara	#KnowHerTruths
#LoQueCallamosEnTuiter	#ArborDay
#NFLDraft2016	#FridayFeeling
#TagueirosSdvFrioBomPra	Titans
Janaína Paschoal	#ImSoUglyINeed

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- According to Russian ambassador to the United Nations Aleksi Borodavkin, the Syrian Army is preparing to launch an offensive against the ISIL strongholds of Al-Raqqah and the countryside around Deir ez-Zor and that the Russian Air Force will be providing the ground campaign with air support. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
- Airstrikes hit the Syrian city of Aleppo, destroying another medical facility and killing two civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economics

According to Eurostat, the Eurozone’s economy grew by 0.6% in the first three months of 2016, faster than what was originally expected, with unemployment falling to 10.2%. This growth suggest that the eurozone’s economy is now bigger than it was before the start of the financial crisis of 2007–08. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits off the coast of the Vanuatu island of Malakula, prompting the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) to issue a tsunami warning for the coasts of New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, which was later cancelled. (ABC News) (9 News Australia)
2016 Turøy helicopter crash
- Thirteen people were killed when a helicopter carrying offshore workers from Gullfaks B crash landed off the western coast of Norway. (LA Times) (VG.no, Norwegian)
Kenya flooding
- Heavy rain in Nairobi, Kenya, causes floods killing at least four people. (Standard Media)
- A six story residential building collapses in Nairobi. At least three people have died and scores are thought to be trapped. (BBC), (CNN)
At least 13 people die in a collision between a taxi and truck in the South African city of Bloemfontein. (Eyewitness News)

Health

Zika virus outbreak (2015–present)
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the first Zika virus related death in the United States, an elderly man in Puerto Rico. (Washington Post), (New York Times)

International relations

Lithuania–United States relations
- The United States Air Force lands two of its most advanced fighter jets in Lithuania for the first time in a show of support for the Baltic states which have become worried about Russia’s actions in Ukraine.(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Law and crime

Australia commemorates the one-year anniversary of the execution of the ringleaders the Bali Nine. (ABC News)
North Korea sentences South Korea born American businessman Kim Dong Chul to ten years imprisonment for alleged spying. (Reuters via Trust)
A court in South Africa rules that the decision in 2009 to drop over 750 corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma was irrational and called for a review of them. However, the court ruling does not automatically reinstate the charges against Zuma as a legal team must be set up to decide on whether to charge him or not. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

Iranian legislative election, 2016
- Iran goes to the polls for second round elections in constituencies where no candidate achieved 25 per cent of the vote in February’s elections. (Reuters via Trust)
- Early results shows victory for Reformists. (tasnimnews)
2014–16 Venezuelan protests
- Protests erupt in various cities of Venezuela as the country faces increased food and power shortages, forcing the government to ration them, leading to widespread looting and violence. According to the opposition, who control the National Assembly, over a million people support its bid to start a referendum on ousting President Nicolás Maduro. (Al Jazeera)
Protests in France turn violent as protesters clash with police, injuring over 20 police officers and resulting in over 120 arrests nationwide. The protests are against a labour law being proposed in the National Assembly, saying it will reduce rights and deepen job insecurity for youth. (The Guardian)
Irish general election, 2016
- Fine Gael and Fianna Fail agree to the formation of a Fine Gael-led government. (Newstalk)

Protesters on Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia, occupy the former Legislative Assembly to protest Australia’s termination of the island’s autonomy. In July, Norfolk Island is set to become part of the State of New South Wales. (Radio New Zealand)

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May 3, 2016

Top News Stories –

Sesame Street sends cease and desist letter to STD awareness group after it suggests Bert and Ernie have HIV –
Sesame Street sent a cease and desist letter to a company that used its characters Bert and Ernie in their campaign ad that promoted at-home HIV and STD testing. Lately, a company which has created a ‘simple, cutting-edge, and affordable STD testing’ method, posted a photo of the two characters to their Facebook page.’Help us take STD Testing out of the Stone Age,’ the company, wrote on Facebook, in a post accompanied by a picture Bert and Ernie, according to the New York Post.Elizabeth W Fishman, Vice President of Strategic Communications for the show, told the The Post that the Mately ad is an ‘unauthorized, unlicensed use of our characters’. Fishman added that Mately will be contacted and sent ‘a cease and desist letter instructing them to take this down’. Bert and Ernie are shown in the Facebook post looking at a set of papers. ‘See Ernie, you’ve got nothing to worry about, everything is positive!’ the caption reads. [Daily Mail]

Video of the Day –

GoPro Awards: On a Rocket Launch to Space

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- A rocket attack hits a hospital in the Syrian city of Aleppo, killing three civilians. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack was part of a bigger shelling that killed 19 more people. (Al Jazeera)
Iraqi Civil War, American-led intervention in Iraq
- According to the United States Department of Defense, ISIL fighters killed a Navy SEAL near Erbil. The sailor was assisting Kurdish Peshmerga forces in repelling an attack on the area. The SEAL was later identified as Arizona native Charles Keating IV, the son of Charles Keating III, and the grandson of the convicted noted late financier Charles Keating Jr., who was embroiled in the 1980s savings and loan scandal. (The Guardian)

Arts and culture

The Rhode Island Marine Architecture Project claims to have found the wreckage of HMS Endeavour used by Royal Navy Lieutenant James Cook on his voyage to Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti between 1768 and 1771. The ship was scuttled in 1778 in Newport Harbor ahead of the Battle of Rhode Island in the American War of Independence. (AFP via ABC News Australia)
Imprisoned Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova is announced as the winner of the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize for 2016 for “her outstanding contribution to press freedom in difficult circumstances.” (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Business and economy

Philippine presidential election, 2016
- The Philippine financial market continues to suffer amid speculation that Rodrigo Duterte may win the upcoming election. (Bloomberg)

Disasters and accidents

May 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire
- A mandatory evacuation order for more than 29,000 people remains in place for the Canadian town of Fort McMurray, Alberta, which is threatened by an out of control wildfire. (The Globe and Mail)
- By 7 pm local time, the entire town of population 80,000 is placed under a mandatory evacuation. The neighbourhood of Beacon Hill, home to about 2,200 people, is 80% destroyed by fire. (Weather Underground)
An airplane crashes on Long Island, New York, killing three people onboard. (The New York Times)

Law and crime

The sect Iglesia ni Cristo is suing supporters of Rodrigo Duterte for spreading a fake endorsement by the denomination. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Russia–Spain relations
- A Spanish judge issues an arrest warrant for various individuals with links to organized crime from Russia. The list also includes former and current officials of the Russian government with close links toRussian President Vladimir Putin. Prominent officials include former Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov and former Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov. The charges range from money laundering toassassination. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Papua conflict
- According to reports, the Indonesian police arrest close to 1,700 people in Papua and West Papua who were involved in attempted protests yesterday. (Radio New Zealand)
Bento Rodrigues dam disaster
- The Government of Brazil sues iron miner Samarco and parent companies Vale and BHP Billiton for 155 billion Brazilian reals ($43.5 billion US) for the collapse of a tailings dam that resulted in 19 deaths and caused major pollution to the Doce River. (The Guardian)
El Salvador arrests former congressman Raúl Mijango for allegedly attempting to smuggle banned items into prison and allegedly associating with gang members. (Reuters via Trust)

Politics and elections

European migrant crisis
- The government of Hungary announces it will hold a referendum regarding future European Union quotas for resettling refugees. The vote is expected to be held either in September or October of this year where a turnout of over 50 percent will render it to be valid. (Al Jazeera)
Papua conflict
- A meeting is held in London on the issue of West Papuan independence. Independence leader Benny Wenda joined various humanitarians, parliamentarians and lawyers in urging the United Nations to secure a vote on the future status of the region, which is occupied by Indonesia. (The Guardian)
United States presidential election, 2016, United States presidential election in Indiana, 2016
- Voters in the U.S. state of Indiana head to the polls to vote in Democratic and Republican presidential primaries. (NPR)
- Donald Trump wins the Indiana Republican Primary. (New York Post) (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
- Ted Cruz announces that he is withdrawing from the race for the Republican nomination, leaving Donald Trump as the presumptive nominee. (CNN)
- Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders wins the Indiana Democratic primary. (NBC News)

Sport

2018 Winter Olympics, 2018 Winter Paralympics
- Cho Yang-ho resigns as President of the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games due to growing financial problems with the Hanjin Group he is chairman of.(AP)
Association football
- The Football Federation of Kosovo becomes the 55th member of UEFA following a secret ballot at the 40th Ordinary UEFA Congress in Budapest.(AP via The Republic)

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May 31, 2016

Top News Stories –

Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood becomes father to twins, aged 68 –
Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has become a father again at the age of 68. His wife Sally, who is 38, gave birth to twin girls late on Monday evening, Wood’s publicist confirmed. A statement said: “Ronnie & Sally Wood are delighted to announce the birth of their twins Gracie Jane (6lb) & Alice Rose (5.7lb). “The girls arrived on 30 May at 22:30 and all are doing brilliantly. The babies are perfect.” The twins are Wood’s fifth and sixth children, but the first for him and his wife, who is a theatre producer. [BBC]
Ronnie Wood in 2012

MySpace and Tumblr hit by ‘mega breach’ –
Hundreds of millions of hacked account details from social networks MySpace and Tumblr have been advertised for sale online. In both cases, the logins appear to have been stolen several years ago but only recently came to light. The incident comes the same month it emerged that a four-year-old database containing more than 167 million LinkedIn IDs had been traded online. One expert said it was “intriguing” all had emerged in such a short period. Security researcher Troy Hunt also said millions of IDs from adult dating site Fling – which had been breached in 2011 – had been offered on a hacking forum at the start of the month. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Giant Gator Walks Across Florida Golf Course –

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- At least 23 people are killed in overnight air strikes in Idlib, Syria. (CNN) (BBC)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- Suspect Taliban militants kill nine and kidnap 170 in an attack on three passenger buses in Kunduz, Afghanistan. (Reuters) (CNN)

Business and economics

In the United States, a Delaware court rules Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners underpriced their 2013 $24.9 billion buyout of Dell Inc. by about 22 percent, and may have to pay tens of millions to investors who opposed the deal. (Financial Times) (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

At least 17 army personnel are killed in a fire in an ammunitions depot in the Indian town of Pulgaon, Maharashtra. (The New York Times) (NDTV) (AFP via ABC News Australia)
A five-storey apartment block collapses in Russian city of Mezhdurechensk, killing one man and injuring three. (RT)

Law and crime

The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rules (12-3) a warrant is not required for police to obtain a person’s cellphone location data from wireless carriers. (Reuters)

International relations

In an interview with the German broadsheet Frankfurter Allgemeine, the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama says that Germany has taken too many refugees and “from a moral standpoint” refugees should “only be accommodated temporarily” — with the goal of them returning home to rebuild their countries. (NBC News)
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- North Korea attempts again to launch a BM25 Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of striking South Korea or Japan but is unsuccessful. (The Guardian)
A recent Global Slavery Index report estimates the number of people born into servitude, trafficked for sex work, in debt bondage, or forced labour to be 45.8 million. India is reported to have the highest number at an estimated 18.4 million slaves, and North Korea the highest ratio, 4.4 percent of its population. (Reuters) (Bloomberg)

Politics and elections

Iranian legislative election, 2016
- Ali Larijani is reelected chairman of the Iranian Parliament for a one year term while Masoud Pezeshkian and Ali Motahari are elected deputy chairpersons. All three elected members were supported byList of Hope in the recent election. (Yahoo! news) (Xinhau net) (The New York Times)
Papua conflict
- Thousands of people take to the streets of Jayapura and other towns in Papua, Indonesia, in support of the Free Papua Movement and its effort to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group. Indonesia responded with a large police and military presence, with reports of police firing on demonstrators in Wamena and arresting dozens across the province. (Radio New Zealand)
Mohamed Abdelaziz, the leader of the Polisario Front which fought for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco, dies after leading the group since 1976. (Al Jazeera)
United States presidential election, 2016
- Conservative leaders seeking an alternative to the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump are urging Tennessee attorney and National Review writer David French to enter the 2016 presidential race as an independent candidate. (The Washington Post)

Sports

Association football icon Pelé announces that he will sell 1,500 lots of his possessions via Julien’s Auctions, which will include his medals, trophies, jerseys, and diplomatic gifts. (BBC)

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June 3, 2016

Top News Stories –

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali dies aged 74 –
Muhammad Ali has died at the age of 74, a family spokesman has said. The former world heavyweight boxing champion, one of the world’s best-known sportsmen, died at a hospital in the US city of Phoenix, Arizona, after being admitted on Thursday. He was suffering from a respiratory illness, a condition that was complicated by Parkinson’s disease. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Ali shot to fame by winning light-heavyweight gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Nicknamed “The Greatest”, the American beat Sonny Liston in 1964 to win his first world title and became the first boxer to capture a world heavyweight title on three separate occasions. He eventually retired in 1981, having won 56 of his 61 fights. Crowned “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated and “Sports Personality of the Century” by the BBC, Ali was noted for his pre- and post-fight talk and bold fight predictions just as much as his boxing skills inside the ring. But he was also a civil rights campaigner and poet who transcended the bounds of sport, race and nationality. Asked how he would like to be remembered, he once said: “As a man who never sold out his people. But if that’s too much, then just a good boxer. I won’t even mind if you don’t mention how pretty I was.” [BBC] See Video of the Day and List of the Day
Muhammad Ali in 1967

Video of the Day –

Muhammad Ali & Greenlight from Studio Dialog on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Muhammad Ali’s best quotes [Evening Standard]

“Hey Floyd – I seen you! Someday I’m gonna whup you! Don’t you forget, I am the greatest!” – To then-world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson during the 1960 Olympic Games.

“Why are all the angels white? Why ain’t there no black angels?” – In a sermon at apostolic church in 1983.

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” – The man who captured not only his boxing style but his attitude in life.

“Sonny Liston is nothing. The man can’t talk. The man can’t fight. The man needs talking lessons. The man needs boxing lessons. And since he’s gonna fight me, he needs falling lessons.” – Before fighting world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston in February 1964.

“I’m king of the world! I’m pretty! I’m a bad man! I shook up the world! I shook up the world! I shook up the world!” – February 25 1964, after defeating Sonny Liston.

“I had a good time boxing. I enjoyed it – and I may come back.” – On being crowned Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC in 1999.

“Cassius Clay is a slave name. I didn’t choose it, and I didn’t want it. I am Muhammad Ali, a free name, and I insist people using it when speaking to me and of me.” – On his conversion to Islam.

“Man, I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. No Vietcong ever called me nigger.” – On his refusal to answer a call up to fight in Vietnam.

“It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am.”

“They did what they thought was right, and I did what I thought was right.” – On the government’s long effort to send him to prison after his refusal to go to Vietnam.

“You serious? I got to stay here and lead my people to the right man – Elijah Muhammad” – When asked why he does not flee the country, in an interview by Robert Lipsyte of The New York Times on April 26 1967, two days before refusing induction into military service.

“I’ve done my celebrating already. I said a prayer to Allah” – June 28 1971, on being told his conviction for draft evasion was overturned by the US Supreme Court.

“I told you all, all of my critics, that I was the greatest of all time. Never make me the underdog until I’m about 50 years old” – October 1 1974, after knocking out George Foreman to become heavyweight champion for the second time, in Kinshasa, Zaire.

Other News Stories –

Disasters and accidents

2016 European floods
- The flood waters for the Seine River are expected to peak at six metres above its normal level. Flooding in France and Germany has so far claimed at least 11 lives. (BBC)
- A sixth body is recovered in Bavaria near the Austrian border. (AP)
European migrant crisis
- Bodies of 117 people, including 75 women, 36 men and six children, are recovered from a beach near Zuwarah, Libya, possibly from yesterday’s capsize in the Mediterranean Sea. (CNN)
- Greek authorities rescue 340 people from a boat carrying around 700 migrants that capsized 75 nautical miles off the Greek island of Crete. So far nine bodies have been recovered. (U.S. News & World Report) (CNN)
2016 Oklahoma floods
- The four missing Fort Hood soldiers from the overturned Light Medium Tactical Vehicle are found dead, bringing the death toll from the accident to nine. (AP via Los Angeles Times) (UPI)
2016 Union Pacific oil train fire
- Eleven cars from a 96-car Union Pacific oil train derail, and at least one catches fire, in the Columbia River Gorge near Mosier, Oregon, within about 20 feet of the city’s sewage plant. Coincidentally, aWasco County Planning Department public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday concerning a Union Pacific proposal to expand an existing railroad siding on either side of Mosier. (The Oregonian) (Wasco County Planning Commission)
At least eight people are hospitalized after lightning struck at the Rock am Ring music festival near Mendig, Germany. (AP)
A helicopter crashes in Nabire, Papua, Indonesia, killing a pilot and three passengers. (Detik.com)

Health and medicine

A study by researchers at the University of North Carolina, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, reports 26 percent of cancer patients can’t afford to pay for their treatment, and 18 percent can’t afford their prescriptions. (UPI) (ASCO) (Meeting)

Law and crime

2015 FIFA corruption case
- FIFA shares results of their investigation with legal authorities showing former president Sepp Blatter and two others gave themselves nearly $80 million over the past five years via annual raises and World Cup bonuses. (NPR)

Politics and elections

Venezuela’s National Election Council cancels a planned meeting to determine the validity of 1.85 million signatures on a petition for a referendum to oust President Nicolás Maduro. (UPI)

Sports

In boxing, heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, dies of respiratory complications in a hospital in the American city of Phoenix, Arizona. (NBC News)
A ten person team of refugees will compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. (Al Jazeera)added

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June 12, 2016

Top News Stories –

Orlando shooting: At least 50 killed in Pulse nightclub mass shooting –
A heavily armed gunman has killed at least 50 people, with another 53 injured, at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The mass shooting is the worst in US history and US President Barack Obama has branded it “an act of terror and an act of hate”.

At least 50 people killed, 53 injured in mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida
Gunman Omar Mateen took hostages, killed when police stormed building
Mateen was armed with an assault rifle and handgun, police say
US President Barack Obama brands shooting an act of terror and hate
Armed man arrested in LA had assault rifles in car, said he was going to the LA Pride festival, police said

[ABC Australia]

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- In the Third Battle of Fallujah, ISIL militants attack a military barracks east of Fallujah, killing more than 50 government soldiers and militia members. At least 12 militants were also killed in the assault. (Al Jazeera)
Yemeni civil war
- Missiles, fired from a U.S. drone, strike a four-wheel drive vehicle in southern Yemen, killing two and injuring another suspected militant. (Press TV)

Arts and culture

Around 10,000 people attend a street party in front of Buckingham Palace to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday. (Reuters)
70th Tony Awards
- The 70th Tony Awards are held at the Beacon Theater in New York City with The Humans winning the Best Play and Hamilton winning the Best Musical. (Variety)
- Hamilton sweeps the Tonys, winning 11 of Broadway’s top awards including best musical, best actor (Leslie Odom, Jr.), best direction (Thomas Kail), best featured actress (Renée Elise Goldsberry), and best featured actor (Daveed Diggs). Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda won for best score and for best book of a musical. (Otago Daily Times) (Forbes)
- Hamilton fell just short of‎ The Producers record of 12 wins in 2001‎. (Los Angeles Times)

International relations

European migration crisis
- Italy‘s Coast Guard picks up 1,230 migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. More than 4,000 people have been saved at sea in the past week. (Reuters via Trust)

Law and crime

2016 Orlando nightclub shooting
- In what is the deadliest mass shooting and the worst terror attack since 9/11 to occur in the United States, a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in the U.S. city of Orlando, Florida, kills at least 50 people, including the shooter, and injures 53. (BBC) (CNN) (Australian Broadcasting Co.)
- ISIL’s Amaq News Agency claims that the assault, “… was carried out by an Islamic State fighter”. (Reuters) (CBS New York)
- The FBI identifies the deceased gunman as Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, a 29-year-old American citizen born in New York to Afghani parents, and living in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Mateen called 9-1-1 during the attack and pledged allegiance to ISIL. (CBS New York)
- Mateen’s father, Seddique Mir Mateen, says, “We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident. This had nothing to do with religion.” Seddique says that during a recent outing in Miami, his son got very angry when he saw men kissing and touching each other. According to the elder Mateen, Omar said, ‘Look at that. In front of my son they are doing that.’ (NBC News)
- The City of Orlando requests, via Twitter, citizens, “… hold off on vigils — they represent a serious strain on our limited resources, which we need to dedicate to law enforcement and victims.” (The New York Times)
The scheduled L.A. Pride parade is held in West Hollywood Park in California. A 20-year-old man, whose car was filled with explosive materials and weapons, is arrested before he reached the parade area. He is misquoted as saying he wanted to harm people at the event. (Los Angeles Daily News)
An explosion at Shanghai Pudong International Airport injures at least three people; the explosive appears to be homemade. (AP via The Guardian)
Lawyers for former President of Chad Hissène Habré, who was recently found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison, appeal the verdict. However, a tribunal spokesman said the appeal process is not expected to be done before April 2017. (Al Jazeera)

Sports

UEFA Euro 2016
- UEFA opens an inquiry into the Russian Football Union after massive fights between Russian and English hooligans during and after the match between Russia and England in Marseille. Dozens of injuries, including at least one Briton in critical condition, and multiple arson attacks occurred throughout the city. (BBC)
2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
- In golf, Brooke Henderson of Canada wins the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. (Seattle Times)
2016 Stanley Cup Finals
- In ice hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins win their fourth Stanley Cup title defeating the San Jose Sharks 4 games to 2 in the finals. (ESPN)

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June 14, 2016

Top News Stories –

Iceland strengthens road signs to stop thefts –
Iceland has strengthened its road signs in order to stop tourists stealing them to take home as novel souvenirs, it’s reported. The most popular signs to be pinched are the sort rarely found in other countries, specifically those marking fords that cross rivers, blind rises and gravel tracks, according to Iceland’s RUV national broadcaster. Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson of the Road and Coastal Administration says they are now “using bolts that can’t be dismantled with an ordinary car toolkit”, and making the signs too heavy to carry off easily. Mr Ingolfsson, who is also a noted crime novelist, designed some of the signs. He tells RUV that the international Vienna Road Traffic Agreement “simply doesn’t provide for our topography”, and this makes unique Icelandic signs particularly appealing to memento-hunter. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Tokyo Aglow (At The CONFLUX Part Two) from Justin Tierney on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes
- Afghan and Pakistani soldiers clash at the Torkham border crossing between the two countries, leaving one Afghan soldier and a Pakistani major killed. At least 22 other people were also injured. Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have grown since the latter’s attempts to build a gate at the crossing. (Al Jazeera)
June 2016 Magnanville stabbing
- The attacker is identified as Larossi Abballa, a 25-year-old man who, according to police sources, was a neighbor of the murdered couple. Abballa was one of eight men convicted in Paris in 2013 for making plans to travel to Pakistan for terrorist training, and then to commit terrorists acts. Abballa was sentenced to three years in prison. He was released after the trial as six months of the sentence was suspended, and he had already spent two years in jail awaiting trial. (The Telegraph) (The New York Times)
- Abballa was recording the attack and posting it on Facebook Live, according to French officials. (CBSNews)
2016 Orlando nightclub shooting
- Six of the wounded are critically ill, five remain in “guarded” condition, and 16 more are still hospitalized. Forty-four people were brought to the Orlando Regional Medical Center after the shooting. (The Washington Post via The Providence Journal)

Disasters and accidents

A Vietnamese air force Su-30MK2 goes missing during a trial flight along the coast of Nghệ An Province (Reuters via Euronews)
A Cessna 208 Caravan plane crashes in the small town of Yahukimo in Papua, Indonesia, injuring at least seven people. (Radio New Zealand)
Three fishermen are killed, and six others injured, during the crash of a van in Atka, Alaska, United States.(Alaska Dispatch News)

International relations

European Union-Turkey relations
- Hansjörg Haber (de), the European Union’s top envoy to Turkey, resigns effective August. Ömer Çelik, Turkish Minister of European Union Affairs, had complained that Haber had shown disrespect for Turkey’s national values, and for President Tayyip Erdoğan. EU officials declined to comment on the reason for Haber’s resignation. (Prensa Latina)
- Turkey’s EU accession process has been stalled over the EU’s requirement that Turkey reform its counter-terrorism laws concerning their application against intellectuals, Kurdish sympathizers, and critics of Erdoğan. Tomorrow, EU envoys are scheduled to formally agree to open negotiations on financial and budget issues. (Reuters)

Law and crime

An armed man, holding two people hostage in a Walmart in Amarillo, Texas, is shot and killed by a police SWAT unit. No other injuries are reported. (Reuters)
United States presidential election, 2016
- Alleged Russian hackers have penetrated the computer network of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and have gained access to the entire database of research on Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump, according to committee officials and security experts. The DNC says that no financial, donor or personal information appears to have been accessed or taken, suggesting that the breach was traditional espionage, and not the work of criminal hackers. (The Washington Post)
A U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit three-judge panel upholds the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules that prohibit broadband providers from giving or selling access to faster internet service to selected customers. (Reuters)
An Egyptian Misdemeanor Court acquits 52 people charged with taking part in anti-government demonstrations in April. Thousands rallied on April 25 to protest the transfer of Red Sea islands Tiran andSanafir to Saudi Arabia. Police arrested nearly 300 demonstrators; government reports indicate all have been released from prison. (AP via ABC News)
Los Angeles, California, police arrest a 21-year-old homeless man after five bodies of apparent transients are found in the wreckage of a vacant former medical building that burned down Monday night. Firefighters had been able to rescue three people. (Los Angeles Times) (LA Weekly) (UPI)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
- Rupert Murdoch-controlled tabloid The Sun, Britain’s second biggest selling newspaper, endorses Brexit, saying that the people of UK should “Take back control and BeLeave in Britain”. (The Guardian)
United States presidential election, 2016
- Hillary Clinton wins the Washington D.C. Democratic Party primary, the last scheduled primary on the party’s schedule before the 2016 Democratic National Convention in late July. (NBC News)

Sport

UEFA Euro 2016
- UEFA fines the Russian Football Union €150,000 (US$168,000) for the violence that broke out between Russian and English supporters in Marseille on June 11. UEFA also warned that any further misconduct will disqualify the Russian team. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
In ice hockey, ESPN reports that the NHL will place an expansion team in Las Vegas, provided the team’s backers can pay a US$500 million expansion fee. The team, which would enter the league no earlier than the 2017–18 season, would be the first major professional sports team in Las Vegas. The league’s board of governors is scheduled to hold a formal vote on the expansion on June 22. (ESPN)

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June 15, 2016

Top News Stories –

Duke of Cambridge: Attitude magazine features first royal cover star –
The Duke of Cambridge has become the first member of the Royal Family to appear on the cover of a gay magazine. He spoke to Attitude about the issue of homophobic bullying, saying: “No-one should be bullied for their sexuality or any other reason.” The duke invited the magazine to bring members of the LGBT community to Kensington Palace to discuss bullying and its mental health repercussions. Kensington Palace said William had been “moved” by the stories he heard. The nine people who attended the meeting last month spoke of low self-esteem, suicide attempts, drug addiction and depression. William said that “no-one should have to put up with the kind of hate that these young people have endured in their lives”. [BBC]
Prince William Attitude cover [Image copyright ATTITUDE/LEIGH KEILY/PA]

Video of the Day –

American Ninja Warrior – T. Rex on American Ninja Warrior

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Syrian government airstrikes hit rebel-held areas in Aleppo, killing at least 34 people. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

A scaffolding on a bridge under construction near Werneck, Germany, collapses, killing at least one worker and injuring six more. (BBC)
EgyptAir Flight 804
- A deep sea search vessel discovers the wreckage of the lost aircraft in the Mediterranean Sea. (CNN) (BBC)

International relations

European Union-Turkey relations
- Turkey fails to meet the criteria set forth by the European Union in order to obtain visa-free travel to its member states. The EU promised to grant Turkey visa-free travel only if it met specific conditions on border security and human rights. (The Guardian)
Ukraine–NATO relations
- NATO’s defense ministers agree to boost support for Ukraine with a “comprehensive package of assistance”, which will help it strengthen defense and to modernize its armed forces. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Israel–Palestine relations
- Israel announces plans for construction of a three-story residential building for Jews in the Silwan neighborhood near the City of David in east Jerusalem. (Reuters)

Law and crime

2014–16 Venezuelan protests
- Venezuelan police arrest at least 400 people in the city of Cumaná after food riots and looting broke out yesterday. (Reuters)
November 2015 Paris attacks
- The father of Cal State Long Beach student Nohemi Gonzalez, the only American killed in the November 13, 2015, Paris massacre, files suit in San Francisco, California, federal court against Twitter,Facebook, and Google, alleging the companies provided “material support” to the Islamic State and other extremist groups. While generally free of liability under U.S. law which provides a legal safe harborfor content posted, this case targets the behavior social media companies enable. The suit is very similar to a case brought against Twitter in January by the widow of a contractor killed in the November 9, 2015, attack in Jordan. (AP via San Francisco Chronicle) (Daily Mail) (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

Yōichi Masuzoe resigns as the Governor of the Japanese capital Tokyo over a political funding scandal. He was due to face a no-confidence motion in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly later today. (AP via ABC News America)
Senator Murphy gun control filibuster
- United States Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn) launches a filibuster on the Senate floor in an effort to pass gun control legislation in the wake of the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting. (Politico)
The Canadian House of Commons approves a bill to make the lyrics in the country’s national anthem gender neutral. The bill would change the words in O Canada from “in all thy sons command” to “in all of us command.” (Reuters)
The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Council approves a a 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened and diet beverages, effective January 1, 2017. This the first so-called sugary drinks tax in a major U.S.city. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Science and technology

Scientists confirm a second detection of gravitational waves by LIGO. (The Guardian) (BBC)

Sport

Violence at UEFA Euro 2016
- Renewed clashes take place between English and Russian football fans in the French city of Lille following Russia’s 2-1 defeat against Slovakia. Riot police fired tear gas at England supporters outsideGare de Lille Europe. (The Guardian) (BBC)
- Police arrest at least 36 people in Lille following clashes between French police and football fans at the tournament. French authorities report 16 people were taken to hospital. (BBC)
In baseball, Ichiro Suzuki reaches a combined total of career hits of 4,257 spanning Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball. It passes Pete Rose‘s career total encompassing Major League Baseball only of 4,256 but the MLB is considered to be a higher quality competition. (ESPN)

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June 16, 2016

Top News Stories –

Russian ‘runaway robot’ causes traffic jam –
A robot escaped from a science lab and caused a traffic jam in one Russian city, it’s reported. Scientists at the Promobot laboratories in Perm had been teaching the machine how to move around independently, but it broke free after an engineer forgot to shut a gate, says the local edition of the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper. The robot found its way to a nearby street, covering a distance of about 50m (164ft), before its battery ran out, the daily says. An eyewitness video posted online shows a vaguely humanoid machine standing in the middle of a busy road, guarded by a traffic policeman. It is then wheeled off by a human, presumably an engineer from the company that developed the robot. Russian Channel 5 TV also showed footage of the incident, and said that the robot spent about 40 minutes at large. But not everyone is convinced that the robot’s escape was accidental: some in the Russian media have argued that it’s all a ploy devised by Promobot to draw attention to its creation. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Simon’s Cat Logic – Why Do Cats Sleep in Unusual Places?!

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- A suicide bombing kills at least 10 security force members in the village of Abu Qurayn, west of Sirte. (Al Jazeera)
Syrian Civil War
- The United States accuses Russia of bombing U.S.-backed forces in southern Syria near al-Tanf. (Washington Examiner)
- Dozens of American diplomats send a memo, via the State Department’s dissent channel, critical of U.S. policy in Syria. The memo was signed by 51 mid- to high-level State Department officers involved with advising on Syrian policy, and calls for airstrikes against President Bashar al-Assad’s government to stop its persistent violations of the United Nations-sponsored February ceasefire. (New York Times) (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Flooding in southern Ghana caused by heavy rain leaves at least 10 people dead and the streets of Accra under water. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

China cancels an invitation to a Taiwanese children’s choir after it performed the island’s national anthem at last month’s inauguration of President Tsai Ing-wen; the Puzangalan Choir consisting of children from the Paiwan aboriginal tribe had been due to take part in a choral festival in Guangdong province in July. (AP) (The New York Times) (BBC)
Violence at UEFA Euro 2016
- France deports twenty Russian football fans including Alexander Shprygin, the leader of the All-Russia Supporters Union, following violence at the England–Russia match in Marseille. (BBC)
Switzerland–European Union relations
- Switzerland‘s Federal Assembly votes to officially withdraw the country’s application to join the European Union. Following the vote, foreign minister Didier Burkhalter was quoted as saying that thegovernment will now tell the EU to “consider the application as withdrawn”. (Malta Today) (Euronews)

Law and crime

Thai police raid the Dhammakaya Buddhist temple, north of Bangkok, to arrest Abbot Phra Dhammachayo, who is accused of conspiring to launder money by accepting stolen cash from a credit union. His followers deny the allegations and claim the charges are politically motivated. (Reuters) (BBC)
Labour Party MP Jo Cox dies at Leeds General Infirmary after being shot and stabbed as she prepared to hold a meeting with constituents in Birstall, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. A woman suffered serious injuries; a man was slightly wounded. West Yorkshire police have arrested a 52-year-old male suspect. (NBC News) (ABC News) (BBC) (Reuters) (The Guardian)
European migrant crisis
- Nigerien authorities discover the bodies of 34 migrants, mostly children, left behind in the Sahara desert by people smugglers who were taking them to Algeria and then to Europe. (The Guardian)
A Ugandan soldier kills at least seven people in a shooting spree at a military police barracks in the capital, Kampala. The soldier, Sgt Isaac Obua, was then shot dead himself. He is reported to have been drunk. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Senator Murphy gun control filibuster, 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting
- Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy ends a nearly 15-hour filibuster after Republican Party leaders reportedly agree to allow votes on two proposed gun control measures. (NBC News)
The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, City Council approves a 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened and diet beverages, effective January 1, 2017. This is the first so-called sugary drinks tax in a major U.S.city. (‘Philadelphia Inquirer)

Sport

Ten Olympic weightlifters fail a drug test in a reanalysis of samples from the 2012 Summer Olympics. Among them are four Kazakh gold medalists: Ilya Ilyin, Zulfiya Chinshanlo, Svetlana Podobedova andMaiya Maneza. The other athletes represent Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. All ten lifters are provisionally suspended by the International Weightlifting Federation and are expected to be stripped of their titles. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
UEFA Euro 2016
- Northern Ireland achieves their first victory in a UEFA European Championship by defeating Ukraine 2–0; other results eliminate Ukraine. (BBC)
2016 NBA Finals
- The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the NBA finals 115-101, forcing a Game 7 which will be held in Oakland, California on June 19.(The New York Times)

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June 18, 2016

Top News Stories –

UK astronaut Tim Peake returns to Earth –
UK astronaut Tim Peake is back on Earth after a historic six-month stay on the International Space Station. A Soyuz capsule carrying Major Peake and two other crew members touched down in Kazakhstan at 10:15 BST. He called the journey back “the best ride I’ve been on ever”, adding: “The smells of Earth are just so strong.” Maj Peake is the first person to fly to space under the UK banner since Helen Sharman in 1991 and made the first spacewalk by a UK astronaut. During the 186-day mission, Maj Peake also remotely steered a robot on Earth and ran the London Marathon. Just before 15:00 BST, Maj Peake landed by helicopter on the runway at Karagandy airport. [BBC]
Timothy Peake

Video of the Day –

WALT from justinclifton on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Ten longest human space flights [Wikipedia]

#	Time in space	Crew	Country	Launch date (Launch craft)	Landing date (Landing craft)	Space Station or mission type
1	437.7 days	Valeri Polyakov	Russia	1994-01-09 (Soyuz TM-18)	1995-03-22 (Soyuz TM-20)	Mir
2	379.6 days	Sergei Avdeyev	Russia	1998-08-13 (Soyuz TM-28)	1999-08-28 (Soyuz TM-29)	Mir
3	365.0 days	Vladimir Titov Musa Manarov	Soviet Union	1987-12-21 (Soyuz TM-4)	1988-12-21 (Soyuz TM-6)	Mir
4	340.4 days	Mikhail Korniyenko Scott Kelly	Russia United States	2015-03-27 (Soyuz TMA-16M)	2016-03-01 (Soyuz TMA-18M)	International Space Station
5	326.5 days^[	Yuri Romanenko	Soviet Union	1987-02-05 (Soyuz TM-2)	1987-12-29 (Soyuz TM-3)	Mir
6	311.8 days	Sergei Krikalev	Soviet Union/ Russia	1991-05-18 (Soyuz TM-12)	1992-03-25 (Soyuz TM-13)	Mir
7	240.9 days	Valeri Polyakov	Soviet Union	1988-08-29 (Soyuz TM-6)	1989-04-7 (Soyuz TM-7)	Mir
8	237.0 days	Leonid Kizim Vladimir Solovyov Oleg Atkov	Soviet Union	1984-02-08 (Soyuz T-10)	1984-10-02 (Soyuz T-11)	Salyut 7
9	215.4 days	Mikhail Tyurin Michael López-Alegría^]	Russia United States	2006-09-18 (Soyuz TMA-9)	2007-04-21 (Soyuz TMA-9)	International Space Station
10	211.4 days	Anatoli Berezovoy Valentin Lebedev	Soviet Union	1982-05-13 (Soyuz T-5)^[19]	1982-12-10 (Soyuz T-7)^[19]	Salyut 7

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Terrorism in the European Union
- Twelve people are arrested and three men are subsequently charged with terrorism offences in Belgium after dozens of raids were carried out mainly in the Brussels region. (BBC)
Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports at least eight people, including four children, are shot and killed, and another eight wounded by Turkish border guards. The group was trying to cross from northwestern Syria into Turkey’s Hatay Province. (The Times of Israel) (AP)

Disasters and accidents

A week of heavy rains and flooding in south China results in at least 25 deaths, six people missing and 33,000 people displaced. (ABC News)
Six people are killed and 10 injured when a van crashes in the U.S. state of Virginia. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Death of Jo Cox
- Thomas Mair from the town of Birstall, West Yorkshire, is charged with the murder of British MP Jo Cox. (West Yorkshire Police), (BBC)
A 73-year-old gunman shoots dead a police officer, and seriously wounds another before shooting himself dead in Vihti, Finland. Finnish broadcaster Yle reports it is the first time a police officer in Finland has been killed in the line of duty since 2007. (AP via Daily Mail)
Mohamed Morsi, former President of Egypt, is sentenced to life imprisonment and another 15 years for his role in allegedly leaking government secrets to Qatar. Six people, including two Al-Jazeeraemployees, are sentenced to death. (Daily News Egypt), (Al-Jazeera)
At least six people have been shot dead and 12 injured as a result of 18 shootings in the American city of Chicago, Illinois. (ABC7 Chicago)

Politics and elections

Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile
- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir declares a four-month ceasefire in the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan in order to give rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North a chance to join the peace process and to lay down arms in order to end the conflict which has been ongoing since 2011. (Al Jazeera)
United States presidential election, 2016, 2016 Republican National Convention
- Apple Inc. notifies the GOP that this year it will not fund or provide other support for the party’s 2016 presidential convention, citing Donald Trump’s controversial comments about women, immigrants and minorities. (Politico)

Science and technology

Three astronauts return from a mission to the International Space Station, Briton Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, Timothy Kopra of NASA and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko. (BBC)

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June 20, 2016

Top News Stories –

Finding Dory breaks US box office record –
Finding Dory has taken $136.2m (£93.3m) on its opening weekend – making it the most successful launch for an animated film in US box office history. The sequel to Finding Nemo has unseated Shrek the Third – which took $121.6m (£83.1m) on its release in 2007. It is also the second most successful opening weekend of 2016, behind Marv el’s Captain America: Civil War. Ellen DeGeneres voices the lead character in Finding Dory. [BBC]
Ellen DeGeneres (and others)

Video of the Day –

Why Don’t We Ever See Baby Pigeons? | Dolan Life Mysteries

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- A minibus carrying private security guards explodes in Kabul resulting in the death of at least 12 people and injuring several others. (Reuters and NBC News)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- A suicide bombing strikes Camp Taji, killing four Iraqi Army soldiers. (Radio New Zealand)

Business and economy

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed an appeals court ruling that would have narrowly interpreted the auto salesman’s exemption from overtime pay rules mandated by statute under rules promulgated by theU.S. Labor Department, remanding the matter for further consideration. (slip opinion).

International relations

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the number of people displaced by conflicts in the world is at its highest level ever recorded, with an estimated 65.3 million people either being refugees, internally displaced or asylum seekers. (BBC)

Law and crime

Human rights in Bahrain
- Bahraini authorities strip Isa Qassim, the kingdom’s most influential Shia cleric, of his citizenship after they accused him of promoting “sectarianism and violence”. (BBC)
According to an environmental report by Global Witness, 2015 was the deadliest year ever for environmental activists, with the reported deaths of 185 activists, as a result of falling commodity prices prompting forceful land grabs by mining and foresting companies. (Deutsche Welle)
Gun politics in the United States
- The U.S. Supreme Court declines to review assault weapons bans in Connecticut and New York, as it did last December concerning Chicago, Illinois, city law. Five other states and Washington, D.C. have similar restrictions. (AP via Fox News)

Politics and elections

Croatian MPs vote to dissolve the Parliament, setting the stage for snap election, which are expected to take place in early September. This comes as Croatia is facing an escalating political crisis following thelast election in November 2015. (Al Jazeera)
2014–16 Venezuelan protests
- Per Venezuela’s National Electoral Council’s ruling, citizens across the country queue up for fingerprint validation of 1,850,000 signatures on referendum to recall President Nicolás Maduro. The oppositionDemocratic Unity Roundtable must validate 197,000 signatures (1 percent of registered voters) by Friday, in this first step of the recall referendum process. (Reuters) (TeleSUR)

Science and technology

Solar Impulse 2, a plane powered only by the sun, leaves New York on the 15th leg of its round-the-world journey, a 90-hour flight over the Atlantic Ocean to Western Europe. (Reuters) (Business Standard)

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June 21, 2016

Top News Stories –

Albania football win brings team diplomatic passports –
Albania says it will reward its national footballers with diplomatic passports for having beaten Romania 1-0 at the Euro 2016 tournament. The country has never played before in a major football competition. But it is not yet clear whether Albania will qualify for the next round in France. The team will get €1m (£770,000; $1.1m) in extra funding as well as the new passports, the government said. Albania lost their other two matches, coming third in their Euro 2016 group. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama captured the nation’s excitement on Sunday by tweeting “Goooooooooool….” when Armando Sadiku headed the winning goal against Romania in the first half. The award of diplomatic passports is mainly symbolic, as many of the Albanian players are already with clubs elsewhere in Europe and Albanians enjoy visa-free travel to the EU. They will not enjoy diplomatic immunity, as that is reserved for official diplomats, but they will benefit from easier international travel. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

MAN IN PHONE – Short Film from Mackenzie Sheppard on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Jordanian–Syrian border incidents during the Syrian Civil War
- A car-bomb explodes near a Jordanian Armed Forces outpost in the extreme north-eastern point of Rukban, a makeshift Syrian refugee camp, leaving 6 soldiers dead and 14 injured. (BBC)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- Five Kenyan police officers are killed when Al-Shabaab militants ambush their convoy near El Wak, Kenya. (Al Jazeera)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A 15-year-old Palestinian teen is shot and killed by Israel Defense Forces while traveling in his family’s car through an area where stones had been thrown that injured two tourists and an Israeli. The IDF says an official investigation has been opened. Preliminary results indicate Mahmoud Rafat Baderan, the teen who was shot, was not involved in any stone throwing on the highway. (Haaretz)

Disasters and accidents

Five people, all foreign holidaymakers, are killed and 23 are injured when their bus swerves off a highway en route to Belgrade, Serbia. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

International relations

Japan–North Korea relations
- Japan places its military on high alert to be ready to shoot down any missile heading for its territory amid reports of a possible North Korean launch of an intermediate-range missile from its east coast.(Reuters) (RT)
Egypt–Saudi Arabia relations
- An Egyptian court, while not final, reverses the decision by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to cede Tiran and Sanafir Island to Saudi Arabia. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo, and a former Congolese vice president, is sentenced to 18 years in prison by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, and for sexual violence crimes against humanity in neighboring Central African Republic during 2002 and 2003. (BBC) (The Times)

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June 22, 2016

Top News Stories –

Democrats stage sit-in on House floor to force gun vote –
Dozens of House Democrats staged a sit-in on the House floor Wednesday in protest of the GOP leadership’s refusal to allow a vote on a gun control measure following the Orlando massacre. Led by Reps. John Lewis (D-Ga.), the civil rights icon, and John Larson (D-Conn.), more than 40 Democrats walked into the chamber just before noon and pledged to “occupy” the House floor until GOP leadership allowed a vote. In one hour, their numbers more than tripled — even as Republicans recessed the House, turning off C-SPAN cameras and the video feed to the public. Democrats countered the TV camera blackout by streaming everything on their cellphones, which ended up on C-SPAN anyway. [Politico]

Mark Zuckerberg masks Mac webcam and microphone –
A photograph of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg shows tape has been used to cover his MacBook Pro’s webcam and mic. Facebook has not responded to requests for comment about the picture, shared to celebrate Instagram reaching its 500 million monthly user milestone. FBI director James Comey has previously said he also covers his laptop’s webcam to prevent hackers spying on him. And digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said it regularly sold its webcam “stickers”. [BBC]
Mark Zuckerberg

Video of the Day –

World’s LARGEST NERF GUN!!

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Moro conflict
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant declares war on the Philippines. (The Philippine Star)
Syrian Civil War
- According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, airstrikes on ISIL-held Al-Raqqah kill at least 18 civilians. The group was unable to determine who carried out the airstrikes. (BBC)
Battle of Fallujah (2016)
- The United Nations reports 80,000 civilians have fled Fallujah, as Iraqi Army and Shia militias retake most of the city from ISIL. (The Christian Science Monitor)
Sectarianism in Pakistan
- Gunmen kill Sufi devotional singer Amjad Sabri in Pakistan with a faction of the Pakistani Taliban claiming responsibility. (New York Times)
Gunmen kill a Nigerian driver and kidnap seven people near Calabar, Nigeria. The group, which was escorted by a security pickup that reportedly had four armed policemen, includes five expatriate and two Nigerian contractors working for Macmahon Holdings’ United Cement Company plant in the Akpabuyo district. Police report two of the workers escaped. Police commissioner Jimoh Ozi-Obeh says no ransom has been received. (Times Media Group) (Daily Post)

Disasters and accidents

Lightning strikes in the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh kill at least 70 people, mostly farm labourers. (Al Jazeera)
A severe thunderstorm and tornado near Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, China, kills at least 51 people. (BBC)(The Seattle Times)

International relations

North Korea–South Korea relations, North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- South Korea claims that North Korea has tested two BM25 Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missiles. (CNN)
Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- Jordan declares its borders with Syria and Iraq are to be closed military zones following yesterday’s suicide bomb attack in Rukban, Mafraq Governorate, that killed six soldiers. (BBC)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016:
- European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker warns the British voters, saying that there would be no re-negotiations with Britain whatever outcome of its membership referendum. (Independent)
2016 House Democrats sit-in
- Georgia Representative John Lewis leads about 40 U.S. House of Representatives Democrats in a sit-in after the U.S. Senate failed to approve any of four gun control measures Monday night. (NBC News) (Politico)
United States President Barack Obama signs the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act into law. The legislation is the first major overhaul of toxic chemicals rules in America in 40 years. (The Washington Post) (AP via The New York Times)
Greek debt crisis
- The European Central Bank reinstates the waiver that enables Greek banks to use the country’s bonds as collateral for regular loans, for the first time in more than a year. (AP) (Reuters)

Science and technology

India’s ISRO successfully launches 20 satellites in a single mission. (Times of India)

Sport

In ice hockey, the NHL awards Las Vegas an expansion team to begin play in the 2017–18 season. The Board of Governors defers Quebec City‘s bid with the league, citing factors such as conference imbalance, difficulty of bringing two teams at the same time, and the weakening Canadian dollar. (NHL)

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June 23, 2016

Top News Stories –

BRITAIN VOTES FOR ‘BREXIT’ IN HISTORIC REFERENDUM –
Britain has voted to leave the European Union in a referendum, defying its prime minister and confounding most analysts’ expectations. The result raises questions over the future of Prime Minister David Cameron, and over the future of Scotland within the United Kingdom. The results expose a British electorate deeply divided by age, class and geographical location. Most large urban centers elected to stay part of the European Union, particularly in London, where many local authorities delivered vast majorities for the pro-EU campaign. Polls completed before the vote suggested the young were significantly more likely to back EU membership than the old, and that poorer, less-educated voters were likelier to be Brexiters. Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU. Wales surprised many observers by voting in favor of a “Leave” vote, with just over 850,000 Welsh voters choosing to leave the bloc, and a little more than 770,000 voting to Remain. [Newsweek] See List of the Day

Solar plane lands in Spain after three-day Atlantic crossing –
An airplane powered solely by the sun landed safely in Seville in Spain early on Thursday after an almost three-day flight across the Atlantic from New York in one of the longest legs of the first ever fuel-less flight around the world. The single-seat Solar Impulse 2 touched down shortly after 7.30 a.m. local time in Seville after leaving John F. Kennedy International Airport at about 2.30 a.m. EDT on June 20.
The flight of just over 71 hours was the 15th leg of the round-the-world journey by the plane piloted in turns by Swiss aviators Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg. [Reuters] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

Solar Impulse Airplane – Leg 15 – Flight New York to Seville

List of the Day –

How the home nations voted in the EU Referendum [BBC]

England

Leave 53.4%

15,188,406 VOTES

Remain 46.6%

13,266,996 VOTES

Counting complete

Turnout: 73.0%

Northern Ireland

Leave 44.2%

349,442 VOTES

Remain 55.8%

440,437 VOTES

Counting complete

Turnout: 62.9%

Scotland

Leave 38.0%

1,018,322 VOTES

Remain 62.0%

1,661,191 VOTES

Counting complete

Turnout: 67.2%

Wales

Leave 52.5%

854,572 VOTES

Remain 47.5%

772,347 VOTES

Counting complete

Turnout: 71.7%

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram insurgency
- According to Médecins Sans Frontières, more than 1,200 people have died of starvation and illness at a refugee camp for those fleeing Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Jiangsu tornado
- A tornado, accompanied by heavy rainfall and hailstones, kills at least 98 people and injures 800 in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu (JSTV). One-hour rainfall reached 102 millimeters (about four inches) in Lianshui County. (Reuters) (China Radio International)

International relations

Holy See–Turkey relations
- Pope Francis’s visit to Armenia this weekend may stress relations with Turkey. The Pope is seeking to avoid reigniting the diplomatic dispute that arose last year when he described the 1915 mass killings of Armenians as a genocide. The Vatican prefers the Armenian phrase “Medz Yeghern,” which roughly translates as “the great evil or calamity.” (Reuters), (PanARMENIAN.Net) (NBC News)
South Sudanese Civil War
- The United Nations announces that peacekeepers in the country will be sent home over a “lack of responsiveness” during an attack on a UN-run refugee camp last February in Malakal that killed at least 40 people. (Al Jazeera)
European migration crisis
- The Italian Coast Guard rescues 4,500 migrants at sea. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- The United Nations Security Council condemns North Korea’s most recent ballistic missile launches as a grave violation of the international ban, and urges all countries “to redouble their efforts” to fully implement the March sanctions. (Reuters) (AP)

Law and crime

Supreme Court of the United States
- The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 4–3 decision, upholds the University of Texas’s practice of considering race in college admissions. Justice Elena Kagan recused herself for prior work on the case as United States solicitor general. (Reuters) (AP) (The New York Times)
- The Supreme Court deadlocks (4–4) in the challenge to President Barack Obama’s executive order that set up the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans plan, which could have shielded up to five million illegal immigrants. The tie leaves in place an earlier ruling against the plan. (NBC News) (The New York Times)
2016 Summer Olympics
- The government of Kuwait sues the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for US$1.3 billion in damages over the suspension of its Olympic committee last October due to the government’s interference in sports. (Al Jazeera)
Death of Freddie Gray
- Baltimore police officer Caesar Goodson is cleared of all charges for the murder of Freddie Gray, a black detainee, on April 19, 2015. (BBC)
Viernheim shooting
- An unidentified man who had been reported to have fired shots inside a theater has been shot dead by police in Viernheim, Germany. No other fatalities were reported. (BBC)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
- Voters in the United Kingdom go to the polls to vote in a referendum on whether the UK should leave the European Union. (The Telegraph), (BBC),
- Polling stations are closed, and ballots are being counted in centres around the UK with the result expected Friday morning. (BBC)
Colombian conflict
- The government of Colombia and FARC rebels sign a ceasefire deal, putting an end to 50 years of conflict in the country between the two sides. (BBC)
United States presidential election, 2016, 2016 Republican National Convention
- A federal district judge, in a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, rules Cleveland’s regulations governing protests and marches during next month’s Republican National Convention infringe on the right of free expression. Judge James Gwin orders both sides into mediation to begin negotiating new rules with another federal judge overseeing those talks. (AP)

Science and technology

Solar Impulse 2, a plane powered only by the sun, lands safely in Seville, Spain, shortly after 7.30 a.m. local time after a flight of just over 71 hours. The 15th leg of the round-the-world journey had been expected to take up to 90 hours. (Reuters) (Reuters²)

Sport

2016 NBA draft
- In basketball, the NBA draft is held with the Philadelphia 76ers choosing Australian Ben Simmons as the number one pick. (ESPN)

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June 26, 2016

Top News Stories –

Lionel Messi announces international football retirement after Argentina loses Copa America final –
Argentina superstar Lionel Messi says he is finished with the national team after the side’s loss to Chile in the Copa America final. The five-time world player of the year announced as much in the immediate aftermath of Argentina’s gut-wrenching loss to Chile, 4-2 in a penalty shootout on Monday. “The national team is done for me,” Messi told reporters. The 29-year-old was booked for simulation and sent his attempt over the crossbar in the decisive shootout as he fell short for the fourth time in a major international final. “It’s difficult, it’s a hard moment for any analysis. In the dressing room I thought that the national team is not for me,” he added. [ABC] In April Messi scored his 500th career goal.
Lionel Messi

Video of the Day –

Fastest time to pop 100 balloons by a dog – Guinness World Records

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Battle of Fallujah (2016)
  - The head of the counter terrorism forces which partook in the offensive says that the city of Fallujah has been “fully liberated”. (AP)
Boko Haram insurgency
- Fighting in various remote villages in the Borno State of Nigeria kill at least one civilian and six Boko Haram militants. According to the Nigerian Army, they’ve rescued more than 5,000 hostages from the militants. (Al Jazeera)
Syrian Civil War
- Airstrikes reportedly kill at least 82 people, including 58 civilians, in Syria‘s eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

The expanded Panama Canal opens after a $4.5 billion expansion allowing larger ships to use it. (Los Angeles Times)

Disasters and accidents

A bus fire kills at least 35 people in China’s Hunan Province. (AFP via Geo TV)(Reuters)
A roller coaster derails and crashes at M&D’s theme park in Motherwell, Scotland. Ten people are reportedly injured. (BBC)
Five people are killed in the American state of Colorado after an Amtrak train collides with a minivan carrying six people near the town of Trinidad, Colorado. (9 News) (Denver Post)

Law and crime

Unidentified men with bush knives attack the Papua New Guinea University of Technology in the city of Lae, killing one student, and set fire to various buildings on the campus. (Radio New Zealand)
Organized crime in Italy
- Ernesto Fazzalari, Italy‘s second most-wanted fugitive and member of ‘Ndrangheta, is arrested by the Carabinieri near Molochio in Calabria, Southern Italy, after two decades on the run. Interior Minister Angelino Alfano described Fazzalari as “one of the most important fugitives and a leading underworld figure”. (The Guardian)
Police report multiple stabbings at a planned “white pride” rally in Sacramento, California between the Traditionalist Workers Party and counter-protesters. The Sacramento Fire Department reports seven people were taken to local hospitals, two with life-threatening wounds. (CBS News) (ABC News)

Politics and elections

Spanish general election, 2016
- Voters in Spain go to the polls for a general election six months after an inconclusive election. Polls indicate that no party will be in position to form a government. (AP)
United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, says that Scottish Parliament has the power to veto the United Kingdom‘s exit from the European Union. (BBC)
- Heidi Alexander, Gloria De Piero, Ian Murray, Lilian Greenwood, Lucy Powell, Kerry McCarthy, Seema Malhotra, Vernon Coaker, Charlie Falconer, Karl Turner and Chris Bryant resign en masse from theLabour Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn in protest at Jeremy Corbyn‘s leadership over the EU referendum, and the firing of Hilary Benn. (BBC)
- The petition calling for a second referendum passes three million signatures. (Parliament UK)

Sport

Copa América Centenario
- In football, Chile wins the Copa América, defeating Argentina in a penalty shootout after regular time and extra time end scoreless. (Daily Mirror)
- Argentina star Lionel Messi, who became Argentina’s all-time leading goalscorer during the Copa, announces his retirement from international football after the game. (ABC News)

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July 1, 2016

Top News Stories –

Lindsay Lohan set to turn on Christmas Lights in Kettering… after her furious tweet about Northamptonshire town went viral during EU referendum vote –
She took the internet by storm when her impassioned tweets about the EU referendum went viral. And Lindsay Lohan – who was staunchly in the Remain camp – appears to have made amends with the people of Kettering after angering MP Philip Hollobone with her comments during the results night when the town voted Leave by a margin of 61 to 39 per cent. But despite disagreeing with the Brexit result, the 29-year-old actress has now pledged her support to the Northamptonshire town by accepting to turning on their Christmas lights. A furious backbench Tory slammed the US star for criticising his home town of Kettering in a series of tweets Miss Lohan sent on the night of the referendum. Philip Hollobone demanded that the actress should visit the Midlands town – while a Cabinet Minister suggested that a trip to Kettering could boost the career of the troubled A-lister. [Daily Mail]
Lindsay Lohan

Battle of the Somme: Royals at Somme centenary commemoration –
Thousands of people, including members of the Royal Family, have attended a ceremony in France to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were at the Thiepval Memorial for the event. Earlier, a UK-wide two-minute silence at 07:28 BST marked the start of the World War One battle on 1 July 1916.
More than a million men were killed or wounded on all sides at the Somme. The Battle of the Somme, one of WW1’s bloodiest, was fought in northern France and lasted five months, with the British suffering almost 60,000 casualties on the first day alone. The British and French armies fought the Germans in a brutal battle of attrition on a 15-mile front. [BBC]

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Gulshan attack
- Gunmen storm a restaurant, exchange fire with security, and take at least twenty hostages in the Gulshan neighborhood of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Two policemen are killed. The Islamic State claims responsibility. (ABC News) (CNN) (USA Today)
War in Somalia
- At least six people are shot and killed and several people wounded by suspected Al-Shabaab militants who ambushed two buses in Mandera, Kenya, near the Somalian border. (Al Jazeera) (AP)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A Palestinian woman, in what was construed to be an attempt to stab Israeli Border Police officers at the entrance to the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, is shot and later dies. (PNN)(The Times of Israel)
- In response to violence in the Hebron area, including the killing yesterday of a 13-year-old Jewish girl asleep in her home in the Kiryat Arba settlement by a Palestinian assailant, the Israel Defense Forcesplaces a closure on Hebron, brings additional troops to the area and announces a cut to tax funds it collects for the Palestinian Authority, saying it would deduct the amount the Palestinian leadership pays to the families of militants. (Al Jazeera) (The Times of Israel)
- A 63 year old Palestinian man dies during a clash at the Qalandiya checkpoint; Palestinian sources claim his death was due to tear gas inhalation while Israeli sources say the man suffered a fatal heart attack. (Ma’an) (The Times of Israel)
- Rabbi Michael Mark is murdered and his two children badly injured when terrorists shoot at his car on the highway south of Hebron.(The Jerusalem Post) (The Times of Israel)
- Palestinian militants fire two rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip; one explodes outside a preschool in the town of Sderot, causing damage to property but no injuries, and the second rocket exploded in an open area in the Sha’ar Hanegev region. (The Times of Israel)

Arts and culture

British–American Academy Award–winning film actress Olivia de Havilland, one of the last leading movie stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, celebrates her 100th birthday. (CNN)
Thousands of people attend a ceremony at the Thiepval Memorial in Picardy, France, to mark the centenary of the start of the Battle of the Somme. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

Four Hungarian Defence Force soldiers are killed and one is injured following an explosion at a military firing range in eastern Hungary. (Reuters)

International relations

Taiwan‘s navy mistakenly launches a supersonic Hsiung Feng III missile towards China, killing one person and injuring three in a Taiwanese fishing boat. (BBC) (The Guardian)
Russia–European Union relations, Ukrainian crisis
- The European Union extends economic sanctions on Russia until 31 January 2017 over Moscow’s continued support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. (Reuters)
Canada announces that it will deploy 1,000 soldiers of the Canadian Armed Forces to Latvia to bolster one of the four NATO battalions stationed there. (The Guardian)
Israel-Palestine relations
- The report of the diplomatic Quartet to the Security Council — the United Nations, Russia, the United States, and the European Union — calls on Israel to end settlement construction and expansion policy, and calls on Palestinians to act decisively to stop incitement to violence and to clearly condemn terrorist acts. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov tells the UNSC, “The main objective of this report is not about assigning blame … (rather) it focuses on the major threats to achieving a negotiated peace.” (AP) (UN News Centre) (The Times of Israel)
Yanghee Lee, the United Nations special human rights envoy to overwhelmingly Buddhist Myanmar, says more than 100,000 of the Muslim Rohingya minority remain in squalid camps they were forced to four years ago by violence. The government does not recognize most of these people as citizens, and has treated even long-term residents as illegal immigrants. Lee is encouraged by last March’s peaceful transition to a democratically elected and civilian-led government. (AP)
Finland–Russia relations
- Following his meeting at Finnish President Sauli Niinistö’s residence, Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Russia would respect Finland’s choice whether to join NATO, though as part of NATO’s military infrastructure, Finnish Defence Forces would overnight be at the borders of the Russian Federation. Putin and Niinistö call for improved security in Baltic airspace where Russian and Westernaircraft have had close encounters in recent months. (Oneindia) (Reuters)

Law and crime

Crime in the Philippines; Philippine Drug War
- Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte urges Filipino citizens to murder people suspected of using illegal drugs. (The Guardian)
U Gambira, a former Burmese monk and one of the most visible leaders during Myanmar’s 2007 Saffron Revolution, is released from prison after having the charges against him dropped. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Austrian presidential election, 2016
- Austria’s highest court orders a repeat of the presidential elections narrowly lost in May by right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria candidate Norbert Hofer. The margin of votes was less than 1%.(The Telegraph)
Causeway Bay Books disappearances
- Thousands of people take to the streets of Hong Kong, demanding answers over China’s alleged abduction of five booksellers in late 2015 and that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying resign from office.(The Guardian)
The new Belarusian ruble replaces the old Belarusian ruble during redenomination. (Belarus segodnya) (in Russian) (Construction.RU)
Paris, France, implements a pollution-reduction program that bans residents from driving cars built before 1997, and motorcycles built before 2000, on weekdays inside the city limits between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.(NPR)

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July 3, 2016

Top News Stories –

New Zealand record cocaine seizure in horse’s head –
New Zealand police say they have made their biggest ever seizure of cocaine, hidden inside a novel kind of drug mule. They intercepted the $10m (£7.6m) worth of cocaine inside a huge diamante-encrusted statue of a horse’s head. The shipment of 35kg (77lb) bricks was air-freighted from Mexico to the city of Auckland in May. An American and two Mexicans were arrested over the weekend following a six-week investigation. The horse’s head weighed 365kg and was 1m (3ft) tall, the New Zealand Herald reported. “This is a significant win for New Zealand,” said Det Supt Virginia Le Bas. “We should proud to have detected it at the earliest of stages.” [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Auto from Conner Griffith on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed attacks and conflicts

Iraqi Civil War
- Twin bombings in a pair of crowded commercial areas in Baghdad kill at least 125 people. ISIL claims responsibility. (AP) (The Independent) (BBC)

Business and economics

Libya‘s National Oil Corporation agrees to merge with the rival company of the same name in the east of the country after being split by the two rival governments. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

At least 31 people are killed and several more remain missing after flash floods ravage the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)
Rescue workings in Russia‘s Irkutsk Oblast discover the remains of a Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane which went missing last Friday after going on a firefighting mission. Six people have been killed in the crash.(Reuters)

International relations

Switzerland–European Union relations
- The European Union warns Switzerland that it will lose access to its single market if it goes through with its plan to impose restrictions on the free movement of EU citizens. In a referendum held back in February 9, 2014, Swiss voters approved limiting the movement of economic migrants from the EU in the country. Current laws allow migrants to enter Switzerland without visas. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

Human rights in the Philippines; Philippine Drug War
- Ten people are killed by the Philippine National Police within a week after Rodrigo Duterte took office as president and made statements encouraging the murder of illegal drug addicts. (Channel News Asia)

Politics and elections

French presidential election, 2017
- Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy resigns as leader of The Republicans party and announces his candidacy for President again. (The Guardian)

Sport

2016 Formula One season
- Lewis Hamilton wins the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. (BBC)
2016 Summer Olympics
- The Russian Olympic Committee appeals the ban of its track and field team from participating in the upcoming summer Olympics by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), because of large scale doping, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. A hearing on the case will take place on July 19. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

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July 5, 2016

Top News Stories –

Juno probe enters into orbit around Jupiter –
The US space agency has successfully put a new probe in orbit around Jupiter.
The Juno satellite, which left Earth five years ago, had to fire a rocket engine to slow its approach to the planet and get caught by its gravity. A sequence of tones transmitted from the spacecraft confirmed the braking manoeuvre had gone as planned. Receipt of the radio messages prompted wild cheering at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “All stations on Juno co-ord, we have the tone for burn cut-off on Delta V,” Juno Mission Control had announced. “Roger Juno, welcome to Jupiter.” Scientists plan to use the spacecraft to sense the planet’s deep interior. They think the structure and the chemistry of its insides hold clues to how this giant world formed some four-and-a-half-billion years ago. Engineers had warned in advance that the engine firing was fraught with danger. No previous spacecraft has dared pass so close to Jupiter; its intense radiation belts can destroy unprotected electronics. One calculation even suggested the orbit insertion would have subjected Juno to a dose equivalent to a million dental X-rays. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Mission Juno – NASA

Other News Stories –

Armed attacks and conflicts

Iraqi Civil War
- Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. airstrikes, advance north towards ISIL-held Qayyarah Airfield West south of Mosul. (Reuters)
- The United Nations reports a mortar attack on a camp for displaced Iraqis south of Baghdad kills three people, including two children, and injures 13 others, two critically. (The New York Times)
Terrorism in Indonesia
- A suicide bomber attacks a police station in Solo, Indonesia, killing himself and injuring a police officer. Solo is the birthplace of President Joko Widodo. (Time) (Reuters)
Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
- Suspected Allied Democratic Forces rebels hack nine people to death in the village of Oicha, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Reuters)
Syrian civil war, ISIL involvement
- A suicide bomb explosion in Kurdish-controlled Al-Hasakah in northeastern Syria kills at least 16 people, including three children and two women. ISIL claims responsibility. (Reuters)

Business and economics

International sanctions during the Ukrainian crisis
- The Central Bank of Russia announces it will start buying the Chinese yuan in an attempt to diversify its foreign-currency reserves away from the Euro and the U.S. dollar and to become less vulnerable to Western sanctions. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Disasters and accidents

At least seven people are killed and eight are injured after a helicopter carrying Turkish Armed Forces personnel crashes in Turkey‘s northern Giresun Province, on the Black Sea coast. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Human rights in the Philippines; Philippine Drug War
- Dozens of petty criminals and alleged drug addicts die in the Philippines within a few days after Rodrigo Duterte took the presidency. He actively encouraged extrajudicial killing of drug addicts and petty criminals before and after the election. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian)
Protests occur in the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S., after a man, Alton Sterling is fatally shot by a police officer. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

European migrant crisis
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announces that the country will hold a referendum on October 2 where voters will get to choose whether or not to accept European Union-imposed quotas on the distribution of migrants. (BBC)
Hillary Clinton email investigation
- The FBI recommends, with numerous reservations about her actions, no charges be filed against Hillary Clinton over her emails. (BBC) (The New York Times)
July 2016 Baghdad bombings
- Iraqi Interior Minister Mohammed Salem Al-Ghabban says he has submitted his resignation. Al-Ghabban cited a lack of “coordination among security systems” demonstrated by Sunday’s bombings in Baghdad that killed over 200 people and injured at least 175 others. No report yet that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has accepted this resignation. (CNN) (The New York Times)
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2016
- Home Secretary Theresa May gets 165 votes after the first ballot of Conservative members of parliament to select a new Leader and the next Prime Minister. Her nearest rival, Minister of State for Energy Andrea Leadsom, picked up 66 votes. Secretary of State for Justice Michael Gove won 48 votes, and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Stephen Crabb got 34 votes. Former Secretary of State for Defence Liam Fox is eliminated from consideration as he received just 16. Later, Crabb pulled out of the race and endorsed front-runner Theresa May. Fox also endorsed May. (Reuters) (Sky News)(Reuters²)

Science and technology

NASA‘s Juno spacecraft reaches Jupiter and enters into its orbit after a five-year flight. (BBC)
Cybersecurity software maker Check Point reports HummingBad malware has infected at least 10 million Android devices, mostly in China and India. Check Point says a team of developers based in Beijing is behind HummingBad which gives hackers administrative-level access to infected devices. Apple devices have been hit by similar malware. (Time)

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July 7, 2016

Top News Stories –

Marion Bartoli: Former Wimbledon champion ‘fears for life’ over unknown virus –
Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli says she “fears for her life” after contracting an unknown virus that has caused her dramatic weight loss. France’s Bartoli was barred from playing in an invitational event at Wimbledon this week after doctors expressed fears over her health. Bartoli, who insists she is not anorexic, says the virus is so rare medical experts have no name for it. “This is not life. I am just surviving,” said the 31-year-old. Bartoli says she can only eat organic salad leaves and cucumbers without skins, and has to wash with mineral water rather than tap water. [BBC]
Marion Bartoli

The final image sent by doomed Japanese Hitomi satellite –
A doomed Japanese satellite managed to capture a view of a galaxy cluster 250 million light years away just before it died, scientists have revealed. Launched in February, the Hitomi X-ray satellite began tumbling out of control in March when contact was finally lost. Just before its demise, scientists managed to extract data measuring X-ray activity in the Perseus galaxy cluster. Hitomi, which translates as the pupil of the eye in Japanese, was meant to spend years studying the formation of galaxy clusters and the warping of space and time around black holes. It cost more than a quarter of a billion dollars – the research was an international collaboration involving the American space agency Nasa, and teams in Japan and many other countries, including one at Cambridge University in the UK. Hitomi was lost thanks to a sensor incorrectly detecting a roll in the spacecraft. In trying to correct it, on-board systems sent the craft into a spin until finally the solar panels that powered it are thought to have broken off. [BBC]
Hitomi Perseus image [HITOMI COLLABORATION/JAXA, NASA, ESA, SRON, CSA]

Video of the Day –

Movie Credits from Alex Cline on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Terrorism in Bangladesh
- A group of radical Islamists hurl homemade bombs at police officers in the Kishoreganj District in central Bangladesh killing at least one officer and injuring several others. (AP via ABC News)
Colombian conflict
- The Eastern Bloc of the FARC-EP, a unit of the FARC rebel group, announces its rejection of the recent ceasefire signed by its leader Timoleón Jiménez and the Colombian government of President Juan Manuel Santos, declaring it will not lay down its arms and demobilize and will continue to fight the government. (Reuters via The Guardian)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- At least 35 people are killed and 60 others injured in an attack on a Shiite mausoleum located in north of Baghdad. Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant have claimed responsibility. (Fox News), (Reuters)

Business and economy

French food company Danone agrees to buy American company WhiteWave Foods for $10 billion. (The New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Pacific typhoon season
- Taiwan and China brace for the impact of Typhoon Nepartak, the first major typhoon of 2016. Thousands of people have been evacuated in Taiwan while over 35,000 military personnel have been placed on standby to help with relief efforts. (CNN) (ABC News)
- Typhoon Nepartak is expected to make landfall on mainland China on Friday and will make flooding worse. Nearly 200 people have died in flood waters in China in the past week with 41 people missing, 1.6 million relocated and almost 50,000 houses collapsed. (The Telegraph)
At least five workers are killed after a wall collapses on them at a recycling plant in Birmingham, England. (BBC)
A section of a Taiwanese commuter train car explodes near Songshan Station, injuring at least 21 people, some of them seriously. (AP via The New York Times) (CNA)

International relations

Ukraine–United States relations
- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Kiev, Ukraine, where he is expected to discuss ways of ending the conflict in the east of the country. The visit, along with his visit to Georgia yesterday, comes ahead of the NATO summit in Warsaw that will take place tomorrow. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Cuba–United States relations
- The United States tentatively approves eight, of 12 that applied, airlines for flights from 10 U.S. cities to Havana as early as this fall: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines,JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines. Last month, flights were approved from five U.S. cities to nine other international airports. (Reuters) (US DOT)

Law and crime

Human rights in the Philippines; Philippine Drug War
- The Philippines House of Representatives seeks to investigate the rise in deaths of suspected drug dealers in the country. (GMA News)
Rape in Germany
- Germany’s parliament passes a new law saying that it is rape to have sex with a person who says “No” to the sex. Under the previous law, sex was not considered rape unless the victim fought back. The new law also classifies groping as a sex crime, makes it easier to deport migrants who commit sex offences, and makes it easier to prosecute assaults committed by a large group. (BBC)
A French court sentences two former Rwandan mayors of the town of Kabarondo to life in prison on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide committed during the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. During the genocide, Hutu extremists massacred over 2,000 Tutsi who sought refuge in the town. (BBC)
Vatican leaks scandal, Journalistic freedom
- In a so-called VatiLeaks case, a Vatican City Court dismisses charges of publishing confidential information against two Italian journalists stating it lacked jurisdiction in this case. Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigi Nuzzi wrote books on the inner workings of the Vatican. The court did convict a Vatican priest to 18 months, and assessed a 10-month suspended sentence on an Italian communications expert, for conspiring to pass documents to the journalists; a fifth defendant was cleared of all charges. (AP) (The Guardian) (Catholic News)
Shooting of Philando Castile
- Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton requests a Justice Department investigation of last night’s fatal police shooting of Philando Castile (an African-American) during a traffic stop. Castile’s girlfriend, Lavish Reynolds, streamed the incident live over Facebook. It showed Castile had been shot several times and was slumped against Reynolds; he died in Minneapolis’s Hennepin County Medical Center. (The New York Times) (CBS News)
- Gov. Dayton says, “Would this have happened if those passengers, the driver and the passengers, were white? I don’t think it would have. So I’m forced to confront, and I think all of us in Minnesota are forced to confront, that this kind of racism exists.” (NPR) (Wall Street Journal)
Dallas police shooting
- Eleven police officers are shot, with five dying of gunshot wounds in Dallas, Texas during a protest against two black men killed within a day of each other. Police kill the shooter with a bomb delivered on a bomb defusing robot. (New York Post)(KTLA)(NBC DFW), (ABC News Australia)

Politics and elections

2016 Zimbabwe protests
- Zimbabwean authorities arrest dozens of protesters as anti-government protests spread across the country. (Al Jazeera)
Australian federal election, 2016
- Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s Liberal/National coalition, behind Bill Shorten‘s Labor Party in the first 48 hours following Saturday’s election, is now ahead of Labor in the Lower House, 74-71 seats; 76 seats are needed to form a government. Minor parties and independents have won five seats; mail-in and absentee votes are still being counted. Turnbull is on the road today seeking support from a small handful of independent and small party lawmakers. (Reuters) (The Australian) (Daily Mail)
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2016
- Conservative Party members of parliament vote in a second ballot to choose the next leader of the party to replace outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron. The Home Secretary Theresa May secured the highest number votes with 199, while Department of Energy and Climate Change minister Andrea Leadsom received the second highest amount, with 84. The Secretary of State for Justice Michael Govereceived just 46 votes and is eliminated from the race, meaning a run-off contest will now take place between May and Leadsom, with the result to be announced on September 9. (AP via Daily Mail)(BBC)
Hillary Clinton email scandal
- The United States Department of State reopens an investigation into the possible mishandling of classified information by former Secretary of State and presumptive Democratic Party presidential nomineeHillary Clinton and her top aides. (AP via Seattle Times)

Science and technology

Scientists manage to extract one last image from the Hitomi x-ray spacecraft, which broke up last March while orbiting Earth. Before it died, the spacecraft captured an image which measured the X-ray activity of the Perseus cluster. (BBC)

Sport

Attorneys for 80-year old American pro football legend and Hall of Famer Paul Hornung, who has dementia, sue Riddell sports equipment manufacturer, stating its helmets failed to protect Hornung from brain injury. The suit says Hornung suffered multiple concussions as a player and his neurodegenerative disease has been linked to repetitive head trauma. (AP)

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July 10, 2016

Top News Stories –

Andy Murray wins Wimbledon by beating Milos Raonic –
Britain’s Andy Murray became Wimbledon champion for the second time with a superb performance against Canadian sixth seed Milos Raonic in the final. The Scot, 29, dismantled the Raonic serve in a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) victory to repeat his triumph of 2013 and claim a third Grand Slam title. Murray is the first British man to win multiple Wimbledon singles titles since Fred Perry in 1935. “I’m proud to have my hands on the trophy again,” said Murray. [BBC]
Andy Murray

Euro 2016: Portugal beats France 1-0 in extra-time through Eder wondergoal to claim first title –
A dramatic wondergoal from striker Eder has won Portugal its first European championship, breaking French hearts with a 1-0 win at the Stade de France. After a goalless 90 minutes, most notable for an early injury to Cristiano Ronaldo and the influx of moths that took over the stadium, Portugal began to take over the match in extra-time and substitute Eder proved the match-winner. After cutting inside past two French defenders, the Lille striker unleashed on his right boot past Hugo Lloris, stunning the vocal home crowd and sending the Portugal bench into euphoria.

Eder (R)

Video of the Day –

NB Underground from New Balance Numeric on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Wimbledon Mens Champions in Open Era

Year	Country	Champion	Country	Runner-up	Score in the final
1968	AUS	Rod Laver	AUS	Tony Roche	6–3, 6-4, 6–2
1969	AUS	Rod Laver	AUS	John Newcombe	6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–4
1970	AUS	John Newcombe	AUS	Ken Rosewall	5–7, 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1
1971	AUS	John Newcombe	USA	Stan Smith	6–3, 5–7, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4
1972	USA	Stan Smith	ROU	Ilie Năstase	4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 7–5
1973	TCH	Jan Kodeš	URS	Alex Metreveli	6–1, 9–8^(7–5), 6–3
1974	USA	Jimmy Connors	AUS	Ken Rosewall	6–1, 6–1, 6–4
1975	USA	Arthur Ashe	USA	Jimmy Connors	6–1, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4
1976	SWE	Björn Borg	ROU	Ilie Năstase	6–4, 6–2, 9–7
1977	SWE	Björn Borg	USA	Jimmy Connors	3–6, 6–2, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4
1978	SWE	Björn Borg	USA	Jimmy Connors	6–2, 6–2, 6–3
1979	SWE	Björn Borg	USA	Roscoe Tanner	6–7^(4–7), 6–1, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
1980	SWE	Björn Borg	USA	John McEnroe	1–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–7^(16–18), 8–6
1981	USA	John McEnroe	SWE	Björn Borg	4–6, 7–6^(7–1), 7–6^(7–4), 6–4
1982	USA	Jimmy Connors	USA	John McEnroe	3–6, 6–3, 6–7^(2–7), 7–6^(7–5), 6–4
1983	USA	John McEnroe	NZL	Chris Lewis	6–2, 6–2, 6–2
1984	USA	John McEnroe	USA	Jimmy Connors	6–1, 6–1, 6–2
1985	FRG	Boris Becker	ZAF	Kevin Curren	6–3, 6–7^(4–7), 7–6^(7–3), 6–4
1986	FRG	Boris Becker	TCH	Ivan Lendl	6–4, 6–3, 7–5
1987	AUS	Pat Cash	TCH	Ivan Lendl	7–6^(7–5), 6–2, 7–5
1988	SWE	Stefan Edberg	FRG	Boris Becker	4–6, 7–6^(7–2), 6–4, 6–2
1989	FRG	Boris Becker	SWE	Stefan Edberg	6–0, 7–6^(7–1), 6–4
1990	SWE	Stefan Edberg	FRG	Boris Becker	6–2, 6–2, 3–6, 3–6, 6–4
1991	GER	Michael Stich	GER	Boris Becker	6–4, 7–6^(7–4), 6–4
1992	USA	Andre Agassi	CRO	Goran Ivanišević	6–7^(8–10), 6–4, 6–4, 1–6, 6–4
1993	USA	Pete Sampras	USA	Jim Courier	7–6^(7–3), 7–6^(8–6), 3–6, 6–3
1994	USA	Pete Sampras	CRO	Goran Ivanišević	7–6^(7–2), 7–6^(7–5), 6–0
1995	USA	Pete Sampras	GER	Boris Becker	6–7^(5–7), 6–2, 6–4, 6–2
1996	NED	Richard Krajicek	USA	MaliVai Washington	6–3, 6–4, 6–3
1997	USA	Pete Sampras	FRA	Cédric Pioline	6–4, 6–2, 6–4
1998	USA	Pete Sampras	CRO	Goran Ivanišević	6–7^(2–7), 7–6^(11–9), 6–4, 3–6, 6–2
1999	USA	Pete Sampras	USA	Andre Agassi	6–3, 6–4, 7–5
2000	USA	Pete Sampras	AUS	Patrick Rafter	6–7^(10–12), 7–6^(7–5), 6–4, 6–2
2001	CRO	Goran Ivanišević	AUS	Patrick Rafter	6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 9–7
2002	AUS	Lleyton Hewitt	ARG	David Nalbandian	6–1, 6–3, 6–2
2003	SUI	Roger Federer	AUS	Mark Philippoussis	7–6^(7–5), 6–2, 7–6^(7–3)
2004	SUI	Roger Federer	USA	Andy Roddick	4–6, 7–5, 7–6^(7–3), 6–4
2005	SUI	Roger Federer	USA	Andy Roddick	6–2, 7–6^(7–2), 6–4
2006	SUI	Roger Federer	ESP	Rafael Nadal	6–0, 7–6^(7–5), 6–7^(2–7), 6–3
2007	SUI	Roger Federer	ESP	Rafael Nadal	7–6^(9–7), 4–6, 7–6^(7–3), 2–6, 6–2
2008	ESP	Rafael Nadal	SUI	Roger Federer	6–4, 6–4, 6–7^(5–7), 6–7^(8–10), 9–7
2009	SUI	Roger Federer	USA	Andy Roddick	5–7, 7–6^(8–6), 7–6^(7–5), 3–6, 16–14
2010	ESP	Rafael Nadal	CZE	Tomáš Berdych	6–3, 7–5, 6–4
2011	SRB	Novak Djokovic	ESP	Rafael Nadal	6–4, 6–1, 1–6, 6–3
2012	SUI	Roger Federer	GBR	Andy Murray	4–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–4
2013	GBR	Andy Murray	SRB	Novak Djokovic	6–4, 7–5, 6–4
2014	SRB	Novak Djokovic	SUI	Roger Federer	6–7^(7–9), 6–4, 7–6^(7–4), 5–7, 6–4
2015	SRB	Novak Djokovic	SUI	Roger Federer	7–6^(7–1), 6–7^(10–12), 6–4, 6–3
2016	GBR	Andy Murray	CAN	Milos Raonic	6–4, 7–6^(7–3), 7–6^(7–2)

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

South Sudanese Civil War
- An estimated 272 people have been killed between rival Sudan People’s Liberation Army factions as clashes in the capital, Juba, continue. According to a spokesman for rebel leader and Vice PresidentRiek Machar, South Sudan is “back to war” despite a peace deal being reached last April. (Al Jazeera) (BBC)
Hamza bin Laden, the son of the slain Osama bin Laden, threatens a genocide against the United States to retaliate for his father’s killing. (News.com.au)

Arts and culture

An ancient Philistine cemetery has been unearthed in Israel. (BBC)

International relations

Foreign relations of the United States
- The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain issue a travel warning for their citizens heading to American cities where protests are occuring following ethnic tensions in the country. This comes after The Bahamas issued its own travel warning yesterday, after the shooting of Dallas police officers. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

Kem Ley, a popular Cambodian political commentator and frequent critic of Prime Minister Hun Sen, is shot dead at a gas station in Phnom Penh. (Cambodia Daily)

Politics and elections

Japanese House of Councillors election, 2016
- Voters in Japan go to the polls with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its Komeito partners looking for a two-thirds majority that will allow them to put forward a referendum to change the constitution. The governing parties won 70 of the 121 seats. (AAP via SBS), (Bloomberg), (AP via Crossroads Today)
Australian federal election, 2016
- The Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, concedes defeat as continued counting in marginal seats indicates that the governing coalition of the Liberal Party and National Party will either win a narrow majority or be able to govern with the support of independents. Malcolm Turnbull will continue as Prime Minister of Australia and has claimed victory. (Reuters), (The Guardian)
Shooting of Alton Sterling and Shooting of Philando Castile
- Protests continue in multiple cities across the United States following the death of two black men by police. Numerous confrontations and arrests have been reported. (Reuters)

Sport

2016 Wimbledon Championships – Men’s Singles
- In tennis, Andy Murray of Scotland defeats Canadian Milos Raonic in the finals of the men’s singles to win his second Wimbledon championship. It is the first time that a men’s Wimbledon final has not featured Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic since 2002. (Wimbledon official live updates)
UEFA Euro 2016 Final
- In football, host nation France plays against Portugal for the 2016 UEFA European Championship at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. Portugal wins 1–0 with an Éder goal in extra time. (UEFA official)(BBC), (ABC News Australia)

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July 11, 2016

Top News Stories –

Prime Minister-in-waiting Theresa May promises ‘a better Britain’ –
Theresa May promised to build a “better Britain” and to make the UK’s EU exit a “success” after she was announced as the new Tory leader and soon-to-be PM. Speaking outside Parliament, Mrs May said she was “honoured and humbled” to succeed David Cameron, after her only rival in the race withdrew on Monday. Mr Cameron will tender his resignation to the Queen after PMQs on Wednesday. Mr Cameron, who has been UK prime minister since 2010, decided to quit after the UK’s Brexit vote. It follows another day of dramatic developments in the political world, when Andrea Leadsom unexpectedly quit the two-way Conservative leadership contest, saying she did not have the support to build “a strong and stable government”. Her decision left Mrs May – the front runner – as the only candidate to take over leading the party and to therefore become prime minister. [BBC]
Theresa May

Video of the Day –

The Foley Artist sees a master of sound at work on a fashion film. If you’ve ever wanted to see the chasm between the finished product and the extraordinary lengths taken to produce it, this short is for you.

The Foley Artist from Feast Films on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Somalia
- At least 10 Somali Armed Forces soldiers and 12 Al-Shabaab militants are killed in fighting near the town of Afgooye, Lower Shabelle. (Al Jazeera)
Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
- 2016 Kashmir unrest
  - At least 30 civilians have been killed by Indian Army soldiers as anti-government protests and violence spread across the state. (CNN-News18)
Syrian Civil War
- Rebels in Aleppo launch an assault on government-controlled areas in the city. This comes after the Syrian Army blocked off the only road leading into opposition-controlled areas. According to state media, at least eight people have been killed and dozens more are wounded. (BBC)
Iraqi Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL
- The United States announces it will be sending 560 more United States Armed Forces soldiers to Iraq to help fight against ISIL. (BBC)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli forces level land east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News)

Arts and culture

The 127 people who were massacred in the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 and were subsequently discovered in mass graves are buried at the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial following a funeral. For the first time, Bosnian Serbs were not welcome to attend the ceremony. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Floods resulting from the annual monsoon season cause 22 deaths and make 100,000 people homeless in India. (Reuters via Channel News Asia)
A Lockheed C-130 Hercules owned by the Portuguese Armed Forces catches fire while taking off from Montijo Air Base, killing at least three people. (Reuters)

Law and crime

St. Joseph courthouse shooting
- At least three people die, including the shooter, in a shooting at the Berrien County courthouse in the U.S. state of Michigan. (Washington Examiner)

Politics and elections

2016 Zimbabwe protests
- Protest leader, Evan Mawarire, asks the international community to put pressure on the regime of Robert Mugabe. (The Guardian)
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2016
- Andrea Leadsom withdraws from the leadership election meaning that Theresa May will become the next leader of the Conservative Party and next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. (The Guardian)
- Prime Minister David Cameron announces he will step down on Wednesday, July 13. (BBC)
Labour Party (UK) leadership crisis, 2016
- The former Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Angela Eagle formally announces her bid to become the new leader of the Labour Party after Jeremy Corbyn refused calls to resign. (ITV News)

Sport

The Ultimate Fighting Championship Mixed Martial Arts competition is sold to a consortium led by Hollywood talent agents WME-IMG. (AP)
In basketball, Tim Duncan, who played his entire 19-season NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, where he won five NBA titles and two MVP awards, made 15 All-Star appearances and made the All-NBAfirst team 10 times, announces his retirement. (ESPN)

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July 12, 2016

Top News Stories –

Hitler house: Austria moves to stop Neo-Nazi ‘cult site’ –
Austria’s government is to seize the house where Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 to prevent it becoming a site of pilgrimage for neo-Nazis. The owner, a retired local woman, has refused repeated offers to buy the house in Braunau am Inn in the past. However, there is disagreement over what to do with the house next. The interior minister wants it demolished but others say a museum or even a supermarket would more effectively “depoliticise” it. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Vorticity (4K) from Mike Olbinski on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

South Sudanese Civil War
- After five days of fighting that left 272 people dead and thousands more displaced in the capital, Juba, President Salva Kiir Mayardit and rebel leader and Vice-President Riek Machar declare a ceasefire.(Al Jazeera)
Iraqi Civil War
- A car bomb explodes at an outdoor market in Baghdad, killing at least 12 people and injuring 20 more. Bombings elsewhere in Iraq kill five more people. (Al Jazeera) (AP)

Arts and culture

Restoration work at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Palestine reveals a hidden angel mosaic. (Wafa) (Daily Mail)

Business and economics

AMC Theatres is purchasing London-based Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group in a deal valued at about £921 million ($1.21 billion). AMC has 385 theaters with 5,380 screens, most in the United States. Odeon & UCI has 242 theaters and 2,236 screens in the U.K. and Ireland. AMC noted its $1.1 billion (£835 million) acquisition of Columbus, Georgia’s Carmike Cinemas (276 thrs/2,954 scrs) is still in the works. (AP)(USA Today)

Disasters and accidents

Andria train collision
- 23 people are killed and 50 others are injured after two trains collide head-on near Andria in the province of Puglia, southern Italy. (BBC)

International relations

Philippines v. China
- The Permanent Court of Arbitration rules in favor of the Philippines against China over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. (The New York Times), (The Guardian)
- The court unanimously says that China has “no historical rights” based on the so-called “nine-dash line” map. (CNN), (BBC)
- China rejects the tribunal’s ruling, declaring it null and void. Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterates the South China Sea has been Chinese territory since “ancient times.” (AP)

Law and crime

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of Kyrgyzstan revokes Azimzhan Askarov‘s life sentence and sends the case to a lower court to be reviewed. A prominent Kyrgyz political activist and recognizedprisoner of conscience of Uzbek ethnicity, Askarov was convicted in 2011 of stirring up ethnic violence in 2010 between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in southern Kyrgyzstan and sentenced to life in prison. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
2016 Zimbabwe protests
- Evan Mawarire, the most visible leader of the protests in Zimbabwe, is arrested and charged with “inciting public violence and disturbing peace.” (BBC)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders endorses Democratic Party rival Hillary Clinton for president at a rally in New Hampshire, effectively suspending his presidential campaign. (NBC News)
2016 state of emergency in Venezuela
- Citibank notifies the Venezuelan government it will close the accounts of the Venezuelan Central Bank and the Bank of Venezuela in 30 days after conducting a “periodic risk management review.” Venezuela relies on Citibank to conduct foreign currency transactions due to the country’s strict currency controls. (UPI)

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December 25, 2016

Top News Stories –

Ex-Wham! singer George Michael dies –
Singer George Michael has died aged 53, his publicist has said. The star, who launched his career with Wham! in the 1980s and later continued his success as a solo performer, is said to have “passed away peacefully at home”. Thames Valley Police said South Central Ambulance Service attended a property in Goring in Oxfordshire at 13:42 GMT. Police say there were no suspicious circumstances. Michael, who was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in north London, sold more than 100m albums throughout a career spanning almost four decades. Earlier this month it was announced that producer and songwriter Naughty Boy was working with Michael on a new album. In a statement, the star’s publicist said: “It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period. [BBC]
Michael performing on stage on the Faith World Tour in 1988.

Other News Stories –

Arts and culture

Pope Francis pleads for peace in a Christmas Mass in the Vatican. (Voice of America)

Business and economy

Bezeq, an Israeli telecoms company, says that it has received word from the country’s telecoms regulator that it will be allowed to end the “structural separation” of its business operations by product (i.e. mobile phone, internet, land lines). (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Chiloé earthquake
- A magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Chile spurs tsunami warnings. (BBC)
2016 Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 crash
- A Russian Tu-154 military passenger airplane carrying 92 people including the Alexandrov Ensemble crashes into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff from Sochi. The airplane was headed towards Khmeimim, Syria. The Russian Armed Forces are actively involved in the Syrian Civil War. (The Telegraph) (Al Jazeera) (FOX News)
2016 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Nock-ten (Nina) strikes the Philippines. (BBC)
The German city of Augsburg is evacuated after a World War II-era explosive is discovered in the town. Explosive experts later defused the bomb. (The New York Times)

Health

Medical research reveals shrinkage in women’s brains as a result of pregnancy. Loss of gray matter in certain regions of the brain may make the brain more efficient and specialized for child-rearing. There is also evidence of links to long-term changes in brain. (ScienceNews) (Nature)

International relations

Afghanistan‘s first female Air Force pilot Niloofar Rahmani files for asylum in the United States. (Reuters)
Pakistan releases Indian fishermen caught in its territory as a gesture of goodwill. (Deutsche Welle)

Law and crime

2016 Turkish purges
- Turkey probes around 10,000 social media users for allegedly insulting government officials or supporting “terror-related activity.” (BBC)
A producer of Al Jazeera is arrested in Egypt. (Reuters)

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