Top News Stories –

Sport Relief: Shearer beats Savage in 57-hour five-a-side epic –
Alan Shearer’s team have beaten Robbie Savage’s squad by 18 goals in a 57-hour five-a-side game for Sport Relief. Shearer, who captained the Match of the Day team, beat Savage, who led the BBC 5 live team with 547 goals to 529. More than 1,100 people played in the snow and rain outside BBC MediaCityUK in Salford since 09:15 on Thursday, raising £370,592 for Sport Relief. All-time Premier League top goal-scorer Shearer was presented his winning trophy by Gary Lineker. After scoring in extra time of the last game, Shearer said the challenge had tired him out. “My back, my thighs, my knees – they’re all in bits but it was all worth it.” The 57-hour duration of the match was chosen because it is the equivalent of a Premier League club’s entire season. The Premier League is matching all of the public’s donations up to a maximum of £500,000. The money will go towards helping disadvantaged people in the UK and overseas. [BBC]
Alan Shearer

Email inventor Ray Tomlinson dies at 74 –
Internet pioneer Ray Tomlinson, who is credited with the invention of email, has died at the age of 74. The US computer programmer came up with the idea of electronic messages that could be sent from one network to another in 1971. His invention included the ground-breaking use of the @ symbol in email addresses, which is now standard. Tomlinson died of an apparent heart attack on Saturday, according to reports. He sent what is now regarded as the first email while working in Boston as an engineer for research company Bolt, Beranek and Newman. [BBC]
Ray Tomlinson in 2004

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SAGE “August In Paris” from LABELGUM on Vimeo.

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Armed conflicts and attacks

• Taliban insurgency
  • The Afghan Taliban releases a statement rejecting peace talks with the government of Afghanistan until foreign forces stop attacking their positions and withdraw from the country. Direct peace talks between the government and the Taliban were expected to take place in Islamabad, Pakistan next week. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
• Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
  • Second battle of Aden
    • Gunmen shoot dead the police chief of Aden‘s Tawahi district and one of his aides. (Reuters)

Business and economy

• China announces plans to build a railway linking the Tibetan capital Lhasa with Chengdu. (Channel News Asia)

Disasters and accidents

• More than 60 people are hospitalized after an engine explodes on a crowded Bangkok, Thailand, commuter boat. Police suspect a liquefied natural gas leak caused the blast. The boat operator has been ordered to use diesel fuel only on its 25-boat fleet. (AP) (International Business Times)

International relations

• North Korea–Philippines relations
  • The Philippines impounds a North Korean cargo ship in line with new UN sanctions on North Korea in response to Pyongyang‘s recent nuclear test and missile launch. Presidential spokesman, Manolo Quezon, said the 6,830-tonne cargo ship would not be allowed to leave the Port of Subic, Luzon, where it has been docked for three days, and that its crew would be deported. (The Straits Times)

Law and crime

• Media freedom in Turkey
  • Turkish police fire tear gas at protesters outside the Istanbul headquarters of the Zaman newspaper which has been taken over by the Turkish government. (BBC)
• Gunmen dressed in police uniforms kill at least ten people in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016, Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
  • Voters in the states of Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, Maine, and Kentucky, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico participate in a party caucus or vote in a primary election. (Presidential Primary Schedule)
  • Ted Cruz wins the Republican Party caucus in Kansas and Maine. (CBS News), (The Guardian)
  • Donald Trump wins the Louisiana primary and Kentucky caucus. (ABC News), (New York Times)
  • Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic Party contests in Kansas and Nebraska while Hillary Clinton wins in Louisiana. (CNN), (Washington Post), (NOLA), (CNN)
• Slovak parliamentary election, 2016
  • Voters in Slovakia choose representatives for all 150 National Council seats. While anti-migrant Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer party is expected to lose its parliamentary majority, it should be in position to lead a coalition government. (Reuters via Firstpost) (New Europe), (Bloomberg)
• Samoan general election, 2016
  • Results from yesterday’s election indicate that the ruling Human Rights Protection Party will retain power in a landslide. (ABC News Australia)
• Anti-corruption campaign in China:
  • The former party chief of Liaoning and Jilin provinces, Wang Min, is placed under investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. (SCMP)

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