Top News Stories –

Tom Holland is announced as the new Marvel Spider-Man –
Tom Holland, who was in Wolf Hall and the stage musical Billy Elliot, has grabbed the lead in the franchise reboot. Marvel and Sony confirmed the news in a statement on their website. The 19-year-old takes over from Andrew Garfield for the new film which is due out July 2017. In a statement posted on their website, Marvel said: “Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are proud to announce that after a full worldwide casting search, Tom Holland will play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the next Spider-Man film.” The statement also said: “The studios and producers were impressed by Holland’s performances in The Impossible, Wolf Hall, and the upcoming In the Heart of the Sea, and by a series of complex screen tests.” [BBC Newsbeat] He celebrated with some acrobatic videos on his Instagram account
Tom Holland

Titanic composer James Horner dies in plane crash –
The composer James Horner, who won Oscars for the theme song and score for the film Titanic, has died in a plane crash in California. He was 61. His credits included numerous other high-profile films, among them Avatar, Braveheart and Aliens. He was alone in his two-seater plane when the accident happened. [BBC]

Formula 1: US-Qatari investors ‘to bid for sport’ –
The Miami Dolphins American football team owner Stephen Ross is reportedly working with investors from Qatar to buy a stake in Formula 1 racing. RSE Ventures and Qatar Sports Investments plan a bid for CVC Capital Partners’ 35.5% stake in the holding company that owns F1. The Financial Times and Reuters said the deal could be worth up to $8bn, and help build F1’s presence in the US. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

7 Days in Hell: Trailer (HBO)

Top Twitter Trends –

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL
  • The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) capture the military base Brigade 93 and enter the town of Ayn Issa, the first defense line of ISILnorth of its de facto capital al-Raqqah.
  • ISIL claims it has started the destruction of the ancient complex of Palmyra. (euronews)

Arts and culture

• South Korean author Shin Kyung-sook admits to plagiarising a short story from Japanese author Yukio Mishima. (AP)
• Australian author Sofie Laguna wins the Miles Franklin Award for her novel The Eye of the Sheep. (ABC News Australia)

Business and economy

• The deputy speaker of the Greek parliament, Alexis Mitropoulos, warns that the body may reject concessions the government had made to the country’s creditors. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2015 Pakistani heat wave
  • The death toll from the 2015 Pakistan heatwave rises to 450. (AFP via Yahoo News)

Health

• South Sudan declares a cholera outbreak after 18 people die and 171 are infected. (Al-Jazeera), (REUTERS)

International relations

• Hungary unilaterally suspends European Union asylum seeker rules that require it to take back people who first enter Hungary, then travel to other nations. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Charleston church shooting
  • Amazon.com announces that it is removing Confederate Flag merchandise from sale following the shootings. (Time)

Sport

• The suspension appeal hearings for Tom Brady‘s 4-game suspension over Deflategate begin today. (New York Times)

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