Central African Republic

August 8, 2015

Top News Stories –

Ashes 2015: England hammer Australia to regain the urn –
England regained the Ashes after wrapping up a spectacular victory over Australia on the third morning of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge. The hosts took Australia’s three remaining second-innings wickets in 39 minutes to win by an innings and 78 runs. Ben Stokes took the day’s first wicket to finish with 6-36 before Mark Wood clinched the victory by bowling Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. England’s second successive three-day triumph gives them an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series with one match to play. After skittling Australia for 60 runs on day one, England made 391-9 declared before reducing the tourists to 241-7 at the end of day two. [BBC]

Twitter launches football ‘hashflags’ for start of new Premier League season –
Twitter has launched a new set of hashflags to coincide with the start of the new Premier League season. Tweeting the club’s hashtag will bring up that team’s crest and putting them together will bring up both images next to each other. So Liverpool is #LFC and Everton is #EFC but #EFCLFC will bring up hashflags for the Merseyside derby. Putting #BPL and #BPLKickoff in your tweet will put the Premier League trophy next to it. #FPL brings up the league’s logo. The new hashflags are available on the opening weekend of the season (until midnight on Monday) as well as key points through the year, such as transfer deadline day and the final run-in. Oh – and Twitter’s now calling hashflags Twitter emojis BTW. [BBC Newsbeat] See List of the Day below

Video of the Day –

List of the Day –

Premier League hashflags

Bournemouth – #AFCB

Arsenal – #Arsenal

Aston Villa – #AVFC

Chelsea – #CFC

Tottenham – #COYS

Crystal Palace – #CPFC

Everton – #EFC

Leicester City – #LCFC

Liverpool – #LFC

Manchester City – #MCFC

Manchester United – #MUFC

Norwich City – #NCFC

Newcastle United- #NUFC

Southampton – #SaintsFC

Stoke City – #SCFC

Sunderland – #SAFC

Swansea – #Swans

Watford – #WatfordFC

West Brom – #WBA

West Ham – #WHUFC

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#En3PalabrasTeDigoQue	#InternationalCatDay	#InternationalCatDay
2	#InternationalCatDay	#ChristianTaylor	#HappyBirthdayShawn
3	好きCP告白	Sean Price	#MakeAHorrorMovieHarmless
4	#ImposibleOlvidar	#HappyBirthdayShawn	#thankyouforexisting
5	#AlDubWeBelongTogether	Erick Erickson	Chantel
6	#HappyBirthdayShawn	High By The Beach	#COYS
7	High By The Beach	Ar Ab	James Holmes
8	#CBLOL	Roger Stone	Courtois
9	Sean Price	#MUFC	FOOTBALL IS BACK
10	Chantel	#thankyouforexisting	#ChristianTaylor

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- One NATO service member is killed, along with eight support staff and two Taliban insurgents, in an overnight attack on Camp Integrity in Kabul. (Reuters via Yahoo News), (AFP)
A hostage rescue operation in central Mali was successfully performed by British SAS forces after gunmen attack a hotel with at least seven people dead. (Daily Star)
Civil war in the Central African Republic
- A Rwandan soldier attached to MINUSCA goes on a shooting spree in Bangui, killing four fellow UN peacekeepers and injuring another eight before turning the gun on himself. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Soudelor makes landfall in Taiwan killing at least four people with four people missing and 64 injured. (CNA via Focus Taiwan), (AP via New York Times)
- Typhoon Soudelor makes landfall in mainland China in Fujian province with 250,000 having been evacuated from that province and Zhejiang province. (AFP via ABC News)

Law and crime

A man is in custody in Harris County, Texas, after six children and two adults are found dead in the American city of Houston. (KHOU)

Sports

In cricket, England regains The Ashes after taking an unbeatable lead of 3–1 in the 2015 Ashes series. Australian captain Michael Clarke announces his retirement. (BBC)
In rugby union, Australia wins the 2015 Rugby Championship with a 27–19 win over the New Zealand All Blacks. (WA Today)

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September 29, 2015

Top News Stories –

Barack Obama ‘flouted secret service rules’ for Bear Grylls challenge –
Bear Grylls has spoken of how President Obama flouted the protocol of his secret service to take up every challenge thrown at him, when he appeared on the survival guru’s television show last month. The British ex-SAS soldier and television host said Mr Obama’s security team were on tenterhooks, as he and the president spent the day trekking through the Alaskan wilderness filming a special episode of “Running Wild”. “We ended up doing everything and he loved it. Afterwards, I thought I was going to get a special telling off from the secret service guys, but they all laughed and had a good time.” Grylls said he was warned by Mr Obama’s protocol staff that he could not give the president any gifts. But at the end of the filming he gave him his knife and said that the president should keep it “as a last line of defence if anybody ever got through the secret service”. “I had a great email a few days later from his team saying that he absolutely loves the knife and he keeps playing with it! Boys love their toys,” he said. [Daily Telegraph]
Bear Grylls

Australia: Council seeks cash for kangaroo-proofing –
A drought-affected district in eastern Australia is asking for government help to protect its villages against a “plague” of thirsty kangaroos, it’s reported. The mayor of sparsely populated Barcoo Shire, in the state of Queensland, says hordes of kangaroos are causing concern among local people because they’re coming into residential areas looking for food and water, the Brisbane Times reports. “The sheer numbers, you can drive around and you’ll see a mob of kangaroos and you lose count after 120 or 130, they are in plague proportions,” says Mayor Julie Groves. The council has now applied for federal government funding to pay for about 55km (34 miles) of fencing to keep the animals out of villages, sports parks, cemeteries, and off the local air strip used by the flying doctor. [BBC]

Edward Snowden (@Snowden) joins Twitter –
American whistleblower Edward Snowden has joined Twitter, asking in his first tweet, “Can you hear me now?”. The 32-year-old immediately began following the National Security Agency’s (NSA) official account, the only organisation he has followed so far. Snowden, who is currently living at an undisclosed location in Russia after being granted asylum, links to Freedom of the Press Foundation’s Twitter account in his bio. The bio adds: “I used to work for the government. Now I work for the public.” He gained 100,000 followers within an hour of joining Twitter and has also been given a ‘verified’ blue tick. The former CIA contractor leaked tens of thousands of files from systems at the NSA in 2013 from which the techniques and methods of it and GCHQ were then exposed. He faces charges in the U.S. for leaking details of the once-secret surveillance programs. [Daily Telegraph]
Edward Snowden’s first tweet

Video of the Day –

Do It For Mom (Do it for Denmark)

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#NationalCoffeeDay	#NationalCoffeeDay	Log Lady
2	#FelizMartes	MacArthur	#InternationalCoffeeDay
3	Aaron Rodgers	#HappyBirthdayHalsey	#AutumnIn3Words
4	#NoTeOdioPero	#AutumnIn3Words	#WorldHeartDay
5	Ronaldinho	#StandWithPP	#LondonUpAFilm
6	#الهلال_الاهلي	#BLIK	#nb2015
7	#MePoneDeMalHumor	Ralph Lauren	#LeadersSpeech
8	#AutumnIn3Words	Derrick Rose	Aaron Rodgers
9	#ALDUBTheVoiceWithin	Larry Brown	#charitytuesday
10	Jim Carrey	#BeatLA	Callum Wilson

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- At least four people are killed in a bombing attack on Baghdad. (Euronews)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present), Battle of Kunduz
- Afghan National Security Forces start efforts to recapture the city of Kunduz. (CNN), (The News Hub)
- The U.S. Air Force launches air-strikes on Taliban forces within Kunduz. (The Washington Post)
2015 PKK rebellion
- Two police officers are gunned down by suspected PKK militants on the streets of Adana, southern Turkey. (Middle East Eye)
Gaza–Israel conflict
- At least one rocket is intercepted over Ashdod by Israel‘s Iron Dome missile defense system, and is believed to have come from the Gaza Strip. (Haaretz)
2015 Burkinabé coup d’état
- After a tense standoff, Burkina Faso’s military crushed the elite presidential guard and seized the coup’s abandoned headquarters. The former head of the guard, Gen. Gilbert Diendéré, had called on his men to lay down their weapons to avoid a bloodbath. Diendéré told Agence France-Presse (AFP) he feared “many deaths and injuries” in the operation. It is unclear whether there are casualties. (The New York Times) (BBC) (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Dujuan hits mainland China in Fujian province after hitting Taiwan, where it caused two deaths and injured 300. (AP via ABC News)

International relations

Amnesty International designates Cuban graffiti artist Danilo Maldonado Machado as a prisoner of conscience. (Reuters)

Law and crime

All 500 of the prisoners escape from the Ngaraba jail in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. (Reuters), (The Guardian)

Science and technology

Researchers discover a biofluorescent hawksbill sea turtle, glowing bright red and green, near the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. This is the first time scientists have found biofluorescence in a reptile in the wild. It is an critically endangeredspecies. (Live Science) (CNN)

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November 25, 2015

Top News Stories –

Adele’s album 25 breaks US record previously held by *NSYNC –
It’s not that much of a surprise, it was widely predicted, but Adele’s new album is doing quite well (understatement.) It’s broken the record for first week album sales in the US, selling 2.4 million copies since Friday.
The record was previously held by boy band *NSYNC and their second album, No Strings Attached, from 2000. Adele won’t be making the album available on music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music for now.
It takes a powerful artist to still do well despite not being on the big streaming services. Taylor Swift did it last year, withdrawing her material from Spotify. [BBC Newsbeat]
Adele

The condom challenge is the latest bizarre trend sweeping the internet –
It’s been at least a few weeks since the last ridiculous internet trend, so let us introduce the condom challenge. In apparent homage to the long-forgotten Ice Bucket Challenge, the new trend involves people filling up condoms with water and dropping it on the head of a friend, significant other or loved one. Videos of people dropping condoms full of water have been flooding social media feeds in recent weeks. [Daily Telegraph]
Condom Challenge

Queen asks judges to decide if DNA evidence can ‘uncover affair’ in Scottish hereditary title dispute –
Accountant Murray Pringle, 74, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and Simon Pringle, 56, a businessman who lives near Hastings, East Sussex, both lay claim to the baronetcy of Pringle of Stichill. The Queen has asked senior judges to make a decision on the dispute under a piece of legislation dating back more than 150 years. The men are both members of a Scottish family fighting over the rights to the baronetcy. Seven judges are now analysing evidence at a hearing of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The hearing was expected to finish on Wednesday but judges, who are all Supreme Court justices, are not expected to publish a ruling until next year. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Happy Place from sharp & jenkins on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#NoalaViolenciadeGenero	Stedman Bailey	Civil War
2	#LaquanMcDonald	Civil War	#spendingreview
3	#ThanksgivingClapBack	#TerribleStockingStuffers	#LaquanMcDonald
4	Delcídio	Kobe	#WhiteRibbonDay
5	당신의 결과	#ICarvedTheTurkeyAndOutPopped	ONE MONTH UNTIL CHRISTMAS
6	Selamat Hari Guru	#2015WasTheYearThatIFinally	#IDEVAW
7	Kobe	Frank Gifford	George Best
8	#كذبه_كنت_مصدق�…	#jacobsaletonight	#GeordieShore
9	#WelcomeToMexico1D	Happy Thanksgiving Eve	Roma
10	Civil War	#8MonthsWithoutZayn	#ThanksgivingClapBack

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
- Insurgents attack an Indian Army base in northern Kashmir. At least three attackers are killed. (NDTV) (Reuters)
Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
- Russian Defense Minister, Sergey Shoigu, says Russia will deploy its S-400 defense missile system at the Khmeimim Air Base in Syria‘s Latakia Governorate. (RT)
- Several trucks are left burning at a rebel-run border crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border after a Russian airstrike hit what was reported to be an aid convoy in the town of Azaz. At least seven people are reportedly killed. (Reuters) (Daily Sabah)
Balochistan conflict
- Unidentified gunmen abduct 22 passengers from a coach in Kandasool near the city of Pasni. (Daily Times)
Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claim responsibility for yesterday’s attack on Tunisia‘s presidential guard in Tunis that killed 14 people. (AP)
Germany will deploy up to 650 troops to Mali as part of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA). (The Daily Star)
Yemeni Civil War (2015)
- The United Arab Emirates has recruited several hundred Central and South American mercenaries to fight the Houthis in Yemen. (New York Times)
November 2015 Paris attacks
- The French Senate votes 325-0 to extend the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. (AP)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- Several American personnel are suspended after an official report finds that human error was to blame for an airstrike on a Doctors without Borders hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz in October that killed 30 people. No criminal charges were filed.(CNN)

Arts and culture

An 18th-century pink Indian diamond worth at least $5 million and a Cartier diamond tiara are discovered in the jewelry recovered from Imelda Marcos. (The Guardian)
The Gambia bans female genital mutilation with President Yahya Jammeh saying it is not required in Islam. (BBC)

Business and economics

The new 20 euro note, the third in the Europa series, enters into circulation today. The European Central Bank says the banknote has a “refreshed look and more vibrant colours,” and includes a new kind of security feature: a “portrait window” near the top of the hologram stripe which becomes transparent when seen against the light. (Sofia Globe)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 Australian bushfire season
- A bushfire burns out of control near the South Australian town of Wasleys with authorities warning of significant risk to lives and property. Two deaths have been confirmed with another person feared dead, (ABC News Australia), (ABC News)

Health and medicine

Pope Francis’ 2015 visit to North America
- A one-year old baby girl with an apparently incurable illness, who was kissed by Pope Francis during his visit to Philadelphia in September, gets MRI results showing her brain tumor has shrunk significantly. Some friends and family call it the “Miracle onMarket Street.” (NBC News) (Philadephia Daily News

International relations

Russia–Ukraine gas disputes
- Russia‘s Gazprom halts gas supplies to Ukraine until the Ukrainian government pays in advance for future supplies to replenish the current supplies of gas that it has used up; Ukraine says it has stopped buying from Gazprom because it can get cheaper gas from Europe. Roughly 15% of the gas used in Europe travels through Ukraine, and a previous cut-off of gas supplies in 2009 caused serious disruptions in shipments to EU countries at the height of winter. (Sky News) (BBC)
Ukraine bans all Russian planes from using its airspace. (BBC)
Pope Francis’ 2015 visit to Africa
- Pope Francis makes his first official visit to Africa. (Reuters)
- Francis encourages Kenyans to work for peace and forgiveness amid a wave of extremist violence on the continent which has threatened to disrupt his trip. His six-day pilgrimage will also take him to Uganda and the Central African Republic. (AP via The Salt Lake Tribune)
The Associated Press reports that Russia’s crackdown on Muslims is fueling their exodus to ISIS. For example, Russia’s southernmost republic of Dagestan keeps devout Muslims under surveillance, routinely raids their homes, and hauls them to police stations to give DNA samples and fingerprints. Regional police say nearly a third of the estimated 3,000 Russians who are believed to have gone to fight alongside IS militants in Syria are from Dagestan. The AP added, “Few efforts are made by Russian authorities to stop young men from leaving.” (AP)
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctions Syrian businessman George Haswani who “serves as a middleman” for oil purchases by the Syrian government from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. His company, an engineering and construction firm, is also sanctioned. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Former world cruiserweight boxing champion O’Neil Bell is shot to death in a robbery in the American city of Atlanta, Georgia. (Daily Mail)
Sergey Mironov, leader of the Russian opposition party, A Just Russia, submits a bill to the State Duma on holding to account anyone who denies that the 1915 mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces was a “genocide”. (Reuters)
General Motors ignition switch scandal
- U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman rules General Motors Co., and its outside law firm King & Spalding, do not have to turn over lawyer-client documents from previously settled ignition switch lawsuits to plaintiffs’ lawyers in pending cases. (The Detriot News)

Sports

Ukrainian marathon runner Tetyana Hamera-Shmyrko is given a four-year ban for a doping offence. (AP)
Former U.S National Football League star, Frank Gifford, who died last August at age 84, suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease linked to head injuries commonly found in football, Gifford’s family announced. (CNN)(New York Times)

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November 30, 2015

Top News Stories –

New Zealand: Auckland aims to become trilingual city –
New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, has announced plans to encourage the entire population to speak English, Maori and a third language. The initiative, launched by the council-controlled educational organisation COMET, aims to get all of Auckland’s 1.4 million residents speaking the national language of Te Reo Maori, Radio New Zealand reports. Currently, only 2.3% of Aucklanders speak the language, the lowest rate in the country, while over 1m of the city’s residents are monolingual – usually English, the radio says. Some 377,000 residents already have two languages as a result of the city’s diverse ethnic mix, where 40% of Aucklanders were born overseas, but their languages tend to be overlooked in favour of English. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Domestic Appliances from Lewis Firth Bolton on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#CyberMonday	#CyberMonday	Sam Pepper
2	#FelizLunes	#mondaymotivation	#CyberMonday
3	Kobe	#PopeBars	#mondaymotivation
4	水木先生	Tomorrow is December	#StAndrewsDay
5	#SoulTrainAwards	#RejectedReindeer	Kobe Bryant
6	Balón de Oro	#COP21	#AuthorDay
7	水木しげる先生	Sam Pepper	75% of Labour
8	#TheWalkingDead	#ISurvivedHighSchoolBy	Overweight Haters Ltd
9	#الهلال_التعاون	Clay Helton	#PAKvENG
10	Sam Pepper	Anne of Green Gables	#TWDMidSeasonFinale

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Paris attack aftermath
- French intelligence services are reportedly operating under the theory that Paris-attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam has escaped to Syria despite country-wide martial law in 3 different countries. (CNN)
Iraqi Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL, American-led intervention in Iraq
- With the support of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, Iraqi Armed Forces have launched operations to retake Ramadi from ISIL. (Military Times)
Syrian Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that at least 50 United States military instructors have deployed to northern Syria from Turkey and Iraq to train Kurdish forces ahead of an assault on ISIL‘s de-facto capital Al-Raqqah. (Deutsche Welle)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- At least three Saudi border guards are killed following clashes with Yemeni forces in the kingdom’s southern Jizan Region near the border with Yemen. (Reuters)

Business and economics

Responding to reports, the American Tribune Publishing Co. states it is not in talks to sell the company. (Chicago Tribune) (Wall Street Journal)
Canadian BlackBerry Limited announces plans to shut down operations in Pakistan at year’s end because it cannot comply with the Pakistani government’s monitoring orders which would result in a massive invasion of user privacy. (CNET)
The International Monetary Fund modifies its benchmark currency basket to include the yuan of the People’s Republic of China. The basket also includes the U.S. dollar, the euro, the pound sterling, and the Japanese yen. (Reuters)
The United States Federal Reserve Board approves a rule prohibiting the government from extending emergency loans to “too big to fail” companies, a practice deemed essential during the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. (UPI)

Health and medicine

The capitals of the world’s two most populous nations, China and India, are blanketed in hazardous, choking smog. Beijing, on the second-highest pollution alert, is closing highways, halting or suspending construction while warning residents to stay indoors. The U.S. New Delhi embassy’s monitoring station recorded an air quality index of 372, putting air pollution levels into “hazardous” territory. No action by the New Delhi government. (Hindustan Times)
A UNICEF report finds AIDS is now the leading cause of death for African teenagers and the second most common killer for adolescents across the globe. While the Asia Pacific region has seen a 31 percent drop in new HIV infections, and 28 percent decline in AIDS-related deaths, the estimated number of adolescents dying of AIDS in the region has more than doubled since 2005. Tomorrow is World Aids Day. (AP via Huffington Post) (Reuters)

International relations

Martyrs’ Day (United Arab Emirates) is being observed in United Arab Emirates as Commemoration Day this year on November 30, 2015, recognising the sacrifices and dedication of Emirati martyrs who have given their life in the UAE and abroad in the field of civil, military and humanitarian service. (GulfNews)
South Korea’s parliament approves a free trade pact with China after opposition lawmakers, concerned that deal that would hurt agriculture and fisheries, secured a $1.4 billion relief package for farmers. (AP via Fox News)
2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference
- Around 150 world leaders attend the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, aiming for a global deal on limiting greenhouse gas emissions. (CNN)
Pope Francis’ 2015 visit to Africa
- Pope Francis travels to a besieged Muslim neighborhood known as PK5 in the Central African Republic, a country wracked by sectarian violence. This visit is part of Francis’s message of peace and reconciliation. As a result of the violence over the last two years, most of the capital Bangui’s 100,000-plus Muslims have fled; now only 15,000 remain. (AP via Bastrop Daily Enterprise)
- Pope Francis tells a crowd in a mosque in Bangui that “Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters.” (BBC)
Israel will open a diplomatic mission to the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), the headquarters of which are located near the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. Israel will be the first Irena member to open such a mission; other member nations work Irena relations from their missions to the UAE, which Israel does not have. (New York Times)
Arctic Joint Strategic Command (Russia)
- A Russian Airborne Troops spokesman says the VDV is planning to expand their military exercises into the North Pole area of the Arctic in 2016. (UPI)

Law and crime

The University of Chicago cancels classes for the day, and asks students, faculty, and non-essential staff to stay away from its main campus after being informed by the FBI of a threat of gun violence. (Reuters via The Jerusalem Post) (USA Today)
- One suspect, a student from the University of Illinois at Chicago is arrested. The University of Chicago announces classes remain canceled for the day. (Chicago Tribune)
Russian undesirable organizations law
- Russia bans two George Soros-run foundations, including the Open Society Foundations, for posing a threat to “Russian national security”. The Open Society Foundation and the Open Society Institute’s Assistance Foundation, both financed by business magnate Soros, are the latest additions to a list of “undesirable organizations”, a list the Russian government says is necessary to stop foreign governments from interfering in Russia’s internal affairs. (The Guardian)
Jury selection begins for the trial of William Porter, a Baltimore, Maryland police officer charged with manslaughter and other charges surrounding the April 19 death of Freddie Gray. Porter is the first of six officers to be tried. (CNN)

Politics and elections

Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2015
- Venezuela announces it will suspend the sale of alcoholic beverages, fireworks and weapons before Sunday’s parliamentary elections, starting Friday at 6 p.m. until next Monday at 6 p.m. Civilian permits for the possession and use of firearms and kniveswill be also be suspended for the same period. (UPI)
Burkinabé general election, 2015
- Former prime minister Roch Marc Kaboré appears on course for a commanding victory in Burkina Faso’s election, one large enough to eliminate the need for a run-off. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, with results from about 72 percent of the country counted, Kaboré has 54 percent of the vote with his closest challenger, former finance minister Zéphirin Diabré, getting 29 percent. (The Globe and Mail)
Saudi Arabia elections, 2015
- For the first time in the country’s history, Saudi Arabian women are allowed to vote and to stand for office in the December 12, 2015, elections. Candidacy filings opened yesterday. In two days, more than 900 women have signed up to run for various local government positions in the Arab nation. (UPI)

Science and technology

Researchers at North Carolina State University discover a new diamond-like, solid phase of carbon, called Q-carbon, that can be attained at room temperature. The result is a uniquely crystalline material, harder than a real diamond and likely boasting a variety of new properties, most unknown or unstudied. (UPI)

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December 13, 2015

Top News Stories –

Ed Sheeran ‘quits’ social media –
Singer Ed Sheeran has announced he is “taking a break” from social media as he is “seeing the world through a screen and not my eyes”. Writing on his Instagram account, the singer explained he was “taking the opportunity of not having to be anywhere… to travel the world”. He also confirmed to fans that his third album is “on its way” and “is the best thing I have made thus far”. Sheeran has 16 million Twitter and 5.5 million Instagram followers. He has just completed a world tour of his number one album x (pronounced “multiply”) in Auckland, New Zealand. Before the final show, he also tweeted that he was “buggering off for a while”. [BBC]

Ed Sheeran

UFC 194: Conor McGregor knocks out Jose Aldo after 13 seconds –
Conor McGregor knocked out Jose Aldo after just 13 seconds at UFC 194 to win the featherweight title in Las Vegas. Irishman McGregor, 27, beat the long-time champion by landing a strong left hand with his first connecting punch to secure the fastest ever knockout in a UFC title fight. McGregor claimed in the build up to the fight that he would “embarrass” Aldo with a first-round knockout. “Precision beats power, timing beats speed,” McGregor said afterwards. “I feel for Jose. He’s a phenomenal champion. He deserved to go a little bit longer.” It was also Brazilian Aldo’s first defeat in 10 years after winning 18 straight fights. [BBC]
Conor McGregor

Video of the Day –

Tiny Hamster Agility Course – Dumptruck Vs Porkchop

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#زد_رصيدك30	#ExplainAFilmPlotBadly	#HappyBirthdayTaylor
2	#HappyBirthdayTaylor	#HappyBirthdayTaylor	#explainafilmplotbadly
3	#ExplainAFilmPlotBadly	#thisisnottheendofonedirec…	#XFactorFinal
4	#اجمل_عباره_تح�…	#NicholasRobertson	#avfcvafc
5	#DomingoFelizDetremuraSdv	#GeriatricStripClubNames	#UFC194
6	#electionsregionales	Independence Day	#Strictly
7	#UFC194	#DALvsGB	Shaker Aamer
8	#podemosremontada	#MundialDeClubes	#JoshuaWhyte
9	#اكبر_تجمع_للي�…	#NocheDeConfesiones	Reggie and Bollie
10	#اريد_من_الوزي�…	Bucks	Robert Dyas

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan
- At least 25 people are killed and dozens injured in a bombing at a second-hand clothes market in the city of Parachinar in the Kurram Valley. (Pakistan Tribune) (The News)
Syrian Civil War
- Syrian rebels fire volleys of mortar shells into Damascus, killing three people and wounding at least 30. Government forces respond with airstrikes into rebel-controlled Douma, just northeast of the capital, and surface-to-surface missiles into Eastern Ghouta and Saqba, that kill at least 35 people and injure many more, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (AP via The Washington Post) (Reuters)
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- Israel says an Arab-Israeli man who served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has joined Islamic State militants in Syria. (Reuters)
2015 Burundian unrest
- The U.S. State Department issues a travel advisory for Burundi and advises its citizens there to leave as soon as possible due to the increased violence in the capital Bujumbura where 87 people were killed this weekend. Families of U.S. government personnel and non-emergency personnel have been ordered to leave immediately. (UPI) (US State)
Gaza–Israel conflict
- Israeli Air Force planes hit two Hamas targets in Gaza in retaliation for rocket fire from the Palestinian territory. (Ynet News) (The Times of israel)

Disasters and accidents

At least 23 patients are killed and 23 injured in a psychiatric hospital fire in the Voronezh Oblast in western Russia. The remaining 24 patients were safely evacuated. (ABC News America) (AP via The Charlotte Observer)

International relations

European migration crisis
- On the eve of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party’s convention in Karlsruhe, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel says, “We want to noticeably reduce the number of people who come to us, but not through unilateral national measures alone.” She acknowledges the crisis could overwhelm Germany if it went on much longer. Merkel warded off pressure from immigration skeptics within the CDU to include a quota in the refugee policy motion the convention will vote on. (Jerusalem Post)(Bloomberg) (Reuters via International Business Times) (The Financial Times)
Russia–Turkey relations
- A Russian warship fires warning shots at a Turkish vessel in the Aegean Sea to “avoid a collision”, according to the Russian Defence Ministry. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Houston mayoral election, 2015
- Veteran Texas lawmaker Sylvester Turner edges out businessman Bill King by just over 4,000 votes in Houston’s runoff mayoral election. Turner, a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives since 1989, took 51 percent of the vote. King conceded defeat and encouraged Houston citizens to support the incoming mayor. Turner succeeds Annise Parker who was not eligible to run for re-election. (Reuters) (KHOU)
Saudi Arabian municipal elections, 2015
- Unofficial results show at least 17 Saudi Arabian women won municipal council seats in the kingdom’s third-ever election, and the first to allow female participation. Voters elected representatives for two thirds of the municipal council seats. The government announced that 979 women were candidates. (Reuters) (NPR) (Daily Pakistan)
French regional elections, 2015
- With most of the votes counted, the opposition conservatives of former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s party win in six of the country’s 13 regions and lead in the Paris region. The ruling Socialists of President François Hollande’s party capture five regions. The winner in Corsica is not affiliated with a major party. France’s far-right National Front (FN) fails to win a single region but did record its best showing in its history. Voter turnout was 58 percent. Definitive results are expected Monday. (The Guardian)(Politico) (The Straits Times) (Sky News) (Reuters)
Central African Republic constitutional referendum, 2015
- While voters in Central African Republic cast their ballots in a constitutional referendum aimed at ending years of sectarian strife, clashes erupt in the capital Bangui’s PK5 Muslim neighborhood, killing at least two and injuring over 20. PK5 residents, visited by Pope Francis two weeks ago, marched to the U.N. headquarters in the country to complain they were unable to cast their ballots. The proposed constitution would limit a president to two terms, add an upper house to go along with the National Assembly, and fight institutional corruption. (France24) (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
2015 protests in Brazil
- Tens of thousands of Brazilians protest in cities around the country to demand that Congress impeach President Dilma Rousseff. The lower house of Congress opened impeachment proceedings on 2 December 2015. (Reuters) (AP via ABC News)(Reuters-Congress)

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December 30, 2015

Top News Stories –

Freak storm pushes North Pole 50 degrees above normal to melting point –
A powerful winter cyclone — the same storm that led to two tornado outbreaks in the United States and disastrous river flooding — has driven the North Pole to the freezing point this week, 50 degrees above average for this time of year. From Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning, a mind-boggling pressure drop was recorded in Iceland: 54 millibars in just 18 hours. This triples the criteria for “bomb” cyclogenesis, which meteorologists use to describe a rapidly intensifying mid-latitude storm. A “bomb” cyclone is defined as dropping one millibar per hour for 24 hours. NOAA’s Ocean Prediction Center said the storm’s minimum pressure dropped to 928 millibars around 1 a.m. Eastern time, which likely places it in the top five strongest storms on record in this region. [Washington Post]

Uber claims one billion journeys in five years since launch –
Uber claims to have made one billion journeys since its launch in 2010, underlining the massive growth of the ride-sharing service and its challenge to the traditional taxi industry. The company said its billionth trip was completed in London on Christmas Eve – five and a half years after its first journey in San Francisco. The figure suggests that Uber has averaged more than 600,000 rides a day since its driver-hailing app went online, although the figure today is much higher. Uber said last year that it was arranging 1 million trips per day, and has since expanded in dozens of new cities around the world. [Daily Telegraph]

Canadian Bad Santa pulls Christmas Eve heist, escapes in Hummer –
A man dressed as Santa Claus robbed a small-town Canadian jewelry store at gunpoint on Christmas Eve, before dashing away in a Hummer, police said on Wednesday. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the red-and-white-garbed robber entered a jewelry store in Stettler, Alberta, in late afternoon last Thursday. He demanded jewelry and diamonds from a clerk and left with a bag of them. No one was hurt. An employee at the store declined to comment. [Daily Mail]

Video of the Day –

How To Prevent Hangovers (With Science)

List of the Day –

Google Trends 2015 –
Top Searches – Movies

1 Jurassic World

2 Furious 7

3 American Sniper

4 Fifty Shade of Grey

5 Minions

6 Spectre

7 Straight Outta Compton

8 Mad Max

9 Prem Ratan Dhan Payo

10 Birdman

Source: Google

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#ParaEl2016Prometo	#Thanks1DForAnAmazing2015	Oliver Letwin
2	#QuartaComOClubeSDV	#NewYearsResolutionIn5Words	#SUNLIV
3	#زد_رصيدك47	#baconday	Barney
4	#TomaraQueEm2016OCrush	#BillClintonSitcoms	David Beckham
5	#Thanks1DForAnAmazing2015	Bill Cosby	#morrisseykitchen
6	#اشياء_تتمناها…	#BlackTwitterTheBestTwitter	#SchoolDiscoMemories
7	#FelizMiercoles	Cleveland’s Terrible Stain	#Thanks1DForAnAmazing2015
8	Página 364 de 365	#BelkBowl	Guru Josh
9	#СНаступающим�…	#BirminghamBowl	Lemmy
10	#あなたに絶対似合�…	#WhatItDoByMahone	#TylerOakleyThankYouFor

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- 2015 al-Qamishli bombings
  - Several suicide-bomb attacks targeting Assyrian Christians celebrating New Year’s Eve at restaurants in the Kurdish-controlled Syrian city of Al-Qamishli, Al-Hasakah Governorate, leave at least 16 people dead and 35 wounded. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are suspected to be behind the bombings. (RT)
2015 Burundian unrest
- Burundi‘s President, Pierre Nkurunziza, says Burundians will fight against any African Union peacekeepers sent into the country in response to the ongoing crisis, “everyone has to respect Burundian borders,” Nkurunziza said. The African Union said this earlier this month it was ready to send 5,000 peacekeepers to protect civilians caught up in months of violence. (Reuters)

Business and economy

South China Sea disputes
- The Philippines says it will join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank despite disputes between it and the bank’s founder, China. (Rappler)
Governor Alejandro García Padilla indicates Puerto Rico will default on bonds issued by the island’s Infrastructure Financing Authority and Public Finance Corporation. (New York Times)

Disasters and Accidents

2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season
- Storm Frank hits the United Kingdom and Ireland, contributing to the 2015 Great Britain and Ireland floods following previous heavy rainfall. (ITV News)

International relations

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present), Iraq–Turkey relations
- Iraq‘s Foreign Minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, renewed demands that Turkey fully withdraw its troops from northern Iraq, asserting that Turkey must respect Iraq’s sovereignty or face potential military action. (Reuters)
War on Terror
- Belgium cancels New Year’s Eve firework celebrations in Brussels amid fears of an Islamic terrorist attack in an unspecified European capital city. (Sky News)

Law and crime

Bill Cosby sexual assault allegations
- American entertainer Bill Cosby is charged with aggravated indecent assault in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The county’s District Attorney-elect said his office is also examining evidence related to other cases. The current charges relate to one particular 2004 incident. (New York Times)
2015 Brussels lockdown
- Two Belgian policewomen and eight soldiers reportedly held an orgy at a police station in the Brussels neighbourhood of Ganshoren while colleagues hunted for the Paris terror attacks suspects. The police station was near Molenbeek, where anti-terror raids had been taking place. Police spokesman, Johan Berckmans, said “we have launched an investigation to find out what exactly happened”. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

Central African general election, 2015–16
- Voters in the Central African Republic are heading to the polls for the rescheduled parliamentary elections and the first round of the presidential election, where 30 candidates are running to replace Acting President Catherine Samba-Panza. The presidential runoff election is scheduled for 31 January 2016. The Central African Republic has been rocked by unrest since the March 2013 coup of president François Bozizé by Séléka, a mostly Muslim alliance of anti-government groups. Thousands have died and about one million people have been displaced in the ongoing sectarian violence between Séléka and the Christian anti-balaka militia. The United Nations peacekeeping mission has promised a heavy security presence today. (AP via The Washington Post) (Pulse News Agency)
- Ballot counting is underway after a peaceful election day in this country plagued by years of sectarian violence. National Elections Authority President Marie-Madeleine Koue says at least 65 percent turnout was expected. (EuroNews) (Bloomberg viaThe National)

Science and technology

The freak weather system responsible for heavy rain and tornadoes in the U.S., and high winds and rainfall in the British Isles, also has impacted the Arctic where the average winter temperature is normally around 20 degrees(F) below zero. Temperatures around the North Pole have been fifty degrees higher than usual for December, and today, at least for a brief moment, surpassed the 32-degree threshold, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Ocean Prediction Center.(The Washington Post) (South China Morning Post) (Sputnik News)

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February 14, 2016

Top News Stories –

Baftas 2016: The Revenant rules at Baftas –
Wilderness drama The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, has dominated this year’s Baftas. It was named best film while DiCaprio won best actor and Alejandro G Inarritu best director. Apocalyptic action movie Mad Max: Fury Road took four awards: for make-up and hair, editing, costumes and production design. Brie Larson won the best leading actress award for her role as a kidnapped mother in Room. Director Lenny Abrahamson, who picked up the award on her behalf, called her “one of the best actors of her generation.” [BBC]
Leonardo_DiCaprio

Kanye West REALLY wants $1 billion from Mark Zuckerberg –
Kanye West has publicly asked Mark Zuckerberg to invest $1bn (£700m) into Kanye West ideas. He take his money, when he’s a need. Yeah, he’s a trifling friend indeed. In a series of tweets Kanye begs the co-founder of Facebook for help because he doesn’t have “enough resources” to create what he “really can”. It comes after he claimed to have a personal debt of $53m (£36m). Yes, that’s FIFTY THREE MILLION DOLLARS. It’s all because Kanye thinks he can make the world a better place. He also thinks tech companies in San Francisco should donate money to him rather than African school children. [BBC Newsbeat]

Kanye West begging tweets

Video of the Day –

Simon’s Cat Logic – Love

List of the Day –

Winners of the BAFTA Film Awards 2016

Best film

Winner: The Revenant

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

Carol

Spotlight

Outstanding British film

Winner: Brooklyn

45 Years

Amy

The Danish Girl

Ex Machina

The Lobster

Actor

Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant

Bryan Cranston – Trumbo

Matt Damon – The Martian

Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl

Actress

Winner: Brie Larson – Room

Cate Blanchett – Carol

Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn

Maggie Smith – The Lady in the Van

Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl

Supporting actor

Winner: Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies

Christian Bale – The Big Short

Benicio del Toro – Sicario

Idris Elba – Beasts of No Nation

Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight

Supporting actress

Winner: Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs

Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight

Rooney Mara – Carol

Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina

Julie Walters – Brooklyn

Director

Winner: Alejandro G Inarritu – The Revenant

Todd Haynes – Carol

Adam McKay – The Big Short

Ridley Scott – The Martian

Steven Spielberg – Bridge of Spies

Adapted screenplay

Winner: The Big Short

Brooklyn

Carol

Room

Steve Jobs

Original screenplay

Winner: Spotlight

Bridge of Spies

Ex Machina

The Hateful Eight

Inside Out

Animated film

Winner: Inside Out

Minions

Shaun the Sheep Movie

Documentary

Winner: Amy

Cartel Land

He Named Me Malala

Listen to Me Marlon

Sherpa

Foreign film

Winner: Wild Tales

The Assassin

Force Majeure

Theeb

Timbuktu

Cinematography

Winner: The Revenant

Bridge of Spies

Carol

Mad Max: Fury Road

Sicario

Costume design

Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road

Brooklyn

Carol

Cinderella

The Danish Girl

Editing

Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

The Martian

The Revenant

Make-up and hair

Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road

Brooklyn

Carol

The Danish Girl

The Revenant

Music

Winner: The Hateful Eight

Bridge of Spies

The Revenant

Sicario

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Production design

Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road

Bridge of Spies

Carol

The Martian

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Sound

Winner: The Revenant

Bridge of Spies

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Special effects

Winner: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Ant-Man

Ex Machina

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

British short animation

Winner: Edmond

Manoman

Prologue

British short film

Winner: Operator

Elephant

Mining Poems or Odes

Over

Samuel-613

Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer

Winner: Naji Abu Nowar (writer/director) & Rupert Lloyd (producer) – Theeb

Alex Garland (director) – Ex Machina

Debbie Tucker Green (writer/director) – Second Coming

Sean McAllister (director/producer) & Elhum Shakerifar (producer) – A Syrian Love Story

Stephen Fingleton (writer/director) – The Survivalist

Rising Star award

Winner: John Boyega

Taron Egerton

Dakota Johnson

Brie Larson

Bel Powley

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#كلمه_للي_هيحت�…	#MyFirstLoveIn4Words	Viola Beach
2	#سلمان_بن_عبد_ا…	#IHeartTWD	Christchurch
3	#HappyValentinesDay	#Valentines	#ITAvENG
4	#EstarEnamoradoEs	Viola Beach	#takemeout
5	#チョコ俳句スロット	The Day Beyoncé Turned Black	#MOTD
6	#FormasFrikisDeDecirTeQuiero	#LAMarathon	ONE DIRECTION TO HELL
7	#للسعاده_عنوان…	#RockOfLove	#GRAMMYsAskConnor
8	#EuTeSigoTuMeSegue	#ScaliaDeath	#Trapped
9	#CampeãsRJ	#ThinkBIGSundayWithMarsha	#TheVoiceUK
10	#هل_تتزوج_فتاه_…	#HowMobstersShowLove	Sunderland

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- The United Nations reports that civilian casualties reached a record level in 2015; at least 3,545 non-combatants were killed and 7,457 injured. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- Rojava conflict
  - The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that Turkey has shelled areas held by the Kurdish YPG militia group in Syria‘s Aleppo Governorate for the second successive day with two YPG fighters reportedly killed. (Reuters)
  - Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu says Turkey will continue to target Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria near its border, despite mounting pressure to stop the attacks. (Voice of America)
  - Syria condemns Turkish military action against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, and demands, in letters to the United Nations Secretary General and the Security Council Chairman, UN action on these violations of Syrian sovereignty. (BBC) (Syrian Arab News Agency)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Saudi air defenses intercept a Scud missile fired from Yemen as it headed towards the city of Khamis Mushait, in the southwestern ‘Asir Region. (The Washington Post)
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) says one of its soldiers was recently killed while fighting the Houthis in Yemen. (Reuters)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
- Israel claims its forces shot dead five Palestinian attackers in three separate incidents. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

The 69th British Academy Film Awards are held at the Royal Opera House in London. (AP via Yahoo! News)
- The Revenant wins best film with lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio winning the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. (Deadline)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Christchurch earthquake
- The U.S. Geological Survey reports a magnitude 5.8 earthquake strikes Christchurch in New Zealand. The St. John ambulance service says that several people suffered minor injuries from falls as they ran from the quake but there were no immediate reports of serious damage. (The Washington Post)
The cold snap continues in the northeastern United States with record lows forecast in major cities like New York City and Philadelphia. (CNN)
All four members of the British indie band Viola Beach and their manager die in a road accident in Stockholm, Sweden. (BBC)
2016 Taiwan earthquake
- The earthquake death toll rises to 116. Tainan’s disaster response office says search and rescue operations have ended. The last body was found yesterday. Ninety-six, of the 289 people rescued, remain in hospital. (Taipei Times)(CNN)
Crews rescue 48 people from two Cannon Mountain tram cars stuck this afternoon about 40 feet off the ground in New Hampshire sub-zero temperatures in the White Mountains. (AP via seattlepi.com)(WMUR)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- Slovenia announces that it will be clamping down on the number of migrants that it will allow to enter the country. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

Politics and elections

Central African general election, 2015–16
- Voters in the Central African Republic go to the polls for the second round of voting in the presidential election, a runoff between former prime ministers Anicet-Georges Dologuélé (1999–2001) andFaustin-Archange Touadéra (2008–13). (BBC)
Jocelerme Privert is elected as the interim President of Haiti pending elections later this year. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

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March 21, 2016

Top News Stories –

Twitter celebrates 10 years of tweets and hashtags –
Since the first tweet was sent in 2006, Twitter has become the go-to social network for finding out about everything from global events to celebrity gossip. On its tenth birthday, Twitter has 320 million users including celebrities such as Harry Styles, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Adele, all of whom have tens of millions of followers.Over the decade, the social network has changed its logo and name – from Twttr to Twitter – as well as notching up 250 billion likes. Users create 500 million tweets per day and 200 billion tweets every year, with users sharing hashtags to discuss global moments, such as the terrible terrorist attacks in Paris, using #JeSuisParis. [Daily Mail] See Video of the Day and List of the Day

Hatton Garden ‘Guv’nor’ Brian Reader jailed for six years –
The mastermind of the £14 million Hatton Garden jewellery raid has been jailed for six years and three months. Brian Reader, 77- the oldest member of the gang – suffered a stroke in Belmarsh Prison following what was the biggest burglary in English history. Appearing via video link at Woolwich Crown Court, Reader, who the court was told now uses a walking frame, was sentenced to six years and three months by Judge Christopher Kinch QC. James Scobie QC, Reader’s defence barrister, previously said: “He has a history of prostate cancer, which may return. He has a mass in his face being tested for possible cancer. He has had a stroke and is blind in one eye.” [Daily Telegraph]

This real life cat burglar keeps stealing men’s underwear –
A cat-owner from New Zealand has posted an apologetic note online after her pet cat went on a months-long crime spree, pinching various items of men’s clothing from around her neighbourhood. Brigit, a six-year-old tonkinese cat, has been going out at night on the streets of Hamilton and entering into strangers’ homes, where she’ll pick up some socks or underwear and take it away with her. Brigit then brings the clothes home, often leaving them on her owner Sarah Nathan’s bed. In the past couple of months Brigit has pinched around than a dozen pairs of men’s pants and around 60 single socks. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

INCREDIBLE Facts You Never Knew About Twitter!-Facts in 5

List of the Day –

Twitter in numbers – the top 10 most popular tweets, likes and hashtags [Metro]
1) Most retweeted tweet – Oscars selfie

2) Most followed person – Katy Perry
3) Most mentioned person – Justin Bieber
4) Most tweeted emoji – Face with tears of joy emoji

mg_emoji02_comp — (Picture: Myles Goode/Metro)

5) Most geo-tagged city – São Paulo
6) Most tweeted hashtag tradition – #FF
7) Total number of likes – 250 billion
8) Tweets per minute event record – FA World Cup Final – 618,725 tweets per minute
9) Fastest tor reach one million followers – Caitlyn Jenner – 4 hours and 3 minutes.
10) Number of times ‘love’ was shared on Twitter [tweets with the word “love” in them] – 34.8 billion mentions

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#DiaMundialDeLaPoesia	#AppleEvent	#LoveTwitter
2	#WorldPoetryDay	#WorldPoetryDay	#WorldPoetryDay
3	#SegundaSantaClubeSDV	#mondaymotivation	#NationalFragranceDay
4	#جلد_العم_معيض	#LoveTwitter	#mondaymotivation
5	#DiaInternacionalDeCasiAng…	#SaferThanATrumpRally	Novak Djokovic
6	#شخص_تتمني_تعي�…	#DiaMundialDeLaPoesia	#AppleEvent
7	#يوم_الام	#BadMottosForStates	#HumanRightsDay
8	#EstouComLula	#musicmonday	#asktroye
9	#LoveTwitter	Boaty McBoatface	#IntlForestDay
10	#LuanSantanaCacauShowDia21	#WeNeedToRemindOurselves	#Ottawa2016

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

A man detonates a grenade inside a bakery in Belgrade, Serbia, killing himself. No other casualties were reported. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Gunmen attack a European Union military training operation housed in a converted hotel in the Mali capital, Bamako. There are no casualties among the mission personnel. One suspect is killed and two are arrested. No group has claimed responsibility. (Reuters)

Business and economics

The competition regulators of the European Union have halted their investigation into a prospective acquisition of Baker Hughes by Halliburton, effectively freezing any such combination between two giant providers of oilfield services. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Erasmus bus crash
- A Catalan official says the 13 exchange students killed in Sunday’s accident were 19-to-25-year-old women, seven from Italy, two Germans, an Austrian, a woman from France, a Romanian and an Uzbek. Twenty-four people are being treated in hospital with one student in critical condition, and six people, including the driver, in serious condition. Reports from officials indicate the driver lost control of the coach and crashed to the other side before running into an oncoming car. The bus driver, who passed alcohol and drug tests, is being investigated for possible negligent homicide as police seek to determine the cause of the crash. (AP via the Washington Post) (AFP via Yahoo! News)

International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- A South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff official reports North Korea launched five short-range missiles from the eastern city of Hamhung into the Sea of Japan. (AFP via msn.com)
United States–Cuban Thaw
- At a 55-minute joint press conference, following their two-hour closed door meeting, United States President Barrack Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro agreed this “new day” of openness between the two countries benefits the entire hemisphere as well. Each acknowledged more needs to be done. Obama said he spoke frankly about human rights, free expression, and democracy; Castro said the U.S. needs to remove the military base at Guantanamo Bay, and completely end the U.S. embargo. Obama’s experience gave him an advantage when journalists delved into sensitive areas. (The Washington Post) (The New York Times)

Law and crime

Tea tape scandal
- New Zealand Prime Minister John Key settles a defamation case with freelance cameraman Bradley Ambrose, acknowledging comments he made about the man caused him professional and personal harm. (AP)
The International Criminal Court finds ex-Vice President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Jean-Pierre Bemba guilty of war crimes. Bemba is accused of not taking steps to stop his militia from committing mass murder, rape and pillage in neighbouring Central African Republic. (The Guardian)
The United States Supreme Court, in a 6-2 ruling, essentially upholds the state of Colorado’s legalization of marijuana, turning down complaints by the neighboring states of Nebraska and Oklahoma that, byfederal and their state law, Colorado’s statutes allow “illegal marijuana” to pour into their states. Last year, the justices asked the federal government to weigh in; in December, Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. urged the court to turn away the lawsuit. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. (San Francisco Chronicle (NBC News) (USA Today)

Politics and elections

Myanmar‘s new parliament, in its first legislative act, votes (611-3) to eliminate 15 government ministries. President-elect Htin Kyaw says by eliminating the ministers’ salaries, the nation will save $4 million over five years. No civil servants will lose their jobs. (AP)

Science and technology

Two possibly-twin near-Earth objects, 252P/LINEAR and P/2016 BA14, will safely pass by Earth at relatively close distances today and Tuesday. (Christian Science Monitor) (Science Alert) (NASA)(Virtual Telescope Project)

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The 2010s

The story of a decade

Tag Archives: Central African Republic

August 8, 2015

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November 25, 2015

November 30, 2015

December 13, 2015

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