Top News Stories –

Italian woman, 46, arrested for locking ‘toy boy’ in basement over sex demands –
An Italian woman has been arrested after allegedly locking up her “toy boy” boyfriend for refusing to have sex with her, in a story that has evoked comparisons with the classic film The Graduate. The woman, 46, who was divorced, met the 25-year-old during a holiday romance in Campania in southern Italy. Initially they got on well but the young man reportedly became increasingly vexed by the amount of sex that the older woman was demanding. He declined her advances on several occasions but she then took revenge by locking him up, against his will, in the basement of her house at Arzano, near Naples. The young man managed to raise the alarm, calling for help from passers-by. [Daily Telegraph]

George Clooney photobombs Cindy Crawford as she takes romantic selfie with husband –
Does anyone enjoy looking at “romantic selfies” of couples kissing on Instagram? It’s worse than a public display of affection (PDA), as it is done purely to show off how in love you are with the person you’re smooching. Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber were taking a tender selfie together, when George Clooney decided to ruin it by pulling a strange face in the background. [Daily Telegraph]
Cindy Crawford Instagram with Rande Gerber and George Clooney

International bridge champions accuse teammates of cheating –
Two Israeli men, Lotan Fisher and Ron Schwartz, have been accused by their team mates of cheating in three matches including the Spingold tournament – one of the most famous of all.
A triumphant team of bridge players has been ripped apart by accusations that would, in the words of the whistleblower, “even make a Hollywood movie surreal.” Two Israeli men, Lotan Fisher and Ron Schwartz, have been accused by their team mates of cheating. Quite how they cheated is unclear, but Norwegian bridge professional Boye Brogeland, one of the world’s highest-rated bridge players, said the other four members of the team were handing back three titles they had won together. [Daily Telegraph]

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Armed conflicts and attacks

• Boko Haram
  • A teenage girl suicide bomber kills five people and injures fourteen in the Damaturu area in northeast Nigeria. (AP via Fox News)
• Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
  • Fourteen people are arrested in Spain and Morocco for allegedly trying to recruit people to ISIL. (Times of Israel)
• North Korea and South Korea agree to stop airing propaganda at the border and stand down preparations for war. (NPR)

Business and economics

• The People’s Bank of China cuts interest rates and lowers minimum requirements for bank reserves for the second time in two months. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2015 Pacific typhoon season
  • Typhoon Goni makes landfall in southwestern Japan with at least 26 people injured but no people killed. The death toll in the Philippines rises to 21 while South Korea is on alert. (AP), (Yonhap)
• A gas explosion in the Afghanistan city of Herat kills eleven people and injures 18. (AP via Ahram Online)

International relations

• A record number of migrants crossing the Balkans results in a record number of people in Hungary despite the government building a wall on the border with Serbia. (AP via The Columbian)

Law and crime

• A Federal Security Service court in Russia sentences Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov to 20 years in prison for plotting terrorist acts in Crimea, amid allegations of torture and US claims that he is being held hostage in Russia after having been abducted from Ukraine by Russian-backed separatists. (BBC)
• 4 people are killed and 3 others are severely injured in a shooting at a camp in Roye, Somme, France. (L’Express)
• Protests by the Patidar community in Ahmedabad turn violent, sparking violence across the state of Gujarat, India.(DNA)

Politics and elections

• The Parliament of Singapore is dissolved with a general election to be held on September 11. (AFP/Reuters via ABC Australia)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resourceAugust 23, 2015