Top News Stories –
Obama launches personal Twitter account –
President Barack Obama reintroduced himself to the world, albeit in 140 characters or less. “Hello, Twitter!” he wrote. “It’s Barack. Really!” Mr Obama joked that “six years in” to his presidency, “they’re finally giving me my own account”. The name of the new account is @POTUS, short for President of the United States. It immediately attracted hundreds of thousands of followers.While there has been an @BarackObama account active since 2007, it is managed by the president’s staff. The new account is meant to be Mr Obama’s personal Twitter profile. He identifies himself on it as “dad, husband, and 44th president of the United States”. [Daily Telegraph]
Simon Cowell wants trap door and fire at next leaders’ debate –
Britain’s Got Talent boss Simon Cowell has offered his services for future party leaders’ debates, saying he would “love” to produce them. “I’d do it in a heartbeat! 100%. I’d have walk-ons, music, fire… and a trap door if people didn’t like what they said,” he said. “And I’d definitely have a clap-o-meter. I am deadly serious. I really would love a chance to do that!” Last month’s seven-way party leaders’ TV debate got seven million viewers. Cowell, whose TV talent show became the highest-rated entertainment programme on television last month, was keen to get audiences more involved in the debates. [BBC]
Simon Cowell
Four-minute mile Roger Bannister stopwatch auctioned for £20,000 –
A stopwatch used to time Roger Bannister’s first sub-four-minute mile has sold for £20,000 at auction. Sir Roger, now 86, made his run at Oxford’s Iffley Road track on 6 May 1954, when he was 25. Used by timekeeper WJ Burfitt, the watch was expected to attract bids between £5,000 and £8,000. Auctioneer Graham Budd did not reveal the identity of the latest successful bidder, but said the Swiss-made watch was from “one of those remarkable, historic moments in British sporting history”. Sir Roger ran the mile in three minutes and fifty-nine seconds. [BBC]
Taylor Swift is big winner at 2015 Billboard music awards –
Taylor Swift was the big winner at this year’s Billboard music awards. Not only did the singer premiere her blockbuster video for Bad Blood – featuring the likes of Cindy Crawford, Kendrick Lamar and Lena Dunham – but the pop star also took home eight prizes including top artist, top female artist, top Billboard 200 Album, top Billboard 200 artist, top Hot 100 artist and top streaming song. [Guardian] See Video of the Day and List of The Day
Taylor Swift
Video of the Day –
Taylor Swift – Bad Blood ft. Kendrick Lamar
List of the day –
Billboard Music Awards 2015 nominees and winners
TOP ARTIST
Ariana Grande
One Direction
Katy Perry
Sam Smith
Taylor Swift — WINNER
TOP COUNTRY ARTIST
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Florida Georgia Line — WINNER
Brantley Gilbert
Blake Shelton
BILLBOARD CHART ACHIEVEMENT AWARD PRESENTED BY SAMSUNG GALAXY (FAN-VOTED)
Iggy Azalea
Taylor Swift — WINNER
Meghan Trainor
TOP TOURING ARTIST
Lady Gaga
One Direction — WINNER
Katy Perry
The Rolling Stones
Justin Timberlake
TOP FEMALE ARTIST
Iggy Azalea
Ariana Grande
Katy Perry
Taylor Swift — WINNER
Meghan Trainor
TOP RADIO SONG
John Legend, “All of Me” — WINNER
MAGIC!, “Rude”
Nico & Vinz, “Am I Wrong”
Sam Smith, “Stay With Me”
Pharrell Williams, “Happy
TOP MALE ARTIST
Drake
Pharrell Williams
Ed Sheeran
Sam Smith — WINNER
Justin Timberlake
TOP RAP SONG
Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX, “Fancy” — WINNER
Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora, “Black Widow”
Big Sean feat. E-40, “I Don’t F— With You”
Nicki Minaj, “Anaconda”
Bobby Shmurda, “Hot Boy”
TOP BILLBOARD 200 ALBUM
Maroon 5, V
Pentatonix, That’s Christmas to Me
Ed Sheeran, x
Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour
Taylor Swift, 1989 — WINNER
TOP DUO/GROUP
5 Seconds of Summer
Florida Georgia Line
MAGIC!
Maroon 5
One Direction — WINNER
TOP NEW ARTIST
5 Seconds of Summer
Iggy Azalea
Hozier
Sam Smith — WINNER
Meghan Trainor
TOP BILLBOARD 200 ARTIST
One Direction
Pentatonix
Ed Sheeran
Sam Smith
Taylor Swift — WINNER
TOP HOT 100 ARTIST
Iggy Azalea
Ariana Grande
Sam Smith
Taylor Swift — WINNER
Meghan Trainor
TOP DIGITAL SONGS ARTIST
Iggy Azalea
Ed Sheeran
Sam Smith
Taylor Swift — WINNER
Meghan Trainor
TOP RADIO SONGS ARTIST
John Legend
Maroon 5
Ed Sheeran
Sam Smith — WINNER
Taylor Swift
TOP SOCIAL ARTIST
Justin Bieber — WINNER
Miley Cyrus
Selena Gomez
Ariana Grande
Taylor Swift
TOP STREAMING ARTIST
Iggy Azalea — WINNER
Ariana Grande
Nicki Minaj
Taylor Swift
Meghan Trainor
TOP R&B ARTIST
Beyoncé
Chris Brown
John Legend
Trey Songz
Pharrell Williams — WINNER
TOP RAP ARTIST
Iggy Azalea — WINNER
J. Cole
Drake
Nicki Minaj
Rae Sremmurd
TOP ROCK ARTIST
Bastille
Coldplay
Fall Out Boy
Hozier — WINNER
Lorde
TOP LATIN ARTIST
J Balvin
Juan Gabriel
Enrique Iglesias
Prince Royce
Romeo Santos — WINNER
TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC ARTIST
Avicii
Clean Bandit
Disclosure
Calvin Harris — WINNER
Lindsey Stirling
TOP CHRISTIAN ARTIST
Casting Crowns
Hillsong United — WINNER
Lecrae
MercyMe
Newsboys
TOP SOUNDTRACK
The Fault in Our Stars
Fifty Shades of Grey
Frozen — WINNER
Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix: Vol. 1
Into the Woods
TOP R&B ALBUM
Beyoncé, Beyoncé
Chris Brown, X
Michael Jackson, Xscape
John Legend, Love in the Future
Pharrell Williams, G I R L — WINNER
TOP RAP ALBUM
J. Cole, 2014 Forest Hills Drive — WINNER
Drake, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
Nicki Minaj, The Pinkprint
Iggy Azalea, The New Classic
Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP 2
TOP COUNTRY ALBUM
Jason Aldean, Old Boots, New Dirt — WINNER
Garth Brooks, Man Against Machine
Luke Bryan, Crash My Party
Brantley Gilbert, Just As I Am
Miranda Lambert, Platinum
TOP ROCK ALBUM
AC/DC, Rock or Bust
The Black Keys, Turn Blue
Coldplay, Ghost Stories — WINNER
Hozier, Hozier
Lorde, Pure Heroine
TOP LATIN ALBUM
Juan Gabriel, Los Dúo
Enrique Iglesias, Sex and Love — WINNER
Romeo Santos, Formula: Vol. 2
Santana, Corazon
Marc Anthony, 3.0
TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC ALBUM
Avicii, True
Disclosure, Settle
Calvin Harris, Motion
Skrillex, Recess
Lindsey Stirling, Shatter Me — WINNER
TOP CHRISTIAN ALBUM
Lecrae, Anomaly — WINNER
Casting Crowns, Thrive
MercyMe, Welcome to the New
NEEDTOBREATHE, Rivers in the Wasteland
Chris Tomlin, Love Ran Red
TOP HOT 100 SONG
Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX, “Fancy”
John Legend, “All of Me”
Sam Smith, “Stay With Me”
Taylor Swift, “Shake It Off”
Meghan Trainor, “All About That Bass” — WINNER
TOP DIGITAL SONG
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk!”
Sam Smith, “Stay With Me”
Taylor Swift, “Shake It Off”
Meghan Trainor, “All About That Bass” — WINNER
Pharrell Williams, “Happy
TOP STREAMING SONG (AUDIO)
Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX, “Fancy”
Hozier, “Take Me to Church”
John Legend, “All of Me” — WINNER
Sam Smith, “Stay With Me”
Tove Lo, “Habits (Stay High)”
TOP STREAMING SONG (VIDEO)
Idina Menzel, “Let It Go”
Bobby Shmurda, “Hot Boy”
Taylor Swift, “Blank Space”
Taylor Swift, “Shake It Off” — WINNER
Meghan Trainor, “All About That Bass”
TOP R&B SONG
Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne, French Montana, Too $hort & Tyga, “Loyal”
Jason Derulo feat. 2 Chainz, “Talk Dirty”
Jeremih feat. YG, “Don’t Tell ‘Em”
John Legend, “All of Me”
Pharrell Williams, “Happy” — WINNER
TOP COUNTRY SONG
Jason Aldean, “Burnin’ It Down” — WINNER
Luke Bryan, “Play It Again”
Sam Hunt, “Leave the Night On”
Florida Georgia Line feat. Luke Bryan, “This Is How We Roll”
Florida Georgia Line, “Dirt”
TOP ROCK SONG
Bastille, “Pompeii”
Coldplay, “A Sky Full of Stars”
Fall Out Boy, “Centuries”
Hozier, “Take Me to Church” — WINNER
Paramore, “Ain’t It Fun”
TOP LATIN SONG
J Balvin feat. Farruko, “6 AM”
Enrique Iglesias feat. Descemer Bueno & Gente de Zona, “Bailando” — WINNER
Romeo Santos, “Eres Mía”
Romeo Santos feat. Drake, “Odio”
Romeo Santos, “Propuesta Indecente”
TOP DANCE/ELECTRONIC SONG
Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne, “Rather Be”
Disclosure feat. Sam Smith, “Latch”
DJ Snake & Lil Jon, “Turn Down For What” — WINNER
Ariana Grande feat. Zedd, “Break Free”
Calvin Harris, “Summer”
TOP CHRISTIAN SONG
Francesca Battistelli, “He Knows My Name”
Hillsong United, “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)”
MercyMe, “Greater”
Newsboys, “We Believe”
Carrie Underwood, “Something in the Water” — WINNER
Top Twitter Trends –
Other News Stories –
- Armed conflicts and attacks
- Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- The Saudi Arabia-led airstrikes against the Houthi rebels resume after a five-day ceasefire. (BBC)
- Simultaneous explosions occur at local offices of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party headquarters in the southern Turkish cities of Adanaand Mersin. (RT)
- Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
- The Governor of Iraq‘s Anbar Governorate estimates that 500 people lost their lives and 8000 people fled as ISIS captured the strategically important city of Ramadi. (Al-Arabiya)
- Business and economy
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 end at record levels. (CNBC)
- Disasters and accidents
- Amtrak resumes train services between New York City and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, following a fatal train derailment on May 12.(AP viaHuffington Post)
- At least 52 people die in a landslide caused by heavy rains in the Colombian town of Salgar, Antioquia. (AFP via Yahoo News)
- International relations
- The United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, assures South Korea of “ironclad” American security commitments on a visit to Seoul while accusing North Korea of a litany of crimes. (AP)
- The Philippines says that it is willing to accept 3,000 Rohingya refugees after an accusation by a newspaper was made. Last week Indonesiaturned away boats carrying over 1,000 Rohingya refugees. (Rappler)
- Law and crime
- Scott Driscoll, a former member of the Legislative Assembly of the Australian state of Queensland, has been committed to stand trial on fraud charges. (Courier Mail)
- President of the United States Barack Obama bans the provision of some military-type equipment to local police departments and restricts access to other types of equipment following recent tensions between police and minority communities. (AP via Yahoo! News)
- Former Australian tennis player Bob Hewitt is jailed for six years in South Africa for raping underaged girls. (BBC)
- Victorino Chua, a nurse at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport, is found guilty for the murder of two patients following the 2011 Stepping Hill Hospital poisoning incident. (BBC News)
- The District Attorney for Manhattan says he intends to retry a murder case in the disappearance of Etan Patz which ended in a mistrial. (NBC News)
- Politics
- 2015 Burundian unrest
- After a failed coup d’état the President of Burundi, Pierre Nkurunziza, fires three Ministers, including the Minister of Defence. (The Washington Times)
- 2015 Macedonian protests
- In the ongoing protests in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, tens of thousands of people rallied in support of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.(BBC News).
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