November 3, 2015

Top News Stories –

Tin Man injured in Halloween fight with Scarecrow as Cowardly Lion runs off –
A man dressed as the Scarecrow managed to escape the police after allegedly punching his friend Tin Man in a Halloween bust-up. Police officers in Canadian state of Ontario responded to a call about a fight between revellers dressed as the characters from this Wizard of Oz this Halloween weekend. A lady dressed as Dorothy and two other women dressed as witches told the officers what had happened but the Tin Man decided not to press charges, police say. “Sometimes, our officers see things that are hard to believe,” South Simcoe Police said in a statement. “When they arrived on scene, they saw a man in costume as the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz, being treated by paramedics. “Three ladies, dressed as Dorothy, Glinda the Good Witch, and the Wicked Witch of the East, told the officer that the Tin Man had been punched by his friend the Scarecrow. It added: “The Scarecrow didn’t have the brains to stick around, and ran away with the Cowardly Lion. “Turns out the Tin Man didn’t have the heart to lay charges against his friend, and refused to tell the officers anything. He was treated for minor injuries.” [Daily Telegraph]
The Wizard of Oz

Melbourne Cup 2015: Prince of Penzance the first 100-1 winner since World War II –
It was a historic Melbourne Cup in numerous respects. Not least was the price of the winner – Prince of Penzance – who saluted with Michelle Payne in the saddle at 100-1, making it the equal fourth biggest outsider to win Australia’s most famous horse race. No horse had won at triple-figure odds since World War II. Old Rowley in 1940 was the winner at $101, with Wotan in 1936 and The Pearl in 1871 the only other horses to have provided such value. Michelle Payne became the first ever woman jockey to win the Melbourne Cup. It has taken 155 years, but Payne, one of the youngest of the famous Payne racing family, has galloped into history with a stunning performance aboard the Darren Weir trained gelding. [Melbourne Age]
Michelle Payne

Google ‘smart reply’ will suggest answers for your emails –
Clearing your inbox is about to get a little faster, if you are using Google’s Inbox app. A new feature called Smart Reply will suggest short responses, based on the contents of an email. Google described how the app uses machine learning to “recognise emails that need responses” and suggest some options in natural language. The company also claims the feature will improve over time, learning from a user’s choices of response. Google made its experimental Inbox app available to all users in May 2015. It includes several features designed to make the process of using email more streamlined. [BBC Newsbeat]

Google Project Wing to introduce drone deliveries by 2017 –
Project Wing, the drone delivery service from Google’s parent company Alphabet, will launch commercially in 2017, the executive in charge of the project has announced. David Vos, the leader for Alphabet’s Project Wing, said on Monday that the company is in talks with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US about setting up an air traffic control system for unmanned aerial vehicles. The system will use mobile and internet technology to coordinate the drones at altitudes of up to 500ft (152m), with the aim of having a commercial business up and running in 2017, he told an air traffic control convention near Washington. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Italian Road Trip Honeymoon from Mike Matas on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#ThingsToLeakInsteadOfTheA…	#My3WordHappiness	#RedCups
2	Andrew Luck	#NationalSandwichDay	Peter Donaldson
3	Matias Ale	#ElectionDay	#TDCMCR
4	Candy Crush	Candy Crush	His Dark Materials
5	#NuncaVoyAOlvidar	#CelebrityRestaurants	John Terry
6	#ALDUBTheVisitor	#E3Now	Colin Welland
7	#حفرالباطن_الان	Dusty Baker	#NationalSandwichDay
8	#الهلال_القادس…	The Warriors	Candy Crush
9	#CelebrityRestaurants	#ThingsToLeakInsteadOfTheA…	#My3WordHappiness
10	#انسحاب_المنتخ…	Jon Stewart	#sexontrial

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2014–15 India–Pakistan border skirmishes
- At least two Indian soldiers are killed after Pakistani forces opened fire along the de-facto border that divides Kashmir between the two countries. (BBC)
Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War, Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports Russia conducted multiple airstrikes on ISIS-held Palmyra. (Air Force Times)
- Russia‘s Defence Ministry says the Russian Air Force has bombed 2,804 “militant targets” in Syria so far since beginning its military intervention in September. (The Daily Star)
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
- ISIS claims responsibility for the deaths of two Syrian refugee activists who fled to Sanliurfa, Turkey, raising concerns about the group’s reach in countries outside of Syria and Iraq. Ibrahim Abdel Qader, a founder of Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, and Fares Hammadi are said to have been killed by an acquaintance posing as a defector from ISIS. (New York Times)
- At least four people are killed and 15 injured in an ISIL attack in the Kurdish section of northern Iraq. (Al-Arabiyah)

Business and economics

British bank Standard Chartered announces that it will axe 15,000 jobs around the world as part of a restructure. (AFP via Manila Bulletin)
Takata Defective airbag recalls (2013-present)
- The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Japanese manufacturer of airbags Takata Corp. agree to a five-year consent decree where the company agrees to pay a civil penalty of $70 million dollars and faces as much as $130 million more in fines if it violates the settlement. Twelve automakers are ordered to speed up recalls that so far have only reached about a quarter of the affected cars. (Bloomberg) (USA Today)
- Honda, Takata’s biggest customer, announces it will not use airbag inflaters made by Takata Corp. for the driver or front passenger side in new Honda and Acura vehicles for any market, world-wide. (USA Today) (NASDAQ)
Volkswagen emissions scandal
- Volkswagen says it found faulty emissions readings for the first time in gasoline-powered vehicles, widening a scandal that so far had centered on diesel engines. (Bloomberg) (BizNews)

Disasters and accidents

At least seven people are dead and 35 others are injured as a bus overturns near Tula, Russia. (RT)
At least 30 people are killed and 35 injured after an overcrowded bus carrying passengers inside and on its roof veered off a mountain road in northwest Nepal. (USA Today)
2015 Southeast Asian haze
- Scientists report fires raging in Indonesia have hit Borneo’s orangutans particularly hard. Borneo is home to about 30 percent of the world’s wild orangutans, an endangered species. Smoke has already displaced many orangutans and caused health problems related to smoke inhalation, according to the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF). (Live Science)
2015 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
- Cyclone Chapala
  - “Ravaged by months of war, Yemen now gets battered by the first tropical storm on record to make landfall.” Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Chapala slams into Yemen’s central coast, with maximum sustained winds of around 140 kph (85 mph) — the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane. The storm floods coastal areas, brings down electricity lines and destroys houses, with severe threat of mudslides. Chapala is expected to pour over two or three years worth of rain, up to 300 millimeters (12 inches), in a single day. (CNN) (Abu Dhabi Media)

International Relations

China–United States relations
- In a Peking University speech in Beijing, US Pacific Command commander, Admiral Harry Harris, says the U.S. Navy’s freedom-of-navigation patrols in the South China Sea are routine operations intended to demonstrate respect for international law principles. Harris reiterated they should not be construed as a threat to any country while emphasizing America’s common ground with China. (South China Morning Post) (Bloomberg)
Libyan Crisis (2011–present)
- The New General National Congress (Libya Dawn) which controls the capital Tripoli, and much of western Libya, threatens to send ‘hundreds of thousands’ of refugees to Europe unless the European Union recognizes the Islamist-led government. (Daily Mail)
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Japan–Vietnam relations
- Japan has delivered two more ships to Vietnam that will be refurbished into patrol boats. The ships, which arrived in the port city of Da Nang, are the second delivery of a 2014 deal in which Tokyo is to provide Vietnam with six used fishing vessels that will be converted into patrol boats for Vietnam’s coast guard in the South China Sea. (Voice of America)
European migrant crisis
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel announces a plan to register and distribute incoming refugees evenly throughout the European Union. Refugees would be stopped at EU borders, have their application processed, and then, if accepted, sent to one of the Union’s 28 member states. (UPI)

Law and crime

Pakistani journalist Zaman Mehsud is shot dead by two motorcycle-riding gunmen in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the country’s northwestern tribal region. According to a 2014 report, at least 56 journalists have been killed in Pakistan since 1992. (UPI) (Xinhua)

Politics and elections

U.S. elections:
- Gubernatorial
  - In Kentucky, Republican Matt Bevin defeats Democrat Jack Conway and independent Drew Curtis with 52 percent of the vote to succeed term-limited Democrat Steve Beshear. (Fox News) (AP)
  - In Mississippi, incumbent Republican Phil Bryant easily wins re-election over Democratic, truck driver Robert Gray. according to the Associated Press. (AP via Huffington Post)
- State, city
  - Former five-term Bridgeport mayor Joe Ganim wins election to a sixth term as mayor of Connecticut’s largest city, topping the six other candidates in the poll. Ganim is, in American parlance, an “ex-con;” i.e., a Conviction on corruption charges|convicted felon. In 2003, He was convicted by a federal jury on 16 felony counts for racketeering, bribery, conspiracy, mail fraud, and tax evasion in an operation that also led to convictions of 10 of his associates. Ganim served seven years in federal prison; he was released from a Hartford halfway house in 2010. (Hartford Courant) (AP via CBSLocal.com)
  - Newcomer, businesswoman, and clinical psychologist Karen Weaver tops incumbent Dayne Walling in the non-partisan, Flint, Michigan, Mayor’s election. Flint, which is dealing with lead in drinking water, has been under State financial managementfor close to four full years, and is in the final stage where control will be returned to city officials. (AP) (Detroit News) (MLive Media)
- Ballot initiatives, referendums
  - In Ohio, a ballot initiative that would have established a legal oligopoly for the sale of recreational and medicinal marijuana is resoundingly defeated by voters, according to AP. (Los Angeles Times)
  - In Texas, the Equal Rights Ordinance that would have established nondiscrimination protections for gay and transgender people in Houston fails to win approval from voters. (AP via Washington Post) (Texas Tribune)
  - Voters in Denver’s suburban Jefferson County recall, by 64 to 36 percent, three conservative school board members who worked to weaken the local teachers union while boosting funding for charter schools and pushing through other market-driven policy changes. In Fall 2014, the conservative-led majority drew national attention when they wanted the AP U.S. history course to focus on citizenship and patriotism, while condemning civil disobedience and strike actions. (Washington Post) (AP via Huffington Post)
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issues a two-year investigative report finding the Palatine, Illinois, school district unfairly denied a transgender teenager — who was undergoing hormone therapy but had not undergonegender reassignment surgery — access to school facilities in violation of Title IX, that bars discrimination in federally funded education programs, causing her “isolation,” “ostracism” and at least one “tearful breakdown.” The school district has 30 days to reach an agreement with authorities or risk losing up to $6 million in federal funding and case-referral to the Department of Justice. The Washington Post report called this “The Palatine standoff”. (The Washington Post) (Chicago Tribune) (DOE report)

Sport

In Australian horse racing, Prince of Penzance wins the 2015 Melbourne Cup becoming the first 100-1 winner since World War II; Michelle Payne becomes the first female jockey to ride the winning horse. (Melbourne Age) (Huffington Post)

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November 5, 2015

Top News Stories –

Facebook launches music sharing app called Music Stories –
Facebook has announced a new post format which allows people to listen to the first 30 seconds of a song shared on the site. It will be called Music Stories and Facebook says it is aimed at “enabling better music discovery and sharing”. The previews will be streamed from Spotify and Apple Music and fans can link through to buy or save the music. [BBC Newsbeat]
Facebook Music share tweet

Facebook ‘takes on Apple’s News with news app Notify’ –
Facebook will launch its own news aggregator app featuring stories drawn from numerous media partners next week, according to reports. The standalone new app, reported to be called Notify, will act as a direct rival to Apple’s News app, which recently launched in the UK. The social network has partnered with publishers including the BBC, the New York Times and NBC, according to the Financial Times. Users can subscribe to specific news organisations and receive notifications once stories are published. Reports first emerged the social network had been testing the app over the summer. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Le Petit Chef – Bouillabaisse from Skullmapping on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#8DaysUntilMITAM	5th of November	#BonfireNight
2	5th of November	#NationalDoughnutDay	#StressIn5Words
3	H&	#YouWereSoHotUntil	#museums2015
4	#CMAawards	#StressIn5Words	H&
5	#شي_جميل_يبداا_…	#8DaysUntilMITAM	#MillionMaskMarch
6	#StressIn5Words	Faisal Mohammad	Lewes
7	Elio Rossi	Martha Ford	Sam Burgess
8	#Empire	Chris Paul	Melissa Mathison
9	#مشكله_الاسكان…	Seth Rollins	Guy Fawkes
10	Rolling Stones	#TheSuperheroWeActuallyNeed	Benzema

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict (2013–present)
  - Canada‘s Department of Foreign Affairs says it’s aware of reports that a Canadian national, John Robert Gallagher, has died while fighting in Syria. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, John Robert Gallagher was killed while fighting alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces against Islamic State militants in the northeast Al-Hasakah Governorate. (CBC News)
- Syrian rebels seize control of Murak, a town located north of the city of Hama on a strategic highway that is crucial to control of western Syria, following clashes with pro-government forces. Murak was the scene of heavy fighting last year when government forces took control of the town in October 2014. (Reuters)
- Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
  - Russia sends antiaircraft missile systems to Syria, where more than 50 Russian aircraft are stationed and its bombing campaign in support of the Assad regime has been in progress since late September. (Radio Free Europe)
Military intervention against ISIL
- British Prime Minister David Cameron, under pressure from Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and the Foreign Affairs Committee, will not ask for a vote by Parliament to join the U.S. airstrikes in Syria. (Military.com)
- France announces that it will deploy its aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the eastern Mediterranean to boost its efforts against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Iraq and Syria. (Independent)

Disasters and accidents

Minas Gerais dam disaster
- An iron ore tailings dam bursts in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais flooding a valley, causing mudslides in the nearby village of Bento Rodrigues and causing up to 17 deaths and 45 missing. The dam is operated by Samarco Mineração, a joint venture between BHP Billiton and Vale. (Bloomberg), (Reuters via SBS Australia), (AFP via Yahoo! News), (Al Jazeera English)

Law and crime

European migrant crisis
- Greek police say they came under fire on the country’s northeastern border with Turkey during the arrest of two suspected migrant smugglers who had just ferried 22 people across the Evros river that runs along the Greek-Turkish border. (AP via New Europe)
NetCracker and Computer Sciences Corporation agree to pay fines amounting to over $12 million, settling a Justice Department investigation into the firms’ sub-contracting of computer coding work to Russian sources. The programs were subsequently installed on secure U.S. government computer networks. (The Daily Beast)
University of California, Merced stabbing attack
- The Merced County Sheriff identifies the attacker of four students at the University of California, Merced as freshman Faisal Mohammad. (Merced Sun Star)

Politics and elections

Belizean general election, 2015
- Belizean Prime Minister Dean Barrow wins a record third term in Wednesday’s snap general election in the Central American nation as his United Democratic Party (UDP) gains a clear majority in parliament. The UDP won 19 constituencies and Francis Fonseca’s People’s United Party (PUP) took 10, with two constituencies yet to report. Belize is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II, the symbolic head of state. (Reuters) (Newsweek)
The President of the Maldives, Abdulla Yameen, declares a state of emergency suspending civil rights and giving sweeping powers to security forces. (The Guardian)
- The United States, Amnesty International, and the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the country’s main opposition party, sharply criticize the state of emergency, concerned it might lead to a new crackdown on dissent. MDP had scheduled a protest rally for this Friday, demanding the release of its jailed leader, and former Maldivian President, Mohamed Nasheed. The government order cancels that action. (Washington Post) (AP via U.S. News & World Report)
Myanmar general election, 2015
- Myanmar opposition leader and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi says she would be “above the president” if her National League for Democracy party (NLD) gets the expected win in the Sunday, November 8, 2015, election. The 2008 constitution, drafted by the military without NLD participation, bars her from becoming President. (Reuters) (Time)

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November 18, 2015

Top News Stories –

Jonah Lomu: New Zealand rugby union great dies aged 40 –
New Zealand rugby union great Jonah Lomu has died aged 40. Lomu, who scored 37 tries in 63 matches for New Zealand between 1994 and 2002, had been diagnosed with a rare and serious kidney condition by 1996. It forced him to quit the game and he had a kidney transplant in 2004, but the organ stopped functioning in 2011. Despite never winning the World Cup, he is the joint top try-scorer in its history – alongside South Africa wing Bryan Habana, scoring 15 tries in 11 games. He was at his best at the 1995 and 1999 World Cups, terrifying defensive lines with his speed and size – 192 cm tall (6 feet 4 inches) and weighing about 119 kilograms (18 stone 10 pounds). [BBC]
Jonah Lomu in 2014

Australian police search for men on park-bench vehicles –
Australian police are looking to identify a group of men filmed riding motorised park benches on public roads in Perth. Footage of the nine men casually rolling through an intersection in Scarborough on Sunday has gone viral. While witnesses said they were amused by the spectacle, police said there were real dangers involved. They said the men could face several charges, including driving an unlicensed and unroadworthy vehicle. “Police are concerned for the safety of those riding on the tables with no protective clothing, especially when on roads alongside motor vehicles,” Western Australian police said in a Facebook post. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Can You Survive Only Eating Bacon?

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Jonah Lomu	#LoveTheatreDay	Jonah Lomu
2	Mega Filmes HD	#IStillFacebookBecause	#OurDay
3	#SaintDenis	#IWouldSleepMoreBut	#LoveTheatreDay
4	#LaMateriaQueMasOdioEs	#SaintDenis	Ken Livingstone
5	#1DonGMA	David Beckham	#housingday
6	#SeVieneElVeranoY	#HungryGames	#BieberOnCapital
7	Kevin McHale	Kevin McHale	#PMQs
8	Hamza Hamzaoğlu	Taye Diggs	#GeordieShore
9	Carmen Lomana	#refugeeswelcome	Red Button
10	#السعاده_في_كل�…	#IKWYDLSoniTunes	#IKWYDLSAtMidnight

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Moro conflict
- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak condemns the Phillipine-based Abu Sayyaf’s beheading of a Malaysian man. Businessman Bernard Then and a woman were kidnapped in May from the Malaysia-island Sabah; the woman was released last week. Philippine Colonel Restituto Padilla said the killing followed a “failure of the negotiations about money.” (ABC) (BBC) (AFP via Yahoo) (International Business Times)
November 2015 Paris attacks, Islamic terrorism crisis in France
- At least two suspects die, including a female suicide bomber, and eight are arrested in a raid by French police in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. (CNN) (France 24) (AP) (NNC News)
- Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the ringleader of the Paris terrorist attacks, is killed during the Saint-Denis police raid, officials confirm. (Independent) (CNN)
- French prosecutor Bruce Robin says three Islamic State supporters stabbed a 56-year-old French Jew and history teacher in Marseille, France. The attackers were interrupted by a car and fled. The teacher’s wounds are not life-threatening. (International Business Times) (Time)
Boko Haram insurgency
- At least fifteen people are killed in a twin-suicide bombing of a mobile phone market in the northern Nigerian city of Kano. (BBC)
- Associated Press reports that Boko Haram was the world’s deadliest terrorist organisation in 2014 responsible for 6,664 deaths as compared to 6,073 for Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. (BBC)
Syrian Civil War
- Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
  - The Russian Air Force has destroyed around 500 fuel tanker vehicles used by ISIS and other extremist groups for transporting illegal oil from Syria to Iraq, according to Russian General Staff spokesman Andrey Kartapolov. (RT)
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says a local 15-day ceasefire between Syrian rebels and government forces in the Eastern Ghouta area near Damascus will be announced shortly. (Reuters)
Two Bosnian Army soldiers are shot dead by a gunman inside a betting shop near their army barracks in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo. The gunman committed suicide after police surrounded his house. (Reuters)
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant says that it has killed a Chinese hostage and a Norwegian hostage. (AP via ABC News)
- Both the FBI and New York City police say they are aware of a newly released Islamic State video suggesting America’s most populous city is a potential target of attacks. The agencies said there were no specific threats, they will investigate, and will remain at a heightened state of vigilance. (Reuters)
- The United States warns travelers in Italy that St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the La Scala opera house in Milan, and the Milan Cathedral, as well as “general venues” like churches, synagogues, restaurants, theaters and hotels, have been identified as “potential targets” for terrorist attacks. The message added the Italian authorities are aware of these threats. (AP)

Art and culture

Ta-Nehisi Coates wins the National Book Award’s top prize for nonfiction for his bestselling depiction of America’s race problem, Between the World and Me. Adam Johnson’s Fortune Smiles took home the National Book Award for fiction. (The Guardian)

Business and economy

An auction for the acquisition of chipmaker PMC-Sierra continues, with a new bid by Microsemi Corp., topping the previous bid from Skyworks Solutions. The latest bid values PMC at $2.3 billion. (Reuters)
Reuters reports the U.S. Treasury Department will clamp down further on corporate income tax-avoiding inversion deals by U.S. companies with foreign rivals. A major inversion deal is in the works between U.S. drug maker Pfizer Inc. and smaller Irishcompetitor Allergan, Plc. (Reuters)
Airport workers at seven of the busiest U.S. hubs plan to strike tonight and Thursday over bad wages and threats against unionizing. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) says some 2,000 plane cleaners, baggage handlers and other workers will strike at New York City’s Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, as well as Newark Liberty, Chicago O’Hare, Boston, Philadelphia and Fort Lauderdale. (Reuters) (Philly Voice)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season
- Some 25,000 households in Ireland lose power as a result of Storm Barney. (Independent Ireland)
2015–16 Australian bushfire season
- Four people, including three German backpackers, are confirmed dead in southern Western Australia near the town of Esperance as a result of bushfires burning out of control. (ABC News Australia)
An explosion at a steelworks plant in Cardiff, South Wales leaves two people dead and five injured. (BBC)

International relations

APEC Philippines 2015, Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- U.S. President Barack Obama calls on China to stop constructing artificial islands in the South China Sea. Obama’s comments to reporters came after a meeting with Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III. The U.S. president is in Manila for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit where the Trans-Pacific Partnership is the central topic of conversation. China attempts to keep the topic of the islands off the agenda. (New York Times)(The Diplomat)
U.S. and Cuban officials sign an environmental accord in Havana, the first such agreement since the countries renewed diplomatic relations this summer. (UPI)

Law and crime

Sweden‘s terror threat level is raised to ‘high’ for the first time in history, as national security service Säpo says that police are hunting a suspected terrorist. (Local)
Washington College, on the U.S. Delmarva Peninsula, closes until Sunday, November 30, as police search for an upset, potentially armed student who just returned to campus. His Pennsylvania high school is on alert. (WBAL) (Washington Post) (NBC 10)

Politics and elections

Police in the Democratic Republic of the Congo fire teargas at students protesting increases in school fees in the capital Kinshasa, The students had started throwing stones. (ENCA)
Glen Casada, a top Republican Tennessee lawmaker who is the chair of the state’s House Republican Caucus suggests activating the Tennessee National Guard to ’round up’ Syrian refugees and remove them from the southeastern state, saying “Tennessee is a sovereign state, if the federal government is forsaking the obligation to protect our citizens, we need to act”. (The Tennessean)

Sport

2015 FIFA corruption case
- Sergio Jadue resigns as the head of the Football Federation of Chile and travels to the United States to speak with the Federal Bureau of Investigation about corruption at FIFA. (AAP via Yahoo! News)

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November 19, 2015

Top News Stories –

World’s second-largest diamond ‘found in Botswana’ –
The world’s second-largest gem quality diamond has been discovered in Botswana, the Lucara Diamond firm says. The 1,111-carat stone was recovered from its Karowe mine, about 500km (300 miles) north of the capital, Gaborone. It is the biggest diamond to be discovered in Botswana and the largest find in more than a century. The 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond was found in South Africa in 1905 and cut into nine separate stones, many of which are in the British Crown Jewels. [BBC]
copyright Lucara Diamond Corp.

Scientists have trained pigeons to diagnose breast cancer –
Doctors train for years in order to be able to correctly diagnose cancer – but could they soon be replaced by pigeons? Well, no. Obviously not. However, scientists have now discovered that pigeons are surprisingly adept when it comes to spotting cancerous cells. In a study led by Professor Richard Levenson of the University of California, pigeons were shown microscope images of breast tissue, and then rewarded with food if if they correctly pecked a coloured button that corresponded to either cancerous or healthy tissue. [Daily Telegraph]

Bangladesh: Government ‘mistakenly’ cuts off internet –
An internet shutdown in Bangladesh which lasted for more than an hour was a “mistake”, according to the authorities. Officials announced on Wednesday that access to Facebook, Viber and WhatsApp had all been blocked in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling upholding death sentences for two men convicted of war crimes. But the country’s Telecommunication Regulatory Commission says it accidentally cut off access to the internet across the whole country. The web blackout started at around 13:00 local time and lasted at least 75 minutes, according to the Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star. “We restored the internet as soon as we realised the mistake,” says Shahjahan Mahmood, the commission’s chairman. The messaging services were blocked as originally planned in order to maintain security, he says. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Zoolander 2 Trailer – Paramount Pictures

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#TemporaryFixProject	#InternationalMensDay	#InternationalMensDay
2	#InternationalMensDay	#JaredFogle	#WorldToiletDay
3	치인트	#WhatINeedToHearRightNow	#IWouldSleepMoreBut
4	#Empire	#SexyHolidays	Richie McCaw
5	#PrayForMegaFilmes	#WorldToiletDay	#ChampagneCampaign
6	#ALDUB18thWeeksary	Blac Chyna	#IStillFacebookBecause
7	Marta Domínguez	#TemporaryFixProject	#SixWordSciFi
8	Luis Miguel	#LatinGRAMMY	#juniordoctors
9	#CosasQueTerminanMal	Abdelhamid Abaaoud	Peter Robinson
10	#DiaInternacionalDelHombre	Jimmy Butler	Birms

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Killing of captives by ISIL
- China vows to “bring to justice” those responsible for executing one of its citizens after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant said it had killed a Chinese hostage. China’s Foreign Ministry also confirms the hostage’s identity for the first time, naming him as Fan Jinghui. (Channel News Asia)
Metrojet Flight 9268
- According to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant‘s official propaganda magazine, a “Schweppes bomb” was used to destroy the Russian airliner. (Reuters)
November 2015 Paris attacks
- The French National Assembly approves President François Hollande‘s request to extend the current state of emergency for three months. The Senate must still approve the measure. (NPR)
- U.S. officials say at least four of the Paris attackers were listed in a central counter-terrorism database maintained by the United States Intelligence Community. (Reuters) (UPI)
- United States authorities report dozens of suspected radicals in the U.S. are under “tight surveillance” to preclude a Paris copycat. Federal officials are aware of a possible second ISIL video threatening Washington, D.C. Again, no credible plot has been identified. The U.S. beieves this is a part of a propaganda campaign to scare the American public. (ABC News)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015)
- A Palestinian kills three people, including an American student and another Palestinian, and injures four others, after opening fire at Israeli cars and then ramming his vehicle into a group of pedestrians, injuring several more near Alon Shvut in the West Bank. (The Times of Israel)
- A Palestinian kills two men and wounds another outside an office building synagogue in southern Tel Aviv. (Ynet), (The Times of Israel)
A gunman shoots dead two Saudi Arabian policemen while they are on patrol in their vehicle in Saihat, located in Saudi Arabia’s restive Eastern Province, which is predominantly Shia. (BBC)
U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehend five Pakistani nationals and one Afghan national trying to sneak into Arizona through the Mexico-U.S. border. (Fox 10 Phoenix)

Arts and culture

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reports more than 500,000 people – a quarter of them children – were homeless this year amid scarce affordable housing across much of the nation. Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, andHawaii all recently declared emergencies over the rise of homelessness. (Reuters)
16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards
- The Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences members present the Latin Grammy Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada. (newser)
  - “Hasta la Raíz” wins Song of the Year and Record of the Year. (ABC News)
  - Todo Tiene Su Hora performed by Juan Luis Guerra wins Album of the Year. (Miami Herald)

Business and economy

The World Economic Forum in its annual Global Gender Gap Report says that it would take 118 years before women and men have equal pay for similar occupations, such as white collar jobs. (BBC), (The Huffington Post), (The Guardian)
The New York State Department of Financial Services fines Barclays $150m (£98.2m) for the way it treated its foreign exchange customers. (The Guardian)

Health and medicine

In connection with World Toilet Day, the United Nations reports that 2.4 billion people lack adequate sanitation, and nearly one billion have no toilet facilities and are forced to relieve themselves in areas without facilities. (AP)
The U.S. clears genetically-modified salmon for human consumption. (Reuters)
The American Medical Association urges Congress and/or the FDA to ban direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs and medical devices. The AMA says that the ads increase demand for inappropriate, expensive treatments even if cheaper ones have the same potentials. (The Washington Post), (The Science Times)

International relations

APEC Philippines 2015
- Asia-Pacific leaders, in the Philippines for the 2015 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting, which has been overshadowed by the concurrent Paris attacks, call on governments to urgently increase cooperation in the fight against terrorism.(AP)
- Local labor and farmer groups protest in Manila over talks on inclusive growth during the APEC meeting. (The Economic Times)
A Pew Research Center report finds, from 2009 to 2014, more Mexicans, including unauthorized immigrants, are leaving the United States than entering it. An increasing share of Mexicans says life north of the border is neither better nor worse than life in Mexico. (Reuters)
The United Nations General Assembly humanitarian committee adopts, by a 112-19 vote with 50 abstentions, a resolution that condemns North Korea for gross violations of human rights and supports referring the country and its leaders to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The resolution will be sent to the full General Assembly, where it is expected to pass, given the committee vote. (Reuters via CBS News) (UPI)
The United States State Department expresses deep frustration over the lack of democratic progress in Thailand after last year’s military coup, saying a new constitution there won’t pass the “smell test” unless civil society helps to draft it. (AP) (US Dept of State)

Law and crime

A court sentences former restaurant spokesperson Jared Fogle to over 15 years imprisonment for sex with minors and the possession of child pornography. (NPR)
Convictions for sex offenses against minors accounts for the largest group of military inmates in U.S. military prisons. (AP via The Star Tribune)
Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard, a former U.S. intelligence analyst convicted to a life sentence for providing top secret classified information to Israel, will be released on parole Friday after serving 30 years in U.S. federal prison. He will be given an ankle monitor while he completes five years of parole in America. (CNN) (AP) (Jerusalem Post)

Politics and elections

2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference
- A mass rally due to be held on November 29, 2015 in Paris on the eve of climate change talks is called off due to the threat of terrorism. (ABC News)
Peter Robinson announces he will step down as Northern Ireland‘s First Minister and as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, corresponding with recent tensions in the area and a murder linked with the Irish Republican Army. (ITV News)
The U.S. House of Representatives, defying a veto-threat by President Barack Obama, overwhelmingly passes legislation to suspend the Obama administration’s program to admit 10,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees into the country. The bill will now face a vote in the U.S. Senate. (Reuters)

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November 20, 2015

Top News Stories –

Indian Railways holds disabled recruitment drive on top floor – with no lifts –
A bid to recruit more disabled employees to work on India’s railways has ended in farce after test centres were set up on the top floors of buildings with no lifts or ramps. Many candidates who arrived at recruitment offices across India on Thursday either had to be carried or drag themselves up the stairs to their designated computers. Some were forced to abandon their applications entirely. [Daily Telegraph]

Vengeful surfer vows to eat the shark that bit him –
Don’t get on the wrong side of Allen Engelman – he has exacted the ultimate revenge on a shark that bit him. The Florida surfer was bitten by a shark, so the next day went out on a vengeful hunt. He killed a shark which he believes to be the same one that bit him. Not only did he kill it, but he now vows to eat it in order to punish the animal for the bite inflicted upon him. The surfer received 15 stitches, and from then on he was hell-bent on revenge. Him and his five-year-old son went back to the beach the following day and caught a shark with the same markings as the one which bit him. [Daily Telegraph]

New York follows UK in banning ‘hoverboards’ in public places –
New York has become the latest city to ban self-balancing scooters, known as “hoverboards”, warning that anyone caught riding them in public places could face a fine of up to $500. The two-wheeled electric vehicles, which use gyroscope technology to keep the rider upright, have exploded in popularity over the last few months – with celebrities including Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Lily Allen and Jamie Foxx all spotted riding them. However, according to the the New York City Police Department, hoverboards are prohibited by New York state law since they are considered “motor vehicles that cannot be registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles”. [Daily Telegraph] October 21 2015 was the Back to the Future Day that featured real hoverboards

Video of the Day –

Blue Hue
Blue Hue

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#LatinGrammys2015	#Adele25	#HappyBirthdayMichael
2	#BuenViernes	Mali	#FridayFeeling
3	#HTGAWM	Phuc Dat Bich	#Adele25
4	Corinthians	#PerfectMomentIn4Words	#Mali
5	基本給	#ThanksgivingIn5Words	Blac Chyna
6	1 in the UK	#JessicaJones	#bbcqt
7	#HappyBirthdayJaxonBieber	Woodrow Wilson	1 in the UK
8	#Mali	#HappyBirthdayMichael	Eddie Jones
9	Hayırlı Cumalar	#TDOR	Katie Hopkins
10	#DosPalabras	Tyga	Baker Street

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Military intervention against ISIL
- Cyprus offers France the use of its airbase facilities to bomb the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria. Cypriot airbases are being used by British and Canadian air forces. (The Guardian)
Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
- Russian warships launch cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant positions in Syria‘s eastern Deir ez-Zor. Russian Defense Minister, Sergey Shoigu, reported over 600 terrorists were killed in the strikes. Video footage also emerged of Russian ground crew servicemen writing the words “For Paris” on bombs to be dropped on ISIL targets in a show of solidarity with France in the wake of the November 13 terror attacks that left 130 people dead in Paris. (RT)(Sky News)
2015 Bamako hotel attack
- Ten gunmen storm the five-star Radisson Blu Hotel in the Malian capital Bamako, taking 170 hostages with at least 27 people killed. The grenade-toting assailants free captives who are able to recite the Quran. The hotel is “often used” by Air Francestaff. (France 24), (NBC News), (The New York Daily News), (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
- Mali security forces launch an assault on the gunmen and all surviving hostages are freed. (UPI) (BBC)
- Mali declares a 10-day state of emergency following the attack. (i24 News)
- African militant jihadist organization Al-Murabitoun and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claim responsibility. (CNN) (Reuters).
Xinjiang conflict
- Chinese security forces have killed 28 members of a supposed terrorist group in the mainly ethnic Uyghur Xinjiang region. (BBC)
November 2015 Paris attacks
- Officials report three people died in the Saint-Denis raid. The body of a second woman is found at the apartment where a woman and Paris attacks ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud were killed. (Sky News)
- The French Senate approves President François Hollande’s request to extend the state of emergency until the end of February 2016. The National Assembly passed the three-month extension yesterday. (AP) (Radio France Internationale)
- Fugitive ISIS gunman Salah Abdeslam called three friends saying he is hiding in the Brussels area and is desperately trying to get to ISIS territory in Syria. He said local ISIS members are unhappy with him since he failed to detonate his suicide vest. His brother Mohamed Abdeslam has publicly pleaded with Salah to turn himself in. (ABC News)
A newly released ISIS video threatens attacks on the White House in the U.S., monuments in France, U.S. President Obama, French President François Hollande, and targets in Italy. (Reuters) (CNN)
Yemeni Civil War (2015)
- Two attacks on security checkpoints by ISIS militants in Yemen‘s historic Shibam town and Al Qatn District in the central Hadhramaut Governorate leave at least 15 pro-Hadi government soldiers dead. (The National)

Art and culture

A New York City businesswoman, who wanted to bring a “grander scale” to her yearly charitable giving, bought a toy store’s entire inventory to donate to homeless kids. (UPI)
The world’s second-largest diamond of gem quality, Karowe AK6, is found in the Karowe mine located north of the Botswanan capital Gaborone by the Lucara Diamond Corp. The 1,111-carat diamond is second only to the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond (Star of Africa) found in South Africa in 1905. (Forbes)

Business and economy

Britain’s National Union of Journalists announces a strike against the Financial Times, protesting the changes in pension arrangements since the acquisition of the FT by a Japanese media group, Nikkei. (BBC)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia shut their borders to so-called economic migrants, those not coming from war-torn countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, or Iraq, leaving thousands stranded at Balkan border crossings. Around 500 migrants fromIran, Morocco, and Algeria gather on the border between Greece and Macedonia to protest the closure. (The Irish Independent)
- European Union ministers, in light of the attacks in Paris last week, gather in Brussels for an emergency security summit on the need to strengthen border checks on travelers. (AFP via NDTV)
- French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said some of the Paris attackers exploited Europe’s refugee crisis to “slip in” to France unnoticed. Valls warns the passport-free Schengen zone is at risk if Europe fails to “take responsibility” over border controls. (Sky News)
North Korea–South Korea relations
- North Korea and South Korea agree to hold talks next week. (Yonhap)

Law and crime

Sweden‘s national security service Säpo are questioning terrorist suspect Moder Mothama Magid, a 22-year-old Iraqi, who is accused of planning to launch a terror attack on the Swedish capital Stockholm. (Local)
The family of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved tens of thousands of Jews from the Holocaust only to languish in a Russian prison, have asked authorities to officially declare him dead. (Times of Israel)
The United States releases on parole convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, a former U.S. intelligence analyst, who served 30 years in federal prison. His parole, approved on July 28, 2015, is for five years during which time he has to remain in the United States. A supporter said Pollard will have a curfew and will wear a GPS unit. (The Globe and Mail) (The Globe and Mail-2)
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Pollard’s lawyers, two Democratic members of Congress from New York, Eliot Engel and Jerrold Nadler, and others have requested Pollard be able to travel immediately to Israel so he can live with his family. The White House has said it has no intention of altering the conditions of Pollard’s parole. (The Globe and Mail)
The U.S. Justice Department files criminal charges against three individuals and three companies–Black Elk, Grand Isle Shipyard and oil field services company Wood Group–in connection with a 2012 oil platform incident in the Gulf of Mexico that left three workers dead. The charges range from manslaughter to violations of the federal Clean Water Act. (UPI)
USPlabs and S.K. Laboratory are indicted following a U.S. Department of Justice investigation finds synthetic ingredients manufactured in China were added to workout boosters and weight-loss products the firms claimed to be natural. Supplements from these companies were previously implicated in consumer illnesses and death. Several other defendants from the companies face additional charges. (Military Times)

Politics and elections

New Zealand flag referendum
- The first stage of the voting process to potentially select a new flag of New Zealand starts. (BBC)

Science and technology

NASA orders its first commercial crew mission from private company SpaceX. (The Verge)
A jury in a Texas federal court finds for Apple Inc., in a lawsuit brought against Apple by a subsidiary of Pendrell Corporation. Pendrell has charged that Apple infringed patents on techniques that help restrict the use of web content to authorized persons, i.e.anti-piracy software. (Reuters)

Sport

Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, who has two Olympic gold medals and 30 world records, told Sky News she is going to fight for what she believes to be her right to compete at the 2016 Olympics. She calls on the IAAF, at the world governing track and field organization’s annual meeting on 26 November, to rescind their ban on clean Russian athletes. (Sky News)
In association football, Corinthians win their sixth Campeonato Brasileiro Série A title with four games remaining of the season. (Yahoo! via AFP)

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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
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4	Delcídio	Kobe	#WhiteRibbonDay
5	당신의 결과	#ICarvedTheTurkeyAndOutPopped	ONE MONTH UNTIL CHRISTMAS
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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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December 11, 2015

Top News Stories –

Tokyo police are using drones with nets to catch other drones –
Tokyo’s police force has introduced an elite fleet of interceptor drones designed to chase and catch suspicious-looking drones in nets flying over sensitive locations amid concerns for the prime minister’s safety. Riot police will control the camera-equipped interceptor drones to chase after private drones they feel may be spying on buildings, including the Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s office, and ensnare them in large nets before returning to the ground. Those controlling the force drone will first warn the suspicious drone’s operator to cease the flight, before pursuing them. A four-propellor drone carrying trace amounts of radioactive caesium was intercepted on the top of the prime minister’s office in April, raising terror concerns in the capital. Police said radioactivity levels were only a maximum of 1 microsievert of gamma rays per hour, a level that is not harmful to humans. [Daily Telegraph]

Google Chrome extension replaces all mentions of Donald Trump with Voldemort –
When JK Rowling said Donald Trump was worse than Lord Voldemort, after the former’s proposal that all Muslims should be banned from entering the US, the Harry Potter author inspired one person to take the idea that little bit further. A Google Chrome user has released an extension for the web browser that turns all mentions of Trump into various aliases for Harry Potter’s nemesis. A series of Trump-related Chrome extensions have filled the web. The Trumpweb inserts quotes from the man himself in between “Donald” and “Trump”, and another removes any mentions of him from Facebook. You can also change any mentions of Trump to “your drunk uncle”. [Daily Telegraph] A petition started on December 6 to ban Trump from entering Britain has now reached over half a million signatures.
Donald Trump

Video of the Day –

TIMEDRIFT II from Martin Heck | Timestorm Films on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

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1	#SextaCampuseirosClubSdv	#FlashbackFriday	Ian Bell
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9	#MiFraseDeBorracho	#YouAreInDenialIf	#bbcqt
10	#XMenApocalypse	#NewMusicFriday	#DiamondBall

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- The Taliban claims responsibility for a car bomb attack near the Spanish embassy in Kabul. At least one Spanish security officer is killed. (Reuters)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015),
- Three Palestinians are killed by Israeli forces, two in Hebron, one of whom reportedly tried to ram his car into soldiers and the other during a violent demonstration in the West Bank city. A third Palestinian died in clashes with Israeli troops at the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel. (Today) (AP via Stars & Stripes)
2015 Burundian unrest
- Burundi’s army repels attacks on military barracks in the capital, Bujumbura, in the worst violence since this spring’s unrest that developed after President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to seek a third term in office. According to an army spokesman, at least 12 gunmen are killed and 20 captured. Reports that at least five soldiers have been killed are denied by the army, which says the soldiers were wounded. Two southern sites, a police station and an army camp, were also attacked, with no report on casualties. Kenya Airways and RwandAir cancels its flights to Bujumbura. (Al Jazeera) (Bloomberg)
Syrian Civil War, Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict (2013–present)
- A triple truck-bomb attack on the Kurdish YPG militia-controlled town of Tell Tamer in Syria‘s northeast Al-Hasakah Governorate leaves as many as 50 people dead and 80 others wounded. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the attacks, saying in an online statement that three of its fighters driving three separate vehicles had detonated the suicide bombs targeting “bases” belonging to Kurdish fighters. (Reuters via NBC News)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant‘s branch in Libya (Libya Province) seizes control of the western Libyan town of Sabratha, after storming it in retaliation after two of their men were arrested in a house nearby; however they then set up checkpoints around the town, with little opposition from the local militias that were supposed to be in control of the area. There are now fears that the militant group could destroy the town’s Roman amphitheatre, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (The Telegraph)
Swiss police in Geneva, following yesterday’s CIA tip, arrest two Syrian nationals. Apparently, traces of explosives were found in their car. President Simonetta Sommaruga says, “There is currently no indication that there was a concrete attack planned.”(Sky News)

Business and economy

Chinese tycoon Guo Guangchang, founder and chairman of Fosun, is reported missing amid the Chinese anti-corruption campaign. (The Guardian)
Two of the U.S.’s oldest and largest companies, DuPont and Dow Chemical Company, will merge in an all-stock deal valued at $130 billion. The deal, which includes future plans for DowDuPont to split into three independent, public companies, is expected to face intense scrutiny from federal antitrust regulators, who will examine the impact on prices and the availability of vital seeds and herbicides.(Reuters) (The Washington Post)
China’s Alibaba Group Holding Limited acquires Hong Kong’s largest English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, in a deal reported to be worth about $100 million. (UPI)

Disasters and accidents

2015 South Indian floods
- Major UK-based reinsurance broker Aon Benfield estimates India has suffered over US$3 billion (over Rs. 200 billion) worth of losses as a result of the flooding, and rates them as the costliest floods and the eighth-costliest natural disaster of 2015.(Business Standard)

International relations

2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference
- French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announces the world climate talks (COP 21) will be extended to at least Saturday. (AP)
Syrian Civil War
- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he will not negotiate with armed groups, a day after the Syrian opposition’s multi-group, two-day meeting in Riyadh agreed on a framework for future negotiations to end the conflict. Assad’s statement also appears to put a damper on peace talks Russia and the United States are working to set up. (Reuters) (Syria Online)
War in Donbass
- The United States and Russia exchanged charges concerning U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Šimonović’s presentation at the U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine. While violence between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels has lessened since September’s agreement, Šimonović warned of the massive civilian toll if major hostilities re-erupt. OCHA’s John Ging said locals face unacceptable physical hardships and indignities, and that the suspension of humanitarian programs and expulsion of humanitarian workers in non-government controlled areas must end. (Reuters) (UN)

Law and crime

Hannibal Gaddafi, son of Libya’s late leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was kidnapped by militants, is released in Baalbek, Lebanon. Gaddafi’s abductors said they were seeking information on the fate of Shiite cleric Imam Moussa al-Sadr, who disappeared during a trip to Tripoli in 1978. (AP via ABC News) (Epoch Times) (AP via NBC News-update)

Politics and elections

Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- Martin Kobler, United Nations envoy to Libya, announces the country’s two rival parliaments agreement to set a target date of Dec. 16 to sign a U.N.-sponsored agreement on forming a national unity government. (AP via ABC News) (Reuters)

Science and technology

Washington State University researchers report in the Journal of the American Chemical Society that they have invented a new catalyst that promises to enable production of bio-based chemicals and plastics. In the future, products could be made from bio-based ethanol rather than superheated crude oil. Other uses for this new catalyst are being explored. (UPI) (Phys.org)

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December 15, 2015

Top News Stories –

Spacecraft carrying Russian, American, Briton docks with space station –
A Soyuz spacecraft successfully delivered a Russian, an American and a Briton to the International Space Station on Tuesday after blasting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The otherwise smooth journey ended with a slightly delayed docking at 1733 GMT as Russian commander Yuri Malenchenko aborted the automatic procedure and manually guided the spacecraft towards the station. Alongside Malenchenko, a veteran of long-duration space flights who is on his fourth space mission, were NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and Briton Tim Peake, both former Apache military helicopter pilots. Peake, 43, a former army major who is on a six-month mission for the European Space Agency (ESA), became the first astronaut representing the British government and wearing a Union Jack flag on his arm. The first Briton in space was Helen Sharman, who travelled on a Soviet spacecraft for eight days in 1991. [Reuters]
Timothy Peake

Star Wars: Force Awakens gets world premiere –
The hotly anticipated latest addition in the Star Wars franchise, The Force Awakens, has had its world premiere in Los Angeles. Stars from the original series including Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher joined newcomers including John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. The plot of the film remains a closely-guarded secret and a media embargo on reviews is in place until Wednesday. Fans had been camping out for days outside the TCL Chinese Theatre, which along with other LA venues screened the seventh Star Wars instalment. Security was tight, with a giant tent shrouding the red carpet. The TCL Chinese Theatre – formerly known as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre – showed the first Star Wars movie in 1977. [BBC]

‘Late’ Madonna rebuffs fans over Manchester gig complaints –
Pop singer Madonna has told fans she is no “diva” after technical hitches meant she was late on stage for a gig in Manchester. The 57-year-old artist made the comments on Monday at the Manchester Arena during her Rebel Heart tour. “If you diva bitches want to keep complaining about it, then don’t come to my show,” she said. She added: “I’m not back there eating chocolate and filing my nails and getting my extensions done, all right?” However, the singer told fans: “Tonight, our video crashed, and we had no video, and our back-up file was – I don’t know – it was compromised, put it like that… So praise the Lord and thank you God but that is why we are late, all right? For no selfish diva bitch reason.” [BBC] In July 2015 Madonna compared herself to Pablo Picasso.
Madonna

World’s longest-surviving castaway sued for $1 million after being accused of ‘eating his colleague’ –
A fisherman who stunned the world by surviving 15 months lost at sea is being sued for $1 million (£650,000) by the family of his dead colleague, who accuse him of eating their relative to ensure his own survival. Salvador Alvarenga, 36, is the only man known to have survived for over a year at sea. And when he set sail from the coast of Mexico in November 2012, he thought he was setting out on a two-day fishing trip, having paid 22-year-old Ezequiel Cordoba $50 to accompany him. But a vicious storm with 10ft waves knocked out the 25ft boat’s communication systems, and washed their supplies overboard. The pair survived for several months by catching fish and birds, and drinking turtle blood and rainwater. He eventually died, extracting promises from Mr Alvarenga not to eat his corpse, and to find Cordoba’s mother and tell her what happened. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

The Physics of Car Crashes

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#15DiasProFinalDoAnoEeu	#ThisIsNotTheAlbumOnThursday	Paramore
2	#FantasticBeastsTrailer	#InternationalTeaDay	#internationalteaday
3	#شي_جميل_بحرف_ا…	Sieg Heil	South China Sea
4	#AnoQueVemPrometo	#edensunicornwish	#BackInTimeForChristmas
5	#زد_رصيدك32	#AskCNCO	#CharityTuesday
6	#FelizMartes	#TravelTuesday	#youtubefandomhonestyhour
7	#InternationalTeaDay	Cabin Fever 3	#TimPeake
8	#今年の漢字・2015	#GOPDebate	Mahrez
9	#ParaNavidadQuiero	#FantasticBeastsTrailer	#Moments
10	#ALDUBPagbangon	#BillofRightsDay	Mourinho

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War, Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
- The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that increased airstrikes by Russia have forced humanitarian assistance organizations to curtail their relief efforts, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in northern Syria. (The Washington Post)
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- United States Pacific Fleet commander Scott H. Swift warns of a possible South China Sea arms race. (Reuters via MSN)
Islamist insurgency in Nigeria
- At least 30 people are killed after Boko Haram militants attack three villages in Nigeria‘s northeast Borno state. (AFP via Yahoo)
Military intervention against ISIL
- France‘s Air Force carries out their first cruise-missile strikes targeting Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant installations in Iraq, including “a training center and logistical depot,” according to the French defence ministry. (AFP via Defense News)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Melor (Nona) causes widespread flooding and blackouts in the Philippines. More than 700,000 people had been evacuated ahead of the storm which hit late on Monday night. (New York Times)

Health and medicine

The United States Food and Drug Administration approves the Merck & Co. drug, Bridion, that reverses the effects of muscle relaxants used during surgery. (Reuters) (FDA)

International relations

Saudi Arabia announces the formation of a 34-member Islamic Military Alliance against terrorism including Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan with a joint operations centre based in Riyadh. (SBS) (BNO News)
Nuclear program of Iran
- The United Nations finds Iran’s firing of a medium-range ballistic missile in October violated a June 2010 resolution banning the Islamic Republic from launches capable of delivering nuclear weapons. The test was not technically a violation of the July nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers. It’s not known if the Security Council will take any action. (AP via The Christian Science Monitor) (Reuters)
- The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors decides, by consensus unopposed, to close its investigation into whether Iran once had a secret nuclear weapons program. The IAEA will continue to police Tehran’s activities.(The News Telegraph) (Reuters)

Law and crime

A Baltimore, Maryland deadlocked jury was told by the trial judge to resume deliberations after closing arguments in the first trial of police officer William Porter, charged in the death of Freddie Gray. With demonstrations and unrest following the death, the city has cancelled leave for police officers and the mayor has called for calm when a verdict is announced. (CNN) (The Gazette)
Schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District close after receiving an unspecified “electronic” threat. Later, authorities conclude the threat was a hoax, and announce schools will reopen Wednesday. New York City schools‘ initial response to a similar threatening email was to treat it as a hoax. The NYC schools were open all day. (BBC News) (ITV) (LA School Report) (CNN)
American entertainer Bill Cosby, in response to dozens of accusations of sexual assault and misconduct spanning decades, has filed in U.S. federal court in Massachusetts a defamation suit against seven accusers. (The New York Times)
United Kingdom police arrest a 21-year-old man in Berkshire in the hacking of Hong Kong-based electronic toy maker VTech. Details of more than six million people from servers used to support VTech’s learning products app store were compromised.(BBC) (Digital Trends)

Politics and elections

New Zealand flag referendums, 2015–16
- New Zealand announces the flag design chosen by the public that will challenge the current flag in a March 2016 vote. Voters will choose between the current flag, which features the British Union Jack with a dark blue background, and the challenger, asilver fern and four red stars on a black and blue background. (CTV) (Stuff)

Science and technology

The Soyuz TMA-19M, consisting of Expedition 46 crew members Yuri Malenchenko (RSA), Timothy Kopra (NASA) and Tim Peake (ESA), launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for the International Space Station (ISS) with Peake becoming the first Briton to represent the European Space Agency at the ISS. (Bay News 9) (The Daily Telegraph)

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January 8, 2016

Top News Stories –

Secret Netflix code unlocks thousands of hidden genres –
Netflix’s incredibly niche, personalised subgenres have long captivated movie nerds, from “Steamy Crime Movies from the 1970s” to “Period Pieces About Royalty Based on Real Life”.
The genres, based on a complicated algorithm that uses reams of data about users’ viewing habits to recommend exactly what a particular user is into, number in the tens of thousands. When Netflix thinks you’ll like sentimental Spanish-language dramas or gritty tearjerkers, they’ll show up on your home screen, but aside from that, they’re not easy to find. But a simple web address trick has emerged showing how you can find any one of these genres simply by switching a number in a URL. If you’re logged into Netflix, enter:
http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/XXXX
where “XXXX” is a series of digits – into your browser’s toolbar to bring up one of the thousands of genres in Netflix’s library. 1089 is “Mind-bending Movies”, for example; while 354 is “Movies Starring Matthew McConaughey” – currently a genre of one film. Not all numbers will result in a subgenre, and given Netflix’s ever-changing algorithms, they might move around every now and then, while there may be regional differences meaning that some codes don’t work. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

James Corden and Meghan Trainor: All About That Change

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SrDasTagsDaMafiaNoSDV	#Its2016AndWeStillDont	#FridayFeeling
2	#EnTuiterSoy	#FlashbackFriday	#LoseAFriendIn3Words
3	#KathNielFaceOfTheYearVietnam	Untitled 2	#LipSyncBattle
4	#FridayFeeling	#FridayFeeling	#FirstLineToMyNovel
5	#Enem	#BundySnackMovieTitles	#alcoholguidelines
6	#زد_رصيدك56	#LoseAFriendIn3Words	Winston
7	#LoseAFriendIn3Words	Deadwood	#UnpopularMusicOpinionhour
8	#ALDUBTrust	Peach	#AskOzil
9	#يوم_الجمعه	#ElvisPresley	#ageofloneliness
10	#يارب_انا_محتاج	#jobsreport	#Jericho

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Hurghada attack
- Two suspected ISIS militants are killed and three tourists injured in an unsuccessful attack on a hotel in the city of Hurghada. (BBC)
2016 Philadelphia police officer shooting
- A gunman stating to have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) shoots and seriously wounds a Philadelphia police officer before being arrested. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 Australian bushfire season
- Three people are unaccounted for and at least 135 structures are destroyed, including the historic Yarloop Workshops, following a bushfire in the small Western Australian town of Yarloop. Reports coming out of the area suggest the town of Yarloop has been almost completely destroyed with one local official, Murray Cowper, saying, “A big fireball came through and there was no way they were going to stop it. This could well be the end of the town”. (SBS) (BBC)

Law and crime

New Year’s Eve sexual assaults in Germany
- The chief of Cologne‘s police force, Wolfgang Albers, is relieved of his duties following criticism of his handling of violent clashes and sexual assaults by migrant gangs in the city on New Year’s Eve. (The Independent)
Mexican Drug War
- The Mexican Navy recaptures escaped drug lord Joaquín Guzmán, also known as “El Chapo”, in Los Mochis, Sinaloa. (RT)
Dragan Vasiljković, a former Serbian paramilitary commander, is charged with war crimes in Croatia. (ABC News Australia)

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January 16, 2016

Top News Stories –

Obama issues order lifting nuclear-related sanctions on Iran –
U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order on Saturday lifting sanctions on Iran related to its nuclear program after Tehran fulfilled requirements under a nuclear agreement with world powers, the White House said. Obama determined that Iran’s implementation of the pact “marks a fundamental shift in circumstances with respect to Iran’s nuclear program,” he wrote in the order, released by the White House. [Daily Mail]

Video of the Day –

Sia | Draw My Life

List of the Day –

100 jokes by 100 comedians

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Burkina Faso	Tony Stewart	#MakeMeThinkIn5Words
2	#زد_رصيدك64	#ChangeAConsonantSpoilAMovie	Lord Bramall
3	#FelizSabado	#StartupIndia	Burkina Faso
4	I LOVE ZAYN	#IranDeal	#fab16
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9	#MeEnfermaEsoDe	Hagelin	Nancy
10	ちんぽ10連ガチャ	#DoYourJob	#ZoellaTo10MillionMeetUp

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Ouagadougou attack
- Burkina Faso security forces storm the Hotel Splendid which had been under attack by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb militants. Over 126 people have been freed and at least 29 people have died. (AP via the Daily Mail), (BBC), (CNN), (AFP via Daily Star)
- At least 10 bodies have also been found in the Cappucino cafe which was also attacked by the militants. (AP via Miami Herald)
- Two Australians, a doctor and his wife, have been abducted in northern Burkina Faso. The Al Qaeda-linked, Mali-based “Emirate of the Sahara” is responsible, according to SITE. (AP) (AFP via Yahoo! News)
2016 Jakarta attacks
- Indonesia blocks access to radical Islamist websites and social media sites after the recent terror attacks in Jakarta. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- At least 75 Syrian Army soldiers and pro-Assad militiamen are killed following a multi-front attack on the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant forces. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports ISIL fighters had advanced into the northern tip of Deir ez-Zor city, and captured the suburb of Al-Baghaliyeh. The pro-government Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reports that government forces had repelled an attack on the city leaving dozens of militants dead. (AFP via the Daily Mail)
- Hundreds of civilians are reportedly killed by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants throughout the city of Deir ez-Zor. Syria‘s state news agency SANA, quoting residents, said “around 300 civilians” were killed. If confirmed it would be one of the deadliest days in Syria’s nearly five-year war. (AFP via Yahoo)
Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen, Drone strikes in Yemen
- A U.S. drone strike on a vehicle in Yemen‘s Shabwah Governorate kills three suspected Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

A suspected gas explosion in the Italian town of Arnasco kills at least five people. (Business Insider)
U.S. President Barack Obama declares the city of Flint, Michigan, to be in a federal public health state of emergency due to an ongoing crisis that involves lead contamination (and possibly Legionella which has caused 87 cases of Legionnaires’ disease which lead to 10 deaths) in its local water supply. (The Flint Journal on MLive)

International relations

Iran–United States relations
- Iran releases four Iranian-American prisoners including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and Christian pastor Saeed Abedini. The United States is to release seven Iranian-Americans held in the United States for violating sanctions against Iran. (New York Times), (IRNA) (Reuters) (Washington Post)
Nuclear program of Iran
- The International Atomic Energy Agency states that Iran has complied with its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, paving the way for international sanctions to be lifted by theUnited States and European Union. (IEAE), (New York Times), ” (BBC)
European migrant crisis
- Austria is to deploy its army on its borders with Germany and Slovenia in the wake of surging numbers of migrants entering the Central European country. (Local Austria)

Politics and elections

Taiwanese general election, 2016
- Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is elected the first female President of Taiwan. Eric Chu, the ruling Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) candidate concedes defeat and announced his resignation as party leader. Ms. Tsai vowed to preserve the status quo in relations with China. The DPP supports independence for the island. (BBC) (CNN)
- Current ruling party Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) lost its majority in the Legislative Yuan, a first since the country’s founding in 1911 (The Guardian)
Argentinian left wing lawmaker Milagro Sala is detained at her home for allegedly instigating public disturbances. (Telesur TV)

Sports

In motor sport, The 2016 Dakar Rally finishes with Stephane Peterhansel of France winning his 12th victory in the cars and Toby Price of Australia winning his first victory in the motorcycles. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 22, 2016

Top News Stories –

It Cost Google One Billion Dollars to Keep its Search Bar on iPhones –
Google’s search bar has been a fixture on Apple devices for years, something that’s always seemed counter-intuitive, what with Android being iOS’s only real competitor. According to Bloomberg, Google’s search engine is only exists there because of a $1 billion payment made to Apple in 2014. Bloomberg found the details in court proceedings from an Oracle vs Google lawsuit. Oracle has been fighting Google since 2010 over the search giant’s use of Oracle’s Java software in the development of Android. Somewhere along the way, Oracle’s lawyers got their hands on internal Google finances, which were brought up in open court, before Google’s attorneys pleaded to have the transcript redacted and sealed. According to Oracle’s lawyers — and neither confirmed nor denied by Google’s side — Google paid Apple $1 billion (that equates to around £701,000,000) in 2014 to keep its search bar on Apple devices. The two companies then have a revenue-sharing agreement to split any profits Google makes from Apple’s devices, although the breakdown is not known. [Gizmondo]

Video of the Day –

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SextaBoaPraSdvDetremura	White Privilege II	#AsAChildIUsedToThink
2	#ま行の後に監禁し�…	#FlashbackFriday	#ImFamous
3	#WelcomeBabyTomlinson	Macklemore	Macklemore
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9	#يوم_الجمعه	#ChaseTheDay	#FlashbackFriday
10	#AsAChildIUsedToThink	Jalen Rose	#10000BC

Other News Stories –

Arts and culture

Douglas Borough Council announces that the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway, at Douglas, Isle of Man, ran for the last time at the end of the 2015 season. (BBC)

Business and economy

Steve Zadesky, who has been running the electric car project for Apple Inc. for two years, will leave that company soon for personal reasons, according to the Wall Street Journal. (Wall Street Journal)

Disasters and accidents

January 2016 United States winter storm
- Millions of people in the Mid-Atlantic states brace for a winter storm. (BBC)(CNN)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- The United States government implements new restrictions to its visa waiver program which now requires, with limited exceptions, European, Japanese and Australian travelers to the United States who either have been visitors in the last five years to or are dual-citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Sudan to obtain a travel visa. The new visa policies were mandated by legislation which was passed, in the aftermath of November 2015 Paris attacks, by Congress on the grounds of national security. (CNN), (NYT), (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Law and crime

La Loche Community School shooting
- A former La Loche Community School student shot and killed two brothers at home, and two females, one a teacher, at the school in La Loche, Saskatchewan, Canada, while injuring others. A suspect has been arrested. (CBC) (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Wei Hong resigns as Governor of Sichuan province in China after it was revealed that he was undergoing investigation for “breaching party discipline.” Former World Health Organization executive committee member Yin Li becomes acting governor. (SCMP)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

February 21, 2016

Top News Stories –

Salesmen warned not to knock on George Clooney’s door –
Doorstep traders have been ordered to stay away from the luxury country mansion home of Hollywood star George Clooney. Residents in the River Thames-side village of Sonning have decided to put a stop to unwanted door-to-door salesmen by becoming a No Cold Calling Zone. Sonning-on-Thames is the first village in Berkshire to be declared a designated No Cold Calling Zone after families living there joined forces with Wokingham and West Berkshire Trading Standards officers and Thames Valley Police. Clooney, 54, and his human rights lawyer wife Amal paid £10 million for the 17th Century Grade II-listed Georgian mansion 15 months ago and workmen have been busy adapting it to their specifications. [Daily Telegraph]
Clooney is set to run the London Marathon 2016 after losing bet with model Christy Turlington.
George Clooney

Samsung brings back water resistance and microSD with the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge –
As expected (thanks to numerous leaks in the weeks leading up to Mobile World Congress), Samsung revealed the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge today in Barcelona. This time around, though, the standard and curved screen variants of Samsung’s flagships are two different sizes. The Galaxy S7, like last year’s GS6, has a 5.1-inch Quad HD screen. The Galaxy S7 edge, though, is at least as much of a sequel to the Galaxy S6 edge+ phablet as it is to the smaller Galaxy S6 edge. The S7 edge has a 5.5-inch QHD display – the same screen size as (but with sharper resolution than) Apple’s iPhone 6s Plus. The Galaxy S7 and S7 edge go up for pre-order on February 23, ahead of a March 11 US release date. Early orders will get a free Gear VR along with a six-game bundle, along with the phone purchase. [Gizmag]

Denny Hamlin beats Martin Truex Jr. in closest Daytona 500 finish ever –
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Denny Hamlin made a daring late-race pass, moving from fourth to first in the final two turns to beat Martin Truex Jr. to the checkered flag by 0.010 seconds (or about a foot) to win the Daytona 500. It’s the closest finish in the 58-year history of the historic race. The four Joe Gibbs Racing cars, plus the affiliate car of Truex, were the class of the field throughout Sunday’s race. Hamlin led the most laps, but had ceded the lead to teammate Matt Kenseth, who led the field for 40-straight laps. He paced the field down the backstretch on the final lap. That’s when Hamlin made his move. After sitting in line as the laps ticked off, Hamlin moved to the outside in front of Kevin Harvick. Hamlin passed teammate Kyle Busch for third as the field entered Turn 3. As Kenseth went up to block, Hamlin darted to the middle. Kenseth’s car started to slide but he saved it, leaving Hamlin and Truex to battle for the win. Truex looked to have the advantage as the two headed to the tri-oval but Hamlin inched ahead at the finish line. [Yahoo News]
Denny Hamlin

Video of the Day –

Samsung S7 and S7 Edge launch

Top Twitter Trends –

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1	#HorarioNovoDetremuraSdv	#WWEFastlane	#WOSAwards
2	#WeAreHereForYouNate	#DAYTONA500	#takemeout
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5	#PiliPinasDebates2016	#IOftenGetMistakenFor	#SaturdayNightTakeaway
6	#حكايه_حسن	#KalamazooShooting	#ObamaAndKids
7	#SiçturmaMadenina	Pablo Sandoval	#ReadyForA3
8	#FelizDomingo	#OhNoDanielle	HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE
9	#ASAPOTWOLDay	#iHeart80s	#Casualty
10	#ТинвафлиФолл�…	#PrayForDerek	#OnceTurns100

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- February 2016 Homs bombings
  - Twin bomb blasts hit the Syrian city of Homs with at least 57 people reportedly killed and more than 100 injured. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility. (Reuters) (AFP viaDaily Mail) (BBC)
- February 2016 Sayyidah Zaynab bombings
  - At least 83 people are killed and 178 injured in a series of bombings in the Damascus suburb Sayyidah Zaynab, Rif Dimashq Governorate. ISIL again claims responsibility. (AFP via Yahoo! News)(CNN)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- The Libyan National Army says it has taken control of the town of Ajdabiya and several areas of Benghazi following heavy clashes with Islamist militant groups. (Reuters)
2016 Pampore stand-off
- A group of Islamic terrorists exchange fire with Indian Armed Forces troops for the second consecutive day in Pampore, Jammu and Kashmir, India. At least five soldiers and one civilian have been killed.(ABC News) (UPI)
A Hindu priest is hacked to death and two devotees, who tried to intercede, are wounded in a temple in the Panchagarh District in northern Bangladesh. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility. (BBC) (AP)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 South Pacific cyclone season
- Cyclone Winston
  - At least five people are reported dead and entire villages have been flattened after Cyclone Winston hits Fiji. (New Zealand Herald)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- Greece claims that Macedonia has closed its borders to migrants from Afghanistan. (AP via New York Times)
Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
- Germany is considering sending troops to Tunisia to help train the Tunisian Army in the fight against Islamist militants, particularly ISIL who control territory in neighboring Libya. (FRANCE 24)
Syrian Civil War peace process
- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says a tentative ceasefire agreement reached with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is now being presented to the opposing forces. (CBS News) (Reuters viaThe Australian Financial Review)
Japan–United States relations
- Thousands protest outside the Japanese parliament in Tokyo against the relocation of a U.S. military base on Okinawa Island. Residents cite noise, pollution, and crime as reasons for not wanting a new base built. (Reuters)

Law and crime

2016 Kalamazoo shootings
- Kalamazoo County, Michigan authorities say last evening’s shooting spree resulted in six deaths with two others seriously wounded. Each victim was shot multiple times. Police acknowledge that an earlier report that a 14-year-old girl died is incorrect; she is alive, but “severely, gravely” injured. The suspect, a 45-year-old man who is a Uber driver without a prior criminal record, was taken into custody without a struggle. (USA Today) (CNN)
Terrorism in Malaysia
- Australia issues a security alert, warning that terrorists may be planning attacks in and around the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. It also recommended that Australians avoid travel to the coastal region of eastern Sabah, where the beaches and islands are popular with foreign tourists. (Reuters via Daily Mail)
Pope Francis calls for a worldwide ban on the death penalty and urges Christian leaders to work to stop executions as part of the church’s Holy Year of Mercy. (UPI)

Politics and elections

Comorian presidential election, 2016
- Voters in Comoros go to the polls for a presidential election with 25 candidates standing. (Mail and Guardian)
Nigerien general election, 2016
- Voters in Niger go to the polls for a general election. (France 24)
North Korean state media confirms that Ri Myong-su is the new chief of the General Staff Department of the Korean People’s Army replacing Ri Yong-gil who was executed. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
- In what is seen as a major boost for the “Vote Leave” campaign, Mayor of London Boris Johnson announces he will be campaigning for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. (Sky News)
Ashraf Rifi resigns as the Minister for Justice for Lebanon in protest at Hezbollah domination of the government which he claims is harming relations with Arab nations. (AP)
Macedonian parliamentary election, 2016
- The European Union and the United States advise interim Macedonian Prime Minister Emil Dimitriev to postpone elections scheduled for April 24, 2016. (Balkan Insight)
Bolivian constitutional referendum, 2016
- According to exit polls, Bolivian voters reject a constitutional amendment that would have permitted President Evo Morales to stand for a fourth term in office. His current term expires in 2020. (BBC)
Philippine presidential election, 2016
- The debate series, PiliPinas Debates 2016, kicks off in Cagayan de Oro. (Nikkei Asian Review)

Sports

Denny Hamlin wins the 2016 Daytona 500 by 0.011 seconds, the closest margin in the history of the race, and the 13th-closest in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history. (Yahoo! News)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

March 27, 2016

Top News Stories –

Syria civil war: Assad hails Palmyra recapture from IS –
President Bashar al-Assad has hailed the recapture of Palmyra from so-called Islamic State (IS) as an “important achievement” in the “war on terrorism”. A monitoring group has backed the Syrian government’s claim that the city was recaptured overnight by the army. Military sources say the Syrian army now has “full control”. It had been gaining ground for several days, supported by Russian air strikes. President Assad said this showed the success of the army’s strategy. His comments, to a group of visiting French parliamentarians, were carried on state TV. IS seized the Unesco World Heritage site and modern town in May 2015. When IS seized the city it destroyed archaeological sites, drawing global outrage. Two 2,000-year-old temples, an arch and funerary towers were left in ruins. The jihadist group, which has also demolished several pre-Islamic sites in neighbouring Iraq, believes that such structures are idolatrous. [BBC]
Temple of Bel in 2011

Cat accidentally sent 260 miles away survives eight days in the post –
A Siamese cat had a very lucky escape when its owners accidentally posted her 260 miles away to West Sussex. Cupcake’s owners were sending some DVDs to a buyer in Worthing but failed to spot their pet was asleep in the cardboard box. The feline spent eight days in the post but miraculously survived the traumatic journey from Falmouth in Cornwall. “Imagine how surprised the recipient was when, along with the anticipated DVDs, an elegant Siamese cat emerged from the box,” explained the Grove Lodge Veterinary Group, who helped track down Cupcake’s owner. “This person was somewhat startled as they were not expecting to receive a free cat along with their order of DVDs.” The stunned buyer contacted the RSPCA who collected the cat and brought her to Grove Lodge for a health check. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Glas from Aeon Video on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#IndvsAus	#6YearsOfVictorious	#GetWeirdTourLondon
2	Felices Pascuas	Happy Easter	#BoatRace2016
3	#FelizDomingo	#GoodPlacesToHideAnEgg	#IndvsAus
4	#HistoriaTristeEnTresPalabras	Kevin Stallings	British Summer Time
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9	#11YearsOfGreys	Felices Pascuas	#TrumpTributeBands
10	#27MartDünyaTiyatroGünü	#BernieMadeMeWhite	#askjack

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Palmyra offensive (March 2016)
  - The Syrian Army takes full control of Palmyra after heavy fighting with ISIL forces, according to a Syrian military source. (Sky News)
2016 Lahore suicide bombing
- A suicide bomber from a Pakistani Taliban faction kills at least 60 people and injures 300 others at a park in Lahore, Pakistan, and the group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it intentionally targeted Christians celebrating on Easter Sunday. An official says the explosion took place close to Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park’s children’s rides. (CNN) (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) (AP)

Arts and culture

Thousands of people in Dublin, Ireland, attend the Irish government’s commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising against British rule. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

At least 12 Algerian Army soldiers are killed in a military helicopter crash near the town of Reggane, in Algeria‘s southern Adrar Province. (Reuters)

International relations

Senkaku Islands dispute, China–Japan relations
- As part of its wider military build up along the Yaeyama Islands archipelago in the East China Sea, Japan activates, on Monday, a new radar station on the island of Yonaguni, that is close to the disputedSenkaku Islands. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Israel’s Supreme Court blocks the government’s plan, signed last December by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the U.S. Noble Energy and the Israeli Delek Group companies, to develop Israel’s offshore gas deposits. The court found the so-called “stability clause,” that would prevent Israel from making significant regulatory changes for the next 10 years, undemocratically restricts the Knesset’s power. The government has one year to come up with an alternative arrangement or the plan will be canceled. (AP) (Ynetnews) (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Myanmar general election, 2015
- Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s military chief, pledges to work with the new civilian government that takes over the Southeast Asian country next week, after 54 years of direct or indirect rule by the military. (AP)

2014–16 Venezuelan protests
- According to a new poll, two-thirds of Venezuelans think President Nicolás Maduro should end his presidency this year or be removed via a recall referendum amid a worsening economic crisis. In the event of a referendum, 52.1 percent of Venezuelans would vote to remove him from office, up from 44.5 percent in January, according to the poll. (Reuters)
2015–16 protests in Moldova
- Thousands of people rally in the streets of Chișinău, the capital of Moldova, demanding reunification with Romania. The rally is meant to mark the 98th anniversary since the former Romanian province ofBessarabia was unified with the Kingdom of Romania on March 27, 1918. The protesters say unification with Romania is the way for corruption-ridden Moldova to move forward and join the European Union. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Aftermath of the 2016 Brussels bombings
- Police in Brussels, Belgium forcibly break up an apparent far-right demonstration with water cannons after they joined a crowd of people paying tribute to the victims of the bombings. The demonstrators claim to have marched against terrorism but police intervened when the demonstrators confronted Muslim women and made Nazi salutes. (Euronews) (BBC)

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April 9, 2016

June 4, 2016

Top News Stories –

Fifa: Sepp Blatter, Jerome Valcke & Markus Kattner ‘awarded themselves £55m’ –
Former high-ranking Fifa officials Sepp Blatter, Jerome Valcke and Markus Kattner awarded themselves pay rises and bonuses worth $80m (£55m) over five years, say Fifa lawyers. Football’s governing body revealed the contracts of ex-president Blatter, fired ex-secretary general Valcke and sacked former finance director Kattner one day after a Swiss police raid. Fifa’s lawyers said there was evidence that the trio made “a coordinated effort” to “enrich themselves” between 2011 and 2015. Documents and electronic data were seized from Kattner’s old office during Thursday’s operation, which relates to investigations into Blatter and Valcke, according to sources close to Fifa’s internal investigation. [BBC]
Jérôme_Valcke

Video of the Day –

Slow Mo Rainbow Flame – 4K – The Slow Mo Guys

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Syrian Government forces enter Raqqa province, the joint capital of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. It is one of three simultaneous attacks in Iraq and Syria. (Haaretz)
Kashmir conflict
- Two militants attack a police checkpoint in the city of Anantnag in south Kashmir killing two Indian police officers. (Indian Express)

Disasters and accidents

The flight recorder casings and potential flight recorder of Eastern Flight 980, which crashed in 1985 on Mount Illimani, Bolivia, are recovered by hikers from Boston. (operation thonapa)

Law and crime

Thai authorities remove all 137 tigers from the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi Province. The remains of 30 more tiger cubs, in addition to the 40 carcasses found earlier, were discovered Thursday. Five men have been charged with possession of endangered animal parts without permission. (CNN) (Bangkok Post)
Nigeria’s information and culture minister says the government has recovered $9.1 billion in money and assets stolen from the oil sector. (Huffington Post)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016, United States Virgin Islands Democratic caucuses, 2016
- The Democratic Party in the Virgin Islands, which has seven unpledged delegates, holds its caucus with Hillary Clinton. The results, along with those from tomorrow’s primary in Puerto Rico, could bringHillary Clinton close to securing the nomination. (The Washington Post)
- Hillary Clinton picks up six out of seven pledged delegates in the V.I. caucus. (AP via ABC News)

Science and technology

Scientists report, in the AHA journal Stroke, that a small trial of stroke victims showed significant improvement following injection of stem cells directly into their brains. The study had been designed just to test whether the highly experimental therapy was safe. Such treatments were available in China for many years but treatment results were very inconclusive. (Tech Insider) (Stroke)

Sport

2016 French Open – Women’s Singles
- In tennis, Garbine Muguruza of Spain wins the 2016 French Open by 7–5 6–4 in an upset defeat of Serena Williams. (CNN)
2016 Epsom Derby
- In horse racing, Harzand trained by Dermot Weld wins the Epsom Derby. It is the fifth horse owned by His Highness The Aga Khan IV to win the Derby. (The Telegraph)

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May 17, 2016

Top News Stories –

British Premier League finishes late with Leicester City as 5000-1 Champions –
The final match of the Barclays Premier League saw Manchester United beat Bournemouth 3-1 in a rescheduled match after a suspect package was found at Old Trafford two days earlier. Leicester City were the surprise of the season. Following their narrow escape from relegation in the previous season many pundits had predicted that they would be relegated and bookmakers gave 5,000–1 odds on them winning the title which they achieved with two matches to spare. After the dismissal of manager Nigel Pearson, they began the new season with Italian Claudio Ranieri in charge. The Golden Boot (for the most goals scored by a player) went to Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane. Norwich City, Newcastle United and Aston Villa were relegated. [Wikipedia] See List of the Day
Harry Kane

Hackers’ website breached by hacker –
The email addresses and private messages of more than 470,000 members of a hacking website have been leaked online following a huge data breach. The Nulled website was a popular marketplace for stolen account details and hacking tips. The leaked data contained more than 5,000 purchase records relating to the exchange of stolen information. The site has been taken offline, stating it is undergoing “routine maintenance”. [BBC]

Fireball captured on US traffic police officer’s dashcam –
A bright fireball shot across the sky early Tuesday around 0500 GMT (0100 EDT), lighting up several north-eastern US states and parts of Canada. The bright flash was apparently left by a meteor burning up as it passed through Earth’s atmosphere. The incident was caught on camera, including the dashcam of an officer from the Plattsburgh Police Department, which you can see here. [BBC] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

List of the Day –

Barclays Premier League 2015-16 [Wikipedia]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Leicester City (C)	38	23	12	3	68	36	+32	81
2	Arsenal	38	20	11	7	65	36	+29	71
3	Tottenham Hotspur	38	19	13	6	69	35	+34	70
4	Manchester City	38	19	9	10	71	41	+30	66
5	Manchester United	38	19	9	10	49	35	+14	66
6	Southampton	38	18	9	11	59	41	+18	63
7	West Ham United	38	16	14	8	65	51	+14	62
8	Liverpool	38	16	12	10	63	50	+13	60
9	Stoke City	38	14	9	15	41	55	−14	51
10	Chelsea	38	12	14	12	59	53	+6	50
11	Everton	38	11	14	13	59	55	+4	47
12	Swansea City	38	12	11	15	42	52	−10	47
13	Watford	38	12	9	17	40	50	−10	45
14	West Bromwich Albion	38	10	13	15	34	48	−14	43
15	Crystal Palace	38	11	9	18	39	51	−12	42
16	AFC Bournemouth	38	11	9	18	45	67	−22	42
17	Sunderland	38	9	12	17	48	62	−14	39
18	Newcastle United (R)	38	9	10	19	44	65	−21	37
19	Norwich City (R)	38	9	7	22	39	67	−28	34
20	Aston Villa (R)	38	3	8	27	27	76	−49	17

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi civil war (2014–present)
- At least 69 people are killed and 230 injured in a series of bomb attacks targeting Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad, Iraq. Islamic State of Iraq and Syria claims responsibility for some of the attacks. (NY Times) (Reuters) (Press TV)

Disasters and accidents

Heavy rainfall leads to threats of flooding in Sri Lanka and southern India. (AccuWeather)
2016 Fort McMurray wildfire
- A flare up of wildfires around Fort McMurray has caused the evacuation of 8,000 workers. (Reuters/AFP via ABC News Australia)

International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- Amid growing concern about North Korea‘s ballistic missile capability, South Korea, Japan and the U.S. are to hold their first ever joint anti-missile exercise next month, according to South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense. The three countries will practice “detecting and tracing a hypothetical North Korean missile,” said a ministry official. (CNN)
Nepal–United Kingdom relations
- British national Martin Travers is detained in Nepal for allegedly taking part in protests against the Nepalese government. (AP via The Telegraph)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Voters in the American state of Oregon have their mail-in ballots counted for a Democratic Party and Republican Party primary. Donald Trump is the projected winner on the Republican winner while Bernie Sanders is projected to win the Democratic Party race. (ABC News America), (NBC News), (AP via Chicago Tribune)
- Voters in the American state of Kentucky go to the polls for a Democratic Party primary with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders winning an equal number of delegates and Clinton winning the popular vote narrowly.. (AFP via Yahoo! 7) (Courier-Journal), (CNN)
The U.S. Senate passes a legislation that would allow victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to file lawsuits seeking damages from Saudi Arabia despite Saudi threats to pull billions of dollars from the U.S. economy.(LA Times) (Reuters) (NY Times)

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May 23, 2016

Top News Stories –

Barack Obama eats $6 dinner in Vietnam with chef Anthony Bourdain –
Barack Obama didn’t want to miss out Monday night in Hanoi, so he hit the town with renowned chef-turned-television host Anthony Bourdain. The pair dined together at Huong Lien, a bún chả restaurant that serves the grilled pork and noodle dish thought to originate in Vietnam’s capital city. The US reporters in the White House press pool that was accompanying Obama in the presidential motorcade were not allowed to follow the pair inside the restaurant, which was crowded with local patrons. But social media lit up with photos from those who were present for the surprise visit, which was not listed on the president’s public schedule. [The Independent]
Anthony Bourdain tweet

Video of the Day –

If Meat Eaters Acted Like Vegans – Ultra Spiritual Life episode 35

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war
- Reuters reports nearly 150 people are killed and at least 200 wounded in a series of car bomb and suicide attacks in the Syrian cities of Jableh and Tartus in government-controlled territory that hostsRussian military bases. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group claims responsibility. (Al Jazeera) (USA Today) (Reuters)
Yemeni civil war (2015–present)
- At least 41 army recruits are killed and 60 others injured in a suicide car bomb attack in Aden, Yemen. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group claims responsibility. (Reuters)
- At least 13 suspected Al-Qaeda militants and two soldiers are killed in a raid in Aden, Yemen. (VOA News) (National Yemen)
Iraqi civil war (2014–present)
- The Iraqi government begins Operation Breaking Terrorism, aimed at retaking the city of Fallujah, which has been under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group since early 2014. (Al Jazeera)
Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
- Three policemen are killed in Srinagar, India. Hizbul Mujahideen claims responsibility. (News 18) (The New York Times)
War in Afghanistan
- The Taliban leadership council reportedly meets to determine a successor to Mullah Akhtar Mansour, killed this weekend during an American drone strike in Pakistan. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Germany‘s Bayer AG makes an unsolicited bid valued at $62 billion cash to takeover American company Monsanto to create the world’s largest agricultural chemical company. (Bloomberg) (The Wall Street Journal)

Disasters and accidents

An overnight fire at Pitakiatwittaya Christian elementary school’s dormitory in the northern Chiang Rai Province in Thailand kills 18 girls between the ages of 5 and 12. The other 20 girls sleeping in the dorm are rescued, though five are injured. (CNN) (Facebook)
Cyclone Roanu
- Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre reports 92 people are confirmed dead with 109 people still missing from landslides and floods resulting from Roanu. More than 500,000 have been driven from their homes. (EconomyNext)
- Bangladesh reports at least 26 deaths caused by drowning or homes collapsing with 500,000 evacuated during the storm. Maheshkhali Island officials are monitoring a badly damaged 17-mile stretch of mud embankment in danger of collapsing, allowing seawater to flood the communities. (The Weather Channel) (The Navhind Times)
At least five people are killed after a Cessna 182 light-aircraft crashes near Port Allen Airport on Hawaii‘s Kauai island. (CBS News)

Health and medicine

2015–16 Zika virus epidemic
- Health officials are concerned about the spread of the Zika virus in Haiti, which suffered the worst epidemic of cholera in recent history following the deadly 2010 Haiti earthquake. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports there are 2,214 suspected cases as of April 23. But new research indicates the virus has been present since 2014. The actual infection rate remains unknown since the poor, densely populated nation lacks routine data systems that can track and document disease outbreaks. (AP)

International relations

United States–Vietnam relations
- United States President Barack Obama ends the American arms embargo with Vietnam during his visit in the country. (Washington Post) (USA Today)
World Humanitarian Summit
- The first-ever United Nations humanitarian summit opens in Istanbul, Turkey, to address the 125-million people crisis, the worst since World War II. (AP via Deseret News) (Reuters)
Pope Francis meets with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Ahmed el-Tayeb in the Vatican. (Al Jazeera) (ABC News) (US News)

Law and crime

Death of Freddie Gray
- Judge Barry Williams finds Baltimore, Maryland, Police Officer Edward Nero not guilty of all charges. Nero was accused of second-degree intentional assault, two counts of misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment. Community leaders and elected officials appeal for calm. (CNN)
- The Baltimore Police Department says Nero remains on administrative duty while an internal investigation continues. (AP via Daily Mail)
- Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake says the city is prepared to respond to any disturbance after today’s acquittal. (AP via Salon)
Threatening robocalls lead to mass evacuation of students in the United States and United Kingdom. None of the threats were found to be credible but disrupted General Certificate of Secondary Educationtests in the UK. (NBC News)
Democratic Governor of Virginia Terry McAuliffe is being investigated by federal prosecutors over campaign contributions, including a foreign contribution from a Chinese businessman, and what they consider to be “suspicious personal finances”, as part of a public integrity probe that has lasted for more than a year, according to officials. The United States Department of Justice would not confirm or deny the investigation. (The Washington Post)

Politics and elections

Tajikistani constitutional referendum, 2016
- The Tajikistani constitutional referendum results in the removal of term limits of incumbent President Emomali Rahmon. (TASS), (ABC News)
Binali Yıldırım is appointed Prime Minister of Turkey after the resignation of Ahmet Davutoğlu amid disagreements with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (ABC New), (BBC), (VOA)
Austrian presidential election, 2016
- Independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen, a member of The Greens, is elected President of Austria in a tight contest that was decided by mail-in votes. (CNN) (USA Today)
Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines presumptive president-elect, says he will allow the immediate burial of former kleptocratic dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Heroes’ Cemetery in metropolitan Manila. (AP)
Cypriot legislative election, 2016
- The Democratic Rally wins the legislative election. (Daily Sabah) (TASS) (EU Observer)

Science

ISRO successfully launched India‘s Reusable Launch Vehicle demonstrator mission (RLV-TD).(NASA Spaceflight)

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June 25, 2016

Top News Stories –

Los Angeles glass slide opens 1,000ft up skyscraper –
A glass slide fixed 1,000ft (305m) along the outside of a skyscraper in Los Angeles opens to the public on Saturday. The Skyslide spans 45 ft from the 70th to the 69th floor of the US Bank Tower in the city. Despite being made of glass just one inch thick, it is built to withstand hurricane-force winds and earthquakes. Tickets cost $25 (£18) each. It is part of the Skyspace renovation that also includes an observation deck. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Greenpeace holds a historic performance with pianist Ludovico Einaudi on the Arctic Ocean

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Moro conflict
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant urges its supporters in Indonesia and Malaysia to go to the Philippines and fight against newly-elected president Rodrigo Duterte. (Rappler)
Syrian Civil War
- At least three people are killed and three more injured as hundreds of Syrian Kurds flee Aleppo Province villages controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which continues to abduct and enslave Kurds. Yesterday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported ISIL militants have kidnapped about 900 civilians over the past three weeks. (The New York Times) (Fox News)
Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
- Five Indian paramilitary soldiers are killed and another 20 injured when suspected rebels ambush their convoy in the outskirts of Srinagar in the Indian portion of Kashmir. Two of the attackers are killed by return fire; the others escape. (AP via ABC News)
War in Somalia
- A suspected Al-Shabab suicide bomber blows open the gate of Mogadishu’s Nasa-Hablod hotel in Somalia, before militant fighters storm the building. Officials said at least 15 were killed, 25 injured, and an unknown number of guests were taken hostage. (AP via NBC News) (AP), (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

2016 West Virginia flood
- The Kanawha County sheriff’s office reports the death toll is now 26—three more victims were found overnight. It is the third-deadliest flood in West Virginia history. (USA Today)
Two women and seven men of the Extra Young Ohangla band die and eight other band members survive after their boat sinks in Lake Victoria at Kenya’s Lihunda beach. The 15-member band was headed to Ndeda Island. (Kenya Star) (The Standard)
Erskine Fire, 2016 California wildfires
- A massive wildfire destroys at least 150 homes and leaves two people dead in Kern County, California. The Governor of California Jerry Brown declares a state of emergency for Kern County as more homes are threatened by the fire. (Reuters)

International relations

Cross-Strait relations
- The People’s Republic of China cuts communication mechanism with Taiwan after the new government refuses to acknowledge the One China policy. (Reuters)
United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- Diplomats from Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg meet in Berlin to discuss the consequences of the United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union. (AP via Daily Mail)
- Lord Hill resigns as European Commissioner after the United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union. (BBC)
- Germany and France call for Britain to negotiate a quick divorce from the European Union. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2014–16 Venezuelan protests
- Venezuelan opposition leaders say they have now secured enough signatures on a petition to move to the next stage in a recall referendum of President Nicolás Maduro. The process must now be validated by electoral officials. (BBC)
Icelandic presidential election, 2016
- Voters in Iceland head to the polls to elect a new president with a historic low voter turnout expected. Independent candidate Guðni Th. Jóhannesson claims victory. (DPA) (Iceland Review)
United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
- A petition calling for a second EU referendum has topped two million signatures – more than doubling the highest signed in UK parliamentary history. (Daily Mirror)
- Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Opposition, sacks Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn after Benn’s support for a “no-confidence motion” after Corbyn’s perceived poor campaign for Remain. (BBC)

Science and technology

Five new species of orchid are discovered in the Philippines. (Times of India)

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November 9, 2016

Top News Stories –

US election 2016 result: Trump beats Clinton to take White House –
Donald Trump will become the 45th US president after a stunning victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. The Republican nominee’s victory came down to a handful of key swing states, despite months of polling that favoured Mrs Clinton. The battlegrounds of Florida, Ohio and North Carolina cleared the way for his Brexit-style upset. Global markets plummeted, with the US dollar diving and gold prices surging. Mr Trump’s shock victory in Wisconsin put him over the 270 out of 538 electoral college votes needed to win the White House, after a gruelling and rancorous campaign. The US president-elect took to the stage with his family at his victory rally in a New York hotel ballroom and said: “I just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us on our victory.” [BBC]
President elect Donald Trump

Video of the Day –

Donald Trumps acceptance speech

List of the Day –

Popular vote results in US election

Trump

58,212,712 votes

47.8%

Clinton

57,755,468 votes

47.4%

Others

5,837,383 votes

4.8%

After 94.0% of voting districts

Senate

100 seats, 34 up for election

Republicans

51 seats

Democrats

45 seats

Independents

2 seats

House of Representatives

435 seats, all up for election

Republicans

236 seats

Democrats

192 seats

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Operation Inherent Resolve
- The United States military states that it has inadvertently killed 64 civilians in air strikes on targets in Syria and Iraq over the past year. (AP via Fox News)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Croydon tram derailment
- At least seven people have been killed and 51 hospitalised after a Tramlink light rail vehicle derailed and overturned close to Sandilands tram stop in the London Borough of Croydon early on Wednesday. It is believed to be the first tram accident involving fatalities on the tram in the United Kingdom since 1959. (BBC News)

International relations

The immigration website of Canada crashes due to overflow, coinciding with the election in the United States. (CNN)

Law and crime

The Supreme Court of the United States hears arguments on a case regarding whether the citizenship claim of a child is different if there is an unmarried father versus an unmarried mother who is a U.S. citizen. (Scotus blog)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election and general elections, 2016
- Although he narrowly lost the popular vote, Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the 2016 presidential election, becomes the president-elect of the United States after defeating Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee. It is the fifth time in United States history where the winning candidate lost the popular vote, the last such defeat occurring in 2000.
- The Republican Party retains control of the House and Senate. (The New York Times)
- Notable propositions are passed in several states including legal recreational marijuana in California, Massachusetts, and Nevada; medical marijuana in Arkansas, Florida and North Dakota; tougher firearms restrictions in California and Washington state; physician assisted suicide in Colorado, and the reimposition of capital punishment in Nebraska. (BBC), (The Chicago Tribune)
- Tens of thousands of Hillary Clinton supporters protest in Chicago; Los Angeles; Oakland, California; Philadelphia; Portland, Oregon, New York City; Seattle and other major cities, reflecting a deep political divide in the United States. (CNN), (ABC)
- Residents including business leaders of the state of California, which voted with majority support for Hillary Clinton, propose launching a secession movement from the United States after Donald Trump is elected president. (Time), (BBC)

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January 1, 2017

Top News Stories –

Mariah Carey stormed out of 2016 with a technical meltdown –
Mariah Carey had a very public and very embarrassing end to 2016. She had a massive technical meltdown during her performance at a New Year’s Eve party. And it wasn’t exactly an intimate gig – it was the New Year’s Eve party in Times Square in New York. Thousands of people watched there, millions more saw it on American TV. She said: “We’re missing some of these vocals, but it is what it is. “We didn’t have a sound check, but it’s New Year’s baby. That’s ok.” It didn’t look ok though. She half-heartedly mimed a few bars and then decided not to bother. “I’m going to let the audience sing, OK?” she said. Her male dancers carried on, as she diva-strutted across the stage. At one stage she asked “I wanted a holiday too, can I not have one?” As the song ended, she said “That was…. amazing.” Finally, she told the audience: “It just don’t get any better”, and walked off stage. [BBC]
Mariah Carey

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2017 Istanbul nightclub attack
- A Gunman opens fire in a nightclub in Istanbul, on the European coast of the Bosphorus, killing at least 39 people with an additional 69 wounded. (BBC), (AP via ABC News Australia), (Fox News)
A suicide car bomb explosion and gunmen attack in Iraqi al-Qadisiya town situated in west of Najaf, kills at least 7 people and injures more than 17 others. Yesterday, 29 people were killed in a bomb explosion at a busy market in Iraq’s capital Baghdad. ISIS claims responsibility. (Reuters), (Tasnim News Agency)
A gunman shoots dead Burundi‘s environment minister Emmanuel Niyonkuru in the nation’s capital, Bujumbura. (FRANCE 24)

Disasters and accidents

A ferry catches fire en route to Indonesia‘s Thousand Islands, killing at least 23 people and injuring 17 others. (The Melbourne Age)

International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, claims that the country is close to developing an intercontinental ballistic missile. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- The United Nations Security Council unanimously votes in favor of the Russian and Turkey-backed ceasefire currently in effect in Syria. (Al-Jazeera)
United Nations Secretary-General selection, 2016
- Portugal‘s António Guterres begins his term as United Nations Secretary-General, replacing South Korea’s Ban Ki-moon. (India Today), (Al Jazeera), (AP)
United Nations Security Council election, 2016
- Bolivia, Ethiopia, Italy, Kazakhstan, and Sweden begin their terms on the United Nations Security Council, replacing Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, and Venezuela. (Inter Press Service News)
Foreign relations of the Gambia, Gambian presidential election, 2016
- Gambian President Yahya Jammeh accuses the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, of “declaring war” after it said it was putting forces on alert in case he refused to step down at the end of his mandate on January 19. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Campinas massacre
- A gunman shoots dead at least 11 people, including his former wife, and then himself in a murder–suicide at a New Year’s Eve party in the southeast Brazilian city of Campinas. Several others reportedly remain in critical condition. (Reuters)
Spanish and Moroccan authorities clash with migrants on the Moroccan-Spanish border along Ceuta, as they attempt to climb and rush the border fence. (Express UK)
Police arrest Anthony K. Boisvert after a foot chase in Lebanon, New Hampshire, charging him in the setting a fire which destroyed an abandoned building on January 2016, and two other fires, one which destroyed the historic First Baptist Church on December 2016 and stabbing two at a condominium complex December 29. (The New Hampshire Union Leader)
Authorities seek three men after they rob $6 million on New Year’s Eve from the offices of high-end jewelry designer Gregg Ruth in New York City. (ABC NYC)

Politics and elections

The Church of Norway officially ceases to be the state church of Norway after almost 500 years. (The Christian Daily)
Quirino Ordaz Coppel is sworn in as Governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa. (Periódico Zócalo)

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January 2, 2017

Top News Stories –

Argentina: Uproar as new year message omits disputed Falklands –
A new year’s message by Argentina’s social development ministry has caused uproar after it excluded the disputed Falkland Islands from the country’s map. Former combatants and social media users said the message was offensive to those who died in the 1982 war. The ministry has apologised, saying it was a mistake by the design team. The islands are a British territory in the Atlantic claimed by Argentina, where they are known as the Malvinas. President Mauricio Macri, who took office in December 2015, promised a “new kind of relationship” with the UK, a step seen as aimed at boosting Argentina’s flagging economy. [BBC]

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2017 Istanbul nightclub attack
- The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the attack in what it claims is a response to Turkey‘s actions in neighbouring Syria. (The Washington Post)
January 2017 Baghdad bombings
- A series of attacks kill at least 70 people and injure more than 100 others in mostly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad, Iraq. (The Huffington Post)

Disasters and accidents

In Texas, four children die with an additional six others injured after they are poisoned by phosgene gas sprayed in an inappropriate attempt as a pesticide. (Fox News)
A wildfire destroys at least 100 homes in Valparaíso, Chile, causing the evacuation of about 400 people. The Chilean Ministry of the Interior and Public Security reports that at least 19 people suffered from minor injuries. (AAP via SBS), (Reuters)
A powerful storm system hits the southern United States, resulting in four deaths in Alabama and severe damage across several states. (AP)
A traffic collision between a minivan and a pickup truck in the Ban Bueng District of Chonburi Province, Thailand kills at least 25 people and leaves 2 others injured. Authorities investigate the cause of the accident. (Al Jazeera), (CNN)
Four people are killed in the crash of a Cessna 210 into rugged terrain on Mogollon Rim near Payson, Arizona. The plane had been traveling from Scottsdale, Arizona to Telluride, Colorado. (ABC News)(Arizona Republic) Victim was identified as Scottsdale attorney Eric Falbe along with his wife, Carrie, and his two daughters from a previous marriage. (Fox Spokane)

Law and crime

2017 Manaus prison riot
- Prisoners kill at least 56 people in a prison riot in Manaus, Brazil. (Reuters)
In New Haven Connecticut, two men are suspected of approaching a man claiming to have a gun, took his cellphone and wallet. Then they stole his SUV and apparently lost control as they were killed when their stolen SUV accidentally crashed into and seriously damaged a synagogue (Hartford Courant)
In Dearborn Michigan the driver and passenger of a minivan being pursued by police for missing plates were killed when they struck a car, lost control and hit several parked vehicles. (Huron Daily Tribune)
In Detroit, Michigan an African American man was shot in the head driving a car which crashed, police are searching for two men who ran from the car after the crash (WXYZ)
A first-year New Rochelle Police officer crashed his Jeep into a tree, killing passenger Isaac “Hooshie” Ward. He will be charged with vehicular manslaughter as his Blood Alcohol Content was above the legal limit (newrochelletalk)
Huzaifa Shafeeq was arraigned on burglary charges after police say the stole from a Long Island mosque charity box on Christmas and New Years Day. Islamic Center board member said the amount taken wasn’t large, but called police as the thief needed help. (ABC7NY)

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The 2010s

The story of a decade

Tag Archives: Iraq

November 3, 2015

November 5, 2015

November 18, 2015

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