December 29, 2015

Top News Stories –

Russia: Book of Putin quotes ‘given to officials’ –
Officials across Russia have been given a 400-page book of “prophetic” quotes by President Vladimir Putin as a new year gift, it’s reported. The collection, entitled Words That Change The World, was sent to as many as 1,000 people by one of Mr Putin’s top aides, Vyacheslav Volodin, according to the business newspaper RBK. Recipients include MPs, regional governors and civil society representatives. In an accompanying letter, Mr Volodin says the book should be seen as a guide to the Kremlin’s “values and guiding principles”. He’s also reported to have recommended it to a recent meeting of officials as “required reading for any politician”. [BBC]
Vladimir-Putin

Russia ‘unlikely’ to return by Rio Olympics –
Russia are unlikely to return to international competition in time for next year’s Rio Olympics, says European Athletics president Svein Arne Hansen. Russia’s athletics federation was banned by the International Association of Athletics Federations for alleged involvement in widespread doping. An IAAF inspection committee is due to visit Russia in January. “For the moment they have to fulfil the conditions, but I cannot really see them competing in Rio,” Hansen said. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

VertiGo – A Wall-Climbing Robot Including Ground-Wall Transition

List of the Day –

Google Trends 2015 –
Top Searches – Global Sporting Events

1 Copa America

2 Wimbledon

3 Tour de France

4 Rugby World Cup

5 Super Bowl

6 Mayweather vs Pacquiao

7 Indian Premier League

8 US Open

9 ICC Cricket World Cup

10 Australian Open

Source: Google

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#زد_رصيدك46	#MessageForMyCrush	Dappy
2	#ConEsteCalorYo	#TWUG	#LHHNY
3	#FelizMartes	#1YearWithoutO2L	Lemmy
4	#TercaDetremuraSdv	#IdGiveYou	#MessageForMyCrush
5	#MessageForMyCrush	#TravelTuesday	Cellino
6	#ALDUBFLASHBack2015	#AndThenISaid	#IWantToBeSoRich
7	#MentirasMasUsadas	Ethan Couch	#MOTD
8	#YoTeDigo	#KidQuestionsForHillary	#TamirRice
9	#닉네임의_받침을_��…	#ARMYSelcaDay	#StormFrank
10	#НасосДляИспо�…	#TWDMarathon	#TravelTuesday

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan
- A suicide-bomb attack outside the regional office of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) in the northwestern Pakistani city of Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, leaves at least 26 people dead and 45 wounded. The militant Islamistgroup Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan splinter group, claims responsibility for the attack. (AP via New York Times)
Syrian Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL
- The United States military announces that a key Islamic State leader with ties to the Paris attack terrorists was killed in a coalition airstrike on December 24, 2015. Charaffe al Mouadan is the tenth ISIL leader killed by an airstrike since December 7. (The Washington Post) (International Business Times)
The French newspaper Le-monda claims that the November 13, 2015 Paris attacks were coordinated from Belgium by a single unidentified suspect.(Lemonde.fr)

Business and economics

American chemical giant DuPont announces that, in early 2016, it will cut 1,700 jobs in Delaware, about 28 percent of its home state workforce, and thousands more globally in connection as a result of the Dow Chemical Company merger. (The Washington Post) (AP via NBC news) (Delaware Online)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season
- 2015 Great Britain and Ireland floods
  - The 18th century Tadcaster Bridge, in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, partially collapses into the River Wharfe as a result of flooding. British Army soldiers evacuated people from nearby homes. (The Guardian)
2015 Flood in Missouri
- Missouri Governor Jay Nixon warns residents that the state faces historic flooding that likely will rival Great Flood of 1993 levels. Swollen rivers are still rising and won’t crest for days. The Mississippi River is expected to reach nearly 15 feet above flood stage on Thursday. Nixon pleaded with drivers to stay off inundated roadways. Twelve of the 13 people killed from these recent storms died after their vehicles were swept from flooded roadways. (NBC News) (UPI)

Health and medicine

For the first time since March 2014, Guinea is declared free from Ebola virus transmissions by the World Health Organization. (New York Times)

Law and crime

Ethan Couch, the so-called “affluenza” teen who violated probation for killing four people when driving while intoxicated when he disappeared from Tarrant County, Texas, is taken into custody in Mexico. Mexican officials will remand Couch and his mother, with whom he fled, to the U.S. Marshals Service. (Reuters)
Lebanese Customs seize five tonnes of Captagon amphetamine pills and Hashish, concealed in primary school desks that were to be shipped to Egypt, at Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport. Meanwhile, security forces in northern Lebanon found two workshops producing Captagon and other drugs during a series of raids. The drug is infamous as being used by Islamist militants in the Syrian civil war. (Channel News Asia)
Chicago, Illinois police officer, Jason Van Dyke, enters a not guilty plea regarding the charges of the 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald. (New York Times)
El Salvador‘s murder rate surges by 70% in 2015, an increase that may lead to the Central American nation edging out Honduras as the world’s most murderous nation. (Reuters via Daily Mail)

Politics and elections

Eloy Inos, the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands since 2013, dies in office.(Saipan Tribune)
- Lieutenant Governor Ralph Torres will be sworn in as Governor on December 29th. Victor Hocog will succeed Torres as Lieutenant Governor.(Marianas Variety)
United States presidential election, 2016, Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016
- Former Governor of New York, George Pataki, ends his campaign for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. (USA Today)
North Korea‘s state media says Kim Yang-gon, a top aide to supreme leader Kim Jong-un and secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), who was also in charge of ties with South Korea, dies in a car crash. (BBC)

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January 17, 2016

Top News Stories –

Russia may nuke asteroids –
The European Commission funded Russian scientists to develop plans to save the world from rogue asteroids by blowing them up with nuclear weapons. Scientists from the Russia’s top space research institute teamed up with missile and rocket engineers to look at ways of sending a warhead into space under a European Commission funded program called NEOShield. “Work was distributed among various participants from different countries and organisations, and work on deflecting dangerous space objects with nuclear explosions was conducted by Russia” between 2012 and 2015, the Central Scientific Research Institute of Machine Building, part of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said in a press release on Saturday. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Miike Snow “Genghis Khan” // Dir: Ninian Doff from Ninian Doff on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

The winners for the Critics’ Choice Awards 2016
BEST PICTURE: Spotlight
BEST ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
BEST ACTRESS: Brie Larson – Room
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Sylvester Stallone – Creed
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS: Jacob Tremblay – Room
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE: Spotlight
BEST DIRECTOR: George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Charles Randolph and Adam McKay – The Big Short
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Revenant – Emmanuel Lubezki
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Mad Max: Fury Road – Colin Gibson
BEST EDITING: Mad Max: Fury Road – Margaret Sixel
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Mad Max: Fury Road – Jenny Beavan
BEST HAIR & MAKEUP: Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Inside Out
BEST ACTION MOVIE: Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE: Tom Hardy – Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE: Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road
BEST COMEDY: The Big Short
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY: Christian Bale – The Big Short
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY: Amy Schumer – Trainwreck
BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE: Ex Machina
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Son of Saul
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Amy
BEST SONG: Furious 7 – “See You Again”
BEST SCORE: The Hateful Eight – Ennio Morricone

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#FelizDomingo	#IfTwitterWasntAThing	#takemeout
2	#DomingoNoClubeSDV	#DemDebate	#IfTwitterWasntAThing
3	#IfTwitterWasntAThing	#PITvsDEN	Celine Dion
4	#من_علامات_الج�…	#FaceTimeMeNash	#AUSvIND
5	Meek	#PurpleReign	#GBvsAZ
6	#ازاي_تستفز_شخ�…	#SEAvsCAR	Purple Reign
7	#1ÇiftSözümVar	Meek	#SAvENG
8	#JesusEstaVoltando	#FakeGrownUpFacts	#snow
9	#ConsejosParaUnTuitero	#askkendallschmidt	#GetawayCar
10	#ConLaBerisoTeDigoQue	Adam Driver	#ChangeAConsonantSpoilAMovie

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Jakarta attacks
- The death toll from this week’s attacks rises to eight. (Reuters via Jerusalem Post)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- A suicide bomber kills at least thirteen people and injures 14 in the Afghan city of Jalalabad. (Reuters via LBC Australia), (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Syrian Civil War
- ISIL militants abduct at least 400 civilians from the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor. (Sky News)

Disasters and accidents

At least five people are killed and ten injured in a microbus crash in Egypt‘s New Valley Governorate. (Ahram Online)

Health

Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa
- Sierra Leone imposes quarantine on hundreds of people following a recent death from the Ebola virus. (AFP via ABC News)

Politics and elections

Iran–Saudi Arabia relations
- Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif and army chief General Raheel Sharif will visit Riyadh on Monday and Tehran on Tuesday to launch mediation efforts between Iran and Saudi Arabia for normalization of relations and to ease the tensions in the region after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr and an attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran. (DAWN) (Pakistan Today) (India Times)
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
- Europe and the United States lift sanctions imposed on Iran regarding its nuclear programme, and Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action begins to be implemented. (BBC)

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February 19, 2016

Top News Stories –

EU deal gives UK special status, says David Cameron –
David Cameron says a deal struck with EU leaders will give the UK “special status” and he will campaign with his “heart and soul” to stay in the union. The agreement, reached late on Friday after two days of talks in Brussels, gives the UK power to limit some EU migrants’ benefits. It also includes a treaty change so the UK is not bound to “ever closer union” with other EU member states, he said. EU exit campaigners said the “hollow” deal offered only “very minor changes”. [BBC]
David Cameron

John McAfee offers to unlock killer’s iPhone for FBI –
Anti-virus software creator John McAfee has said he will break the encryption on an iPhone that belonged to San Bernardino killer Syed Farook. Mr McAfee made the offer to the FBI in an article published by Business Insider. Apple has refused to comply with a court order asking it to unlock the device, dividing opinion over whether the firm should be compelled to do so. Mr McAfee said he and his team would take on the task “free of charge”. The offer came as Mr McAfee continues his campaign as a US presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party. “It will take us three weeks,” he claimed in his article. Security expert Graham Cluley cast doubts on Mr McAfee’s idea that he could use “social engineering” to work out the pass-code of Farook’s locked iPhone. This is a process by which hackers try to find out login credentials by tricking people into giving them away. “In a nutshell, dead men tell no tales,” said Mr Cluley. “Good luck to Mr McAfee trying to socially engineer a corpse into revealing its pass-code.” “The FBI isn’t interested anyway, they want to set a precedent that there shouldn’t be locks they can’t break,” he added. [BBC]
John McAfee

Video of the Day –

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#TypeOfPeopleIAvoid	#FlashbackFriday	#EUSummit
2	#FelizCumpleCFK	#TypeOfPeopleIAvoid	#FreeKesha
3	#Clausnitz	#FreeKesha	#FridayFeeling
4	#BuenViernes	#MakeAnActionFilmTedious	#TypeOfPeopleIAvoid
5	#SLFLNagoya	#SLFLNagoya	#MakeAnActionFilmTedious
6	#ComandoTagSegueVc	#NewMusicFriday	Marc Jacobs
7	#MakeAnActionFilmTedious	#Indy500	#bbcqt
8	#FreeKesha	#AmericaTogether	#BUCSNationals
9	#FacebookMelhorQueTwitter	#BlackMenGreetings	#askjessica
10	#DeMexicanoEs	Tila Tequila	#SLFLNagoya

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Libyan Civil War (2014–present), Military intervention against ISIL
- United States Air Force warplanes carry out airstrikes on ISIL in western Libya, near the Tunisian border, reportedly killing at least 38 people. (BBC)
Boko Haram insurgency
- Two suicide bombers kill at least 19 people and injure 50 others at a market in northern Cameroon. (Reuters)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
- Three Palestinian assailants are shot dead in separate attacks on Israeli security forces in Jerusalem and the West Bank. (Channel News Asia)
Syrian Civil War
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) take control of Al-Shaddadah and a nearby oilfield in Syria‘s north-east Al-Hasakah Governorate following heavy clashes with ISIL militants. (The Independent)
- Adel Al-Jubair, Saudi Arabia‘s foreign minister, foresees to supply surface-to-air missiles to the “moderate opposition”, so changing the power balance “like they did in Afghanistan“. (Der Spiegel)

Business and economy

Yahoo Inc. says that it has created a committee of independent directors that will explore strategic alternatives, notably the sale of its core internet business. (Reuters)
William C. Dudley is reappointed as the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for another five years. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 South Pacific cyclone season
- Cyclone Winston heads towards Fiji at Category 5 strength. It is expected to make landfall on Saturday. (ABC News)

Health

Zika virus outbreak
- The first case of the Zika virus has been diagnosed in South Africa. (Times Live)
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission orders manufacturers of self-balancing scooters (hoverboards) to ensure their products meet safety standards or face recall, or seizure at ports. CPSC Chairman Elliot Kaye tells NBC News no hoverboard currently on the market meets these standards. (NBC News)

International relations

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says his country is willing to accept some asylum seekers from the Middle East and Asia, currently in detention camps on impoverished Pacific island nations. Presently, 267 refugees in Australia for medical treatment, some accompanied by a relative, are set to be returned to Nauru’s detention camp. Australia is hesitant about the offer, concerned that it could encouragepeople smugglers. (AP via The Washington Post)
European migrant crisis
- Serbia closes its southern border with Macedonia to migrants from countries not affected by war as part of measures to prevent illegal immigration. (RT)
United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
- European Union leaders unanimously agree on reforms aimed at keeping the United Kingdom in the 28-nation bloc before the country’s scheduled June 23, 2016, referendum on continuing EU membership. (Reuters) (USA Today)
Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, announces she will resign in July when her appointment ends. (BBC)

Law and crime

The United States Department of Justice files a motion to compel Apple Inc. to comply with a court order to help the FBI hack a phone used by an attacker in the 2015 San Bernardino attack. (CNBC)
John McAfee, creator of the anti-virus software McAfee, Inc. and former CEO, offers to unlock an iPhone that belonged to San Bernardino attacker Syed Farook for the FBI for free after Apple Inc. refused to comply with a court order asking it to unlock the device. McAfee said “It will take us three weeks,” with access to a super-computer in an article published by the Business Insider. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Ugandan general election, 2016
- Opposition leader Kizza Besigye is arrested again just before a planned press conference. Police raid Besigye’s Forum for Democratic Change party headquarters and fire tear gas at the FDC supporters. Partial results from the electoral commission show a lead for incumbent president Yoweri Museveni. (BBC)
Kosovo opposition lawmakers twice disrupt today’s session of parliament by tossing tear gas into the chamber to protest recent changes giving the country’s Serb minority greater powers, and demanding the government’s resignation and snap elections. (Arab News) (AFP via GlobalPost)
According to Indian Police, at least one person is killed and up to 20 people injured during, what became violent, protests by the Jat agricultural community in Rohtak, India, for a 10 percent increase in the number of their caste quota (affirmative action). (AP via The Washington Post)

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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 –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#HorarioNovoDetremuraSdv	#WWEFastlane	#WOSAwards
2	#WeAreHereForYouNate	#DAYTONA500	#takemeout
3	#OhNoDanielle	#SundayFunday	#FACup
4	KATHNIEL in Aklan	#Disneyland60	Boris
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

February 26, 2016

Top News Stories –

Fifa presidential election: Gianni Infantino succeeds Sepp Blatter –
Gianni Infantino has succeeded fellow Swiss Sepp Blatter as president of world football’s governing body Fifa. The Uefa secretary general polled 115 votes, 27 more than closest rival Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa. Prince Ali bin al-Hussein (four votes) and Jerome Champagne (0) were third and fourth respectively. Blatter, who had led Fifa since 1998, stood down last year and was later suspended from football for six years for breaching ethics guidelines. Infantino is a 45-year-old lawyer from Brig in the Valais region of Switzerland, less than six miles from Blatter’s home town of Visp. He entered the presidential race when it became clear that Michel Platini, boss of European football’s governing body Uefa, could not stand. “I will work tirelessly to bring football back to Fifa and Fifa back to football,” he said. “This is what we want to do.” [BBC]
Gianni Infantino

Video of the Day –

Terraforming from Studio Swine on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#OTWOLTheLastFlight	#FlashbackFriday	#WorkFromHomeTODAY
2	#WorkFromHomeTODAY	#FullerHouse	#FridayFeeling
3	#FullerHouse	#NewMusicFriday	#WALvFRA
4	#SextaDetremuraSdv	#TrapCover	Michael Howard
5	#BuenViernes	#WorkFromHomeTODAY	#gpconf
6	#AquiNoSeRindeNadie	Tony Burton	#macfest
7	#EnUnGrupoDeWhatsNoFalta	#LWTSUMMIT	#NewMusicFriday
8	#ALDUBUnangHalik	#FundMovements	#bbcqt
9	#微妙にいやらしい�…	#FIFAelection	#LSC16
10	#私のつぶやきから�…	#AquiNoSeRindeNadie	#MyFamilyIn4Words

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Moro Conflict, Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines
- Philippine security forces kill as many as 42 ISIL-linked militants, and captures their stronghold in the predominantly Muslim Lanao del Sur province. Three Philippine Army soldiers were also killed during the fighting. (Reuters)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- Al-Shabaab militants storm a Somali Youth League hotel in Mogadishu. At least 14 are reportedly killed.(The Independent) (NY Times)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- Seven Libyan National Army soldiers are killed fighting ISIL militants in Benghazi. (Reuters)

Business and economics

Dow Chemical agrees to pay $835 million to settle a decade-long, price-fixing, class-action dispute. Dow states that the uncertainty about the U.S. Supreme Court makeup following Justice Anton Scalia’sdeath means there is an “increased likelihood for unfavorable outcomes for business involved in class action suits.” The urethane chemicals case, from 2005, was against a number of companies; Dow had been the only defendant not to settle. (Reuters) (Reuters via Winnipeg Sun)

Disasters and accidents

Air Kasthamandap Flight 9N-AJB, from Nepalgunj headed to the Jumla District, crashes in a field in the Kalikot District mountains in northern Nepal, killing the two pilots and injuring all nine passengers, one seriously. (CNN) (The Kathmandu Post)

Health and medicine

Because of the risk of Zika virus infection, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends pregnant women consider not traveling to Brazil for the 2016 Summer Olympics in August, and/or for the 2016 Summer Paralympics the following month. (Reuters) (CDC)

International Relations

Syrian Civil War peace process
- The Syrian cessation of hostilities truce is in effect, as of midnight, Saturday, local Syrian time (10:00 p.m. UTC Friday/5:00 p.m. EST Friday). (Reuters)
- The United Nations Security Council, via resolution 2268, endorses the truce which has been agreed to by nearly 100 rebel factions. The ceasefire does not apply to military actions against terrorist organizations, such as ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Qaeda in Syria). (RT) (text via U.S. State Dept.)
- United Nations special envoy Staffan de Mistura says, assuming the ceasefire holds, he will reconvene formal peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday, March 7. (The Daily Telegraph)

Law and crime

Eleven prison inmates are killed in Papua New Guinea while trying to break out of Buimo jail in Lae as part of a 90 person jail break. (BBC)
Following yesterday’s Constitutional Court of Turkey ruling that their rights had been violated, two Turkish journalists, jailed on terrorism charges, are released after 92 days in prison. (AFP via GlobalPost)(Journal of Turkish Weekly)
A gunman from a rural area near Belfair, Washington (U.S.), kills four members of his family, including two children, and, after a multi-hour standoff with police, also kills himself. A 12-year old girl, who was not shot, is alive. (The Seattle Times)
University of California, Berkeley, alerts 80,000 people of a cyber attack on a system that stores Social Security and bank account numbers. There is no evidence the hacker(s) took any personal information.(Reuters)

Politics and election

Iranian elections, 2016
- Voters in Iran go to the polls for a Islamic Consultative Assembly and Assembly of Experts elections. (New York Times)
Irish general election, 2016
- Voters in Ireland go to the polls for a general election. Exit polls indicate that the ruling coalition of Fine Gael party led by Enda Kenny and the Labour Party will fall short of re-election with 34% of the vote between them. (BBC), (AAP via News Limited)
Hashim Thaçi is elected the President of Kosovo by the Parliament amid violent protests. (BBC)

Science and technology

The United States Air Force unveils the Northrop Grumman B-21 long-range strategic bomber at the Air Force Association’s annual Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Florida. The B-21 is designed to replace the aging fleet of B-1 Lancer and B-52 bombers. (The Washington Post)

Sport

Officials of FIFA meet in Zurich for the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress to select a new President of FIFA to replace Sepp Blatter. Gianni Infantino is elected with a majority of votes in the second round of voting. (BBC) (Los Angeles Times)

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March 1, 2016

Top News Stories –

It’s Kylie Minogue versus Kylie Jenner in a battle for who owns their name –
Kylie Minogue is trying to stop Kylie Jenner from using “Kylie” as a trademark in America. And the singer’s lawyers aren’t pulling any punches. They’ve filed documents describing the Keeping up with the Kardashians star as a “secondary reality television personality” who participates in “photo exhibitionism”. They also say giving Kylie J the trademark could damage Kylie M and her other trademarks. The legal papers from KDB refer to her as a “home-schooled graduate,” saying her “photographic exhibitionism and controversial posts have drawn criticism from, for example, the disability rights and African-American communities”. [BBC Newsbeat]
Kylie Minogue (L) and Kylie Jenner (R)

Sam Smith ‘taking a break from Twitter’ after Oscars row with Dustin Lance Black –
Sam Smith says he’s taking a break from social media. It’s after Dustin Lance Black criticised him on Twitter for claiming that he was the first openly gay man to win a prize at the Oscars. Sam Smith made the comment during his acceptance speech after winning the Academy Award for best song for the theme tune to James Bond movie Spectre. “I read an article… by Sir Ian McKellen and he said no openly gay man had ever won an Oscar,” he said. “I want to dedicate this to the LGBT community all around the world. “I stand here tonight as a proud gay man and I hope we can all stand together as equals one day.” But the comments didn’t go down well with director Dustin Lance Black, who won an Oscar in 2009 for his film Milk. After all the online drama, the British singer said it was time to “log off for a while”.
Sam Smith tweet

Video of the Day –

Son Lux: Change Is Everything from Nathan Johnson on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#MarçoDaDetremuraSdv	#WomensHistoryMonth	#WhatItsLikeToBeADesiGirl
2	#FelizMartes	#HappyBirthdayJustinBieber	#HappyBirthdayJustinBieber
3	#YoTePropongo	#NationalPigDay	#SuperTuesday
4	#كلمه_للي_سابك	Troy Ave	#FutureTalentConf
5	#МартовскийНа�…	#MorningsWouldBeBetterIf	Happy New Month
6	#HappyBirthdayJensenAckles	Legends of the Hidden Temple	#IPBill
7	#OtegiFree	#StDavidsDay	#StDavidsDay
8	#ParecoNormalMas	#SuperTuesday	#LawsonMoneyBundle
9	#HappyBirthdayJustinBieber	#RIPHarmonizerMandy	#GIMS
10	#ماهي_قاعدتك_ب�…	#MyMotherAlwaysSaid	Freedom of Information Act

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Donbass
- Three soldiers are killed and two others are injured after a Ukrainian military truck was blown up in the eastern part of Luhansk Oblast. (Ukraine Today)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present), American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)
- The United States Army‘s elite Delta Force captures their first suspected ISIL operative during a raid in northern Iraq. The detainee is being interrogated by the U.S. and is expected to be turned over to Iraqi officials in the coming days. (CNN)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Faulty readings from a GPS system apparently resulted in two Israeli soldiers driving into the Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Israeli forces sent in on a rescue mission, engaged armedPalestinians. One 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed with 10 others wounded, one seriously, in the ensuing gun battle. At least 10 Israeli soldiers were wounded. (The Washington Post) (The Daily Telegraph)

Disasters and accidents

At least 18 people are killed and 16 others injured in a multi-vehicle accident involving a bus near Nahdah in northwestern Oman. Six of the dead were from Oman, four from Saudi Arabia, two from Pakistan, and one from Yemen. Five others are unidentified. (AP via ABC News)
The Peruvian Army is deployed on the country’s northern and southern coasts to help cope with El Niño-related floods that have killed at least two people and left thousands homeless. (Euronews)

Health

Zika virus outbreak (2015–present)
- The first Zika virus case is confirmed in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. (WMUR)

International relations

2016 North Korean nuclear test
- The United Nations Security Council vote on the United States–China draft resolution on North Korea is rescheduled to 10:00 a.m. EST Wednesday. Russia requests more time to review the text. (Reuters)
Libyan Crisis (2011–present)
- The United Kingdom is to send troops to Tunisia to help the Tunisian Army prevent ISIL militants from moving into the country from Libya. (Reuters)
European migrant crisis
- United Nations refugee agency spokesperson Adrian Edwards warns that Europe is on the verge, “… of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis, …” if the rapid build-up of migrants continues at thenorthern borders of an already over-stretched Greece. There are at least 24,000 there now, including 8,500 at Idomeni, the site of yesterday’s incident. (Business Standard) (Kathimerini)
South China Sea disputes
- Filipino fishermen say China has deployed up to five ships around the disputed Quirino Atoll, also known as Jackson Atoll, in the South China Sea, preventing them from accessing traditional fishing grounds. (Reuters via Channel News Asia)

Law and crime

A grand jury in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania reports that hundreds of children were sexually abused by about 50 priests in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese over four decades. (Reuters)
Ukraine bans government officials from publicly criticizing the work of state institutions and their colleagues, after damaging disclosures last month that highlighted slow progress in fighting corruption.(Reuters)
Transgender and schools, LGBT rights in South Dakota
- In the United States, South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard vetoes House Bill 1008 that would have required transgender students use bathrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities based on their gender at birth in state public schools. The bill would have been law at midnight if the governor had not acted. (Chicago Sun-Times) (NPR)
- The primary sponsor of the legislation asks fellow lawmakers not to override the governor’s veto. (The Washington Post)
Two current and one former San Francisco, California, sheriff deputies, are charged with organizing an inmate “fight club” on the seventh floor of the city’s Hall of Justice jail. (Los Angeles Times) (AP via Fox News)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Voters in the U.S. states of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and the overseas territory of American Samoa go to the polls to vote on Super Tuesday. (CNN) (BBC)
- The results show Hillary Clinton winning the Democratic Party races in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, American Samoa. Massachusetts and Virginia while Bernie Sanders has won Vermont, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Colorado. (Oregon Live), (New York Post), New York Times), (New York Times)
- Voting returns show that Donald Trump wins the Republican Party races in Georgia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Virginia, Vermont, Arkansas and Tennessee while Ted Cruz wins Texas, Alaska and Oklahoma and Marco Rubio wins Minnesota. (New York Times) (The Washington Post), [(Vox), (Alaska)
Corruption in South Africa
- President Jacob Zuma survives a no-confidence vote in the South African Parliament in response to corruption allegations against him. (BBC)
Irish general election, 2016
- Prime Minister Enda Kenny, who rejected suggestions he should resign, says he will “fully and inclusively” engage with other parties, groups and Independents, including Fianna Fáil, as he forms the country’s government. Sinn Féin says it is not interested in forming a coalition government with Kenny’s Fine Gael party. (Irish Independent) (Irish Examiner)

Science and technology

ISS year long mission
- U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Korniyenko return to Earth after 340 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS). (BBC)

Sport

Cuba–United States relations
- MLB announces the Tampa Bay Rays professional baseball team will play an exhibition game with the Cuban National Team on March 22, 2016, in Havana. United States President Barack Obama, who is scheduled to visit the island nation then, is expected to attend. (ESPN) (Tampa Bay Times)

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March 3, 2016

March 2, 2016

Top News Stories –

Kanye West appears to have torrent site Pirate Bay open in a photo he’s tweeted –
Kanye West is in trouble over his tweets – again – after the background to a photo he posted made it look like he was illegally downloading files. He sent out a picture on Twitter showing him listening to a Sufjan Stevens track on YouTube, but fans quickly spotted other tabs he had open. One of them says “Xfer Records Serum”, but is next to others saying “Pirate Bay Torrent Xfe” and “MediaDownloader”. Deadmau5 hit out at Kanye, saying: “@kanyewest – can’t afford Serum?” Kanye’s original tweet simply said “Day 3” alongside the photo. [BBC Newsbeat]
In September 2015 West announced he will be running for US President in 2020.
Kanye West

Emirates A380 makes longest non-stop flight as airlines launch long-haul battle –
An Emirates superjumbo touched down in Auckland, New Zealand, on Wednesday, after spending more than 17 hours in the air from Dubai – making it the world’s longest commercial scheduled flight. The Emirates A380 covered a route of about 8825 miles, before turning around and doing it all again on the way home. It beat the previous record – Qantas’s Dallas to Sydney route – by about 250 miles. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

STREET SWEEPER from Rupert Walker on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#QuartaFeiraNoClubeSDV	#TwoWordTrump	High School Musical 4
2	#FelizMiercoles	#WCH2016	#WednesdayWisdom
3	#HaydiSURaAblukayıKaldır…	#TexasIndependenceDay	#HappyValley
4	#QuienMeConoceSabe	Sports Authority	#BackInTimeForTheWeekend
5	#ALDUBMysteryBox	#WednesdayWisdom	#DolanTwinsNewVideo
6	#PrendeOCunhaSTF	#TroyeOnHits1	#MorningsWouldBeBetterIf
7	#WednesdayWisdom	#StopTheSham	European Super League
8	#كفايات_المعلم…	#1linewed	#borntobedifferent
9	#حلوه_الحياه_لما	#ICON16	#digifest16
10	High School Musical 4	#ReadAcrossAmerica	#ExOnTheBeach

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

One Chinese national is killed and three others injured in a possible militant attack on a Chinese-invested company in Laos, the official Xinhua News Agency reports. (Reuters)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Two Palestinian teenagers, from the nearby village of Qaryout, got into a Jewish settlement and stabbed an Israeli settler at his home in the Eli settlement near Nablus in the occupied West Bank. They were stopped and killed by the army. The injured settler was taken to a hospital. (Reuters)(AFP via i24news)
Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- Jordan says an overnight raid on an ISIL cell in the city of Irbid has left seven militants and one security officer dead, with five others injured. Those killed were planning to blow up civilian and military targets in the country, according to the General Intelligence Directorate (GID). (BBC)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- Nine people are killed in an attack on the Indian consulate In Jalalabad, Afghanistan. (NDTV)
Libyan Crisis (2011–present)
- The Tunisian Army kills five suspected ISIL militants near the town of Ben Gardane after they infiltrated across the border from neighboring Libya. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Mining company Samarco agrees to pay $4.4bn reais (£804m) in compensation to victims of the Bento Rodrigues dam disaster in Brazil. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

Iraqi engineers warn that the Mosul Dam could collapse at anytime, resulting in a catastrophic flash flood that could kill up to one million people along the Tigris, with the major Iraqi cites of Mosul, Tikrit,Samarra and Baghdad all at risk. The U.S. embassy in Baghdad has urged American citizens to leave the area. (The Guardian)
2016 Sumatra earthquake
- The Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency of Indonesia (BMKG) and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) issue tsunami warnings, after an undersea 7.9 magnitude earthquakestrikes southwest of Sumatra, in the Indian Ocean. (RT) (BOM)

International relations

South China Sea disputes
- Philippines Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario says Chinese coast guard ships that were sighted two weeks ago near the disputed Jackson Atoll in the northeast Dangerous Ground are no longer there today. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said ships were dispatched to the area in late 2015 to salvage a fishing vessel that posed a risk to navigation. Chinese ships, “… persuaded fishing boats to leave the waters in an effort to ensure safety conditions for normal navigation,” Hong said. In addition to China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei also lay claim to theSpratly Islands waters. (AP via The Washington Post)
European migrant crisis
- The European Union launches a new aid program worth an initial 700 million euros (US$760 million) to address the growing refugee crisis in Greece. EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Christos Stylianides says the so-called Emergency Assistance Instrument will be used to help migrants trapped in Greece and, if needed, in other countries on the migration route front lines. Approval by a majority of EU members is required. The next EU meeting is scheduled for Monday. (The New York Times) (Reuters) (Kathimerini)
The Gulf Cooperation Council formally designates Lebanon‘s Hezbollah militia a terrorist organization. The GCC member states are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.(The Washington Post)
The United Nations Security Council adopts the toughest sanctions on North Korea in twenty years due to continued efforts to develop a nuclear weapons program. (Fox News)

Politics and elections

Spanish general election, 2015
- The conservative People’s Party (PP) and the left-wing Podemos party, which together hold 192 seats in Spain’s 350-seat parliament following December’s election, confirm they will vote against Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) leader Pedro Sánchez’s candidacy to form a new government. (AP via The Washington Post)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

March 8, 2016

Top News Stories –

‘Fifth Beatle’ Sir George Martin dies, aged 90 –
Record producer Sir George Martin, known as the “fifth Beatle”, has died, aged 90. His family thanked “everyone for their thoughts, prayers and messages of support” after his death at home on Tuesday, his manager said. Beatles drummer Ringo Starr broke the news on Twitter and led tributes, saying Sir George “will be missed”. Sir George signed the Beatles and produced more than 700 records. He also worked with artists including Gerry and the Pacemakers, Shirley Bassey and Cilla Black. [BBC]
George Martin in 2006

‘Le burger’ now top selling dish in French restaurants, new study reveals –
For the guardians of French gastronomy, the prospect of being served something as unsophisticated as a slab of mincemeat with a bap and slice of cheese would long have been considered sacrilegious. Today, however, the tables have turned. In a culinary revolution, three quarters of French restaurants now sell hamburgers and 80 per cent of these say it has become their top-selling dish, according to a new study. “Le burger” – as the French dub the quintessentially American invention to the despair of linguistic purists of the Académie Française – has become a feature of even the most illustrious eateries. Indeed, such is its success that sales are set to overtake those of the classic “jambon beurre” (ham and butter baguette), the nation’s staple lunchtime sandwich. Last year, the French chomped their way through 1.19 billion burgers, an 11 per cent rise on the previous year, while “le jambon beurre” fell to 1.23 billion. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

A History of Rock in 15 minutes.
348 rockstars, 84 guitarists, 64 songs, 44 drummers, 1 mashup.

History of Rock from Ithaca Audio on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#InternationalWomensDay	#InternationalWomensDay	#2DaysTilDangerousWoman
2	#FelizDiaDeLaMujer	#SheInspiresMe	#BadSexIn3Words
3	#8MartKadınlarGünüMesajım	#2DaysTilDangerousWoman	#InternationalWomensDay
4	#اسم_ولد_جميل	#SJR39	#CharityTuesday
5	#يوم_المراه_اا�…	#FelizDiaDeLaMujer	#traveltuesday
6	秒速5センチメートル	#WeirdThingsICantUnderstand	#YMS16
7	#ALDUBTheProposition	#cameheretoforget	#WeirdThingsICantUnderstand
8	#HAPPYSUGADAY	#BadSexIn3Words	#SaySomethingGoodAboutTwitter
9	#JourneeDesDroitsDesFemmes	#ACCTourney	#CASPARLEEBOOK
10	#FelizDiaDasMulheresClubeSDV	#Rainmaker16	Justice for Johnson

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- Mortar shells fired from Syria kill at least one person and injure another in the Turkish border town of Kilis. (Reuters)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Three terror attacks are reported that result in the deaths of four Palestinians and an American tourist with 12 Israelis wounded, including two Israeli policemen, as United States Vice President Joe Bidenarrives in Israel for a two-day visit that includes meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. (AP via WWTV) (AP via ABC News) (CNN)
- The deceased American is Taylor Force, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer from Lubbock, Texas, who was in the first year of a MBA program at Vanderbilt University. Force was part of a 33-person Vanderbilt group that was in Israel to study global entrepreneurship. (CNN) (Houston Chronicle)
Spillover of the Libyan Civil War
- Tunisia‘s army and security forces kill another five suspected terrorists in an operation near the Libyan border. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Military intervention against ISIL
- The United States military says ISIL’s so-called minister-of-war, Abu Omar al-Shishani, né Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili, appears to have been killed in a U.S. air strike near the town of Al-Shaddadi in Syria. (Reuters via msn.com)

Arts and culture

International Women’s Day is celebrated. The International Women’s Day theme for 2016 is “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”. (The Washington Post)

Health and medicine

Zika virus outbreak (2015–present)
- The World Health Organization cautions pregnant women against traveling to areas where there is ongoing transmission of Zika virus, echoing earlier alerts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other health agencies in areas where virus infection has been prevalent. Director General Margaret Chan says evidence strongly suggests sexual transmission is more common than previously assumed. (The Washington Post)

International relations

Export restrictions placed by the commerce department of the United States against China‘s state-owned ZTE for alleged violations of U.S.-imposed export controls on Iran takes effect. (Reuters), (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
European migrant crisis, Enlargement of the European Union
- The European Union and Turkey agree on broad principles for a plan to ease the migration crisis which includes returning thousands of migrants to Turkey. For this, the EU will swiftly ease visa requirements for Turks and speed up Ankara’s EU accession talks. A final agreement is to be ready for next week’s two-day EU summit in Brussels, Belgium. (Voice of America) (BBC) (March 17-18, 2016, EU agenda)
- The United Nations and human rights groups warn the tentative EU deal with Turkey that would return irregular migrants in exchange for political and financial rewards could be illegal. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi says it’s unclear whether migrants, set to be returned, would be afforded the refugee protection as stated in international law. Amnesty International’s Gauri van Gulik says this is outsourcing Europe’s refugee responsibility. “The EU is treating Turkey as the only solution it has to the refugee crisis,” van Gulik added.(Reuters) (Los Angeles Times)
North Korea–South Korea relations
- South Korea imposes direct sanctions against North Korea that blacklists dozens of Northern companies and people for the first time, and bans ships that have visited North Korean ports in the previous 180 days from its waters. (The Washington Post) (AP via USA Today)
Israel–Palestine relations
- A Pew Research Center survey of Jewish and non-Jewish Israelis, via face-to-face interviews from October 2014 through May 2015, finds deep divisions in Israeli society – not only between Israeli Jewsand the country’s Arab citizen minority, but also among the religious subgroups that make up Israeli Jewry. An overwhelming majority (98%) of Israeli Jews agree all Jews should have the right to move to Israel and receive immediate citizenship. Close to half (48 percent) support the expulsion or transfer of Arabs from Israel, yet most secular Jews disagree (58%) with this, as do 54 percent of those in the center politically (more so from the left). Meanwhile, Israeli Arabs, currently about one-in-five of the country’s adults, generally do not think Israel can be a Jewish state and a democracy at the same time. Fewer Arabs (down 24 points) think a peaceful, two-state solution is possible, from 74% in 2013 to 50% now. Both groups are skeptical of the peace process: Israeli Arabs question the sincerity of the Israeli government in seeking a peace agreement, while Israeli Jews are equally skeptical about the sincerity of Palestinian leaders. (Pew is a non-partisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C.)(Pew Research Center)
- Israeli President Reuven Rivlin says the Pew study brings up troubling challenges that need to be dealt with immediately. The finding that 48 percent of Jewish Israelis believe Arabs should be transferred out of Israel is particularly troubling to Rivlin. MK Yousef Jabareen, chair of the Knesset Lobby for Jewish-Arab Coexistence, said, “The transfer of citizens, for whatever reason, is a crime against humanity, and I am frightened to see that half of those polled support such a step.” Human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International Israel and the Anne Lindh Foundation’s Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality in Israel, denounced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the results of the study. (The Jerusalem Post)
Australia–United States relations, Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- The U.S. military is in discussions with Australian officials about the possibility of basing long-range bombers, whose striking distance would include the South China Sea, in Australia. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Media freedom in Turkey
- An Istanbul court places the Cihan News Agency under state control. The seizure of the Fethullah Gülen-linked news agency comes just days after the Turkish government seized control of the oppositionZaman newspaper. (Reuters)
Acting on requests from neighboring Italy, Swiss authorities arrest 15 people sought as suspected members of the ‘Ndrangheta organized crime syndicate, a Mafia-type organization centered in Calabria, Italy.(AP)]

Politics and elections

Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016, Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
- Voters in the U.S. states of Mississippi, Michigan, Hawaii and Idaho vote in primary elections and caucuses. (Presidential Election News)
- Hillary Clinton wins the Mississippi Democratic primary. (New York Times)
- Bernie Sanders wins the Michigan Democratic primary. (NBC News), (Washington Post)
- Donald Trump wins both the Michigan and Mississippi Republican primaries and the Hawaii caucus. (The Independent)
- Ted Cruz wins the Idaho Republican primary. (CNN), (Washington Post)
The United States Federal Communications Commission announces an expansion of the federal Lifeline program, which currently offers monthly subsidies for phone and basic cell service, to include broadband Internet service, pending approval at the Commissioners’ March 31 meeting. (The Hill) (Reuters) (Multichannel News)
Philippine presidential election, 2016
- The Supreme Court of the Philippines, in a 9-6 ruling, reverses the Commission on Elections order that had disqualified Senator Grace Poe from running in the May 9, 2016, presidential election. The petitioners plan to file a motion for reconsideration. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Science and technology

U.S. carrier Alaska Airlines reschedules Flight 870 from Anchorage, Alaska, to Honolulu, Hawaii, to depart at 2:00 p.m. local time (23:00 UTC) so passengers can view 2016’s only total solar eclipse for 1 minute and 59 seconds, 695 miles north of Honolulu at 37,000 feet. (KING-TV) (Alaska Airlines) (The Verge) (NASA TV stream)
Boston College (U.S.) researchers, in findings published in the eLife scientific journal, have uncovered the global spread of an ancient group of retroviruses that affected about 28 of 50 modern mammals’ ancestors back as far as 30 million years ago. (Headlines & Global News) (American Association for the Advancement of Science)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

March 19, 2016

Top News Stories –

Bruce Springsteen signs late note for schoolboy –
As excuse notes go, it is a step up from the “dog ate my homework”. But not all teachers would be impressed with a letter explaining a nine-year-old’s late arrival in class was down to being at a rock concert the night before. So Xabi Glovsky had it signed by Bruce Springsteen. He went to the concert in Los Angeles with his father, Scott, a life-long fan of the Boss. They went armed with a homemade sign. “Bruce, I will be late to school tomorrow. Please sign my note :-)” it said. At the end of the three-and-a-half-hour show, and well after Xabi’s bedtime, Springsteen sent a security guard into the crowd at the Los Angeles Sports Centre to invite father and son backstage. He asked Xabi for the name and spelling of his teacher, before whipping out pen and paper for the note. It read: “Dear Ms. Jackson, Xabi has been out very late rocking & rolling. Please excuse him if he is tardy.” [Daily Telegraph]
Bruce Springsteen

Six Nations 2016: England win Grand Slam with France victory –
England have their first Grand Slam in 13 years after holding out to secure a historic victory in Paris. First-half tries from Danny Care and Dan Cole had given them a five-point half-time lead, only for the relentless penalty precision of Maxime Machenaud to keep France within touching distance. But a third try in three matches from Anthony Watson calmed rising nerves before a brace of late penalties from Owen Farrell allowed the travelling support to sing their heroes home. It marks a remarkable turnaround for new head coach Eddie Jones, coming just six months after the humiliation of a home World Cup exit at the group stages before he took control. [BBC] See List of the Day

Video of the Day –

2084 from Taz Goldstein on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Winners of Grand Slams in the Five Nations (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France) and Six Nations (Italy added in 2000) Championship

Nation	Grand Slams	Grand Slam winning seasons
England	13	1913, 1914, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1957, 1980, 1991, 1992, 1995, 2003, 2016
Wales	11	1908, 1909, 1911, 1950, 1952, 1971, 1976, 1978, 2005, 2008, 2012
France	9	1968, 1977, 1981, 1987, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2010
Scotland	3	1925, 1984, 1990
Ireland	2	1948, 2009
Italy	0

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#IndvsPak	#IndvsPak	#ScotLab16
2	#FlyDubai	#GetMillennialsToVoteIn5Words	#IndvsPak
3	#SabadoDetremuraSdv	#CrushTrump	#CheapKnockOffSongs
4	#ALDUBBagongYugto	#AshtonWeAppreciateYou	#TEDxNorwichED
5	#KATHNIELinCebu	#PrayForTurkey	#WALvITA
6	#PrayForTurkey	#FlyDubai	#EFCvAFC
7	#Em2006Eu	#Caturday	#PrimaryRocks
8	#GetMillennialsToVoteIn5Words	#JackandJackEuropeDoc	Hulk Hogan
9	#MeGustasPero	#bindercon	#PrayForTurkey
10	#SabadoDeGanarSeguidores	Northern Iowa	#74MM

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

March 2016 Istanbul bombing
- An explosion occurs in Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, kills five people, including two dual nationality Israeli–Americans and one Iranian citizen, and injures several dozen others. (Sputnik International), (Al Jazeera), (Hürriyet Daily News) (AP via MuskokaRegion.com)
Syrian Civil War, Palmyra offensive (March 2016)
- Airstrikes by Syrian or Russian warplanes on ISIL‘s de-facto capital Al-Raqqah in northern Syria, leaves at least 39 people dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Airstrikes on the city of Palmyra and nearby villages are said to have killed at least 18 ISIL militants, as the Syrian Army advance on the city. (Reuters)
American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)
- A United States Department of Defense official says a U.S. soldier was killed in the town of Makhmur, Erbil Governorate by a rocket fired by ISIL. “It was a lucky strike by ISIS,” according to the official.(Fox News)
Sinai insurgency
- At least 13 Egyptian policemen are killed after a security checkpoint in the city of Arish, North Sinai Governorate came under attack by militants. Ambulances were reportedly subjected to heavy gunfire as they attempted to reach the wounded. The Islamic State‘s Sinai branch claimed responsibility for the attack. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Flydubai Flight 981
- Flydubai Boeing 737-800 Flight FZ981, en route from Dubai for about four hours, crashes during landing in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, killing all 62 on board. It appears the jet crashed in poor visibility, some 50–100 meters left of the runway, during the second approach. Rostov-on-Don Airport will remain closed until at least 9:00 am Moscow time. (RT) (Airways News) (Reuters)
Nine Cuban migrants die and 18 others are rescued by the Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico, 130 miles west of Marco Island, Florida. The group had been sailing for 22 days in a 30-foot long “rustic” boat. The survivors were severely dehydrated and in poor condition. Those who had died were buried at sea. The cruise ship is taking the migrants to its next stop, the island,Cozumel, Mexico. (AP via Portland Press Herald)

International relations

Former United Nations official and head of the UN mission for the Ebola outbreak Anthony Banbury accuses the UN of “colossal mismanagement,” saying it had failed to uphold the principles for which it was established. He cited the organization’s “Orwellian admonitions and Carrollian logic” of the UN bureaucracy and minimal accountability regarding the widespread rape and sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers.(The Guardian)

Politics and elections

2015–16 protests in Brazil
- A survey conducted by Datafolha shows a majority of Brazilians now favor the impeachment or resignation of President Dilma Rousseff. The poll showed 68 percent of respondents favor Rousseff’s impeachment by Congress, while 65 percent think the president should resign. The president’s approval ratings have been hammered by Brazil’s worst recession in decades and its biggest ever corruption probe. (Reuters)

Sports

Russian speed skaters Pavel Kulizhnikov, Semion Elistratov and Ekaterina Konstantinova test positive for Meldonium and are provisionally suspended by the International Skating Union. Kulizhnikov faces a potential lifetime ban while Elistratov and Konstantinova face up to four years. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
2016 Six Nations Championship
- England national rugby union team has won the 2016 Six Nations Championship against the France national rugby union team, 31-21, their 13th win in the Grand Slam (rugby union). (The Guardian)(BBC)

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March 25, 2016

Top News Stories –

Grand Theft Auto deer causes chaos in game world –
An indestructible, teleporting deer is causing chaos in a version of the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) V game. Artist Brent Watanabe has programmed the virtual deer to wander around the large San Andreas game world. In its first few days of wandering, the deer has been caught in a gangland gun battle, invaded a military base and been chased by the police. More than 200,000 people have tuned in to watch the deer via a video stream on the Twitch site. [BBC]
CGI deer in Grand Theft Auto

Microsoft chatbot is taught to swear on Twitter –
A chatbot developed by Microsoft has gone rogue on Twitter, swearing and making racist remarks and inflammatory political statements. The experimental AI, which learns from conversations, was designed to interact with 18-24-year-olds. Just 24 hours after artificial intelligence Tay was unleashed, Microsoft appeared to be editing some of its more inflammatory comments. The software firm said it was “making some adjustments”. “The AI chatbot Tay is a machine learning project, designed for human engagement. As it learns, some of its responses are inappropriate and indicative of the types of interactions some people are having with it. We’re making some adjustments to Tay,” the firm said in a statement. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Eye of India from Benn Berkeley on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#ViernesSanto	#FlashbackFriday	#CruzSexScandal
2	#SextaDaPaixaoDetreSdv	#GoodFriday	#1YearWithoutZayn
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5	#1YearWithoutZayn	#MyChildhoodHadAlotOf	Asad Shah
6	#EresOnAnahiVEVO	Beverly Cleary	Slime Season 3
7	#BenimYarınlaraMesajım	#Elite8	#GoodFriday
8	#MuhsinYazıcıoğlu	#ViernesSanto	#LeadersDebate
9	#MindOfMine	#3YearsOfTheWay	#3YearsOfTheWay
10	#AUSvPAK	#RITAGH	#PrayForNigeria

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Aftermath of the 2016 Brussels bombings
- Six suspects are arrested in the Brussels Schaerbeek district. (BBC) (CNN)
- Belgian officials confirm 24-year-old suicide bomber Najim Laachraoui, who also used the pseudonym Soufiane Kayawas, was suspected of being the bomb-maker who supplied suicide vests for theNovember 13, 2015, Paris attacks. (NBC News)
Boko Haram insurgency
- The Nigerian Army claims to have rescued more than 800 hostages from Boko Haram while performing a “clearance operation” in the Northeastern part of Nigeria with fighting killing 22 insurgents. (Al Jazeera)
Military intervention against ISIL
- The Pentagon announces the death of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant finance minister and deputy leader, Abu Ala al-Afri. (CNN)
Syrian Civil War
- Palmyra offensive (March 2016)
  - The Syrian Army and allies make major advances near Palmyra against ISIL as the group start pulling out its equipment from the town. (BBC) (NYTimes)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Iskandariya suicide bombing
  - At least 30 people are killed in a suicide attack on a football stadium south of Baghdad, Iraq. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for attack. (FOX News)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- 2016 Aden car bombing
  - At least 22 people are killed following three suicide bombings in the Yemeni port city of Aden. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the bombings. (BBC)
War in Donbass
- The body of Ukrainian lawyer Yurij Grabovsky, who defended two ex-Russian soldiers charged in Eastern Ukraine with terrorism and waging an aggressive war against the country, is found on the grounds of a former farming collective in Zhashkiv, Ukraine. Grabovsky went missing from Kiev on March 9. Information from one of two men being held in this case led police to the remains. (Reuters) (Jurist)

Disasters and accidents

Callaway train crash
- The evacuation order for the 200-person town of Callaway, Minnesota, which was emptied after a Canadian Pacific train crashed with a propane truck, is lifted. None of the train cars were carrying hazardous materials. (Valley News Live) (KMSP-TV)
Twelve Portuguese nationals, who were residents of Fribourg, Switzerland, are killed in a head-on collision between their minibus and a truck, on a highway 300 kilometers (185 miles) south of Paris, France. The only survivor from the bus is the driver; the two Italian occupants of the truck are slightly injured. (Post-Bulletin)
An air ambulance helicopter crashes in Iran‘s southern Fars Province, killing everyone on board. The official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) put the death toll at 10. (Reuters)

International relations

Japan–Russia relations, NATO–Russia relations
- Russia announces it will deploy state-of-the art missile defense systems to the far eastern Kuril Islands where they and Japan have rival territorial claims dating to the end of the Second World War. Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu also says that Russia will form new defence units in the country’s Western Military District in response to NATO’s recent deployment of forces to member statesnear its border. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Law and crime

A United States federal district judge rules unconstitutional a provision in an Alabama state law that requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. A Florida law enacted today contains a comparable provision to Alabama’s. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments a few weeks ago on the constitutionality of similar abortion restrictions in Texas. (Reuters) (Alabama Media Group) (AP via Bristol Herald Courier)

Science and technology

Netflix acknowledges it’s been slowing its video transmission on wireless mobile carriers around the world, including Verizon and AT&T, for five years to “protect consumers from exceeding mobile data caps.” Last week, these carriers were accused of this. The company told The Wall Street Journal that T-Mobile or Sprint users weren’t affected because, “historically those two companies have had more consumer-friendly policies.” In May, Netflix plans to shift some of that control to viewers themselves. (C|net) (PC Magazine)

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April 3, 2016

April 3, 2015

Top News Stories –

World Twenty20: West Indies beat England to claim second title –
Carlos Brathwaite hit the first four balls of the final over for six as West Indies stunned England to win the World Twenty20. West Indies, who were 11-3 in pursuit of England’s 155-9, needed 19 off the final over to win and did it in style. Marlon Samuels’ 85 not out kept them in contention before Brathwaite’s match-winning blitz off Ben Stokes. Joe Root scored 54 for England but nothing could stop the Windies joining their women as World T20 champions. In the process, the West Indies also became the first two-time winners of the men’s World Twenty20. [BBC]

Panama Papers: Mossack Fonseca leak reveals elite’s tax havens –
A huge leak of confidential documents has revealed how the rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth. Eleven million documents were leaked from one of the world’s most secretive companies, Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. They show how Mossack Fonseca has helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax. The company says it has operated beyond reproach for 40 years and has never been charged with criminal wrong-doing. The documents show links to 72 current or former heads of state in the data, including dictators accused of looting their own countries. Gerard Ryle, director of the ICIJ, said the documents covered the day-to-day business at Mossack Fonseca over the past 40 years. “I think the leak will prove to be probably the biggest blow the offshore world has ever taken because of the extent of the documents,” he said. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

How to hide a billion dollars | The Panama Papers

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#DomingoDeSDVDetremura	#TWDFinale	#WT20Final
2	#FelizDomingo	#WT20Final	#OlivierAwards
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4	#لو_مخنوق_بتعم�…	#panamapapers	#JPTFinal
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6	#الحجازيات_ماي…	#OpeningDay	#JFCShawnMendes
7	#LoveMW	Halsey	#MOTD
8	#名作をいきなり終�…	#ItsAllMyFaultBecause	#TheVoiceUK
9	HOJE TEM TWD	#BernieTakesNevada	Ronaldo
10	#MAICHARDonSPS	LETS MAKE 5SOS PROUD	#ElClasico

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- 2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes
  - Azerbaijan calls a unilateral ceasefire in its fight with ethnic Armenians one day after 30 soldiers died. The Associated Press reports rebel forces reject Azerbaijan’s claims, saying they see no sign the government has stopped fighting. (AP), (BBC) (NPR)
Syrian Civil War
- Battle of al-Qaryatayn (March–April 2016)
  - The Syrian Army retakes control of al-Qaryatayn, Homs Governorate, after driving out ISIL militants. (Reuters)
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports the al-Nusra Front‘s spokesperson Abu Firas al-Suri was among 20 militants killed in a suspected Russian airstrike on a village near the city of Idlib in northwestern Syria. (Reuters)
Moro attacks on Sabah, Moro Conflict
- Four Sarawakian Malaysians are kidnapped off the coast of Sabah by suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf, a group linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. (The New York Times)
Military intervention against ISIL, Iraq Civil War
- The United States military reports a drone attack killed ISIL rocket expert Jasim Khadijah. The unmanned airstrike also killed other IS militants and destroyed at least one makeshift drone. Khadijah, a former Iraqi officer, is believed responsible for the March attack that killed a U.S. Marine in northern Iraq. (UPI) (Daily Mail)
- Iraqi forces capture the northern part of the ISIL held town of Hīt, west of Baghdad. (AP)
An attacker throws a grenade and fires shots outside a sports hall in the small town of Zubin Potok in northern Kosovo, just hours before Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić was due to hold an election rally there. “A hand grenade exploded outside the sports hall but there are no injuries,” Besim Hoti, a Kosovo police commander in the area, told Reuters. (Reuters)

Business and economics

Aftermath of the 2016 Brussels bombings
- Two weeks after the deadly suicide bombings, Brussels Zaventem International Airport will reopen today with three symbolic flights to Faro, Athens, and Turin. On Thursday, the airport had said it was “technically ready” to resume partial services, but the opening was held up because police unions threatened to strike unless additional security checks were introduced. (AsiaOne) (The Jewish Press)
Panama Papers
- A leak of 11.5 million documents from law firm Mossack Fonseca reveals details of shell companies used by 12 current or former world leaders including President of Russia Vladimir Putin whose aides allegedly shuffled billions of dollars. (ABC News via 9MSN)
- The documents, 2.6 terabytes of information, were obtained more than a year ago from an anonymous source by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. Journalists from more than 80 countries have been working with this data. The documents expose holdings of 12 current and former world leaders, and 128 more politicians and public officials worldwide. The national leaders named includePakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, and Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. (The Guardian)(USA Today)
The Health Information Trust Alliance, a nonprofit industry group, warns that hospitals in the United States must prepare for more ransomware attacks. A review late last year of some 30 mid-sized U.S. hospitals found 52 percent were infected with malicious software. This week, an attack on MedStar Health forced the largest healthcare provider in the Washington, D.C. area, to shut down much of its computer network. (Reuters).

Disasters and accidents

2016 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa flood
- At least 45 people are killed and another 34 hospitalized following heavy rains and flash floods in the northwestern Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. (Dawn) (AP)
A 6.9 magnitude earthquake occurs off the coast of Vanuatu with a tsunami warning issued. (USGS)
2016 Chester, Pennsylvania train derailment
- Two people are killed and 35 injured when a United States Amtrak passenger train on the Palmetto route traveling from New York City to Savannah, Georgia, with 341 passengers and seven crew on board, derails in Chester, Pennsylvania, after striking a backhoe that was on the track. Local media reports the deceased are veteran Amtrak workers. Area hospitals are treating the injured; none in life-threatening condition. (CNN) (NBC Philadelphia) (BBC) (Reuters)
At least 18 people are injured following a collision between two trains at Plymouth railway station in the city of Plymouth, Devon. The crash has caused significant disruption to rail services in South West England. (Sky News)

International relations

India–Saudi Arabia relations
- In Riyadh, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman sign five agreements, including plans to increase investments, and to cooperate in intelligence sharing. (AP)
European migrant crisis
- Czech Minister of the Interior Milan Chovanec says that authorities in Prague will send a group of 25 Iraqi Christians back to Iraq after they tried to move to Germany rather than staying in the Czech Republic. The refugees were on their way to Germany via bus before being stopped at the border. Czech authorities agreed to a request by the German police to take the people back. Chovanec said the 25 Iraqis abused Czech generosity and should go back to Iraq within seven days. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
- Last month’s agreement between the European Union and Turkey will be implemented Monday as migrants currently on Greek islands will be returned to the Turkish mainland. (AP)
Japan–Philippines relations
- A Japanese Navy submarine makes a port call in the Philippines, the first in fifteen years, in a show of growing military cooperation amid tension triggered by China‘s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea. It was escorted into the former U.S. Naval Base at Subic Bay by two Japanese destroyers on a tour of Southeast Asia. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Guillaume Pepy, France’s national railway company president, announces armed train marshals, in civilian dress, will be patrolling some passenger trains. (AP)

Politics and elections

The Parliament of South Africa announces it will debate a motion to impeach President Jacob Zuma this coming Tuesday. This comes after Zuma is facing mounting pressure when the Constitutional Courtruled that Zuma violated the constitution by using state funds to renovate his mansion. Yesterday, anti-apartheid veteran Ahmed Kathrada joined opposition leaders in calling for Zuma’s resignation. (Al Jazeera)
Police forcibly break up a protest in Malé, Maldives, with tear gas and pepper spray and detain multiple journalists. The demonstration was against government moves to introduce a new law to criminalize defamation. (BBC)
Abortion in Poland
- Thousands of people attended a pro-choice rally outside Parliament of Poland in Warsaw after Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the ruling Law and Justice party, backed a call by Polish Catholic bishops for a full ban on abortion. (Euronews via Reuters)
Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi sacks Prime Minister and Vice President of Yemen Khaled Mahfoudh Bahah. Hadi named top general Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar as his new Vice President and appointed Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr, a former official in Saleh‘s General People’s Congress as the new Prime Minister. (Reuters)

Science and technology

The Associated Press reports a government-sponsored committee of 27 companies/trade associations, set up by the U.S. FAA in February, on Friday submitted recommendations that could clear the way forcommercial drone flights over populated areas, and help speed the introduction of package delivery drones. (AP)

Sport

ICC Women’s World Twenty20, 2016 ICC Women’s World Twenty20
- West Indies women’s national cricket team beat defending champions Australia women’s national cricket team by 8 wickets the final in Kolkata. (ICC)
2016 ICC World Twenty20
- Defending champions The West Indies beat England by 4 wickets in the final in Kolkata. (BBC)
2016 NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament
- The 2016 United States women’s college basketball national championship will be decided when two former Big East Conference foes meet at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis at 8:30 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, April 5, 2016. Connecticut topped Oregon State 80–51, and Syracuse claimed an 80–59 win over Washington in Sunday’s semifinals. Syracuse (30–7, 13–3 ACC) will be making its first appearance in the NCAA title game. UConn (37–0, 18–0 American), a 10-time national champion and defending champion for the fourth straight season, has won every title game it has played in.(ESPN) (ESPN²)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

April 7, 2016

Top News Stories –

Modern men lack Y chromosome genes from Neanderthals, researchers say –
Although it’s widely known that modern humans carry traces of Neanderthal DNA, a new international study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests that Neanderthal Y-chromosome genes disappeared from the human genome long ago. The Y chromosome is one of two human sex chromosomes. Unlike the X chromosome, the Y chromosome is passed exclusively from father to son. This is the first study to examine a Neanderthal Y chromosome, Fernando Mendez, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford said. Previous studies sequenced DNA from the fossils of Neanderthal women or from mitochondrial DNA, which is passed to children of either sex from their mother. “We’ve never observed the Neanderthal Y chromosome DNA in any human sample ever tested,” Bustamante said. “That doesn’t prove it’s totally extinct, but it likely is.” [phys.org]

NASA ‘cuts space station video’ immediately after bizarre UFO hovers above Earth –
A space enthusiast has come across what could be an astonishing visit from aliens. An unnamed alien hunter recorded the UFO while watching the live feed from the International Space Station earlier this week. However, the mysterious video of the giant UFO took a strange turn after the ISS video feed suddenly went dead for nearly an hour just as the bizarre flying object came into view. The “clearly defined UFO” appeared emerging above the horizon of Earth before it “disappeared completely from sight”. The enthusiast said the speed of the object “had to be in the tens of thousands of miles per hour.” He described the bizarre sighting on Tuesday as “unquestionably real and present” and raised suspicisions after “NASA cut the live feed for nearly an hour” just as the UFO vanished. [Daily Express] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

‘Millennium Falcon-type UFO’ spotted in NASA’s live International Space Station feed

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#WorldHealthDay	#NationalBeerDay	unavailable
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9	#ALDUB38thWeeksary	#FrozenFour	unavailable
10	#HillarySoQualified	#DadBrand	unavailable

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- According to Syrian state television, ISIL militants kidnapped over 300 staff members from a cement factory outside of the city of Al-Dumayr earlier this week and no contact with them has been made since. (Al Jazeera)
Military intervention against ISIL
- Turkish Armed Forces shell ISIL positions hours after projectiles hit Turkey‘s Kilis Province. (Hurriyet)

Arts and culture

American Idol (season 15)
- Trent Harmon is declared as the last winner of the American singing competition series, American Idol, which concluded after 15 seasons. (E! Online)

Business and economy

Australian mining and materials company Arrium goes into voluntary administration with 7,000 jobs under threat in Australia, including 1,000 at the Whyalla Steelworks in South Australia. (ABC News)
Bloomberg News reports Verizon Communications plans a bid for Yahoo Inc.’s Web business, including Yahoo Japan Corp., next week. Google, Time Inc., and private equity funds Bain and TPG are considering bidding for Yahoo’s core business. AT&T Inc., Comcast, and Microsoft Corp. reportedly aren’t interested. (Reuters) (Bloomberg News)

Disasters and accidents

Another earthquake measuring at 6.7 strikes off the northwest of Vanuatu, the third earthquake in the same region this week. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says the earthquake poses no tsunami threat. (Radio New Zealand)

Law and crime

Attacks on secularists in Bangladesh
- Attackers in Bangladesh wielding machetes kill Nazimuddin Samad, a liberal blogger. (Reuters)
- Students from Jagannath University in Dhaka, where Nazimuddin Samad studied, protest the killing and tell reporters that police inaction over previous killings contributed to the death of Samad. (BBC)
Panama Papers
- The government of Panama announces that it is creating an “international panel” to help improve transparency in its offshore financial industry. The move follows the leak of millions of documents from law firm Mossack Fonseca, showing it helped some clients evade tax and avoid sanctions. (BBC)
Colombia‘s Constitutional Court votes in favor of same-sex marriage, in a 6-3 decision. (ABC News) (The Advocate)
Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union sue Indiana stating the U.S. state’s new abortion law is unconstitutional because it bans the procedure if sought because of genetic abnormalities. (CBS News with AP) (Reuters)

Politics and elections

The National Assembly of Vietnam approves Nguyễn Xuân Phúc as the country’s new prime minister, succeeding Nguyễn Tấn Dũng. (Reuters) (Shanghai Daily)
Hashim Thaçi is sworn in as the new President of Kosovo. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
South Sudanese Civil War
- Former Vice President and opposition leader Riek Machar says he will return to the capital Juba on April 18 to form a transitional government with President Salva Kiir Mayardit in the hopes of bringing peace to South Sudan after their acrimonious split ignited more than two years of war. (Al Jazeera)
Aung San Suu Kyi, now the State Counsellor of Myanmar, says she will press for the release of political prisoners and student activists in the country, hinting that a mass amnesty may be imminent, a week after her government took power. (The Guardian)
United States presidential election, 2016, Donald Trump endorsements
- Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani endorses Donald Trump for U.S. President, predicting Trump will get more than 50% of the statewide vote. (CBS News)
Panama Papers
- United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron admits he benefited from a Panama-based offshore trust, Blairmore Holdings Inc., set up by his late father. Cameron says he divested himself of his shares, for £31,500 (US$44,300), before becoming prime minister in 2010. (The Guardian) (AP via The Washington Post)
- Jürgen Mossack, co-founder of the Mossack Fonseca law firm, resigns from an honorary, unpaid post on the National Council of Foreign Relations, which advises Panama’s government on foreign policy. (The New York Times)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

April 8, 2016

Top News Stories –

Springsteen cancels North Carolina concert over bathroom bill –
Rock star Bruce Springsteen on Friday canceled a concert scheduled for this weekend in North Carolina to protest a new state law restricting bathroom use by transgender individuals, as country music stars decried similar legislation proposed in Tennessee. Springsteen said in an online statement that the North Carolina law was “an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress.” Tickets for the concert that was to be presented on Sunday in Greensboro, North Carolina, would be refunded, according to Springsteen’s website. PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL.O) cited the discriminatory nature of the law when it canceled on Tuesday a new operations center that was to employ 400 workers in Charlotte. [Reuters] In March Springsteen signed a late note for a schoolboy who came to one of his concerts
Bruce Springsteen

SpaceX reusable rocket lands on ocean platform –
The US aerospace company SpaceX has successfully landed a resusable rocket on an ocean platform, after four previous attempts failed. Mission controllers cheered as the Falcon 9 rocket remained upright on the platform off Florida. It was returning from delivering an inflatable habitat into space for Nasa. The inflatable room will attach to the International Space Station (ISS) for a two-year test and become the first such habitat to for humans in orbit. It is due to reach the ISS around 09:00 GMT on Sunday along with other freight aboard the Dragon capsule. Built by Nevada company Bigelow Aerospace, the habitat is intended to pave the way towards the use of such rooms for long space trips, including to Mars. [BBC] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

SpaceX lands rocket at sea, makes history –

	Worldwide	USA	UK (London)
1	#SextaDetremuraSdv	#FlashbackFriday	#FridayFeeling
2	#سعادتي_هي	Josh Pastner	#AskZac
3	#resigncameron	#NewMusicFriday	#resigncameron
4	#8AnosAtrás	#resigncameron	#FlashbackFriday
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7	#AmaneciConGanasDe	Sanders Over the Edge	#SLFLLondon2
8	#ALDUBProblemaNiLola	Vatican	Danny DeVito
9	#FridayFeeling	#FridayFeeling	#LadiesDay
10	#جسر_الملك_سلمان	#lovesick7days	#IAMW16

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Sinai insurgency
- At least seven people are killed, including five Egyptian Army soldiers, a military officer and a civilian woman in two separate blasts in Egypt‘s Sinai Peninsula. ISIL’s Sinai branch claimed responsibility for the attacks on several websites. (Reuters)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Hīt offensive (2016)
  - The Iraqi Army recaptures the western town of Hīt, Al Anbar Governorate, after driving out hundreds of ISIL militants. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- Damascus offensive (April 2016)
  - ISIL militants reportedly execute 175 workers who were captured earlier this week at a cement factory situated to the east of Damascus. (RT) (Daily Mail)
2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes
- An ethnic Armenian soldier dies in overnight clashes. (News Armenia)

Arts and culture

Pope Francis issues Amoris Laetitia or the Joy of Love, a document on the Roman Catholic approach to love, sex, marriage and family life. (AP)
- In the 256-page document, the Pope encourages the clergy to embrace sinners as well as saints, opens the door a bit for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, and stresses that Catholics, with their own informed consciences guided by the light of the Gospel, address tricky moral questions in their life, and not only be guided by dogmatic rules from above. Francis also asserts the right to a natural deathwithout aggressive treatment; firmly rejects the death penalty; and reiterates the Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage. (AP²) (The Washington Post) (Vatican)
North Carolina bathroom bill
- Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band cancels their Sunday night concert in Greensboro, North Carolina, to protest the state’s controversial “bathroom bill.” (Rolling Stone)

Business and economics

Both Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide and Marriott International shareholders approve Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood, which will create the world’s largest hotelier. The deal has cleared the pre-merger antitrust reviews in the United States and Canada; approvals from the European Union and China is pending. Last week, Anbang Insurance Group topped Marriott’s bid, then withdrew their offer three days later. (Reuters) (UPI)

Disasters and accidents

At least 50 people are reportedly injured following a head-on collision between two commuter trains in San José, Costa Rica. (WRAL)
Three people are killed, and there was one survivor, following the crash of a small plane headed to Angoon in Southeast Alaska, United States. (KTUU-TV)

International relations

North Korea–South Korea relations, North Korean defectors
- A group of 13 North Koreans working at a restaurant in an unidentified country defect en masse to South Korea, according to Seoul‘s Ministry of Unification. (USA Today)
Egypt–Saudi Arabia relations
- King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud announces, during his trip to Cairo, that a bridge crossing the Red Sea will be built, linking Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi says the bridge will be named after the Saudi monarch. A Saudi–Egypt Causeway project has been in the works for years. (BBC)
Syria–United States relations
- Syria releases American freelance photographer Kevin Patrick Dawes who was kidnapped in 2012. (Washington Post)
NATO–Russia relations
- NATO announces it will hold a meeting of the NATO–Russia Council at the ambassadorial level at NATO headquarters in Brussels in the next two weeks after a two-year break since NATO cut all practical cooperation with Russia in 2014. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Egypt–Italy relations, Murder of Giulio Regeni
- Italy recalls its ambassador to Egypt for consultations in protest over the lack of progress in a probe into the fate of murdered Cambridge University student Giulio Regeni. “We want only one thing, the truth about what happened to Giulio,” Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Friday. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
China-Russia relations
- Russia postpones a transfer of missile engines to China. There is concern the technology could be passed on to a third country, such as North Korea. China is not a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime, a voluntary, informal partnership between 34 countries to prevent proliferation of missile delivery systems that could carry weapons of mass destruction. (UPI)
Bangladesh–United States relations
- U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner condemns Wednesday’s “barbaric murder” of Nazimuddin Samad, and says federal officials are considering granting refuge to a select number ofBangladeshi writers who are under “imminent danger” because of their critical views of radical Islamists. (UPI)

Law and crime

At least two people are reported dead following a shooting at Lackland Air Force Base, in the U.S. state of Texas. (CNBC)
Aftermath of the November 2015 Paris attacks
- Mohamed Abrini, wanted in connection with the 2015 Paris attacks, is arrested in Belgium. (Reuters via Ynet)
Panama Papers
- El Salvador officials seize documents and equipment during a raid of the local offices of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. Attorney General Douglas Melendez says authorities interviewed seven employees, and confiscated 20 computers and some documents. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

The French occupy movement known as Nuit debout enters its ninth day, “March 40,” spreading across dozens of French cities and to Belgium, Germany, and Spain. (The Guardian)
Djiboutian presidential election, 2016
- Voters in Djibouti go to the polls for the first round of voting in a presidential election with current President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh winning a fourth term in office. (BBC), (AFP via Daily Mail)
A Myanmar court releases 69 jailed student activists in the first wave of amnesty for the country’s political prisoners, with more releases expected. This comes after State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi vowed to push for the release of all the political prisoners in Myanmar. (Al Jazeera)
The Prime Minister of Madagascar Jean Ravelonarivo and his cabinet resign from office with no explanation given. (The Guardian)
Macedonian opposition leader Zoran Zaev pledges to boycott the early Macedonian parliamentary elections, saying it is due to a lack of government reforms. (Business Insider)
LGBT rights in the United States
- A group of United States mayors forms “Mayors Against Discrimination” in the wake of recent discriminatory laws enacted in North Carolina and Mississippi against LBGT individuals. The founding members are city leaders from Honolulu, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, Oakland, San Francisco, Sante Fe, Seattle, Tampa, and Washington, D.C. (AP) (Huffington Post) (Mayor Edward Murray)
United States presidential election, 2016
- The Colorado Republican Party continues choosing its delegates to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Ted Cruz has swept all of the delegates available so far. The process which began last Saturday (April 2, 2016) will conclude tomorrow. (Washington Post)

Science and technology

SpaceX CRS-8
- SpaceX launches a NASA cargo run to the International Space Station, and in a spaceflight first, successfully lands its reusable main-stage booster on an autonomous spaceport drone ship. (The Verge)(Reuters)

Sport

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko says they will not open up a formal investigation into the doping scandals that were reported by the World Anti-Doping Agency last November, where it documented Russian athletes systematically taking banned performance-enhancing drugs with state support. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

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April 9, 2016

Top News Stories –

Grand National: Rule The World wins under David Mullins –
The 33-1 shot Rule The World, ridden by 19-year-old David Mullins and trained by Mouse Morris, has won the 2016 Grand National at Aintree. Mullins, in his first ride in the race, came storming through to overhaul The Last Samuri (8-1 joint favourite) and Vics Canvas (100-1) late on. It gave Morris a double after Rogue Angel’s Irish National win last month.
Last year’s winner Many Clouds challenged but was beaten a long way out and finished 16th and last. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Snowboarder Girl Chased By Bear – I Was Singing Rihanna Work And Didn’t Know It Was Behind Me!

List of the Day –

Grand National Trivia

Fastest winning time: Mr. Frisk (1990); 8 minutes 47.8 seconds
Oldest winning horse: Peter Simple (1853); aged 15
Youngest winning horse: Alcibiade (1865), Regal (1876), Austerlitz (1877), Empress (1880), Lutteur III (1909); all aged five
Oldest winning jockey: Dick Saunders (1982); aged 48
Youngest winning jockey: Bruce Hobbs (1938); aged 17
Longest odds winner: Tipperary Tim (1928), Gregalach (1929), Caughoo (1947), Foinavon (1967), Mon Mome (2009); all 100/1
Shortest odds winner: Poethlyn (1919); 11/4
Largest field: 66 runners (1929)
Smallest field: 10 runners (1883)
Most horses to finish: 23 (1984)
Fewest horses to finish: 2 (1928)
Most rides in the race: 20 (A. P. McCoy, 1995–2015), (Richard Johnson, 1997-2016)
Most rides without winning: 20 (Richard Johnson, 1997-2016)

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide	USA	Australia (Sydney)
#FelizSabado	#GrandNational	#triplejONS
#JaSeForam100DiasEm2016EEu	#ResistCapitalism	#RogueOne
#GrandNational	#SuperSoulSessions	#WTSGoldCoast
#SabadoSDVcomChalanco	#FamilyValuesIn5Words	#banksRC
#فيلم_كارتون_ب�…	#FavoriteCamilaVocals	#IdolFinale
#eununca	#EndCyBernBullying	Royal Commission
#EstaNocheYo	#NationalUnicornDay	#lovesick7days
#ALDUBSummerGetaway	#TEDxPDX	#PoseyDay
#JuntosNoClubeSDV	Kirstie Alley	#resigncameron
#YeriGelmişkenSöyleyeyim	#ResignDavidCameron	Bruce Springsteen

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Moro Conflict
- 2016 Battle of Basilan
  - At least 18 soldiers are killed and 52 injured in clashes with Abu Sayyaf militants and allied gunmen in Basilan island, Philippines. (FOX News)
Military intervention against ISIL
- The United States Air Force deploys B-52 bombers to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar to join operations against ISIL in Syria and Iraq. This is the first time they have been stationed in the Middle East since the end of the Gulf War in 1991. (Reuters)
Internal conflict in Peru
- At least two people are killed in a remote part of Peru in an attack by Shining Path guerillas. (Daily Mail)

Disasters and accidents

European migrant crisis
- Five migrants drown off the island of Samos close to Turkey. (AP)
At least 23 people are killed and 32 others injured after a bus plunges into a river in southeastern Peru. (AFP via ABC News)

International relations

Egypt–Saudi Arabia relations
- Egypt and Saudi Arabia reach an agreement on the disputed islands of Tiran Island and Sanafir Island, placing the formerly Egyptian-administered islands officially under Saudi Arabian sovereignty. (Daily Mail)
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- North Korea claims to have successfully tested the engine for an intercontinental ballistic missile. (BBC)

Law and crime

2016 Brussels bombings
- Mohamed Abrini has reportedly admitted to being the “man in the hat” sought after the Brussels bombings. He is also being charged with involvement in the November 2015 Paris attacks. (BNO News)
Former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith is shot dead in a road rage incident. (CNN)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Registered Democratic voters in the U.S. state of Wyoming gather, by county, for the Wyoming Democratic caucuses. Bernie Sanders is projected to win. (Wyoming Tribune), (The Hill)
Panama Papers
- Thousands of people protest in Whitehall calling on British Prime Minister David Cameron to resign over his financial affairs and his handling of them in relation to revelations made by the leak of the Panama Papers. (Independent)
Puerto Rican Governor Alejandro García Padilla announces he declared a state of emergency at the Commonwealth’s Government Development Bank yesterday, which allows withdrawals only to fund necessary costs for health, public safety, and education services. Without this measure and debt restructuring, the United States territory would be forced to default as it faces nearly $2.5 billion in bond payments from May through July. (AP via The Washington Post)

Sport

British horse Rule The World wins the 2016 Grand National. (BBC)
In boxing, Anthony Joshua wins the International Boxing Federation heavyweight championship defeating Charles Martin the defending champion. (The Guardian)

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April 18, 2016

Top News Stories –

Depp’s wife Amber Heard avoids Australia dog-smuggling conviction –
Actress Amber Heard has avoided a conviction for illegally taking her dogs into Australia. Ms Heard, married to actor Johnny Depp, had pleaded guilty in court to making a false statement on her immigration card about the couple’s Yorkshire terriers. But the Queensland judge gave her a one-month good behaviour bond with no conviction recorded. If she breaks the bond she must pay A$1,000 ($770; £540). The authorities also released an unusual video apology from the couple. In the video, which was shown in court and made public by the Department of Agriculture, the couple expressed remorse and advised travellers to respect Australian quarantine laws. [BBC] See Video of the Day
Amber Heard

Three-day working week ‘optimal for over-40s’ –
Workers aged over 40 perform at their best if they work three days a week, according to economic researchers. Their research analysed the work habits and brain test results of about 3,000 men and 3,500 women aged over 40 in Australia. Their calculations suggest a part-time job keeps the brain stimulated, while avoiding exhaustion and stress. The researchers said this needed to be taken into consideration as many countries raise their retirement age. [BBC]

YouTube live-streams in virtual reality and adds 3D sound –
YouTube is introducing live-streamed 360-degree videos on its service. The Google-owned platform said select concerts from California’s Coachella festival would be the first to use the virtual reality facility. In addition, it announced videos on its service could now be enhanced with “spatial audio”, which simulates the effect of sounds coming from different directions and distances. One expert said the innovation could greatly enhance VR experiences. The announcements were timed to coincide with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference in Las Vegas, where several new virtual reality products are being launched. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard: Australian biosecurity

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide	USA
#SegundaDetremuraSdv	#HappyBirthdayIvoryElla
#الشوري_يناقش_�…	Pulitzer
#AlutaComeçou	#houstonflood
#WorldHeritageDay	#WorldHeritageDay
#بعزيمه_الرجال…	#ILookAtMyLifeAnd
#NoEsPorIntrigarPero	#BostonMarathon
#AliİsmailKorkmaz	#IFeelOldWhen
#houstonflood	#RAWLondon
#BostonMarathon	#asugsvsummit
#NoALaDroga	#FightForFamilies

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Syrian rebels launch new offensives against government forces in the country’s Latakia Governorate and Hama Governorate. Several rebel groups earlier announced they were launching a new battle against government forces in response to claimed violations of the cease-fire agreement, further putting a strain on the Syrian peace process. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
- Rockets fired by ISIL from northern Syria hit the Turkish town of Kilis killing four people, most of them children. (BBC)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
- 2016 Jerusalem bombing
  - A bomb explosion in Jerusalem set two buses on fire and injured 21 people with ball bearing and nails. Israeli police say they believe the incident was a suicide bombing but no group has claimed responsibility. (Euronews) (Ynetnews)
Ethnic violence in South Sudan, Sudanese nomadic conflicts
- According to the government of Ethiopia, the death toll from a raid carried out by attackers from South Sudan has risen to 208 from a figure of 140 a day earlier, with 108 children being kidnapped in the process. Ethiopian forces killed 60 of the attackers and says it would cross the border into South Sudan to pursue the assailants if necessary. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Pulitzer Prizes
- The Associated Press wins the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for documenting the use of slave labor in Southeast Asia to supply seafood to American tables. (AP)
- Lin-Manuel Miranda wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the musical Hamilton based on the life of American founding father Alexander Hamilton. (Buzzfeed)

Business and economics

The meeting in Doha, Qatar, of the world’s top oil producers, from both OPEC and non-OPEC countries, fails to agree on an output freeze. Oil analysts say the failure was due to Iran’s non-participation, andSaudi Arabia linking its cooperation to Iran’s inclusion. Oil prices drop in early Asian trading and on the New York Mercantile Exchange. (AFP via Bangkok Post) (CNBC) (Oilprice.com)
A member of the board of the Bundesbank in Germany says that the European Central Bank ought to crack down on the political practice, in EU’s member state, by which banks that are no longer viable are nonetheless kept in business, as so-called Zombie banks. (Reuters)
Cuba-United States relations
- Carnival Cruise Lines says it will postpone its first cruise in 50 years from the United States to Havana, if Cuba does not waive its rule and allow Cuban-Americans passengers. Current Cuban law does not allow those born on the island to return by sea. (UPI) (AP via CNBC)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Kumamoto earthquakes
- The Japanese Red Cross says that 250,000 people have been asked to leave their homes due to further tremors. (BBC)
2016 Ecuador earthquake
- Aid starts to flow in after an earthquake kills over 270 people in Ecuador. (AP via Fox News), (BBC)
European migrant crisis
- More than 400 migrants, mostly from Somalia, drown in the Mediterranean Sea while traveling from Egypt to Italy. (The Telegraph)
Violent storms cause floods across Uruguay with seven people killed and more than 2,000 left homeless. Four of those were killed by a tornado that struck Dolores. Four million people in the Chilean capital ofSantiago were left without tap water as heavy rains triggered landslides. This led to the fouling of the city’s water supply. (Al Jazeera)
2016 Houston floods
- Heavy rain of more than 1 foot (0.30 m) causes major flooding in Houston, Texas, affecting 1,000 homes, causing five deaths and causing power outages for over 100,000 residents. (CNN), (USA Today), (Time)
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott declares nine counties in the southeastern part of the state disaster areas. (UPI)

International relations

Australia–Philippines relations, Philippine presidential election, 2016
- Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Amanda Gorely criticizes Philippine presidential frontrunner Rodrigo Duterte regarding his remarks about the rape of an Australian citizen. (Rappler), (The New York Times)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- During a visit to Baghdad, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announces that the United States will be sending more troops to the country to help in the fight against ISIL. The U.S. also plans to giveKurdish Peshmerga forces, which are fighting ISIL on the ground, more than $400m (£280m; €350m) in assistance. (BBC)

Law and crime

War in Donbass, Russia–Ukraine relations
- A Ukrainian court sentences two Russian nationals to 14 years in prison each on charges of fighting alongside Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Moscow contends that the two Russians were no longer employed by the state when they were captured. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Politics and elections

Philippine general election, 2016
- Bongbong Marcos, the son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos and top vice presidential candidate, defends Duterte’s remarks about rape. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Italian oil drilling referendum, 2016
- The referendum fails to exceed the 50% turnout level necessary to make the results binding; turnout was recorded at 31.2%. (Reuters)
Next Australian federal election
- Australia looks likely to hold a double dissolution election on July 2 after the Senate rejects legislation to bring back the Australian Building and Construction Commission for a second time. (ABC News Australia)
2016 Macedonian protests
- Protests against President Gjorge Ivanov continue in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, after his decision to pardon politicians involved in a scandal. (The Seattle Times)

Sports

More than 30,000 runners participate in the 120th running of the Boston Marathon. Two Ethiopian runners win. Adriana Haslett and Patrick Downes, survivors of the 2013 bombing who each lost a leg in the blast, were in the field.(The Boston Globe) (NPR)

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April 23, 2016

Top News Stories –

William Shakespeare 400: Prince Charles takes to stage to speak Bard’s most famous line –
Prince Charles bravely went up against Britain’s finest actors to make his acting debut with what is possibly Shakespeare’s most famous line. The Prince of Wales became the Prince of Denmark as he joined acting royalty on stage to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, uttering: “To be or not to be. That is the question.” Charles made a shock appearance as Hamlet alongside Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch and David Tennant in a star-studded televised gala performance in the Bard’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon. Charles, who had been watching Shakespeare Live! at the town’s riverside Royal Shakespeare Theatre show with the Duchess of Cornwall, was heard to speak from the wings, asking: “Might I have a word … ” Then followed the opening lines to what is one of Shakespeare’s best-known soliloquies: “To be or not to be, that is the question.” [Daily Mirror]

Manager at exotic pet shop paid a prostitute with a MONKEY worth $2,500 that he swiped from the store owned by his wife –
An Oregon man was arrested after he allegedly tipped a prostitute with an exotic monkey, valued at $2,500, that he took from his own pet store. Nathan Allen McClain, 36, is accused of tipping a prostitute with an exotic primate and paying her with money from the Zany Zoo Pet Store fund, which included a donation jar with money, in exchange for a sexual encounter, according to Eugene detectives. The unidentified woman, who police tracked down at a local hotel, had the Galago primate in her possession and told authorities she received it as a tip from a client, whom she identified as McClain. The woman was cooperative, and provided a statement to detectives, along with the animal. [Daily Mail]

Video of the Day –

BALANCE from Tim Sessler on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA
1	#ProjectHome	#Shakespeare400
2	#شي_ودكم_ينقرض_…	#ProjectHome
3	#FelizSabado	#ReasonsToAppreciateCamila
4	#SábadoTopClubeSDV	#DiaDelLibro
5	#DiaDelLibro	#StGeorgesDay
6	#フォロワーさんと�…	#saturdaymorning
7	#TranscendAllOddsAteneo	#WorldBookDay
8	#SoyFelizCuando	#EnglishStereotypeAMovie
9	#23NisanUlusalEgemenlikBay…	#ThunderOverLouisville
10	#GetItDoneDLSU	Stone Mountain

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan
- The Pakistani Taliban claims the killing of a Sikh lawmaker, Soran Singh. (The New York Times)
Syrian Civil War
- ISIL claims to have shot down a Syrian Arab Air Force MiG-23, southeast of Damascus, and captured its pilot. Amaq News Agency, which supports ISIL, gave the pilot’s name as Azzam Eid, from Hama. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says it was not clear whether the plane had been shot down or crashed because of mechanical failure. (Daily Mail) (Times of Israel)
- Syrian government airstrikes kill 25 people, mostly civilians, in attacks on rebel-held areas near the capital Damascus. (NY Times)
Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
- Yemeni government forces along with Popular Resistance militia kill dozens of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in clashes in southern Yemen. A drone strike kills two others further north, nearMa’rib. (Reuters)
Iraqi Civil War
- Two separate car bombs kill at least 12 people in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad. The Islamic State claims responsibility for the blast at the security checkpoint in a northern district that killed nine and injured 28 others. Three people are killed and 11 injured at the second bombing in southern Baghdad that targeted an army convoy; no group has claimed responsibility. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

The continuing influence of English dramatist William Shakespeare is celebrated on the 400th anniversary of his death in Stratford-upon-Avon. (Time)
Spain commemorates the 400th anniversary of the death of its most famous author Miguel de Cervantes. (AFP via France 24)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 South Pacific cyclone season
- Samoan authorities prepared for Severe Tropical Cyclone Amos which is forecast to make landfall later tonight. (Weather Zone)
A Russian oil tanker catches fire in the Caspian Sea, killing at least one crew member. A total of 10 crew members were evacuated from the ship, which was in the territorial waters of Turkmenistan when the fire broke out. It was unclear what caused the blaze. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
2016 Ecuador earthquake
- The death toll from the earthquake passes 650 with over 50 people missing. It is now the deadliest earthquake in South America this century. (AP via ABC News)

International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- North Korea is reported to have launched a submarine-launched ballistic missile for the first time. (Reuters)
Russia–United States relations
- President of Russia Vladimir Putin accuses the United States of reneging on a 16-year-old deal that called for reducing Russia’s and the United States’ stockpiles of weapons-grade plutonium. He accusedWashington of trying to preserve its ability to turn some of its plutonium stockpile back into a form usable for nuclear weapons. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Syrian peace process
- Reuters reports the Friday afternoon truce between Kurdish Asayish forces and pro-Syrian government forces, declared following a three-day outbreak of violence that killed at least 26 people, is holding.(Reuters)
European migrant crisis
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Donald Tusk, and European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans meet with Syrian refugees at a camp in the southeasternTurkish town of Nizip prior to talks with a delegation led by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. Davutoğlu stresses the importance of implementation of European Union visa liberalization for Turkish citizens in assuring the success of Europe’s migrant readmission agreement with his country. Tusk announces that the EU will spend 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) this summer on projects to improve the lives of Syrian migrants. (Hürriyet Daily News) (Reuters) (Journal of Turkish Weekly)
North Korea-United States relations
- Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong says North Korea is ready to halt nuclear tests if the United States suspends its annual military exercises with South Korea. (AP via Time)

Law and crime

Attacks on secularists in Bangladesh
- Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique is killed in the Bangladeshi city of Rajshahi in an ISIL attack. (Hindustan Times) (AFP via Yahoo!)
Böhmermann affair
- During a rally in support of German comedian Jan Böhmermann, outside the Turkish embassy in Berlin, Bruno Kramm, head of the Berlin branch of Germany’s Pirate Party, is arrested for “insulting a representative of a foreign state” by quoting a line from the comic’s satirical poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (RT)
Panama Papers
- Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif bows to opposition demands that he ask Pakistan’s chief justice to set up an independent commission to investigate offshore accounts linked to his family. Sharif said he would accept the commission’s findings and even resign if called upon. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
- European Union finance ministers approve a series of measures to tackle tax-evading methods that were exposed by the Panama Papers. (The Guardian)
United States Federal agents are combing three states for 32 cases of commercial grade explosives, about 500 pounds of 2½ to 5 inch aerial shells, stolen from a CSX train traveling from Chicago, Illinois, through Ohio that arrived in Detroit, Michigan, on Wednesday. (CBS News) (Detroit Free Press)

Politics and elections

Philippine presidential election, 2016
- Human rights activists, lawyers, labor rights groups and other advocates endorse Leni Robredo for vice president. (Rappler)
South Sudanese Civil War
- Rebel leader Riek Machar misses an international deadline to return to the capital Juba to take the post of Vice President. Machar was offered the position by President Salva Kiir Mayardit in the hopes of putting an end to the civil war but has repeatedly delayed his return. (Al Jazeera)
Thousands of people protest in the German city of Hanover against the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal. They say the deal would drive down wages, and weaken environmental protection and labour rights. (BBC)
Darfurian status referendum, 2016
- According to the Sudanese electoral commission, more than 97% of voters in Darfur choose to remain as five states rather than form a single region. However, The vote was held amid ongoing insecurity and many of Sudan’s 2.5 million displaced people were not registered to vote, with the U.S. State Department warning that the referendum could not be considered credible “under current rules and conditions”. (BBC)
Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso names former opposition leader Clément Mouamba as prime minister. (Reuters)

Science and Technology

Solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse 2 lands in Mountain View, California after a 62-hour flight across the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii. (NBC News) (BBC)

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April 24, 2016

Top News Stories –

Astronaut Tim Peake smashes the Guinness World Record for a space marathon –
British astronaut Tim Peake ran the London Marathon while aboard the International Space Station in a world record time. The spaceman is the second person to complete the 26.2 mile distance while on the ISS. However, Peake’s time of three hours, 35 minutes and 21 seconds was far faster than US astronaut Sunita Williams of four hours, 23 minutes and ten seconds. Williams ran her race in 2007 at the same time as the Boston Marathon. [Daily Mail]

Video of the Day –

Hello Tokyo from Christoph Gelep on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide	USA
#NiallDay	#NiallDay
#الهلال_الاهلي	Rachel Roy
#DomingoDetremuraSdv	#GameofThrones
#البنات_اوصخ_ش�…	#RedBullKumite
#UFC197	#HappyBirthdayKehlani
#توقع_واربح_كا�…	#LondonMarathon
#MiPrimerAcoso	#ClassicWrestlerFilms
#KathNielAtHimigHandog2016	#CanAnyoneExplainToMe
#ماذا_تعرف_عن_ع…	#TwitterWouldBeGreatIf
#LondonMarathon	#WhatTwitterTaughtMe

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War
- At least 14 people have been killed in suicide bombing attacks in Baghdad. (Daily Times)
Yemeni Civil War
- Saudi-led air strikes kill at least ten al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in southern Yemen. (Reuters)
- Yemeni and United Arab Emirates troops capture the seaport of Mukalla from al Qaeda. The Saudi Arabia led coalition claims to have killed more than 800 militants(Reuters), (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- Rockets fired by ISIL from northern Syria hit a poor neighborhood and a mosque in the Turkish city of Kilis, killing one person and injuring 26 others. Turkish security forces responded by returning fire into Syria. (Euronews) (Reuters)

International relations

North Korea–South Korea relations
- North Korea reportedly deploys 300 new multiple launch rocket systems along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. (Yonhap)
Syrian Civil War
- U.S. President Barack Obama rules out deploying U.S. ground troops in Syria and says military efforts alone cannot solve the country’s problems. He also said he did not think that ISIL would be defeated in his last nine months of office. (BBC)
- U.S. officials report President Obama will announce plans to send as many as 250 more U.S. troops to Syria to help fight ISIL militants. The troops are likely to include special operations forces and medical or intelligence support personnel, an official added. The decision is scheduled to be announced around noon tomorrow in Hanover, Germany, during the President’s farewell tour of Europe. (CBS News) (Reuters)
North Korea-United States relations
- President Barack Obama says the United States isn’t taking North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong’s proposal to halt nuclear activity seriously. Pyongyang would “have to do better than that,” he added.(AP)

Law and crime

Ebru Umar, a Dutch journalist of Turkish descent, is arrested in Kuşadası, Turkey, for tweets deemed critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This comes as a political storm erupted this week over reports that the Turkish consulate asked Turkish organizations in the Netherlands to forward emails and social media posts which insult Erdoğan or Turkey. (The Guardian)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Following an appeal, 12-year-old Dima al-Wawi is freed from an Israeli prison. She is believed to be the youngest female Palestinian ever imprisoned. Israeli civil law, which does not allow anyone under 14 to go to jail, did not affect her imprisonment. Palestinian residents in the occupied territories are subject to military law that can sentence suspects as young as 12 to prison. (AP via ABC News)

Politics and elections

Austrian presidential election, 2016
- Austrians vote in the first round of electing the next president. Preliminary estimates indicate FPÖ‘s Norbert Hofer won the first round with 36 percent of the vote. Greens‘ Alexander Van der Bellen, who is supported by the Green Party, garnered 20%, and another independent, Irmgard Griss, took 18.5 percent. President Heinz Fischer was not eligible to be re-elected. Candidates representing the two leading parties, that have ruled for the past 70 years, were eliminated. Hofer and Van der Bellen will compete in the runoff election on May 22, 2016. (Bloomberg) (Election website) (Deutsche Welle), (Euro News)
Equatorial Guinean presidential election, 2016
- Equatorial Guinean voters go to the polls with incumbent Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo expected to win as the opposition boycotts the election. (Voice of America) (Al Jazeera)
Japanese House of Representatives by-elections, 2016: By-elections were held for two seats controlled by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. (Japan Times)
- Hokkaido 5th district by-election, 2016: LDP candidate Yoshiaki Wada staved off the competition from independent candidate Maki Ikeda. Despite the LDP’s winning margin decreasing from 14% (in 2014) to 2%, this win is seen as a boost for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the upcoming upper house election.
- Kyoto 3rd district by-election, 2016: The newly formed Democratic Party wrested back the seat from the LDP after their candidate and former MP for the district Kenta Izumi won by a landslide.
Philippine presidential election, 2016.
- The final leg of the Philippine presidential debate series is held in Dagupan. (The Manila Bulletin)
Serbian parliamentary election, 2016
- Serbians elect a new parliament under the backdrop of its accession to the European Union. Preliminary results indicate the incumbent, pro-EU populists sweeping the election. (Bloomberg) (AP via The Washington Post)
2015–16 protests in Moldova
- Protests continue in Moldova as thousands of anti-government protesters demonstrate in the capital Chișinău despite concessions given to the protesters last month by the government. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Around 1,000 people stage a rare public protest in the Kazakh city of Atyrau, rallying against the government’s decision to sell land in auctions amid a heavy police presence, though they did not forcibly disperse the rally. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

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June 11, 2016

Top News Stories –

Bicycle thief suspect lassoed by rancher in Oregon –
A rancher in the US state of Oregon has used his lassoing skills to nab a would-be thief, police say. Robert Borba told local media he reacted when he heard a woman scream that someone was trying to steal her bicycle from a bike rack outside a Walmart store in Eagle Point. Mr Borba said he got his horse out of its trailer and cornered the suspect before lassoing him around the legs. He said he got on his horse and rode over to the man who was apparently struggling with the bike gears and then decided to flee on foot. “I just roped him and the rope went down around his feet and I just rode off like I would if I’d roped a cow or something by myself”. The rancher said the would-be thief then tried to grab a tree and escape, but he managed to keep the rope tight until police arrived and arrested the suspect. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Aberdeen : A Montage of Kurt Cobain's Artwork & Journals from Tourist Pictures on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- Fighting breaks out between ISIL militants and Afghan police in the Haska Mina District, Nangarhar Province, leaving six police officers and 15 militants dead, according to officials. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- Libyan forces claim to have captured the port in the city of Sirte after heavy fighting with ISIL. (BBC)
Syrian Civil War
- According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, two suicide bombings occur near the Sayyidah Zaynab shrine in a Damascus suburb, killing at least 20 people. (Reuters)

Law and crime

American singer Christina Grimmie, best known for her appearances on The Voice, dies after having been shot at a concert venue in the city of Orlando, Florida. (Fox News)

Sports

UEFA Euro 2016
- English and Russian football fans riot before the England–Russia Euro 2016 match in Marseille and fight afterwards. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. (AP)
- Fighting breaks out between supporters of Northern Ireland and France in Nice. (The Telegraph)
2016 Belmont Stakes
- Creator, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. and trained by Steve Asmussen, wins the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes. (NBC News)

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June 12, 2016

Top News Stories –

Orlando shooting: At least 50 killed in Pulse nightclub mass shooting –
A heavily armed gunman has killed at least 50 people, with another 53 injured, at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The mass shooting is the worst in US history and US President Barack Obama has branded it “an act of terror and an act of hate”.

At least 50 people killed, 53 injured in mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida
Gunman Omar Mateen took hostages, killed when police stormed building
Mateen was armed with an assault rifle and handgun, police say
US President Barack Obama brands shooting an act of terror and hate
Armed man arrested in LA had assault rifles in car, said he was going to the LA Pride festival, police said

[ABC Australia]

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- In the Third Battle of Fallujah, ISIL militants attack a military barracks east of Fallujah, killing more than 50 government soldiers and militia members. At least 12 militants were also killed in the assault. (Al Jazeera)
Yemeni civil war
- Missiles, fired from a U.S. drone, strike a four-wheel drive vehicle in southern Yemen, killing two and injuring another suspected militant. (Press TV)

Arts and culture

Around 10,000 people attend a street party in front of Buckingham Palace to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday. (Reuters)
70th Tony Awards
- The 70th Tony Awards are held at the Beacon Theater in New York City with The Humans winning the Best Play and Hamilton winning the Best Musical. (Variety)
- Hamilton sweeps the Tonys, winning 11 of Broadway’s top awards including best musical, best actor (Leslie Odom, Jr.), best direction (Thomas Kail), best featured actress (Renée Elise Goldsberry), and best featured actor (Daveed Diggs). Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda won for best score and for best book of a musical. (Otago Daily Times) (Forbes)
- Hamilton fell just short of‎ The Producers record of 12 wins in 2001‎. (Los Angeles Times)

International relations

European migration crisis
- Italy‘s Coast Guard picks up 1,230 migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. More than 4,000 people have been saved at sea in the past week. (Reuters via Trust)

Law and crime

2016 Orlando nightclub shooting
- In what is the deadliest mass shooting and the worst terror attack since 9/11 to occur in the United States, a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in the U.S. city of Orlando, Florida, kills at least 50 people, including the shooter, and injures 53. (BBC) (CNN) (Australian Broadcasting Co.)
- ISIL’s Amaq News Agency claims that the assault, “… was carried out by an Islamic State fighter”. (Reuters) (CBS New York)
- The FBI identifies the deceased gunman as Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, a 29-year-old American citizen born in New York to Afghani parents, and living in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Mateen called 9-1-1 during the attack and pledged allegiance to ISIL. (CBS New York)
- Mateen’s father, Seddique Mir Mateen, says, “We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident. This had nothing to do with religion.” Seddique says that during a recent outing in Miami, his son got very angry when he saw men kissing and touching each other. According to the elder Mateen, Omar said, ‘Look at that. In front of my son they are doing that.’ (NBC News)
- The City of Orlando requests, via Twitter, citizens, “… hold off on vigils — they represent a serious strain on our limited resources, which we need to dedicate to law enforcement and victims.” (The New York Times)
The scheduled L.A. Pride parade is held in West Hollywood Park in California. A 20-year-old man, whose car was filled with explosive materials and weapons, is arrested before he reached the parade area. He is misquoted as saying he wanted to harm people at the event. (Los Angeles Daily News)
An explosion at Shanghai Pudong International Airport injures at least three people; the explosive appears to be homemade. (AP via The Guardian)
Lawyers for former President of Chad Hissène Habré, who was recently found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison, appeal the verdict. However, a tribunal spokesman said the appeal process is not expected to be done before April 2017. (Al Jazeera)

Sports

UEFA Euro 2016
- UEFA opens an inquiry into the Russian Football Union after massive fights between Russian and English hooligans during and after the match between Russia and England in Marseille. Dozens of injuries, including at least one Briton in critical condition, and multiple arson attacks occurred throughout the city. (BBC)
2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
- In golf, Brooke Henderson of Canada wins the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. (Seattle Times)
2016 Stanley Cup Finals
- In ice hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins win their fourth Stanley Cup title defeating the San Jose Sharks 4 games to 2 in the finals. (ESPN)

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June 29, 2016

Top News Stories –

Facebook gives friends higher priority in News Feeds –
Facebook is to give posts by users’ friends and family greater prominence in their News Feeds. The social network said its members had expressed concerns that they were missing “important updates” from the people they cared about. The move reverses a trend towards giving more space to content posted by the news media and brands. One expert said it highlighted that newspapers and broadcasters’ interests did not always match those of the firm. Facebook said that in several surveys it had carried out, users had told it they wanted to see more “friend content”, and it was altering its algorithms to accommodate this. [BBC]

Vietnam capital sets target to ban motorbikes –
Officials in Hanoi are aiming to ban motorbikes from the city centre within 10 years, it’s reported. The local government wants streets to be motorbike-free by 2025 as part of efforts to tackle congestion, the Thanh Nien News website says. The Vietnamese capital has notoriously chaotic roads, with around five million motorbikes vying for space alongside half a million cars. That situation is forecast to get worse in years to come: the authorities estimate that by 2020 there will be seven million motorbikes, and the number of cars will double. “This means the traffic situation in Hanoi will become extremely complicated in the next four to five years, so we really need a timely solution to this,” says mayor Nguyen Duc Chung. The city’s transport authority wants to reduce the number of individual vehicles and boost public transport instead, and its chairman wants the number of buses to double. Construction of a new urban rail system is already under way. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Watch NYers’ Hearts Break As They JUST Miss The Subway Train

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Istanbul airport attack
- The death toll from the attack on the Istanbul Atatürk Airport rises to 42. (CNN)
Syrian Civil War
- At least 10 people are killed and nine others are wounded following a car bomb attack in Tell Abyad, near the Syria–Turkey border, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (AFP via Daily Mail)
- 2016 al-Bukamal offensive
  - New Syrian Army rebels fail to capture the border town of Al-Bukamal from ISIL militants, with an ISIL affiliated news source claiming the group killed 40 rebels and captured 15 more in a counter-attack. (Reuters)
War in Somalia
- Kenyan army forces kill five suspected Al-Shabaab militants, four during a clash at a military camp in Lamu County, and another in Malindi. (Reuters)

Business and economics

Toyota, which on Tuesday announced a recall of 1.43 million hybrids because of an airbag problem, today announces the recall of 2.87 million vehicles worldwide, produced between April 2006 and August 2015, because of a possible problem with their evaporative fuel emissions control unit. (Reuters)
The Lesedi La Rona diamond, the largest uncut diamond in the world, went on sale at an auction in Mayfair with it expected to sell at £52 million, or US$70 million. However, the diamond only managed to draw a high bid of US$61 million, falling short of the reserve price to sell it. (BBC) (CBC News)
The London FTSE index recovers from its losses after the result of the European Union membership referendum, closing at its highest level since April. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

The Vietnamese Ministry of Defense says eight bodies from a Coast Guard plane that crashed June 16, 2016, have been found. The search continues for the ninth crew member. The CASA C-212 Aviocarwas on a search and rescue mission for the then-missing pilot of a crashed Su30-MK2 fighter jet; the pilot’s body was found on the 17th. (AP) (Tuổi Trẻ)
EgyptAir Flight 804
- Data from one of the flight recorders from EgyptAir Flight 804 shows that there was smoke on board when the Airbus A320 crashed into the water. Soot has also been found on the wreckage. (AFP via ABC News Australia)

International relations

Philippines v. China
- On his final day as President of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III says he was right when he sued China over the South China Sea. (Rappler)
United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- European Union leaders advise the United Kingdom that, after their EU exit, to retain access to the bloc’s lucrative single market, the UK must allow free movement for EU workers. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande reiterated that freedom of movement of EU citizens is non-negotiable. (BBC) (Reuters)

Law and crime

A prosecutor in Michigan, United States, is considering whether the words of an African grey parrot could be used to try the woman accused of killing the pet parrot’s owner. (The Guardian)
Luxembourg Leaks
- Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet, two whistleblowers who revealed the Luxembourg Leaks financial scandal, are found guilty of leaking the documents and are given a 12 and nine month suspended sentence and fined €1,500 and €1,000 respectively, while Edouard Perrin, the journalist who was given the leaks, is acquitted of all charges. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Mongolian legislative election, 2016
- Voters in Mongolia go to the polls for a legislative election at a time of economic slowdown. (The Guardian)
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2016
- The process to elect a new leader of the Conservative Party to replace outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron begins in the United Kingdom. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Stephen Crabb is the first Conservative Party politician to announce his official candidacy for leader. (BBC)
United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- Prime Minister David Cameron tells the House of Commons that legal experts advise that the UK-wide Brexit result binds the entire nation, even though Northern Ireland and Scotland voted to stay in the EU. Yesterday, both Scottish and Northern Irish representatives told the European Parliament’s plenary session they will leave the UK if that is the required price to keep their homelands fully connected to Europe. (The News Letter) (New Europe)
2016 United States presidential election, 2016 Republican National Convention
- The Cleveland Board of Control approves changes to convention security rules negotiated with the ACLU, per Federal District Judge James Gwin’s June 23rd court order. (The Hill) (The Plain Dealer)
North American Leaders’ Summit aka the Three Amigos Summit
- Takes place in Ottawa, Canada as US President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. President Obama later gives a special address to the Parliament of Canada. (Toronto Star) (CBC)

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July 2, 2016

Top News Stories –

Five police officers shot dead at a protest in Dallas –
At least one sniper, who said he wanted to shoot white police officers, killed five officers and wounded seven others at a demonstration in Dallas on Thursday night against police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana, officials said. The sniper was killed, and three other people are in custody, officials said. During an hours long standoff after the attack, in which two civilians were also wounded, the gunman told police negotiators that “he was upset about Black Lives Matter,” the Dallas police chief, David O. Brown, said on Friday. “He said he was upset about the recent police shootings,” Chief Brown said. “The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers.” The police killed the suspect using an explosive delivered by a robot, he said, and arrested three other people. [New York Times]

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Gulshan attack
- 13 hostages were rescued following a standoff with the Rapid Action Battalion. (Reuters)
- Twenty hostages and two policemen were killed, and six gunmen are dead with one captured alive. (CNN)
War in Afghanistan
- At least two people are killed and dozens more are wounded in a suicide bombing in Jalalabad, Nangarhar Province. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Iraqi Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL
- According to The Pentagon, two senior ISIL leaders have been killed by a United States-led coalition airstrike in Mosul. (The Guardian) (BBC)
Syrian Civil War
- Syrian government airstrikes in Damascus kill at least 30 people. According to the rebels, the airstrikes were revenge for the killing of a Syrian Air Force pilot by Al-Nusra Front yesterday. The airstrikes reportedly targeted a medical centre and a school. (The Guardian)
2016 Istanbul airport attack
- Turkish police arrest a total of 41 people in connection with the Istanbul Atatürk Airport terrorist attack. (UPI.com)

Law and crime

A lone gunman opened fire at a café in Žitište, Serbia, killing five people and injuring 20 more. The perpetrator was arrested shortly afterward while attempting to flee the scene. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Four children are stabbed to death by their mother in Memphis, Tennessee. The mother was taken into custody. (Local 8 News)

Politics and elections

Australian federal election, 2016
- Australians vote to elect a government for the next three years. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, leader of the conservative Liberal Party-led Coalition, dissolved both houses of Parliament in May in a bid for a Senate more friendly to his agenda. The latest News Corp Australia poll shows the coalition at 50.5 percent, one point ahead of Labor. (Reuters) (Sydney Morning Herald)
Aftermath of the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
- In pro-EU rallies, thousands of people protest in London against the United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union and ask that Article 50 not be invoked. (The Guardian)

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July 5, 2016

Top News Stories –

Juno probe enters into orbit around Jupiter –
The US space agency has successfully put a new probe in orbit around Jupiter.
The Juno satellite, which left Earth five years ago, had to fire a rocket engine to slow its approach to the planet and get caught by its gravity. A sequence of tones transmitted from the spacecraft confirmed the braking manoeuvre had gone as planned. Receipt of the radio messages prompted wild cheering at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “All stations on Juno co-ord, we have the tone for burn cut-off on Delta V,” Juno Mission Control had announced. “Roger Juno, welcome to Jupiter.” Scientists plan to use the spacecraft to sense the planet’s deep interior. They think the structure and the chemistry of its insides hold clues to how this giant world formed some four-and-a-half-billion years ago. Engineers had warned in advance that the engine firing was fraught with danger. No previous spacecraft has dared pass so close to Jupiter; its intense radiation belts can destroy unprotected electronics. One calculation even suggested the orbit insertion would have subjected Juno to a dose equivalent to a million dental X-rays. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Mission Juno – NASA

Other News Stories –

Armed attacks and conflicts

Iraqi Civil War
- Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. airstrikes, advance north towards ISIL-held Qayyarah Airfield West south of Mosul. (Reuters)
- The United Nations reports a mortar attack on a camp for displaced Iraqis south of Baghdad kills three people, including two children, and injures 13 others, two critically. (The New York Times)
Terrorism in Indonesia
- A suicide bomber attacks a police station in Solo, Indonesia, killing himself and injuring a police officer. Solo is the birthplace of President Joko Widodo. (Time) (Reuters)
Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
- Suspected Allied Democratic Forces rebels hack nine people to death in the village of Oicha, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Reuters)
Syrian civil war, ISIL involvement
- A suicide bomb explosion in Kurdish-controlled Al-Hasakah in northeastern Syria kills at least 16 people, including three children and two women. ISIL claims responsibility. (Reuters)

Business and economics

International sanctions during the Ukrainian crisis
- The Central Bank of Russia announces it will start buying the Chinese yuan in an attempt to diversify its foreign-currency reserves away from the Euro and the U.S. dollar and to become less vulnerable to Western sanctions. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Disasters and accidents

At least seven people are killed and eight are injured after a helicopter carrying Turkish Armed Forces personnel crashes in Turkey‘s northern Giresun Province, on the Black Sea coast. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Human rights in the Philippines; Philippine Drug War
- Dozens of petty criminals and alleged drug addicts die in the Philippines within a few days after Rodrigo Duterte took the presidency. He actively encouraged extrajudicial killing of drug addicts and petty criminals before and after the election. (Al Jazeera) (The Guardian)
Protests occur in the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S., after a man, Alton Sterling is fatally shot by a police officer. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

European migrant crisis
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announces that the country will hold a referendum on October 2 where voters will get to choose whether or not to accept European Union-imposed quotas on the distribution of migrants. (BBC)
Hillary Clinton email investigation
- The FBI recommends, with numerous reservations about her actions, no charges be filed against Hillary Clinton over her emails. (BBC) (The New York Times)
July 2016 Baghdad bombings
- Iraqi Interior Minister Mohammed Salem Al-Ghabban says he has submitted his resignation. Al-Ghabban cited a lack of “coordination among security systems” demonstrated by Sunday’s bombings in Baghdad that killed over 200 people and injured at least 175 others. No report yet that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has accepted this resignation. (CNN) (The New York Times)
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2016
- Home Secretary Theresa May gets 165 votes after the first ballot of Conservative members of parliament to select a new Leader and the next Prime Minister. Her nearest rival, Minister of State for Energy Andrea Leadsom, picked up 66 votes. Secretary of State for Justice Michael Gove won 48 votes, and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Stephen Crabb got 34 votes. Former Secretary of State for Defence Liam Fox is eliminated from consideration as he received just 16. Later, Crabb pulled out of the race and endorsed front-runner Theresa May. Fox also endorsed May. (Reuters) (Sky News)(Reuters²)

Science and technology

NASA‘s Juno spacecraft reaches Jupiter and enters into its orbit after a five-year flight. (BBC)
Cybersecurity software maker Check Point reports HummingBad malware has infected at least 10 million Android devices, mostly in China and India. Check Point says a team of developers based in Beijing is behind HummingBad which gives hackers administrative-level access to infected devices. Apple devices have been hit by similar malware. (Time)

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July 11, 2016

Top News Stories –

Prime Minister-in-waiting Theresa May promises ‘a better Britain’ –
Theresa May promised to build a “better Britain” and to make the UK’s EU exit a “success” after she was announced as the new Tory leader and soon-to-be PM. Speaking outside Parliament, Mrs May said she was “honoured and humbled” to succeed David Cameron, after her only rival in the race withdrew on Monday. Mr Cameron will tender his resignation to the Queen after PMQs on Wednesday. Mr Cameron, who has been UK prime minister since 2010, decided to quit after the UK’s Brexit vote. It follows another day of dramatic developments in the political world, when Andrea Leadsom unexpectedly quit the two-way Conservative leadership contest, saying she did not have the support to build “a strong and stable government”. Her decision left Mrs May – the front runner – as the only candidate to take over leading the party and to therefore become prime minister. [BBC]
Theresa May

Video of the Day –

The Foley Artist sees a master of sound at work on a fashion film. If you’ve ever wanted to see the chasm between the finished product and the extraordinary lengths taken to produce it, this short is for you.

The Foley Artist from Feast Films on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Somalia
- At least 10 Somali Armed Forces soldiers and 12 Al-Shabaab militants are killed in fighting near the town of Afgooye, Lower Shabelle. (Al Jazeera)
Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
- 2016 Kashmir unrest
  - At least 30 civilians have been killed by Indian Army soldiers as anti-government protests and violence spread across the state. (CNN-News18)
Syrian Civil War
- Rebels in Aleppo launch an assault on government-controlled areas in the city. This comes after the Syrian Army blocked off the only road leading into opposition-controlled areas. According to state media, at least eight people have been killed and dozens more are wounded. (BBC)
Iraqi Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL
- The United States announces it will be sending 560 more United States Armed Forces soldiers to Iraq to help fight against ISIL. (BBC)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli forces level land east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News)

Arts and culture

The 127 people who were massacred in the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 and were subsequently discovered in mass graves are buried at the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial following a funeral. For the first time, Bosnian Serbs were not welcome to attend the ceremony. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Floods resulting from the annual monsoon season cause 22 deaths and make 100,000 people homeless in India. (Reuters via Channel News Asia)
A Lockheed C-130 Hercules owned by the Portuguese Armed Forces catches fire while taking off from Montijo Air Base, killing at least three people. (Reuters)

Law and crime

St. Joseph courthouse shooting
- At least three people die, including the shooter, in a shooting at the Berrien County courthouse in the U.S. state of Michigan. (Washington Examiner)

Politics and elections

2016 Zimbabwe protests
- Protest leader, Evan Mawarire, asks the international community to put pressure on the regime of Robert Mugabe. (The Guardian)
Conservative Party (UK) leadership election, 2016
- Andrea Leadsom withdraws from the leadership election meaning that Theresa May will become the next leader of the Conservative Party and next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. (The Guardian)
- Prime Minister David Cameron announces he will step down on Wednesday, July 13. (BBC)
Labour Party (UK) leadership crisis, 2016
- The former Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Angela Eagle formally announces her bid to become the new leader of the Labour Party after Jeremy Corbyn refused calls to resign. (ITV News)

Sport

The Ultimate Fighting Championship Mixed Martial Arts competition is sold to a consortium led by Hollywood talent agents WME-IMG. (AP)
In basketball, Tim Duncan, who played his entire 19-season NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, where he won five NBA titles and two MVP awards, made 15 All-Star appearances and made the All-NBAfirst team 10 times, announces his retirement. (ESPN)

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August 24, 2016

Top News Stories –

Italy earthquake: Death toll rises to at least 159 –
At least 159 people have been killed and 368 injured in an earthquake that hit a mountainous area of central Italy, civil protection officials say. The magnitude-6.2 quake struck at 03:36 (01:36 GMT), 100km (65 miles) north-east of Rome, not far from Perugia. At least 86 of the dead were in the historic town of Amatrice, where the mayor said three-quarters of the town was destroyed, and in nearby Accumoli.
Many people are still believed to be buried under rubble. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Markus Kayser – Solar Sinter Project from Markus Kayser on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war
- The Turkish Armed Forces and US-backed Syrian rebels launch an initially successful campaign to capture the town of Jarabulus from ISIL. The Turkish Land Forces are also shelling YPG positions to prevent them from capturing areas that ISIL will retreat from. (AP via NBC News) (AP) (ABC News)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- The American University of Afghanistan in Kabul is attacked by suspected Taliban militants, resulting in at least 13 deaths and 30 injured. (CNN) (Fox News)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Central Italy earthquake
- A 6.2 magnitude earthquake occurs in central Italy near the city of Perugia. The mayor of the town of Amatrice reports that residents are buried under rubble. (The Telegraph) (USGS) (AP via San Diego Union Tribune)
- At least 159 people have been reported dead. (BBC News), (ANSA)
August 2016 Myanmar earthquake
- A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hits central Myanmar, 25km west of the town of Chauk, and was also felt in Thailand, Bangladesh and India, according to reports. At least three people are killed. (BBC)
The world’s largest aircraft, Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Airlander 10, crashes at RAF Cardington, Bedfordshire, during its second test flight. (The Guardian)

International relations

Japan–North Korea relations, North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- North Korea launches a missile from a submarine off the port city of Sinpo in the Sea of Japan, according to U.S. and South Korean officials. This missile, the third sub-based attempt this year, flew about 500 kilometers (311 miles) and landed in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The first test exploded and the second traveled 30 km (18½ miles). (NBC News) (AP)

Law and crime

2016 Home Hill stabbings
- One British woman is killed and two others are wounded in a stabbing attack on a North Queensland backpacker hostel, Australia. (News.com) (ABC News Australia)

A police officer from Bethel, Alaska, will be sentenced to prison for charges related to police brutality in a 2014 case involving an intoxicated man. The charges followed an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations civil rights division. The former officer, Andrew Reid, was found to have used excessive force and lying on official police reports. The victim suffered a separated shoulder and other injuries.(Alaska Dispatch News)

Politics and elections

Colombian conflict
- The government of Colombia and FARC finalise a peace deal ending 50 years of conflict. (Xinhua)

Science and technology

Proxima Centauri b is discovered as the closest exoplanet to Earth that may be habitable. (BBC)

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February 18, 2017

January 20, 2017

Top News Stories –

Donald Trump is sworn in as 45th President of the United States –
There is some dispute to the size of the inauguration crowd, starting an acrimonious war of words between the new president and the press.

The President and First Lady at the Liberty Ball on Inauguration Day

Video of the Day –

How did The Mall in Washington fill up in 2009 compared to 2017 – Daily Mirror

List of the Day –

US Presidents 1 – 45 – source Wikipedia

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- ISIL militants destroy part of Palmyra‘s ancient Roman theatre. (BBC)
- An airstrike kills more than 40 Jabhat Fateh al-Sham fighters at a jihadist camp west of Aleppo. It is currently unknown whether American or Russian planes carried out the attack. (Reuters), (FOX News)

Arts and culture

The Woody Harrelson biopic Lost in London makes history as the first full-length feature film to be filmed and theatrically released simultaneously. (BBC) (The Guardian) (The Telegraph)

Business and economics

Toilets in Japan
- Japanese toilet industries agreed to standardize the iconography of electric toilet seat controls in order to make them less confusing for users. (The Japan Times) (BBC) (The Guardian) (Japan Sanitary Equipment Industry Association)

Disasters and accidents

Search continues for missing firefighters in Tehran‘s Plasco Building site after the building’s deadly fire and collapsing last day. (CNN)
2017 Rigopiano avalanche
- Italian emergency crews rescue 10 people, including four children, from 16½ feet of snow and wreckage from the luxury Hotel Rigopiano following yesterday’s Gran Sasso mountain avalanche. Searchers find four bodies, while families of at least 16 people still missing wait for news. (CBS News)
2017 Verona bus crash
- A bus carrying Hungarian students crashes near Verona in northern Italy with at least 18 people dead and 50 injured. (The Telegraph), (BBC)

International relations

United Kingdom–United States relations
- U.S. President Donald Trump nominates New York Jets owner Woody Johnson to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. (Sky News)

Law and crime

At least four people have been killed and twenty injured after a man drives a car into the Bourke Street Mall in the CBD of the Australian city Melbourne. A man has been arrested and Victoria Police say the incident is not terror related. (Nine Network) (AAP via Yahoo! Australia)
Inauguration of Donald Trump protests
- Some protesters of the inauguration smash windows, damage cars, and clash with the police. Six police officers and at least one civilian are injured. DC police say 217 protesters have been arrested. (CNN)

Politics and elections

Inauguration of Donald Trump
- Donald Trump is officially sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. (The Telegraph)
2016–2017 Gambian constitutional crisis
- Lieutenant General Ousman Badjie, chief of the Gambian army, recognizes Adama Barrow as the new commander-and-chief of the armed forces and says that his troops will not fight ECOWAS soldiers. (Reuters)
- President Adama Barrow announces that Yahya Jammeh has agreed step down and leave the country following an intervention by ECOWAS states. (BBC)
Cabinet of Donald Trump
- The U.S. Senate confirms the first two members of President Donald Trump‘s Cabinet: retired Marine General James Mattis as Secretary of Defense, and retired Marine general John F. Kelly as Secretary of Homeland Security. (CNN)

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February 27, 2017

February 26, 2017

Top News Stories –

Oscars mistake: Moonlight wins best picture after announcement mix-up –
Moonlight has won best picture at the Oscars – but only after Faye Dunaway initially said La La Land had won. Warren Beatty was handed the previous winner’s envelope, containing a card saying “Emma Stone, La La Land”, resulting in the error. The team from La La Land was in the middle of its acceptance speeches when the mistake was discovered. Stone said backstage afterwards: “Is that the craziest Oscar moment of all time? Cool! It’s going to be history.” PriceWaterhouseCooper, the accountancy firm responsible for counting the ballots, said in a statement: “We sincerely apologise to Moonlight, La La Land, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for best picture. “The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected. We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred.” [BBC]

Video of the Day –

La La Land as directed by David Lynch – Trailer Mix

List of the Day –

Winners of the 89th Academy Awards [BBC]

Best picture

Winner: Moonlight
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea

Best actress

Winner: Emma Stone – La La Land
Isabelle Huppert – Elle
Ruth Negga – Loving
Natalie Portman – Jackie
Meryl Streep – Florence Foster Jenkins

Best actor

Winner: Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield – Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling – La La Land
Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington – Fences

Best supporting actress

Winner: Viola Davis – Fences
Naomie Harris – Moonlight
Nicole Kidman – Lion
Octavia Spencer – Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea

Best supporting actor

Winner: Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
Jeff Bridges – Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel – Lion
Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals

Best director

Winner: La La Land – Damien Chazelle
Arrival – Denis Villeneuve
Hacksaw Ridge – Mel Gibson
Manchester by the Sea – Kenneth Lonergan
Moonlight – Barry Jenkins

Best original screenplay

Winner: Manchester by the Sea – Kenneth Lonergan
20th Century Women – Mike Mills
Hell or High Water – Taylor Sheridan
La La Land – Damien Chazelle
The Lobster – Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou

Best adapted screenplay

Winner: Moonlight – Barry Jenkins and Alvin McCraney
Arrival – Eric Heisserer
Fences – August Wilson
Hidden Figures – Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi
Lion – Luke Davies

Best original score

Winner: La La Land – Justin Hurwitz
Jackie – Mica Levi
Lion – Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka
Moonlight – Nicholas Britell
Passengers – Thomas Newton

Best original song

Winner: La La Land – City of Stars by Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
La La Land – Audition by Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Moana – How Far I’ll Go by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Trolls – Can’t Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster
Jim: The James Foley Story – The Empty Chair by J Ralph and Sting

Best cinematography

Winner: La La Land – Linus Sandgren
Arrival – Bradford Young
Lion – Greig Fraser
Moonlight – James Laxton
Silence – Rodrigo Prieto

Best foreign language film

Winner: The Salesman – Iran
A Man Called Ove – Sweden
Land of Mine – Denmark
Tanna – Australia
Toni Erdmann – Germany

Best costume design

Winner: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Colleen Atwood
Allied – Joanna Johnston
Florence Foster Jenkins – Consolata Boyle
Jackie – Madeline Fontaine
La La Land – Mary Zophres

Best make-up and hairstyling

Winner: Suicide Squad – Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson
A Man Called Ove – Eva Von Bahr and Love Larson
Star Trek Beyond – Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo

Best documentary feature

Winner: OJ: Made in America
13th
Fire At Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated

Best sound editing

Winner: Arrival – Sylvain Bellemare
Deepwater Horizon – Wylie Stateman and Renee Tondelli
Hacksaw Ridge – Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright
La La Land – Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
Sully – Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Best sound mixing

Winner: Hacksaw Ridge – Kevin O’Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi – Gary Summers, Jeffrey J Haboush and Mac Ruth
Arrival – Bernard Gariepy Strobl and Claude La Haye
La La Land – Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee and Steve A Morrow
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson

Best animated short

Winner: Piper – Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer
Blind Vaysha – Theodore Ushev
Borrowed Time – Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj
Pear Cider and Cigarettes – Robert Valley and Cara Speller
Pearl – Patrick Osborne

Best animated feature

Winner: Zootopia
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle

Best production design

Winner: La La Land – David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
Arrival – Patrice Vermette and Paul Hotte
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Stuart Craig and Anna Pinnock
Hail, Caesar! – Jess Gonchor and Nancy Haigh
Passengers – Guy Hendrix Dyas and Gene Serdena

Best visual effects

Winner: The Jungle Book – Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R Jones and Dan Lemmon
Deepwater Horizon – Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington and Burt Dalton
Doctor Strange – Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould
Kubo and the Two Strings – Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean and Brad Schiff
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel and Neil Corbould

Best film editing

Winner: Hacksaw Ridge – John Gilbert
Arrival – Joe Walker
Hell or High Water – Jake Roberts
La La Land – Tom Cross
Moonlight – Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon

Best documentary short

Winner: The White Helmets – Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara
4.1 Miles – Daphne Matziaraki
Extremis – Dan Krauss
Joe’s Violin – Kahane Cooperman and Raphaela Neihausen
Watani: My Homeland – Marcel Mettelsiefen and Stephen Ellis

Best live action short

Winner: Sing – Kristof Deak and Anna Udvardy
Ennemis Interieurs – Selim Azzazi
La Femme et le TGV – Timo Von Gunten and Giacun Caduff
Silent Nights – Aske Bang and Kim Magnusson
Timecode – Juanjo Gimenez

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Army recaptures the strategic town of Tadef from ISIL, south of al-Bab, securing key transportation routes in eastern Aleppo Governorate. (Xinhuanet)

Arts and culture

89th Academy Awards
- The 89th Academy Awards are held in Los Angeles, California. (ABC)
- Moonlight wins the Academy Award for Best Picture, moments after La La Land was mistakenly announced as the winner. (ABC News Australia)
- Mahershala Ali wins the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Moonlight. He is the first Muslim American to win the award. (The Guardian)
- La La Land ‘s director Damien Chazelle wins the Oscar for Best Director and Emma Stone wins the Academy Award for Best Actress. (The Guardian)
- Casey Affleck wins the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Manchester by the Sea. (ABC)
- Viola Davis wins the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Fences. (ABC)
- The Salesman directed by Asghar Farhadi won Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Farhadi and other film crew did not attend the ceremony in protest of Donald Trump‘s visa ban. First Iranian in space Anousheh Ansari and scienist Firouz Naderi attended in place of Farhadi. (The Guardian)
- O.J.: Made in America wins the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. (ABC)
- The Netflix documentary The White Helmets, a film about the Syrian Civil War, wins the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Its cinematographer was unable to recieve the award due to the immigration policy of the Donald Trump administration.(CNN)
- Zootopia wins the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. (ABC)

Disasters and accidents

Millions of residents in the Chilean capital Santiago are left without access to running water after the Maipo River is contaminated by flooding and landslides. At least four people have died in the floods. (BBC)
16 people dead in northern India after a truck carrying villagers to church overturned on a mountain road. (DW)

Politics and elections

Tens of thousands of people march through Moscow, Russia, to commemorate the two-year anniversary of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov’s assassination. (The Guardian) (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Political appointments of Donald Trump
- Philip Bilden, nominee for Secretary of the Navy, withdraws his name from consideration. Mr. Bilden says his business interests created complications. (CNN)

Sport

2017 EFL Cup Final
- Manchester United beat Southampton 3–2 at Wembley Stadium to win the 2016–17 EFL Cup. (BBC)
2017 Daytona 500
- Kurt Busch wins his first Daytona 500. (Orlando Sentinel)

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