December 20, 2014

Top News Stories –

New York police shot –
A gunman has shot dead two police officers sitting inside a patrol car in New York before killing himself. Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot by a Ismaaiyl Brinsley who apparently made online statements suggesting that he planned to kill police officers.

Sony hack: Is Idris Elba the next James Bond? –
The latest leaked memo from Sony Entertainment has revealed that Idris Elba, the British-born star of cult TV series The Wire and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, is a Sony executive’s favourite to replace Daniel Craig as 007. According to the Daily Beast, Amy Pascal, the co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said in an email that Elba, 42, “should be the next Bond”. [Daily Telegraph]

Ticking the boxes –
Real Madrid have beaten San Lorenzo 2-0 to win the Club World Cup which means that Cristiano Ronaldo has now won the same eight trophies with two different teams Real and Manchester United. He became the first player to achieve the feat and his manager Carlo Ancelotti equalled the record for the most European and international club competitions won by a manager.
Christiano Ronaldo

CLICK TO SEE MORE STUFF FROM THIS DAY…

September 18, 2015

Top News Stories –

Rugby World Cup 2015 Opening Day celebrated with Google Doodle –
Google has marked the start of the 2015 Rugby World Cup with a special doodle. In the doodle, the “G” of Google is transformed into an animated rugby player running through the rain with a rugby ball under his arm.
According to Matt Cruickshank, who designed the doodle, it is intended to celebrate “the girth and gracefulness of the 2015 World Cup players”. “Having grown up playing rugby in England, I can still feel the muddy squelch in my boots lining up on the pitch for lessons,” he said. “After a few concepts I concentrated on the vice like grip of an arm around the ball and how this could be used as a ‘G’. I even added rain for the full effect.” [Daily Telegraph]

Obama to nominate first openly gay service secretary to lead the Army –
President Obama, in a historic first for the Pentagon, has chosen to nominate Eric Fanning to lead the Army, a move that would make him the first openly gay civilian secretary of one of the military services. Fanning, 47, has been a specialist on national security issues for more than two decades and has played a key role overseeing some of the Pentagon’s biggest shipbuilding and fighter jet programs. Fanning’s nomination, which must go to the Senate for confirmation, reflects a major shift for the Pentagon, which only four years ago prevented openly gay troops from serving in the military. The policy didn’t extend to civilian leaders, such as Fanning. [Washington Post]
Eric Fanning

Video of the Day –

1 Question That Reveals a Narcissist: “The Science of Us” Episode 9

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#RWC2015	#NationalCheeseburgerDay	#fridayfeeling
2	#SiAlgoNecesitoEsQue	Lira	#RWC2015
3	Hayırlı Cumalar	#ThingsWeAlwaysHate	#BrightonSEO
4	Meral Akşener	#IStandWithPP	#DavisCup
5	#عصير_تنصح_به	Bristol Palin	#StillYes
6	Felipe González	#fridayreads	Cardiff Castle
7	#ALDUBOneMoreDay	Obama a Muslim	#DontPanic
8	#شخصيه_تاريخيه…	Baby Doe	#Fattening90sBands
9	Coritiba	#OppositeDay	#bbcqt
10	Andy Reid	#MakeAFilmAnxious	Peyton

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israel deploys an extra 800 Israeli police officers as Palestinians call for a “day of rage” protests in Jerusalem over entry restrictions to Al-Aqsa mosque. A police vehicle in Jerusalem was attacked with assault rifle fire. (Jerusalem Post), (Al Jazeera America)
2015 Camp Badaber attack
- Two security personnel, 17 worshippers in a mosque, and 13 militants are killed following a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan attack on a Pakistan Air Force base on the outskirts of Peshawar. (The Express Tribune), (Reuters via SBS)
Syrian Civil War
- Russia moves its first tactical fighter jets to Syria, according to American sources. (CNN)
- The United States Secretary of State John Kerry agrees to begin military to military talks with Russia concerning Russia’s military activities in Syria. (The New York Times)
- At least 26 people are killed following Syrian Arab Air Force air-raids on the Islamic State-held central Syrian city of Palmyra according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Reuters)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Shells fired by Yemeni forces across the border from Yemen kill at least three people and wound 28 others in the Jizan region. (Daily Star)

Business and economy

European communications company Altice announces plans to buy US cable television company Cablevision for $17.7 billion. (NPR via KVCR)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency orders Volkswagen to fix nearly 500,000 VW and Audi diesel cars from model years 2009-2015 that include software that circumvents EPA emissions standards. (AP via Fox News), (EPA)
In India, about 2.3 million people respond to the state of Uttar Pradesh’s announcement of 368 low-level government jobs openings that pay 16,000 rupees ($240) a month. At least 255 of the applicants had a doctorate and over 200,000 had master’s degrees. (AP)

Health

A national alert is issued in the United Kingdom about a strain of gonorrhea that is highly drug resistant after 15 cases are reported in northern England. (AAP via SBS)
Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa
- Ebola virus cases in the United States
  - United States authorities announce mandatory Ebola screening will end for travelers from Liberia to five U.S. airports, effective September 21, 2015. Screening of travelers from Sierra Leone and Guinea will continue. (USA Today)

International relations

The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe moves to enact legislation allowing the Japan Self-Defense Forces to serve overseas. Yesterday, fist-fights erupted in the parliament over this legislation. (Reuters)
European migrant crisis
- Croatia closes seven out of eight border crossings with Serbia. Zoran Milanović, the Prime Minister, says that his country “will move migrants on”. (BBC), (BBC)
Cuba–United States relations
- The United States departments of Commerce and Treasury announce removal of a series of restrictions on Americans traveling to and doing business with Cuba effective September 21, 2015. The U.S. economic embargo, itself, remains in place untilCongress acts. (USA Today), (Reuters)
A Venezuelan Air Force Sukhoi Su-30MKK crashes near the Colombian border after an illicit aircraft, probably linked to illicit drugs, enters Venezuelan airspace. (Reuters via Daily Mail)

Law and Crime

Baby Doe, a toddler who was found washed ashore Deer Island in Massachusetts in a trash bag, is identified as Bella Bond. (CNN)
Phoenix freeway shootings
- Governor of Arizona Doug Ducey states that 21-year-old Leslie Allen Merritt Jr. is ballistically linked to four incidents and arrested in Glendale, Arizona after a SWAT raid. Merritt was previously charged twice in 2013, the first for failing to stop at the scene of a damaged vehicle, and the second for assault and criminal damage. Police state that he is known to hold anti-government and anti-police views. He is charged with four counts each of aggravated assault, criminal damage, disorderly conduct, discharging a firearm within city limits, carrying out a drive-by shooting, and intentional acts of terrorism; and his bail is set at $1 million. (ABC15), (KOB), (HEAVY), (ABC News), (Q13FOX), (AZ Central), (CNN), (Yahoo News), (NBC News)

Politics and elections

The President of the United States nominates Eric Fanning as the first openly LGBT Secretary of the Army. (Washington Post)

Sports

In football, Jérôme Valcke steps aside as Secretary General of FIFA while his alleged involvement in a ticketing scandal is investigated. (AFP via ABC News Australia)
In rugby union, the opening ceremony of the 2015 Rugby World Cup is held at Twickenham. (The Guardian)

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October 6, 2015

Top News Stories –

Kentucky pet store worker nearly crushed to death by python –
A man working at a Kentucky pet store has been seriously hurt after a massive python he was feeding nearly crushed him to death. Police said they were called to Captive Born Reptiles and found the snake wrapped around the man. Terry Wilkens was not breathing when the officers pried the snake off him but he resumed breathing shortly afterwards, officers said. The python weighed about 125lb (56kg) and measured 20ft (6m) long. “It was only by the grace of God that one of the officers knew how to deal with snakes,” Newport Kentucky Police Chief Tom Collins told the Cincinnati Enquirer. Officer Gregory Ripberger grabbed the snake by its head and uncurled the python from Mr Wilkens. [BBC]
Jungle Carpet python

Instagram says @music is just the start for music on the app –
The boss of Instagram has said “it’s just a matter of time before music becomes even more dominant” on the app. Kevin Systrom’s social media site has just turned five. But he told Newsbeat: “We never knew music would take off in the way it did but now 25% of our top [most followed] accounts are music related”. In April, Instagram launched @music, which Kevin explained set out to “feature off-the-beaten path, hard-to-find accounts.” [BBC Newsbeat]

Author jailed for flashing after prostitute disputes small penis claims –
A serial flasher has been jailed after a woman appeared in court and gave a detailed description of his penis. Hinton Sheryn, 68, had denied he would get his penis out in public – because he was embarrassed it was “unusually small”. But officers managed to find a prostitute he used who came to court at the last minute and contested his claims. The female sex worker described his manhood and told Plymouth Crown Court it was a “normal” size. Her late intervention helped convict the successful author, who has now been jailed for 17 years after being convicted of 18 crimes. The former pop promoter was so notorious for exposing himself in the village near Plymouth, Devon, where he lived in the 1970s and 1980s he was known as “the flasher”. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

The New Microsoft Band: Live Healthier and Achieve More

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#NiallsNewGirlfriend	Rachel Dolezal	Theresa May
2	#EnTwitterSiempreEsta	#AllDayBreakfast	#NationalBadgerDay
3	Twilight	#SeeTheMomentWhen	#charitytuesday
4	Theresa May	#NiallsNewGirlfriend	#RAW
5	#MTVFanWars5SOSFam	#NewSpaceFacts	#IoDAC
6	Lolla	Twilight	#MTVFanWars5SOSFam
7	Lions	Victor Cruz	Busted
8	#شي_جميل_بحرف_ا…	#WildCard	#IsBritainRacist
9	#البنات_ايش_يا�…	Chantal Akerman	#IDSMurder
10	#HoyEstaPara	Chris Archer	#TravelTuesday

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War (2015)
- A hotel where Vice President of Yemen and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah was staying in Aden which was also being used as a de-facto military base by Arab coalition forces is hit by multiple explosions killing at least 15 coalition soldiers. Although theHouthis were first suspected and accused of being behind the attack, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has since claimed responsibility, marking the first attack on Arab coalition forces in Yemen by the extremist group. (CNN) (Al-Arabiyah News)
- In the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital, Sanaa, at least seven people are killed following a suicide-bomb attack on the al-Nour mosque. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War, Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
- NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Russia’s pair of violations of Turkish airspace over the weekend do not look like accidents. Russia, which said it’s looking into claims of a second violation, reported the first violation lasted a few seconds and was due to poor weather. (BBC)
- Russian warplanes bomb Islamic State positions in the central Syrian city of Palmyra and in the northern Aleppo province, releasing videos that show them destroying 20 vehicles and 3 weapons depots. (Reuters)
- Turkey says its jets patrolling the Turkish-Syrian border were directly threatened by a Russian MiG-29 and later by an an anti-aircraft missile system which locked-radar on the Turkish jets. (Independent)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Russia says it would consider extending its air-strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria to Iraq if it receives such a request from the Iraqi government. Iraqi President, Fuad Masum has recently said he would welcome this assistance. (Reuters)
Boko Haram insurgency
- A Boko Haram attack near Lake Chad kills at least 11 Chadian troops while 17 Boko Haram militants are also reportedly killed in the fighting following the pre-dawn strike on Chadian army positions. (AFP via Yahoo)

Business and economy

The European Court of Justice decides an international agreement, generally known as a Safe Harbor rule, used by thousands of companies for moving people’s digital data between the European Union and the United States is invalid, effective immediately. The decision throws into doubt how global technology giants like Facebook, Amazon and Google can collect, manage, and analyze online information from their millions of users in the 28-member bloc. Decisions by this court, the highest legal authority in the EU, cannot be appealed. (The New York Times) (USA Today) (BBC) (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Typhoon Mujigae (2015)
- Sixteen campers are missing in south China‘s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region following a flash flood in a camping reserve. (Xinhua)
October 2015 nor’easter, Hurricane Joaquin
- Thirteen people are reported to have died during this storm, 11 in South Carolina and two in North Carolina. At least 18 dams have breached or failed since Saturday. Communities downstream face a mass of water working its way toward the low-lying coast. (CNN)
- Hurricane Joaquin missed the East Coast but brought tropical moisture aimed directly at South Carolina. (ABC News)
2015 El Cambray Dos landslide
- The death toll from Thursday’s landslide in the Guatemalan village of El Cambray Dos increased to 152 with more than 300 people missing. No survivors have been found at the site. Search crews have found entire families who died huddled together and buried alive. The Guatemala’s National Disaster Reduction Commission, known as the Conred, declared the area uninhabitable. (BBC) (Reuters) (Press TV)

International relations

Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israel destroys the homes of three Palestinian terrorists. Rassen and Udai abu-Jamal who committed the 2014 Jerusalem synagogue attack and Moatez Hijazi who committed the excavator rampage in Jerusalem during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.(Jerusalem Post)

Law and crime

2015 Burkinabe coup d’état
- Associated Press reports that coup leader General Gilbert Diendéré has been formally charged. (AP via ABC News America)
Former President of the United Nations General Assembly John William Ashe is charged with taking US$1.3 million in bribes from Chinese businessmen. (AFP via Channel News Asia)

Science and technology

Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald win the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of neutrino oscillations. (AP via Yahoo! News)

Sport

2015 FIFA corruption case
- South Korean FIFA presidential candidate Chung Mong-joon admits that he is facing charges before FIFA’s ethics committee but denies wrongdoing. (Reuters via Daily Nail)

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October 10, 2015

October 11, 2015

Top News Stories –

Shia LaBeouf Arrested For Public Intoxication –
Transformers star Shia LaBeouf has been arrested in Austin, Texas for public intoxication. A video on the TMZ website appears to show the actor in handcuffs as police put him in the back of a patrol car. Witnesses told the site the actor was acting bizarrely, running down the street, jaywalking and ignoring police warnings. The Austin City Limits music festival is currently taking place in the city. Records show the 29-year-old was booked into Travis County Jail on Friday night and later released. [Sky News]
Shia Labeouf

Japan: Citizens clamour for Tokyo disaster manual –
A manual to help people in Tokyo prepare for disasters has proved so popular that local officials have complained that they are being sold on the internet for profit. The 340-page Tokyo Bousai (“Disaster Preparedness Tokyo”) appears in a startling yellow cover, and 7.5m copies are being distributed free of charge to Tokyo residents. It’s currently available to download in Japanese and English from the city government’s website, but for those who still crave a physical copy of the manual, the Tokyo government is considering selling it at cost price. [BBC]
Tokyo Disaster Manual

Video of the Day –

Living Rivers – Surf from Epic Montana on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#WorldMentalHealthDay	#WorldMentalHealthDay	#WorldMentalHealthDay
2	#EsViernesY	#WhatIWantOnMyTombstone	#nonleagueday
3	#Ankaradayız	#JusticeOrElse	#25Millionaires
4	과자전	Ankara	#ZaynTaughtUs
5	#ZaynTaughtUs	Shia LaBeouf	Geoffrey Howe
6	タイバニ	#HamOrCheeseMovies	Jim Diamond
7	#TengoGanasDe	#ZaynTaughtUs	#AUSvWAL
8	게살버거	As Told By Ginger	#BBC4
9	#EBDabarkadsPaMore	#IHaveToRemindMyself	#5sosonchattyman
10	#Felices24Lali	#MillionManMarch	#grahamnorton

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Palestinian militants fire 3 rockets into Israel during the night after several violent riots throughout Israel and the West Bank. (BBC)
- Israeli security forces shoot dead two Palestinians aged 12 and 15 in protests along Gaza’s border fence. (Reuters)
- The death toll from Friday’s violence at the Gaza Strip border is now seven Palestinians. Of the 60 wounded, 10 were seriously injured. Massive riots managed to breach the border fence and enter Israeli territory and were dispersed by live fire. (Ynet News)
2015 Ankara bombings
- Twin bomb blasts in the Turkish capital Ankara near the main train station leave at least 97 people dead and over 400 wounded. The bombing occurred during a peace rally protesting the conflict between Turkey and the militant Kurdish PKK. (BBC),(CNN), (Sky News Australia)
Boko Haram insurgency
- Five suicide bombers target a village in Chad that is home to thousands of Nigerian refugees who have fled Boko Haram, killing at least 36 people. (AP)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- The U.S. Department of Defense will make payments to families of victims of last week’s U.S. airstrike that struck a Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz. At least 22 people were killed including 12 staff members and 10 patients, including three children. MSF says 33 people are still missing and presumed to have died in the fire. (Reuters) (NBC News) (AFP via ABC News)
Mali conflict
- Suspected jihadists attack Dioungani, a village in central Mali, killing a local official in front of his family. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

At least eight people have died in a major fire at a halting site for Irish travellers in the south of Dublin. (Irish Times)

International relations

Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- China completes the construction of two lighthouses on the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea according to Chinese state media. The U.S. and the Philippines have opposed the construction efforts. (The Guardian)
North Korea holds a massive military parade in its capital, Pyongyang, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Workers’ Party of Korea rule in the country. (BBC)
Egypt–France relations
- During a state visit to Cairo by French prime minister Manuel Valls, Egypt officially signs a deal with France to purchase the two Mistral-class helicopter carriers that were originally destined for Russia but France refused to deliver due to the Ukrainian crisis. Russia will sell Egypt the helicopters originally intended for the ships. (Times of India)

Politics and elections

Over 100,000 people protest in Berlin against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership accord between the European Union and the United States. (RT), (DW), (CNBC), (France24)

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October 11, 2015

Top News Stories –

Vanuatu president’s anger as stand-in pardons himself –
The president of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has expressed his anger after his deputy pardoned himself and 13 other convicts while he was out of the country. Speaker Marcellino Pipite was one of 14 MPs – half of the country’s parliament – who were convicted last Friday of giving and receiving corrupt payments over a vote of no confidence in a previous government. With President Baldwin Lonsdale out of the country on Saturday, Pipite used his delegated powers to gazette a pardon for himself and his fellow defendants. Vanuatu’s constitution allows the speaker to assume presidential powers in the absence of the head of the republic, including the power of pardon. [BBC]

Aerosmith To Donald Trump: Stop Using Our Song –
Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler has asked Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to stop using the band’s power ballad Dream On at campaign events. Attorneys for Tyler have sent a second cease-and-desist letter to Mr Trump’s campaign committee, saying he does “not have our client’s permission to use Dream On or any of Tyler’s other songs”. The letter adds that it “gives the false impression that he is connected with or endorses Mr Trump’s presidential bid”. Tyler, a registered Republican, went to the GOP contenders’ first debate in August. Attorney Dina LaPolt said in a statement that the letter is not a “political” or “personal issue with Mr Trump”, but one of permission and copyright. [Sky News]
Steven Tyler

Video of the Day –

INPUT/OUTPUT from Terri Timely on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Aerosmith Studio Album discography

Aerosmith (1973)
Get Your Wings (1974)
Toys in the Attic (1975)
Rocks (1976)
Draw the Line (1977)
Night in the Ruts (1979)
Rock in a Hard Place (1982)
Done with Mirrors (1985)
Permanent Vacation (1987)
Pump (1989)
Get a Grip (1993)
Nine Lives (1997)
Just Push Play (2001)
Honkin’ On Bobo (2004)
Music from Another Dimension! (2012)

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#النفسيه_محتاجه	#NationalComingOutDay	#NationalComingOutDay
2	#lilokiss	Utley	#WhatIWantOnMyTombstone
3	Utley	#lilokiss	#royalparkshalf
4	#Yastayız	#SNL	#RussianGP
5	OS WALKERS ESTÃO DE VOLTA	The Hills	Agnes
6	#USAvMEX	#ChicagoMarathon	#USAvMEX
7	#شي_ماتقدر_تقا�…	#CALvsUTAH	Cara and Kendall
8	#NationalComingOutDay	#TheWalkingDead	#6hFuji
9	MATIAS CON VOS SIEMPRE	Julius Thomas	#INDvSA
10	#INDvSA	Charles Woodson	#XFactor

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli airstrikes targeting Hamas weapons facilities in the Gaza Strip result in an explosion that collapsed a nearby house, killing a 30-year old pregnant Palestinian woman and her two-year old daughter. Four others were wounded, including the woman’s husband and son, the Gaza Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said the airstrike was in response to Saturday’s pair of rocket launches from Gaza at Israel, as well as two large riots that succeeded in breaching the border fence. (Reuters) (AP via New York Times) (AFP via New Indian Express)
- Israeli traffic police stop a Palestinian woman transporting a small car bomb within Israeli territory near Jerusalem. She detonates the bomb, lightly wounding a police officer and critically wounding herself. (AP via Houston Chronicle) (AFP via NDTV)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- A suicide bomber targets a foreign forces convoy in the Joy Shir area of Kabul. Taliban insurgents claim responsibility. A statement from Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry reported at least three civilians were wounded. There are no report of casualties among the foreign forces. (AFP via Times of India) (Reuters)
- Five members of the NATO-led coalition die and five others are injured in a non-combat helicopter crash in Kabul. The Associated Press reported the chopper collided with a monitoring balloon on landing. Nationalities weren’t identified by NATO’sResolute Support; the British said two were Royal Air Force personnel. (BBC) (CNN) (USA Today)
Syrian Civil War
- Following Russian airstrikes, the Syrian army and allied Lebanese Hezbollah militia take control of a highland area in Idlib province close to insurgent-held positions, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Reuters) (Malaysian Insider)
Boko Haram insurgency in Cameroon
- At least eight people are killed following a suicide bomb attack in northern Cameroon‘s Sangueleri region near the Nigerian border. Boko Haram have previously carried out attacks in the region. (Business Standard)
Turkey–PKK conflict
- The Turkish Air Force launches a wave of airstrikes against PKK targets in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey. Turkish security officials have also rejected a PKK ceasefire declared on Saturday shortly after the bombings in Ankara, saying “The PKK ceasefire means nothing for us. The operations will continue without a break”. (Reuters)
- Thousands gather in Ankara to pay their respects to those killed in Saturday’s peace rally bombings. Marches and sit-ins protesting the attack were also held in Istanbul. No group has claimed responsibility. Turkey’s already polarized political parties traded accusations of responsibility for the attack. National elections are still scheduled for November 1, 2015. (Los Angeles Times) (The Guardian) (CNN)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Iraq’s military reports bombing a convoy possibly carrying Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The group was headed to a meeting in the western Al Anbar Governorate, close to the Syrian border. Eight senior ISIS figures were killed, but al-Baghdadi did not appear to be among them according to Iraqi officials. (Reuters) (New York Daily News)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- An Arab coalition airstrike on a prison in Yemen‘s central Al Bayda Governorate, reportedly kills 20 prisoners. The prison which held more than 100 prisoners was controlled by the Houthis. (Yahoo)

International relations

South Africa plans to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the government faces criticism for, earlier this year, ignoring a court order to arrest Sudan’s president. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Iranian Students News Agency reports an undisclosed verdict has been reached in the espionage case of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, who has been held by Iran for more than 14 months. The final closed door hearing on Rezaian’s case was on August 10, 2015. By not disclosing details, the Post stated that it seems Tehran could be working a political angle. Last month at the UN, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told journalists he would welcome quicker steps on mutual prisoner releases.(Washington Post) (Christian Science Monitor) (Reuters)
A shooting at a house in Omeath, County Louth in the Republic of Ireland leaves two men dead, including an on-duty police officer. (BBC)
A 15-hour protest about police-related deaths, in Thalang on Thailand’s Phuket Island in the Andaman Sea, turned into a riot when the crowd attacked the Thalang Police Station with rocks and fire bombs. Two young men were killed in a motorcycle crash while being chased by police. Fourteen police were injured, nine cars were torched, 13 others and five motorcycles damaged. While numerous people were inconvenienced by the blockade, a heart attack patient died on his way to Thalang Hospital when the ambulance couldn’t get through the crowd. (AP via Fox News) (Celebcafe.org) (Immortal.org) (PhuketWan Tourism News)

Politics and elections

Belarusian presidential election, 2015
- Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko won a fifth term by a landslide in today’s election. (Radio Free Europe), (Reuters) (Reuters)
Guinean presidential election, 2015
- Millions of Guineans vote peacefully in the West African country’s second free election since gaining independence from France nearly 60 years ago. Ballot counting started; the provisional outcome is not expected until the end of this week, an official said. Incumbent President Alpha Conde is expected to win reelection. (Deutsche Welle)

Sport

Bathurst 1000
- In motor sport, Australian driver Craig Lowndes wins the 2015 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 for the sixth time. He also appeared on the podium for the 13th time, setting a new record for the event. (NZ Newswire via Yahoo! 7)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

October 14, 2015

Top News Stories –

‘Muggle’ becomes internet sensation after Democrat debate –
Amid the suited spin doctors and political professionals, one maverick in the Democratic Presidential Debate really stood out. And it wasn’t Bernie Sanders. The internet was abuzz with musings about who the striking white-haired person in the audience could be. Bathed in a blue light from the studio settings, the man was seemingly oblivious to the sensation he was creating. And his identity remains a mystery – for now – and so online jokers have come up with their own answers. [Daily Telegraph]
Muggle at Democrat conference?

Kendrick Lamar and Big Sean both win three BET Hip Hop Awards –
Kendrick Lamar and Big Sean were the big winners at this year’s BET Hip Hop Awards. Both rappers won three prizes followed by Drake, J. Cole and Fetty Wap, who all won two. Lamar, who enjoyed success earlier this year with his third album To Pimp A Butterfly, was named lyricist of the year at the ceremony which took place in Atlanta, Georgia. He also won awards for impact track and hip hop video for his single Alright. [BBC Newsbeat] See List of the Day for full winners list.
Kendrick_Lamar

Video of the Day –

Man cuts ball fired at 160 kmh with samaurai sword

From comments:
Assuming the radar gun reads the highest velocity, and taking drag into consideration, the ball hits the sword after around 211 ms. If he is using the sound for triggering his reaction the sound would take ~3 ms to reach him and using the average audio stimulus reaction time of ~170 ms would leave him ~38 ms to draw the sword and hit the ball. That’s 0.038 seconds.

List of the Day –

BET Hip Hop Awards Winners 2015

Best Hip-Hop Video
Big Sean feat. Chris Brown and Ty Dolla $ign – “Play No Games”
Big Sean feat. Drake and Kanye West – “Blessings”
Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen”
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright” — WINNER
Nicki Minaj feat. Beyoncé – “Feeling Myself”

Best Collabo, Duo or Group
Big Sean feat. Drake and Kanye West – “Blessings” — WINNER
Big Sean feat. E-40 – “IDFWU”
Fetty Wap feat. Monty – “My Way”
Nicki Minaj feat. Beyoncé – “Feeling Myself”
Nicki Minaj feat. Drake and Lil Wayne – “Truffle Butter”

Best Live Performer
Drake
J. Cole — WINNER
Kanye West
Kendrick Lamar
Nicki Minaj

Lyricist of the Year
Big Sean
Drake
J. Cole
Kendrick Lamar — KENDRICK LAMAR
Nicki Minaj

Video Director of the Year
Alan Ferguson
Benny Boom — WINNER
Chris Robinson/Lil Chris
Colin Tilley
Director X

DJ of the Year
DJ Drama
DJ Envy
DJ Esco
DJ Khaled
DJ Mustard — WINNER

Producer of the Year
DJ Mustard — WINNER
J. Cole
Kanye West
Mike Will Made-It
Pharrell Williams
Timbaland

MVP of the Year
Big Sean
Drake — WINNER
Future
J. Cole
Kendrick Lamar
Nicki Minaj

Track of the Year
“Alright” – Produced by Pharrell Williams and Sounwave (Kendrick Lamar)
“Blessings” – Produced by Boi-1da and Vinylz (Big Sean feat. Drake and Kanye West)
“Commas” – Produced by DJ Spinz and Southside (Future)
“IDFWU” – Produced by Dj Dahi, Dj Mustard, Kanye West and Key Wane (Big Sean feat. E-40)
“Trap Queen” – Produced by Tony Fadd (Fetty Wap) – WINNER

Album of the Year
Big Sean – Dark Sky Paradise
Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
J. Cole – 2014 Forest Hills Drive — WINNER
Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly
Nicki Minaj – The Pinkprint
Wale – The Album About Nothing

Who Blew Up Award
Bobby Shmurda
DeJ Loaf
Fetty Wap — WINNER
Rae Sremmurd
Tink

Hustler of the Year
Dr. Dre — WINNER
Drake
J. Cole
Jay Z
Nicki Minaj

Made-You-Look Award (Best Hip-Hop Style)
A$AP Rocky
DeJ Loaf — WINNER
Drake
Kanye West
Nicki Minaj

Best Club Banger
Big Sean feat. E-40 – “IDFWU” (Produced by Dj Dahi, Dj Mustard, Kanye West and Key Wane) — WINNER
Dej Loaf – “Try Me” (Produced by Dds)
Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen” (Produced by Tony Fadd)
Future – “Commas” (Produced by DJ Spinz and Southside)
Rich Homie Quan – “Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh)” (Produced by DJ Spinz and Nitti Beatz)

Best Mixtape
Future – 56 Nights – WINNER
Future – Beast Mode
Future – Monster
Lil Wayne – Sorry 4 The Wait 2
Travis Scott – Days Before Rodeo

Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse
Drake – “Blessings” (Big Sean feat. Drake and Kanye West)
Drake – “My Way (Remix)” (Fetty Wap feat. Drake) — WINNER
E-40 – “IDFWU” (Big Sean feat. E-40)
Kendrick Lamar – “Classic Man (Remix)” (Jidenna feat. Kendrick Lamar)
Lil Wayne – “Truffle Butter” (Nicki Minaj feat. Drake and Lil Wayne)

Impact Track
Big Sean feat. Kanye West and John Legend – “One Man Can Change The World”
Common and John Legend – “Glory” (From The Motion Picture “Selma”)
J. Cole – “Apparently”
J. Cole – “Be Free”
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright” — WINNER

People’s Champ Award
Big Sean feat. Drake and Kanye West – “Blessings” — WINNER
Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen”
Future – “Commas”
Kendrick Lamar – “i”
Rae Sremmurd – “No Type”
Rich Homie Quan – “Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh)”

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#goodbyeMODEST	#NationalDessertDay	#phrasethatmakesyourheartsink
2	#DemDebate	#goodbyeMODEST	#DemDebate
3	Lamar Odom	#CanadianSuperheroes	#WorldMathsDay
4	#AltasGanasDe	Lamar Odom	Stephen Fry
5	#eushippo	#PSAT	#goodbyeMODEST
6	ME AND HARRY	Me and Harry	#PMQs
7	#بماذا_تشتهر_ب�…	#ScaryAdviceIn4Words	Lamar Odom
8	#BETHipHopAwards	#CarterReynolds	#ThankYouTakeThat
9	#NationalDessertDay	PSAT	#NCASC15
10	Yoko Ono	Kardashians	#ExOnTheBeach

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

The President of Indonesia Joko Widodo calls for calm in the province of Aceh after a person was killed and a church burned down yesterday. (Channel News Asia)
Syrian Civil War
- Iranian involvement in the Syrian Civil War
  - Two officers from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are reportedly killed in Syria. (Al Arabiya)
  - Thousands of Iranian troops arrive in Syria to reportedly start a new offensive in the battle of Aleppo. (The Telegraph)
- Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War
  - The United States and Russia are finalizing a memorandum of understanding that sets out basic air safety procedures in the skies above Syria, according to a U.S. official. (Reuters)
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)
- ISIL confirms that U.S. forces killed its number two leader, Abu Mutaz al-Qurashi, in an airstrike near Mosul back in August. (Israel National News) (Al Arabiya)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israel’s military deploys new checkpoints in its Arab neighborhoods, as well as thousands of border police soldiers to cities and on roads to assist police forces in response to recent Palestinian stabbing attacks. (USA Today) (AP via Denver Post)(The Guardian) (New York Times)
- A Palestinian man wearing camouflaged clothing is shot dead at Jerusalem‘s Damascus Gate after charging at Israeli police with a knife. (Jerusalem Post)
Taunsa Sharif bombing
- A suicide bomb kills at least seven people and injures 13 others in Pakistan’s Punjab province inside the political office of Pakistan Muslim League MNA Sardar Amjad Farooq Khan Khosa, who was not present. Sardar Khosa, who is attending a meeting in Islamabad, said he did not receive any threat or alert prior to the blast. A Taliban splinter group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, claims responsibility for the attack. (The Express Tribune) (India.com)
Boko Haram insurgency
- A triple suicide-bomb attack in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri kills at least 7 people. (Yahoo)
- The U.S. is to deploy 300 troops to Cameroon as part of a stepped-up effort to counter Boko Haram in the region. (AP via Daily Mail)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- Taliban insurgents overrun two security checkpoints near Kandahar in the southern Helmand Province, killing at least 29 border police officers, according to local officials. (Star Tribune)

Arts and culture

At the beginning of today’s weekly general audience, Pope Francis asks for forgiveness for the scandals which have recently hit Rome and the Vatican. He did not offer details. The Church’s Synod on the Family concludes Monday, October 19, 2015. (Voice of America) (Catholic Herald) (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

A Swiss Boeing F/A-18 military jet crashes in France while on a training mission, injuring the pilot. The Swiss defense ministry has said it did not know what caused the accident. (Reuters)
A temporary footbridge across the M1 motorway in Sandton near Johannesburg, South Africa, collapses, killing two people and injuring 23. Both carriageways of the motorway remain closed as rescue work continues. (News24)
2015 Mina stampede
- An updated count by the Associated Press raises the death toll from the Mina stampede during the Hajj to at least 1,621, with hundreds still missing. (AP via Washington Post) (Dainik Jagran)

Politics and elections

Myanmar general election, 2015
- Myanmar election authorities confirm that landmark polls will go ahead on November 8 after the opposition rejected postponing due to this summer’s widespread flooding. The upcoming election is Myanmar’s first since moving away from half a century of military rule in 2011. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (The Guardian)

Sports

2015 WNBA season
- In North American basketball, the Minnesota Lynx win their third Women’s National Basketball Association title in five years defeating the Indiana Fever 3 games to 2 in the finals. (AP)
2015 MLB Postseason
- In North America, the Toronto Blue Jays defeat the Texas Rangers, 6-3, and the Kansas City Royals top the Houston Astros, 7-2, in a pair of American League Division Series (ALDS) deciding game fives. The teams move on to the best-of-seven 2015American League Championship Series (ALCS). The series opens Friday, October 16, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. EDT when defending AL champs Kansas City host the Blue Jays, who are in the ALCS for the first time since 1993. (Game 1 – MLB.com) (Game 2 – MLB.com)

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October 18, 2015

Top News Stories –

Spain to teach bullfighting in schools –
Spain’s education ministry has drawn up plans to create courses in bullfighting as an optional subject in state schools. For the first time, bullfighting, as well as other subjects related to the spectacle, will be available for students aged 16 and older who move into vocational training after finishing their compulsory education. The move appears to represent a final attempt to defend the activity by Spain’s conservative government before elections in December. Students who complete the course will receive a professional training certificate in “Tauromachy – bullfighting – and Auxiliary Livestock Activities” after they have learned the skills of bullfighting, the regulations applied to the event and the rules on breeding Spain’s fighting bulls. The full-time, two-year courses will be offered at a number of high schools around the country. [Daily Telegraph]

Big Ben’s clock ‘needs £40m of work’ to keep bongs sounding –
The taxpayer faces a bill of up to £40 million to keep the famous “bongs” of Big Ben sounding, according to a report. Parliament’s Great Clock is said to be so dilapidated that it could grind to a halt unless drastic repairs are carried out. A report presented to the cross-party Commons Finance Committee has set out a £29.2 million plan for fixing the issues. It would see the mechanism shut down for four months – believed to be the longest stoppage in its 156-year history. The document, seen by the Mail on Sunday and Sunday Times, said: “The clock currently has chronic problems with the bearings behind the hands and the pendulum. “Either could become acute at any time, causing the clock to stop – or worse.” [Daily Telegraph]
Cleaning Big Ben in 2007

Video of the Day –

The new Yahoo mail app.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#TodoEsSonrisaHastaQue	#BadActionMovieSequels	#IREvARG
2	PurposeJustinBieber	#DemiOnSNL	#OverAndOverAgain
3	#الاهلي_النصر	#ConfessionNight	#GreatBirminghamRun
4	Michigan	Larry David	#IfDraculaMadeAMovie
5	#FraseMuyDeMiVieja	#RejectedSundaySermonTopics	#MOTD
6	#VamosPumas	Adele	#SundayBrunch
7	#入ったことある委�…	Zombicon	#bbcsp
8	Larry David	#IREvARG	#GGGLemieux
9	#DemiOnSNL	#TheForceAwakens	#NUFC
10	#طبع_مااحبه	#FailedDatingTips	#Marr

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015)
- The Israeli military evacuated dozens of Jewish worshippers who were surrounded by Palestinians after entering Joseph’s Tomb compound in Nablus, which was recently torched by Palestinians. The area is under full Palestinian control but Jewish prayer is permitted there when coordinated with authorities. The military said Sunday’s visit was not, and the worshippers had no permit. (AP) (New Delhi Television)
- John Kerry, the United States Secretary of State announces Sunday that he will meet in Germany with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of increased violence between Palestinians and Israelis. (NBC)
Turkey–ISIL conflict
- Turkish police conduct pre-dawn raids on 17 locations in Istanbul and detain some 50 people suspected of being linked to the Islamic State group, according to Turkey’s state-run news agency. (AP)
2015 PKK rebellion
- Two Turkish soldiers are killed after a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in the eastern Tunceli Province. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War
  - A suspected Russian airstrike is said to have killed dozens of members of one family in Homs, Syria. (Al Jazeera)
- American-led intervention in Syria, War on Terror
  - U.S. Military officials announce that a military airstrike in northwest Syria killed a financial manager and leader of an al Qaeda network. Sanafi al-Nasr, of Saudi Arabia, was said to have been plotting terror attacks against the West. (New York Times)

Arts and culture

As part of the weekend celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops, during the 3-week-long Ordinary General Synod on the Family, Pope Francis canonizes the parents of the Doctor of the Church, Saint Therese of the Child Jesus of Lisieux, France (Saints Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin Martin, 1823-1894 and 1831-1877, respectively), the first married Catholic parents to be canonized at the same time. He also canonizes the religious superior general Saint María de la Purísima Salvat Romero (Mary of the Immaculate Conception), 1926-1998, and the diocesan priest and founder of a religious institute, Saint Vincenzo Grossi, 1845-1917. (Vatican) (AP via CTV) (Voice of America)

Business and economics

Tens of thousands of junior doctors rally in London (UK) near Pall Mall to protest contract changes that will reclassify their normal working week to include Saturdays and late evenings, and the government’s threat to impose a new contract. (The Guardian)(The Guardian -blog) (Daily Mail) (iFreePress.com)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Koppu (Lando) makes landfall in northern Luzon in the Philippines with forecasters warning it could stay in the area for several days. Thousands of people have been evacuated or are stranded. (AFP via Yahoo! News) (Inquirer)
- Slow-moving Koppu weakened after blowing ashore with fierce winds in the northeastern Philippines leaving at least two people dead and at least six missing, displacing 16,000 villagers, and knocking out power in entire provinces, according to authorities. (AP via NBC News) (UPI)
At least four people are killed and a dozen injured after a small plane crashes in a residential area of the Colombian capital Bogota. (AP)
A San Francisco-bound Southwest Airlines flight returned to Los Angeles after an apparent altercation on the plane. Eyewitness accounts indicate that the fracas may have begun after one passenger reclined her seat, and the passenger behind her allegedly “started choking her.” One passenger was removed from the flight. The airline moved the remaining passengers to a different plane to resume their journey to San Francisco. (USA Today) (NBC News)

Politics and elections

Egyptian parliamentary election, 2015
- Voters in Egypt go to the polls for the first round of voting in long delayed parliamentary elections. (BBC)
Swiss federal election, 2015
- Voters in Switzerland go to the polls for a federal election. Results show the anti-immigration Swiss People’s Party, winning the election with at least 29.5% of the vote, a record election result for the nationalist party. (AP) (The Wall Street Journal)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

October 24, 2015

Top News Stories –

Hurricane Patricia hits, spares Mexico of major damage so far –
Hurricane Patricia, the record-breaking category 5 hurricane, rumbled across western Mexico early on Saturday, uprooting trees and triggering some landslides but causing less damage than feared for such a massive storm, officials said. Authorities relocated coastal residents, evacuated tourists from beach hotels and closed sea ports, airports and schools in several states before Patricia made landfall in Jalisco state as a huge category five hurricane. Patricia had grown into the strongest hurricane ever recorded hours before reaching the coast, raising fears that it would bring death and destruction across the country. [Daily Telegraph] Astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted this picture of the storm from the Space Station

Lenin statue given Darth Vader makeover –
A statue of Vladimir Lenin in the Ukrainian city of Odessa has been given a sci-fi twist – by being transformed into Darth Vader. The statue, in the grounds of a factory in the Black Sea port city, had been earmarked for removal under the country’s “de-communisation” law. But instead, it now wears the instantly recognisable shiny black helmet and mask of the Star Wars villain, the local Dumskaya news website reports. “Everything flows and nothing abides,” says warehouse manager Semyon Horbunov, taking inspiration from the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. “New heroes replace old ones, and this is how the world goes round.” But while the monument is Darth Vader on the outside, deep down it’s still Lenin. “The bronze Lenin was left inside, so that the grateful or not-so-grateful descendants could exhume him, if needed,” sculptor Alexander Milov is quoted is saying by Ukraine Today. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Humans In 1000 Years – ASAP Science

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#ALDubEBTamangPanahon	#DinahAppreciationDay	#BlameCorbyn
2	#PrayForMexico	#1YearSinceStealMyGirl	#HurricanePatricia
3	VoteNOWBelieber	#HowNotToBePoor	Kirsty Howard
4	#1YearSinceStealMyGirl	Maureen O’Hara	Baby Hitler
5	#Teleton2015	Liam and Sophia	Chelsea
6	#DinahAppreciationDay	#ALDubEBTamangPanahon	#NZLvRSA
7	#WelcomeToBrazilAriana	Al Golden	#BeijingePrix
8	Maureen O’Hara	Stillwater	#HeadlinesForSongs
9	Sophiam	#IAmNotJust	#FIL2015
10	Chelsea	#IDPJJ	Peter Baldwin

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

A series of bomb blasts targeting Shia Muslims in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka kills at least one person and injures dozens more. Claims of responsibility by ISIS are discounted by Dhaka police who told AFP, “So far we have not found any link to any militant group.” (Reuters) (Christian Science Monitor)
Sinai insurgency, Egyptian parliamentary election, 2015
- A first lieutenant and two soldiers have been killed in an explosion which targeted a police armored vehicle in the northern Sinai city of Al-Arīsh. (NY Times)
- Two suspected militants riding a motorcycle shoot and kill Mostafa Abdelrahman, the ultraconservative Salafi Al-Nour Party secretary, and parliamentary candidate for Al-Arīsh. Arish residents say militants have threatened candidates, accusing them of cooperating with the government. Al‑Nour is the only prominent Islamist party to emerge unscathed after the military’s 2013 crackdown on Islamists. (Reuters) (AFP via Bangkok Post)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015)
- Violence continues while talks persist looking for a peaceful resolution. A 16-year old Palestinian is shot dead after he tried to stab an Israeli security guard at a West Bank border crossing. A 25-year old Palestinian protester died of wounds suffered last week when he was shot by Israeli troops during a border clash near the Gazan town of Khan Yunis. (Reuters) (AP)
Syrian Civil War
- Al-Nusra Front‘s (Al-Qaeda‘s branch in Syria) leader Abu Suleiman al-Masri is reportedly killed in the Aleppo province during clashes with the Syrian Army. (Independent)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- At least 40 people, including several fishermen, are reportedly killed following Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on two islands off Yemen‘s Red Sea coast. Local fisherman reported coalition aircraft and warships struck the Aqban and Kadman islands targetingHouthi forces but also destroyed several boats killing local fishermen. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Actress Maureen O’Hara dies in her sleep at her Boise, Idaho, home. “She passed peacefully surrounded by her loving family as they celebrated her life listening to music from her favorite movie, The Quiet Man,” said her family’s statement. (AP) (ABC News)
Close to 300 landmarks in 60 countries, from the Pyramids in Egypt, to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the Empire State Building in New York, were lit up in blue — the official color of the United Nations — to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the world body. (New York Times) (UN) (Blue photos UN)
The three-week synod on the family convened by Pope Francis at the Vatican concludes with traditional Catholic orientations toward marriage and the family intact. (New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

A Union Pacific freight train derails in flooded North Texas, near Corsicana, where the tracks washed away. The two crewmen on board swam to safety. (CBS News) (WFAA blog)
2015 Pacific hurricane season
- Hurricane Patricia, which hit the Mexican coast as a Category 5 storm, appeared to leave remarkably little damage as it moved rapidly inland over mountainous western Mexico and is now a tropical depression (35 mph/55 kph). The storm is currently centered northeast of Zacatecas, Mexico, moving northeast at 24 mph/39 kph. While there are no reports of casualties or substantial widespread damage, authorities warn deadly floods and mudslides remain possible. (ABC News) (CTV News)(NHC)
A drunk driver plows into the Oklahoma State Homecoming parade in Stillwater, Oklahoma, killing four people and injuring 34 with eight in critical condition. The homecoming game with Kansas was played at 2:30 p.m. CT as scheduled. (USA Today)(KOCO) (AP via WFLX)
Costa Rica‘s restive Turrialba Volcano erupts. (The Tico Times)

International relations

Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015), Israel–Jordan relations
- Israel and Jordan agree to take steps to quell violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem which includes round-the-clock monitoring of new security cameras there. Israel reaffirms Jordan’s historic role as formal custodian of what is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and as Haram al-Sharif to Muslims. Yesterday, Israeli authorities lifted restrictions that had banned men aged under 40 from praying at al-Aqsa. (Reuters) (BBC) (Washington Post)
2015 anti-government protest in Montenegro
- Thousands protest and clash with police in Montenegro‘s capital Podgorica, demanding the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Milo Đukanović. Đukanović has rejected calls to resign and has accused the opposition of trying to prevent the country’sNATO membership, saying he is convinced Russia is behind the unrest. (AFP via Yahoo)

Law and crime

Ahmed Adeeb, the Vice President of the Maldives, is arrested on suspicion of links to an explosion on the boat of President of the Maldives Abdulla Yameen last month. (AP via Washington Post)

Politics and elections

Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2015
- Voters in Louisiana go to the polls to elect the Bayou State’s next governor. The winner will succeed Bobby Jindal, who is in his second and final term, and is a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election. The race may go to a November 21, 2015, runoff if no candidate gets at least 50 percent of the vote today. (Reuters) (Houma Courier)

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November 13, 2015

Top News Stories –

Paris attacks –
Paris has suffered a night of deadly attacks, described by President Francois Hollande as “unprecedented”. Shootings, bomb blasts and a hostage siege have left at least 127 people dead and some 180 wounded. At least 80 are in critical condition. Six places were targeted, almost simultaneously. France has declared a state of emergency, imposed border controls and deployed 1,500 extra troops. [BBC]
Chronology –

21:20 – First explosion near Stade de France
21:25 – Shooting at Le Carillon bar and Le Petit Cambodge restaurant, rue Bichat
21:29 – More shooting in same area, avenue de la Republique
21:30 – Second explosion near Stade de France
21:38 – Shooting at La Belle Equipe bar, rue de Charonne
21:43 – Explosion at boulevard Voltaire, near Bataclan concert hall
21:49 – Shooting at Bataclan, then explosions
21:53 – Third explosion at Stade de France
22:00 – Shooting at boulevard Beaumarchais, near Bataclan

In January the offices of Charlie Hebdo were attacked by gunmen in Paris and in August train passengers overcame a gunmen on a train in France.
Bataclan Theatre, Paris

Jihadi John ‘dead’: MI5 on alert amid fears of Isil revenge attack –
MI5 is on high alert amid fears that Isil fanatics are already plotting revenge attacks for the reported killing of Jihadi John in a drone strike in Raqqa, Syria. The communications of known sympathisers are being monitored closely as surveillance is stepped up to prevent a terrorist outrage in revenge for the operation which is now widely acknowledged to have resulted in the death of Mohammed Emwazi– who as Jihadi John – earned global notoriety. [Daily Telegraph] See Top Twitter Trends

Athletics doping: Russia provisionally suspended by IAAF –
Russia’s athletics federation has been provisionally suspended from international competition – including the Olympic Games – for its alleged involvement in widespread doping. The IAAF took action after the publication of an independent World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) report that alleged “state-sponsored doping”. Its council members voted 22-1 in favour of Russia being banned. “This is a wake-up call for all of us,” said IAAF president Lord Coe. [BBC] Lord Coe became IAAF president in August 2015.
Lord Coe

Video of the Day –

Otto the skateboarding bulldog – Guinness World Records

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Jihadi John	Friday the 13th	Jihadi John
2	#purpose	Jihadi John	#MadeInTheAM
3	#FR1DAY13BR	#WorldKindnessDay	#purpose
4	#MadeInTheAM	París	#childreninneed
5	Friday the 13th	#YesSheCan	Friday the 13th
6	#Viernes13	#InternetThePast	#WorldKindnessDay
7	Sexta-feira 13	#PrayForJapan	#ModiAtWembley
8	#1DonSmallzy	#RuinMyLifeIn3Words	#friday13th
9	Hayırlı Cumalar	Jeezy	Herts
10	#رفع_سعر_الدخا�…	A.M.	#bbcqt

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
- The United States conducts airstrikes targeting Kuwaiti–British militant Jihadi John. Later, the U.S. says it is “reasonably certain” a drone strike in Syria killed Jihadi John, né Mohammed Emwazi. (BBC) (Reuters)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- November 2015 Sinjar offensive
  - Kurdish Peshmerga forces backed by U.S. airstrikes seize control of Sinjar in northern Iraq. Sinjar has been under Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant occupation since August 2014. (Reuters)
- Multiple bombings in Baghdad targeting Iraqi Shiites kills at least 26 people. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility. (AP via Yahoo)
November 2015 Paris attacks
- French police report multiple blasts and gunfire in Paris with at least 26 dead in a restaurant in the 10th arrondissement and an explosion near the Stade de France. (Daily Beast) (AP) (Washington Post)
- Police report the hostage siege is over at the Eagles of Death Metal concert at the Bataclan theatre in the 11th arrondissement. Approximately 100 people are dead in the Bataclan. (The Daily Beast) (Deadline)
- The President of France François Hollande declares a state of emergency across France. (The Guardian)
2015 Beirut bombings
- A day of mourning is held in Lebanon following two suicide attacks in the capital Beirut which killed at least 43 people. (Al Jazeera)
During an arrest attempt in Cairo, Egyptian security forces kill Aly Ashraf Hassanein al Gharabli, an ISIL-linked militant who masterminded the murder of Apache Corporation worker William Henderson in Egypt last year. (Fuel Fix)
At least 22 people are killed this week in a string of raids on villages in the Central African Republic. The escalation of violence threatens to derail a visit by Pope Francis and crucial elections scheduled for December 27, 2015. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

The Anne Frank Fonds in Basel, Switzerland, announces that Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank, is editor and legally the co-author of “The Diary of Anne Frank.” (New York Times)
South Korean news agency Yonhap reports China’s mobile phone users are discarding 80 million devices annually, but almost none are being recycled. China’s recycling rate stands at 9-10 percent of the global recycling average. (UPI)

Disasters and accidents

The bodies of eight babies are found wrapped in towels and inside plastic bags in an apartment in the town of Wallenfels in Germany’s state of Bavaria. Authorities are looking for the apartment’s most recent occupant, Andrea G, a 45-year-old woman.(CNN) (Irish Times) (Reuters)
At least 18 people are injured, four critically, after a San Francisco (U.S.) double-decker tour bus loses control and crashes in traffic striking several vehicles and knocking over nearby construction scaffolding. (San Francisco Examiner) (Reuters)
At least four people are dead and 33 injured in a landslide in China‘s Zhejiang province. (CRI)

International Relations

Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- The first major survey in five years of the attitudes of British Jews toward Israel shows deep support of Israel as the Jewish state but heavy criticism of its politics and on the issue of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict: 75% see the expansion of settlements as a major obstacle to peace; 73% believe Israel’s approach to peace is damaging its standing in the world; 70% back Israel’s demand that the Palestinians recognize it as a Jewish state; and, 59 percent, down from 72% in 2010, describe themselves asZionist. (The Guardian) (Haaretz)
U.S. diplomats, amid growing international concern the violence could spiral into an ethnic conflict, push for peace talks in Burundi. The European Union advises non-essential staff to evacuate the Central African nation amid rising violence and an uptick in political rhetoric. The head of the opposition UPRONA group urges the United Nations to send peacekeepers quickly. Yesterday, the UN Security Council called on the Burundi Government to protect human rights and cooperate with regional African mediators to immediately convene “an inclusive and genuine inter-Burundian dialogue” to find a peaceful resolution of the crisis. (Al Jazeera) (Reuters) (UN)
European migrant crisis
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel asserts she still isn’t prepared to name an upper limit to the number of refugees who can come to Germany, despite mounting domestic political pressure. (AP)
- Oxfam’s Belgrade Center for Human Rights reports migrants coming through Bulgaria have faced beatings, threats and other abuses by police, though the country’s own refugee agency said it had received no such complaints. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War peace process
- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets in Vienna, Austria, with the foreign ministers of Turkey and Saudi Arabia, as well as the U.N. special envoy for Syria, ahead of Saturday’s next round of international summits on the Syrian Civil War. The talks, aimed toward a cease-fire in Syria’s devastating war and a political transition to a post-war government, will include senior officials from 19 nations/groups and, as in October, Iran will participate. (AP)
Metrojet Flight 9268
- As a temporary security measure, effective Saturday, Russia bans incoming flights by Egypt’s state-owned airline, EgyptAir, two weeks after an apparent terrorist bomb downed a Russian jet in the Sinai. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Police in the Dominican Republic raid a mansion owned by 30-year-old Francisco Flores de Freites, one of the two nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro facing charges for allegedly trying to traffic 800 kg of cocaine into the U.S., and found more than 280 pounds of cocaine and 22 pounds of heroin hidden inside the nephew’s posh Casa de Campo property and a 135-foot yacht named “The Kingdom” docked behind it. (Fox News)

Politics and elections

Myanmar general election, 2015
- Aung San Suu Kyi‘s National League for Democracy (NLD) wins an absolute majority with 348 seats taken in the country’s parliament, 19 seats more than the required 329, marking Myanmar’s first democratically-elected government since the 1962 Burmese coup d’état. (The Economist) (The Guardian)
Colombia plans to legalize medical marijuana in a further shift in drug policy after suspending aerial fumigation of illicit crops. A decree approving the therapeutic use of marijuana will be signed in the coming days. Growing, distributing and selling cannabis will remain illegal. (Reuters) (teleSUR)

Science and technology

WT1190F, an artificial satellite orbiting the Earth since before June 2009, impacts the Earth south of Sri Lanka. (CBC)

Sport

The International Association of Athletics Federations votes overwhelmingly to ban Russian athletes and the All-Russia Athletic Federation from international competitions following overwhelming evidence of widespread state sponsored doping in a World Anti-Doping Agency report. (Reuters via Sydney Morning Herald)
Yelena Isinbayeva, a former Russian Olympic pole-vaulting champion calls on the IAAF not to punish honest athletes in response to doping allegations against Russia. (Reuters)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

November 19, 2015

Top News Stories –

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

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

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

Video of the Day –

Zoolander 2 Trailer – Paramount Pictures

Top Twitter Trends –

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

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

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

Arts and culture

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

Business and economy

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

Health and medicine

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

International relations

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

Law and crime

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

Politics and elections

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

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

December 11, 2015

Top News Stories –

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

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

Video of the Day –

TIMEDRIFT II from Martin Heck | Timestorm Films on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
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9	#MiFraseDeBorracho	#YouAreInDenialIf	#bbcqt
10	#XMenApocalypse	#NewMusicFriday	#DiamondBall

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

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

Business and economy

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

Disasters and accidents

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

International relations

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

Law and crime

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

Politics and elections

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

Science and technology

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

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 1, 2016

Top News Stories –

Rat on a plane: Air India flight returns to Mumbai after rodent spotted on board –
An Air India plane flying to London was forced to return to Mumbai after passengers spotted a rat on board, the airline said on Thursday. Though the rat was not found, the pilot returned to Mumbai on Wednesday keeping passenger safety in mind, Air India said in a statement. Passengers were later flown by a separate aircraft to London. The aircraft would be fumigated and checked before it is returned to service. Maintenance workers would have to make sure that the rat did not damage equipment or chew any wires and the plane is certified to be rodent-free, an airline official said. [Daily Telegraph]

China’s new two-child policy law takes effect –
Married couples in China will from Friday (Jan 1) be allowed to have two children, after concerns over an ageing population and shrinking workforce ushered in an end to the country’s controversial one-child policy. The change, which was announced in October by the ruling Communist Party, takes effect from Jan 1, 2016, Beijing’s official Xinhua news agency reported over the weekend. The “one-child policy”, instituted in the late 1970s, restricted most couples to only a single offspring through a system of fines for violators and even forced abortions. For years, authorities argued that it was a key contributor to China’s economic boom and had prevented 400 million births. [Channel News Asia]

Video of the Day –

Philips Presents: The Longest Night from T Brand Studio on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

100 Things we didn’t know last year – by the BBC (1-33)

1. It costs £300 to operate on a constipated goldfish.

Find out more

2. Traditionally, police horses in England’s Thames Valley force can be called Odin, Thor or Hercules, but not Brian.

Find out more

3. Barack Obama calls David Cameron “bro”.

Find out more (Time)

4. The first sports bra was made from two jockstraps.

Find out more

5. One in 10 of Britain’s train carriages still flush toilet waste straight on to the railway tracks.

Find out more

6. Jamaica, Colombia and Saint Lucia are the only countries in the world where a woman is more likely to be a boss than a man.

Find out more (Washington Post)

7. You don’t have to speak French to become French-language Scrabble world champion.

Find out more

8. Kolo Toure, the Ivory Coast and Liverpool defender, hasn’t touched his own dog for seven years.

Find out more (Metro)

9. An egg can be unboiled.

Find out more (Metro)

10. There are four different ways to pronounce diplodocus, and the way children say it is probably more technically correct than the academics’ preferred option.

Find out more

11. A 51-year-old software engineer named Bryan Henderson has edited Wikipedia 47,000 times to remove the ungrammatical term “comprised of”.

Find out more (Backchannel)

12. Buzz Aldrin claimed $33.31 in travel expenses connected to his trip to the moon.

Find out more (Daily Telegraph)

13. Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond once played a ghost in a Bollywood soap opera.

Find out more (Buzzfeed)

14. “Let us turn ours into a country of mushrooms by making mushroom cultivation scientific, intensive and industrialised!” is an official slogan of North Korea.

Find out more

15. Roughly 56% of average monthly earnings in Malawi are spent on mobile phone charges, compared with about 0.11% in Macau, China.

Find out more

16. Quentin Tarantino still records films from TV on VHS cassettes.

Find out more (Independent)

17. Lollipop men and ladies who “high five” pedestrians may be breaching official protocol.

Find out more

18. Squid can fly – but they tend to do it under cover of darkness.

Find out more

19. It’s possible to trick the brain into thinking it can hear Mariah Carey sing All I Want For Christmas Is You.

Find out more (New Scientist)

20. King Arthur may have been Glaswegian.

Find out more (The National)

21. A man-sized lobster lived 480 million years ago.

Find out more

22. At Hotel Football, run by ex-Manchester United players, Gary Neville is represented in the bathroom by blackcurrant-extract shampoo while brother Phil is a bar of soap.

Find out more (Financial Times)

23. Vicars and priests have the highest job satisfaction of all UK workers.

Find out more

24. Narwhals’ long tusks – an exaggerated front tooth used for courtship – are super-sensitive.

Find out more

25. There is only one concert grand piano in Gaza.

Find out more

26. Boston in Lincolnshire is one of the most neurotic places in Great Britain while Orkney is one of the least.

Find out more

27. Michael Jackson made a series of prank calls to Russell Crowe.

Find out more (Guardian)

28. Breaking Bad is the show people most often lie about having watched.

Find out more (Radio Times)

29. The UK’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency does not permit the wearing of colanders on heads in driving licence photos, even for religious reasons.

Find out more (Daily Mirror)

30. People who swear have larger vocabularies.

Find out more (Toronto Sun)

31. The Queen likes to have her pre-lunch gin and Dubonnet in front of BBC Two’s The Daily Politics.

Find out more (Daily Mail

32. In September 1944 the New York Times explained pizza to its readers and included a rare use of its plural “pizze” – there was an earlier article but it only mentioned pizza in passing.

Find out more (New York Times)

33. There is little international trade in onions – about 90% are consumed in their country of origin.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#NesseAnoEuVou	#HowToBeSingle	#MoveToBoys2016
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9	#1şeydiyeceğim	#2015TweepAwards	#ResolutionsFor2016
10	#2016IsZaynsYear	Tel Aviv	Entered 2016

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A shooting takes place at a pub in Tel Aviv, Israel, leaving two dead and eight injured. The police claim to know the identity of the shooter and have launched a nationwide manhunt. (Haaretz)

Arts and culture

A new 28-foot tall statue of Jesus, dubbed “Jesus de Greatest,” is unveiled on New Year’s Day outside St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Abajah village, Nigeria’s Imo state, which is described as the tallest Jesus statue in Africa. (USA Today)

Disasters and accidents

About one thousand houses in Manila’s Tondo district in the Philippines are set ablaze following New Year’s Eve firecracker festivities that left one dead and 380 others injured. (AP via CTV News)

International relations

The EU-Ukraine Free Trade deal officially comes into force, coinciding with a Russian food embargo on Ukraine. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Law and crime

The two-child policy takes effect in China, allowing couples in the country to have at most two children, replacing the controversial one-child policy. The change in law was announced by the ruling Communist Party on October 29 and passed the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on December 27, five days prior to its effect. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)

Politics and elections

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who has been the President of Iceland for 20 years, announces in his new-year speech that he will not seek relection for a sixth term when presidential elections will be held in June. (Visir)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

February 3, 2016

Top News Stories –

Britain suffers ‘biscuit drought’ following McVities factory flood –
“The fact that you can’t have a ginger nut with your cup of tea at the end of the night … it’s the end of the world, isn’t it?” So said one disgruntled biscuit lover in a BBC report on the ongoing biscuit drought currently gripping the nation. Many of Britain’s best-loved biscuits remain absent from shop shelves after floods forced the closure of the United Biscuits factory in Carlisle in December. The factory produces numerous well-known brands of biscuit, including McVitie’s ginger nuts, Crawford’s custard creams and Carr’s water crackers. [Daily Telegraph]
McVitie’s chocolate digestive biscuit

Lord Lucan death certificate granted –
Lord Lucan is now presumed to be dead, a High Court judge has ruled. A death certificate has been issued 42 years after the peer vanished when his children’s nanny Sandra Rivett was bludgeoned to death in London. He was declared dead in 1999, despite dozens of unverified sightings, but the new ruling gives his son the right to inherit the family title. His son, Lord Bingham, said: “I am very happy with the judgment of the court in this matter.” [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Exercise vs Diet – ASAP Science

List of the Day –

Daily telegraph’s 28 Best Biscuits in the World

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#زد_رصيدك82	#NationalSigningDay	Jackson Martinez
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10	#VotaLaliEsposito	#1linewed	#ArianaforLipsy

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
- Three Palestinian assailants launch a shooting and stabbing attack near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, killing one policewoman and seriously injuring another, and lightly injuring a civilian, before being shot and killed by other security forces at the scene. Pipe bombs were discovered on their bodies. (The Times of Israel)
- Two Hamas militants die after a tunnel they were digging from the Gaza Strip into Israel collapses. (AP)
Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
- Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia, says that Russia‘s bombing campaign will continue until terrorist organisations like ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra are defeated; the Syrian opposition’s High Negotiations Committee has voiced outrage at an ongoing government offensive backed by Russian air power and called for a halt to air strikes against civilians, among other demands. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Syrian Civil War
- Siege of Nubl and Al-Zahraa
  - The Syrian Army and its allies break a three-year rebel siege of two Shi’ite towns in northwest Syria, Nubl and Al-Zahraa. (Reuters)
- At least 15 people are killed and 58 injured after rockets reportedly fired by rebels hit pro-government neighborhoods in the southern city of Daraa. (RT)

Business and economy

China‘s state owned ChemChina offers to buy Swiss pesticide and seed manufacturer Syngenta for $43 billion. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

Daallo Airlines Flight 159
- A Daallo Airlines operated commercial plane, bound for Djibouti, makes an emergency landing at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, following an unexplained explosion that left a gaping hole in its fuselage. (BBC)

International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- Japan puts its military on alert to shoot down any North Korean rocket that threatens it following an announcement by North Korea of a planned “Earth observation launch”. (Reuters)
- South Korea warns North Korea of “searing consequences” if it doesn’t abandon plans to launch a long-range rocket that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions that prohibits the country from engaging in any ballistic activities. (Fox News)

Law and crime

John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, wanted for murder since 1974, is officially declared dead so that his son can inherit the title. (BBC)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Kentucky Senator Rand Paul suspends his campaign for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. (Vox) (Politico)
- Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum withdraws from the race. (Washington Post)
Irish general election, 2016
- Voters in Ireland will go to the polls on February 26 after the President dissolves the current Dail or parliament. (AAP via News Limited), (BBC)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

February 14, 2016

Top News Stories –

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

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

Kanye West begging tweets

Video of the Day –

Simon’s Cat Logic – Love

List of the Day –

Winners of the BAFTA Film Awards 2016

Best film

Winner: The Revenant

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

Carol

Spotlight

Outstanding British film

Winner: Brooklyn

45 Years

Amy

The Danish Girl

Ex Machina

The Lobster

Actor

Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant

Bryan Cranston – Trumbo

Matt Damon – The Martian

Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl

Actress

Winner: Brie Larson – Room

Cate Blanchett – Carol

Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn

Maggie Smith – The Lady in the Van

Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl

Supporting actor

Winner: Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies

Christian Bale – The Big Short

Benicio del Toro – Sicario

Idris Elba – Beasts of No Nation

Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight

Supporting actress

Winner: Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs

Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight

Rooney Mara – Carol

Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina

Julie Walters – Brooklyn

Director

Winner: Alejandro G Inarritu – The Revenant

Todd Haynes – Carol

Adam McKay – The Big Short

Ridley Scott – The Martian

Steven Spielberg – Bridge of Spies

Adapted screenplay

Winner: The Big Short

Brooklyn

Carol

Room

Steve Jobs

Original screenplay

Winner: Spotlight

Bridge of Spies

Ex Machina

The Hateful Eight

Inside Out

Animated film

Winner: Inside Out

Minions

Shaun the Sheep Movie

Documentary

Winner: Amy

Cartel Land

He Named Me Malala

Listen to Me Marlon

Sherpa

Foreign film

Winner: Wild Tales

The Assassin

Force Majeure

Theeb

Timbuktu

Cinematography

Winner: The Revenant

Bridge of Spies

Carol

Mad Max: Fury Road

Sicario

Costume design

Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road

Brooklyn

Carol

Cinderella

The Danish Girl

Editing

Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

The Martian

The Revenant

Make-up and hair

Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road

Brooklyn

Carol

The Danish Girl

The Revenant

Music

Winner: The Hateful Eight

Bridge of Spies

The Revenant

Sicario

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Production design

Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road

Bridge of Spies

Carol

The Martian

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Sound

Winner: The Revenant

Bridge of Spies

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Special effects

Winner: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Ant-Man

Ex Machina

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

British short animation

Winner: Edmond

Manoman

Prologue

British short film

Winner: Operator

Elephant

Mining Poems or Odes

Over

Samuel-613

Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer

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

Alex Garland (director) – Ex Machina

Debbie Tucker Green (writer/director) – Second Coming

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

Stephen Fingleton (writer/director) – The Survivalist

Rising Star award

Winner: John Boyega

Taron Egerton

Dakota Johnson

Brie Larson

Bel Powley

Top Twitter Trends –

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

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

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

Arts and culture

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

Disasters and accidents

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

International relations

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

Politics and elections

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

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

March 7, 2016

Top News Stories –

Maria Sharapova failed drugs test at Australian Open –
Former world number one Maria Sharapova has revealed she failed a drugs test at the Australian Open. The Russian, 28, tested positive for meldonium, a substance she has been taking since 2006 for health issues. Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion, is provisionally suspended from 12 March pending further action. “I did fail the test and take full responsibility for it,” said Sharapova, who won the Wimbledon title as a 17-year-old in 2004. “For the past 10 years I have been given a medicine called mildronate by my family doctor and a few days ago after I received a letter from the ITF [International Tennis Federation] I found out it also has another name of meldonium, which I did not know.” [BBC] See List of the Day
Maria Sharapova

Peyton Manning: Denver Broncos quarterback retires from NFL –
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has announced his retirement, ending a sparkling 18-year career in the NFL. Manning struggled to hold back tears as he confirmed the news at a media conference in Denver on Monday. He said: “I fought a good fight. I finished my football race. After 18 years it is time.” Manning, who turns 40 on 24 March, played his last game when he helped the Broncos win the Super Bowl in February. It was his second Super Bowl win, the first coming in 2007 during a 14-year spell with the Indianapolis Colts. [BBC]
Peyton Manning

Video of the Day –

DreamRide from Juicy Studios on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Maria Sharapova Grand Slam Tournament record [Wikipedia]

Tournament	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	SR	W–L	Win %
Australian Open	1R	3R	SF	SF	F	W	A	1R	4R	F	SF	4R	F	QF	1 / 13	52–12	81.25%
French Open	1R	QF	QF	4R	SF	4R	QF	3R	SF	W	F	W	4R		2 / 13	53–11	82.81%
Wimbledon	4R	W	SF	SF	4R	2R	2R	4R	F	4R	2R	4R	SF		1 / 13	47–12	79.66%
US Open	2R	3R	SF	W	3R	A	3R	4R	3R	SF	A	4R	A		1 / 10	32–9	78.38%
Win–Loss	4–4	15–3	19–4	20–3	16–4	11–2	7–3	8–4	16–4	21–3	12–3	16–3	14–3	4–1	5 / 48	184–44	80.70%

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SegundaDetremuraSdv	#3DaysTilDangerousWoman	#mondaymotivation
2	WAKE UP DIRECTIONERS	#SaySomethingGoodAboutTwitter	#SaySomethingGoodAboutTwitter
3	POWERVOTE FOR JAMES	#mondaymotivation	Ray Tomlinson
4	Kathryn Chandria Award	#NationalCerealDay	#CelebrateSuccess
5	#SaySomethingGoodAboutTwitter	Kim K	Hinkley Point
6	#NationalCerealDay	WAKE UP DIRECTIONERS	Katt Williams
7	Kim K	#3ThingsThatImMadeOf	#OneYou
8	#اسم_بنت_جميل	#hulkvsgawk	#BritishPieWeek
9	#Mahashivratri	#InternationalWomensDay	#callthemidwife
10	#شيء_جميل_بحرف_…	#bpswalkout	#aurora

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002-present)
- At least 50 people are killed, including 33 militants, seven civilians and ten soldiers, in armed clashes between the Tunisian Army and Islamist militants in the town of Ben Gardane, near the border withLibya. (Reuters) (Al-Jazeera) (AFP via Daily Mail)
War in North-West Pakistan
- A Taliban suicide bomber hits a court complex in the town of Shabqadar killing at least 13 people and injuring 36. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Pakistani Taliban faction, says the attack is retaliation for Mumtaz Qadri’s execution last week. (Voice of America) (UPI)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- According to the Pentagon, more than 150 al-Shabaab fighters are reportedly killed Saturday by U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft strikes targeting a training camp near the central Somali town ofBuloburde. (FOX News) (The New York Times)
- The Royal Australian Navy seizes a large cache of weapons from a fishing vessel near Oman‘s coast, that was bound for Somalia. The Australian Navy, which patrols waters around the Indian Ocean as part of an international maritime force, said it has seized nearly 2,000 AK-47 rifles, 100 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 49 PKM machine guns, 39 PKM spare barrels and 20 mortar tubes from thestateless vessel. 20 tonnes of weaponry in total. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- A Syrian Arab Air Force or Russian airstrike reportedly kills a dozen people at a market selling diesel fuel in the rebel-held Idlib Governorate. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the death toll is likely to rise. (Reuters)

Business and economics

Germany’s BASF SE, the largest chemical producer in the world, is pursuing a counterbid for DuPont that could short circuit the Delaware-based company’s announced merger with fellow American firm, Dow Chemical Company. (Bloomberg) (Fortune)
Apple Inc. must pay the $450 million July 2014 settlement in a price fixing case since the U.S. Supreme Court will not hear its appeal of the June 2015 Court of Appeals ruling that it played a “central role” in a conspiracy with publishers to eliminate retail price competition and raise e-book prices. (Reuters) (Bloomberg) (AppleInsider)

Disasters and accidents

In the United States, an Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) San Francisco Bay Area commuter train bound for Stockton, California, derails and falls into a creek, injuring 14 people, four in serious condition. The crash shuts down service along the ACE system through Tuesday. (Los Angeles Times) (CNN)

International relations

South Korea–United States relations
- South Korea and the United States start a joint military exercise as North Korea repeats threats of “indiscriminate” nuclear strikes. (AFP via Rappler)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo calls on Muslim leaders at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit meeting in Jakarta to unite and be part of the solution on Palestine, noting the entire world is concerned about its deteriorating situation. Jokowi also criticizes what he calls Israel’s “unilateral and illegal policies.” (The Jakarta Post) (AP via Appeal-Democrat)
European migrant crisis
- Today’s European Union summit with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in Brussels, Belgium, will discuss ways to stanch the flow of European-bound migrants. (CNN) (Voice of America)(Summit website)
  - The EU plans to boost aid to Greece and declare the route north through the Balkans closed. Presently, about 13,000 people are stranded at the Greece–Macedonia border. (BBC) (Kathimerini)
  - The leaders plan to give Turkey €3bn to take back thousands who don’t qualify for asylum. (Kathimerini) (Business Day)
- Amnesty International takes on the EU for using Turkey as a buffer to police Europe’s borders. Deputy Director Gauri van Gulik says Europe has an absolute duty to protect refugees and must fast-track significant, unconditional resettlement. (AP via The Washington Post)
- Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) opens a humanitarian camp for migrants in the Grande-Synthe suburb of Dunkerque, France. (AP via ABC News)
Enlargement of the European Union
- The Turkish deputy ambassador to Britain says Turkey should be allowed to join the European Union in order to help solve the Syrian refugee crisis. (The Independent)

Law and crime

A gunman, who killed one man, injured two others, and was holding three people hostage, is found dead when an armed tactical response police team storms a building in the Ingleburn industrial area in suburban Sydney, Australia. All hostages were unharmed. (The Sydney Morning Herald) (Stuff.co.nz) (Sky News via KLFM)
Venezuelan security forces search for 30 gold miners reportedly killed last week in the state of Bolívar in the country’s southeast. Survivor reports state the miners were shot last Friday in a fight for control of a gold deposit by criminals who then hid the bodies. Bolívar Governor Francisco Rangel Gómez denies any such massacre occurred. (EFE via Fox New Latino) (Reuters via The Times of India)
Pitcairn sexual assault trial of 2004
- Former mayor of the Pitcairn Islands Mike Warren is found guilty of downloading more than 1000 images and videos of child abuse and child pornography while working in child protection and is sentenced to 20 months in prison. (The Guardian)
American sportscaster Erin Andrews is awarded $55 million damages after a stranger, in 2008, secretly recorded her in the nude through a hotel door peephole, and posted the video on the Internet. (New York Daily News)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg announces he will not run for president in 2016 because of the impact his candidacy might have on the outcome in November. (CBS News)

Science and technology

Research, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Geoscience, confirms that Mercury’s darker than expected crusty exterior is from carbon, likely the remains of the planet’s ancient surface crust of graphite, rather than carbon dust from comet impacts as previously postulated. (Christian Science Monitor) (The Washington Post) (Nature Geoscience)

Sport

Maria Sharapova tests positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open tennis championship. She has taken the drug since 2006 on prescription for health issues. World Anti-Doping Agency President Craig Reedie says an athlete found guilty of using meldonium would normally face a one-year suspension. (BBC) (AP via The Times-Picayune)
- Nike, Inc. suspends ties with Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova after she failed a drug test at the 2016 Australian Open. (Reuters) (Fox Sports)
American football quarterback Peyton Manning retires after eighteen seasons in the National Football League with two Super Bowl championships, five MVP awards, and single-season and career league records for most passing yards and touchdown passes. (NFL)

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 12, 2016

Top News Stories –

Snapchat is assembling a super team to build smart glasses –
Today, you use your smartphone’s cameras to take snaps and creates stories on Snapchat. But in the future, you could be Snapchatting with a pair of Google Glass-like smart glasses on your face. According to CNET, Snapchat has aggressively assembled a team of wearable experts to work on some kind of smart eyewear device. Now, imagine being able to put on a pair of smart glasses and then see these effects overlaid on top of your friends’ faces using augmented reality. It would be insane. Of course, this is just one far-flung idea. For all we know, Snapchat could be building something entirely different. [Mashable UK]

Woman sues after toilet ‘exploded’ while she was sitting on it –
A woman is suing for damages after being “blown off” her toilet when workmen used high-power hoses to clean out sewer lines in her neighbourhood. Angela Wright of Baltimore, Maryland, says the incident, which took place in October 2014, left her suffering physical injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder from the incident. Both Ms Wright and her bathroom were “covered in filth and excretion,” following what she described as an “explosion”. In an interview with Fox 45 she said: “I was literally covered in faeces. Are you kidding me? Who wants that?” [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Urban Snowmobiling in Saint Paul | Levi LaVallee

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SabadoDetremuraSdv	#ArianaOnSNL	#ENGvWAL
2	#ENGvWAL	#HistoryByHillary	#TrumpRally
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4	#FelizSabado	#SLFLManila	#FilmsForButts
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9	#PurposeTourVancouver	#LadyProjectSummit	#FakeCelebrityMiddleNames
10	#MinhaCidadeTem	Charlie Puth	#IWillSmileTodayBecause

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Use of chemical weapons in the Iraqi Civil War
  - The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fire mortars containing an unidentified chemical agent killing one and injuring 600 in Taza Khurmatu, Iraq. (FOX News) (NASDAQ)
Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
- Two Indian Border Security Force soldiers are killed and four injured in a conflict in the state of Chhattisgarh. (PTI via Hindustan Times)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A 10-year-old Palestinian boy and his 6-year-old sister in Gaza are killed by fragments from a missile fired by an Israeli aircraft targeting four Hamas training camps after four missiles landed in open areas in southern Israel late yesterday. (LA Times) (Reuters)
Turkey–PKK conflict (2015–present)
- Turkish Air Force airstrikes reportedly kill at least 67 PKK militants in northern Iraq. (World Bulletin) (VOA News)
Syrian Civil War
- Jaysh al-Nasr rebels say they have shot down a fighter jet over the Hama Governorate in western Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the shoot down, saying a rebel group had brought down the jet by firing two heat-seeking missiles. A pro-government source acknowledged that a MiG-21 warplane went down over Kafr Nabudah, but said it was due to “technical difficulties”, denying it had been shot down. (Reuters via Yahoo! News) (The Guardian)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- Aden unrest
  - Airstrikes on the Al-Qaeda-held Al-Mansoura district in the port city of Aden, kill at least 17 militants and injure 20 civilians, according to local medics and a Yemeni security official. (Reuters)

Business and economics

Reuters reports, on the basis of unnamed sources “familiar with the matter,” that Energy Transfer Equity, a private equity concern, is in talks to sell Sunoco, a deal which would be valued at more than $2 billion. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

An avalanche kills six skiers in the Italian Alps. (Reuters)
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake strikes off Atka Island, southwest Alaska. There are no reports of a tsunami. (BNO News)
A tugboat crash on the Hudson River north of New York City results in one death and two people missing. (AP)

Politics and elections

Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016, Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
- Voters in Guam, Washington, D.C. and Wyoming head to the polls to vote in Republican Party caucuses, while Democratic Party members vote in the Northern Mariana Islands caucus. (CNN)
- Ted Cruz wins the most delegates in Wyoming, while Marco Rubio wins in Washington D.C. (New York Post), (The Guardian)
- Hillary Clinton wins the Northern Mariana Islands caucus. (NBC News, New York Times via Breaking News)
Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
- A protestor attempts to storm the stage as Donald Trump was talking at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, causing Secret Service agents to jump on the stage and form a wall around the presidential candidate amid the chaos. The suspect was identified as Thomas Dimassimo, 32, and was charged with disorderly conduct and inducing panic, according to Chief Mike Etter of the Dayton Police Department. Dimassimo is a Black Lives Matter activist. (NBC News).
Polish Constitutional Court crisis, 2015.
- Thousands of people take to the streets of Warsaw and other cities in Poland in protest against the government after it refused to publish the Constitutional Court’s ruling that the government cannot change how the court works. (BBC)
The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party sets a deadline of 30 days to determine the status of its alliance with Dilma Rousseff’s administration, including the option to leave the coalition. (Bloomberg)

Science and technology

AlphaGo versus Lee Sedol
- Google artificial intelligence company DeepMind‘s AlphaGo program takes an unbeatable three to zero lead in a five-game Go match against grand master Lee Sedol. (Wired)

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March 14, 2016

March 13, 2016

Top News Stories –

Paris St-Germain score 9 as they win French title –
Paris St-Germain were crowned French champions with two months to spare as Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored four in a 9-0 demolition of bottom side Troyes. Edinson Cavani, Javier Pastore and Adrien Rabiot put them 3-0 up inside 19 minutes before Ibrahimovic struck three within 10 minutes in the second half. Matthieu Saunier scored an own goal and Cavani made it 8-0 before Ibrahimovic added his fourth. [BBC]

Paris St-Germain won the league with 62 days and eight games to spare, a record for any of Europe’s ‘big five’ domestic leagues.
In 115 appearances in Ligue 1, Zlatan Ibrahimovic now has 102 goals and 35 assists.
This win was the sixth time this season that PSG have scored four goals or more in a Ligue 1 game.
This title is PSG’s sixth overall and their fourth in a row

Zlatan_Ibrahimovic

Video of the Day –

Jailbreak from HouseSpecial on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

French Ligue 1 title winners

Year	Winner^[2]^[21]^[22]	Runner-up	Third place
2015–16	Paris Saint-Germain
2014–15	Paris Saint-Germain	Lyon	AS Monaco
2013–14	Paris Saint-Germain	AS Monaco	Lille
2012–13	Paris Saint-Germain	Marseille	Lyon
2011–12	Montpellier	Paris Saint-Germain	Lille
2010–11	Lille	Marseille	Lyon
2009–10	Marseille	Lyon	Auxerre
2008–09	Bordeaux	Marseille	Lyon
2007–08	Lyon	Bordeaux	Marseille
2006–07	Lyon	Marseille	Toulouse
2005–06	Lyon	Bordeaux	Lille
2004–05	Lyon	Lille	AS Monaco
2003–04	Lyon	Paris Saint-Germain	AS Monaco
2002–03	Lyon	AS Monaco	Marseille
2001–02	Lyon	Lens	Auxerre
2000–01	Nantes	Lyon	Lille
1999–2000	AS Monaco	Paris Saint-Germain	Lyon
1998–99	Bordeaux	Marseille	Lyon
1997–98	Lens	Metz	AS Monaco
1996–97	AS Monaco	Paris Saint-Germain	Nantes
1995–96	Auxerre	Paris Saint-Germain	AS Monaco
1994–95	Nantes	Lyon	Paris Saint-Germain
1993–94	Paris Saint-Germain	Marseille	Auxerre
1992–93	— ^{[nb 3]}	Paris Saint-Germain	AS Monaco
1991–92	Marseille	AS Monaco	Paris Saint-Germain
1990–91	Marseille	AS Monaco	Auxerre
1989–90	Marseille	Bordeaux	AS Monaco
1988–89	Marseille	Paris Saint-Germain	AS Monaco
1987–88	AS Monaco	Bordeaux	Montpellier
1986–87	Bordeaux	Marseille	Toulouse
1985–86	Paris Saint-Germain	Nantes	Bordeaux
1984–85	Bordeaux	Nantes	AS Monaco
1983–84	Bordeaux	AS Monaco	Auxerre
1982–83	Nantes	Bordeaux	Paris Saint-Germain
1981–82	AS Monaco	Saint-Étienne	Sochaux
1980–81	Saint-Étienne	Nantes	Bordeaux
1979–80	Nantes	Sochaux	Saint-Étienne
1978–79	Strasbourg	Nantes	Saint-Étienne
1977–78	AS Monaco	Nantes	Strasbourg
1976–77	Nantes	Lens	Bastia
1975–76	Saint-Étienne	Nice	Sochaux
1974–75	Saint-Étienne	Marseille	Lyon
1973–74	Saint-Étienne	Nantes	Lyon
1972–73	Nantes	Nice	Marseille
1971–72	Marseille	Nîmes	Sochaux
1970–71	Marseille	Saint-Étienne	Nantes
1969–70	Saint-Étienne	Marseille	Sedan
1968–69	Saint-Étienne	Bordeaux	Metz
1967–68	Saint-Étienne	Nice	Sochaux
1966–67	Saint-Étienne	Nantes	Angers
1965–66	Nantes	Bordeaux	Valenciennes
1964–65	Nantes	Bordeaux	Valenciennes
1963–64	Saint-Étienne	AS Monaco	Lens
1962–63	AS Monaco	Stade Reims	Sedan
1961–62	Stade Reims	RCF Paris	Nîmes
1960–61	AS Monaco	RCF Paris	Stade Reims
1959–60	Stade Reims	Nîmes	RCF Paris
1958–59	Nice	Nîmes	RCF Paris
1957–58	Stade Reims	Nîmes	AS Monaco
1956–57	Saint-Étienne	Lens	Stade Reims
1955–56	Nice	Lens	AS Monaco
1954–55	Stade Reims	Toulouse	Lens
1953–54	Lille	Stade Reims	Bordeaux
1952–53	Stade Reims	Sochaux	Bordeaux
1951–52	Nice	Bordeaux	Lille
1950–51	Nice	Lille	Le Havre
1949–50	Bordeaux	Lille	Stade Reims
1948–49	Stade Reims	Lille	Marseille
1947–48	Marseille	Lille	Stade Reims
1946–47	Roubaix–Tourcoing	Stade Reims	Strasbourg
1945–46	Lille	Saint-Étienne	RC Roubaix
1939–45	Suspended due to World War II
1938–39	Sète	Marseille	RCF Paris
1937–38	Sochaux	Marseille	Sète
1936–37	Marseille	Sochaux	RCF Paris
1935–36	RCF Paris	Lille	Strasbourg
1934–35	Sochaux	Strasbourg	RCF Paris
1933–34	Sète	Fives	Marseille
1932–33	Olympique Lillois	Cannes	—

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3	#GetWeirdTourCardiff	Proud of Obama’s Presidency	#GetWeirdTourCardiff
4	#احب_اشوف_سناب�…	#GetWeirdTourCardiff	#ldconf
5	#VemPraRuaBrasil	#SelectionSunday	#WhyIDidntGetIntoHeaven
6	#나한테_평소에_못��…	Someone Will Die	#ArianaOnSNL
7	#DaylightSavingTime	#GoodSam500	#WWERoadblock
8	#هل_تتزوجين_ولد	#NASPA16	#TheVoiceUK
9	#DomingoDetremuraSdv	#WhyIDidntGetIntoHeaven	#bathhalf
10	#لا_تتزوج_معلمه	#ArianaOnSNL	Lukaku

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

March 2016 Ankara bombing
- An explosion occurs in central Ankara, Turkey, with at least 34 people killed and 125 wounded. (The Independent) (The Telegraph)
Turkey–PKK conflict (2015–present)
- Turkey declares a curfew in the town of Yüksekova on the border with Iran as Turkish forces prepare an offensive against the PKK. (AP)
2016 Grand-Bassam shootings
- Gunmen attack two hotels in the Ivory Coast town of Grand-Bassam. At least 15 people are reportedly killed. Witnesses claim the attackers shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is [the] greatest”) during the gunfire. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claim responsibility for the attack. (CNN) (The Telegraph) (Daily Nation)
Syrian Civil War
- The al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate, assaults the Free Syrian Army’s 13th Division in Maarrat al-Nu’man, killing seven FSA fighters with 40 captured. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Nusra seized anti-tank missiles, armored vehicles, a tank, and other arms from the U.S.-backed division. (AP via ABC News)

Disasters and accidents

Five people are dead after a building collapses in the Indian city of Meerut caused by heavy rain. (India Today)
Heavy rain in Pakistan has led to fifteen deaths in two days including at least eight deaths in a coal mine collapse in the Orakzai Tribal Area. (AP via Fox News)
Six people have been killed in Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma, with two Mississippi fishermen missing, in this week’s flooding in the America’s Deep South. More than 24 inches of rain has fallen in some of the hardest-hit areas with more rain today that is expected to lead to additional flooding later this week. (Fox News) (UPI)
A Pacific Northwest windstorm strikes Western Washington, killing at least one person, leaving 300,000 residents without power, and closing several bridges. (KING-TV)
A six-seat Cessna 206 crashes into a market in the Beni Department of northeastern Bolivia, killing all four aboard the plane and injuring three others. (Another report states seven were killed with 15 injured). The plane was flying from Santa Ana del Yacuma to Trinidad, Bolivia. (AP via ABC News) (Reuters via Hindustan Times)

International relations

Malaysia bans the recruitment of foreign workers after protests over plans to recruit 1.5 million people from Bangladesh. (Economic Times)
China–Pakistan relations
- China‘s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will be deployed in Pakistan to protect the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor that connects the Chinese-operated Gwadar Port in Balochistan, Pakistan to China’sXinjiang region. Neighboring India has voiced concern about the planned move. (NDTV)
United States officials say North Korea has apparently lost contact with one of its submarines. The U.S. was watching the sub off North Korea’s eastern coast when it vanished earlier this week. Officials are unsure whether the missing vessel is adrift or has sunk. (STV) (The Guardian)
Israel–Palestine relations
- The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says Israel prevented Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi from entering the West Bank to meet with Palestinian officials. The Israeli spokesman would not comment. Israel and Indonesia do not have formal diplomatic relations. (AP via The Washington Post) (AFP via Business Standard)

Law and crime

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

- Israeli Defence Forces arrest 15 Palestinian suspects overnight. (Jerusalem Post)
Authorities in Belarus detain prominent businessman Yury Chyzh, once a close adviser to Alexander Lukashenko and included in the EU’s sanctions list, on suspicion of large-scale tax evasion. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Politics and elections

Elections in Germany
- Regional elections take place in the German states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt with the governing Christian Democratic Union performing poorly, the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Germany winning in Rhineland-Palatinate, and the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany performing well in all three states. (BBC), (AP via International Business Times)
Hundreds of thousands in Brazil’s major cities, some estimates say more than 3 million people, protest the weak economy and political corruption, and call for President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment.(Reuters) (Bloomberg) (Bloomberg Business)

Sports

2016 Six Nations Championship
- Scotland’s win over France gives England the title. (The Guardian)
2015–16 Ligue 1
- Paris Saint-Germain win the title with eight games to spare, after a 9–0 win at Troyes. (BBC Sport)
2015–16 NCAA Division I men’s basketball season
- The field of 68 teams for the NCAA Tournament is announced. Kansas is the top overall seed, with North Carolina, Oregon, and Virginia rounding out the #1 seeds. In a minor controversy, the brackets for the South and West regions are leaked several minutes before being officially announced. (ESPN, overall field) (ESPN, bracket leak)

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April 14, 2016

Top News Stories –

US basketball star Kobe Bryant shines in final game –
One of basketball’s biggest stars, Kobe Bryant, has retired from the sport after a career spanning two decades with a stunning final performance. He scored 60 points to help the LA Lakers make a dramatic comeback against the Utah Jazz in Los Angeles. Bryant, 37, spent his entire career with the Lakers, winning five NBA titles and recording the third highest total number of points in the sport. Tickets for his final match changed hands for up to $27,500 (£19,315). Bryant scored 23 points in the fourth quarter to help his team overcome a 15-point deficit to win the game. [BBC]
Kobe Bryant

Video of the Day –

French Horn Rebellion – Foolin’ Around (Official Video) from Ariel Fisher on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide	USA
#QuintaComOClubeSDV	#DemocraticWhores
#والله_اني_مال�…	#LetMeCheerYouUpBy
#وش_كانوا_اهلك_…	#MilwaukeeDay
#LetMeCheerYouUpBy	Ghost in the Shell
#مش_مرتبط_ليه	#FightFor15
#DemocraticWhores	#NFLScheduleRelease
#三大欲はこんなもん	#1YearOfHandwritten
#1YearOfHandwritten	#demdebate
#خرافات_مشت_عليك	#DPLAfest
#اوصف_نفسك_بتو�…	#IvyPark

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- Taliban militants kill eight people, including a police commander, in an ambush in northern Afghanistan. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A Palestinian wielding an ax attacks an Israeli soldier near Hebron and is shot dead while two 12-year-old Palestinians in Jerusalem are arrested by Israeli Police with three knives concealed in their coats on suspicion of planning to carry out a stabbing attack. (The Times of Israel)

Arts and culture

Authorities in Ukraine recover four Dutch Golden Age paintings stolen from a museum in the Netherlands a decade ago. (AP via Seattle Times)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Kumamoto earthquake
- A magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes near Kumamoto, Japan, collapsing several buildings killing at least four people and injuring 400. However, no tsunami warning was issued and local nuclear power plants reported no problems. (Reuters), (CNN), (Japan Today)
At least 18 people are killed after a 80-tonne crane collapses on a temporary structure during a thunderstorm in the city of Dongguan, China. (The Times of India)

International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- North Korea deploys one or two intermediate-range ballistic missiles on its east coast, possibly preparing for launch on or around Friday, the anniversary of the birth of the country’s founder Kim Il-sung, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. (Euronews via Reuters)

Law and crime

The People’s Republic of China announces that it will prosecute 357 people for the illegal sale of vaccines. (BBC)
The U.S. company Microsoft has sued the United States, alleging that it has been prevented from disclosing warrants to the company’s customers in violation of the company’s constitutional rights. (NYT)

Politics and elections

The Verkhovna Rada appoints Volodmyr Groysman as the Prime Minister of Ukraine, replacing Arseny Yatseniuk. (Reuters)
Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir impose a curfew around the capital of Srinagar, Handwara, and neighbouring villages as protests turn violent. People began to protest last Tuesday when allegations were circulated by residents in Handwara that an Indian Army soldier tried to sexually assault a teenage schoolgirl. (Al Jazeera)
Hong Kong’s June 4th Museum, the first museum dedicated to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, is to close down. Organizers say they believe they are being targeted for political reasons. It comes at a time when concerns are growing in Hong Kong that Beijing is tightening its grip on the city. (The Guardian)
Thousands of opposition supporters rally in Harare, Zimbabwe, against President Robert Mugabe and the deteriorating economy. The rally was banned by the police, however, it went ahead after a ruling by the High Court sanctioned the protest. (BBC)

Sports

In basketball, the WNBA draft is held in Uncasville, Connecticut. The top pick is Connecticut’s Breanna Stewart, followed by her college teammates Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck. This marks the first time in any major North American sports draft that a single school produced the top three selections. (ESPN)

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April 27, 2016

Top News Stories –

Facebook profits up almost 200% to $1.51 billion –
Facebook has revealed stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter, helped by a growing number of users and higher advertising revenue. The social network reported earnings of $1.51 billion, or 52 cents per share, up from $512 million, or 18 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier, and over 1.65 billion users now use the social network, with the average users visiting for 15 minutes a day. The results are in stark contrast to Apple and Twitter, who posted poor results yesterday, with Apple shares falling 7% today. Separately, Facebook also announced that it will create a new class of non-voting stock, known as ‘Class C capital stock,’ designated to let CEO Mark Zuckerberg keep tight reins on the company even as it issues more shares to compensate employees and investors. [Daily Mail]
Mark Zuckerberg

Video of the Day –

Reebok 25,915 Days

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide	USA
#ProjectHomeLouisDay	#ProjectHomeLouisDay
#QuartaDetremuraSdv	#WednesdayWisdom
#727WorldTour	#1linewed
#WednesdayWisdom	#YoFirmoYoRevoco
#昭和生まれっぽい�…	#asklauren
#FelizMiercoles	#womancard
#あなたのツイッタ�…	#727WorldTour
#السكن_ليس_حق_ل…	#DenimDay
#BringBackTheGloryAteneo	Cod 4
#YoFirmoYoRevoco	#RoadToRio

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Moro conflict
- Philippine president Benigno Aquino III says that the Abu Sayyaf militants plan to kidnap his sister actress Kris Aquino and boxer Manny Pacquiao. (CBS)
2016 Bursa bombing
- A suicide bomber blows herself up in the Turkish city of Bursa, injuring at least seven people. (AP via The Washington Post)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli forces kill two Palestinian assailants at a checkpoint in the West Bank. (Reuters)
2016 Cape Verde army mutiny
- Cape Verdean police capture a suspect in the murder of 11 soldiers. (AFP)
2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes
- According to officials from the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, one of their soldiers was killed overnight by Azerbaijani troops. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
War in Donbass
- Representatives of the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic in Eastern Ukraine say at least five civilians are killed by artillery fire at a checkpoint in the town of Olenivka, with another 10 injured.Kiev denies the accusation. A local border-guard spokesman says there was an explosion at the checkpoint but he saw no artillery fired from either side, suggesting the blast could have been a bomb.(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
War in Afghanistan
- The U.S. military warns that the Kabul Attack Network, comprised of fighters from various jihadist groups such as the Taliban and Haqqani networks, is planning attacks on people in the Parwan, Khost,Kabul, and Logar Provinces, Afghanistan, and asks for information from the Afghan public. (The Long War Journal)

Arts and culture

Archaeologists in Taiwan discover 48 sets of remains unearthed in graves in Taichung. The most striking discovery among them is the 4,800-year-old skeleton of a mother looking down at a child cradled in her arms. (The Guardian)
The German cities of Augsburg and Cologne are testing a scheme of traffic lights embedded in the ground to reduce cell phone-texting pedestrian accidents with vehicles that happen when so-called “smombies” step out into the street against the signal. (The Christian Science Monitor) (Autoblog)

Business and economy

Philippine presidential election, 2016
- The Philippine peso sinks to become the “worst performing currency in Asia” as a result of a volatile and unpredictable presidential election. (Bloomberg)

Disasters and accidents

Heavy rain pelts earthquake-hit Ecuador causing floods, mostly in the town of Alluriquin in the Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas Province, killing at least four people and injuring several more. About 300 people have been affected by the floods after a local river burst its banks, engulfing the town with water. (Al Jazeera)

Health and medicine

In the United Kingdom, the Royal College of Physicians reports e-cigarettes are “much safer” than tobacco smoking, and should be widely promoted as an option for smoking cessation. (BBC) (Daily Mail)

International relations

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O’Neill states that the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre will be closed following the ruling of the Supreme Court and that he will ask the Australian Government to make alternative arrangements for the asylum seekers detained there. (ABC News)
Libyan Civil War
- The unrecognized House of Representatives, one of the rival governments based in eastern Libya, ships its first cargo of crude oil in defiance of the U.N.-backed authorities in the capital Tripoli in a move that could deepen divisions within the country. The Tripoli-based government asked the United Nations Security Council yesterday to blacklist the tanker. (The Guardian)
European migrant crisis
- The government of Austria passes a new law that restricts the right of asylum in the country and allows claimants to be rejected directly at the border, a move criticized by rights groups. Officials say they are also considering building a fence at the main border crossing with Italy at the Brenner Pass. (BBC)
Taliban insurgency
- The Taliban’s Qatar office confirms its leaders are in Pakistan to talk about Afghan refugees and the release of prisoners. The representative did not say if the delegation will discuss the peace process.(The Nation PK) (Pakistan Today)
United Nations Security Council members are considering a draft resolution that would restore the UN mission in Western Sahara to full functionality. Last month, Morocco expelled 75 UN staffers. (AFP via GlobalPost)
Iraqi Civil War
- Senior Kurdish and Shi’ite Muslim leaders agree to withdraw from Tuz Khurmato, Iraq, where recent violence has killed more than 10 people. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Two days before the one-year anniversary of the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the ringleaders of the Bali Nine, member Michael Czugaj is discovered to be in possession of drugs in prison. (SBS)
November 2015 Paris attacks
- Belgian prosecutors hand over Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the November 2015 Paris attacks, to French authorities. (Washington Post)
Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Dennis Hastert is sentenced to 15 months in prison for breaking banking laws in order to make payments to cover sexual misconduct from past decades. (Wall Street Journal)
Iraqi authorities ban Qatar-based satellite television network Al Jazeera from broadcasting in the country and closes its offices in Baghdad, accusing it of violating government guidelines issued in 2014 to regulate media “during the war on terror”. (Reuters)
Censorship in Iran
- Iran sentences four reformist newspaper journalists to long prison terms for so-called national security crimes. Analysts say this case indicates that President Hassan Rouhani’s calls for press freedoms will likey face an unsympathetic hearing from Iran’s conservative judiciary. (UPI)

Politics and elections

An Iranian asylum seeker self-immolates himself in Nauru to protest Australia’s treatment of refugees. The protest coincides with a visit by representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to the island. Instead of admitting refugees into the country, Australia has been sending them to Nauru or Papua New Guinea. (Radio New Zealand)
The government of North Korea announces its ruling Workers’ Party of Korea will hold a party congress on May 6, the first in nearly 40 years. (BBC)
United States presidential election, 2016, Ted Cruz presidential campaign, 2016
- Texas Senator Ted Cruz names former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina as his vice-presidential running mate. (CNN)
Bradford West MP Naz Shah is suspended from the opposition Labour Party over comments she made on Facebook about Israel. (BBC)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office confirms German Federal Intelligence Service President Gerhard Schindler will be replaced by Bruno Kahl. Schindler has been widely criticized following the disclosure his agency spied for the U.S. National Security Agency. (BBC)

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May 11, 2016

Top News Stories –

Queen filmed calling Chinese officials ‘very rude’ –
The Queen has been filmed saying Chinese officials were “very rude” during last year’s state visit by President Xi Jinping. She was discussing their treatment of Britain’s ambassador to China with a senior police officer at a Buckingham Palace garden party on Tuesday. It came after David Cameron was overheard saying Afghanistan and Nigeria were “fantastically corrupt“. The Queen’s remarks were filmed as she was introduced to Metropolitan Police Commander Lucy D’Orsi, who the monarch is told had overseen security during President Xi’s visit to the UK in October. [BBC]
The Queen

Video of the Day –

Nightlife from Wriggles & Robins on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- 11 May 2016 Baghdad bombings
  - At least 64 people are killed and 87 injured in a bomb attack on a market in Sadr City, Baghdad. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) claims responsibility. (CNN) (NY Times)
- ISIS bury alive 45 of their own fighters in Qayyarah for fleeing a battle. (Mirror) (Armen Press)
Dissident Irish Republican campaign
- MI5 raises the threat level for dissident Northern Ireland militants from “moderate” to “substantial”, meaning there is a strong possibility of an attack on the British mainland. (NY Times) (Reuters) (BBC)

Arts and culture

A fragment of the world’s oldest ground-edge axe dated at between 45,000 and 49,000 years old is found in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. (ABC News Australia)

International relations

Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
- Israel seals off the West Bank and Gaza Strip for two days while Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s remembrance day and independence day) is celebrated. (Haaretz)

Law and crime

The head of Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Motiur Rahman Nizami, is executed for his alleged role in acts of genocide and war crimes 45 years ago during the independence war against Pakistan in 1971. Nizami is the fifth senior opposition leader to be executed in connection with the war; a total of 17 people have received the death penalty. Authorities prepare for possibly violent protests. (AP via The Washington Post) (Vice News) (The New York Times)
Amnesty International reports that this year at least 149 have died, including children, in a military detention center, Giwa barracks, in Maiduguri, Nigeria. (VOA News) (Amnesty)
West Fertilizer Company explosion
- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives finds that a 2013 fire at a fertilizer plant in the American town of West, Texas, that killed 15 people was arson and begins the search for suspects.(Fox News)
German Justice Minister Heiko Maas says he will propose legislation to annul homosexuality convictions, and create a “right to compensation.” A 19th-century law outlawed sexual relations between men. Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1969, but the law itself was not rescinded until 1994. (AP via The Washington Post) (Deutsche Welle)

Politics and elections

Impeachment process against Dilma Rousseff
- The Federal Senate of Brazil debates whether to suspend and impeach President Dilma Rousseff for allegedly breaching budget rules. The President’s allies are not optimistic about the Senate vote. (New York Times) (India.Com)
Recognition of same-sex unions in Italy
- The Italian Parliament gives final approval to legislation recognizing civil unions of same-sex couples. (The New York Times)
Ugandan general election, 2016
- Uganda arrests opposition leader Kizza Besigye as he addressed a crowd of supporters in the capital Kampala, and shuts down access to social media within the country prior to President Yoweri Museveni’s inauguration tomorrow. (The New York Times) (Global Voices)

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June 9, 2016

Top News Stories –

Experiment ‘turns waste CO2 to stone’ –
Scientists think they have found a smart way to constrain carbon dioxide emissions – just turn them to stone. The researchers report an experiment in Iceland where they have pumped CO2 and water underground into volcanic rock. Reactions with the minerals in the deep basalts convert the carbon dioxide to a stable, immobile chalky solid. Even more encouraging, the team writes in Science magazine, is the speed at which this process occurs: on the order of months. “Of our 220 tonnes of injected CO2, 95% was converted to limestone in less than two years,” said lead author Juerg Matter from Southampton University, UK. “It was a huge surprise to all the scientists involved in the project, and we thought, ‘Wow! This is really fast’.” [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Office Pet | The Dude Perfect Show

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Somalia (2009–present)
- Al-Shabaab says it has killed at least 60 Ethiopian soldiers in an attack on a AMISOM base in central Somalia. (BBC)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Two separate car bombs explode in Baghdad, killing at least 20 people. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Arts and culture

Thailand celebrates the 70th anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s accession to the Thai throne. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

A bus plunges over a ravine in Brazil‘s São Paulo state, resulting in at least 18 people killed and 28 injured. (Globo.com)
A Northrop F-5 of the Swiss Air Force crashes during an air show at the Leeuwarden Air Base in the Netherlands. (RTL Nieuws)
Three people aboard a small plane are killed when the aircraft crashes into a parked car near the Houston, Texas, Hobby Airport. (AP)
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake hits the northwestern coast of Nicaragua not far from the Honduran border. La Prensa reports the walls of a church collapsed in the city of Chinandega. There are no immediate reports of casualties. (AP)

Health

2015–16 Zika virus epidemic
- The World Health Organization advises women in areas where the Zika virus is prevalent to delay pregnancies. (New York Times)

International relations

Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
- Israel suspends 83,000 entry permits for Palestinians for Ramadan following a mass shooting in downtown Tel Aviv that killed four and injured 17 people. (AFP via Naharnet)
China–Japan relations, Senkaku Islands dispute
- Japan summons China‘s ambassador, Cheng Yonghua, to Tokyo after a People’s Liberation Army Navy warship sailed close to its territorial waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Seafor the first time. (Reuters)
2016 Bilderberg Conference
- The 64th annual conference of the secretive Bilderberg Group takes place at the Taschenbergpalais hotel in Dresden, Germany. (The Independent)
Yemeni civil war
- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon temporarily removes the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen from a U.N. blacklist for violating children’s rights because its supporters threatened to stop funding many U.N. programs. (AP)
Fiji–New Zealand relations
- New Zealand Prime Minister John Key visits Fiji, the first time a Kiwi leader has done so since the 2006 coup d’état. Key is hoping to improve relations between the two countries though it’s clear their political tensions don’t have easy solutions. (AP)

Law and crime

Papua New Guinea student protests
- Papua New Guinea student protest leader Noel Anjo says demonstrations will continue despite the court order barring protests. “The students are not going to give up until and unless the prime ministerresigns or surrenders himself to police and is arrested and charged,” Anjo said. (BBC) (Reuters)
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules there is no Second Amendment protection for concealed weapons, upholding a California law that does not consider “general self-defense” sufficient for a license.(CNN)
Venezuelan opposition lawmaker, Julio Borges, is left bloodied after being hit in the face with a pipe in downtown Caracas. He spoke at a press conference after the attack with blood streaming down from his nose and mouth, and bloody stains on his button-down shirt, accusing the attackers of being supporters of President Nicolás Maduro. (AP via ABC News)
California’s right to die law, that allows physicians to prescribe medicines to terminally ill patients to hasten their deaths, goes into effect. California is the fifth state in America where this practice is legal. Opponents sue to overturn the law as unconstitutional because it denies terminally ill patients protections afforded other citizens. (Los Angeles Times)

Politics and elections

2016 United States presidential election
- U.S. President Barack Obama endorses Hillary Clinton for President of the United States. (The Hill)
Peruvian general election, 2016
- Election officials announce all ballots have been processed and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski wins the closest presidential contest in five decades with 50.1 percent of the votes versus 49.9% for Keiko Fujimori. Fujimori has yet to concede defeat. As many as 50,000 ballots still need to be reviewed, but experts say Fujimori can not make up the difference of roughly 40,000 votes separating her from Kuczynski.(BBC News) (ABC News) (AP)

Science and technology

Researchers in Iceland report, in the journal Science, that carbon dioxide emissions can be pumped into the earth and changed chemically to stone — significantly faster than expected. (Phys.org) (Science)

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July 1, 2016

Top News Stories –

Lindsay Lohan set to turn on Christmas Lights in Kettering… after her furious tweet about Northamptonshire town went viral during EU referendum vote –
She took the internet by storm when her impassioned tweets about the EU referendum went viral. And Lindsay Lohan – who was staunchly in the Remain camp – appears to have made amends with the people of Kettering after angering MP Philip Hollobone with her comments during the results night when the town voted Leave by a margin of 61 to 39 per cent. But despite disagreeing with the Brexit result, the 29-year-old actress has now pledged her support to the Northamptonshire town by accepting to turning on their Christmas lights. A furious backbench Tory slammed the US star for criticising his home town of Kettering in a series of tweets Miss Lohan sent on the night of the referendum. Philip Hollobone demanded that the actress should visit the Midlands town – while a Cabinet Minister suggested that a trip to Kettering could boost the career of the troubled A-lister. [Daily Mail]
Lindsay Lohan

Battle of the Somme: Royals at Somme centenary commemoration –
Thousands of people, including members of the Royal Family, have attended a ceremony in France to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were at the Thiepval Memorial for the event. Earlier, a UK-wide two-minute silence at 07:28 BST marked the start of the World War One battle on 1 July 1916.
More than a million men were killed or wounded on all sides at the Somme. The Battle of the Somme, one of WW1’s bloodiest, was fought in northern France and lasted five months, with the British suffering almost 60,000 casualties on the first day alone. The British and French armies fought the Germans in a brutal battle of attrition on a 15-mile front. [BBC]

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Gulshan attack
- Gunmen storm a restaurant, exchange fire with security, and take at least twenty hostages in the Gulshan neighborhood of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Two policemen are killed. The Islamic State claims responsibility. (ABC News) (CNN) (USA Today)
War in Somalia
- At least six people are shot and killed and several people wounded by suspected Al-Shabaab militants who ambushed two buses in Mandera, Kenya, near the Somalian border. (Al Jazeera) (AP)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A Palestinian woman, in what was construed to be an attempt to stab Israeli Border Police officers at the entrance to the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, is shot and later dies. (PNN)(The Times of Israel)
- In response to violence in the Hebron area, including the killing yesterday of a 13-year-old Jewish girl asleep in her home in the Kiryat Arba settlement by a Palestinian assailant, the Israel Defense Forcesplaces a closure on Hebron, brings additional troops to the area and announces a cut to tax funds it collects for the Palestinian Authority, saying it would deduct the amount the Palestinian leadership pays to the families of militants. (Al Jazeera) (The Times of Israel)
- A 63 year old Palestinian man dies during a clash at the Qalandiya checkpoint; Palestinian sources claim his death was due to tear gas inhalation while Israeli sources say the man suffered a fatal heart attack. (Ma’an) (The Times of Israel)
- Rabbi Michael Mark is murdered and his two children badly injured when terrorists shoot at his car on the highway south of Hebron.(The Jerusalem Post) (The Times of Israel)
- Palestinian militants fire two rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip; one explodes outside a preschool in the town of Sderot, causing damage to property but no injuries, and the second rocket exploded in an open area in the Sha’ar Hanegev region. (The Times of Israel)

Arts and culture

British–American Academy Award–winning film actress Olivia de Havilland, one of the last leading movie stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, celebrates her 100th birthday. (CNN)
Thousands of people attend a ceremony at the Thiepval Memorial in Picardy, France, to mark the centenary of the start of the Battle of the Somme. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

Four Hungarian Defence Force soldiers are killed and one is injured following an explosion at a military firing range in eastern Hungary. (Reuters)

International relations

Taiwan‘s navy mistakenly launches a supersonic Hsiung Feng III missile towards China, killing one person and injuring three in a Taiwanese fishing boat. (BBC) (The Guardian)
Russia–European Union relations, Ukrainian crisis
- The European Union extends economic sanctions on Russia until 31 January 2017 over Moscow’s continued support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. (Reuters)
Canada announces that it will deploy 1,000 soldiers of the Canadian Armed Forces to Latvia to bolster one of the four NATO battalions stationed there. (The Guardian)
Israel-Palestine relations
- The report of the diplomatic Quartet to the Security Council — the United Nations, Russia, the United States, and the European Union — calls on Israel to end settlement construction and expansion policy, and calls on Palestinians to act decisively to stop incitement to violence and to clearly condemn terrorist acts. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov tells the UNSC, “The main objective of this report is not about assigning blame … (rather) it focuses on the major threats to achieving a negotiated peace.” (AP) (UN News Centre) (The Times of Israel)
Yanghee Lee, the United Nations special human rights envoy to overwhelmingly Buddhist Myanmar, says more than 100,000 of the Muslim Rohingya minority remain in squalid camps they were forced to four years ago by violence. The government does not recognize most of these people as citizens, and has treated even long-term residents as illegal immigrants. Lee is encouraged by last March’s peaceful transition to a democratically elected and civilian-led government. (AP)
Finland–Russia relations
- Following his meeting at Finnish President Sauli Niinistö’s residence, Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Russia would respect Finland’s choice whether to join NATO, though as part of NATO’s military infrastructure, Finnish Defence Forces would overnight be at the borders of the Russian Federation. Putin and Niinistö call for improved security in Baltic airspace where Russian and Westernaircraft have had close encounters in recent months. (Oneindia) (Reuters)

Law and crime

Crime in the Philippines; Philippine Drug War
- Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte urges Filipino citizens to murder people suspected of using illegal drugs. (The Guardian)
U Gambira, a former Burmese monk and one of the most visible leaders during Myanmar’s 2007 Saffron Revolution, is released from prison after having the charges against him dropped. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Austrian presidential election, 2016
- Austria’s highest court orders a repeat of the presidential elections narrowly lost in May by right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria candidate Norbert Hofer. The margin of votes was less than 1%.(The Telegraph)
Causeway Bay Books disappearances
- Thousands of people take to the streets of Hong Kong, demanding answers over China’s alleged abduction of five booksellers in late 2015 and that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying resign from office.(The Guardian)
The new Belarusian ruble replaces the old Belarusian ruble during redenomination. (Belarus segodnya) (in Russian) (Construction.RU)
Paris, France, implements a pollution-reduction program that bans residents from driving cars built before 1997, and motorcycles built before 2000, on weekdays inside the city limits between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.(NPR)

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December 18, 2016

Top News Stories –

Zsa Zsa Gabor: Hollywood legend dies at 99 –
Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor has died at he age of 99 after suffering a heart attack, her husband has confirmed. On the point of tears, Frederic von Anhalt told the AFP news agency his wife had passed away at home, surrounded by her friends and family. “Everybody was there. She didn’t die alone,” he said. Born in Hungary, she emigrated to the United States during World War Two and made her Hollywood debut in 1952. She was married nine times. She appeared in more than 70 films, but was more famous for her celebrity lifestyle. She first married at the age of 20 and for the last (and longest) time when she was nearly 70 to the man who outlived her. By her own reckoning she was only married eight-and-a-half times – she said she didn’t really count a Spanish duke in 1982. [BBC]
Zsa Zsa Gabor in 1959

Video of the Day –

INDIAN PACIFIC FIFTEEN from Tom Jennings on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Zsa Zsa Gabor Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Director	Note
1952	Lovely to Look At^[68]	LeRoy
	We’re Not Married!^[69]	Goulding
	Moulin Rouge^[69]	Huston
1953	The Story of Three Loves^[70]	Minelli
	Lili^[69]	Walters
	L’ennemi public no. 1 (The Most Wanted Man)	Verneuil
1954	Sangre y luces (Love in a Hot Climate)^[71]	Rouquier/Suey
1954	3 Ring Circus^[69]	Pevney
1956	Death of a Scoundrel^[69]	Martin
1957	The Girl in the Kremlin^[72]	Birdwell
1958	The Man Who Wouldn’t Talk	Wilconx
	Country Music Holiday^[72]	Ganzer
	Touch of Evil^[69]	Welles
	Queen of Outer Space^[69]	Bernds
1959	For the First Time	Mate
1960	Pepe^[1]	Sidney
1962	The Road to Hong Kong^[73]	Panama	Cameo
1962	Boys’ Night Out^[69]	Gordon
1966	Picture Mommy Dead^[69]	Gordon
1966	Drop Dead Darling^[74]	Hughes
1967	Jack of Diamonds^[75]	Taylor
1972	Up the Front	Kiliett
1976	Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood^[76]	Winner
1978	Every Girl Should Have One	Hyatt
1984	Frankenstein’s Great Aunt Tillie^[77]	Gold
1987	A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors^[78]	Russell	Cameo
1992	The Naked Truth^[72]	Mastorakis
1993	Happily Ever After^[79]	Blossom	Voice only
1993	The Beverly Hillbillies^[80]	Spheeris	Cameo

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War, Aleppo offensive (November–December 2016)
- Rebels attack and burn several buses en route to evacuate ill and injured people from the besieged Syrian villages of Al-Fu’ah and Kafriya. (The Guardian)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- December 2016 Aden suicide bombings
  - An explosion outside a military camp in southern Yemen kills at least 49 people and injures many more. The explosion is believed to have been caused by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest. (AP) (BBC)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A rock throwing 19-year old Palestinian is killed by IDF troops amid clashes in the West Bank village of Beit Rima. (Daily Sabah) (Haaretz)
2016 Al-Karak attack
- Unknown militants stage a number of attacks across the city of Al-Karak in Jordan, killing five people and injuring at least 10 others. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Stephanie Del Valle of Puerto Rico is named as Miss World 2016. (The Telegraph)

Disasters and accidents

At least 49 people die in Irkutsk, Russia after consuming hawthorn-scented bath essence as if it were alcohol. The product has been found to contain methanol. (The New York Times) (BBC News)
2016 Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crash
- An Indonesian military Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane crashes in Papua province killing all 13 people on board. (AP via Star Tribune)

International relations

Gambian presidential election, 2016
- Leaders from the West African bloc ECOWAS and from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation plead with Gambian long-time President Yahya Jammeh who lost in the recently held elections to step aside or face consequences. (Al-Jazeera) (Quartz)

Politics and elections

Ivorian parliamentary election, 2016
- Côte d’Ivoire votes. (The Voice of America)

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The 2010s

The story of a decade

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