Top News Stories –

Jeremy Clarkson apologises to Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon –
Jeremy Clarkson has apologised to the Top Gear producer he punched after settling a £100,000 racial discrimination and injury claim. Oisin Tymon launched the action against the presenter and the BBC after a “fracas” last March that left Mr Tymon with a bloody lip. “I would like to say sorry, once again, to Oisin Tymon for the incident and its regrettable aftermath,” Clarkson said. The presenter was dropped by the BBC following the assault. Clarkson, 55, added: “I want to reiterate that none of this was in any way his fault. Mr Tymon’s lawyers said the case had been settled but did not give details of the settlement. It is understood to be in excess of £100,000 ($140,000), an amount to which both Clarkson and the BBC contributed. [BBC]
In October 2015 Clarkson was threatened with three years in jail as Argentina reopened Falklands row probe.
Jeremy Clarkson

Brit Awards 2016: Adele dominates with four awards –
Adele has been crowned Queen of the Brits, winning four prizes including best British female and best album. “To come back after so long away and be so warmly received means so much,” she said. One Direction’s victory in the fan-voted best video category robbed Adele of the opportunity to become the most-garlanded artist in a single Brits ceremony. As it stands, her total of four awards is equalled only by Blur, who won the same number in 1995 for their album Parklife. Adele became more emotional as the ceremony continued, bursting into tears after accepting the global success prize – which recognises success overseas. “I got really lost for a while and I didn’t know if I’d ever come back,” she said, referencing the writer’s block that delayed her much-anticipated third album. [BBC] See List of the Day

Sepp Blatter & Michel Platini lose Fifa appeals but bans reduced –
Outgoing Fifa president Sepp Blatter and suspended Uefa boss Michel Platini have had bans from all football-related activities upheld. But the suspensions have been reduced from eight to six years by Fifa’s appeals committee. Both were found guilty of breaches surrounding a £1.3m ($2m) “disloyal payment” to Platini. They both deny any wrongdoing and have said they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Blatter and Platini said the payment honoured a verbal or gentleman’s agreement made in 1998 for work carried out by the Frenchman when he was a technical advisor for Blatter. Blatter, 79, added in a statement that he was “very disappointed by the appeal committee of Fifa”. Platini, 60, said it was “insulting and shameful” and a “political decision”. The committee said “activities and services rendered to Fifa, Uefa and football” was a mitigating factor. [BBC]
In September 2015, the Swiss Police launched an investigation into Blatter over criminal mismanagement or misappropriation over a TV rights deal.
Michel Platini

Video of the Day –

70MM of Hateful from Andrew Walker on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

The Brits Awards Winners

British male solo artist
James Bay
Aphex Twin
Calvin Harris
Jamie xx
Mark Ronson

British female solo artist
Adele
Amy Winehouse
Florence + the Machine
Jess Glynne
Laura Marling

British group
Coldplay
Blur
Foals
One Direction
Years & Years

British breakthrough act
Catfish and the Bottlemen
James Bay
Jess Glynne
Wolf Alice
Years & Years
Critics’ choice
Jack Garratt
Izzy Bizu
Frances

Brits global success award
Adele

British single
Adele – Hello
Calvin Harris & Disciples – How Deep Is Your Love
Ed Sheeran & Rudimental- Bloodstream
Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do
James Bay – Hold Back The River
Jess Glynne – Hold My Hand
Little Mix – Black Magic
Olly Murs ft Demi Lovato – Up
Philip George – Wish You Were Mine
Years & Years – King

British album of the year
Adele – 25
Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams
Florence + the Machine – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
James Bay – Chaos and the Calm
Jamie xx – In Colour
British producer of the year
Charlie Andrew – winner
Mark Ronson
Mike Crossey
Tom Dalgety

British artist video of the year
One Direction – Drag Me Down
Calvin Harris & Disciples – How Deep Is Your Love
Ed Sheeran – Photograph
Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do
Jessie J – Flashlight
Little Mix – Black Magic
Naughty Boy ft Beyonce & Arrow Benjamin – Runnin’ (Lose It All)
Adele – Hello
Sam Smith – Writing’s On The Wall
Years & Years – King

International male solo artist
Justin Bieber
Father John Misty
Drake
Kendrick Lamar
The Weeknd

International female solo artist
Bjork
Ariana Grande
Courtney Barnett
Lana Del Rey
Meghan Trainor

International group
Tame Impala
Eagles of Death Metal
Major Lazer
Alabama Shakes
U2

Top Twitter Trends –

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Kurdish–Turkish conflict
  • Turkish Air Force helicopters struck a group of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters in southeast Turkey, killing nine militants, according to security sources. (Yahoo! News)
• Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
  • Senior Libyan military officials say French special forces are on the ground in Benghazi helping Libyan National Army troops fight ISIL militants. They said that the French forces, along with American andBritish teams, are setting up an operations room inside Benina International Airport in Benina. The French defense ministry declined to comment, citing a policy not to comment on special forces’ activities.(The New York Times)
• Gunmen attack a Malian military checkpoint in the town of Léré, near the Mauritanian border with Mali, killing at least three soldiers and wounding two others. (Reuters)
• Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
  • Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
    • The United Arab Emirates pulls its troops out of Yemen amid mounting casualties among its forces battling Shia Houthi militants and rising tensions with local fighters in Aden, southern Yemen, which escalated yesterday when Aden International Airport was stormed by local pro-government gunmen. The airport has now been closed. (Fox News) (Middle East Eye)
• Metrojet Flight 9268
  • Two months after Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry ruled out terrorism in Flight 9268‘s crash, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi admits an ISIS bomb downed the Russian passenger jet. The terrorist group’s Sinai Peninsula Branch claimed responsibility shortly after the incident. (Forbes)

Arts and culture

• 2016 Brit Awards
  • The 2016 Brit Awards are held at The O2 in London with James Bay, Adele, Tame Impala, Justin Bieber, Bjork, and Coldplay all winning their respective categories. Adele won four awards in total. (The Guardian), (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

• 2015–16 South Pacific cyclone season
  • Cyclone Winston
    • The death toll in Fiji rises to 42 and is expected to rise further as relief teams reach remote islands. (ABC Australia)
• Tara Air Flight 193 crashes in western Nepal, killing all 23 people on board. (BBC) (AP via Yahoo! News)
• The Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service state that the three people missing since a decommissioned turbine hall partially collapsed at Didcot A power station in Oxfordshire, England, yesterday are unlikely to still be alive. If confirmed, this would raise the death toll to four. (BBC News)
• Tornadoes of 2016
  • Three people die after a tornado hits the town of Waverly, Virginia. (NBC 12)
• Australian icebreaker, Aurora Australis, runs aground in Antarctica with 68 people on board. There are no reports of injuries. The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) said blizzard conditions are hampering attempts to assess damage. (BBC)

International relations

• Foreign relations of Lebanon
  • Qatar and Kuwait join Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in asking its citizens to leave or avoid travel to Lebanon. (Al Arabiya)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • A report by two Israeli human rights groups, B’Tselem and HaMoked, states dozens of Palestinian detainees at the Shin Bet’s Shikma interrogation facility in Ashkelon have been subjected to mistreatment, and in some cases torture. The report examined affidavits and personal accounts from 116 Palestinians held for security reasons at the facility between August 2013 and March 2014. (AP via San Francisco Chronicle) (Jurist)
• 2016 North Korean nuclear test
  • United States National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agree on a draft resolution that would expand United Nations Security Council sanctions following North Korea’slatest nuclear test. U.S. President Barack Obama participated in the meeting. The draft is now headed to the full 15-member council. (Reuters) (AFP via Bangkok Post)

Law and crime

• 2016 Phoenix murders
  • A family of five falls victim to a murder-suicide in Phoenix, Arizona. 26-year-old Alex Buckner is identified by Phoenix police as the shooter, who was killed in a gunfight with police. (AZCentral)
• Former California state senator Leland Yee is sentenced to five years imprisonment in a U.S. Federal prison after being convicted of corruption. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Politics and elections

• European migrant crisis
  • Hungary is to hold a referendum on whether to accept mandatory EU quotas for relocating migrants. (BBC)
• South Korea’s opposition holds a parliamentary filibuster, the first in the National Assembly since 1969, to block the current anti-terrorism bill that would expand National Intelligence Service powers. The opposition plans to continue until March 11, when the session is scheduled to end. (Los Angeles Times) {Daily Mail)

Sport

• 2015 FIFA corruption case
  • Former President of FIFA Sepp Blatter and suspended President of UEFA boss Michel Platini lose their appeals against being banned from all football related activities but the period of the ban is reduced from eight to six years. (BBC)
  • FIFA’s Court of Arbitration for Sport denies presidential candidate Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan’s request to postpone Friday’s presidential election. Ali’s request for transparent booths was rejected last week. (Reuters)

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