Top News Stories –

Fifa officials corrupted football – US prosecutors –
US prosecutors have accused several officials from football’s governing body Fifa of racketeering, fraud and money laundering involving tens of millions of dollars over 24 years. Prosecutors said they had discovered a dozen schemes, including one awarding the 2010 World Cup to South Africa.
Fourteen people have been indicted, with seven held in Zurich on Wednesday. Those indicted in the US case are accused of accepting bribes and kickbacks estimated at more than $150m (£97m) over a 24-year period beginning in 1991. [BBC] President Sepp Blatter has not been implicated by the US Presecutors. In December 2014 a complaint by US lawyer Michael Garcia who spent two years investigating World Cup corruption claims for Fifa was dismissed by football’s governing body.
Sepp Blatter at the 2014 FIFA Tournament Announcement in 2007

London is getting a cannabis-inspired restaurant –
Grub Club and the chefs at Grub London have teamed up to create ‘Cannabistro’, a two night pop-up event coming to London in June.Diners at London’s first weed-themed restaurant will be treated to a four-course gourmet meal of dishes inspired by “hazy memories of teenage years combined with the clichés of getting high – ‘The Way Up’ – and coming down – ‘The Munchies’.” [Daily Telegraph]

SpaceX cleared for US military launches –
Billionaire Elon Musk’s firm SpaceX has won long-waited approval from the US Air Force to launch military satellites, opening the way to a lucrative market that has been a virtual monopoly for a Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture. With the certification, California-based SpaceX can now compete against the United Launch Alliance – the giant Boeing-Lockheed joint venture – for defence contracts valued at about $9.5bn over the next five years. In January 2015 Musk announced that he will build a test track for his “Hyperloop” transport system that could theoretically travel at speeds of up to 700 miles per hour. [news24.com]
Elon Musk

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A Guy’s Understanding of Women’s Underwear – Robbie Sherrard

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Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
  • Islamic State militants have carried out multiple suicide bombings targeting the Iraqi Army in Anbar Province killing at least 17 people. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 12 people, associated with the Kangleyuan Rest Home in the Chinese city of Pingdingshan in Henan province which was destroyed by fire with the loss of 38 lives, are detained for questioning. (AP)
• A sixth person is found to have died in this week’s floods in Harris County, Texas, which contains the city of Houston. (Houston Chronicle)
• 2015 Indian heat wave
  • The death toll in the two worst affected states Andhra Pradesh and Telangana passes 800. (Times of India)

International relations

• Representatives from the United States, Japan and South Korea meet in Seoul on how to respond to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.(AP)
• Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair resigns as the peace envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East. (ABC News)

Law and crime

• FIFA corruption scandal
  • Six FIFA officials are detained in Switzerland for extradition to the United States in relation to allegations of corruption between the 1990s and now. Those arrested include Jeffrey Webb, Jack Warner, Eduardo Li, Eugenio Figueredo and Jose Maria Marin. Fourteen people involved in world soccer. (AP), (BBC), (Washington Post)
  • Swiss federal prosecutors open criminal procedures in relation to the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. (AP)
  • FIFA suspends eleven people from involvement in football over the scandal. (AP)
• The Legislature of the US state of Nebraska votes to outlaw the death penalty, overriding a veto by Governor Pete Ricketts. (Lincoln Journal Star)

Politics

• The newly-elected British House of Commons commences its session with the State Opening of Parliament ceremony in which the Queen’s Speech will be delivered. (BBC)
• The Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt calls an election for June 18. (Reuters via Straits Times)
• Rick Santorum announces he will be seeking the nomination of the Republican Party in the United States presidential election, 2016. (Washington Post)

Science and technology

• Elon Musk‘s SpaceX wins U.S. Air Force approval to launch military satellites. (AFP via News24)

Sport

• 2014–15 UEFA Europa League
  • In association football, Sevilla FC of Spain becomes the first club to win the UEFA Europa League four times defeating Dnipro Dnipropetrovskof Ukraine 3-2 with Colombian striker Carlos Bacca scoring twice in the final. (CNN)
  • Matheus Leite Nascimento collapses on the field of play during the 2015 UEFA Europa League Final in Warsaw. (SM)
• 2015 NBA Finals
  • In basketball, the Golden State Warriors defeat the Houston Rockets 104-90 to win the Western Conference 104-90 and go to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1975. (Bleacher Report)

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