Top News Stories –

Jose Mourinho: Chelsea sack boss after Premier League slump –
Chelsea have sacked manager Jose Mourinho seven months after he led them to the Premier League title. The 52-year-old Portuguese had been in his second spell at the club, taking charge in June 2013. Chelsea finished eight points clear last season and won the League Cup, but have lost nine of their 16 league games so far and are 16th in the table, one point above the relegation places. Mourinho’s final match was Monday’s 2-1 defeat at leaders Leicester City. Pep Guardiola, Guus Hiddink, Juande Ramos and Brendan Rodgers have all been touted as possible successors as Blues owner Roman Abramovich begins another managerial search. [BBC]
Jose Mourinho

Pastafarian marriages approved in New Zealand –
Ever wanted to get married while wearing a colander on your head? Move to New Zealand – they just gave the right to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to perform marriage ceremonies. Members of the church call themselves Pastafarians and believe that the world was created by an airborne spaghetti and meatballs-based being, although its own website notes that some followers consider it to be a satirical organisation. The registrar-general told stuff.co.nz that the request was valid because the purposes set out by the church were educating and training people, particularly atheists and superstitious people, about Flying Spaghetti principles and practices. He said: “In considering the matter I have referred to the Objects of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, reviewed material available online about this organisation and considered other organisations already able to nominate marriage celebrants. “A review of media and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster’s international website show a consistent presentation of their philosophies. While some claim this is a ‘parody organisation’, members have rebutted this on a number of occasions.” [Daily Telegraph] In November 2016 ‘Pastafarian’ Lindsay Miller won the right to wear colander on head in driving licence photo in Massachusetts.
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Video of the Day –

More Stuff by Blue Zoo Animation from Blue Zoo on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Vimeo presents: The Top Videos of 2015
Music:
TAME IMPALA ‘The Less I Know The Better’ from CANADA

Documentary:
“Guerilla Fighters of Kurdistan” from Joey L

Animation:
“Coda” from and maps and plans

Travel:
“Dubai Flow Motion” from Rob Whitworth

Experimental:
“INPUT/OUTPUT” from Terri Timely

Narrative:
“POWER/RANGERS” from Joseph Kahn

Sports:
“Skate Heads” from Flexfit

Top Twitter Trends –

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
  • Delegates from Libya’s warring factions sign a U.N.-brokered agreement to form a national unity government. Some of Libya’s armed brigades are closely allied with political leaders who oppose this agreement. (Reuters) (Al Arabiya)
• 2015 PKK rebellion
  • Turkish security forces have killed 23 suspected members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in operations in the Kurdish-majority cities of Cizre and Silopi. (BBC)
  • The Turkish Army deploys tanks into civilian areas of Silopi and soldiers are reportedly going house-to-house in search of PKK militants. The pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) condemns the Turkish military actions in Silopi. (RT)

Disasters and accidents

• A 6.4-magnitude earthquake hits the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. The epicenter was 11 kilometers (7 miles) from the town of Tres Picos, not far from the Pacific coast. There are no immediate reports of major damage or injuries. (Reuters) (USGS)
• As many as 36 miners die in a pair of accidents in Northeast China. (AP via ABC News)
  • Nineteen workers trapped by Wednesday’s gas explosion and raging fire in a coal mine in Hegang in Heilongjiang privince are not expected to survive because of carbon monoxide and the high temperatures from the fire, according to the rescue and command office’s Zhang Qinxiang. Thirty-three miners escaped. (MINING.com)
  • A fire caused by sparks from welding equipment kills 17 workers in the Xingli coal mine in Huludao city in Liaoning province. The State Administration of Work Safety reports 13 miners died at the site while four died at the hospital. Another ten miners are hospitalized. (Xinhua) (AP via The Washington Post)

International relations

• China summons Kaye Lee, the U.S. deputy chief of mission in Beijing, to protest Washington’s announcement that it is selling two warships to Taiwan as part of a $1.83 billion arms deal. U.S. state department spokesman John Kirby says the sale is consistent with the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act while Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Zheng Zequang threatens to impose sanctions on U.S. firms because the proposed sale “severely damaged China’s sovereignty and security interests.” (NBC News) (BBC)
• The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts a resolution aimed at disrupting revenue the Islamic State gets from oil sales, ransom payments, and other criminal activities. (Reuters) (AFP via Yahoo News)
• The World Trade Organization approves Afghanistan’s membership at its 10th ministerial conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Afghanistan becomes the 164th WTO member and is the 36th least developed country (LDC) in the global trade body. (Xinhua News Agency via Global Post) (Channel News Asia)

Law and crime

• European migrant crisis
  • Riots break out in the western Dutch town of Geldermalsen over plans to establish a centre for asylum seekers in the town. Local police say they made several arrests. Including this year’s arrivals, the Dutch government said in November it expected to receive 58,000 asylum seekers by the end of 2016. (BBC)
• United States federal prosecutors in New York City arrest Martin Shkreli on securities fraud charges for allegedly plundering for personal gain Retrophin, a biopharmaceutical company he ran as CEO from 2012 to 2014. (Chicago Tribune) (ABC News)

Politics and elections

• Russian President Vladimir Putin calls U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, “a very colorful person. Talented, without any doubt” as well as an “absolute leader” in the race for the presidency. (ABC News)

Sports

• 2015–16 Premier League
  • José Mourinho is sacked as Chelsea F.C.‘s manager on his second spell after the club lost nine of their 16 league games, placing the club one point above the relegation zone. (BBC) (France24)

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