Top Stories – Not like clockwork –
A Swiss millionaire is given a record speeding fine of $290,000 (£180,000) after he caught driving a red Ferrari at 137km/h (85mph) through a village. The penalty based on the unnamed motorist’s wealth – assessed by the court as $22.7m (£14.1m) – and because he was a repeat offender.
New Brand for Perry –
It’s revealed that Russell Brand and Katy Perry got engaged when on holiday in India. Katy Perry and Russell Brand
Top Stories – Tragedy in Haiti –
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hits Haiti in the north Atlantic sea. Early estimates are that the death doll is between 45,000 – 50,000 [Note: final Haiti government estimates were a death toll of 316,000]
Fallen idol –
Simon Cowell dramatically announces he is quitting American Idol the day before the series starts to air. The big question seems to be who will replace him? [Answer Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler]
Palin to significance –
Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin signs up to be a contributor on the Fox News Channel, 2 years after she gained fame as the presidential running mate of Republican John McCain. Sarah Palin
Top Stories – Anybody bring a torch? –
A solar eclipse plunges parts of Africa and Asia into semi-darkness. According to NASA this was the longest annular eclipse of the third Millennium.
Swooner –
Author Jackie Collins has revealed that screen legend Marlon Brando had sex with her at a party when she was only 15, days after she had been expelled from a school in England. Jackie Collins CLICK TO SEE MORE STUFF FROM THIS DAY…
Top Stories – Gale force wins –
BBC weather man Tomasz Schafernaker poses in shorts on the front cover of Attitude magazine showing of his warm front.
I’ve Bin Photoshopped –
The US government withdraws an age-enhanced image of Osama Bin Laden after admitting it was partly based on a photo of a Spanish politician found on Google.
Bulldog puppy thief –
Police are hunting thieves who stole one of Britain’s rarest and most valuable puppies worth a whopping £16,000 – because it’s purple. The cute eight-week old British bulldog puppy called Lila is so valuable because of her lilac colouring. Officers say it was snatched from his breeder by a man who was pretending to buy the puppy. The black man with short afro hair grabbed the pup when the specialist breeder’s back was turned and ran out of the home – knocking a female relative to the ground. [Daily Mail]
Volkswagen to recall over 580,000 cars in China: government –
Volkswagen AG told China’s quality watchdog that it planned to recall more than 580,000 cars in the country, after the agency launched an investigation in August. Volkswagen AG’s joint venture in China, FAW-Volkswagen Automobile Co Ltd, will recall 563,605 New Sagitar models produced between May 2011 and May 2014 due to a problem with the rear axle arm of the cars, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement on its website. Volkswagen is also recalling 17,485 imported Beetles due to the same axle problem. [Reuters]
Parisian vandals destroy 24ft art sculpture that resembled a ‘giant sex toy’ after claims it ‘humiliated’ the city –
Vandals today destroyed an art sculpture in central Paris ‘because it looked like a giant sex toy’. Looming above the city’s Place Vendome, the 24ft tall piece, created by American artist Paul McCarthy, was meant to look like a green inflatable Christmas tree. But the artwork, simple entitled ‘Tree’, raised eyebrows in the French capital because of its uncanny resemblance to a certain type of sex toy. Today it was left as a giant pile of deflated plastic after vandals apparently took a number of sharp objects to it overnight. The incident came after claims that it ‘humiliated’ the French capital. [Daily Mail] See Video of the Day
Video of the Day –
US artist Paul McCarthy brings giant inflatable ‘Tree’ to Paris
(Nasty) Thought for the day –
Professor Stephen Hawking, the British scientist who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has said that efforts to create thinking machines pose a threat to our very existence. The BBC quotes him as saying “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate but humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.” Stephen Hawling
Scarlett gets secretly married –
Scarlett Johansson has revealed that she and her partner Romain Dauriac got married in secret on October 1st 2015 in Philipsburg, western Montana. Scarlett Johansson
Strike that off the list –
The UK Government has introduced legislation banning sex acts like spanking and caning from online porn videos filmed in the UK. A list of sex acts are now on a list of ‘harmful’ content that has been prohibited and paid-for online porn videos must now stick to the same rules as content produced for sex shop-type videos. (See List of the Day)
Hanging around –
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (@GovChristie) was left hanging after a Dallas Cowboys win on Sunday, when his high-5 appeal was ignored. Political commentators have decided that it will damage his chances of becoming a Republican presidential candidate.
Google extends Chromecast to audio –
The Chromecast dongle is now able to plug into amplifiers and powered speakers to “cast” music from any music app. Similar to the video service, users use their phone to control the music, which is then played directly through the speaker from a wi-fi router. Apps already compatible include Deezer, Google Play Music, iHeartRadio, NPR One, Pandora, Rdio and TuneIn. Spotify is currently included.
Ghost in the Shell –
Scarlett Johansson to play Motoko Kusanagi in the film version of Ghost in the Shell Scarlett Johansson
These things only happen in movies… or maybe in movie theatres –
A projectionist at MetroLux 14 theater in Loveland, Colorado mixed up the films at an 11:45am screening of the latest SpongeBob Squarepants and instead put on Fifty Shades of Grey. Instead of seeing SpongeBob and his pals try to save a secret hamburger recipe, they had the opening scenes of the erotic R-rated film. After the mix-up was noticed, the screen went blank and kids’ movie trailers started showing until the right film was found.
Al-Shabab Islamist militants attack on Kenya university –
The death toll in the attack by al-Shabab Islamist militants on a university in north-eastern Kenya has risen to 147, Kenyan government officials say. They added that the operation to secure the the Garissa University College campus was now over, with all four attackers killed.
The evacuation of surviving students is now under way. An overnight curfew is being implemented in parts of the country. [BBC]
Oxford v Cambridge: RNLI rescue Oxford women’s boat crew –
Oxford University’s women’s boat crew have been rescued by an RNLI lifeboat in choppy waters in the Thames during training for the Boat Race.
The eight rowers and cox were discovered by the Chiswick RNLI crew while it was out on exercise. RNLI helmsman Ian Owen said: “We’ve rescued quite a number of rowers, but it is the first time I’ve been involved in helping such a prestigious team.” [BBC]
US sailor rescued after 66 days lost at sea –
The U.S. Coast Guard says a man missing in the Atlantic Ocean for the past two months survived by drinking rain water and eating raw fish. He was found off Cape Hatteras this afternoon. The Coast Guard says a German tanker ship spotted Louis Jordan and his 35-foot sailboat approximately 200 miles east of Cape Hatteras around 1:30 p.m. The 37-year-old Jordan was reported missing by his father on January 29th. Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss from the Coast Guard in Miami tells WITN that Jordan had been surviving off of raw fish and rain water. [WITN]
Fat people ‘are better at sniffing out food’ –
Fat people could be gaining weight because their sense of smell is stronger and more vivid, scientists have found. A study by Yale University showed a heightened ability to imagine odours was linked to food cravings and in turn to higher body weight. Researchers found the ability to vividly imagine the smell of popcorn, freshly baked biscuits and even non-food odours is greater in obese adults. They said most people can imagine the view of a favorite location or sing a song to themselves, but struggle to imagine smells associated with our favourite foods. [Daily Telegraph]
Bill Cosby admitted he gave woman drugs before sex –
US comedian Bill Cosby admitted he obtained sedatives with the intent of giving them to women he wanted to have sex with, court papers from 2005 show. The unsealed files, obtained by the Associated Press news agency, show Mr Cosby made the admission in a sex abuse civil case brought by a woman. That case was settled for an undisclosed sum in 2006. Mr Cosby, now 77, is facing a series of sexual assault accusations dating back decades. He has denied the claims. Mr Cosby has never been criminally charged. [BBC] See Top Twitter Trends Bill Cosby in 2011
World’s oldest man dies in Japan aged 112 –
The world’s oldest man, Sakari Momoi, has died in Japan at the ripe old age of 112. Momoi, born months before the Wright brothers made their first successful flight, passed away late on Sunday, said the official at Saitama City, north of Tokyo, where he had lived for many years. The supercentenarian, recognised as the world’s oldest male at the age of 111 last year, died of kidney failure in a care home in Tokyo. [Daily Telegraph]
Eurozone leaders hold a crisis meeting to discuss options on Greek debt following the referendum as Greek banks are near to running out of cash. For the last week Greek banks allowed to withdraw only 50 euros a day. (Reuters)
The Government of Greece does not present any new proposals and Greek banks are unlikely to reopen this week. (AP)
The European Union gives Greece a deadline of Thursday to develop new proposals for discussion at an emergency summit on Sunday.(BBC)
Disasters and accidents
A United States Air Force F-16 collides with a privately-owned Cessna to the north of Charleston, South Carolina. The pilot of the jet ejects safely, but the Cessna breaks up mid-air, killing the two unidentified occupants. (CNN)
Nicolas Sarkozy ‘insists his name must be printed larger than rivals’ on rally invitation –
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has insisted on having invitations to a political rally reprinted to show his name twice as large as those of his rivals for the presidential nomination of his centre-Right party, The Republicans. Mr Sarkozy reportedly bristled when he saw his name on the original invitation in the same size letters as those of Alain Juppé and François Fillon. The two former prime ministers intend to run against Mr Sarkozy in a party primary next year. [Daily Telegraph] Nicolas Sarkozy
Kanye says he’s serious about becoming president –
Kanye West says he’s totally serious about becoming US president in 2020.
In an interview with Vanity Fair he says he’s had lots of support since announcing plans to run for election. He says people are “really into the idea” because they think he’s “extremely thoughtful” and “probably the most honest celebrity we have”. One possible spanner in the works of his political ambitions, though: he “hates politics”. “I’m not a politician at all. I care about the truth and I just care about human beings. I just want everyone to win, that’s all I can say, and I think we can,” he says. [BBC Newsbeat]
[BBC Newsbeat] Kanye West
Spieth caps season with $11.48 million double win –
Jordan Spieth capped a brilliant season in sensational style as he scored a four-stroke victory at the Tour Championship on Sunday that also won him the FedExCup playoffs title for an $11.48 million pay day. Spieth shot a closing one-under-par 69 at East Lake Golf Club for a nine-under total of 271 and his fifth win of the season, including the Masters and U.S. Open. The prize money haul included the $10 million jackpot bonus for winning the season’s FedExCup points competition, virtually clinched him Player of the Year honours and returned the 22-year-old American to the number one world ranking. [Reuters] Jordan Spieth
Air-strikes by Saudi helicopter gunships on the Yemeni village of Bani Zela in Yemen‘s Red Sea border area with Saudi Arabia kill at least 25 people. (Euronews)
France says it has carried out its first air-strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant within Syria, destroying a training camp in the east of the country. Previously, France had only carried out air-strikes in Iraq with consent of the Iraqi government. (Reuters)
Pirate needs 200,000 video views to avoid being sued –
A convicted software pirate has been handed an unusual punishment. The man, named only as Jakub F, will be spared having to pay hefty damages – as long as a film denouncing piracy he was made to produce gets 200,000 views.
He came to the out-of-court settlement with a host of firms whose software he pirated after being convicted by a Czech court. In return, they agreed not to sue him. The 30-year-old was also given a three-year suspended sentence. The criminal court decided that any financial penalty would have to be decided either in civil proceedings or out of court. The firms, which included Microsoft, HBO Europe, Sony Music and Twentieth Century Fox, estimated that the financial damage amounted to thousands of pounds, with Microsoft alone valuing its losses at 5.7m Czech Crowns (£148,000). [BBC] The video had received over 212,000 views by today. See Video of the Day
Asteroid mining made legal after passing of ‘historic’ space bill in US –
Business opportunities in space could soon be about to open up for adventurous entrepreneurs after US Congress signed off on a bill to legalise space mining. While some websites are already offering investors the chance to step onto the intergalactic property ladder with a plot on the moon from £16.75, asteroid mining is predicted to become a trillion-dollar industry over the next few decades. Private companies in the US can now legally extract materials from the moon, asteroids and other celestial bodies after a commercial space act was approved by Congress. [Daily Telegraph]
Belgian authorities reduce the threat level in Brussels from its highest level of four to three. The escalation to level four came after suspects in the ISIL attacks in Paris were linked to the city. Suspected Paris gunman, Salah Abdeslam, who lived in Brussels for several years, remains at large. (BBC)
At least 18 people are killed and over 100 homes torched after Boko Haram militants attacked a village near the commune of Bosso in Niger‘s southern Diffa Region. (AFP via Yahoo)
A sinkhole the size of a football field swallows a large section of beach on Australia‘s North Stradbroke Island. Local authorities have warned beach-goers to stay away from Jumpinpin beach due to fears the sinkhole could grow even larger. (The Guardian)
At least eleven people have died and 70 injured after two buses carrying tourism workers collide in the eastern Dominican Republic. (AP)
International relations
Pope Francis’ 2015 visit to Africa
Pope Francis condemns the way young people have been “radicalized in the name of religion to sow discord and fear,” during a talk in Nairobi, Kenya. (Washington Post)
Pope Francis celebrates a historic Mass in Kenya before delivering a stern environmental warning to the world. “It would be sad, and I dare say even catastrophic, were particular interests to prevail over the common good and lead to manipulating information in order to protect their own plans and projects,” the Pope said, urging nations to reach agreement over curbing fossil fuelemissions. (CNN)
Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry respond to Obamas’ Invictus Games challenge –
When US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama challenged Prince Harry on social media, he responded by bringing in a big gun — the Queen. The Obamas posted a video of themselves on Twitter promoting the Invictus Games, an international sports event for wounded, disabled and sick military personnel and veterans. Harry, fifth-in-line to the throne and a patron of the Invictus Games, responded to the US President and his wife in kind. “Unfortunately for you, Flotus and Potus, I wasn’t alone when you sent me that video,” the Prince tweeted to the Obamas. He also added a video of his own, showing him chatting amiably with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, while they thumbed through an Invictus Games brochure, just as the Obamas’ challenge lands in his cellphone. [ABC News] See Video of the Day
Large Hadron Collider: Weasel causes shutdown –
The Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator at Cern is offline after a short circuit – caused by a weasel. The unfortunate creature did not survive the encounter with a high-voltage transformer at the site near Geneva in Switzerland. The LHC was running when a “severe electrical perturbation” occurred in the early hours of Friday morning. A spokesman for Cern said that the weasel did not get into the tunnels, just the electrical facilities. [BBC]
According to Eurostat, the Eurozone’s economy grew by 0.6% in the first three months of 2016, faster than what was originally expected, with unemployment falling to 10.2%. This growth suggest that the eurozone’s economy is now bigger than it was before the start of the financial crisis of 2007–08. (BBC)
A court in South Africa rules that the decision in 2009 to drop over 750 corruption charges against PresidentJacob Zuma was irrational and called for a review of them. However, the court ruling does not automatically reinstate the charges against Zuma as a legal team must be set up to decide on whether to charge him or not. (Al Jazeera)
Iran goes to the polls for second round elections in constituencies where no candidate achieved 25 per cent of the vote in February’s elections. (Reuters via Trust)
Protests erupt in various cities of Venezuela as the country faces increased food and power shortages, forcing the government to ration them, leading to widespread looting and violence. According to the opposition, who control the National Assembly, over a million people support its bid to start a referendum on ousting PresidentNicolás Maduro. (Al Jazeera)
Protests in France turn violent as protesters clash with police, injuring over 20 police officers and resulting in over 120 arrests nationwide. The protests are against a labour law being proposed in the National Assembly, saying it will reduce rights and deepen job insecurity for youth. (The Guardian)
Russia challenges US after Baltic jet face-off –
Russia says it was right to confront a US Air Force reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea on Friday. The Pentagon said a Russian jet fighter acted in an “unsafe and unprofessional manner”, and performed a barrel roll over its plane. Russia said that the American jet had turned off its transponder signal, which helps others identify it. It is the second incident in the Baltic this month in which the US has accused Russian planes of flying aggressively. US jets “regularly” try to approach Russia’s borders with transponders switched off, the statement said. Over the past 18 months, Russia has been repeatedly accused of the same practice over the Baltic and near UK waters. It is not clear how close to Russia’s waters Friday’s incident occurred. [BBC]
Video of the Day –
The magic ingredient that brings Pixar movies to life | Danielle Feinberg
A heatwave in India has claimed 300 lives in April with daytime cooking banned in some parts of the country to prevent fires which have claimed an additional 80 lives. (AP)
2016 Kenya floods
Search and rescue efforts continue in Nairobi after the collapse of a building yesterday. Kenyan police have confirmed seven deaths so far. (AP via Daily Mail)
The death toll from the Kenya floods including the Nairobi building collapse rises to fourteen. (Capital FM)
A three-storey building collapses in the Indian city of Mumbai, resulting in six deaths and trapping many others. (Times of India)
At least five people are killed by floods in the U.S. state of Texas. (FOX News)
A mosque under refurbishment in Mogadishu, Somalia, collapses, killing at least 15 people and injuring around 40. Hundreds more are thought to be buried under the rubble. (BBC)
According to survivors, at least 70 migrants are missing after their dinghy sank off the coast of Libya. 26 people were rescued by the Italian coast guard. (BBC)
Five people are killed in a military plane crash in Sudan. (Reuters)
Russia says it intercepted a U.S. Air Force plane approaching its border over the Baltic Sea on Friday because the aircraft had turned off its transponder which is needed for identification. The Pentagon says the U.S. RC-135 was flying a routine route in international airspace when the Russian SU-27 fighter intercepted it in an “unsafe and unprofessional” way. (Reuters)
Law and crime
Police in Stuttgart, Germany, arrest at least 400 left-wing demonstrators after they attempted to stop a conference by the Alternative for Germany from being held. The protest grew violent when they began to throw stones and use fireworks against the police. (The Guardian)
Egypt tries 237 activists, who face jail terms of up to three years, arrested for protesting without permits against PresidentAbdel Fattah el-Sisi. Thousands demonstrated this month following the Sisi government’s decision to hand over two uninhabited islands in the Straits of Tiran to Saudi Arabia. Human Rights Watch says at least 382 had been arrested. (Reuters)
Roughly 2,000 people protest in Belgrade against alleged fraud in the country’s recent election. The protesters accuse Prime MinisterAleksandar Vučić of manipulating the results in order to prevent the far-right Dveri party from reaching the 5-percent threshold and gaining seats in the National Assembly. A repeat vote is expected on May 4 in locations where voting irregularities have been found. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Terror fiend tricked police to get death truck onto busy Nice promenade, kill 84 –
Cars and trucks were barred from the Promenade des Anglais during Thursday’s Bastille Day festivities, but the terrorist who plowed a 19-ton truck into a mile-long crowd of revelers – killing at least 84 – reportedly got past police by telling them he had ice cream to hand out. Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a 31-year-old divorced loner, petty criminal and Tunisian national began his route of carnage by slowly moving onto the packed, seaside walkway around 10:40 p.m. local time. Then, say witnesses, he gunned the engine and weaved through the horrified crowd for nearly a mile, leaving a wake of dead and broken bodies. Police killed him in a shootout minutes later. Bouhlel, who shot at revelers after driving through the crowd and was then killed by police, was reportedly known to police prior to the attack although his rap sheet included just one arrest, for a road rage incident in March French Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas said. [Fox News]
A suspected militant of Al-Shabaab shoots and kills four Kenyan police officers at a police station in Kapenguria, Kenya, where he was being held. The militant was later killed following a shootout with police. (Reuters)
The French government calls on former European Commission chief José Manuel Barroso not to take a job with investment bank Goldman Sachs, after some EU politicians demanded Barroso be sanctioned for accepting the new position that raises questions about the EU’s conflict of interest rules. (BBC)
Katy Perry and Russell Brand
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