May 6, 2016

Top News Stories –

Labour’s Sadiq Khan elected London mayor –
Sadiq Khan has been elected the new Mayor of London – boosting Labour after it slumped in Scotland’s elections. Mr Khan is the city’s first Muslim mayor, after beating Tory Zac Goldsmith by 1,310,143 votes to 994,614. The result bolsters leader Jeremy Corbyn after Labour was beaten into third in Scotland by the Tories and lost some English councillors.
In Scotland, the SNP said it would form a minority government after winning its third election in a row. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is celebrating what she said was an “emphatic” victory, her first as party leader, after the SNP emerged as the largest party at Holyrood with 63 seats, ahead of the Conservatives on 31 and Labour on 24. But she played down talk of another independence referendum after falling short by two seats of an overall majority. In Wales, Labour remains as the largest party, with 29 out of 60 seats, but was denied a majority as Plaid Cymru and UKIP both made notable gains. [BBC]
Sadiq_Khan Sadiq_Khan

China bans ‘erotic’ banana-eating live streams –
Chinese live-streaming services have banned people filming themselves eating bananas in a “seductive” fashion. New regulations mean that live-streaming sites must monitor all their output round-the-clock to ensure nothing untoward is going on, keeping an eye out for any “erotic” banana-eating, according to New Express Daily. It’s not just fruit that’s on their radar though – the paper adds that wearing stockings and suspenders while hosting a live stream is now also forbidden. The move is the authorities’ latest attempt to clamp down on “inappropriate and erotic” online content, state-controlled CCTV reports. In April, the Ministry of Culture announced it was investigating a number of popular live-streaming platforms for allegedly hosting pornographic or violent content that “harms social morality”. Despite the government’s concerns, such sites are attracting more and more users in China. Particularly popular are webcam sessions where young women – and sometimes girls under 18 – entertain a predominantly male audience, often singing Chinese songs or chatting to their viewers. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Inside a 6ft Air Balloon – 4K – The Slow Mo Guys

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks
Law and crime
  • A man is killed, and two others are injured (a man in critical condition and a woman with non-life-threatening injuries), in the parking lot of Westfield Montgomery Mall in Potomac in Montgomery County, Maryland, near Washington, D.C. Soon after, a woman is killed at a grocery store some miles away. Police suspect that the same shooter may be behind both crime scene incidents. Police in both Montgomery County and neighboring Prince George’s County are also examining whether this person is the same as the male involved in the fatal shooting the previous day of a woman, Gladys Tordil, who was allegedly shot (a bystander who tried to help was also wounded) by her estranged abusive husband, tentatively identified as Eulalio Tordil, 62, a former Federal Protective Service officer. (MSN) (CNN)
Politics and elections
Science and technology
Sports

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May 10, 2016

Top News Stories –

West Ham bid farewell to the Boleyn Ground –
West Ham United fans packed Upton Park for the final time for their Premier League game with Manchester United which they won 3-1. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Farewell Boleyn 2015/16

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Armed conflicts and attacks
Business and economics
Disasters
  • At least 50 are killed in flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rains in Ethiopia. (FOX News)
  • 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire
    • Alberta authorities update information about the fire. About 2,400 homes and buildings were destroyed, but firefighters saved 25,000 others in the city, including the hospital, municipal buildings, and every functioning school. They expect most of the 88,000 evacuees will return to their homes within two weeks. The fire, which has merged with another blaze, is about 884 square miles (2,090 square kilometers) in size. The majority of Canada’s oil sands industry, and a third of the country’s total oil output, is offline, though Shell Canada has restarted its Albian Sands mining operations. (AP)
Law and crime
Politics and election
Science
  • NASA confirms that 1,284 objects discovered by its Kepler spacecraft are in fact exoplanets. (The Verge)
Sports

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May 27, 2016

Top News Stories –

UK Royal Mail unveils stamps to mark 50 years of Pink Floyd –
A set of stamps celebrating 50 years of British rock group Pink Floyd have been unveiled by Royal Mail. Ten stamps will be on sale on 7 July, marking five decades since the band turned professional. The collection include the band’s most famous album covers as well as live performance shots. Pink Floyd became known for its innovative album covers, which were made in collaboration with leading graphic designers and photographers. [BBC]
Royal Mail Pink Floyd stampsRoyal Mail Pink Floyd stamps

Jose Mourinho: Man Utd confirm former Chelsea boss as new manager –
Jose Mourinho has been officially confirmed as Manchester United manager and has signed a three-year contract. He replaces Dutchman Louis van Gaal, who was dismissed on Monday, two days after the club’s FA Cup win. “Jose is quite simply the best manager in the game today,” said United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward. Mourinho, 53, said: “To become Manchester United manager is a special honour in the game. It is a club known and admired throughout the world.” Mourinho has been out of work since being sacked as boss of Premier League rivals Chelsea in December. [BBC]
Jose-MourinhoJose Mourinho

Video of the Day –

Does Having A “Wingman” Actually Help You Get A Date?

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Health and medicine
International relations
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May 30, 2016

Top News Stories –

Masked Gary Barlow stuns Bristol shoppers with surprise concert –
Take That star Gary Barlow surprised shoppers in Bristol with an impromptu concert – which started with him wearing a disguise… as himself. The star wore a Gary Barlow mask as he began playing Could It Be Magic on a piano at Cabot Circus shopping centre. Shoppers watching the mystery performer were astonished when he revealed his true identity and sang the hit song. [BBC]
Gary Barlow in BristolGary Barlow in Bristol (Tweet by Marjolein Nap)

Cheese-rolling spectators gather for Cooper’s Hill tradition –
Thousands of people lined a steep hill in Gloucestershire to watch crowds of thrill-seekers fling themselves down in pursuit of a wheel of cheese.The 8lb (3.6kg) Double Gloucester is chased 200 yards down the 1:2 gradient Cooper’s Hill at Brockworth every year. Chris Anderson, 28, won the first two downhill races – his 16th and 17th Cheese Rolling victories in total. “It’s brilliant, I’m really happy,” said the soldier from Brockworth who serves with 1 Rifles. Competitors travelled from across the world to take part in the races with TV crews from across Europe also in attendance. Warning signs are put up around the site warning spectators and competitors that they are attending entirely at their own risk. In 2010 the official event was cancelled over safety fears when more than 15,000 people turned up the previous year to watch the competition. Since then it has been held unofficially with roads closed up to 2.5 miles (4km) around the slope. [BBC] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling 2016 – The Tumbles

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Armed conflicts and attacks
Disasters and accidents
Law and crime
  • Hissene Habre, ex president of Chad, is sentenced to life in prison for ordering rape, sexual slavery and killings during his rule from 1982 to 1990. (BBC)
Politics and elections
Science and technology

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June 30, 2016

Top News Stories –

Boris Johnson rules himself out of Conservative leader race –
Ex-London mayor Boris Johnson has ruled himself out of the race to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister. In a speech in London – billed as his campaign launch – Mr Johnson said he did not believe he could provide the leadership or unity needed. It comes after Justice Secretary and fellow Brexit campaigner Michael Gove’s surprise announcement on Thursday morning that he would run for leader. Home Secretary Theresa May is among the candidates. Nominations closed at noon. Also in the running are Energy minister Andrea Leadsom and former Defence Secretary Liam Fox – who campaigned to leave the EU – and Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb, who backed Remain. The contest was sparked after David Cameron announced he would resign following the EU referendum result, which saw the UK vote by 52% to 48% to leave the EU. Mr Johnson’s unexpected – and dramatic – announcement that he would not stand for Tory leader or prime minister, positions he is long thought to have harboured ambitions for, has dramatically altered the race. Mr Gove and his team of advisors clearly did not believe Boris Johnson had the spine to fully divorce Britain from the EU. Nor did a number of Tory Mps trust Mr Johnson to deliver the promises he was making in terms of personnel and jobs. When Mr Gove made his move, hardened Brexit believers instantly went with him, sinking Boris Johnson. The irony of course is that Boris Johnson, who did so much to take Britain out of the EU, has seen his own ambitious crushed in the aftermath. It could be that the big winner from this vicious Tory drama is the woman in charge of law and order – Theresa May. [BBC]
Boris_JohnsonBoris Johnson

Video of the Day –

CLIMBING THE EIFFEL TOWER + DRONE

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks
Disasters and accidents
International relations
Law and crime
  • Colombian, Italian, and U.S. police seize 11 tonnes of cocaine smuggled to various countries and arrest 33 people across Colombia and Italy after the discovery of seven laboratories in the Colombian jungle run by local organized criminal groups and ‘Ndrangheta. (Reuters)
Politics and elections

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