February 23, 2016

Top News Stories –

London’s Crossrail to be called the Elizabeth Line –
Crossrail, the new railway which will run beneath London, is to be named the Elizabeth Line in honour of the Queen, Boris Johnson has announced. London’s mayor revealed the line’s name and purple logo as he visited Bond Street station with the monarch. Trains on the railway will travel under the centre of the city, linking parts of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to Essex when it opens in December 2018. Mr Johnson said it was “wonderful” the line had “such a significant name”. “The Elizabeth Line will provide a lasting tribute to our longest-serving monarch”, the mayor said. [BBC]
Elizabeth Line Roundel

Thai princess leaves $40,000 custom toilet ‘unused’ –
A toilet that cost an estimated $40,000 (£28,300) to custom-build for a Thai princess visiting Cambodia was left unused, officials say. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn reportedly just took photos of the toilet’s building during her visit to Yeak Lom Lake, in north-east Cambodia. The toilet has now been removed and the hut will serve as a tourist office.
The story made headlines in Cambodia, where fewer than 40% of people in rural areas have access to toilets. The toilet, housed in a specially constructed air-conditioned hut, was set up for Ms Sirindhorn two-hour visit to the north-eastern lake on Monday, reportedly at her request. [BBC]
HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn

Video of the Day –

Bass Pro Edition | Dude Perfect

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#StoneColdVideoTODAY	#NationalToastDay	#charitytuesday
2	#EmpiezanLasClasesY	#StoneColdVideoTODAY	#NoESACut
3	#FelizMartes	#TravelTuesday	#NFU16
4	#NationalToastDay	#SLFLTokyo	#NationalToastDay
5	#شخص_استحاله_ت�…	#TWUG	Shane McMahon
6	#TercaDetremuraSdv	Bill Gates	#MaternityReview
7	#النصر_بنديكور	#IveGrownAccustomedTo	#AFCvFCB
8	#3DaysUntilWorkFromHome	#UFC196	#ThePeopleVsOJSimpson
9	#ALDUBDestiny	Dante Fowler	#FreshMeat
10	#SóVemClubeSDV	#startupgrind	#universitychallenge

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Battle of Aleppo (2012–present)
  - ISIL militants cut off the Syrian Army‘s main supply route to the city of Aleppo and capture the village of Khanasir, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 South Pacific cyclone season
- Cyclone Winston
  - The death toll from Cyclone Winston in Fiji rises to 29. (BBC)
Water supply is restored to the Indian city of Delhi as repairs are made to the vital Munak canal after the Jat reservation agitation is resolved. (BBC)
2015–16 Australian bushfire season
- Emergency warnings are issued after bushfires threaten the Victorian towns of Mount Bolton and Addington northwest of Ballarat as well as the town of Somerville, Victoria, on the Mornington Peninsula.(ABC News Australia)
Dalfsen train crash
- A train derails near the Dutch town of Dalfsen with reports of at least one death and several injured. (BBC), (AAP via News Limited)
At least one person has been killed and three people remain missing following the partial collapse of a decommissioned turbine hall at Didcot A Power Station in Oxfordshire, England. (BBC)
Tornadoes of 2016
- At least two people are dead and 30 injured after a suspected tornado hits a trailer park near the village of Convent, Louisiana. At least one other person has died in the Deep South of the United States.(WWL TV), (Fox News)
A 4.8 magnitude earthquake strikes near Wasco, California, about 25 miles northwest of Bakersfield. There are no reports of damage or injuries. (Los Angeles Times)

Health

Zika virus outbreak (2015–present)
- The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating 14 cases where the Zika virus may have been sexually transmitted. (NBC News)

International relations

Foreign relations of Lebanon
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) bans its citizens from traveling to Lebanon, just hours after Saudi Arabia issued a warning to its citizens to leave Lebanon in retaliation for Lebanon choosing to side withIran in the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict and Hezbollah‘s influence on the Lebanese government. (Middle East Eye)
South China Sea disputes
- China reportedly deploys several J-11 and Xian JH-7 fighter jets to the disputed Woody Island in the South China Sea. (Fox News)

Law and crime

The President of the United States Barack Obama announces plans to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. Obama made similar statements during his first presidential campaign in 2007 and had previously stated that the camp would be closed by 2010. (CNN)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Republican Party voters, in precinct gatherings, hold the Nevada caucuses with Donald Trump projected as the winner. There are widespread reports of chaos and allegations of potential fraud. (ABC 7),(Washington Examiner), Oregon Live)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

February 24, 2016

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 –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#QuartaDetremuraSdv	#WednesdayWisdom	#WednesdayWisdom
2	#WednesdayWisdom	#BRITs2016	Aston Martin
3	#このタグを見た人�…	#1lineWed	#Heathrow13
4	#petaloso	#NationalTortillaChipDay	#BRITs2016
5	#FelizMiercoles	#ncwx	#UpdateAFairyTale
6	#StoneColdMusicVideo	#IWouldLikeToBeBetterAt	#MumTalk
7	#OTWOLOneLastCry	#MillennialOscarCategories	#CBCIDH16
8	#DiaDeLaBandera	#FacebookReactions	#NHFsummit16
9	#فتاه_تغتصب_شاب	#WRAD16	Boston Dynamics
10	#AcuerdoPSOECsARV	Librarian of Congress	#kfpharmacy

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)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

February 26, 2016

Top News Stories –

Fifa presidential election: Gianni Infantino succeeds Sepp Blatter –
Gianni Infantino has succeeded fellow Swiss Sepp Blatter as president of world football’s governing body Fifa. The Uefa secretary general polled 115 votes, 27 more than closest rival Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa. Prince Ali bin al-Hussein (four votes) and Jerome Champagne (0) were third and fourth respectively. Blatter, who had led Fifa since 1998, stood down last year and was later suspended from football for six years for breaching ethics guidelines. Infantino is a 45-year-old lawyer from Brig in the Valais region of Switzerland, less than six miles from Blatter’s home town of Visp. He entered the presidential race when it became clear that Michel Platini, boss of European football’s governing body Uefa, could not stand. “I will work tirelessly to bring football back to Fifa and Fifa back to football,” he said. “This is what we want to do.” [BBC]
Gianni Infantino

Video of the Day –

Terraforming from Studio Swine on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#OTWOLTheLastFlight	#FlashbackFriday	#WorkFromHomeTODAY
2	#WorkFromHomeTODAY	#FullerHouse	#FridayFeeling
3	#FullerHouse	#NewMusicFriday	#WALvFRA
4	#SextaDetremuraSdv	#TrapCover	Michael Howard
5	#BuenViernes	#WorkFromHomeTODAY	#gpconf
6	#AquiNoSeRindeNadie	Tony Burton	#macfest
7	#EnUnGrupoDeWhatsNoFalta	#LWTSUMMIT	#NewMusicFriday
8	#ALDUBUnangHalik	#FundMovements	#bbcqt
9	#微妙にいやらしい�…	#FIFAelection	#LSC16
10	#私のつぶやきから�…	#AquiNoSeRindeNadie	#MyFamilyIn4Words

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Moro Conflict, Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines
- Philippine security forces kill as many as 42 ISIL-linked militants, and captures their stronghold in the predominantly Muslim Lanao del Sur province. Three Philippine Army soldiers were also killed during the fighting. (Reuters)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- Al-Shabaab militants storm a Somali Youth League hotel in Mogadishu. At least 14 are reportedly killed.(The Independent) (NY Times)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- Seven Libyan National Army soldiers are killed fighting ISIL militants in Benghazi. (Reuters)

Business and economics

Dow Chemical agrees to pay $835 million to settle a decade-long, price-fixing, class-action dispute. Dow states that the uncertainty about the U.S. Supreme Court makeup following Justice Anton Scalia’sdeath means there is an “increased likelihood for unfavorable outcomes for business involved in class action suits.” The urethane chemicals case, from 2005, was against a number of companies; Dow had been the only defendant not to settle. (Reuters) (Reuters via Winnipeg Sun)

Disasters and accidents

Air Kasthamandap Flight 9N-AJB, from Nepalgunj headed to the Jumla District, crashes in a field in the Kalikot District mountains in northern Nepal, killing the two pilots and injuring all nine passengers, one seriously. (CNN) (The Kathmandu Post)

Health and medicine

Because of the risk of Zika virus infection, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends pregnant women consider not traveling to Brazil for the 2016 Summer Olympics in August, and/or for the 2016 Summer Paralympics the following month. (Reuters) (CDC)

International Relations

Syrian Civil War peace process
- The Syrian cessation of hostilities truce is in effect, as of midnight, Saturday, local Syrian time (10:00 p.m. UTC Friday/5:00 p.m. EST Friday). (Reuters)
- The United Nations Security Council, via resolution 2268, endorses the truce which has been agreed to by nearly 100 rebel factions. The ceasefire does not apply to military actions against terrorist organizations, such as ISIL and Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Qaeda in Syria). (RT) (text via U.S. State Dept.)
- United Nations special envoy Staffan de Mistura says, assuming the ceasefire holds, he will reconvene formal peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday, March 7. (The Daily Telegraph)

Law and crime

Eleven prison inmates are killed in Papua New Guinea while trying to break out of Buimo jail in Lae as part of a 90 person jail break. (BBC)
Following yesterday’s Constitutional Court of Turkey ruling that their rights had been violated, two Turkish journalists, jailed on terrorism charges, are released after 92 days in prison. (AFP via GlobalPost)(Journal of Turkish Weekly)
A gunman from a rural area near Belfair, Washington (U.S.), kills four members of his family, including two children, and, after a multi-hour standoff with police, also kills himself. A 12-year old girl, who was not shot, is alive. (The Seattle Times)
University of California, Berkeley, alerts 80,000 people of a cyber attack on a system that stores Social Security and bank account numbers. There is no evidence the hacker(s) took any personal information.(Reuters)

Politics and election

Iranian elections, 2016
- Voters in Iran go to the polls for a Islamic Consultative Assembly and Assembly of Experts elections. (New York Times)
Irish general election, 2016
- Voters in Ireland go to the polls for a general election. Exit polls indicate that the ruling coalition of Fine Gael party led by Enda Kenny and the Labour Party will fall short of re-election with 34% of the vote between them. (BBC), (AAP via News Limited)
Hashim Thaçi is elected the President of Kosovo by the Parliament amid violent protests. (BBC)

Science and technology

The United States Air Force unveils the Northrop Grumman B-21 long-range strategic bomber at the Air Force Association’s annual Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Florida. The B-21 is designed to replace the aging fleet of B-1 Lancer and B-52 bombers. (The Washington Post)

Sport

Officials of FIFA meet in Zurich for the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress to select a new President of FIFA to replace Sepp Blatter. Gianni Infantino is elected with a majority of votes in the second round of voting. (BBC) (Los Angeles Times)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

March 1, 2016

Top News Stories –

It’s Kylie Minogue versus Kylie Jenner in a battle for who owns their name –
Kylie Minogue is trying to stop Kylie Jenner from using “Kylie” as a trademark in America. And the singer’s lawyers aren’t pulling any punches. They’ve filed documents describing the Keeping up with the Kardashians star as a “secondary reality television personality” who participates in “photo exhibitionism”. They also say giving Kylie J the trademark could damage Kylie M and her other trademarks. The legal papers from KDB refer to her as a “home-schooled graduate,” saying her “photographic exhibitionism and controversial posts have drawn criticism from, for example, the disability rights and African-American communities”. [BBC Newsbeat]
Kylie Minogue (L) and Kylie Jenner (R)

Sam Smith ‘taking a break from Twitter’ after Oscars row with Dustin Lance Black –
Sam Smith says he’s taking a break from social media. It’s after Dustin Lance Black criticised him on Twitter for claiming that he was the first openly gay man to win a prize at the Oscars. Sam Smith made the comment during his acceptance speech after winning the Academy Award for best song for the theme tune to James Bond movie Spectre. “I read an article… by Sir Ian McKellen and he said no openly gay man had ever won an Oscar,” he said. “I want to dedicate this to the LGBT community all around the world. “I stand here tonight as a proud gay man and I hope we can all stand together as equals one day.” But the comments didn’t go down well with director Dustin Lance Black, who won an Oscar in 2009 for his film Milk. After all the online drama, the British singer said it was time to “log off for a while”.
Sam Smith tweet

Video of the Day –

Son Lux: Change Is Everything from Nathan Johnson on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#MarçoDaDetremuraSdv	#WomensHistoryMonth	#WhatItsLikeToBeADesiGirl
2	#FelizMartes	#HappyBirthdayJustinBieber	#HappyBirthdayJustinBieber
3	#YoTePropongo	#NationalPigDay	#SuperTuesday
4	#كلمه_للي_سابك	Troy Ave	#FutureTalentConf
5	#МартовскийНа�…	#MorningsWouldBeBetterIf	Happy New Month
6	#HappyBirthdayJensenAckles	Legends of the Hidden Temple	#IPBill
7	#OtegiFree	#StDavidsDay	#StDavidsDay
8	#ParecoNormalMas	#SuperTuesday	#LawsonMoneyBundle
9	#HappyBirthdayJustinBieber	#RIPHarmonizerMandy	#GIMS
10	#ماهي_قاعدتك_ب�…	#MyMotherAlwaysSaid	Freedom of Information Act

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Donbass
- Three soldiers are killed and two others are injured after a Ukrainian military truck was blown up in the eastern part of Luhansk Oblast. (Ukraine Today)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present), American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)
- The United States Army‘s elite Delta Force captures their first suspected ISIL operative during a raid in northern Iraq. The detainee is being interrogated by the U.S. and is expected to be turned over to Iraqi officials in the coming days. (CNN)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Faulty readings from a GPS system apparently resulted in two Israeli soldiers driving into the Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Israeli forces sent in on a rescue mission, engaged armedPalestinians. One 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed with 10 others wounded, one seriously, in the ensuing gun battle. At least 10 Israeli soldiers were wounded. (The Washington Post) (The Daily Telegraph)

Disasters and accidents

At least 18 people are killed and 16 others injured in a multi-vehicle accident involving a bus near Nahdah in northwestern Oman. Six of the dead were from Oman, four from Saudi Arabia, two from Pakistan, and one from Yemen. Five others are unidentified. (AP via ABC News)
The Peruvian Army is deployed on the country’s northern and southern coasts to help cope with El Niño-related floods that have killed at least two people and left thousands homeless. (Euronews)

Health

Zika virus outbreak (2015–present)
- The first Zika virus case is confirmed in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. (WMUR)

International relations

2016 North Korean nuclear test
- The United Nations Security Council vote on the United States–China draft resolution on North Korea is rescheduled to 10:00 a.m. EST Wednesday. Russia requests more time to review the text. (Reuters)
Libyan Crisis (2011–present)
- The United Kingdom is to send troops to Tunisia to help the Tunisian Army prevent ISIL militants from moving into the country from Libya. (Reuters)
European migrant crisis
- United Nations refugee agency spokesperson Adrian Edwards warns that Europe is on the verge, “… of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis, …” if the rapid build-up of migrants continues at thenorthern borders of an already over-stretched Greece. There are at least 24,000 there now, including 8,500 at Idomeni, the site of yesterday’s incident. (Business Standard) (Kathimerini)
South China Sea disputes
- Filipino fishermen say China has deployed up to five ships around the disputed Quirino Atoll, also known as Jackson Atoll, in the South China Sea, preventing them from accessing traditional fishing grounds. (Reuters via Channel News Asia)

Law and crime

A grand jury in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania reports that hundreds of children were sexually abused by about 50 priests in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese over four decades. (Reuters)
Ukraine bans government officials from publicly criticizing the work of state institutions and their colleagues, after damaging disclosures last month that highlighted slow progress in fighting corruption.(Reuters)
Transgender and schools, LGBT rights in South Dakota
- In the United States, South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard vetoes House Bill 1008 that would have required transgender students use bathrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities based on their gender at birth in state public schools. The bill would have been law at midnight if the governor had not acted. (Chicago Sun-Times) (NPR)
- The primary sponsor of the legislation asks fellow lawmakers not to override the governor’s veto. (The Washington Post)
Two current and one former San Francisco, California, sheriff deputies, are charged with organizing an inmate “fight club” on the seventh floor of the city’s Hall of Justice jail. (Los Angeles Times) (AP via Fox News)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Voters in the U.S. states of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and the overseas territory of American Samoa go to the polls to vote on Super Tuesday. (CNN) (BBC)
- The results show Hillary Clinton winning the Democratic Party races in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, American Samoa. Massachusetts and Virginia while Bernie Sanders has won Vermont, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Colorado. (Oregon Live), (New York Post), New York Times), (New York Times)
- Voting returns show that Donald Trump wins the Republican Party races in Georgia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Virginia, Vermont, Arkansas and Tennessee while Ted Cruz wins Texas, Alaska and Oklahoma and Marco Rubio wins Minnesota. (New York Times) (The Washington Post), [(Vox), (Alaska)
Corruption in South Africa
- President Jacob Zuma survives a no-confidence vote in the South African Parliament in response to corruption allegations against him. (BBC)
Irish general election, 2016
- Prime Minister Enda Kenny, who rejected suggestions he should resign, says he will “fully and inclusively” engage with other parties, groups and Independents, including Fianna Fáil, as he forms the country’s government. Sinn Féin says it is not interested in forming a coalition government with Kenny’s Fine Gael party. (Irish Independent) (Irish Examiner)

Science and technology

ISS year long mission
- U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Korniyenko return to Earth after 340 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS). (BBC)

Sport

Cuba–United States relations
- MLB announces the Tampa Bay Rays professional baseball team will play an exhibition game with the Cuban National Team on March 22, 2016, in Havana. United States President Barack Obama, who is scheduled to visit the island nation then, is expected to attend. (ESPN) (Tampa Bay Times)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

March 4, 2016

Top News Stories –

Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall marry –
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has married actress-model Jerry Hall in London. Mr Murdoch, whose News UK company publishes The Times and The Sun newspapers, and Miss Hall married in a civil ceremony at Spencer House. It is Mr Murdoch’s fourth marriage and the first for Miss Hall, 59, after her 1992 Bali wedding to Sir Mick Jagger was later deemed legally void. Australian-born Mr Murdoch, 84, who now has US nationality, tweeted he was “the luckiest and happiest man in world”. [BBC]
Rupert Murdoch
Jerry Hall

Union J say they have axed George Shelley: ‘One member is not bigger than the band’ –
George Shelley has parted ways from Union J – with his former band mates saying they kicked him out. Josh Cuthbert, JJ Hamblett and Jaymi Hamsley told The Sun that the I’m A Celebrity runner-up refused to commit to the pop group after returning from the jungle in December. But a spokesman for George said it was a “mutual decision” – and called the other Union J members “simply jealous”. The boy band apparently gave him a final ultimatum by email, as the situation had become “heart-breaking”. [MSN]
George Shelley

Royal Australian Navy facing calls to apologise after speeding warship damages boats in New Zealand –
A speeding Australian warship is being blamed for damage caused to boats and a fish farm inside a tranquil New Zealand waterway. HMAS Warramunga has been conducting advanced navigation training in New Zealand for Australian and Kiwi navy students. Last week, locals in the picturesque Marlborough Sounds said they spotted the Anzac Class frigate speeding through their sheltered harbour. Paul Keating from local advocacy group Guardian of the Sounds said several boats and a walkway were damaged. “Twelve people rang the harbour master that day to lay complaints and one of them was, I believe, from the salmon farm,” he said. “Maritime hoonery would be a good way to describe [it]. “We haven’t been given any reason why they chose to drive into the bays and then do very sharp turns.” [ABC Australia]

Video of the Day –

The Goodyear Eagle-360 concept tire –

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#HappyBDayDetremuraSdv	#FlashbackFriday	#FridayFeeling
2	#SextaTopClubeSDV	#HouseOfCards	#totp
3	#يوم_الجمعه	#NationalGrammarDay	#NewMusicFriday
4	#BuenViernes	#WordsRarelyUsedDuringSex	#scc16
5	#HouseOfCards	#AFWD2016	Kim Jong-un
6	ブラ外しゲーム	#WorkFromTwitter	#ASCL2016
7	#QuieroVolverA	#Dress4MLS	Union J
8	#OdioCuando	Lula	#homesforwales
9	Lula	Tony Dyson	#MadeInTheManor
10	#FrasesParaComenzarUnaPelea	#OJSimpson	#GOPDebate

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- A Libyan spokesperson says two Italian hostages are freed by local fighters from Islamic State custody in Sabratha, Libya. He also confirms that two other Italian hostages were recently killed during local forces clashes with IS militants. (AP via ABC News)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- Gunmen storm a retirement home in Yemen, run by a charity established by Mother Teresa, killing 16 people, including four Catholic nuns. (NY Times)
Dissident Irish Republican campaign (1998–present)
- A bomb explodes under a vehicle in Belfast injuring a prison officer; Dissident republicans have claimed responsibility. (Belfast Telegraph)
PKK rebellion (2015–present)
- Two Turkish police officers die and 14 others are injured following a car bomb attack on a police station in the town of Nusaybin, near the Syria–Turkey border. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) are blamed for the attack. (BBC)
Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Syrian rebels have seized control of the al-Tanf border crossing on the Iraq–Syria border from ISIL militants. The rebel fighters who took the crossing reportedly entered Syria through Jordan. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Electricity is gradually being restored across Syria from a nationwide blackout that began early Thursday afternoon. Syria’s Electricity Ministry says the electrical grid is expected to return to normal capacity by midnight. There is no immediate word on the cause. (WireUpdate.com)
Five people, including an 18-month-old baby, are missing from an Indonesian ferryboat traveling from Bali to East Java that sank in the Bali Strait; 76 people have been rescued. (Jakarta Globe)

International relations

South China Sea disputes
- The U.S. Navy dispatches a carrier strike group containing the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier USS John C. Stennis to the South China Sea. (Washington Post)
Japan–United States relations, Relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma
- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe agrees to suspend work to expand the U.S. military base on Okinawa Island. Abe says his government will follow the court recommendation and settle several lawsuits over landfill work carried out to prepare for new runways. (Bloomberg)
France–Germany relations
- Germany wants France to shut down the Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant near its border as soon as possible following media reports the April 9, 2014, incident was more serious than reported. (AP via ABC News) (Deutsche Welle)
European migrant crisis
- The European Commission proposes an end-of-year target date for lifting internal border checks and restoring the 26-nation, passport-free Schengen Area. (Reuters) (Bloomberg)

Law and crime

Brazilian police raid the home of ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in relation to the Petrobras scandal. Lula is brought in for questioning. (BBC)
Media freedom in Turkey
- A Turkish court places the influential Zaman newspaper under state control. Zaman is closely linked to the Gülen movement of influential U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gülen, a former ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (BBC)
The United States Supreme Court, with only Justice Clarence Thomas dissenting, blocks implementation of a Louisiana law that could have forced all but one of the state’s abortion clinics to close, and restores an earlier judicial ban on enforcing the 2014 law. Last week, a federal appeals court said the law could be enforced. (Los Angeles Times) (AFP via GlobalPost)

Politics and elections

Samoan general election, 2016
- Voters in Samoa go to the polls for a general election. (Radio New Zealand)
Serbian parliamentary election, 2016
- Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić, at the request of Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić, dissolves Serbia‘s parliament and calls for early elections to take place on April 24. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
United States presidential election, 2016, Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016
- Ben Carson suspends his campaign for the Republican Party nomination. The expected announcement was made during a speech at the 2016 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). (NBC News)
United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
- The British Chambers of Commerce suspends Director-General John Longworth for announcing his personal views on Brexit. The BCC, whose members are split on this issue, will not campaign for either side. (BBC)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

March 7, 2016

Top News Stories –

Maria Sharapova failed drugs test at Australian Open –
Former world number one Maria Sharapova has revealed she failed a drugs test at the Australian Open. The Russian, 28, tested positive for meldonium, a substance she has been taking since 2006 for health issues. Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion, is provisionally suspended from 12 March pending further action. “I did fail the test and take full responsibility for it,” said Sharapova, who won the Wimbledon title as a 17-year-old in 2004. “For the past 10 years I have been given a medicine called mildronate by my family doctor and a few days ago after I received a letter from the ITF [International Tennis Federation] I found out it also has another name of meldonium, which I did not know.” [BBC] See List of the Day
Maria Sharapova

Peyton Manning: Denver Broncos quarterback retires from NFL –
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has announced his retirement, ending a sparkling 18-year career in the NFL. Manning struggled to hold back tears as he confirmed the news at a media conference in Denver on Monday. He said: “I fought a good fight. I finished my football race. After 18 years it is time.” Manning, who turns 40 on 24 March, played his last game when he helped the Broncos win the Super Bowl in February. It was his second Super Bowl win, the first coming in 2007 during a 14-year spell with the Indianapolis Colts. [BBC]
Peyton Manning

Video of the Day –

DreamRide from Juicy Studios on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Maria Sharapova Grand Slam Tournament record [Wikipedia]

Tournament	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	SR	W–L	Win %
Australian Open	1R	3R	SF	SF	F	W	A	1R	4R	F	SF	4R	F	QF	1 / 13	52–12	81.25%
French Open	1R	QF	QF	4R	SF	4R	QF	3R	SF	W	F	W	4R		2 / 13	53–11	82.81%
Wimbledon	4R	W	SF	SF	4R	2R	2R	4R	F	4R	2R	4R	SF		1 / 13	47–12	79.66%
US Open	2R	3R	SF	W	3R	A	3R	4R	3R	SF	A	4R	A		1 / 10	32–9	78.38%
Win–Loss	4–4	15–3	19–4	20–3	16–4	11–2	7–3	8–4	16–4	21–3	12–3	16–3	14–3	4–1	5 / 48	184–44	80.70%

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SegundaDetremuraSdv	#3DaysTilDangerousWoman	#mondaymotivation
2	WAKE UP DIRECTIONERS	#SaySomethingGoodAboutTwitter	#SaySomethingGoodAboutTwitter
3	POWERVOTE FOR JAMES	#mondaymotivation	Ray Tomlinson
4	Kathryn Chandria Award	#NationalCerealDay	#CelebrateSuccess
5	#SaySomethingGoodAboutTwitter	Kim K	Hinkley Point
6	#NationalCerealDay	WAKE UP DIRECTIONERS	Katt Williams
7	Kim K	#3ThingsThatImMadeOf	#OneYou
8	#اسم_بنت_جميل	#hulkvsgawk	#BritishPieWeek
9	#Mahashivratri	#InternationalWomensDay	#callthemidwife
10	#شيء_جميل_بحرف_…	#bpswalkout	#aurora

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002-present)
- At least 50 people are killed, including 33 militants, seven civilians and ten soldiers, in armed clashes between the Tunisian Army and Islamist militants in the town of Ben Gardane, near the border withLibya. (Reuters) (Al-Jazeera) (AFP via Daily Mail)
War in North-West Pakistan
- A Taliban suicide bomber hits a court complex in the town of Shabqadar killing at least 13 people and injuring 36. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Pakistani Taliban faction, says the attack is retaliation for Mumtaz Qadri’s execution last week. (Voice of America) (UPI)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- According to the Pentagon, more than 150 al-Shabaab fighters are reportedly killed Saturday by U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft strikes targeting a training camp near the central Somali town ofBuloburde. (FOX News) (The New York Times)
- The Royal Australian Navy seizes a large cache of weapons from a fishing vessel near Oman‘s coast, that was bound for Somalia. The Australian Navy, which patrols waters around the Indian Ocean as part of an international maritime force, said it has seized nearly 2,000 AK-47 rifles, 100 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 49 PKM machine guns, 39 PKM spare barrels and 20 mortar tubes from thestateless vessel. 20 tonnes of weaponry in total. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- A Syrian Arab Air Force or Russian airstrike reportedly kills a dozen people at a market selling diesel fuel in the rebel-held Idlib Governorate. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the death toll is likely to rise. (Reuters)

Business and economics

Germany’s BASF SE, the largest chemical producer in the world, is pursuing a counterbid for DuPont that could short circuit the Delaware-based company’s announced merger with fellow American firm, Dow Chemical Company. (Bloomberg) (Fortune)
Apple Inc. must pay the $450 million July 2014 settlement in a price fixing case since the U.S. Supreme Court will not hear its appeal of the June 2015 Court of Appeals ruling that it played a “central role” in a conspiracy with publishers to eliminate retail price competition and raise e-book prices. (Reuters) (Bloomberg) (AppleInsider)

Disasters and accidents

In the United States, an Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) San Francisco Bay Area commuter train bound for Stockton, California, derails and falls into a creek, injuring 14 people, four in serious condition. The crash shuts down service along the ACE system through Tuesday. (Los Angeles Times) (CNN)

International relations

South Korea–United States relations
- South Korea and the United States start a joint military exercise as North Korea repeats threats of “indiscriminate” nuclear strikes. (AFP via Rappler)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo calls on Muslim leaders at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit meeting in Jakarta to unite and be part of the solution on Palestine, noting the entire world is concerned about its deteriorating situation. Jokowi also criticizes what he calls Israel’s “unilateral and illegal policies.” (The Jakarta Post) (AP via Appeal-Democrat)
European migrant crisis
- Today’s European Union summit with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in Brussels, Belgium, will discuss ways to stanch the flow of European-bound migrants. (CNN) (Voice of America)(Summit website)
  - The EU plans to boost aid to Greece and declare the route north through the Balkans closed. Presently, about 13,000 people are stranded at the Greece–Macedonia border. (BBC) (Kathimerini)
  - The leaders plan to give Turkey €3bn to take back thousands who don’t qualify for asylum. (Kathimerini) (Business Day)
- Amnesty International takes on the EU for using Turkey as a buffer to police Europe’s borders. Deputy Director Gauri van Gulik says Europe has an absolute duty to protect refugees and must fast-track significant, unconditional resettlement. (AP via The Washington Post)
- Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) opens a humanitarian camp for migrants in the Grande-Synthe suburb of Dunkerque, France. (AP via ABC News)
Enlargement of the European Union
- The Turkish deputy ambassador to Britain says Turkey should be allowed to join the European Union in order to help solve the Syrian refugee crisis. (The Independent)

Law and crime

A gunman, who killed one man, injured two others, and was holding three people hostage, is found dead when an armed tactical response police team storms a building in the Ingleburn industrial area in suburban Sydney, Australia. All hostages were unharmed. (The Sydney Morning Herald) (Stuff.co.nz) (Sky News via KLFM)
Venezuelan security forces search for 30 gold miners reportedly killed last week in the state of Bolívar in the country’s southeast. Survivor reports state the miners were shot last Friday in a fight for control of a gold deposit by criminals who then hid the bodies. Bolívar Governor Francisco Rangel Gómez denies any such massacre occurred. (EFE via Fox New Latino) (Reuters via The Times of India)
Pitcairn sexual assault trial of 2004
- Former mayor of the Pitcairn Islands Mike Warren is found guilty of downloading more than 1000 images and videos of child abuse and child pornography while working in child protection and is sentenced to 20 months in prison. (The Guardian)
American sportscaster Erin Andrews is awarded $55 million damages after a stranger, in 2008, secretly recorded her in the nude through a hotel door peephole, and posted the video on the Internet. (New York Daily News)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg announces he will not run for president in 2016 because of the impact his candidacy might have on the outcome in November. (CBS News)

Science and technology

Research, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Geoscience, confirms that Mercury’s darker than expected crusty exterior is from carbon, likely the remains of the planet’s ancient surface crust of graphite, rather than carbon dust from comet impacts as previously postulated. (Christian Science Monitor) (The Washington Post) (Nature Geoscience)

Sport

Maria Sharapova tests positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open tennis championship. She has taken the drug since 2006 on prescription for health issues. World Anti-Doping Agency President Craig Reedie says an athlete found guilty of using meldonium would normally face a one-year suspension. (BBC) (AP via The Times-Picayune)
- Nike, Inc. suspends ties with Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova after she failed a drug test at the 2016 Australian Open. (Reuters) (Fox Sports)
American football quarterback Peyton Manning retires after eighteen seasons in the National Football League with two Super Bowl championships, five MVP awards, and single-season and career league records for most passing yards and touchdown passes. (NFL)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

March 8, 2016

Top News Stories –

‘Fifth Beatle’ Sir George Martin dies, aged 90 –
Record producer Sir George Martin, known as the “fifth Beatle”, has died, aged 90. His family thanked “everyone for their thoughts, prayers and messages of support” after his death at home on Tuesday, his manager said. Beatles drummer Ringo Starr broke the news on Twitter and led tributes, saying Sir George “will be missed”. Sir George signed the Beatles and produced more than 700 records. He also worked with artists including Gerry and the Pacemakers, Shirley Bassey and Cilla Black. [BBC]
George Martin in 2006

‘Le burger’ now top selling dish in French restaurants, new study reveals –
For the guardians of French gastronomy, the prospect of being served something as unsophisticated as a slab of mincemeat with a bap and slice of cheese would long have been considered sacrilegious. Today, however, the tables have turned. In a culinary revolution, three quarters of French restaurants now sell hamburgers and 80 per cent of these say it has become their top-selling dish, according to a new study. “Le burger” – as the French dub the quintessentially American invention to the despair of linguistic purists of the Académie Française – has become a feature of even the most illustrious eateries. Indeed, such is its success that sales are set to overtake those of the classic “jambon beurre” (ham and butter baguette), the nation’s staple lunchtime sandwich. Last year, the French chomped their way through 1.19 billion burgers, an 11 per cent rise on the previous year, while “le jambon beurre” fell to 1.23 billion. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

A History of Rock in 15 minutes.
348 rockstars, 84 guitarists, 64 songs, 44 drummers, 1 mashup.

History of Rock from Ithaca Audio on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#InternationalWomensDay	#InternationalWomensDay	#2DaysTilDangerousWoman
2	#FelizDiaDeLaMujer	#SheInspiresMe	#BadSexIn3Words
3	#8MartKadınlarGünüMesajım	#2DaysTilDangerousWoman	#InternationalWomensDay
4	#اسم_ولد_جميل	#SJR39	#CharityTuesday
5	#يوم_المراه_اا�…	#FelizDiaDeLaMujer	#traveltuesday
6	秒速5センチメートル	#WeirdThingsICantUnderstand	#YMS16
7	#ALDUBTheProposition	#cameheretoforget	#WeirdThingsICantUnderstand
8	#HAPPYSUGADAY	#BadSexIn3Words	#SaySomethingGoodAboutTwitter
9	#JourneeDesDroitsDesFemmes	#ACCTourney	#CASPARLEEBOOK
10	#FelizDiaDasMulheresClubeSDV	#Rainmaker16	Justice for Johnson

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- Mortar shells fired from Syria kill at least one person and injure another in the Turkish border town of Kilis. (Reuters)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Three terror attacks are reported that result in the deaths of four Palestinians and an American tourist with 12 Israelis wounded, including two Israeli policemen, as United States Vice President Joe Bidenarrives in Israel for a two-day visit that includes meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. (AP via WWTV) (AP via ABC News) (CNN)
- The deceased American is Taylor Force, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer from Lubbock, Texas, who was in the first year of a MBA program at Vanderbilt University. Force was part of a 33-person Vanderbilt group that was in Israel to study global entrepreneurship. (CNN) (Houston Chronicle)
Spillover of the Libyan Civil War
- Tunisia‘s army and security forces kill another five suspected terrorists in an operation near the Libyan border. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Military intervention against ISIL
- The United States military says ISIL’s so-called minister-of-war, Abu Omar al-Shishani, né Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili, appears to have been killed in a U.S. air strike near the town of Al-Shaddadi in Syria. (Reuters via msn.com)

Arts and culture

International Women’s Day is celebrated. The International Women’s Day theme for 2016 is “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”. (The Washington Post)

Health and medicine

Zika virus outbreak (2015–present)
- The World Health Organization cautions pregnant women against traveling to areas where there is ongoing transmission of Zika virus, echoing earlier alerts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other health agencies in areas where virus infection has been prevalent. Director General Margaret Chan says evidence strongly suggests sexual transmission is more common than previously assumed. (The Washington Post)

International relations

Export restrictions placed by the commerce department of the United States against China‘s state-owned ZTE for alleged violations of U.S.-imposed export controls on Iran takes effect. (Reuters), (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
European migrant crisis, Enlargement of the European Union
- The European Union and Turkey agree on broad principles for a plan to ease the migration crisis which includes returning thousands of migrants to Turkey. For this, the EU will swiftly ease visa requirements for Turks and speed up Ankara’s EU accession talks. A final agreement is to be ready for next week’s two-day EU summit in Brussels, Belgium. (Voice of America) (BBC) (March 17-18, 2016, EU agenda)
- The United Nations and human rights groups warn the tentative EU deal with Turkey that would return irregular migrants in exchange for political and financial rewards could be illegal. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi says it’s unclear whether migrants, set to be returned, would be afforded the refugee protection as stated in international law. Amnesty International’s Gauri van Gulik says this is outsourcing Europe’s refugee responsibility. “The EU is treating Turkey as the only solution it has to the refugee crisis,” van Gulik added.(Reuters) (Los Angeles Times)
North Korea–South Korea relations
- South Korea imposes direct sanctions against North Korea that blacklists dozens of Northern companies and people for the first time, and bans ships that have visited North Korean ports in the previous 180 days from its waters. (The Washington Post) (AP via USA Today)
Israel–Palestine relations
- A Pew Research Center survey of Jewish and non-Jewish Israelis, via face-to-face interviews from October 2014 through May 2015, finds deep divisions in Israeli society – not only between Israeli Jewsand the country’s Arab citizen minority, but also among the religious subgroups that make up Israeli Jewry. An overwhelming majority (98%) of Israeli Jews agree all Jews should have the right to move to Israel and receive immediate citizenship. Close to half (48 percent) support the expulsion or transfer of Arabs from Israel, yet most secular Jews disagree (58%) with this, as do 54 percent of those in the center politically (more so from the left). Meanwhile, Israeli Arabs, currently about one-in-five of the country’s adults, generally do not think Israel can be a Jewish state and a democracy at the same time. Fewer Arabs (down 24 points) think a peaceful, two-state solution is possible, from 74% in 2013 to 50% now. Both groups are skeptical of the peace process: Israeli Arabs question the sincerity of the Israeli government in seeking a peace agreement, while Israeli Jews are equally skeptical about the sincerity of Palestinian leaders. (Pew is a non-partisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C.)(Pew Research Center)
- Israeli President Reuven Rivlin says the Pew study brings up troubling challenges that need to be dealt with immediately. The finding that 48 percent of Jewish Israelis believe Arabs should be transferred out of Israel is particularly troubling to Rivlin. MK Yousef Jabareen, chair of the Knesset Lobby for Jewish-Arab Coexistence, said, “The transfer of citizens, for whatever reason, is a crime against humanity, and I am frightened to see that half of those polled support such a step.” Human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International Israel and the Anne Lindh Foundation’s Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality in Israel, denounced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the results of the study. (The Jerusalem Post)
Australia–United States relations, Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- The U.S. military is in discussions with Australian officials about the possibility of basing long-range bombers, whose striking distance would include the South China Sea, in Australia. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Media freedom in Turkey
- An Istanbul court places the Cihan News Agency under state control. The seizure of the Fethullah Gülen-linked news agency comes just days after the Turkish government seized control of the oppositionZaman newspaper. (Reuters)
Acting on requests from neighboring Italy, Swiss authorities arrest 15 people sought as suspected members of the ‘Ndrangheta organized crime syndicate, a Mafia-type organization centered in Calabria, Italy.(AP)]

Politics and elections

Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016, Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
- Voters in the U.S. states of Mississippi, Michigan, Hawaii and Idaho vote in primary elections and caucuses. (Presidential Election News)
- Hillary Clinton wins the Mississippi Democratic primary. (New York Times)
- Bernie Sanders wins the Michigan Democratic primary. (NBC News), (Washington Post)
- Donald Trump wins both the Michigan and Mississippi Republican primaries and the Hawaii caucus. (The Independent)
- Ted Cruz wins the Idaho Republican primary. (CNN), (Washington Post)
The United States Federal Communications Commission announces an expansion of the federal Lifeline program, which currently offers monthly subsidies for phone and basic cell service, to include broadband Internet service, pending approval at the Commissioners’ March 31 meeting. (The Hill) (Reuters) (Multichannel News)
Philippine presidential election, 2016
- The Supreme Court of the Philippines, in a 9-6 ruling, reverses the Commission on Elections order that had disqualified Senator Grace Poe from running in the May 9, 2016, presidential election. The petitioners plan to file a motion for reconsideration. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Science and technology

U.S. carrier Alaska Airlines reschedules Flight 870 from Anchorage, Alaska, to Honolulu, Hawaii, to depart at 2:00 p.m. local time (23:00 UTC) so passengers can view 2016’s only total solar eclipse for 1 minute and 59 seconds, 695 miles north of Honolulu at 37,000 feet. (KING-TV) (Alaska Airlines) (The Verge) (NASA TV stream)
Boston College (U.S.) researchers, in findings published in the eLife scientific journal, have uncovered the global spread of an ancient group of retroviruses that affected about 28 of 50 modern mammals’ ancestors back as far as 30 million years ago. (Headlines & Global News) (American Association for the Advancement of Science)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

March 11, 2016

Top News Stories –

Progressive rock legend Emerson dies –
Keith Emerson, the co-founder and keyboardist of progressive rock group Emerson, Lake and Palmer, has died aged 71, according to his former band mates. “We regret to announce that Keith Emerson died last night at his home in Santa Monica, Los Angeles,” read a statement on the band’s Facebook page. Yorkshire-born Emerson was one of the top keyboardists of the prog rock era. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, Santa Monica police confirmed to the BBC. His death was being investigated as a suicide, police added. [BBC]
Keith Emerson performs on his Hammond and Moog synthesizer during the Emerson & Lake Tour 2010.

Apple customer goes to the top for iPhone battery answer –
The head of Apple’s operating system iOS confirmed that open but unused apps do not affect iPhone battery life after a customer emailed boss Tim Cook. The customer from Ohio, known as Caleb, asked Mr Cook whether closing down “multitasking apps” improved battery life and whether it was something the chief executive did himself. Senior vice-president Craig Federighi replied “no and no”. However, other smartphone batteries can benefit from app closure. While many Apple users do shut down apps in the belief it extends the iPhone battery this is not advice explicitly given by the firm itself. It only recommends disabling apps from carrying out background refreshes in a list of tips about saving power. [BBC]

Rafael Benitez: Newcastle United appoint Spaniard as Steve McClaren’s successor –
Rafael Benitez has been named as Newcastle’s new manager, following the sacking of Steve McClaren. The former Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Valencia boss takes over with the Magpies a point from safety with 10 games left. The Spaniard, 55, has signed a three-year contract, which is understood to contain a break clause should Newcastle be relegated at the end of the season. “C’mon Toon Army. The club and I need your total involvement,” he said. [BBC]
Rafael Benitez

Video of the Day –

Drawcard from Antonio Oreña-Barlin on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Clubs Managed by Rafael Benitez [Wikipedia]

Teams managed
1993–1995	Real Madrid B
1995–1996	Valladolid
1996	Osasuna
1997–1999	Extremadura
2000–2001	Tenerife
2001–2004	Valencia
2004–2010	Liverpool
2010	Internazionale
2012–2013	Chelsea (interim)
2013–2015	Napoli
2015–2016	Real Madrid
2016–	Newcastle United

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SextaDetremuraSdv	#FridayFeeling	#MemeHistory
2	#OMundoSeriaMelhorSe	#FlashbackFriday	#IWillSmileTodayBecause
3	#BerkinElvan	#IWillSmileTodayBecause	Ben Carson
4	#MemeHistory	#SnapchatDay	#FridayFeeling
5	#ALDUBAngPagdalaw	#SSAC16	#FlashbackFriday
6	#MeDuele	#SXSW2016	#bbcqt
7	#IWillSmileTodayBecause	Joe’s Crab Shack	#newmusicfriday
8	#يوم_الجمعه	Dog Whisperer	#BuyDangerousWomanOniTunes
9	#GloboGolpista	#LIKEIWOULDTONUMBER1	Archbishop of Canterbury
10	#東日本大震災	#TLConf2016	LGBT FANS DESERVE BETTER

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
- The Algerian Army kills three suspected Islamist militants near the eastern city of El Oued and seizes a large quantity of weapons, including six anti-aircraft missiles. (Reuters)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- More than 50 people have died in fighting in the Yemeni city of Taiz. (Al-Arabiya)

Business and economics

American veterans’ nonprofit charity The Wounded Warrior Project board of directors removes chief executive officer Steven Nardizzi and chief operation officer Al Giordano after an independent investigation confirms earlier news reports about lavish spending on employee perks, high overhead, and other perceived malfeasance. (The New York Times)
Bangladesh Bank money laundering case
- Bangladeshi bank officials say unknown hackers installed malware in the bank’s computer systems in last month’s attempt to steal nearly $1 billion from the central bank’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. (Reuters via Business Insider)
General Motors acquires Cruise Automation, a three-year old software company that’s been testing self-driving cars on the streets of San Francisco. (AP via Business Insider)

Disasters and accidents

Japan’s emperor and prime minister attend a memorial service marking the fifth anniversary of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in which 15,894 people died and caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Many people remain displaced and recovery efforts are ongoing. (The New York Times)
At least 15 people are killed by flooding and mudslides in and around São Paulo, Brazil, following heavy rain. (Reuters via Channel News Asia)

International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of North Korea, orders the country to conduct more tests of nuclear weapons to improve its capacity. (Reuters via Daily Mail)
South Sudanese Civil War
- A new United Nations report on South Sudan describes one of the most horrendous human rights situations in the world, in particular by Government forces, including use of rape as a widespread weapon of war and recommends the U.N. Security Council consider imposing a comprehensive arms embargo on South Sudan and referring the matter to the International Criminal Court. (Newsweek (AP viaThe Washington Post)
The Arab League declares the Lebanon-based Shiite group Hezbollah a terrorist organization. (Reuters)
Syrian peace process
- The High Negotiations Committee, Syria’s main opposition group, will attend Monday’s U.N.-brokered peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland, a day shy of the fifth anniversary of the start of the conflict, and two-plus weeks into the ceasefire agreement. Although fighting continues, a significant drop in violence has been seen during the truce. The first round of Geneva talks collapsed on Feb. 3 during agovernment offensive against rebels in Aleppo. .(CBS News) (Reuters) (Deutsche Welle)
- UN envoy Staffan de Mistura says new elections should be held 18 months from the start of talks, i.e., in September 2017. (AFP via Firstpost)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016, Donald Trump presidential campaign endorsements, 2016
- Retired American neurosurgeon and former presidential candidate Ben Carson formally endorses Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago landmark estate in Palm Beach, Florida. (Fox News)
- Donald Trump postpones a rally at the University of Illinois at Chicago due to security issues amid fights between protestors and supporters. Five people are arrested, and two officers injured, according toChicago police. (AFP vis ABC News Australia) (CNN) (NBC News)
  - Rival Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and Marco Rubio state Mr. Trump bears some responsibility for the disturbance. (Los Angeles Times)
  - Thirty-two people are arrested, all but one charged with general peace disturbance, at an earlier Trump event at the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis, Missouri. (Chicago Tribune)
  - A Donald Trump supporter is charged with assault after social media videos show him sucker punching a protester at Wednesday’s campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina. [(The Washington Post) (The Christian Science Monitor)
- Marco Rubio OK’s supporters voting for John Kasich in Ohio since the state’s former governor, “… is the only one who can beat Donald Trump in Ohio.” (The Washington Post) (Politico)

Science and technology

A report by a team of Japanese scientists, published in the American Association for the Advancement of Science journal Science, has identified bacteria — isolated from outside a bottle recycling facility — that can break down and metabolize plastic. The microbe appears to have evolved a pair of enzymes it uses to break down polyethylene terephthalate or PET, the most common thermoplastic polymer resin in consumer products. (LiveScience via CBS News) (The Washington Post) (Science)
Astronaut Scott Kelly announces his retirement from NASA effective April 1. Kelly holds the record for the American who has spent the most time in space. (NASA)
A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine states climate science progress makes it possible to accurately detect global warming’s fingerprints on certain extreme weatherevents. There is “high confidence” in studies looking for climate change connections between extreme hot and cold temperatures, while efforts trying to attribute droughts and extreme rainfall has medium confidence. (AP via Business Insider) (USA Today via WLTX) (National Academies)

Sport

Newcastle United F.C. (NUFC) appoint Rafael Benítez as manager on a three-year deal after sacking Steve McClaren. (The Telegraph)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

March 17, 2016

Top News Stories –

There’s a 10,000% increase in searches for an unusual type of porn this week –
This week sees a whopping 10,000 per cent increase in searches for one particular type of porn. And it’s, erm, unusual. But whatever, each to their own. You may already be aware that this Thursday, March 17, is St. Patrick’s Day. While many revellers (Irish or not) mark the day with a pint of the black stuff, a huge portion of people are staying at home for some time alone with Leprechaun porn. Pornhub have revealed searches for Leprechaun erotica increased by a staggering 10,000 per cent on St. Patrick’s Day last year. And that’s not all folks. The number of people searching for the word Irish on the adult film site increased by 600 per cent, while searches for St Patrick’s Day-theme porn increased by 6,000 per cent. Online traffic on Pornhub from Ireland on St Patrick’s Day is on average 5 per cent higher than usual. [The Metro]

Ben Nevis gains a metre thanks to GPS height measurement –
Ben Nevis, Britain’s tallest mountain, is a little bit bigger than we thought. The Ordnance Survey (OS), has re-measured the Scottish peak and its official height is now put at 1,345m – a metre taller than before. The actual difference from the last official measurement in 1949 is much less – but enough for the height to be rounded up rather than down.
The change comes from the precision that can now be achieved with modern technologies such as GPS. OS, Britain’s official mapping agency, has already begun issuing maps with the new height. The official measuring point atop Ben Nevis is one of those squat concrete pillars familiar to hill-walkers all over the country. It sits on a cairn, and it was when this pile of stones was restored recently that OS experts took the opportunity to check the mountain’s exact height. It is more than 60 years since this was last done, and back then, it took a team three weeks to complete the job after hauling heavy gear up Ben Nevis and nearby peaks. [BBC]
Ben Nevis

Video of the Day –

Anything VINE Can Do, YOUTUBE Does Better (ft. Thomas Sanders)

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#HelpBrasilClubeSDV	#BeAlrightTonight	Cliff Michelmore
2	#FelizJueves	#BEFOUR	#StPatricksDay
3	#Miitomo	#StPatricksDay	#BeAlrightTomorrow
4	#BEFOUR	#PitMad	#BEFOUR
5	#ايقاف_ذا_كوين_…	Bumble Bee	#CampDigital
6	#StPatricksDay	#XMenApocalypse	#NameOurShip
7	#اول_كلمه_انجل�…	#HangoverSongs	#dibi2016
8	#حسابات_اللي_م�…	#SeaWorld	#StillSanders
9	#QuedaDoPlanalto	St. Patty’s Day	#whitepaper
10	#SiTuvieraMuchaPlata	Yale	#OneHealth2016

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War, Syrian Civil War
- The United States Secretary of State John Kerry says ISIL has committed genocide against Christians, Yazidis and Shias in areas it controls in Syria and Iraq. (BBC)
- The Islamic State reports commander Hassan Aboud has died of wounds sustained about two weeks ago in a battle near Aleppo, Syria. He was injured when a vehicle he was in struck a roadside bombnear Khanaser. (The New York Times)
Papua conflict
- Three construction workers are shot dead in Jayapura, Papua, by a supposed armed group, according to Indonesian police. (Radio New Zealand)

Arts and culture

Radar scans at the tomb of Tutankhamun, Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, reveal two chambers adjoining the tomb, raising prospect of finding the resting place of Queen Nefertiti. (The Guardian)
The Vatican is replacing Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S., with French-born Archbishop Christophe Pierre, currently the Apostolic Nuncio to Mexico. Viganò, who is 75, the statuatory retirement age, arranged the 2015 meeting between (not pre-briefed) Pope Francis and controversial Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, who refused to follow her state’s law on same-sex marriage.(New York Daily News via ChristianNews.net)

Business and economics

Tribune Publishing, an American company whose Southern California media holdings include the Los Angeles Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune, wins an auction for bankrupt newspapers, Orange County Register, published in Santa Ana, and The Press-Enterprise, headquartered in Riverside, for $56 million, subject to judicial approval. A federal bankruptcy court hearing is scheduled for Monday. TheU.S. Justice Department has warned that a Tribune purchase could violate antitrust laws. (AP via U.S. News & World Report) (Los Angeles Times)

Disasters and accidents

At least 16 Palestinian pilgrims are killed when the bus they were traveling to Saudi Arabia on overturns in southern Jordan. (Voice of America)

International relations

The People’s Republic of China expresses its opposition to unilateral sanctions against North Korea in the wake of the imposition of new sanctions by the United States on the country in response to its recent nuclear and rocket tests. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- Kurdish parties in northern Syria declare the establishment of a federal system in areas they control. The move was criticized by the government of Syria. (BBC)
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- Admiral John Richardson says the United States has seen Chinese activity around Scarborough Shoal, which China seized from the Philippines nearly four years ago, in the northern part of the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea. An international court ruling on a case brought by the Philippines against China over its South China Sea claims is expected within a month. (Reuters)

Law and Crime

Judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia announce that they will soon deliver their verdict against radical Serb leader Vojislav Šešelj, suspected of crimes against humanitycommitted during the Breakup of Yugoslavia, despite him being sent back to Serbia for medical reasons. Šešelj has vowed not to return to court. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Politics and elections

2015–16 protests in Brazil
- Clashes erupt outside the presidential palace in Brazil‘s capital Brasília between anti-Workers’ Party protesters and supporters of ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, where he was due to be sworn in asPresident of Brazil Dilma Rousseff‘s chief of staff. Hundreds of anti-government protesters calling for Rousseff’s impeachment and Lula’s arrest also blocked the central Paulista Avenue in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city and economic hub. (Reuters)
A Brazilian federal judge blocks the appointment of ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as chief of staff, arguing that the appointment would derail a federal judicial investigation against him. The government said it would appeal against the decision. (BBC)
Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016
- The hacker group Anonymous follows through on its threat and releases candidate Donald Trump’s personal information (unverified) including his Social Security number, his phone numbers, his agent and his legal representatives. (AOL) (USA Today) (Daily Mirror)
United States presidential election, 2016, Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
- Bernie Sanders concedes the Missouri primary to Hillary Clinton, who led by 1,531 votes, 0.002 percent of those counted. Sanders says he will not ask for a recount, an option he had because the result is under the state’s requirement, 0.005 percent — one-half of one percent. The Republican contest is too close to call as Donald Trump leads Ted Cruz by a similar 0.002 percent. (AP via MSN.com)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

March 23, 2016

Top News Stories –

Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl backs teenage metal band in Cornwall noise row –
US rocker Dave Grohl has leapt to the defence of a teenage heavy metal band from Cornwall – after their local council said they were too loud. The Black Leaves of Envy were told they would have to stop practising in a family garage after noise complaints from neighbours. Foo Fighters frontman Grohl penned an open letter to the authority after the band reached out to him. He asked Cornwall Council to “reconsider the restrictions”. In the open letter, former Nirvana drummer Grohl says he started out practising in a garage and says music is a “wonderful, creative outlet for kids”. Grohl also penned a separate letter to the band, giving them advice on soundproofing. He advised the group to fill the garage walls with sand and cover the floor in gym mats. Band member Adam Jones, 17, said: “It’s just been surreal – I’m speechless.” “Seeing the Foo Fighters tag you in a post on Facebook was just incredible,” he said. [BBC] Grohl famously broke his leg when he fell off the stage at a gig in Gothenburg, Sweden in June 2015 but returned to finish the concert.
Dave Gohl

Formula 1 drivers warn success of sport could be jeopardised –
Formula 1 drivers have demanded change at the top of the sport, saying its decision-making process is “obsolete and ill-structured”. Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) directors Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel and Alex Wurz have written a letter on behalf of the drivers. It “urges the owners and stakeholders of F1 to restructure its governance”. Many issues can be traced back to F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, but the letter does not mention the 85-year-old. Some recent decisions are “disruptive”, avoid “the bigger issues” and “could jeopardise F1’s success”, it adds. Writing the letter is an extraordinary step by the drivers, which reflects the strength of their feelings on the matter.
Jenson Button

Video of the Day –

iPhone SE (parody)

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#QuartaSantaClubeSDV	#NationalPuppyDay	#NationalPuppyDay
2	Katt Williams	#WednesdayWisdom	Katt Williams
3	#NationalPuppyDay	Katt Williams	#WeAreHereForYouJustin
4	#شبيهك_من_المش�…	David Letterman	#DogBooks
5	#ObamaEnArgentina	#1linewed	Suzanne Evans
6	#اشكر_ربي_علي	#ObamaEnArgentina	#SocialDayUK
7	#الهلال_في_ثلا�…	#WeAreNotThis	Bridget Jones
8	#EBGodGaveMeYou	#IndvsBan	#GeordieShore
9	#WeAreHereForYouJustin	#cowx	#SaudiArabiaUncovered
10	#ManInTree	#HandsOffMyBC	#FirstDates

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Brussels bombings
- Belgian federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw says two brothers of Belgian nationality, Khalid and Brahim el-Bakraoui, were responsible for yesterday’s suicide bombings. Khalid bombed the subway station while Ibrahim bombed the airport, he added. A third suspect, who died at the airport, is identified as Najim Laachraoui, says De Standaard. A fourth suspect seen in the airport photo, who left a massive bomb at the airport that did not detonate, is unidentified and still at large. (UPI) (Los Angeles Times) (De Standaard)
- Van Leeuw says 31 people died and 271 are injured in the bombings. (UPI)
- Referring to the Brussels bombings, Poland abandons a pledge to shelter Syrian migrants under a European Union relocation agreement. (Reuters)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present), War on Terror
- At least 50 militants are reportedly killed in a U.S. air strike on an Al-Qaeda training camp in southern Yemen. (Reuters)

Business and economics

The U.S. Labor Department releases a long-awaited rule, the so-called persuader rule that was first proposed in 2011. The regulation requires companies to disclose when they seek advice about countering union campaigns. The final rule will apply to contracts beginning on July 1, 2016. Several business groups, such as the National Retail Federation, the Associated Builders and Contractors, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, object because the rule limits employers’ free speech rights to counter union organizing, it could interfere with attorney-client privilege, etc. Court challenges are expected. (Reuters) (The Hill)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 North American winter
- Late March 2016 North American blizzard
  - A powerful blizzard sweeping Denver, Colorado, forces authorities to close Denver International Airport, Interstate 70, Interstate 25 and leaves more than 100,000 people without power. The Colorado Army National Guard has been deployed to help rescue those stranded by the storm. (The Denver Post)
  - Denver International Airport reopens at 7 pm (Mountain Daylight Time). Over 1,300 flights were canceled. Just a few flights are expected to arrive or depart through the night. The National Weather Service estimates that parts of Denver received 19.5 inches of snow as of 3:59 pm (MDT). (The Denver Post) (The Denver Post²)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, announce they are withdrawing from the so-called hotspots on the Greek islands because of the new EU-Turkey deal. UNHCR’s Melissa Fleming says, “Under the new provisions, these sites (hotspots) have now become detention facilities.” MSF’s Marie Elisabeth Ingres says, “We will not allow our assistance to be instrumentalized (sic) for a mass expulsion operation, and we refuse to be part of a system that has no regard for the humanitarian or protection needs of asylum seekers and migrants.” (Vox Media)(New Europe)

Law and crime

Passengers are evacuated from the south domestic terminal at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the U.S. state of Georgia after a suspicious package is found. The package is declared safe by a bomb squad. (AP via News24)
The Supreme Court of the United States, which currently has just eight justices, today heard the case brought by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh (Zubik v. Burwell, which includes similar ones by other religious organizations) that challenges the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provision that employer-paid health insurance plans provide women with access to contraceptives at no additional out-of-pocket cost, and challenges the federal government accommodation offered in 2014 that would have a third-party provide the coverage with costs paid by the federal government. The plaintiffs state that both are unconstitutional because they violate the free exercise of religion. The decision is expected in June. If the result is a split decision (4-4), there would be no national precedent and each case’s final decision would be the one made in court before the case was forwarded to the Supreme Court. In the group of cases presented today, all but one appeals court upheld the government mandate. (Reuters)(USA Today) (NPR)

Politics and elections

Nigerien general election, 2016
- Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou wins re-election in a second round of voting, receiving 92 percent of the vote in an election that was boycotted by the opposition. (Al Jazeera)
Senegalese constitutional referendum, 2016
- Voters in Senegal approve a series of constitutional reforms, which include a reduction of presidential terms from seven to five years, with 63 percent of the vote. (BBC)
United States presidential election, 2016
- Tuesday, March 22 primaries/caucuses
  - Front runners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump each won the Democratic and Republican primary in Arizona, respectively. (BBC)
  - Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz each won their party’s votes in Idaho and Utah (BBC)
  - The early results for Tuesday’s GOP caucus in American Samoa — nine uncommitted. The Democratic caucus was held on March 1, 2016, with Hillary Clinton getting eight delegates and Bernie Sanders three. (caffeinatedthoughts.com) (The Green Papers)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

March 28, 2016

Top News Stories –

Harrison Ford auctions Han Solo Star Wars jacket in honour of daughter with epilepsy –
Harrison Ford is auctioning his Star Wars: The Force Awakens jacket for charity. The 73-year-old actor – who reprised his role as Han Solo in the latest installment of the sci-fi franchise – donated the iconic garment which he wore in his first scene in the 2015 movie to raise money for epilepsy research. The signed garment will benefit the NYU Langone Center and FACES (Finding A Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures), with bidding starting at $18,000 on ifOnly. But the actor – whose 26-year-old daughter Georgia suffers from the condition – joked the director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at the New York clinic, Dr. Orrin Devinsky, had taken a shine to the jacket. [Daily Mirror] In February 2016 the production company behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens was being prosecuted over a filming incident in which Harrison Ford broke his leg.
Harrison Ford

FBI finds method to hack gunman’s iPhone without Apple’s help –
The FBI has managed to unlock the iPhone of the San Bernardino gunman without Apple’s help, ending a court case, the US justice department says. Apple had been resisting a court order issued last month requiring the firm to write new software to allow officials to access Syed Rizwan Farook’s phone. But officials on Monday said that it had been accessed independently and asked for the order to be withdrawn. Responding to the move, Apple said: “From the beginning, we objected to the FBI’s demand that Apple build a backdoor into the iPhone because we believed it was wrong and would set a dangerous precedent. As a result of the government’s dismissal, neither of these occurred. This case should never have been brought.” [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

We’ve hit peak lens flare. Here’s how it started.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SegundaQSonoDTremuraSdv	#MondayMotivation	#StormKatie
2	#MeGustariaQue	#MusicMonday	#HappyBirthdayZoe
3	#FelizLunes	#My5WordRomanceNovel	#election66
4	#سربوت_يصور_طا�…	#HappyBirthdayLadyGaga	#EasterMonday
5	#JustinPagaPauDoMcGui	#ThingsThatDidntBreakMe	#GetWeirdTourLondon
6	#secretsMW	#DyngusDay	#TheNightManager
7	#اختار_مغرد_وت�…	Jon Lovitz	#BoatRace2016
8	#HappyBirthdayLadyGaga	#instagramupdate	#My5WordRomanceNovel
9	#My5WordRomanceNovel	#EasterEggRoll	#ontopictalkshow
10	#insanlık	#Happy3YearsOnVineMatt	#Thirteen

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- Taliban fighters fire explosives at Afghanistan’s Parliament while it is in session. Members of Parliament said no one was wounded while a Taliban spokesperson claims it caused heavy casualities. (Al Jazeera)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- At least 115 Al-Shabaab militants are killed and a further 110 are captured following heavy fighting with pro-government forces in the Galmudug region of Somalia, according to the regional government. There has been no independent confirmation of this claim. (BBC)
Aftermath of the Brussels bombings
- Belgian prosecutors release Faycal C., a man charged in connection with last week’s deadly Brussels bombings. The prosecutor’s office says the evidence which led to his arrest has not been backed up by the ongoing investigation. (Reuters)
2016 Lahore suicide bombing
- Pakistan officials tell Reuters its forces will launch a paramilitary crackdown on Islamist militants in Punjab. Sunday’s attack was Taliban-affiliated Jamaat-ul-Ahrar’s fifth bombing since December. (Reuters)

Business and economics

Stamford, Connecticut’s, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide says the $15 billion offer from China’s Anbang Insurance Group is “reasonably likely” to win out over the $13.6 billion cash-and-stock offerU.S.-based Marriott International submitted last week. (AP) (Reuters) (UPI) (The Washington Post)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season
- The United Kingdom‘s Met Office warns of major travel disruption due to heavy rain, flooding and “damaging” high winds as Storm Katie moves in from the Atlantic Ocean bringing winds of up to 75mph.(Sky News)
The Alaska village of Nelson Lagoon is coated in volcanic ash after an especially vigorous and ongoing eruption of Mount Pavlof. (Alaska Dispatch News)
- Alaska Airlines cancels 41 flights to and from six cities across the state, Barrow, Bethel, Fairbanks, Kotzebue, Nome, and Prudhoe Bay, due to Pavlof’s “massive ash cloud.” The carrier announces flights will remain grounded pending Tuesday’s assessment of flying conditions. (KTUU-TV)

International Relations

Senkaku Islands dispute, China–Japan relations
- As part of its wider military build up along the Japanese archipelagos in the East China Sea, Japan activates a new radar station on the island of Yonaguni that is close to the disputed Senkaku Islands.(Reuters)

Law and crime

A three-year-old girl is decapitated in an apparently random killing by a man with a cleaver in Taipei, Taiwan. The man was arrested shortly afterwards. (The Guardian)
The United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. is on lockdown following reports of shots fired at the Capitol Visitor Center. The White House, in what appears to be an unrelated incident, was briefly locked down this afternoon. (CNN)
- Police lift the lockdown. An armed man was shot by police, is in police custody, and is undergoing surgery at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. A female bystander suffers what appears to be a minor injury. (The Washington Post)
FBI–Apple encryption dispute
- Federal prosecutors announce the case against Apple Inc., concerning encrypted data on an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters, has been dropped since the FBI has found a means to access the data without compromising any information on the phone. (Los Angeles Times) (Los Angeles Times²)
A U.S. federal district court, in a case filed by retailer Wal-Mart Stores. Inc., strikes down a Puerto Rican tax increase for on-island companies, with more than $2.75 billion in revenues that buy goods from off-island “related parties,” because the levy clearly discriminates against interstate commerce. (Reuters)
The United States Secret Service, responding to an online petition demanding Quicken Loans Arena revoke its ban on open carrying of firearms, says only law enforcement officers will be allowed to haveguns inside the Republican National Convention to be held in the Cleveland, Ohio, arena on July 18–21, 2016. (USA Today)
The American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal file a federal lawsuit against a new North Carolina law that bars transgender people from choosing bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, arguing the measure is discriminatory and threatens individuals’ personal safety. (Reuters)
Ferguson unrest
- A Missouri court strikes down parts of a law, meant to address concerns raised after the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, that limit cities’ ability to profit from traffic tickets and court fines. The judge wrote the law unconstitutionally targeted St. Louis-area municipalities with caps on revenues from traffic fines that were lower than other cities in the state. (AP)

Politics and elections

Thousands of protestors rally in front of the Parliament of Pakistan in Islamabad in support of Mumtaz Qadri, the killer of reformist Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer in 2011 who was subsequently executed last February. The Pakistan Army was called in to control the situation. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
Governor Nathan Deal, of the American state of Georgia, vetoes a religious liberties bill that would have protected people whose religious beliefs don’t include same-sex marriage. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) (The Washington Post) (ESPN)
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signs an order banning all non-essential travel to North Carolina, i.e., travel not necessary for the enforcement of New York state law, public health, and/or safety, following the state’s passage of a law blocking local governments from passing anti-discrimination ordinances. (CBS News)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

April 12, 2016

Top News Stories –

Prof Hawking backs interstellar travel project –
Stephen Hawking is backing a project to send tiny spacecraft to another star system within a generation. They would travel trillions of miles; far further than any previous craft.
A $100m (£70m) research programme to develop the computer chip-sized “starships” was launched by the billionaire Yuri Milner, supported by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. “If we are to survive as a species we must ultimately spread out to the stars,” he said. “Astronomers believe that there is a reasonable chance of an Earth-like planet orbiting one of the stars [in] the Alpha Centauri system. But we will know more in the next two decades from ground based and space based telescopes. “Technological developments in the last two decades and the future make it possible in principle within a generation.” [BBC]
Stephen Hawking in 1999

Entertainer and producer David Gest found dead –
Entertainer, producer and reality television star David Gest has died in a London hotel aged 62, a statement from his friend says. Gest, who is a former husband of singer Liza Minnelli, died at the Four Seasons hotel in Canary Wharf. His friend and ex-bodyguard Imad Handi confirmed the news in a statement. American Gest was best known in the UK for his appearances on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and Celebrity Big Brother. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

ShapeShifter from CHRLX on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide	USA
#TercaComTremuraNoSdv	#NationalGrilledCheeseDay
#FelizMartes	Hokie Gajan
#NationalGrilledCheeseDay	#TravelTuesday
#EqualPayDay	#EqualPayDay
#ALDUBSummerAdventure	#FreeConeDay
#EstariaNecesitando	#IUday
#NoEsLoMismo	#ILoveHashtaggingBecause
#MiMejorMomento	#SocialTools16
#متي_كانت_اخر_ض…	Rachel Dolezal
Bertín Osborne	Stairway to Heaven

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- The Taliban announces its annual spring offensive to be named “Operation Omari“. (Voice of America)
PKK rebellion (2015–present)
- A car bomb attack on a Turkish gendarmerie in the town of Hani kills at least two people and injures 50. (Reuters)
Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
- A Russian Air Force Mi-28 attack helicopter crashes near the Syrian city of Homs, killing two pilots. (BBC)
Operation Barkhane
- A French Army soldier is killed and three others are injured after their convoy hit a landmine in northern Mali. (AP via ABC News)
War in Somalia
- U.S. officials say unmanned airstrikes in southern Somalia killed about a dozen suspected militants from the al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab on Monday and Tuesday. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

A painting, Judith Beheading Holofernes, believed to be from Italian painter Caravaggio, is discovered in an attic in the French city of Toulouse. (The Guardian)

Business and economics

Reuters reports that it has seen a draft memorandum generated by the International Monetary Fund that describes the debt owed by Greece to its European partners as “highly unsustainable.” (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

A massive fire occurs in a textile factory in the Mumbai suburb of Bhiwandi in India‘s Maharashtra state. Fifty people are feared trapped. (IBN Live)
A Pakistani police officer accidentally detonates a grenade in an anti-terrorism court in Karachi, injuring himself and a court assistant. The officer was attempting to demonstrate a grenade detonator to a judge and said the grenade was defused before pulling the pin. (The Guardian)

International relations

Cross-Strait relations
- Taiwan accuses China of “extrajudicial abduction” after 45 Taiwanese acquitted of fraud in Kenya were forcibly deported to China. (BBC News) (The New York Times) (Los Angeles Times) (Voice of America)
North Korea–South Korea relations, North Korean defectors
- North Korea accuses South Korea of kidnapping its citizens and demands their immediate return after Seoul‘s Ministry of Unification said 13 of them had defected to South Korea from China, where they worked in a Pyongyang-operated restaurant. China says that the 13 people, a male manager and 12 young female employees, had legitimate passports and had freely exited China. (The Straits Times)
Iran–Italy relations
- During a visit to Iran, Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi signs various bilateral agreements to enhance relations between the two countries, including plans for cooperation between the Italian electricity and gas company Enel and the National Iranian Oil Company. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Bolivia–Russia relations
- Russia and Bolivia meet to discuss how Russian defense firms can help the South American nation’s long-term rearmament plan. (UPI)

Law and crime

Australian 60 Minutes reporter Tara Brown and her crew are reportedly facing kidnapping charges in Lebanon following a bungled child recovery attempt. (Courier Mail)
2016 Brussels bombings
- Belgium federal prosecutors say two more men have been charged with terrorist offenses linked to last month’s Brussels bombing. Also, three people connected to the last year’s Paris attacks are in custody. (Reuters)
North Carolina House Bill 2
- North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signs Executive Order 73 that addresses some, but not all, troublesome provisions in House Bill 2 that caused businesses, traveling recording stars, etc., to stay clear of the state. The order does expand the state’s anti-discrimination employment policy to include LBGT protection, but reiterates that people use the marked facility consistent with “… their biological sex.” The American Civil Liberties Union says the order, “… fall(s) far short of correcting the damage done … (and that)… transgender people are still explicitly targeted by being forced to use the wrong restroom.” Equality North Carolina says, “… the order doubles down on the Governor’s support for some of the most problematic provisions of HB2.” (NPR) (WSOC) (WNCN)
Panama Papers
- Authorities in Panama raid law firm Mossack Fonseca, the source of the data leaked about offshore companies. (AFP via The Rappler)
Bad Aibling rail accident
- A German train controller, who was operating the tracks where two trains collided on February 9 near the town of Bad Aibling, Bavaria, is arrested on possible manslaughter charges. Prosecutors say the controller had been playing a game on his mobile phone, which led to his making signalling errors. The crash resulted in 11 deaths and 85 injuries, 24 serious. (UPI)

Politics and elections

Hundreds of people take to the streets of Handwara, Jammu and Kashmir after Indian Army soldiers shot dead at least two people during a protest against an alleged case of sexual harrasment by an army soldier against a young woman. (Al Jazeera)
United States presidential election, 2016
- Paul Ryan, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, rules out seeking or accepting the Republican Party nomination in 2016. (Fox News)
Brazil impeachment process, 2016
- President Dilma Rousseff, speaking with teachers and students, says Vice President Michel Temer and Chamber of Deputies Speaker Eduardo Cunha are jointly plotting her downfall. The two men are in line to succeed her if she is impeached. (AP via The Washington Post)
- In a 13-minute audio tape he released Monday, Vice President Temer outlines his administration in the event that President Rousseff is impeached. Temer says he unintentionally sent the tape to lawmakers through an instant messenger app. (Bloomberg) (AP via The Washington Post)

Science and technology

A British brain scan study of Lysergic acid diethylamide shows LSD may be useful in treating mental disorders such as major depressive disorder. (BBC)(Nature)
British cosmologist Stephen Hawking and Russian venture capitalist and physicist Yuri Milner announce ” Breaktrough Starshot,” a $100 million effort to plan a trip to the sun’s closest stellar neighbor, Alpha Centauri, via developing nanotechnology that would put the craft within the star system roughly 20 years after leaving Earth. (UPI)

Sport

In rugby union, Allister Coetzee is named as the new coach of the South Africa national rugby team. (IOL)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

April 25, 2016

Top News Stories –

Is this the new Mojito? –
The Mojito, the Cuba Libre and the Dark and Stormy have all earned their place in the cocktail hall of fame. And now a new creation looks set to join their ranks: the ‘Venceremos’ – a bold new cocktail that gets its kick from a dash of sesame oil. And it’s all thanks to Gn Chan, the self-confessed ‘lightweight’ bartender from New York, whose most recent concoction has been named the best cocktail in the world at the 2016 BACARDI Legacy Global Cocktail Competition.The mixture of BACARDI rum and coconut liqueur with pineapple, cucumber and lime juice (topped off with a dash of sesame oil and garnished with a pineapple leaf) is now set to grace bars, clubs, restaurants and lounges across the world. Best of all, it’s simple to make. ‘Put everything together,’ says Chan, 29, who currently works at a speakeasy-style bar in Manhattan. ‘Shake. Strain. Done.’ Chan, who describes himself as an ‘accidental bartender’ explains that the Venceremos – Spanish for ‘we shall overcome’ – is a reflection of his own journey as he hustled his way to the top of his career. [Daily Mail]

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide	USA
#LiamDay	#mondaymotivation
#あなたの声優は	#FamousAF
#SegundaDetremuraSdv	#WorldPenguinDay
#الثوره_مستمره	#WhatsInHillarysPurse
#WorldPenguinDay	#LiamDay
#اعطني_سوالك_و�…	Cruz and Kasich
#BrazilLovesNormani	#MyBestDayIn3Words
#MaduroEsOscuridad	#SummerSixteenTour
#لن_تقودي	#CureBoredomIn5Words
#HappyBdayDanielSharman	#AlecAppreciationDay

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)
- Two Turkish soldiers are killed and four are wounded in an attack by Kurdish militants in southeastern Turkey. (Daily Mail)
- The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) warns Turkey it is preparing to intensify its fight. (BBC)
Syrian Civil War
- At least eight people are reportedly killed as a car bomb explodes at a checkpoint south of Damascus. (Xinhua)
American-led intervention in Syria
- The President of the United States Barack Obama announces that the U.S. will send an additional 250 troops to fight ISIL in Syria. (The Guardian)
Burundian unrest (2015–present)
- A senior Burundian Army general, Athanase Kararuza, an ethnic Tutsi and security advisor to Burundi Vice-President Gaston Sindimwo, is shot dead by heavily armed men in the capital Bujumbura. (AFP via Daily Mail)
- The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights announces that the International Criminal Court will conduct a preliminary examination of the violence in Burundi over the past year that has killed hundreds, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee abroad. (The Washington Post)
Mexican Drug War
- Mexican police come under attack in a two-hour gunfight in the city of Acapulco, killing one gunman. At the same time, a separate group of gunmen attacked a federal police base in the city. (BBC)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- Yemeni and Saudi-led coalition forces recapture the port city of Al Mukalla from al-Qaeda militants. (BBC)
Moro conflict
- Abu Sayyaf militants, who threatened to kill three foreigners kidnapped in September, 2015, from a “high-end” Philippine resort, unless they were paid 900 million pesos (17 mil Euros) by midnight today (15:00 UTC), have beheaded one of the hostages, Canadian John Ridsdel. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III had ordered an all-out effort to rescue the hostages, including a Philippine woman, kidnapped by the Daesh-linked group. (Straits Times) (Journal of Turkish Weekly) (Reuters via EuroNews), (BBC)
Attacks on secularists in Bangladesh
- Xulhaz Mannan, a Bangladeshi employee of a U.S. charity (USAID), who is also an editor for the country’s only LGBT magazine, and a friend are hacked to death in Dhaka, Bangladesh, by suspectedIslamist militants. Guards at the building were also injured. (NBC News with Reuters) (Al Jazeera)

Business and economics

British department store chain British Home Stores (BHS) collapses into administration after a last-minute rescue deal fails. The collapse of the retailer, which employs 11,000 people, is the biggest failure on the UK’s high street since the collapse of Woolworths Group in 2008. (The Guardian)
Saudi Arabia’s Council of Ministers announces a broad-based economic reform plan, known as Vision 2030, which will help the oil-reliant state to diversify its economy over the next 14 years. (Al Jazeera)
In the United States, Gannett Company, Inc., announces that two weeks ago it made an unsolicited, $815 million takeover bid for the Tribune Publishing Company, whose holdings include a number of major newspapers, such as the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. Gannett, the publisher of the national American daily USA Today as well as 107 daily newspapers, made the offer public since Tribune had not yet responded. Last month, Tribune Publishing’s winning bid for the Orange County Register was blocked by the U.S. Justice Department because of an antitrust challenge. (Reuters) (Chicago Tribune) (Orange County Register)
Goldman Sachs, the American multinational investment banking firm, launches an FDIC-insured, Internet-based savings bank. The Wall Street institution, whose investment banking account minimums are in the millions, sets a minimum deposit of $1 dollar for GSBank.com. (TechCrunch) (GS Bank website)

Disasters and accidents

A Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16 fighter jet, taking part in a mock attack on Tarva on April 12, mistakenly opened fire on a control tower with three officers inside, who survived unharmed, according to the Norwegian military. (The Guardian)
At least 23 people have died and dozens of others have become sick in Karor Lal Esan, central Pakistan, after eating sweets suspected of being contaminated with pesticides. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
At least two people are killed and seven are injured following an explosion on a bus in Yerevan, Armenia. The cause of the blast is being investigated. (RT)
Hillsborough disaster
- The jury in the second inquest for the victims of the Hillsborough disaster reach their verdicts. These will be given at 11:00 BST tomorrow.(BBC)

International relations

The People’s Republic of China urges North Korea to abide by a United Nations Security Council resolution that bans the North from conducting ballistic missile tests, two days after Pyongyang claimed it conducted a test from a submarine. (Yonhap)
Belarus–United States relations
- The top U.S. diplomat in Belarus Scott Rauland and Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimer Makey said that their countries are ready to discuss the possible return of their ambassadors. Makey told reporters in Minsk that “there is readiness from both sides for a full normalization of our relations.” Belarus recalled its ambassador from Washington in 2008 after the United States imposed sanctions against Belarusian oil giant Belneftekhim following tensions between Minsk and the West. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
2016 Ecuador earthquake
- The United Nations World Food Programme announces it is stepping up assistance to Ecuador’s most vulnerable areas following an earthquake that killed over 650 people. (Euronews)
Afghanistan–Pakistan relations, Taliban insurgency
- Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani says Pakistan must take military action against Taliban, operating from Pakistan, who are waging an increasingly deadly insurgency across his country. Otherwise, “… we will be forced to turn to the UN Security Council and start serious diplomatic efforts.” (The New York Times) (Penske Media Corporation)
European migrant crisis
- Turkey says it has deported more than 3,300 foreigners suspected of links to jihadi groups, and barred another 41,000 foreigners from entering the country. (AP)

Law and crime

Shooting of Tamir Rice
- The U.S. city of Cleveland, Ohio, agrees to pay $6 million to settle a wrongful death civil rights lawsuit brought by the family of Tamir Rice. Rice was a 12-year-old boy who was walking outside a recreation center holding an air pellet gun when he was shot and killed by a Cleveland Police officer on November 22, 2014. Prosecutor Tim McGinty reported in December 2015 that an Ohio grand jury decided not to indict the police officers. (NPR) (CNN)
Constitution of Venezuela
- Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal rules that opposition’s proposed amendment to change the President’s term of office from six to four years can not be applied retroactively, thereby ending this attempt to cut short President Nicolás Maduro’s time in office. (BBC) (AP)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- The presidential campaigns of Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Governor of Ohio John Kasich announce they will now coordinate strategies to stop fellow Republican Donald Trump from becoming the party’s nominee. Cruz’s campaign will cut campaigning in Oregon and New Mexico to help Kasich, while the Kasich campaign will give Cruz a “clear path” in Indiana. (BBC)
United States presidential election in Arizona, 2016
- A Maricopa County, Arizona, judge rejects Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s request to throw out a court challenge prompted by major polling problems during the March primary. (KPNX)(KPNX²)

Sports

2015–16 Serie A
- Juventus win Italy’s association football championship for the fifth consecutive time. (BBC)
In American football, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals rules that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady must serve a four-game suspension imposed by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in the Deflategate scandal. The suspension had been stayed due to a lower court ruling. (ESPN)
In basketball, the Golden State Warriors, the top seed in the ongoing NBA playoffs, announce that the NBA’s reigning MVP, Stephen Curry, will miss at least two weeks with a sprained MCL. (ESPN)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

June 3, 2016

Top News Stories –

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali dies aged 74 –
Muhammad Ali has died at the age of 74, a family spokesman has said. The former world heavyweight boxing champion, one of the world’s best-known sportsmen, died at a hospital in the US city of Phoenix, Arizona, after being admitted on Thursday. He was suffering from a respiratory illness, a condition that was complicated by Parkinson’s disease. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Ali shot to fame by winning light-heavyweight gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Nicknamed “The Greatest”, the American beat Sonny Liston in 1964 to win his first world title and became the first boxer to capture a world heavyweight title on three separate occasions. He eventually retired in 1981, having won 56 of his 61 fights. Crowned “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated and “Sports Personality of the Century” by the BBC, Ali was noted for his pre- and post-fight talk and bold fight predictions just as much as his boxing skills inside the ring. But he was also a civil rights campaigner and poet who transcended the bounds of sport, race and nationality. Asked how he would like to be remembered, he once said: “As a man who never sold out his people. But if that’s too much, then just a good boxer. I won’t even mind if you don’t mention how pretty I was.” [BBC] See Video of the Day and List of the Day
Muhammad Ali in 1967

Video of the Day –

Muhammad Ali & Greenlight from Studio Dialog on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Muhammad Ali’s best quotes [Evening Standard]

“Hey Floyd – I seen you! Someday I’m gonna whup you! Don’t you forget, I am the greatest!” – To then-world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson during the 1960 Olympic Games.

“Why are all the angels white? Why ain’t there no black angels?” – In a sermon at apostolic church in 1983.

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” – The man who captured not only his boxing style but his attitude in life.

“Sonny Liston is nothing. The man can’t talk. The man can’t fight. The man needs talking lessons. The man needs boxing lessons. And since he’s gonna fight me, he needs falling lessons.” – Before fighting world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston in February 1964.

“I’m king of the world! I’m pretty! I’m a bad man! I shook up the world! I shook up the world! I shook up the world!” – February 25 1964, after defeating Sonny Liston.

“I had a good time boxing. I enjoyed it – and I may come back.” – On being crowned Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC in 1999.

“Cassius Clay is a slave name. I didn’t choose it, and I didn’t want it. I am Muhammad Ali, a free name, and I insist people using it when speaking to me and of me.” – On his conversion to Islam.

“Man, I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. No Vietcong ever called me nigger.” – On his refusal to answer a call up to fight in Vietnam.

“It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am.”

“They did what they thought was right, and I did what I thought was right.” – On the government’s long effort to send him to prison after his refusal to go to Vietnam.

“You serious? I got to stay here and lead my people to the right man – Elijah Muhammad” – When asked why he does not flee the country, in an interview by Robert Lipsyte of The New York Times on April 26 1967, two days before refusing induction into military service.

“I’ve done my celebrating already. I said a prayer to Allah” – June 28 1971, on being told his conviction for draft evasion was overturned by the US Supreme Court.

“I told you all, all of my critics, that I was the greatest of all time. Never make me the underdog until I’m about 50 years old” – October 1 1974, after knocking out George Foreman to become heavyweight champion for the second time, in Kinshasa, Zaire.

Other News Stories –

Disasters and accidents

2016 European floods
- The flood waters for the Seine River are expected to peak at six metres above its normal level. Flooding in France and Germany has so far claimed at least 11 lives. (BBC)
- A sixth body is recovered in Bavaria near the Austrian border. (AP)
European migrant crisis
- Bodies of 117 people, including 75 women, 36 men and six children, are recovered from a beach near Zuwarah, Libya, possibly from yesterday’s capsize in the Mediterranean Sea. (CNN)
- Greek authorities rescue 340 people from a boat carrying around 700 migrants that capsized 75 nautical miles off the Greek island of Crete. So far nine bodies have been recovered. (U.S. News & World Report) (CNN)
2016 Oklahoma floods
- The four missing Fort Hood soldiers from the overturned Light Medium Tactical Vehicle are found dead, bringing the death toll from the accident to nine. (AP via Los Angeles Times) (UPI)
2016 Union Pacific oil train fire
- Eleven cars from a 96-car Union Pacific oil train derail, and at least one catches fire, in the Columbia River Gorge near Mosier, Oregon, within about 20 feet of the city’s sewage plant. Coincidentally, aWasco County Planning Department public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday concerning a Union Pacific proposal to expand an existing railroad siding on either side of Mosier. (The Oregonian) (Wasco County Planning Commission)
At least eight people are hospitalized after lightning struck at the Rock am Ring music festival near Mendig, Germany. (AP)
A helicopter crashes in Nabire, Papua, Indonesia, killing a pilot and three passengers. (Detik.com)

Health and medicine

A study by researchers at the University of North Carolina, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, reports 26 percent of cancer patients can’t afford to pay for their treatment, and 18 percent can’t afford their prescriptions. (UPI) (ASCO) (Meeting)

Law and crime

2015 FIFA corruption case
- FIFA shares results of their investigation with legal authorities showing former president Sepp Blatter and two others gave themselves nearly $80 million over the past five years via annual raises and World Cup bonuses. (NPR)

Politics and elections

Venezuela’s National Election Council cancels a planned meeting to determine the validity of 1.85 million signatures on a petition for a referendum to oust President Nicolás Maduro. (UPI)

Sports

In boxing, heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, dies of respiratory complications in a hospital in the American city of Phoenix, Arizona. (NBC News)
A ten person team of refugees will compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. (Al Jazeera)added

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

June 9, 2016

Top News Stories –

Experiment ‘turns waste CO2 to stone’ –
Scientists think they have found a smart way to constrain carbon dioxide emissions – just turn them to stone. The researchers report an experiment in Iceland where they have pumped CO2 and water underground into volcanic rock. Reactions with the minerals in the deep basalts convert the carbon dioxide to a stable, immobile chalky solid. Even more encouraging, the team writes in Science magazine, is the speed at which this process occurs: on the order of months. “Of our 220 tonnes of injected CO2, 95% was converted to limestone in less than two years,” said lead author Juerg Matter from Southampton University, UK. “It was a huge surprise to all the scientists involved in the project, and we thought, ‘Wow! This is really fast’.” [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Office Pet | The Dude Perfect Show

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Somalia (2009–present)
- Al-Shabaab says it has killed at least 60 Ethiopian soldiers in an attack on a AMISOM base in central Somalia. (BBC)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Two separate car bombs explode in Baghdad, killing at least 20 people. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Arts and culture

Thailand celebrates the 70th anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s accession to the Thai throne. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

A bus plunges over a ravine in Brazil‘s São Paulo state, resulting in at least 18 people killed and 28 injured. (Globo.com)
A Northrop F-5 of the Swiss Air Force crashes during an air show at the Leeuwarden Air Base in the Netherlands. (RTL Nieuws)
Three people aboard a small plane are killed when the aircraft crashes into a parked car near the Houston, Texas, Hobby Airport. (AP)
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake hits the northwestern coast of Nicaragua not far from the Honduran border. La Prensa reports the walls of a church collapsed in the city of Chinandega. There are no immediate reports of casualties. (AP)

Health

2015–16 Zika virus epidemic
- The World Health Organization advises women in areas where the Zika virus is prevalent to delay pregnancies. (New York Times)

International relations

Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
- Israel suspends 83,000 entry permits for Palestinians for Ramadan following a mass shooting in downtown Tel Aviv that killed four and injured 17 people. (AFP via Naharnet)
China–Japan relations, Senkaku Islands dispute
- Japan summons China‘s ambassador, Cheng Yonghua, to Tokyo after a People’s Liberation Army Navy warship sailed close to its territorial waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Seafor the first time. (Reuters)
2016 Bilderberg Conference
- The 64th annual conference of the secretive Bilderberg Group takes place at the Taschenbergpalais hotel in Dresden, Germany. (The Independent)
Yemeni civil war
- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon temporarily removes the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen from a U.N. blacklist for violating children’s rights because its supporters threatened to stop funding many U.N. programs. (AP)
Fiji–New Zealand relations
- New Zealand Prime Minister John Key visits Fiji, the first time a Kiwi leader has done so since the 2006 coup d’état. Key is hoping to improve relations between the two countries though it’s clear their political tensions don’t have easy solutions. (AP)

Law and crime

Papua New Guinea student protests
- Papua New Guinea student protest leader Noel Anjo says demonstrations will continue despite the court order barring protests. “The students are not going to give up until and unless the prime ministerresigns or surrenders himself to police and is arrested and charged,” Anjo said. (BBC) (Reuters)
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules there is no Second Amendment protection for concealed weapons, upholding a California law that does not consider “general self-defense” sufficient for a license.(CNN)
Venezuelan opposition lawmaker, Julio Borges, is left bloodied after being hit in the face with a pipe in downtown Caracas. He spoke at a press conference after the attack with blood streaming down from his nose and mouth, and bloody stains on his button-down shirt, accusing the attackers of being supporters of President Nicolás Maduro. (AP via ABC News)
California’s right to die law, that allows physicians to prescribe medicines to terminally ill patients to hasten their deaths, goes into effect. California is the fifth state in America where this practice is legal. Opponents sue to overturn the law as unconstitutional because it denies terminally ill patients protections afforded other citizens. (Los Angeles Times)

Politics and elections

2016 United States presidential election
- U.S. President Barack Obama endorses Hillary Clinton for President of the United States. (The Hill)
Peruvian general election, 2016
- Election officials announce all ballots have been processed and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski wins the closest presidential contest in five decades with 50.1 percent of the votes versus 49.9% for Keiko Fujimori. Fujimori has yet to concede defeat. As many as 50,000 ballots still need to be reviewed, but experts say Fujimori can not make up the difference of roughly 40,000 votes separating her from Kuczynski.(BBC News) (ABC News) (AP)

Science and technology

Researchers in Iceland report, in the journal Science, that carbon dioxide emissions can be pumped into the earth and changed chemically to stone — significantly faster than expected. (Phys.org) (Science)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

June 12, 2016

Top News Stories –

Orlando shooting: At least 50 killed in Pulse nightclub mass shooting –
A heavily armed gunman has killed at least 50 people, with another 53 injured, at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The mass shooting is the worst in US history and US President Barack Obama has branded it “an act of terror and an act of hate”.

At least 50 people killed, 53 injured in mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida
Gunman Omar Mateen took hostages, killed when police stormed building
Mateen was armed with an assault rifle and handgun, police say
US President Barack Obama brands shooting an act of terror and hate
Armed man arrested in LA had assault rifles in car, said he was going to the LA Pride festival, police said

[ABC Australia]

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- In the Third Battle of Fallujah, ISIL militants attack a military barracks east of Fallujah, killing more than 50 government soldiers and militia members. At least 12 militants were also killed in the assault. (Al Jazeera)
Yemeni civil war
- Missiles, fired from a U.S. drone, strike a four-wheel drive vehicle in southern Yemen, killing two and injuring another suspected militant. (Press TV)

Arts and culture

Around 10,000 people attend a street party in front of Buckingham Palace to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday. (Reuters)
70th Tony Awards
- The 70th Tony Awards are held at the Beacon Theater in New York City with The Humans winning the Best Play and Hamilton winning the Best Musical. (Variety)
- Hamilton sweeps the Tonys, winning 11 of Broadway’s top awards including best musical, best actor (Leslie Odom, Jr.), best direction (Thomas Kail), best featured actress (Renée Elise Goldsberry), and best featured actor (Daveed Diggs). Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda won for best score and for best book of a musical. (Otago Daily Times) (Forbes)
- Hamilton fell just short of‎ The Producers record of 12 wins in 2001‎. (Los Angeles Times)

International relations

European migration crisis
- Italy‘s Coast Guard picks up 1,230 migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. More than 4,000 people have been saved at sea in the past week. (Reuters via Trust)

Law and crime

2016 Orlando nightclub shooting
- In what is the deadliest mass shooting and the worst terror attack since 9/11 to occur in the United States, a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in the U.S. city of Orlando, Florida, kills at least 50 people, including the shooter, and injures 53. (BBC) (CNN) (Australian Broadcasting Co.)
- ISIL’s Amaq News Agency claims that the assault, “… was carried out by an Islamic State fighter”. (Reuters) (CBS New York)
- The FBI identifies the deceased gunman as Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, a 29-year-old American citizen born in New York to Afghani parents, and living in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Mateen called 9-1-1 during the attack and pledged allegiance to ISIL. (CBS New York)
- Mateen’s father, Seddique Mir Mateen, says, “We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident. This had nothing to do with religion.” Seddique says that during a recent outing in Miami, his son got very angry when he saw men kissing and touching each other. According to the elder Mateen, Omar said, ‘Look at that. In front of my son they are doing that.’ (NBC News)
- The City of Orlando requests, via Twitter, citizens, “… hold off on vigils — they represent a serious strain on our limited resources, which we need to dedicate to law enforcement and victims.” (The New York Times)
The scheduled L.A. Pride parade is held in West Hollywood Park in California. A 20-year-old man, whose car was filled with explosive materials and weapons, is arrested before he reached the parade area. He is misquoted as saying he wanted to harm people at the event. (Los Angeles Daily News)
An explosion at Shanghai Pudong International Airport injures at least three people; the explosive appears to be homemade. (AP via The Guardian)
Lawyers for former President of Chad Hissène Habré, who was recently found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison, appeal the verdict. However, a tribunal spokesman said the appeal process is not expected to be done before April 2017. (Al Jazeera)

Sports

UEFA Euro 2016
- UEFA opens an inquiry into the Russian Football Union after massive fights between Russian and English hooligans during and after the match between Russia and England in Marseille. Dozens of injuries, including at least one Briton in critical condition, and multiple arson attacks occurred throughout the city. (BBC)
2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
- In golf, Brooke Henderson of Canada wins the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. (Seattle Times)
2016 Stanley Cup Finals
- In ice hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins win their fourth Stanley Cup title defeating the San Jose Sharks 4 games to 2 in the finals. (ESPN)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

June 14, 2016

Top News Stories –

Iceland strengthens road signs to stop thefts –
Iceland has strengthened its road signs in order to stop tourists stealing them to take home as novel souvenirs, it’s reported. The most popular signs to be pinched are the sort rarely found in other countries, specifically those marking fords that cross rivers, blind rises and gravel tracks, according to Iceland’s RUV national broadcaster. Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson of the Road and Coastal Administration says they are now “using bolts that can’t be dismantled with an ordinary car toolkit”, and making the signs too heavy to carry off easily. Mr Ingolfsson, who is also a noted crime novelist, designed some of the signs. He tells RUV that the international Vienna Road Traffic Agreement “simply doesn’t provide for our topography”, and this makes unique Icelandic signs particularly appealing to memento-hunter. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Tokyo Aglow (At The CONFLUX Part Two) from Justin Tierney on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes
- Afghan and Pakistani soldiers clash at the Torkham border crossing between the two countries, leaving one Afghan soldier and a Pakistani major killed. At least 22 other people were also injured. Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have grown since the latter’s attempts to build a gate at the crossing. (Al Jazeera)
June 2016 Magnanville stabbing
- The attacker is identified as Larossi Abballa, a 25-year-old man who, according to police sources, was a neighbor of the murdered couple. Abballa was one of eight men convicted in Paris in 2013 for making plans to travel to Pakistan for terrorist training, and then to commit terrorists acts. Abballa was sentenced to three years in prison. He was released after the trial as six months of the sentence was suspended, and he had already spent two years in jail awaiting trial. (The Telegraph) (The New York Times)
- Abballa was recording the attack and posting it on Facebook Live, according to French officials. (CBSNews)
2016 Orlando nightclub shooting
- Six of the wounded are critically ill, five remain in “guarded” condition, and 16 more are still hospitalized. Forty-four people were brought to the Orlando Regional Medical Center after the shooting. (The Washington Post via The Providence Journal)

Disasters and accidents

A Vietnamese air force Su-30MK2 goes missing during a trial flight along the coast of Nghệ An Province (Reuters via Euronews)
A Cessna 208 Caravan plane crashes in the small town of Yahukimo in Papua, Indonesia, injuring at least seven people. (Radio New Zealand)
Three fishermen are killed, and six others injured, during the crash of a van in Atka, Alaska, United States.(Alaska Dispatch News)

International relations

European Union-Turkey relations
- Hansjörg Haber (de), the European Union’s top envoy to Turkey, resigns effective August. Ömer Çelik, Turkish Minister of European Union Affairs, had complained that Haber had shown disrespect for Turkey’s national values, and for President Tayyip Erdoğan. EU officials declined to comment on the reason for Haber’s resignation. (Prensa Latina)
- Turkey’s EU accession process has been stalled over the EU’s requirement that Turkey reform its counter-terrorism laws concerning their application against intellectuals, Kurdish sympathizers, and critics of Erdoğan. Tomorrow, EU envoys are scheduled to formally agree to open negotiations on financial and budget issues. (Reuters)

Law and crime

An armed man, holding two people hostage in a Walmart in Amarillo, Texas, is shot and killed by a police SWAT unit. No other injuries are reported. (Reuters)
United States presidential election, 2016
- Alleged Russian hackers have penetrated the computer network of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and have gained access to the entire database of research on Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump, according to committee officials and security experts. The DNC says that no financial, donor or personal information appears to have been accessed or taken, suggesting that the breach was traditional espionage, and not the work of criminal hackers. (The Washington Post)
A U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit three-judge panel upholds the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules that prohibit broadband providers from giving or selling access to faster internet service to selected customers. (Reuters)
An Egyptian Misdemeanor Court acquits 52 people charged with taking part in anti-government demonstrations in April. Thousands rallied on April 25 to protest the transfer of Red Sea islands Tiran andSanafir to Saudi Arabia. Police arrested nearly 300 demonstrators; government reports indicate all have been released from prison. (AP via ABC News)
Los Angeles, California, police arrest a 21-year-old homeless man after five bodies of apparent transients are found in the wreckage of a vacant former medical building that burned down Monday night. Firefighters had been able to rescue three people. (Los Angeles Times) (LA Weekly) (UPI)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
- Rupert Murdoch-controlled tabloid The Sun, Britain’s second biggest selling newspaper, endorses Brexit, saying that the people of UK should “Take back control and BeLeave in Britain”. (The Guardian)
United States presidential election, 2016
- Hillary Clinton wins the Washington D.C. Democratic Party primary, the last scheduled primary on the party’s schedule before the 2016 Democratic National Convention in late July. (NBC News)

Sport

UEFA Euro 2016
- UEFA fines the Russian Football Union €150,000 (US$168,000) for the violence that broke out between Russian and English supporters in Marseille on June 11. UEFA also warned that any further misconduct will disqualify the Russian team. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
In ice hockey, ESPN reports that the NHL will place an expansion team in Las Vegas, provided the team’s backers can pay a US$500 million expansion fee. The team, which would enter the league no earlier than the 2017–18 season, would be the first major professional sports team in Las Vegas. The league’s board of governors is scheduled to hold a formal vote on the expansion on June 22. (ESPN)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

June 26, 2016

Top News Stories –

Lionel Messi announces international football retirement after Argentina loses Copa America final –
Argentina superstar Lionel Messi says he is finished with the national team after the side’s loss to Chile in the Copa America final. The five-time world player of the year announced as much in the immediate aftermath of Argentina’s gut-wrenching loss to Chile, 4-2 in a penalty shootout on Monday. “The national team is done for me,” Messi told reporters. The 29-year-old was booked for simulation and sent his attempt over the crossbar in the decisive shootout as he fell short for the fourth time in a major international final. “It’s difficult, it’s a hard moment for any analysis. In the dressing room I thought that the national team is not for me,” he added. [ABC] In April Messi scored his 500th career goal.
Lionel Messi

Video of the Day –

Fastest time to pop 100 balloons by a dog – Guinness World Records

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Battle of Fallujah (2016)
  - The head of the counter terrorism forces which partook in the offensive says that the city of Fallujah has been “fully liberated”. (AP)
Boko Haram insurgency
- Fighting in various remote villages in the Borno State of Nigeria kill at least one civilian and six Boko Haram militants. According to the Nigerian Army, they’ve rescued more than 5,000 hostages from the militants. (Al Jazeera)
Syrian Civil War
- Airstrikes reportedly kill at least 82 people, including 58 civilians, in Syria‘s eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

The expanded Panama Canal opens after a $4.5 billion expansion allowing larger ships to use it. (Los Angeles Times)

Disasters and accidents

A bus fire kills at least 35 people in China’s Hunan Province. (AFP via Geo TV)(Reuters)
A roller coaster derails and crashes at M&D’s theme park in Motherwell, Scotland. Ten people are reportedly injured. (BBC)
Five people are killed in the American state of Colorado after an Amtrak train collides with a minivan carrying six people near the town of Trinidad, Colorado. (9 News) (Denver Post)

Law and crime

Unidentified men with bush knives attack the Papua New Guinea University of Technology in the city of Lae, killing one student, and set fire to various buildings on the campus. (Radio New Zealand)
Organized crime in Italy
- Ernesto Fazzalari, Italy‘s second most-wanted fugitive and member of ‘Ndrangheta, is arrested by the Carabinieri near Molochio in Calabria, Southern Italy, after two decades on the run. Interior Minister Angelino Alfano described Fazzalari as “one of the most important fugitives and a leading underworld figure”. (The Guardian)
Police report multiple stabbings at a planned “white pride” rally in Sacramento, California between the Traditionalist Workers Party and counter-protesters. The Sacramento Fire Department reports seven people were taken to local hospitals, two with life-threatening wounds. (CBS News) (ABC News)

Politics and elections

Spanish general election, 2016
- Voters in Spain go to the polls for a general election six months after an inconclusive election. Polls indicate that no party will be in position to form a government. (AP)
United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, says that Scottish Parliament has the power to veto the United Kingdom‘s exit from the European Union. (BBC)
- Heidi Alexander, Gloria De Piero, Ian Murray, Lilian Greenwood, Lucy Powell, Kerry McCarthy, Seema Malhotra, Vernon Coaker, Charlie Falconer, Karl Turner and Chris Bryant resign en masse from theLabour Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn in protest at Jeremy Corbyn‘s leadership over the EU referendum, and the firing of Hilary Benn. (BBC)
- The petition calling for a second referendum passes three million signatures. (Parliament UK)

Sport

Copa América Centenario
- In football, Chile wins the Copa América, defeating Argentina in a penalty shootout after regular time and extra time end scoreless. (Daily Mirror)
- Argentina star Lionel Messi, who became Argentina’s all-time leading goalscorer during the Copa, announces his retirement from international football after the game. (ABC News)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

June 27, 2016

Top News Stories –

Euro 2016: Roy Hodgson resigns after England lose to Iceland –
Roy Hodgson has resigned as England manager after his side’s 2-1 defeat by Iceland saw them knocked out of Euro 2016. The 68-year-old had been in charge for four years after replacing Italian Fabio Capello but has won just three of 11 games in major tournament finals. Iceland – with a population of just 330,000 – were among the lowest-ranked teams in France at 34 in the world. “I’m sorry it will have to end this way but these things happen,” Hodgson said. “I hope you will still be able to see an England team in a final of a major tournament soon,” he added. “Now is the time for someone else to oversee the progress of a hungry and extremely talented group of players. They have done fantastically, and done everything asked of them.” [BBC]
Roy Hodgson

Video of the Day –

case / lang / veirs – Atomic Number (Official Music Video) from KANGMIN KIM on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon
- A suicide bomber attacks the Lebanese village of Qaa near the Syrian border, with at least six people dead and 13 people injured. (BBC)
At least two people are killed and 72 are injured following a grenade attack on a concert at the Mahamasina Municipal Stadium in Madagascar‘s capital, Antananarivo. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Brexit impact
- The value of the British pound initially falls by more than 2% as Asian markets open to a decline. (Reuters)
- A number of analysts, including Ralf Preusser from Bank of America and Ric Deverell from Credit Suisse, believe that the United Kingdom economy is heading into a recession. (Poundsterlinglive)
- The Dow Jones drops by more than 300 points in early trading, but rebounds a bit to close at a loss of 260.51. (CNBC)
- Standard & Poor’s downgrades the UK credit rating from AAA to AA with a negative outlook. Fitch follows by downgrading UK from AA+ to AA. (The Guardian)
Volkswagen emissions scandal
- Volkswagen faces settlement costs of $15 billion to settle lawsuits in the United States resulting from the rigging of emissions tests. (Bloomberg)

Disasters and accidents

Singapore Airlines Flight 368
- A Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER en-route to Milan‘s Malpensa Airport makes an emergency landing at Singapore‘s Changi Airport after the pilots received an engine oil warning message, whereafter the plane’s right engine caught fire. Singapore Changi Airport’s aircraft rescue and firefighting services extinguished the fire and Singapore Airlines confirmed that all 222 passengers and 19 crew members evacuated safely. (CNN) (The Sydney Morning Herald)
2016 West Virginia flood
- Two men initially thought to have died when a camper was swept away in Greenbrier County are found alive, lowering the death toll from the disaster to 20 confirmed fatalities and three others missing and presumed dead. (AP via Fox News)

International relations

India formally joins the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). (The Times of India)
Russia–Turkey relations, 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan writes Russian President Vladimir Putin to offer condolences to the family of the deceased Russian pilot of the Sukhoi Su-24 warplane shot down last November. The Kremlin has insisted on a personal apology for months. A Turkish spokesman says this is a step toward improving bilateral relations between the two countries. (The Washington Post) (The Guardian
Israel–Turkey relations
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım announce their countries have agreed on a pact to normalize diplomatic relations that have been strained for six years since the Gaza flotilla raid when nine Turkish activists were killed. (Christian Science Monitor) (Los Angeles Times) (The Times of Israel)

Law and crime

Former Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat is sentenced to prison for nine years after being found guilty of corruption and abuse of power. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt
- The Supreme Court of the United States strikes down a law that would have required abortion clinics in Texas to upgrade in order to meet new “hospital-like” standards. Supporters of abortion rights said that the proposed law would force nearly all abortion clinics in the state to shut down, while their opponents argued for women’s health benefits. (CNN)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union:
- Peter Altmaier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, warns Britain of dire consequences of exit from the European Union, saying in a newspaper interview that UK leaders should not rule out the possibility of another referendum on the same issue. (Daily Mail) (Bloomberg)
- Joining their 12 colleagues from the day before, Luciana Berger, Angela Eagle, Maria Eagle, Kate Green, Nia Griffith, John Healey, Lisa Nandy and Owen Smith resign from the Labour Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn, alongside 18 junior shadow ministers and 9 additional frontbenchers, while Angela Smith and Steve Bassam of the House of Lords leadership will boycott attending Shadow Cabinet meetings, all in protest at Jeremy Corbyn‘s leadership over the EU referendum, and the firing of Hilary Benn. (The Guardian)
- The European Union refuses informal talks with the United Kingdom until they trigger Article 50 to leave. (BBC)

Sport

UEFA Euro 2016
- Underdogs Iceland defeat England 2-1 at the Allianz Riviera in Nice to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA European Championship. (BBC)
- Roy Hodgson announces his resignation as England manager following the team’s defeat to Iceland. (BBC)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 8, 2016

Top News Stories –

Christina Estrada: Former supermodel wins £53m divorce settlement –
A former supermodel has been awarded a £53m ($69m) lump sum after a divorce battle with her billionaire ex-husband. Berkshire-based Christina Estrada, 54, had wanted £196m from Saudi businessman Sheikh Walid Juffali, 61, to meet her “needs” – including £1m a year on clothes – the High Court was told. The total settlement, which takes into account her own assets, is about £75m. Her lawyers said this makes it “by more than £50m, the largest needs award ever made by an English court”. Ms Estrada, who is is currently living at the matrimonial home bordering Windsor Great Park, had rejected an offer that, when added to her own assets, would have given her £37m to live on. Ms Estrada was cross-examined in court on her needs, which she said included:

£40,000 a year for fur coats
£109,000 a year for haute couture dresses
£21,000 a year on shoes
£60m to afford a luxury London home
A £4.4m countryside home in Henley-on-Thames
£495,000 for five cars – three in London and two in the US

[BBC]

Video of the Day –

If you couldn’t die, what would happen?

A G A I N from Nico Gao on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Insurgency in the North Caucasus
- At least eight unidentified militants and one security officer are killed in ongoing clashes in rural Dagestan, Russia. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Boko Haram insurgency
- According to a Nigerian Army spokesman, a Boko Haram suicide bomber kills six people inside a mosque in the town of Damboa, Borno State. A second suicide bomber attempted to enter the same mosque but failed to gain entry and detonated his belt, killing only himself. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- Airstrikes hit Darkush in Idlib Province near the Turkish border, killing at least 23 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. At least 25 died when rebels shelled government-held areas of Aleppo. Friday is the last day of a 72-hour Syrian Army-sponsored ceasefire. (Reuters) (Reuters²)
South Sudanese Civil War
- Five soldiers between the two rival Sudan People’s Liberation Army factions are killed in clashes in the capital Juba, with reports of heavy gunfire continuing, despite President Salva Kiir Mayardit and rebel leader Riek Machar having reached a peace deal back in April. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Nepartak hits eastern Taiwan causing three deaths so far, 124 injuries, thousands of people to be evacuated, disrupting transport and power supplies. (Reuters) (CNN)

Health and medicine

Zika virus epidemic
- The death of an elderly Utah woman with a Zika virus infection in late June is the first reported Zika-related death in the continental United States. The woman had traveled to an area where Zika is spreading. The exact cause of death has not been determined; the lady had an underlying medical condition. (NBC News) (Time)

International relations

Abdul Sattar Edhi, Pakistani philanthropist and Chairman of the Edhi Foundation, passes away in Karachi at Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation. (Dawn News) (Pakistan Today)
2016 Warsaw summit
- NATO members gather in Warsaw, Poland, for a two-day summit. Much of the focus will be on Russia and NATO’s commitments in bolstering its presence in Eastern Europe. Other issues to be discussed will include Europe’s migrant crises, ISIL extremists, and the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
South Korea–United States relations
- American and South Korean military officials agree to deploy a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system in the country to counter North Korea‘s growing threats and use of ballistic missile and nuclear tests. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

Human rights in the Philippines; Philippine Drug War
- The left-wing political party, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, which is part of the current government, asks Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to investigate the recent vigilante killings of suspected drug pushers. (GMA News)
- Opposition senator and human rights lawyer Leila de Lima has condemned the killings and urged the Philippine Congress to investigate. (Channel News Asia)
2016 shooting of Dallas police officers
- Police kill Micah X Johnson, the gunman believed responsible for the killing of five police officers and shooting of seven more in Dallas, Texas following a standoff. (Los Angeles Times)

Politics and elections

2016 Zimbabwe protests
- Protests in Harare and elsewhere in the country continue despite police intimidation and pleas by President Robert Mugabe for them to stop. (Voice of America Zimbabwe)
- President Mugabe, in a live national television broadcast from a stadium in Bindura, blames Western sanctions for his country’s inability to pay government workers on time. (AP via The Washington Post) (AFP via Yahoo! News)
- #ThisFlag protest leader Pastor Evan Mawarire says the movement, which uses WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter, will hold a two-day strike next week if demands, that include sacking corrupt ministers, payment of delayed salaries, lifting of roadblocks that residents say are used by police to extract bribes, etc., are not met. A drought has aggravated the country’s situation as have banks that have a daily withdrawal ceiling as low as $50. (Reuters via CNBC Africa) (Ventures Africa)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 14, 2016

Top News Stories –

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]

Video of the Day –

How to Make a Tennis Ball from Benedict Redgrove on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Somalia
- 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)
2016 Nice attack
- A truck plows into a mass of revelers during the Bastille Day fireworks on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, with a death toll as high as 80 and 100 people injured. (Le Parisien) (Fox News)

Arts and culture

68th Primetime Emmy Awards
- The nominees are announced in Los Angeles. Game of Thrones, Veep and The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story lead in nominations. (Los Angeles Times) (The Washington Post)

International relations

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)

Law and crime

United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg apologizes for remarks she made earlier in the week to a number of news outlets criticizing presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. (CNN)

Politics and elections

Formation of the May ministry
- Elizabeth Truss is named Secretary of State for Justice and first ever female Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom as former chancellor Michael Gove is ousted from the cabinet. (The Lawyer)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 8, 2017

Top News Stories –

Meryl Streep rallies Hollywood while ‘La La Land’ scores big at the 2017 Golden Globes –

The 74th Golden Globe Awards were held Sunday and “La La Land” was the top winner in the motion picture categories, while “The Night Manager,” “The Crown” and “Atlanta” claimed top awards on the television side. One of the evening’s most memorable moments was Meryl Streep rallying her colleagues during her very political speech when accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement. “Take your broken heart, make it into art,” she said, quoting Carrie Fisher. [Los Angeles Times]
Meryl Streep

List of the Day –

Golden Globe winners [Daily Telegraph] –

Film

Best motion picture (drama) – Moonlight
Best motion picture – (musical or comedy) – La La Land
Best performance by an actor in a motion picture – Casey Affleck – Manchester By The Sea
Best performance by an actress in a motion picture – Isabelle Huppert – Elle
Best performance by an actor in a motion picture – (musical or comedy) – Ryan Gosling – La La Land
Best performance by an actress in a motion picture – (musical or comedy) – Emma Stone – La La Land
Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a motion picture – Aaron Taylor-Johnson – Nocturnal Animals
Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a motion picture – Viola Davis – Fences
Best director – Damien Chazelle – La La Land
Best original screenplay – La La Land
Best motion picture – foreign language – Elle – France
Best motion picture – animated – Zootopia
Best original song – City Of Stars – La La Land
Best original score – Justin Hurwitz – La La Land

Television

Best television series – drama – The Crown
Best television series – musical or comedy – Atlanta
Best performance by an actor in a television series – Billy Bob Thornton – Goliath
Best performance by an actress in a television series – Claire Foy – The Crown
Best performance by an actor in a television series – musical or comedy – Donald Glover – Atlanta
Best performance by an actress in a television series – musical or comedy – Tracee Ellis-Ross – Black-ish
Best performance by an actor in a limited series or motion picture made for television – Tom Hiddleston – The Night Manager
Best performance by an actress in a limited series or motion picture made for television – Sarah Paulson – The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story
Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television – Olivia Colman – The Night Manager
Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television – Hugh Laurie – The Night Manager

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

January 2017 Jerusalem vehicular attack
- A truck rams into a group of Israeli soldiers in a deliberate attack in East Jerusalem, killing four and wounding 21. The perpetrator was previously convicted of terrorism and was jailed for 10 years. (CNN)(The Guardian)
Iraqi Civil War
- Two suicide bombings, one using a car bomb and another with an explosive belt, take place in vegetable markets in eastern Baghdad, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 50. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility. (Reuters AP via ABC Australia) (AP via The Daily Mail) (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

The 74th Golden Globe Awards are held in Hollywood. (News Limited)
- The Crown wins the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama. (Variety)
- La La Land wins the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy while Moonlight wins the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. (Los Angeles Times)
- La La Land becomes the single most winning film in Golden Globes history, winning all seven awards out of its seven nominations and becomes the seventh film to achieve all the awards it was nominated for, the others being Doctor Zhivago (1966), Love Story (1971), The Godfather (1973), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1976), A Star is Born (1977) and Midnight Express (1979). (Golden Globes) (Los Angeles Times)

Politics and elections

Israel–United Kingdom relations
- Several British MPs demand an investigation into a recent scandal in which an Israeli embassy official in London had conspired to damage the reputation of several British politicians in response to the recent United Nations Security Council resolution. (Al Jazeera)
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former President of Iran, dies at the age of 82. (Reuters) (BBC) (Al-Jazeera)
Pakistan has decided to impose official prohibition on Jundallah and splinter groups that claim responsibility for terror attacks. (The News) (Daily Times)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

October 30, 2017

Kevin Spacey apologises over Anthony Rapp ‘sexual advance’ claim –
Hollywood star Kevin Spacey has made an apology after being accused of making a sexual advance toward a child actor. Anthony Rapp, who was 14, said Spacey invited him to a party and seemed drunk when the alleged incident happened. Spacey, who was 26, said: “I honestly do not remember the encounter… but if I did behave then as he describes I owe him the sincerest apology.” Spacey also revealed he was now living as a gay man after years of refusing to address rumours about his sexuality. The US broadcaster, Netflix, said it was ending its popular political drama, House of Cards, which stars Spacey, after the forthcoming sixth season. [BBC]
Kevin Spacey (By MARVEL (Original photo by Yvwv.) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons)

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Gaza–Israel conflict
- The IDF destroys a partly-completed tunnel from the Gaza Strip border near the town of Khan Yunis that crossed into Israeli territory, killing seven Hamas militants. Several more died in the rescue efforts. (Reuters)

International relations

Syrian Civil War
- A U.N. and Syrian Arab Red Crescent interagency convoy brings food and medical aid to 40,000 people on the verge of starvation in the towns of Kafr Batna and Saqba in the Eastern Ghouta suburb of Damascus for the first time since June 2016. (Reuters)

Law and crime

2017 Special Counsel investigation
- Paul Manafort and Rick Gates surrender to the FBI after both are indicted on multiple charges stemming from the investigation into the Donald Trump presidential campaign‘s possible associations with the Russian government. The two men—who respectively served as manager and deputy manager of the campaign from March to August 2016—are being charged on twelve counts, which include conspiracy against the U.S., money laundering and failing to register as foreign agents. (USA Today)
- George Papadopoulos, who worked as a foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, is also revealed to have plead guilty on October 5 to making false statements to FBI agents about contacts that he had with the Russian government during the campaign. (Los Angeles Times)
- Tony Podesta, brother of John Podesta, resigns from the Podesta Group lobbying firm. A spokesperson for the group says they are cooperating with the Special Counsel’s team. (Reuters)

2017 Spanish constitutional crisis, Catalan Republic (2017)
- The Spanish attorney general requests a lawsuit against (former) Catalan government members, seeking charges of sedition, rebellion and embezzlement. The Catalan parliament is formally dissolved. (San Francisco Chronicle)
- A Spanish government source says that Carles Puigdemont and part of his cabinet has fled to Belgium to escape prosecution. International media agree the situation in Catalonia—under direct Spanish rule—is quiet. (Reuters), (El Diario)
- A Belgian federal government source says Puigdemont and about five ministers would attend a “private reception” in Brussels by the N-VA party. Prime Minister Charles Michel (MR) has no comment. Interior Minister Jan Jambon (N-VA) says he “knows nothing”. N-VA replies that it “did not invite [them]”. (Het Laatste Nieuws) (7sur7)

Politics and elections

Women’s rights in Saudi Arabia
- Starting in 2018, women will be allowed to attend sports events in stadiums in Saudi Arabia for the first time in the country’s history, officials say. (BBC)
Transgender personnel in the United States military
- The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia blocks President Donald Trump‘s proposed ban on new transgender recruits in the U.S. military. (The Hill)

Science and technology

Carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere
- Concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the Earth’s atmosphere surged by a record amount in 2016, according to the World Meteorological Organization. (BBC)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 5, 2019

Top News Story –

New Melania Trump statue in Slovenia gets mixed reviews

A tongue-in-cheek statue of US First Lady Melania Trump has appeared on the outskirts of her Slovenian hometown.

US artist Brad Downey hired a local chainsaw artisan, Ales Zupevc, to carve the likeness out of a tree trunk outside the town of Sevnica.

The result was a wooden rendering of Mrs Trump dressed in a blue coat with a club-like hand gesturing to the sky.

Some residents described it as “a disgrace”, a “Smurfette”, saying “it doesn’t look anything like Melania”.

Downey told Reuters news agency he wanted to “have a dialogue” with the US political situation.

The artist has an exhibition in Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana until late August. The gallery reportedly suggested the statue “might only be a slapstick prank” in a leaflet.

Downey’s previous works include Wisdom Testicles and Cactus Hand.

Sevnica has become a tourist magnet ever since Donald Trump was elected US president in 2016, and Ms Trump – a famous former resident – became the first lady.

(BBC)

Twitter trends [from Trendinalia] – today from USA

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2019 Reyhanlı car bombing
- A car bomb explodes in the Turkish city of Reyhanlı. The blast kills three Syrian citizens who were inside the car. (Daily Sabah)
War in Afghanistan
- Fourteen civilians are killed and 45 injured in mortar attacks in Faryab Province. Taliban insurgents claim responsibility for the attack. (TOLOnews)
- A bomb hits a mosque in Ghazni, Afghanistan, killing two and wounding over 40. (Tolo News)

Arts and culture

Hijab by country
- Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed announces that the niqab will be banned in public institutions effective immediately, citing security concerns following a pair of suicide bombings on June 27. (Al-Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes
- A magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits Southern California just a day after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake in the same area. (USGS)
Seven Americans, including coal billionaire Chris Cline, are found dead in a helicopter crash in the Bahamas. (Los Angeles Times)

Politics and elections

Operation Car Wash
- New text messages between Brazilian judge Sérgio Moro and Operation Car Wash’s prosecutors are leaked by The Intercept Brasil and Veja. In the messages, Judge Moro illegally advises the prosecutors in including pieces of evidence against defendants of cases presided by him and suggests dates for Federal Police operations. The messages also suggest that Moro withheld evidence to prevent cases being transferred out of his jurisdiction to the Supreme Federal Court. (Veja)
Sudanese protests
- The Sudanese military and representatives of civil groups agree on a deal to share power for a transition period. (DW)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

August 14, 2019

Top News Story –

The 12,000-calorie burger: why one pub is offering a meat feast – and cash towards your gravestone

‘It’s just 10 burgers piled up on top of each other between mounds of cheese and 25 rashers of bacon.’ The Big Ben Number 10. Photograph: Craig Harker/SWNS.COM

Name: The Big Ben Number 10.

Price: £28.95.

Appearance: 12,000 calories of possible death.

Jesus Christ, what is that thing? Oh, you mean that towering stack of charred meat, cheese, bacon and grease? That’s the Big Ben Number 10. Fancy a bite?

No! Oh, come on, try some. I know it looks like a still from a documentary about a zoo that burned down, but what have you got to lose?

I don’t know, my basic artery function? Listen, sure the Big Ben Number 10 is a big burger. Sure it’s just 10 burgers piled up on top of each other between mounds of cheese and 25 rashers of bacon. Sure, it weighs 1.5kg. Sure, you might actually die trying to eat it. But it’s OK because they have thought of that.

Who’s thought of what? The George Pub and Grill in County Durham has thought of this burger actually killing someone. It comes with advice that customers eat it at their own risk, plus the owner has promised to pay £500 towards the headstone of anyone who drops dead during the challenge.

Seems like a nice guy. He’s got a big heart. And so will you once you’ve clogged your entire circulatory system with damp wads of half-chewed meat.

Has anyone actually attempted this? Apparently so. Competitive eater Kyle Gibson recently took on the Big Ben Number 10, and polished the whole thing off in just under 22 minutes. He claimed it was the best burger he’d ever tasted, which very possibly means he enjoys gorging to the point of nausea on food that went cold 15 minutes previously.

Do you get anything if you finish it? The owner of the George says you get “bragging rights”. Because your friends love nothing more than when you waddle up to them and boast about how you’ve become the unofficial poster boy for the sort of uncontrolled consumption that will almost certainly result in the end of humanity itself.

And how many calories did you say it had? 12,000.

Can you put that into perspective? Well, the NHS states that a healthy adult male should aim to eat about 2,500 calories a day. So this burger isthe equivalent of eating everything you should normally eat in a working week.

I still don’t get it. Can you put it in Guardian terms for me? Oh, fine, it’s like eating 10kg of quinoa.

(Guardian)

Twitter trends Worldwide [from Trendinalia]

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- A Syrian Air Force Sukhoi Su-22 jet is missing, reportedly shot down by rebel forces near the town of Khan Shaykhun in the Idlib Governorate, Syria. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham jihadists say they have captured the pilot. (BBC) (Al Masdar News)

Business and economy

Economy of Germany
- The Federal Statistical Office of Germany discloses that Germany‘s gross domestic product shrank by 0.1% in the second quarter. (The Guardian)
The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, a U.S.-based organization that aims to keep educational materials broadly accessible, has asked the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department to halt a planned merger between two large textbook companies, a merger it claims will cause students “irreparable harm.” (Reuters)

Health and environment

California regulators announce a ban on chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate nerve agent used as a pesticide. (Los Angeles Times)
France bans electric pulse fishing. (AFP via Yahoo News}

Law and crime

August 2019 Philadelphia shooting
- Six police officers are shot, sustaining non-life threatening injuries, by a gunman in Philadelphia; a seventh officer is injured in a related automobile accident nearby. (CNN) (NBC News)
Nisour Square massacre
- In a third trial, Nicholas Slatten is sentenced to life in prison. (AFP via VoA)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

The 2010s

The story of a decade

Tag Archives: Los Angeles Times

February 23, 2016

February 24, 2016

February 26, 2016

March 1, 2016

March 4, 2016

March 7, 2016

March 8, 2016

March 11, 2016

March 17, 2016

March 23, 2016

March 28, 2016

April 12, 2016

April 25, 2016

June 3, 2016

June 9, 2016

June 12, 2016

June 14, 2016

June 26, 2016

June 27, 2016

July 8, 2016

July 14, 2016

January 8, 2017

Film

Television

October 30, 2017

July 5, 2019

New Melania Trump statue in Slovenia gets mixed reviews

August 14, 2019

The 12,000-calorie burger: why one pub is offering a meat feast – and cash towards your gravestone