Top News Stories –

Matt Stonie beats Joey Chestnut in Fourth of July hot dog eating contest –
America’s Independence Day celebrations were overshadowed on Saturday by the shock defeat of the country’s champion hot dog eating star. Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, 32, began strongly at the annual Nathan’s Famous contest in Coney Island, New York, before being overhauled and beaten by Matt “Megatoad” Stonie, who polished off 62 frankfurters and buns in 10 minutes (to add to a bacon eating record he claimed earlier this year). Mr Chestnut, unbeaten for eight years, fell two short. He managed a smile as he conceded defeat in front of thousands of fans. [Daily Telegraph] See List of the Day
Joey Chesnut

Chile beat Argentina on Penalties to win Copa America –
Chile secured the first major trophy in their history on home soil courtesy of a penalty shootout win over Argentina in the Copa America final.
Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez slotted in the winning spot-kick after Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain fired over and Ever Banega was denied by Claudio Bravo.
Higuain had earlier missed from close range after 90 minutes of few chances. Sanchez came closest in extra time for Chile, who scored all four of their penalties in the shootout. [BBC]
Alexis Sanchez (playing for Arsenal)

England finish third in the Women’s World Cup beating Germany 1-0 –
Fara Williams’s extra-time penalty ensured England beat Germany for the first time in 31 years to finish third at the Women’s World Cup. The performance was the second best by an England team following the 1966 win by the men’s side and eclipsed the 1990 men’s team, who finished fourth in Italy. The Lionesses had not beaten two-time World Cup winners Germany in 20 attempts but they more than matched their opponents and won the spot-kick in the second period of extra-time after substitute Lianne Sanderson was brought down by Tabea Kemme. Williams, who is England’s record cap holder and was homeless at one point in her England career, beat retiring German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer for her third penalty of the tournament. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Car Chase by Vania Heymann

List of the Day –

Joey Chesnut World Eating Records (as of July 4, 2015)

• Deep Fried Asparagus Eating Championship in Stockton, California, May 2014: 12.8 lbs. deep fried asparagus in 10 minutes.
• Pork ribs: 13.76 pounds pork rib meat in 12 minutes at John Ascuaga’s Nugget Casino Resort during the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off in Sparks, Nevada on August 28, 2013.
• (Hot Dogs) Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs and buns (HDB): 69 HDB in 10 minutes during the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, New York on July 4, 2013.
• Matzoh Balls: 78 matzoh balls in 8 minutes at Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen Restaurant in Houston, Texas on March 2, 2008
• Bratwurst: 70 bratwursts in 10 minutes at Oktoberfest Zinzinnati in Cincinnati, OH on September 22, 2013.
• Hard Boiled Eggs: 141 hard-boiled eggs in 8 minutes at the Radcliff Fall Festival in Radcliff, KY on October 5, 2013.

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Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Donbass
  • A rally of war veterans in Kiev calls for Ukraine to abandon the Minsk II ceasefire agreement and to declare war on pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region. Despite two ceasefire agreements since September combat operations, including the use of heavy artillery and ballistic missiles, never stopped.(BBC)
• Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
  • Yemen‘s Houthi rebels shell the Saudi Arabian cities of Jizan and Najran with claims of several Saudi soldiers being killed. (Reuters via Daily Star)
• Second Libyan Civil War
  • At least ten civilians are killed when three separate car bombs exploded simultaneously in the eastern coastal city of Derna. (Yahoo news via AP)
• Sinai insurgency
  • A shell kills a woman and her two children as fighting continues on the Sinai Peninsula between the Egyptian Army and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants. (AFP via Times of India)
• Syrian Civil War
  • Mosque bombing in northern Syria kills 15 members of Al Qaida’s affiliate Nusra Front. (Fox News via Associated Press)
  • The Syrian Army and Hezbollah launch an offensive to capture the rebel-held Syrian city of Zabadani. (Al-Arabiyah)
  • Kurdish People’s Protection Units advance on the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant de-facto capital city of Raqqa. (ALJazeera)
  • ISIL militants execute 25 Syrian Army soldiers in the ancient city of Palmyra. (Al-Arabiya)
• Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
  • The Azerbaijani military shoots down two Armenian drones over Azeri positions according to Azerbaijan’s defense ministry. (TREND)

Arts and culture

• The Republic of China (Taiwan) holds a large military parade in Taipei to commemorate World War II in support of its claims that Kuomintangforces led by Chiang Kai-Shek played a leading role in the defeat of the Empire of Japan with the Chinese Communist Party under Mao Tse-Tungplaying a minor role. (AP)
• UNESCO adds new sites to the World Heritage List including the French wine producing regions of Champagne and Burgundy. (AFP via Straits Times)

Disasters and accidents

• At least nine people have been killed and 30 injured following a factory collapse in the city of Wenling in Zhejiang province. (AP via Star Tribune)
• A wildfire in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan forces 8,000 people from their homes. (CBC)

Law and crime

• A South Korean navy officer is charged with leaking confidential information to China. (RTHK)(AFP via Sky News)
• Abdul Gani Patail, the Attorney General of Malaysia, says that a probe of troubled state owned investment bank 1Malaysia Development Berhadhas uncovered documents that show the transfer of money into private accounts of the Prime Minister Najib Razak. (Market Watch)

Politics

• 2015 Sousse attacks
  • Tunisia’s President Beji Caid Essebsi declares state of emergency. (VOA News)
• Tupou VI is officially crowned as the King of Tonga. (BBC)
• Fidel Castro makes his first public appearance at a Cuban cheese factory since February 2015. (UPI)

Sport

• 2015 Tour de France
  • In cycling, the 2015 Tour de France gets underway in the Dutch city of Utrecht with an individual time trial. (The Guardian)
• 2015 Super Rugby season
  • The Highlanders from the New Zealand region of Otago defeat the Hurricanes from the New Zealand capital Wellington in the Super Rugby final 21-14. It is the Highlanders first Super 15 final. (The Age)
• 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup
  • In association football, England defeats Germany 1-0 through a extra time penalty goal by Fara Williams to win third place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. (BBC)
• 2015 Copa América
  • In football, the Chile national football team win the Copa América for the first time, defeating Argentina 4–1 in a penalty shoot-out following a 0–0 draw.(The Guardian), (BBC)

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