September 19, 2015

Top News Stories –

Novelist Jackie Collins dies aged 77 –
The novelist Jackie Collins has died of breast cancer at the age of 77, her family said in a statement. “It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the death of our beautiful, dynamic and one-of-a-kind mother,” the statement said. The British-born writer, sister of actress Joan Collins, died in Los Angeles, her spokeswoman said. Collins’s raunchy novels of the rich and famous sold more than 500 million copies in 40 countries.
In a career spanning four decades, all 32 of her novels appeared in the New York Times bestseller list. [BBC]
Jackie Collins

Japan shocks the rugby world and Twitter erupts –
80-1 outsiders to beat South Africa, Japan’s win over the two-times world champions has sent Twitter into a frenzy. Japan’s utterly well-deserved conquering of the mighty Springboks [32-34] has, unsurprisingly, made Twitter’s rugby community quite excited.The bookmakers usually know a thing or two about these things, yet more than a few people would have thought this morning that even 40-1 for the Brave Blossoms to win against the Boks was rather generous. For those who don’t understand how big a shock this was, @Burgerboxx provided an interesting, and somewhat useful, analogy. [Daily Telegraph]

Guinness World Record judicator hit in head by robot at giant Belfast Meccano bridge opening –
Engineering students have set a new world record with a 100ft footbridge made from Meccano. The temporary structure – weighing in at approximately 1,300lbs – has been built 100 feet long across Belfast’s Clarendon Dock and was unveiled at an event on Saturday. Representatives from Guinness World Records were on site to confirm it had set a record for the world’s largest ever Meccano construction. However the event did not go quite as smoothly as organisers hoped, with a giant Meccano robot believed to have malfunctioned and swiped a Guinness World Record judicator round the head.Dr Danny McPolin from the school of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering, who led the project, said: “If you count all the nuts and bolts and washers, there is approximately 70,000. “In terms of the longer pieces, if they’re all laid out end-to-end I think it would be about 3.8kms – approximately 10,000 or 11,000 pieces. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Inferno – Time Slice (Bullet Time) Camera Array from Mitch Martinez on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#ALDUBMostAwaitedDate	#TalkLikeAPirateDay	#WhatDidZoeySay
2	#WhatDidZoeySay	#ItDrivesMeCrazyWhen	Brian Sewell
3	#QueenNoMultishow	#THANKYOUZAYNFORCOMINGBACK	#TalkLikeAPirateDay
4	#الشيخ_راشد_بن_…	#iHeartRadio	#iHeartRadio
5	#THANKYOUZAYNFORCOMINGBACK	#GotCastInARealityShow	Japan
6	Diego Costa	#iHeartShawnMendes	#MakeAFilmConfused
7	Granada	Leonard Fournette	Costa
8	#TeGanasMiOdioSi	#2YearsOfWhereverYouAre	West Ham
9	VoteBieberOnEMA	#SGHastaSiempre	#DavisCup
10	貞ちゃん	Diego Costa	Obama is a Muslim

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Islamist rebels execute 56 Syrian Army personnel following the capture of the Abu al-Duhur airbase in the Idlib Governorate according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Telegraph), (The News Hub)
Turkey–PKK conflict
- At least 55 are killed when Turkish warplanes hit Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) camps in northern Iraq, according Turkey’s security sources. (Reuters)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- A Saudi-led military coalition bombards government buildings and residential neighborhoods in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, killing about 30 people, including civilians. Rescuers continue searching for other possible victims buried under the rubble. (AP viaOrange County Register), (Xinhuanet)

Arts and culture

Pope Francis departs from Rome to begin his Apostolic Visit to Cuba, where he will visit Havana, Holguin, and Santiago de Cuba, and meet with Raul Castro. The visit is his first there, and the third to the country by a reigning Pope. Francis will then visit the US, also his first visit there as Pope. In the US, he will address a joint session of Congress (the first by an incumbent Pope), meet with President Obama, canonize Junipero Serra, tour a prison and the World Trade Center site, hold Masses in New York, Washington, and Philadelphia, and preside over the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. (Vatican), (USCCB), (The New York Times)
Sábado Gigante, the world’s longest running variety show in television history, ends after 53 years on air. (USA Today)

Disasters and accidents

Heavy rain triggers flash floods killing 10 people in Tehran and southern Iran with eight others missing. (AP via CP24)
Ten Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad ethanol tanker cars derail and two catch fire in southeast South Dakota between the towns of Scotland and Lesterville. No injuries are reported and no nearby structures are threatened by the fire. (AP via ABC News)

Health

2015 Dengue fever outbreaks
- Authorities in the Dominican Republic issue an alert as the number of deaths (57 this year) and cases of dengue fever continue to rise. (AP via ABC News)
- The Delhi government defers elective surgery to free up 1000 hospital beds to treat a dengue fever outbreak. (Times of India)

International relations

Japanese Self-Defense Forces
- Japan’s upper chamber of Parliament approves controversial legislation, which the lower chamber passed in July, that expands the role of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces overseas. (CNN), (Mainichi Daily News)
European migrant crisis, Croatia–Hungary relations
- Hungarian security forces confiscate a Croatian train carrying 1000 migrants and disarm 40 Croatian police officers accompanying the migrants. Hungarian authorities repatriate the officers. (Sky News)
- Croatian prime minister Zoran Milanović says Croatia will ‘force’ Hungary to accept migrants by sending them to the Hungarian border. Hungary responded angrily calling Milanović “pathetic” and accused Croatia of human smuggling. (BBC)
- Croatia allows some asylum seekers to move on past its borders into Hungary and Slovenia. (Washington Post)
European migrant crisis
- Italy rescues thousands of refugees in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya. (Al-Jazeera)
- A five-year-old Syrian girl dies and several other refugees are missing after their boat sinks in the Aegean Sea near the Greek island of Lesbos. The Greek Coast Guard says it rescued 11 people from the boat carrying 26 people. (AFP via Asian Age),(Reuters)
Egypt’s new Cabinet is sworn in before President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a week after the previous administration resigned following a corruption scandal, and a month before parliamentary elections. The 33-member body has 16 new ministers, including two women. Sherif Ismail, petroleum minister in the last cabinet, is the new prime minister. (Egyptian Streets), (Reuters)

Law and crime

1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation launches an investigation of money laundering associated with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad sovereign wealth fund. (Wall Street Journal)

Sports

2015 Rugby World Cup
- In what media called “the greatest shock in rugby history”, Japan defeat two-time World Cup champion South Africa 34–32 in Brighton. (ESPN (UK))
- In another result viewed as a surprise, Georgia defeat Tonga 17–10 in Gloucester. In the match, Georgia’s 18-year-old Vasil Lobzhanidze becomes the youngest player ever to appear in a Rugby World Cup match. (PA via ESPN (UK))

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

October 5, 2015

Top News Stories –

Thousands of NASA Apollo mission photos uploaded online –
Thousands of photos taken by Apollo astronauts on moon missions are now online. Around 13,000 scans of images from NASA’s archives, taken across ALL manned Apollo missions between 1961 and 1972 have been given to founder of the Project Apollo Archive Kipp Teague. He told Newsbeat “serious budget cuts” mean the organisation doesn’t have the resourses to publish them. Kipp launched the gallery in 1999, but following questioning about decisions to edit some images in the past, he was prompted to post unedited, high resolution images this time around. [BBC Newsbeat]
Apollo 11 Magazine 40/S – (Color) / EVA; NASA photographs; unprocessed 1800 dpi Hasselblad film scans by Johnson Space Center, circa 2005

Extreme phone pinching is the strangest trend of 2015 –
Back in 2013 there was the Harlem Shake. In 2014, we had the Ice Bucket Challenge. Since then, social media trends have taken a bizarre turn, via some goats. Extreme phone pinching is the latest trend sweeping social media networks, and it involves holding your expensive phone over perilous locations. The only rule appears to be that you can only hold onto your gadget using only your thumb and forefinger. Photos and videos have been flooding the internet of phone users dangling their precious handsets over cliffs, toilets and drains. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Box Clever – Simon’s Cat

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#FelizLunes	#WorldTeachersDay	#WorldTeachersDay
2	#ArgentinaDebate	#mondaymotivation	#mondaymotivation
3	わたしの心	American Apparel	#plasticbags
4	Air France	Grace Lee Boggs	Lord Adonis
5	#MTVFANWARSDirectioners	CC Sabathia	Jeremy Hunt
6	#سعوديه_تفضح_ز�…	#StopGunViolence	Henning Mankell
7	#شي_جميل_بحرف_ا…	#TPP	Ched Evans
8	Henning Mankell	#MyGenitaliaIn4Words	American Apparel
9	#ALDUBSwitch	#WhatYouDontTellCustomers	AstraZeneca
10	Independiente	#MTVFANWARSDirectioners	#ThisIsEngland90

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War, Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- Turkey says a Russian warplane violated its airspace near the Syrian border, prompting the Turkish Air Force to scramble two F-16 fighter jets to intercept it. The Foreign Ministry summoned Russia’s ambassador to protest the violation and urged Russia to avoid repeating such a violation, or it would be held “responsible for any undesired incident that may occur”. (Reuters)
- Unconfirmed reports claim that Russia is mobilizing 150,000 troops to attack the Islamic State (Express)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- At least 57 people are killed following car-bombings across Iraq, including a rare bombing in the southern Basra province leaving 10 people dead. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are suspected of being behind the attacks. (Reuters)
Yemeni Civil War (2015)
- Fighting rages between Houthi militants and Hadi loyalists backed-by Saudi-led coalition forces along Yemen’s Red Sea coast for control over the strategic Bab-el-Mandeb strait. Houthi officials said their forces had destroyed six opposing tanks and killed multiple pro-Hadi fighters. Also, the UAE announced another of its soldiers had died during fighting in Ma’rib. (Business Insider)

Business and economy

Clothing manufacturer and retailer American Apparel files for bankruptcy. The company said its 200+ retail stores will continue to operate without any interruptions. (New York Times) (Forbes)
The World Bank estimates that 9.6 percent of the world’s population is living in extreme poverty this year, down from 12.8% in 2012. The bank also updated its global poverty line from $1.25 per day to $1.90 per day to reflect inflation and changes in purchasing power around the world; it was last adjusted in 2008. (Time) (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

October 2015 nor’easter
- Additional search and rescue efforts take place in the American city of Columbia, South Carolina. (AccuWeather) (USA Today)
- In South Carolina, nine people are now reported dead in weather-related incidents and millions remain homebound. Rain is forecast to continue with parts of the state dealing with flooding for some time. (CNN) (AP via ACBS News)
Hurricane Joaquin
- The El Faro, missing since Thursday, is announced to have sunk on Thursday with 33 people on board during Hurricane Joaquin after a debris field is found. (NBC News)
2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Mujigae
  - At least nine people are dead as Typhoon Mujigae hits southern China in the midst of the country’s weeklong National Day holiday. Mujigae also generated several strong tornadoes and left dozens of fishermen missing. Nearly 200,000 people had been evacuated before the storm made landfall. Neighboring Guangxi Zhuang region orders 12,700 fishing boats and 35,400 offshore workers to return to port. (AP) (International Business Times)
  - Tropical Storm Kabayan (local name for then-Tropical Storm Mujigae) left at least two dead in the Philippines with two injured and 63 persons missing. The system intensified as it left the Philippine Area of Responsibility heading toward China. (Manila Sun Star) (Philippine Star)

International relations

The government of Nauru announces that the Nauru Detention Centre will become an “open facility” where people seeking asylum in Australia will be able to move freely around the island. (ABC News Australia)
North Korea repatriates a South Korean student held in detention since April. (Yonhap News)

Law and crime

Former Chief Executive of Hong Kong Donald Tsang is charged with corruption by the Independent Commission Against Corruption. (Hong Kong Free Press)
The Trans-Pacific Partnership between the United States and 11 Pacific Rim countries is finalized in the American city of Atlanta, Georgia. According to wikileaks, The main point of the deal will be that trans-national corporations will not be subjected to laws of individual countries. Instead an international system will be formed with the right to overrule national laws and legal decisions. (The Australian)

Politics and elections

Governor Jerry Brown signs legislation which would go into effect late 2016, legalizing euthanasia statewide in California.(CNN)

Science

William C. Campbell, Satoshi Omura and Tu Youyou win the 2015 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work on parasitic diseases. (AP) (Washington Post)

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October 25, 2015

Top News Stories –

Lewis Hamilton wins his third F1 World Championship –
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won a thrilling United States Grand Prix to seal his third World Championship. Hamilton pressured team-mate Nico Rosberg into a mistake during a frantic last 10 laps after a safety car and swept by to take his 10th win of 2015. It was an exciting climax to a race of fluctuating fortunes, lead changes and superb racing in changing conditions. Hamilton becomes only the second British driver after Sir Jackie Stewart to win three Formula 1 drivers’ titles. [BBC] See List of the Day
Lewis Hamilton

Moto GP: Valentino Rossi penalised for kicking Marc Marquez –
MotoGP championship leader Valentino Rossi will start the final race of the season from the back of the grid after kicking Marc Marquez off his bike during the Malaysian Grand Prix.Rossi finished third but was given three penalty points following a post-race investigation. He later accused Marquez of “making me lose the championship”. Honda’s Dani Pedrosa won the race, with Jorge Lorenzo second. The final race takes place in Spain on 8 November. Rossi now leads Lorenzo by just seven points in the championship. [BBC]
Valentino Rossi

Video of the Day –

Confusion as Turkey clocks defy time-change delay –
Confused Turks are asking “what’s the time?” after automatic clocks defied a government decision to defer a seasonal hour’s change in the time. Along with other countries, Turkey had been due to “fall back” an hour on Saturday at the end of summertime daylight saving. The Turkish government however decided to postpone the change until after upcoming polls. But some clocks have changed the time regardless – causing bewilderment.
The hashtag #saatkac – or “what’s the time?” – is now trending in Turkey as Twitter users express confusion. [BBC]

Our Fractal Brains from Julius Horsthuis on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Formula One Grand Prix Winners
Rank	Country	Driver	Wins	Seasons active	First win	Last win
1	Germany	Michael Schumacher	91	1991–2006 2010–2012	1992 Belgian Grand Prix	2006 Chinese Grand Prix
2	France	Alain Prost	51	1980–1991 1993	1981 French Grand Prix	1993 German Grand Prix
3	United Kingdom	Lewis Hamilton	43	2007–	2007 Canadian Grand Prix	2015 United States Grand Prix
4	Germany	Sebastian Vettel	42	2007–	2008 Italian Grand Prix	2015 Singapore Grand Prix
5	Brazil	Ayrton Senna	41	1984–1994	1985 Portuguese Grand Prix	1993 Australian Grand Prix
6	Spain	Fernando Alonso	32	2001 2003–	2003 Hungarian Grand Prix	2013 Spanish Grand Prix
7	United Kingdom	Nigel Mansell	31	1980–1992 1994–1995	1985 European Grand Prix	1994 Australian Grand Prix
8	United Kingdom	Jackie Stewart	27	1965–1973	1965 Italian Grand Prix	1973 German Grand Prix
9	United Kingdom	Jim Clark	25	1960–1968	1962 Belgian Grand Prix	1968 South African Grand Prix
9	Austria	Niki Lauda	25	1971–1979 1982–1985	1974 Spanish Grand Prix	1985 Dutch Grand Prix
11	Argentina	Juan Manuel Fangio	24	1950–1951 1953–1958	1950 Monaco Grand Prix	1957 German Grand Prix
12	Brazil	Nelson Piquet	23	1978–1991	1980 United States Grand Prix West	1991 Canadian Grand Prix
13	United Kingdom	Damon Hill	22	1992–1999	1993 Hungarian Grand Prix	1998 Belgian Grand Prix
14	Finland	Mika Häkkinen	20	1991–2001	1997 European Grand Prix	2001 United States Grand Prix
14	Finland	Kimi Räikkönen	20	2001–2009 2012–	2003 Malaysian Grand Prix	2013 Australian Grand Prix
16	United Kingdom	Stirling Moss	16	1950–1962	1955 British Grand Prix	1961 German Grand Prix
17	United Kingdom	Jenson Button	15	2000–	2006 Hungarian Grand Prix	2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
18	Australia	Jack Brabham	14	1955–1970	1959 Monaco Grand Prix	1970 South African Grand Prix
18	United Kingdom	Graham Hill	14	1958–1975	1962 Dutch Grand Prix	1969 Monaco Grand Prix
18	Brazil	Emerson Fittipaldi	14	1970–1980	1970 United States Grand Prix	1975 British Grand Prix
21	Italy	Alberto Ascari	13	1950–1955	1951 German Grand Prix	1953 Swiss Grand Prix
21	United Kingdom	David Coulthard	13	1994–2008	1995 Portuguese Grand Prix	2003 Australian Grand Prix
23	United States	Mario Andretti	12	1968–1972 1974–1982	1971 South African Grand Prix	1978 Dutch Grand Prix
23	Argentina	Carlos Reutemann	12	1972–1982	1974 South African Grand Prix	1981 Belgian Grand Prix
23	Australia	Alan Jones	12	1975–1981 1983 1985–1986	1977 Austrian Grand Prix	1981 Caesars Palace Grand Prix
26	Canada	Jacques Villeneuve	11	1996–2006	1996 European Grand Prix	1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix
26	Brazil	Rubens Barrichello	11	1993–2011	2000 German Grand Prix	2009 Italian Grand Prix
26	Brazil	Felipe Massa	11	2002 2004–	2006 Turkish Grand Prix	2008 Brazilian Grand Prix
26	Germany	Nico Rosberg	11	2006–	2012 Chinese Grand Prix	2015 Austrian Grand Prix
30	Sweden	Ronnie Peterson	10	1970–1978	1973 French Grand Prix	1978 Austrian Grand Prix
30	South Africa	Jody Scheckter	10	1972–1980	1974 Swedish Grand Prix	1979 Italian Grand Prix
30	United Kingdom	James Hunt	10	1973–1979	1975 Dutch Grand Prix	1977 Japanese Grand Prix
30	Austria	Gerhard Berger	10	1984–1997	1986 Mexican Grand Prix	1997 German Grand Prix

List from Wikipedia

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Rossi	#7MonthsWithoutZayn	#ClocksGoBack
2	SorryBieberIsBack	#MTVEMA	Martin Amis
3	#7MonthsWithoutZayn	Flip Saunders	Iraq War
4	#YaEsTipicoQue	Tony Blair	#XFactor
5	#Elecciones2015	#LifeLessonIn5Words	#DerbyDay
6	#SPSSariSariLaf	Jets	Tony Blair
7	VoteOneDirectionEMA	#5daysTilFocus	#ARGvAUS
8	#HappyBirthdayKatyPerry	#HIAC	#NFLUK
9	#SaatKaç	#5HAppreciationDay	#TimeSongs
10	DAVID WATCH OUT	Cowboys	Chelsea

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli-Palestinian conflict (2015)
- Israeli border police shoot dead a 17-year-old girl after she allegedly approached them with a knife in the southern West Bank city of Hebron. (The New Daily AU)
- A Palestinian stabs an Israeli settler in Gush Etzion. (Ynet)

Business and economics

The United Parcel Service pilots’ union authorizes its executive board to call a strike at the board’s discretion as contract talks slog into a fifth year. This, in the wake of competitor FedEx pilots’ approval of a new six-year contract. (WSJ)

Disasters and accidents

At least 17 people are killed and 71 injured following a fire in a karaoke bar on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. (AP via Fox News)
European migrant crisis
- The bodies of 40 migrants wash ashore on the Libyan coast with another 30 people missing. (AAP via SBS)
At least four people are dead and a number missing as a tour boat carrying 27 people sinks off the coast of Tofino on Vancouver Island off the coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia. (CTV), (CNN)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- Thirteen European and Balkan leaders meet about the migrant crisis at an emergency summit in Brussels, Belgium; Turkey did not attend. The Prime Minister of Slovenia says the EU will ‘start falling apart’ within weeks if the migrant crisis continues unchecked. Huge divisions remain among EU states over how to deal with the influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants. (Chicago Tribune) (Radio New Zealand) (Daily Mail)

Law and crime

2015 Oklahoma State University homecoming parade crash
- Police have updated information on the casualties from this crash. Four died and 47 were injured; five remain in critical condition. (Q13 Fox) (Lethbridge Herald)
- The attorney for Adacia Chambers, the woman whose car plowed into homecoming parade crowd, says he doesn’t think his client was intoxicated at the crash. Tony Coleman said, “I don’t believe right now that she was intoxicated. … she’s suffering frommental illness.” (USA Today) (KFOR)
More than 200 bears are killed in a single day in the U.S. state of Florida after state officials allow the hunting of the animals for the first time in 21 years; supporters say the aim is to cut down on the surging population of black bears, but animal rights activists have criticized the hunts as cruel and ineffective. (Sky News)

Politics and elections

Argentine general election, 2015
- Voters in Argentina go to the polls to select a new President and legislature with the presidential election to go to a runoff on November 22 as neither candidate could secure a majoriey. (BBC), (CNN)
Polish parliamentary election, 2015
- Voters in Poland go to the polls for a parliamentary election with the opposition Law and Justice party performing well in exit polls. (BBC)
- Exit polls show Poland’s conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, led by eurosceptic Jarosław Kaczyński and the new PM Beata Szydło, won an absolute majority in today’s general elections. Kaczyński is the twin brother of the late President Lech Kaczyński, who died in a 2010 jet crash. The PiS picks up 242 out of 460 seats in the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, ousting the governing Christian democratic Civic Platform (PO) party gets 133 seats and becoming the first party to win a majority in its own right since the collapse of communism in 1989. Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz has conceded defeat. (NDTV) (Newstalk)
Tanzanian general election, 2015
- Voters in Tanzania go to the polls for an election with the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi facing the greatest challenge to its dominance in over 50 years. (Washington Post)
Ivorian presidential election, 2015
- Voters in the Ivory Coast go to the polls for a presidential election with incumbent Alassane Ouattara favoured to win. (AP via New York Times)
Republic of the Congo constitutional referendum, 2015
- Voters in the Republic of the Congo go to the polls to vote on a constitutional amendment that would allow incumbent President Denis Sassou Nguesso to seek another term. (AP)
Guatemalan general election, 2015
- Voters in Guatemala go to the polls for the second round of voting in a presidential election with former TV comedian Jimmy Morales winning a landslide victory. (Wall Street Journal), (Reuters via ABC News Australia)
Haitian presidential election, 2015, Haitian parliamentary election, 2015
- Most polls in Haiti’s high-stakes presidential, second rounds of legislative, and local elections closed on schedule. Voting was relatively orderly across the nation of some 10 million people. Voters have 54 contenders for president to choose from; a runoff between the top two candidates is scheduled for December 27. (Miami Herald) (NBC News) (SABC)
Ukrainian local elections, 2015
- Voters across Ukraine go to the polls to elect regional leaders amid widespread frustration over a sagging economy and stalled reforms nearly two years after the Ukrainian revolution. (Washington Post) (Global Voices)
Elections in the United States
- Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2015
  - Republican U.S. Senator David Vitter and Democratic state Representative John Bel Edwards top two Republican candidates for spots in the November 21 runoff election. Edwards wins 40 percent and Vitter 23 percent of the primary vote, according to unofficial returns. (AP)

Sports

Lewis Hamilton wins a third World Drivers’ Championship in Formula One, as his team Mercedes secures the Constructors’ Championship. (The Guardian)

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November 1, 2015

Top News Stories –

Taylor Swift sued over Shake It Off lyrics –
Pop star Taylor Swift is being sued for $42m (£27m) for allegedly stealing the lyrics to her hit 2014 song Shake It Off. US R&B singer Jesse Braham has claimed in legal papers Swift stole the words from a song he wrote in 2013 called Haters Gone Hate. As well as the monetary compensation, Mr Braham also wants his name added as a writer on the track. Representatives for Swift have yet to officially comment on the legal case. Shake It Off topped music charts around the world and reached number two in the UK. The video for the song has been watched more than 1.1 billion times on YouTube. [BBC]
Taylor Swift

Australia drops knights and dames from honours system –
Australia will no longer appoint knights and dames under the honours system, PM Malcolm Turnbull has said. Mr Turnbull said the titles were “not appropriate” in modern Australia, and that Queen Elizabeth had accepted the cabinet’s recommendation to drop them. Former PM Tony Abbott reintroduced knighthoods and damehoods in 2014. His controversial decision to grant Prince Philip a knighthood in January was widely seen as one of the factors which ended his term as leader. [BBC] Mr Turnbull became Australia PM in September 2015
Malcolm Turnbull

Four gymnasts share asymmetric bars gold –
Fan Yilin, Viktoriia Komova, Daria Spiridonova and Madison Kocian shared an unprecedented four gold medals at the gymnastics world championships on Saturday when the judges could not decide between their asymmetric bars routines. With the giant television screen confirming that there were indeed four champions from the eight-woman final, the gold medalists stood with their arms around each other in a straight line as the crowd gave them a standing ovation. The Russians were still in shock after a prolonged medals ceremony featured three national anthems being played and the master of ceremonies making four announcements starting with “Winner of the gold medal and the 2015 uneven bars champion is….” Organizers also had to abandon the flag-raising ceremony as there was no room for three flags on the same horizontal pole. While so many gold medals have never been given out in one event before, there was a five-way tie for silver at the 1922 championships on the pommel horse. [Reuters]
Daria Spiridonova

Video of the Day –

Alladin Magic Carpet Prank

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#NiallTransão	#DaylightSavingTime	1st of November
2	#ProudofOneDirection	#WorldVeganDay	Lambeth
3	#oykullan	#nycmarathon	#WorldVeganDay
4	#هل_الرجل_انسا�…	#ProudofOneDirection	#ProudofOneDirection
5	#MeGustasPero	#CalumGotATonguePiercing	Sonny Bill Williams
6	#secim2015	#ContextIsImperative	#OTRASheffield3
7	#DemiNaEliana	Fred Thompson	Larry
8	ブラ外しゲーム	#IllShowYou	#MostHauntedLive
9	#OTRASheffield3	Wazzu	#6hShanghai
10	#SomosTodosTaisAraujo	#LookingForLove	Arzaylea

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Somalia (2009–present)
- Islamist al-Shabaab militants attack a hotel in Mogadishu resulting in at least 12 deaths. (AFP via Yahoo! News) (Reuters via ABC News Australia)
Syrian Civil War
- Islamic State fighters seize control of Mahin, a town in Syria‘s central Homs province, following clashes with government forces which left about 50 dead. Fighting was also reported to be taking place on the outskirts of Sadad, a nearby town mostly populated by Christians. (Reuters)
Israeli-Palestinian conflict (2015)
- One Palestinian is killed and three Israeli soldiers injured in two attacks in the West Bank. According to the Israeli army, the Palestinian was shot dead after attempting to stab soldiers at a military checkpoint near the Beit Einun village in Hebron. In a second incident in the same area, a driver rammed and injured three Israeli paramilitary border policemen with his car before fleeing the scene. None of the three were injured seriously. (The Daily Star) (Al Jazeera)
- Since the beginning of October, nine Israelis, 67 Palestinians – around half of them alleged attackers – and an Arab Israeli have been killed in this wave of violence. (AFP via Yahoo.)
- The fate of slain Palestinians is fueling a new feud with Israeli authorities. The Israeli defense minister says Israel is refusing to return the bodies of Palestinians killed during this month-old surge of violence unless the Palestinian side agrees to keep theirfunerals “modest.” (Reuters)
- An Israel Defense Forces inquiry concludes the death of a Palestinian woman at a checkpoint in Hebron last month was unnecessary, finding the teenager could have been detained and not killed. (Haaretz)

Disasters

The United States Navy sends a remotely operated underwater craft to investigate a wreck which they believe is the remains of the SS El Faro which disappeared on October 1 near the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin with 33 people on board. (CNN)
Kogalymavia Flight 9268
- Airlines including Emirates, Lufthansa and Air France refuse to fly over the Sinai Peninsula until the cause of the crash is known. (AP via ABC News America)
- Russian air transport chief Alexander Neradko says Flight 9268 broke apart at high altitude and scattered plane parts over a wide swath of Egyptian desert. Neradko added it was too soon to determine what caused Saturday’s horrific crash. (USA Today)
- Russia observes a nationwide day of mourning for victims of the plane crash in Egypt. (AP via Fox News)
- The bodies of more than 140 of those killed in the air crash have been flown back to St Petersburg. (BBC)
Colectiv nightclub fire
- Three other victims of the nightclub fire die at hospital, bringing the death toll to 30. (Mediafax)

International relations

China–Japan–South Korea trilateral summit
- The leaders of the People’s Republic of China, South Korea and Japan hold their first summit in three years. (New York Times)
- Japan and China agree to restart mutual visits of their foreign ministers, to hold bilateral high-level economic dialogue early next year, and to work toward early implementation of communication mechanisms between their military forces. (Reuters)

Law and crime

School shootings in the United States
- A campus shooting at around 1:20 AM at Lot W, near Wilson Hall and Gleason-Hairston Terrace, at the Main Campus of Winston-Salem State University, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, kills at least one person and wounds at least one- the two are believed to be students; the suspected gunman, Jarrett Jerome Moore, is not believed to be a student, and is believed to be still at large. (CNN, via MSN), (University note), (Winston-Salem Journal)

Politics and elections

Turkish general election, November 2015
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) wins Sunday’s snap election with more than 49 percent of the vote. AKP, projected to get 316 seats in the 550-seat parliament, regains single-party rule just five months after losing it. (Washington Post) (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
- Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu calls on all of Turkey’s political parties to work together on a new constitution to replace the 1982 constitution written during the military junta of 1980-1983. The document has been amended 17 times revising 113 of the 177 articles. (Reuters) (Kuwait News Agency) (ODATV)tr
- Protesters clashed with police outside the headquarters of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) in the Kurds‘ main city of Diyarbakır in southeastern Turkey as it became evident President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP were getting a solid majority and would return to power. The tumult spread to other major cities and towns in the Kurdish heartland. The HDP won 10.7 percent of the vote; the party holds 59 of its 80 seats in the parliament. Al-Ahram (Wall Street Journal)

Azerbaijani parliamentary election, 2015
- Azeri voters go to the polls for a parliamentary election, which Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev’s ruling New Azerbaijan Party is widely expected to win since the The Müsavat (Equality) Party and other Azerbaijani mainstream opposition parties are boycotting. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is not monitoring the election because the restrictions imposed by the authorities make credible poll monitoring impossible. (TASS) (Reuters)
Attacks on secularists in Bangladesh
- Teachers, writers and students lead a protest rally in Dhaka against the recent killings and attacks on secular authors and publishers in Bangladesh. (AFP via Straits Times)

Science and technology

Smart Sheriff, the most widely used child surveillance mobile app in South Korea, is pulled from the market after specialists raised serious concerns about the program’s safety. Security experts say its programming left the door wide open to hackers and put the personal information of some 380,000 users at risk. The country’s April 2015 law requires all new smartphones sold to those 18 and under have software parents can use to monitor their kids’ social media activity. (AP via U.S. News & World Report)

Sport

In athletics, Stanley Biwott and Mary Jepkosgei Keitany of Kenya win the 2015 New York City Marathon. (Runners World), (ABC7 New York)
2015 World Series
- In Major League Baseball, the Kansas City Royals defeat the New York Mets in the 2015 World Series 4 games to 1. (Fox Sports). (Huffington Post)

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November 6, 2015

Top News Stories –

Pope Francis releases first ‘pop-rock’ album –
His wise homilies and moving speeches already attract worshippers in their millions. Now Pope Francis will be hoping his popularity translates into record sales after his first pop-rock album was released in Italy on Friday. Wake Up!, an 11-track Vatican-approved album, features many of the most moving addresses of Pope Francis’s papacy laid over rap, pop-rock and Latin rhythms. An online extract from the record, which was released at the end of September, has already been listened to a billion times, according to distributors. Speaking at the record’s launch at the Vatican, Father Giulio Neroni, the Italian priest who produced the album, said: “Pope Francis doesn’t sing as such. But his voice does sing and play, not to the cardinals, but to the people, the faithful.” [Daily Telegraph]
Pope Francis

Mysterious billion-dollar car company takes on Tesla –
Faraday Future, the startup backed by Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, has big dreams of taking on Tesla Motors Inc, starting with a $1 billion investment in a new US factory that will build electric cars starting in 2017. Nick Sampson, a former Tesla director who is Faraday’s senior vice president of research and development, said Faraday plans to introduce its first electric car in two years and quickly follow with several other models. Faraday is based in Gardena, California, where it has been developing its first model with 400 employees. Jia Yueting is founder and chairman of Leshi Television, a popular Chinese online video site. [Daily Telegraph]

Warcraft film trailer is shown to fans for the first time –
Finally, the new Warcraft movie trailer’s out – and it looks awesome. Fans got the chance to see it at the Blizzcon gaming convention in California on Friday. Director Duncan Jones hopes it appeals to people who don’t play MMO (massively multiplayer online) games like the one its based on, World of Warcraft. The film’s based on the blockbuster video game series, World of Warcraft, which has won millions of fans all over the world since its launch in 2004. The teaser clip shows the world of Azeroth descended into darkness, pitting sworn enemies – the humans and the orcs – against each other in an epic battle. It opens in cinemas on 3 June next year in the UK. [BBC Newsbeat] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

Warcraft – Official Trailer

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#7DaysUntilMITAM	#FridayFeeling	#FridayFeeling
2	#SorryLatinoRemix	#1DHistory	#HEgreenpaper
3	松さん診断	West Point	#ManOnTheMoon
4	面接官	#KeystoneXL	Coldplay
5	Coldplay	Greg Hardy	#GetWeird
6	West Point	Adventure of a Lifetime	#bbcqt
7	#BuenViernes	#CelebriTrees	Andrew Fisher
8	#1DHistory	#7DaysUntilMITAM	#FlavorAFilm
9	#OneWeekUntilPURPOSE	Coldplay	#1DHistory
10	Hayırlı Cumalar	Warcraft	#firstdates

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015)
- Israeli forces shoot and kill a 72-year-old woman in Halhul, a town near Hebron. The soldiers say she attempted to wound them with her car. Her son denies this, saying his mother was on her way to lunch with her sister. Later, three Israelis are shot and wounded, one seriously, in two incidents in Hebron. (Al Jazeera English) (The Guardian) (Haaretz)
Syrian Civil War
- Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons inspectors conclusively identify mustard gas as the toxic agent used in the battle between Islamic State (IS) insurgents and a anti-Assad rebel group in the Syrian town of Mare’ in the northern Alleppo province on August 21, 2015. This is the first confirmation of its use by non-state actors in Syria’s four-year-old conflict. (Christian Science Monitor) (Washington Post)
- The Ajnad al-Sham and other rebel forces recapture the village of Atshan and surrounding areas in Hama province, consolidating significant advances made the day before at the expense of pro-government forces. (Fox News) (Reuters)

Art and culture

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) new policy states those in a same-sex marriage are to be considered apostates, and children living in a same-sex household may not be blessed as babies, or baptized until they are 18. (Washington Post) (AP)

Business and economics

India has cancelled Greenpeace India’s license to operate and gave the group 30 days to close down, citing financial fraud and falsification of data, the environment watchdog said on Friday. (NDTV) (Reuters)
U.S. job growth for October 2015 saw the biggest gains since December 2014, fueling hopes that the Federal Reserve Board will increase near-zero interest rates at its December meeting. (Reuters)
U.S. President Barack Obama announces that the State Department has rejected TransCanada‘s application to complete the Keystone XL pipeline. (New York Times) (NPR) (Al Jazeera English)

Disasters and accidents

Kogalymavia Flight 9268
- Russia has ordered the suspension of all flights to Egypt following indications that the crash near Sharm el-Sheikh was caused by a bomb.(BBC)
Minas Gerais dam disaster
- Thursday’s flooding and devastating mudslides at the BHP-Vale mine in Minas Gerais involved two dams, not one as initially reported. Brazilian officials report the mud flow is eight kilometers (five miles) long and 2.5 meters deep. Those rescued – and emergency services – are being decontaminated; mining spoils being treated as toxic. There is no official information on the number of casualties or the cause of the incident. The company that runs the mine says it detected seismic activity right before the breach. Both BHP and Vale shares declined over five percent. Brazilian prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation. (Mashable) (Bloomberg) (CCTV)

Health and medicine

Researchers at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania‘s Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) successfully use a 3-D printer (specifically, a fused deposition modeling (FDM) printer) to produce hair-like strands, inspired by the use of a hot glue gun to produce gossamer strands. Also, using certain materials (like collagens, alginates, and fibrins), with a 3-D printer and special bioprinting techniques, another team at CMU produced human coronary arteries and small, embryonic-like human hearts. (MSN), (CMU), (CMU)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves a new, all-in-one pill to treat HIV patients that includes a new version of the drug tenofovir, which researchers think will help reduce side effects from the multi-drug regimens used for HIV. (UPI)

International relations

Indonesia–Philippines relations
- Indonesia and the Philippines discuss their borders after the Indonesian Navy sinks four Filipino fishing vessels off the coast of the Philippines triggering a diplomatic dispute. (Business World)
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea, China–United States relations
- U.S. officials say the U.S. Navy deliberately avoided military drills or other actions that could have further inflamed tensions with Beijing during the USS Lassen’s patrol in the South China Sea last week. For instance, the Lassen turned off its fire-control radars while transiting within 12 nautical miles of Subi Reef. On its part, the Chinese destroyer following the Lassen was, “very cordial the entire time … before and after the Spratly Islands transit,” said the Lassen’s commanding officer, Commander Robert Francis. (Reuters) (New York Post)
European migrant crisis
- Reuters reports the Obama Administration will be opening new screening centers for Syrian refugees in Iraq and Lebanon to speed up the process for getting vetted individuals to the United States. (Reuters)
Turkey–United States relations
- The U.S Air Force deploys six F-15C fighter jets to Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base to help defend Turkish airspace against potential intruders. (AP)
Egypt–United States relations
- Egypt receives the final four of its order of 20 Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 52 multi-role fighters, according to the Defense Ministry. The United States had delayed delivery following the 2013 coup d’état. (UPI)
Japan–United States relations
- Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga says he “cannot comply with the recommendation” from Tokyo’s Land Minister Keiichi Ishii, and will not retract his revocation of a U.S. military base relocation permit. (UPI)

Politics and elections

The U.S. House passes the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act by a vote of 370-58. In addition to funding the U.S. military, the bill contains provisions for sweeping personnel reforms. The previous version of the bill was vetoed by President Barack Obama. Some sources expect swift passage by the U.S. Senate while other sources are not so optimistic. (Defense News) (The Hill)

Science and technology

The United States Federal Communications Commission rejects privacy advocacy group Consumer Watchdog’s petition to make it illegal for Internet companies like Google, Facebook and ad providers to ignore “Do Not Track” browser settings. (NBC News)

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November 9, 2015

Top News Stories –

David Beckham dons Argentina shirt to play in Buenos Aires shanty-town –
David Beckham has delighted children in one of the poorest districts of Buenos Aires by pulling on an Argentine shirt and joining them for a kick around. The former England captain, who was famously given a red card during a bruising encounter with Argentina in the 1998 World Cup, was in Argentina to film a documentary about football around the world. Beneath a mural of Pope Francis, an Argentine football fanatic, Beckham darted about on the concrete with the evidently delighted children. Beckham posted a photo on Instagram of himself beaming, with the caption: “Smiles all around. The passion of these kids and people for the game in the country is truly amazing. #Love of the game.” [Daily Telegraph]
David Beckham on Instagram

Indonesia drugs: Crocodiles ‘to guard death row prisons’ –
The head of Indonesia’s anti-drugs agency has proposed building a prison island guarded by crocodiles to house death-row drug convicts. Budi Waseso said crocodiles often made better guards than humans – because they could not be bribed. He said he would visit different parts of the Indonesian archipelago in order to find the fiercest reptiles. Indonesia has some of the toughest drug laws in the world and ended a four-year moratorium on executions in 2013. “We will place as many crocodiles as we can there,” Mr Waseso was quoted as saying by local news website Tempo. “You can’t bribe crocodiles. You can’t convince them to let inmates escape.” The plan is still in the early stages, and neither the location nor the potential opening date of the jail have been decided, the AFP news agency reports. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Star Wars: Battlefront Live Action Trailer – Become More Powerful

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Hedy Lamarr	#mondaymotivation	#mondaymotivation
2	#4DaysUntilMITAM	Hedy Lamarr	#EqualPayDay
3	#EndOfTheDay	#EndOfTheDay	#CBI2015
4	#OhNoBriana	#LoveYourself	#LoveYourself
5	#LoveYourself	#BeBraveIn4Words	#ScotlandBill
6	#FelizLunes	#Mizzou	David Moyes
7	#السعوديه_فلسط…	Baby Hitler	The Sun
8	#TWD6naFOX	#PickUpLinesForRepublicans	#AskDemi
9	재규어	Andre Drummond	Garry Monk
10	Jack Gilinsky	Jordan Matthews	Good Charlotte

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Amman shooting attack
- A Jordanian policeman shoots dead two American instructors and a South African before being killed at a police training centre in Al-Muwaqqar, on the eastern outskirts of Amman. U.S. contractors are sent to the facility to assist Jordanian police trainers.(BBC)
Boko Haram insurgency
- The government of Chad declares a state of emergency in the Lake Chad area a day after a double suicide bombing that has killed two people. (AFP via Yahoo News)
Syrian Civil War, Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
- Using social media, Russian investigative bloggers from the Conflict Intelligence Team photo-geolocate three Russian military personnel outside expected air support operations areas — evidence of what the group says may be a broader Russian military role in Syria.(Reuters)

Art and culture

In the U.S., University of Missouri System president Tim Wolfe announces his resignation after mounting criticism of his handling of racial issues; the Board of Curators votes to accept his resignation. R. Bowen Loftin, chancellor of the flagship Columbia campus, announces he will step down from his post by the end of the year. (ESPN) (USA Today) (ABC News)
Amedeo Modigliani‘s 1917 painting Nu couché sells at an auction at Christie’s for $170.4 million, the second highest price for a painting on record. (New York Times)

Business and economy

The German airline Lufthansa suspends 929 flights leaving 113,000 passengers stranded as a result of a cabin crew strike. (AFP via Yahoo! finance)

Disasters and accidents

2015 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
- Cyclone Megh
  - Cyclone Megh had sustained winds of 204 km/h (127 mph), the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane, when it hit the island of Socotra. According to AFP, Megh killed six, injured dozens with three reported missing and 5,000 people forced to leave their homes. (Reuters) (USA Today) (Al Jazeera) (AFP via Yahoo)
  - Megh is expected to cross the Yemen coast Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. Arabia Standard Time (6:00 a.m. UTC). In the Gulf of Aden, the storm has maximum sustained winds of 111 km/h (69 mph), gusting to 130 km/h (81 mph). Its strength will significantly erode once it makes landfall and continue to decay after it moves inland into the dry and rugged terrain of Western Yemen. It is not expected to track back over water. (United States Naval Observatory) (Regional Specialized Meteorological Center)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- Slovenia tightens controls over its Schengen border with Croatia due to concerns of an influx of migrants. (AFP via Yahoo News)
Syrian Civil War
- Human Rights Watch releases a report finding, because of a language barrier, integration issues, and financial difficulties, more than 400,000 Syrian refugee children in Turkey are not able to attend school despite the Turkish government allowing them access to the Turkish schooling system. (AP)

Law and crime

Detainees at Australia‘s Christmas Island Immigration Reception and Processing Centre riot, following the death of an asylum seeker. (The Australian)
Federal district court judge Richard Leon rules the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of U.S. phone records is unconstitutional. This ruling has limited impact since it applies to only one case, and the NSA is scheduled to replace this protocol with a more targeted system the end of this month. (Reuters) (Foreign Policy)
In the United States, the University of Virginia fraternity that was the subject of a Rolling Stone article about a brutal campus rape, filed a $25 million defamation lawsuit against the magazine and the article’s writer. (NBC News) (The Washington Post)
The U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a 2-1 decision, upholds a lower court’s injunction that blocks implementation of an Executive order to shield from deportation millions of undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as children. The White House is considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Reuters) (The Washington Post)

Politics and elections

The Catalan Parliament passes a resolution calling for the Catalonian region to secede from Spain. Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy says his government will seek to invalidate the motion with an appeal to the Constitutional Court in the coming days.(AP) (Reuters) (The Himalayan Times)
Myanmar general election, 2015
- Myanmar’s ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) concedes defeat in Sunday’s first free nationwide election in a quarter of a century. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), which has won 49 of the first 54 declared seats for the 330-seat lower house, appears headed for a landslide victory that would ensure it forms the next government. (Reuters) (Tribble Agency)
- United to End Genocide, an American-based human rights group, in the aftermath of the country’s historic election, warns that ethnic and religious tension in Myanmar could boil over and lead to violence. (The Washington Post)
The United Kingdom House of Commons passes the Scotland Bill devolving powers to Scotland. (BBC)

Science and technology

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere reached a record high in 2014 and the relentless fueling of climate change is endangering the planet for future generations. (Scientific American) (USA Today)

Sport

A World Anti-Doping Agency investigation into a Russian doping scandal recommends the suspension of Russian athletes from international competition and lifetime bans for five athletes, four coaches and an administrator. Among the athletes are London Olympic medalists Mariya Savinova-Farnosova and Ekaterina Poistogova. (AP via ABC News America)

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November 15, 2015

Top News Stories –

Ronda Rousey knocked out in UFC 193 title fight by Holly Holm in Australia –
Holly Holm pulled off a stunning upset over Ronda Rousey in the mixed martial arts championship, UFC 193. She knocked the women’s bantamweight champion out in the second round with a powerful kick to the head in Melbourne, Australia. Ronda Rousey, 28, was undefeated in her first 12 mixed martial arts fights with 11 wins in the first round. Holly Holm ended that run in front of a record Ultimate Fighting Championship crowd of around 75,000 fans. The UFC brought its showcase UFC 193 to Australia, with the Ronda Rousey-Holly Holm fight overshadowing the men as the main event. The stadium in Melbourne was transformed from a 56,000-seat Australian rules football venue to an auditorium holding close to 75,000 seats for the event. A full house would easily beat the 55,724 fans who attended UFC 129 at Toronto’s Rogers Centre in 2011. [BBC Newsbeat] Rousey starred in “Expendables 3” with Sylvester Stallone. See Top Twitter Trends
Ronda Rousey

Hundreds of Mormons resign in Utah same-sex policy protest –
Hundreds of Latter-day Saints mailed or handed in letters quitting the Mormon church on Saturday to protest a new policy barring children of married same-sex couples from being baptized until they are adults. Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) approved the policy last week. It added same-sex marriage to acts considered to be a renunciation of the Mormon faith and thus subject to church discipline, including excommunication. The church has more than 15 million adherents and 85,000 missionaries around the world. [Reuters]

Video of the Day –

Darwin Deez- The Mess She Made from Oscar Hudson on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	5 Seconds Of Summer	5 Seconds of Summer	#UFC193
2	#UFC193	Nick Bockwinkel	#sadnessinhiseyes
3	#DemDebate	#Ask1D	Ronda Rousey
4	#Ask1D	Giants	#Ask1D
5	#زد_رصيدك2	Peyton Manning	#MTVStars
6	#WELOVELUKEBECAUSE	#WELOVELUKEBECAUSE	#DemDebate
7	#DomingoDetremuraSdv	Dana White	#AskZoella
8	Ali Koç	Lions	5 Seconds of Summer
9	Baylor	#UFC193	#BrazilGP
10	#السعوديه_دوله…	#HTTR	#PurposeTheMovement

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

November 2015 Paris attacks
- One of the Paris attackers is identified as Ismael Omar Mostefai, a 29-year-old who was born and raised in the Paris suburbs. (Fox News) (BBC)
- Paris prosecutor François Molins says three jihadist cells, apparently multinational teams with links to the Middle East, Belgium, and possibly Germany, as well as France, staged coordinated attacks at bars, a concert hall, and a soccer stadium, killing 129 people and injuring 352, including 99 who are in a serious condition. (Reuters)
- French authorities identify two of the suicide attackers; both French nationals living in Belgium, one age 20, the other 31. (AP)
Turkey–ISIL conflict
- Turkish police detain seven ISIS-linked suspects in simultaneous operations in Ankara. (Daily Sabah)
2015 Beirut bombings, Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- Lebanon arrests nine people including seven Syrians over the recent Beirut bombings that killed at least 44 people. (Al Jazeera)
Egyptian security forces allegedly shoot dead at least 15 Sudanese asylum seekers in the Sinai Peninsula near the Israeli border. (Al-Jazeera)
Syrian Civil War
- France-led coalition intervention against ISIL
  - France launches a series of airstrikes on Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria, destroying a jihadi training camp and a munitions dump. (AP)
- American-led intervention in Syria
  - A government official says the United States made a fresh delivery of ammunition to Syrian Arab Coalition fighters battling Islamic State in northern Syria, pushing ahead with a strategy that initially unnerved ally Turkey. (Reuters)

Business and economics

Daily fantasy sports companies DraftKings and FanDuel, who are fighting New York’s cease-and-desist order that their industry is gambling in the U.S. state, apparently are OK with that label in the United Kingdom. DraftKings obtained a British gambling license in August and FanDuel applied for one earlier this month. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

The death toll from a landslide on Friday in China‘s Zhejiang province rises to 16 with 21 still missing. (New York Times)
Heavy rain leads to warnings of floods in mid and north Wales. (BBC)

International relations

2015 G-20 Antalya summit
- The leaders of nations with the top 20 economies vow to use all their policy resources to bolster a sagging global economic environment. While the European migrant crisis and terrorism were high on the agenda of this economic summit the terror attacks in Paris dominate conversations and meetings. In the wake of the attacks and during ongoing investigation, French President François Hollande remains in Paris. (Reuters) (CNN Money) (New York Times)
- United States President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a G20 working lunch meeting, traded views on Syria’s civil war: where they agreed, i.e. UN negotiations, cease-fire, and Syrian-led political transition; and where they disagreed, i.e. President Bashar al-Assad’s future role. Obama reiterated his support for the full implementation of the Minsk agreements on Ukraine, including Ukraine’s control of its borders. (AP) (RT) (Reuters) (NBC News)
November 2015 Paris attacks
- The top of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, is lit up in the red, white and blue of the French flag, in tribute to France and those killed in the attacks in Paris. Other landmark buildings in the United Arab Emirates, including the sail-shapedBurj Al Arab building, also paid tribute. (AP)
European migrant crisis
- Swedish police increase checks of asylum facilities in the country’s southwest amid reports refugees are leaving to avoid being registered by immigration officials. (AP)
Reuters reports Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and Philippine President Benigno Aquino are set to agree on a deal paving the way for Tokyo to directly supply Manila with used military equipment. An announcement is expected this week during theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Manila. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Myanmar general election, 2015
- Aung San Suu Kyi holds talks with parliament’s outgoing chairman, Shwe Mann, seeking his help in the transition to the National League for Democracy (NLD) government. Mann, who was ousted as head of the Union Solidarity and Development Party in August, lost his house seat in the November 8 vote. The current parliament will have at least one more session. (Reuters)
- Myanmar’s President Thein Sein promises a smooth transfer of power following the National League for Democracy winning a majority of parliamentary seats in last week’s elections. (UPI)

Sport

UFC 193
- Holly Holm defeats Ronda Rousey in a women’s bantamweight title match at Etihad Stadium in the Australian city of Melbourne, Victoria. (News Limited) (Los Angeles Times)
In a suit filed by two former American professional football (NFL) players, the Ohio Supreme Court upholds a lower court ruling that Cleveland’s formula for taxing visiting professional athletes, the so-called “jock tax,” violates players’ due process rights. A spokesman says the city will begin issuing refunds to players. (AP)
2015 Fed Cup
- In tennis, the Czech Republic retains the Fed Cup defeating Russia 3-2 in the final played at the O2 Arena in Prague. This is the Czech Republic’s fourth title in five years. (Yahoo News)

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November 24, 2015

Top News Stories –

Angry Cheryl Fernandez-Versini takes legal action over ‘white powder’ bathroom picture –
Cheryl Fernandez-Versini has taken legal action to prevent the publication of a photograph in which she is seen next to a white powdery substance in a public lavatory. The X Factor judge was photographed by a fashion journalist who posted the picture on Instagram after the 2015 British Fashion Awards at the London Coliseum on Monday night. The image was later deleted, but lawyers for the Girls Aloud singer have sent a warning letter to media companies not to use the picture. Taken in the reflection of a mirror, the picture shows Mrs Fernandez-Versini washing her hands with other women either side of her, with three lines of a white powder on a glass shelf in front and slightly to the side of her. [Daily Telegraph]
Cheryl Fernandez-Versini

Jeff Bezos’ space company does world first in landing reusable rocket –
[As promised in September 2015] Jeff Bezos’ privately-funded space company Blue Origin announced a historic first today – it successfully landed a fired rocket back on Earth after an unmanned flight to space. Bezos announced the compelling test flight video on Twitter – the first time he has ever tweeted – calling the achievement the “rarest of beasts.” In this test flight, the rocket separated itself from the New Shepard vehicle, which flew to an altitude of 93km on Monday, at almost 4 times the speed of sound. Usually, the rocket would have fallen back to Earth and been unable to complete any more flights. “Rockets have always been expendable,” Bezos wrote in blog post about the landing. “Not anymore.” In this case, it was guided towards a launchpad on Earth where it slowed down and landed, intact. This means the rocket can be re-used for subsequent flights, which companies like Blue Origin claim will make spaceflight far less expensive. [Daily Telegraph] See Video of the Day
Jeff Bezos

Video of the Day –

Historic Rocket Landing

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#MentirasMasUsadas	#ThanksgivingWithBlackFami…	#CharityTuesday
2	#ThanksgivingWithBlackFami…	#RuinAnOldSaying	World War III
3	#NadaMejorQue	Johnny Manziel	Alan Johnson
4	#GRAMMYs	#4thPrecinctShutDown	#1in5Muslims
5	#شي_جميل_يبداا_…	#LaquanMcDonald	Christmas Eve
6	Zayn e Gigi	#GRAMMYs	#6YearsOfOneTime
7	Turquía	David Canary	#Trident
8	#24KasımÖğretmenlerGünü	#6YearsOfOneTime	Rusev
9	Su-24	#ThanksgivingClapBack	#TravelTuesday
10	#VideoMTV2015	Russian	#GRAMMYs

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Sinai insurgency
- November 2015 Sinai attack
  - A day after the second round of parliamentary elections closes, militants attack a hotel housing election judges in the provincial capital of al-Arish in Egypt’s North Sinai. At least seven people are killed and 12 others injured, including two judges. The Islamic State’s Wilayat Sinai branch claims responsibility. (Reuters) (Eyewitness News)
Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War, 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown
- Turkish F-16 fighter jets shoot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 aircraft that had allegedly infringed its airspace near the Syrian border. Russia’s Ministry of Defence denies the Su-24 entered Turkish airspace and initially said it was shot down by ground fire over Syria’s Latakia Governorate. A video emerged of one pilot killed as local rebel Turkmen fighters shot at him while he was parachuting and a video of his body, while the fate of the other pilot is unknown but is presumed dead. A combat search and rescue mission by Russian forces failed to reach them. It is the first time a NATO member has shot down a Russian plane since the 1950s. (Irish Independent) (BBC) (The Telegraph)
- A Russian military helicopter is destroyed on the ground by a U.S. TOW missile used by Syrian rebels after it was forced to make an emergency landing in northern Latakia. (Reuters)
- A Russian marine is killed by rebel gunfire while on a mission to rescue the crew of the downed Su-24 near the Syrian-Turkish border, Russia’s Defence Ministry confirms. (BBC)
- Russian President Vladimir Putin says there will be “serious consequences” for Russia–Turkey relations following Turkey‘s actions, and describes the incident as a “stab in the back by the accomplices of terrorists”. Russian government agencies began limiting Russian tourists from traveling to Turkey. (Independent)
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warns everyone to “respect the right of Turkey to defend its borders,” says that the reason why worse incidents have not taken place in the past regarding Syria is because of the “cool-headedness of Turkey” and stresses that Turkey’s actions are fully in line with the new rules of engagement that the country adopted after Syria shot down a Turkish jet in 2012. (BBC)
- Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu defends the action saying Turkey has the right “to take all kinds of measures” against border violations as a “national duty,” but that it did not amount to an aggression against any foreign territory and the country called for NATO to hold an extraordinary meeting later in the day.(AFP via The Express Tribune)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- A car-bomb kills five guards at a checkpoint east of the Libyan capital, Tripoli. (Channel News Asia)
Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
- An explosion on a bus carrying Tunisian Presidential Guard personnel in Tunisia‘s capital Tunis leaves at least 15 people dead, as the country’s government declares a state of emergency. (Independent)

Arts and culture

Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 people including Willie Mays, Barbra Streisand, Itzhak Perlman, James Taylor, Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan, Stephen Sondheim and Steven Spielberg. (New York Times)

International relations

United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- According to an opinion poll, a majority of British citizens now want the United Kingdom to leave the European Union as voter anxiety rises over the bloc’s handling of a crisis provoked by an influx of migrants into Europe. A referendum on the United Kingdom’s EU membership is scheduled to take place before the end of 2017. (Reuters)
European migrant crisis
- Sweden will introduce tighter border controls and asylum rules in a bid to reduce the number of asylum seekers entering the country. Sweden expects up to 190,000 asylum seekers to reach its borders this year and says its reception system cannot cope. “The situation is untenable”, according to Swedish prime minister Stefan Löfven who told reporters, “to put it bluntly, more people will have to seek asylum and get protection in other European countries”. (Reuters)
- Germany starts deporting unsuccessful asylum seekers to the Balkans. (Reuters via Thomson Reuters Foundation)

Law and crime

A military court in Bangkok charges two men Adem Karadag and Yusufu Miefaili with offences related to the 2015 Bangkok bombing. (Al-Jazeera)
A bomb blast at the Hellenic Business Federation offices in central Athens, Greece, damages the Cypriot Embassy across the street. While there is yet no claim for responsibility the authorities suspect a domestic guerrilla group set off the blast. (Reuters)
Shooting of Laquan McDonald
- Chicago, Illinois police officer Jason Van Dyke is charged with first-degree murder for the October shooting death of Laquan McDonald, a black teenager. The charge comes one day before the release of the police video showing the shooting. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel meets with community leaders to discuss the video’s release and the potential ramifications for the city. (CNN)
2015 Roubaix shootings
- At least one person is killed after a group of armed men took people hostage in the northern French town of Roubaix near the Belgian border. The hostages are thought to be a bank director and his family. French police say the incident may be related to a robbery and not to the November 2015 attacks in Paris. (Irish Independent)

Politics and elections

U.S. reactions to November 2015 Paris attacks
- The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana sues Indiana Governor Mike Pence over his decision to block Syrian refugees from resettling in the state. The ACLU, on behalf of Indianapolis-based nonprofit Exodus Refugee Immigration, accuses Pence of violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution by accepting refugees from other countries but not those from Syria. The decision also caused some financial harm to Exodus when a family of Syrian refugees, scheduled to arrive in Indianapolis on December 10 after a three-year wait, had to be diverted to Connecticut. (AP via Miami Herald) (Indianapolis Star) (USA Today)
Antonio Costa, the leader of the Socialist Party, is named as the Prime Minister of Portugal. (Reuters)
Echoing criticisms of the U.S. intelligence community in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Derek Harvey, a former U.S. intelligence official, says that the U.S. intelligence community is failing in its assessments of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Another unnamed source says the U.S. intelligence community is “playing catch up“ regarding efforts to monitor ISIL activities in the U.S. These, following reports that U.S. Central Command intelligence analysts were instructed to give favorable spin on anti-ISIL efforts. (The Telegraph) (Fox News)

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November 29, 2015

Top News Stories –

Andy Murray wins the Davis Cup for Great Britain –
Great Britain have won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936 after Andy Murray beat Belgium’s David Goffin to clinch the decisive point in Ghent. Murray won 6-3 7-5 6-3 to give the visitors an unassailable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five tie. Britain have now won the team title 10 times [the last title was in 1936], while Murray adds the Davis Cup to his other major titles at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Olympic Games. Captain Leon Smith guided Britain from the third tier to glory in five years. [BBC] See Video of the Day. Andy Murray posted the most minimal of tweets afterwards:

Andy Murray

Formula One season ends with Hamilton champion but Rosberg winning –
Nico Rosberg beat Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to win the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The victory was the German’s third in a row, giving him a boost ahead of 2016 after Hamilton won the title last month with three races still to go. [BBC] See List of the Day
Nico Rosberg

Video of the Day –

Andy Murray defeats David Goffin 6:3 7:5 6:3 to clinch the winning point for Great Britain in the 2015 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Final

List of the Day –

Formula 1 Grand Prix 2015 results:

Pos.	Driver	AUS	MAL	CHN	BHR	ESP	MON	CAN	AUT	GBR	HUN	BEL	ITA	SIN	JPN	RUS	USA	MEX	BRA	ABU	Points
1	Lewis Hamilton	1	2	1	1	2	3	1	2	1	6	1	1	Ret	1	1	1	2	2	2	381
2	Nico Rosberg	2	3	2	3	1	1	2	1	2	8	2	17†	4	2	Ret	2	1	1	1	322
3	Sebastian Vettel	3	1	3	5	3	2	5	4	3	1	12†	2	1	3	2	3	Ret	3	4	278
4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ret	4	4	2	5	6	4	Ret	8	Ret	7	5	3	4	8	Ret	Ret	4	3	150
5	Valtteri Bottas	DNS	5	6	4	4	14	3	5	5	13	9	4	5	5	12†	Ret	3	5	13	136
6	Felipe Massa	4	6	5	10	6	15	6	3	4	12	6	3	Ret	17	4	Ret	6	DSQ	8	121
7	Daniil Kvyat	DNS	9	Ret	9	10	4	9	12	6	2	4	10	6	13	5	Ret	4	7	10	95
8	Daniel Ricciardo	6	10	9	6	7	5	13	10	Ret	3	Ret	8	2	15	15†	10	5	11	6	92
9	Sergio Pérez	10	13	11	8	13	7	11	9	9	Ret	5	6	7	12	3	5	8	12	5	78
10	Nico Hülkenberg	7	14	Ret	13	15	11	8	6	7	Ret	DNS	7	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	7	6	7	58
11	Romain Grosjean	Ret	11	7	7	8	12	10	Ret	Ret	7	3	Ret	13†	7	Ret	Ret	10	8	9	51
12	Max Verstappen	Ret	7	17†	Ret	11	Ret	15	8	Ret	4	8	12	8	9	10	4	9	9	16	49
13	Felipe Nasr	5	12	8	12	12	9	16	11	DNS	11	11	13	10	20†	6	9	Ret	13	15	27
14	Pastor Maldonado	Ret	Ret	Ret	15	Ret	Ret	7	7	Ret	14	Ret	Ret	12	8	7	8	11	10	Ret	27
15	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	9	8	13	Ret	9	10	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	11	9	10	Ret	7	13	Ret	11	18
16	Jenson Button	11	Ret	14	DNS	16	8	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	14	14	Ret	16	9	6	14	14	12	16
17	Fernando Alonso		Ret	12	11	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	10	5	13	18†	Ret	11	11	11	Ret	15	17	11
18	Marcus Ericsson	8	Ret	10	14	14	13	14	13	11	10	10	9	11	14	Ret	Ret	12	16	14	9
19	Roberto Merhi	DNP	15	16	17	18	16	Ret	14	12	15	15	16			13				19	0
20	Alexander Rossi													14	18		12	15	18		0
21	Will Stevens	DNP	DNS	15	16	17	17	17	Ret	13	16†	16	15	15	19	14	Ret	16	17	18	0
—	Kevin Magnussen	DNS																			0
Pos.	Driver	AUS	MAL	CHN	BHR	ESP	MON	CAN	AUT	GBR	HUN	BEL	ITA	SIN	JPN	RUS	USA	MEX	BRA	ABU	Points

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#BrouisIsFake	#WeLoveYouCalum	#ClimateMarch
2	#EsasDescontroladasGanasDe	#XmasGiftsForAMobBoss	#WeLoveYouCalum
3	#WeLoveYouCalum	#BrouisIsFake	#klitschkofury
4	#VamosChilenos	Princess Charlotte	#MakeAMovieHungover
5	#RUNwithBTS	Mark Richt	Anthony Joshua
6	#هل_ترضين_تتزو�…	#ClimateMarch	#DavisCupFinal
7	肉の日	#SoulTrainAwards	#Marr
8	CONFIDENT ON SPOTIFY	#DeGaleBute	#DeGaleBute
9	Les Miles	Brandon Rush	Princess Charlotte
10	#FelizDomingo	Kobe	#MOTD

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attcks

Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports Russian airstrikes kill at least 18 civilians and wound dozens more in the town of Ariha in Syria‘s northwestern Idlib province. Idlib is controlled by the Army of Conquest, a rebel alliance of mainly Islamist groups, including al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front. (Reuters) (The International New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

A fire in the South African city of Cape Town leaves two people dead and thousands homeless. (Times Live)

International relations

2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown
- Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu says the body of the pilot from the Sukhoi Su-24 jet downed this past Tuesday will be handed over to Russia. The body is being treated in accordance with the Orthodox tradition. Russia’s military attaché is going to Hatay in southern Turkey as part of the procedures to recover the remains. Turkish officials refused to comment on how they came to be in possession of the body . (Reuters)
Pope Francis’ 2015 visit to Africa
- Pope Francis arrives in the Central African Republic, the last stop of his six-day African tour, becoming the first modern pope to enter an active war zone as the country is in a state of civil war. (The Guardian)
November 2015 Paris attacks
- Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls the recent Paris attacks “blind terrorism,” according to IRNA, the country’s official news agency. The Iranian government condemned the attacks immediately after they occurred. (The Washington Post)

Law and crime

Conservative MP Philip Davies announces up to 100 prisoners serving life sentences in British prisons will be let out of jail at Christmas for a five-day break with their families. Last year a total of 1,347 prison inmates, including 93 lifers, were given leave. The move has caused outrage among justice campaigners. (Sunday Express)
European migration crisis
- A mass brawl breaks out in a refugee shelter in Berlin with a hundred police required to restore order. (Daily Star)

Politics and elections

Burkinabé general election, 2015
- Voters in Burkina Faso go to the polls to elect a new parliament and president after a year of turmoil. (BBC)
Labour deputy leader Tom Watson demands party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who opposes PM David Cameron’s (Conservative) proposed air strikes on Syria, to ensure MPs are given a free vote on the proposal this Tuesday. (The Independent)
2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference
- About 20,000 pairs of empty shoes lay around Paris, symbolizing the absent marchers who would have joined this weekend’s worldwide climate change protests pressing for a bold international agreement at the upcoming climate summit there. The capital city was planned to be the center for demonstrations but French police banned large protests following the terrorist attacks this month. (The Washington Post) (The Daily Mirror)

Sport

2015 Davis Cup
- In tennis, the Great Britain Davis Cup team wins their tenth title in the Davis Cup and their first since 1936 defeating Belgium 3-2 in the final in Ghent. Andy Murray won all of their games he played with two singles wins and teaming with his brother Jamie Murray to win the doubles. (New York Times)
2015–16 NBA season
- In basketball, American star Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers announces he will retire at the end of the season. (ESPN)

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December 7, 2015

Top News Stories –

Austria: Linz scraps gay pedestrian crossing lights –
The Austrian city of Linz has scrapped its gay-themed pedestrian crossing lights, which were adopted earlier this year with the aim of promoting tolerance. The red and green signals, depicting same-sex couples holding hands, were first introduced in Vienna to coincide with the the Eurovision Song Contest in May. Their popularity meant Salzburg and Linz later followed suit. But while the signals have become a permanent feature in the capital, they’ve now been removed from the streets of Linz. [BBC]

IBM pulls #HackAHairDryer campaign following Twitter backlash –
IBM has pulled the plug on its #HackAHairDryer campaign designed to encourage more female engineers and scientists after social media users turned against it. The initiative, which was centered around encouraging more women to apply for positions within the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) industries, was roundly derided after Twitter users claimed it was patronising and trivialised science. Angry users took issue with the use of a hairdryer, claiming the campaign belittled women’s scientific abilities. [Daily Telegraph] See Top Twitter Trends

Video of the Day –

Jedi Levitation Prank

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SegundaComOClubeSDV	#ReasonWhyWeAreNotFriends	#TurnerPrize
2	#ReasonWhyWeAreNotFriends	#HackAHairDryer	#mondaymotivation
3	#زد_رصيدك24	#NuevaAsamblea	#TCDisrupt
4	#7DElDebateDecisivo	#PearlHarbor	#SheWantsAManFromBrum
5	#امنيه_تتمنونه…	Grammy	#ReasonWhyWeAreNotFriends
6	#UnaVelitaPor	Jose Fernandez	#beforeandafter1d
7	#NuevaAsamblea	Ralph Peters	#HackAHairDryer
8	#MeGustasComoPara	#YearInMusic	#ontopictalkshow
9	#انترنت_السعود…	#AvaBarbie	#SelfieForNash
10	#お前らたまにはア�…	#MyXMasStripperName	#musicmonday

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Syria‘s government says a U.S.-led military coalition airstrike on a Syrian Army camp in the eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate, killed three Syrian soldiers and wounded 13 others. A senior U.S. military official denied responsibility for the airstrike and said that the U.S. is certain it was a Russian airstrike. (Reuters) (AP)
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 26 civilians have been killed in suspected U.S.-led coalition airstrikes near the ISIL-controlled town of Al-Hawl in Syria‘s northeast Al-Hasakah Governorate. A U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said the reports would be investigated. (BBC)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Turkey refuses to withdraw its forces from northern Iraq despite being giving a 48 hour ultimatum by Iraq to leave the country. Turkey says the troops are there as part of an international mission to train and equip Iraqi forces to fight against the Islamic State. The Iraqi government says it never invited such a force, and will take its case to the United Nations if they are not pulled out. (Reuters)

Business and economics

The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) files an administrative complaint challenging office-supplies giant Staples’ proposed $6.3 billion acquisition of top rival Office Depot. The FTC said the deal would significantly reduce national competition in the market for office supplies sold to large business customers. The companies plan to contest the FTC decision. (USA Today) (Bloomberg via Chicago Tribune)
General Electric announces that it has abandoned its plan to sell its appliances business to Sweden‘s Electrolux. The U.S. Department of Justice had filed an antitrust suit in summer 2015 to block the $3.3 billion acquisition. (The Wall Street Journal)

Disasters and accidents

A powerful, magnitude 7.2 earthquake has shaken Tajikistan. It was felt as far away as India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. No damage or casualties have been reported as the epicenter lies within the vast Badakhshan national park. The US Geological Surveydescribes the area as one of the “most seismically hazardous regions on Earth” because of tectonic activity along shifting fault lines. (AP) (USGS) (The Independent)
Pollution in China
- Beijing’s city government issues its first red alert for pollution, ordering schools to close, halting outdoor construction, and restricting car use due to hazardous air quality. (CNN)
2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season
- Storm Desmond
  - Storm Desmond shatters U.K. rainfall records as an incredible 13.44 inches of rain fell in 24 hours at Honister Pass in the Lake District in North West England. The 15.94 inches of rain at Thirlmere — also in the Lake District — set a new record for the 48-hour period. (The Washington Post)
  - Desmond’s fury and flooding has resulted in at least two deaths. Cumbria Police say about 5,000 properties were flooded and around 3,000 remain without power. (Sky News) (ITV)
  - Flooding that’s devastated parts of northwest England, on Sunday temporarily brought a 260-foot high waterfall in the Yorkshire Dales National Park back to life for the first time in residents’ living memory. But by today, it stopped. (Sky News)
A blaze, sparked by a quick succession of between 15 and 20 gas cylinder explosions, in the Kandivali suburb of Mumbai, India, kills at least two and injures 11 while destroying around 1,000 hutment homes. (Sky News) (The Hindu)

International relations

Russia–Turkey relations
- Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu accuses Russia of provoking military gestures as a sailor aboard a Russian naval vessel wielded a rocket launcher as the ship passed through the Bosphorous Strait in the wake of Russia’s imposing sanctions on Turkey for that country’s downing of a Russian aircraft (Reuters)
- Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in a televised speech, states that it is possible to find alternatives to Russian energy sources following his return from Qatar where he arranged a deal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the Turkish Prime Minister’s visit to Azerbaijan where energy matters were reportedly discussed. Turkish officials have reportedly discussed energy deals with other countries as well. (Radio Free Europe)
Russia’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency says he expects the historic nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, the P5+1, to be implemented in January. Before the end of the year, Iran will exchange its stockpile of low-enriched uraniumfor Russia’s non-enriched forms of uranium, he said. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Iran’s Cyber Police Chief announces the arrest of some 53 people for allegedly running websites supportive of the Islamic State militant group. (Reuters)
The United States Supreme Court declines (Friedman v. Highland Park) to review the ability of cities and states to prohibit semiautomatic, high-capacity assault weapons that have been used in some of the nation’s most deadly recent mass shootings. Thenationwide assault weapons ban law expired in 2004. Since the District of Columbia v. Heller decision in 2008 found the Second Amendment provides the right for an individual to keep a weapon in the home, the court has avoided all cases that might clarify if that right is more expansive. (The Washington Post) (Reuters)
The United States Department of Justice will investigate the Chicago, Illinois police department. Long concerned with Chicago police department practices, the investigation is precipitated by the recent release of a video of the shooting death of Laquan McDonald. The Chicago police are set to release another video showing the police killing of Ronald Johnson in October of 2014. (New York Times) (CNN)
United States Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says the Obama administration will announce a new terror alert system “in the coming days,” that will better inform the public about threats to the United States. This will be the third terror alert system put in place since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. (AP via MLive.com)
Whaling in Japan
- Australia is threatening to take legal action against Japan over its resumption of its controversial whale hunt in the Antarctic Ocean. A whaling fleet set sail last week, ignoring international condemnation, and last year’s ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) prohibiting these hunts. (AP via The Seattle Times) (Voice of America)

Politics and elections

Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2015
- Venezuela’s National Electoral Council announces the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) has won at least 99 seats in the 167-member National Assembly in Sunday’s elections. The previous-ruling United Social Party of Venezuela (PSUV) picked up 46. Results for 22 contests remain to be determined. Voter turnout was a stunning 74.3 percent. “Within seconds,” President Nicolás Maduro recognized the opposition’s win, saying that despite (his party’s) adverse result, Venezuela’s democracy has triumphed. (AP) (BBC) (BBC)

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December 15, 2015

Top News Stories –

Spacecraft carrying Russian, American, Briton docks with space station –
A Soyuz spacecraft successfully delivered a Russian, an American and a Briton to the International Space Station on Tuesday after blasting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The otherwise smooth journey ended with a slightly delayed docking at 1733 GMT as Russian commander Yuri Malenchenko aborted the automatic procedure and manually guided the spacecraft towards the station. Alongside Malenchenko, a veteran of long-duration space flights who is on his fourth space mission, were NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and Briton Tim Peake, both former Apache military helicopter pilots. Peake, 43, a former army major who is on a six-month mission for the European Space Agency (ESA), became the first astronaut representing the British government and wearing a Union Jack flag on his arm. The first Briton in space was Helen Sharman, who travelled on a Soviet spacecraft for eight days in 1991. [Reuters]
Timothy Peake

Star Wars: Force Awakens gets world premiere –
The hotly anticipated latest addition in the Star Wars franchise, The Force Awakens, has had its world premiere in Los Angeles. Stars from the original series including Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher joined newcomers including John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. The plot of the film remains a closely-guarded secret and a media embargo on reviews is in place until Wednesday. Fans had been camping out for days outside the TCL Chinese Theatre, which along with other LA venues screened the seventh Star Wars instalment. Security was tight, with a giant tent shrouding the red carpet. The TCL Chinese Theatre – formerly known as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre – showed the first Star Wars movie in 1977. [BBC]

‘Late’ Madonna rebuffs fans over Manchester gig complaints –
Pop singer Madonna has told fans she is no “diva” after technical hitches meant she was late on stage for a gig in Manchester. The 57-year-old artist made the comments on Monday at the Manchester Arena during her Rebel Heart tour. “If you diva bitches want to keep complaining about it, then don’t come to my show,” she said. She added: “I’m not back there eating chocolate and filing my nails and getting my extensions done, all right?” However, the singer told fans: “Tonight, our video crashed, and we had no video, and our back-up file was – I don’t know – it was compromised, put it like that… So praise the Lord and thank you God but that is why we are late, all right? For no selfish diva bitch reason.” [BBC] In July 2015 Madonna compared herself to Pablo Picasso.
Madonna

World’s longest-surviving castaway sued for $1 million after being accused of ‘eating his colleague’ –
A fisherman who stunned the world by surviving 15 months lost at sea is being sued for $1 million (£650,000) by the family of his dead colleague, who accuse him of eating their relative to ensure his own survival. Salvador Alvarenga, 36, is the only man known to have survived for over a year at sea. And when he set sail from the coast of Mexico in November 2012, he thought he was setting out on a two-day fishing trip, having paid 22-year-old Ezequiel Cordoba $50 to accompany him. But a vicious storm with 10ft waves knocked out the 25ft boat’s communication systems, and washed their supplies overboard. The pair survived for several months by catching fish and birds, and drinking turtle blood and rainwater. He eventually died, extracting promises from Mr Alvarenga not to eat his corpse, and to find Cordoba’s mother and tell her what happened. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

The Physics of Car Crashes

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#15DiasProFinalDoAnoEeu	#ThisIsNotTheAlbumOnThursday	Paramore
2	#FantasticBeastsTrailer	#InternationalTeaDay	#internationalteaday
3	#شي_جميل_بحرف_ا…	Sieg Heil	South China Sea
4	#AnoQueVemPrometo	#edensunicornwish	#BackInTimeForChristmas
5	#زد_رصيدك32	#AskCNCO	#CharityTuesday
6	#FelizMartes	#TravelTuesday	#youtubefandomhonestyhour
7	#InternationalTeaDay	Cabin Fever 3	#TimPeake
8	#今年の漢字・2015	#GOPDebate	Mahrez
9	#ParaNavidadQuiero	#FantasticBeastsTrailer	#Moments
10	#ALDUBPagbangon	#BillofRightsDay	Mourinho

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War, Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
- The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that increased airstrikes by Russia have forced humanitarian assistance organizations to curtail their relief efforts, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in northern Syria. (The Washington Post)
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- United States Pacific Fleet commander Scott H. Swift warns of a possible South China Sea arms race. (Reuters via MSN)
Islamist insurgency in Nigeria
- At least 30 people are killed after Boko Haram militants attack three villages in Nigeria‘s northeast Borno state. (AFP via Yahoo)
Military intervention against ISIL
- France‘s Air Force carries out their first cruise-missile strikes targeting Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant installations in Iraq, including “a training center and logistical depot,” according to the French defence ministry. (AFP via Defense News)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Melor (Nona) causes widespread flooding and blackouts in the Philippines. More than 700,000 people had been evacuated ahead of the storm which hit late on Monday night. (New York Times)

Health and medicine

The United States Food and Drug Administration approves the Merck & Co. drug, Bridion, that reverses the effects of muscle relaxants used during surgery. (Reuters) (FDA)

International relations

Saudi Arabia announces the formation of a 34-member Islamic Military Alliance against terrorism including Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan with a joint operations centre based in Riyadh. (SBS) (BNO News)
Nuclear program of Iran
- The United Nations finds Iran’s firing of a medium-range ballistic missile in October violated a June 2010 resolution banning the Islamic Republic from launches capable of delivering nuclear weapons. The test was not technically a violation of the July nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers. It’s not known if the Security Council will take any action. (AP via The Christian Science Monitor) (Reuters)
- The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors decides, by consensus unopposed, to close its investigation into whether Iran once had a secret nuclear weapons program. The IAEA will continue to police Tehran’s activities.(The News Telegraph) (Reuters)

Law and crime

A Baltimore, Maryland deadlocked jury was told by the trial judge to resume deliberations after closing arguments in the first trial of police officer William Porter, charged in the death of Freddie Gray. With demonstrations and unrest following the death, the city has cancelled leave for police officers and the mayor has called for calm when a verdict is announced. (CNN) (The Gazette)
Schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District close after receiving an unspecified “electronic” threat. Later, authorities conclude the threat was a hoax, and announce schools will reopen Wednesday. New York City schools‘ initial response to a similar threatening email was to treat it as a hoax. The NYC schools were open all day. (BBC News) (ITV) (LA School Report) (CNN)
American entertainer Bill Cosby, in response to dozens of accusations of sexual assault and misconduct spanning decades, has filed in U.S. federal court in Massachusetts a defamation suit against seven accusers. (The New York Times)
United Kingdom police arrest a 21-year-old man in Berkshire in the hacking of Hong Kong-based electronic toy maker VTech. Details of more than six million people from servers used to support VTech’s learning products app store were compromised.(BBC) (Digital Trends)

Politics and elections

New Zealand flag referendums, 2015–16
- New Zealand announces the flag design chosen by the public that will challenge the current flag in a March 2016 vote. Voters will choose between the current flag, which features the British Union Jack with a dark blue background, and the challenger, asilver fern and four red stars on a black and blue background. (CTV) (Stuff)

Science and technology

The Soyuz TMA-19M, consisting of Expedition 46 crew members Yuri Malenchenko (RSA), Timothy Kopra (NASA) and Tim Peake (ESA), launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for the International Space Station (ISS) with Peake becoming the first Briton to represent the European Space Agency at the ISS. (Bay News 9) (The Daily Telegraph)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

December 29, 2015

Top News Stories –

Russia: Book of Putin quotes ‘given to officials’ –
Officials across Russia have been given a 400-page book of “prophetic” quotes by President Vladimir Putin as a new year gift, it’s reported. The collection, entitled Words That Change The World, was sent to as many as 1,000 people by one of Mr Putin’s top aides, Vyacheslav Volodin, according to the business newspaper RBK. Recipients include MPs, regional governors and civil society representatives. In an accompanying letter, Mr Volodin says the book should be seen as a guide to the Kremlin’s “values and guiding principles”. He’s also reported to have recommended it to a recent meeting of officials as “required reading for any politician”. [BBC]
Vladimir-Putin

Russia ‘unlikely’ to return by Rio Olympics –
Russia are unlikely to return to international competition in time for next year’s Rio Olympics, says European Athletics president Svein Arne Hansen. Russia’s athletics federation was banned by the International Association of Athletics Federations for alleged involvement in widespread doping. An IAAF inspection committee is due to visit Russia in January. “For the moment they have to fulfil the conditions, but I cannot really see them competing in Rio,” Hansen said. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

VertiGo – A Wall-Climbing Robot Including Ground-Wall Transition

List of the Day –

Google Trends 2015 –
Top Searches – Global Sporting Events

1 Copa America

2 Wimbledon

3 Tour de France

4 Rugby World Cup

5 Super Bowl

6 Mayweather vs Pacquiao

7 Indian Premier League

8 US Open

9 ICC Cricket World Cup

10 Australian Open

Source: Google

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#زد_رصيدك46	#MessageForMyCrush	Dappy
2	#ConEsteCalorYo	#TWUG	#LHHNY
3	#FelizMartes	#1YearWithoutO2L	Lemmy
4	#TercaDetremuraSdv	#IdGiveYou	#MessageForMyCrush
5	#MessageForMyCrush	#TravelTuesday	Cellino
6	#ALDUBFLASHBack2015	#AndThenISaid	#IWantToBeSoRich
7	#MentirasMasUsadas	Ethan Couch	#MOTD
8	#YoTeDigo	#KidQuestionsForHillary	#TamirRice
9	#닉네임의_받침을_��…	#ARMYSelcaDay	#StormFrank
10	#НасосДляИспо�…	#TWDMarathon	#TravelTuesday

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan
- A suicide-bomb attack outside the regional office of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) in the northwestern Pakistani city of Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, leaves at least 26 people dead and 45 wounded. The militant Islamistgroup Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan splinter group, claims responsibility for the attack. (AP via New York Times)
Syrian Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL
- The United States military announces that a key Islamic State leader with ties to the Paris attack terrorists was killed in a coalition airstrike on December 24, 2015. Charaffe al Mouadan is the tenth ISIL leader killed by an airstrike since December 7. (The Washington Post) (International Business Times)
The French newspaper Le-monda claims that the November 13, 2015 Paris attacks were coordinated from Belgium by a single unidentified suspect.(Lemonde.fr)

Business and economics

American chemical giant DuPont announces that, in early 2016, it will cut 1,700 jobs in Delaware, about 28 percent of its home state workforce, and thousands more globally in connection as a result of the Dow Chemical Company merger. (The Washington Post) (AP via NBC news) (Delaware Online)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season
- 2015 Great Britain and Ireland floods
  - The 18th century Tadcaster Bridge, in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, partially collapses into the River Wharfe as a result of flooding. British Army soldiers evacuated people from nearby homes. (The Guardian)
2015 Flood in Missouri
- Missouri Governor Jay Nixon warns residents that the state faces historic flooding that likely will rival Great Flood of 1993 levels. Swollen rivers are still rising and won’t crest for days. The Mississippi River is expected to reach nearly 15 feet above flood stage on Thursday. Nixon pleaded with drivers to stay off inundated roadways. Twelve of the 13 people killed from these recent storms died after their vehicles were swept from flooded roadways. (NBC News) (UPI)

Health and medicine

For the first time since March 2014, Guinea is declared free from Ebola virus transmissions by the World Health Organization. (New York Times)

Law and crime

Ethan Couch, the so-called “affluenza” teen who violated probation for killing four people when driving while intoxicated when he disappeared from Tarrant County, Texas, is taken into custody in Mexico. Mexican officials will remand Couch and his mother, with whom he fled, to the U.S. Marshals Service. (Reuters)
Lebanese Customs seize five tonnes of Captagon amphetamine pills and Hashish, concealed in primary school desks that were to be shipped to Egypt, at Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport. Meanwhile, security forces in northern Lebanon found two workshops producing Captagon and other drugs during a series of raids. The drug is infamous as being used by Islamist militants in the Syrian civil war. (Channel News Asia)
Chicago, Illinois police officer, Jason Van Dyke, enters a not guilty plea regarding the charges of the 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald. (New York Times)
El Salvador‘s murder rate surges by 70% in 2015, an increase that may lead to the Central American nation edging out Honduras as the world’s most murderous nation. (Reuters via Daily Mail)

Politics and elections

Eloy Inos, the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands since 2013, dies in office.(Saipan Tribune)
- Lieutenant Governor Ralph Torres will be sworn in as Governor on December 29th. Victor Hocog will succeed Torres as Lieutenant Governor.(Marianas Variety)
United States presidential election, 2016, Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016
- Former Governor of New York, George Pataki, ends his campaign for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. (USA Today)
North Korea‘s state media says Kim Yang-gon, a top aide to supreme leader Kim Jong-un and secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), who was also in charge of ties with South Korea, dies in a car crash. (BBC)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

December 30, 2015

Top News Stories –

Freak storm pushes North Pole 50 degrees above normal to melting point –
A powerful winter cyclone — the same storm that led to two tornado outbreaks in the United States and disastrous river flooding — has driven the North Pole to the freezing point this week, 50 degrees above average for this time of year. From Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning, a mind-boggling pressure drop was recorded in Iceland: 54 millibars in just 18 hours. This triples the criteria for “bomb” cyclogenesis, which meteorologists use to describe a rapidly intensifying mid-latitude storm. A “bomb” cyclone is defined as dropping one millibar per hour for 24 hours. NOAA’s Ocean Prediction Center said the storm’s minimum pressure dropped to 928 millibars around 1 a.m. Eastern time, which likely places it in the top five strongest storms on record in this region. [Washington Post]

Uber claims one billion journeys in five years since launch –
Uber claims to have made one billion journeys since its launch in 2010, underlining the massive growth of the ride-sharing service and its challenge to the traditional taxi industry. The company said its billionth trip was completed in London on Christmas Eve – five and a half years after its first journey in San Francisco. The figure suggests that Uber has averaged more than 600,000 rides a day since its driver-hailing app went online, although the figure today is much higher. Uber said last year that it was arranging 1 million trips per day, and has since expanded in dozens of new cities around the world. [Daily Telegraph]

Canadian Bad Santa pulls Christmas Eve heist, escapes in Hummer –
A man dressed as Santa Claus robbed a small-town Canadian jewelry store at gunpoint on Christmas Eve, before dashing away in a Hummer, police said on Wednesday. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the red-and-white-garbed robber entered a jewelry store in Stettler, Alberta, in late afternoon last Thursday. He demanded jewelry and diamonds from a clerk and left with a bag of them. No one was hurt. An employee at the store declined to comment. [Daily Mail]

Video of the Day –

How To Prevent Hangovers (With Science)

List of the Day –

Google Trends 2015 –
Top Searches – Movies

1 Jurassic World

2 Furious 7

3 American Sniper

4 Fifty Shade of Grey

5 Minions

6 Spectre

7 Straight Outta Compton

8 Mad Max

9 Prem Ratan Dhan Payo

10 Birdman

Source: Google

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#ParaEl2016Prometo	#Thanks1DForAnAmazing2015	Oliver Letwin
2	#QuartaComOClubeSDV	#NewYearsResolutionIn5Words	#SUNLIV
3	#زد_رصيدك47	#baconday	Barney
4	#TomaraQueEm2016OCrush	#BillClintonSitcoms	David Beckham
5	#Thanks1DForAnAmazing2015	Bill Cosby	#morrisseykitchen
6	#اشياء_تتمناها…	#BlackTwitterTheBestTwitter	#SchoolDiscoMemories
7	#FelizMiercoles	Cleveland’s Terrible Stain	#Thanks1DForAnAmazing2015
8	Página 364 de 365	#BelkBowl	Guru Josh
9	#СНаступающим�…	#BirminghamBowl	Lemmy
10	#あなたに絶対似合�…	#WhatItDoByMahone	#TylerOakleyThankYouFor

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- 2015 al-Qamishli bombings
  - Several suicide-bomb attacks targeting Assyrian Christians celebrating New Year’s Eve at restaurants in the Kurdish-controlled Syrian city of Al-Qamishli, Al-Hasakah Governorate, leave at least 16 people dead and 35 wounded. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are suspected to be behind the bombings. (RT)
2015 Burundian unrest
- Burundi‘s President, Pierre Nkurunziza, says Burundians will fight against any African Union peacekeepers sent into the country in response to the ongoing crisis, “everyone has to respect Burundian borders,” Nkurunziza said. The African Union said this earlier this month it was ready to send 5,000 peacekeepers to protect civilians caught up in months of violence. (Reuters)

Business and economy

South China Sea disputes
- The Philippines says it will join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank despite disputes between it and the bank’s founder, China. (Rappler)
Governor Alejandro García Padilla indicates Puerto Rico will default on bonds issued by the island’s Infrastructure Financing Authority and Public Finance Corporation. (New York Times)

Disasters and Accidents

2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season
- Storm Frank hits the United Kingdom and Ireland, contributing to the 2015 Great Britain and Ireland floods following previous heavy rainfall. (ITV News)

International relations

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present), Iraq–Turkey relations
- Iraq‘s Foreign Minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, renewed demands that Turkey fully withdraw its troops from northern Iraq, asserting that Turkey must respect Iraq’s sovereignty or face potential military action. (Reuters)
War on Terror
- Belgium cancels New Year’s Eve firework celebrations in Brussels amid fears of an Islamic terrorist attack in an unspecified European capital city. (Sky News)

Law and crime

Bill Cosby sexual assault allegations
- American entertainer Bill Cosby is charged with aggravated indecent assault in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The county’s District Attorney-elect said his office is also examining evidence related to other cases. The current charges relate to one particular 2004 incident. (New York Times)
2015 Brussels lockdown
- Two Belgian policewomen and eight soldiers reportedly held an orgy at a police station in the Brussels neighbourhood of Ganshoren while colleagues hunted for the Paris terror attacks suspects. The police station was near Molenbeek, where anti-terror raids had been taking place. Police spokesman, Johan Berckmans, said “we have launched an investigation to find out what exactly happened”. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

Central African general election, 2015–16
- Voters in the Central African Republic are heading to the polls for the rescheduled parliamentary elections and the first round of the presidential election, where 30 candidates are running to replace Acting President Catherine Samba-Panza. The presidential runoff election is scheduled for 31 January 2016. The Central African Republic has been rocked by unrest since the March 2013 coup of president François Bozizé by Séléka, a mostly Muslim alliance of anti-government groups. Thousands have died and about one million people have been displaced in the ongoing sectarian violence between Séléka and the Christian anti-balaka militia. The United Nations peacekeeping mission has promised a heavy security presence today. (AP via The Washington Post) (Pulse News Agency)
- Ballot counting is underway after a peaceful election day in this country plagued by years of sectarian violence. National Elections Authority President Marie-Madeleine Koue says at least 65 percent turnout was expected. (EuroNews) (Bloomberg viaThe National)

Science and technology

The freak weather system responsible for heavy rain and tornadoes in the U.S., and high winds and rainfall in the British Isles, also has impacted the Arctic where the average winter temperature is normally around 20 degrees(F) below zero. Temperatures around the North Pole have been fifty degrees higher than usual for December, and today, at least for a brief moment, surpassed the 32-degree threshold, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Ocean Prediction Center.(The Washington Post) (South China Morning Post) (Sputnik News)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 1, 2016

Top News Stories –

Rat on a plane: Air India flight returns to Mumbai after rodent spotted on board –
An Air India plane flying to London was forced to return to Mumbai after passengers spotted a rat on board, the airline said on Thursday. Though the rat was not found, the pilot returned to Mumbai on Wednesday keeping passenger safety in mind, Air India said in a statement. Passengers were later flown by a separate aircraft to London. The aircraft would be fumigated and checked before it is returned to service. Maintenance workers would have to make sure that the rat did not damage equipment or chew any wires and the plane is certified to be rodent-free, an airline official said. [Daily Telegraph]

China’s new two-child policy law takes effect –
Married couples in China will from Friday (Jan 1) be allowed to have two children, after concerns over an ageing population and shrinking workforce ushered in an end to the country’s controversial one-child policy. The change, which was announced in October by the ruling Communist Party, takes effect from Jan 1, 2016, Beijing’s official Xinhua news agency reported over the weekend. The “one-child policy”, instituted in the late 1970s, restricted most couples to only a single offspring through a system of fines for violators and even forced abortions. For years, authorities argued that it was a key contributor to China’s economic boom and had prevented 400 million births. [Channel News Asia]

Video of the Day –

Philips Presents: The Longest Night from T Brand Studio on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

100 Things we didn’t know last year – by the BBC (1-33)

1. It costs £300 to operate on a constipated goldfish.

Find out more

2. Traditionally, police horses in England’s Thames Valley force can be called Odin, Thor or Hercules, but not Brian.

Find out more

3. Barack Obama calls David Cameron “bro”.

Find out more (Time)

4. The first sports bra was made from two jockstraps.

Find out more

5. One in 10 of Britain’s train carriages still flush toilet waste straight on to the railway tracks.

Find out more

6. Jamaica, Colombia and Saint Lucia are the only countries in the world where a woman is more likely to be a boss than a man.

Find out more (Washington Post)

7. You don’t have to speak French to become French-language Scrabble world champion.

Find out more

8. Kolo Toure, the Ivory Coast and Liverpool defender, hasn’t touched his own dog for seven years.

Find out more (Metro)

9. An egg can be unboiled.

Find out more (Metro)

10. There are four different ways to pronounce diplodocus, and the way children say it is probably more technically correct than the academics’ preferred option.

Find out more

11. A 51-year-old software engineer named Bryan Henderson has edited Wikipedia 47,000 times to remove the ungrammatical term “comprised of”.

Find out more (Backchannel)

12. Buzz Aldrin claimed $33.31 in travel expenses connected to his trip to the moon.

Find out more (Daily Telegraph)

13. Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond once played a ghost in a Bollywood soap opera.

Find out more (Buzzfeed)

14. “Let us turn ours into a country of mushrooms by making mushroom cultivation scientific, intensive and industrialised!” is an official slogan of North Korea.

Find out more

15. Roughly 56% of average monthly earnings in Malawi are spent on mobile phone charges, compared with about 0.11% in Macau, China.

Find out more

16. Quentin Tarantino still records films from TV on VHS cassettes.

Find out more (Independent)

17. Lollipop men and ladies who “high five” pedestrians may be breaching official protocol.

Find out more

18. Squid can fly – but they tend to do it under cover of darkness.

Find out more

19. It’s possible to trick the brain into thinking it can hear Mariah Carey sing All I Want For Christmas Is You.

Find out more (New Scientist)

20. King Arthur may have been Glaswegian.

Find out more (The National)

21. A man-sized lobster lived 480 million years ago.

Find out more

22. At Hotel Football, run by ex-Manchester United players, Gary Neville is represented in the bathroom by blackcurrant-extract shampoo while brother Phil is a bar of soap.

Find out more (Financial Times)

23. Vicars and priests have the highest job satisfaction of all UK workers.

Find out more

24. Narwhals’ long tusks – an exaggerated front tooth used for courtship – are super-sensitive.

Find out more

25. There is only one concert grand piano in Gaza.

Find out more

26. Boston in Lincolnshire is one of the most neurotic places in Great Britain while Orkney is one of the least.

Find out more

27. Michael Jackson made a series of prank calls to Russell Crowe.

Find out more (Guardian)

28. Breaking Bad is the show people most often lie about having watched.

Find out more (Radio Times)

29. The UK’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency does not permit the wearing of colanders on heads in driving licence photos, even for religious reasons.

Find out more (Daily Mirror)

30. People who swear have larger vocabularies.

Find out more (Toronto Sun)

31. The Queen likes to have her pre-lunch gin and Dubonnet in front of BBC Two’s The Daily Politics.

Find out more (Daily Mail

32. In September 1944 the New York Times explained pizza to its readers and included a rare use of its plural “pizze” – there was an earlier article but it only mentioned pizza in passing.

Find out more (New York Times)

33. There is little international trade in onions – about 90% are consumed in their country of origin.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#NesseAnoEuVou	#HowToBeSingle	#MoveToBoys2016
2	Comecei 2016	Starting 2016	Page 1 of 365
3	#زد_رصيدك49	Welcome to 2016	Starting 2016
4	#Feliz16ComDetremuraSdv	#HowWeLivinMusicVideo	#wcoc2016
5	#Em2016EuAindaNao	#MummersParade	#LondonNYE
6	#الهلال_الشباب	#FiestaBowl	#2016IsZaynsYear
7	Página 1 de 366	#NewYearsDay	#Hello2016
8	#НОЧЬШЕРЛОКА	#outbackbowl	#Hootenanny
9	#1şeydiyeceğim	#2015TweepAwards	#ResolutionsFor2016
10	#2016IsZaynsYear	Tel Aviv	Entered 2016

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- A shooting takes place at a pub in Tel Aviv, Israel, leaving two dead and eight injured. The police claim to know the identity of the shooter and have launched a nationwide manhunt. (Haaretz)

Arts and culture

A new 28-foot tall statue of Jesus, dubbed “Jesus de Greatest,” is unveiled on New Year’s Day outside St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Abajah village, Nigeria’s Imo state, which is described as the tallest Jesus statue in Africa. (USA Today)

Disasters and accidents

About one thousand houses in Manila’s Tondo district in the Philippines are set ablaze following New Year’s Eve firecracker festivities that left one dead and 380 others injured. (AP via CTV News)

International relations

The EU-Ukraine Free Trade deal officially comes into force, coinciding with a Russian food embargo on Ukraine. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Law and crime

The two-child policy takes effect in China, allowing couples in the country to have at most two children, replacing the controversial one-child policy. The change in law was announced by the ruling Communist Party on October 29 and passed the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on December 27, five days prior to its effect. (AFP via Channel NewsAsia)

Politics and elections

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who has been the President of Iceland for 20 years, announces in his new-year speech that he will not seek relection for a sixth term when presidential elections will be held in June. (Visir)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 14, 2016

Top News Stories –

Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard actor, dies aged 69 –
Actor Alan Rickman, known for films including Harry Potter, Die Hard and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, has died at the age of 69, his family has said. The star had been suffering from cancer, a statement said. He became one of Britain’s best-loved acting stars thanks to roles including Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films and Hans Gruber in Die Hard.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling led the tributes, describing him as “a magnificent actor and a wonderful man”. [BBC]
Alan Rickman in 2011

Hatton Garden heist: Three men found guilty over £14m jewellery raid –
Three men have been found guilty of involvement in the Hatton Garden safe deposit raid, the largest burglary in British legal history. Jewellery and valuables worth an estimated £14 million were stolen when a gang of thieves carried out the “sophisticated” and meticulously planned break-in over the Easter weekend last year. The group used a drill to bore a hole 20in deep, 10in high and 18in into the wall of a vault in London’s jewellery quarter, before ransacking 73 safety deposit boxes. Following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court, Carl Wood and William Lincoln were found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property, while Hugh Doyle was convicted of concealing, converting or transferring criminal property. [Daily Telegraph]
Hatton Garden road sign

Video of the Day –

Bygone Behemoth from Harry Chaskin on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

10 Highest US Lottery jackpots [See January 13, 2016]
1. $656.0 million, Mega Millions, March 30, 2012 (three tickets, from Kansas, Illinois and Maryland)
2. $636 million, Mega Millions, Dec. 17, 2013, (two tickets, from California and Georgia)
3. $590.5 million, Powerball, May 18, 2013 (one ticket, from Florida)
4. $587.5 million, Powerball, Nov. 28, 2012 (two tickets, from Arizona and Missouri)
5. $564.1 million, Powerball, Feb. 11, 2015 (three tickets, from North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Texas)
6. $448.4 million, Powerball, Aug. 7, 2013, (three tickets, one from Minnesota and two from New Jersey)
7. $425.3 million, Powerball, Feb. 19, 2014 (one ticket, from California)
8. $414 million, Mega Millions, March 18, 2014, (two tickets, from Florida and Maryland)
9. $399.4 million, Powerball, Sept. 18, 2013, (one ticket, from South Carolina)
10. $390.0 million, Mega Millions, March 6, 2007 (two tickets, from Georgia and New Jersey)

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#LittleMixBRITs	#GOPDebate	#transinquiry
2	#زد_رصيدك62	Jakarta	#OscarNoms
3	#FelizJueves	#OscarNoms	#RuinALoveSong
4	#1128katil	#PrivacyCon	Chris Grayling
5	#QuintaDetremuraSdv	Alan Rickman	#bbcqt
6	#もし女子高生にな�…	#AskPOTUS	Jakarta
7	#ALDUB26thWeeksary	#RuinALoveSong	Shami Chakrabarti
8	Shaolin	Indonesia	#StargazingLive
9	#結婚からの予測変�…	#SuperDraft	Giroud
10	#معلومه_لاتعرف…	#IHaveADreamFor2016	#CarpoolKaraoke

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Jakarta attacks
- Bomb blasts and gunfire are reported in the centre of the Indonesian capital Jakarta. At least seven deaths have been reported. (ABC News Australia), (AP), (The Australian), (Reuters)
- Indonesian police suspect Islamic State militants are responsible for the attacks with five attackers reported dead. (AP), (AFP via Channel News Asia)
Turkey–PKK conflict
- PKK rebellion (2015–present)
  - Turkish police headquarters in Midyat and Çınar, Diyarbakır, are hit by car bombs, killing six people and injuring 39. No group has claimed responsibility but the government accuses PKK rebels of carrying out the attack. (BBC) (Middle East Eye)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
- A foiled stabbing attack resulted in Israeli soldiers shooting and killing a Palestinian at Beit Einun. (The Jerusalem Post)

Arts and culture

88th Academy Awards
- The nominations are announced for the 88th Academy Awards at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Hollywood. (E! Online)
Actor Alan Rickman dies from cancer, aged 69. (BBC)
Archbishops of the Anglican Communion meeting in England vote to sanction the U.S. branch of the Communion for its unilateral decision to allow same-sex marriages.(New York Times)
René Angélil, manager and husband of singer Celine Dion, dies at age 73 after a long battle with throat cancer.(BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Atlantic hurricane season
- Hurricane Alex becomes the first hurricane to form in the Atlantic Ocean in January since 1938 with warnings issued for the Azores. (Weather Channel)

Business and economy

A Brazilian court suspends the licence for the Belo Monte Dam weeks before it was due to start operating until operator Norte Energia SA and the government of Brazil reorganizes Fundação Nacional do Índio, a protection agency for indigenous Brazilians. (Reuters via CNBC)

Health

Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa
- The World Health Organisation declares an end to the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa with Liberia the last country to be declared free of the virus. (AFP via Yahoo!)
- A person dies of the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone hours after the WHO makes its declaration. (BBC)

International relations

2016 North Korean nuclear test
- South Korea and the People’s Republic of China will hold talks to develop a joint response to last week’s North Korean nuclear test. (Yonhap)

Politics and elections

Thousands of people in Moldova march against proposed candidate for Prime Minister Vlad Plahotniuc. (AP via ABC News)

Science and technology

Astronomers announce the discovery of supernova ASASSN-15lh, the biggest yet seen by scientists. (Los Angeles Times)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 16, 2016

Top News Stories –

Obama issues order lifting nuclear-related sanctions on Iran –
U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order on Saturday lifting sanctions on Iran related to its nuclear program after Tehran fulfilled requirements under a nuclear agreement with world powers, the White House said. Obama determined that Iran’s implementation of the pact “marks a fundamental shift in circumstances with respect to Iran’s nuclear program,” he wrote in the order, released by the White House. [Daily Mail]

Video of the Day –

Sia | Draw My Life

List of the Day –

100 jokes by 100 comedians

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Burkina Faso	Tony Stewart	#MakeMeThinkIn5Words
2	#زد_رصيدك64	#ChangeAConsonantSpoilAMovie	Lord Bramall
3	#FelizSabado	#StartupIndia	Burkina Faso
4	I LOVE ZAYN	#IranDeal	#fab16
5	#StartupIndia	#ImplementationDay	#PutNamesInSongs
6	#MakeMeThinkIn5Words	Aaliyah	Alan Rickman
7	#ALDUB6thMonthsary	I LOVE ZAYN	#StartUp2016
8	#SabadoDetremuraSdv	#MakeMeThinkIn5Words	#NationalHatDay
9	#MeEnfermaEsoDe	Hagelin	Nancy
10	ちんぽ10連ガチャ	#DoYourJob	#ZoellaTo10MillionMeetUp

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2016 Ouagadougou attack
- Burkina Faso security forces storm the Hotel Splendid which had been under attack by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb militants. Over 126 people have been freed and at least 29 people have died. (AP via the Daily Mail), (BBC), (CNN), (AFP via Daily Star)
- At least 10 bodies have also been found in the Cappucino cafe which was also attacked by the militants. (AP via Miami Herald)
- Two Australians, a doctor and his wife, have been abducted in northern Burkina Faso. The Al Qaeda-linked, Mali-based “Emirate of the Sahara” is responsible, according to SITE. (AP) (AFP via Yahoo! News)
2016 Jakarta attacks
- Indonesia blocks access to radical Islamist websites and social media sites after the recent terror attacks in Jakarta. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- At least 75 Syrian Army soldiers and pro-Assad militiamen are killed following a multi-front attack on the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant forces. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports ISIL fighters had advanced into the northern tip of Deir ez-Zor city, and captured the suburb of Al-Baghaliyeh. The pro-government Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reports that government forces had repelled an attack on the city leaving dozens of militants dead. (AFP via the Daily Mail)
- Hundreds of civilians are reportedly killed by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants throughout the city of Deir ez-Zor. Syria‘s state news agency SANA, quoting residents, said “around 300 civilians” were killed. If confirmed it would be one of the deadliest days in Syria’s nearly five-year war. (AFP via Yahoo)
Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen, Drone strikes in Yemen
- A U.S. drone strike on a vehicle in Yemen‘s Shabwah Governorate kills three suspected Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

A suspected gas explosion in the Italian town of Arnasco kills at least five people. (Business Insider)
U.S. President Barack Obama declares the city of Flint, Michigan, to be in a federal public health state of emergency due to an ongoing crisis that involves lead contamination (and possibly Legionella which has caused 87 cases of Legionnaires’ disease which lead to 10 deaths) in its local water supply. (The Flint Journal on MLive)

International relations

Iran–United States relations
- Iran releases four Iranian-American prisoners including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and Christian pastor Saeed Abedini. The United States is to release seven Iranian-Americans held in the United States for violating sanctions against Iran. (New York Times), (IRNA) (Reuters) (Washington Post)
Nuclear program of Iran
- The International Atomic Energy Agency states that Iran has complied with its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, paving the way for international sanctions to be lifted by theUnited States and European Union. (IEAE), (New York Times), ” (BBC)
European migrant crisis
- Austria is to deploy its army on its borders with Germany and Slovenia in the wake of surging numbers of migrants entering the Central European country. (Local Austria)

Politics and elections

Taiwanese general election, 2016
- Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is elected the first female President of Taiwan. Eric Chu, the ruling Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) candidate concedes defeat and announced his resignation as party leader. Ms. Tsai vowed to preserve the status quo in relations with China. The DPP supports independence for the island. (BBC) (CNN)
- Current ruling party Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) lost its majority in the Legislative Yuan, a first since the country’s founding in 1911 (The Guardian)
Argentinian left wing lawmaker Milagro Sala is detained at her home for allegedly instigating public disturbances. (Telesur TV)

Sports

In motor sport, The 2016 Dakar Rally finishes with Stephane Peterhansel of France winning his 12th victory in the cars and Toby Price of Australia winning his first victory in the motorcycles. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

February 21, 2016

Top News Stories –

Salesmen warned not to knock on George Clooney’s door –
Doorstep traders have been ordered to stay away from the luxury country mansion home of Hollywood star George Clooney. Residents in the River Thames-side village of Sonning have decided to put a stop to unwanted door-to-door salesmen by becoming a No Cold Calling Zone. Sonning-on-Thames is the first village in Berkshire to be declared a designated No Cold Calling Zone after families living there joined forces with Wokingham and West Berkshire Trading Standards officers and Thames Valley Police. Clooney, 54, and his human rights lawyer wife Amal paid £10 million for the 17th Century Grade II-listed Georgian mansion 15 months ago and workmen have been busy adapting it to their specifications. [Daily Telegraph]
Clooney is set to run the London Marathon 2016 after losing bet with model Christy Turlington.
George Clooney

Samsung brings back water resistance and microSD with the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge –
As expected (thanks to numerous leaks in the weeks leading up to Mobile World Congress), Samsung revealed the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge today in Barcelona. This time around, though, the standard and curved screen variants of Samsung’s flagships are two different sizes. The Galaxy S7, like last year’s GS6, has a 5.1-inch Quad HD screen. The Galaxy S7 edge, though, is at least as much of a sequel to the Galaxy S6 edge+ phablet as it is to the smaller Galaxy S6 edge. The S7 edge has a 5.5-inch QHD display – the same screen size as (but with sharper resolution than) Apple’s iPhone 6s Plus. The Galaxy S7 and S7 edge go up for pre-order on February 23, ahead of a March 11 US release date. Early orders will get a free Gear VR along with a six-game bundle, along with the phone purchase. [Gizmag]

Denny Hamlin beats Martin Truex Jr. in closest Daytona 500 finish ever –
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Denny Hamlin made a daring late-race pass, moving from fourth to first in the final two turns to beat Martin Truex Jr. to the checkered flag by 0.010 seconds (or about a foot) to win the Daytona 500. It’s the closest finish in the 58-year history of the historic race. The four Joe Gibbs Racing cars, plus the affiliate car of Truex, were the class of the field throughout Sunday’s race. Hamlin led the most laps, but had ceded the lead to teammate Matt Kenseth, who led the field for 40-straight laps. He paced the field down the backstretch on the final lap. That’s when Hamlin made his move. After sitting in line as the laps ticked off, Hamlin moved to the outside in front of Kevin Harvick. Hamlin passed teammate Kyle Busch for third as the field entered Turn 3. As Kenseth went up to block, Hamlin darted to the middle. Kenseth’s car started to slide but he saved it, leaving Hamlin and Truex to battle for the win. Truex looked to have the advantage as the two headed to the tri-oval but Hamlin inched ahead at the finish line. [Yahoo News]
Denny Hamlin

Video of the Day –

Samsung S7 and S7 Edge launch

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#HorarioNovoDetremuraSdv	#WWEFastlane	#WOSAwards
2	#WeAreHereForYouNate	#DAYTONA500	#takemeout
3	#OhNoDanielle	#SundayFunday	#FACup
4	KATHNIEL in Aklan	#Disneyland60	Boris
5	#PiliPinasDebates2016	#IOftenGetMistakenFor	#SaturdayNightTakeaway
6	#حكايه_حسن	#KalamazooShooting	#ObamaAndKids
7	#SiçturmaMadenina	Pablo Sandoval	#ReadyForA3
8	#FelizDomingo	#OhNoDanielle	HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE
9	#ASAPOTWOLDay	#iHeart80s	#Casualty
10	#ТинвафлиФолл�…	#PrayForDerek	#OnceTurns100

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- February 2016 Homs bombings
  - Twin bomb blasts hit the Syrian city of Homs with at least 57 people reportedly killed and more than 100 injured. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility. (Reuters) (AFP viaDaily Mail) (BBC)
- February 2016 Sayyidah Zaynab bombings
  - At least 83 people are killed and 178 injured in a series of bombings in the Damascus suburb Sayyidah Zaynab, Rif Dimashq Governorate. ISIL again claims responsibility. (AFP via Yahoo! News)(CNN)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- The Libyan National Army says it has taken control of the town of Ajdabiya and several areas of Benghazi following heavy clashes with Islamist militant groups. (Reuters)
2016 Pampore stand-off
- A group of Islamic terrorists exchange fire with Indian Armed Forces troops for the second consecutive day in Pampore, Jammu and Kashmir, India. At least five soldiers and one civilian have been killed.(ABC News) (UPI)
A Hindu priest is hacked to death and two devotees, who tried to intercede, are wounded in a temple in the Panchagarh District in northern Bangladesh. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility. (BBC) (AP)

Disasters and accidents

2015–16 South Pacific cyclone season
- Cyclone Winston
  - At least five people are reported dead and entire villages have been flattened after Cyclone Winston hits Fiji. (New Zealand Herald)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- Greece claims that Macedonia has closed its borders to migrants from Afghanistan. (AP via New York Times)
Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
- Germany is considering sending troops to Tunisia to help train the Tunisian Army in the fight against Islamist militants, particularly ISIL who control territory in neighboring Libya. (FRANCE 24)
Syrian Civil War peace process
- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says a tentative ceasefire agreement reached with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is now being presented to the opposing forces. (CBS News) (Reuters viaThe Australian Financial Review)
Japan–United States relations
- Thousands protest outside the Japanese parliament in Tokyo against the relocation of a U.S. military base on Okinawa Island. Residents cite noise, pollution, and crime as reasons for not wanting a new base built. (Reuters)

Law and crime

2016 Kalamazoo shootings
- Kalamazoo County, Michigan authorities say last evening’s shooting spree resulted in six deaths with two others seriously wounded. Each victim was shot multiple times. Police acknowledge that an earlier report that a 14-year-old girl died is incorrect; she is alive, but “severely, gravely” injured. The suspect, a 45-year-old man who is a Uber driver without a prior criminal record, was taken into custody without a struggle. (USA Today) (CNN)
Terrorism in Malaysia
- Australia issues a security alert, warning that terrorists may be planning attacks in and around the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. It also recommended that Australians avoid travel to the coastal region of eastern Sabah, where the beaches and islands are popular with foreign tourists. (Reuters via Daily Mail)
Pope Francis calls for a worldwide ban on the death penalty and urges Christian leaders to work to stop executions as part of the church’s Holy Year of Mercy. (UPI)

Politics and elections

Comorian presidential election, 2016
- Voters in Comoros go to the polls for a presidential election with 25 candidates standing. (Mail and Guardian)
Nigerien general election, 2016
- Voters in Niger go to the polls for a general election. (France 24)
North Korean state media confirms that Ri Myong-su is the new chief of the General Staff Department of the Korean People’s Army replacing Ri Yong-gil who was executed. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
- In what is seen as a major boost for the “Vote Leave” campaign, Mayor of London Boris Johnson announces he will be campaigning for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. (Sky News)
Ashraf Rifi resigns as the Minister for Justice for Lebanon in protest at Hezbollah domination of the government which he claims is harming relations with Arab nations. (AP)
Macedonian parliamentary election, 2016
- The European Union and the United States advise interim Macedonian Prime Minister Emil Dimitriev to postpone elections scheduled for April 24, 2016. (Balkan Insight)
Bolivian constitutional referendum, 2016
- According to exit polls, Bolivian voters reject a constitutional amendment that would have permitted President Evo Morales to stand for a fourth term in office. His current term expires in 2020. (BBC)
Philippine presidential election, 2016
- The debate series, PiliPinas Debates 2016, kicks off in Cagayan de Oro. (Nikkei Asian Review)

Sports

Denny Hamlin wins the 2016 Daytona 500 by 0.011 seconds, the closest margin in the history of the race, and the 13th-closest in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history. (Yahoo! News)

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
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4	#SextaDetremuraSdv	#TrapCover	Michael Howard
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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

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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
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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)

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March 5, 2016

Top News Stories –

Sport Relief: Shearer beats Savage in 57-hour five-a-side epic –
Alan Shearer’s team have beaten Robbie Savage’s squad by 18 goals in a 57-hour five-a-side game for Sport Relief. Shearer, who captained the Match of the Day team, beat Savage, who led the BBC 5 live team with 547 goals to 529. More than 1,100 people played in the snow and rain outside BBC MediaCityUK in Salford since 09:15 on Thursday, raising £370,592 for Sport Relief. All-time Premier League top goal-scorer Shearer was presented his winning trophy by Gary Lineker. After scoring in extra time of the last game, Shearer said the challenge had tired him out. “My back, my thighs, my knees – they’re all in bits but it was all worth it.” The 57-hour duration of the match was chosen because it is the equivalent of a Premier League club’s entire season. The Premier League is matching all of the public’s donations up to a maximum of £500,000. The money will go towards helping disadvantaged people in the UK and overseas. [BBC]
Alan Shearer

Email inventor Ray Tomlinson dies at 74 –
Internet pioneer Ray Tomlinson, who is credited with the invention of email, has died at the age of 74. The US computer programmer came up with the idea of electronic messages that could be sent from one network to another in 1971. His invention included the ground-breaking use of the @ symbol in email addresses, which is now standard. Tomlinson died of an apparent heart attack on Saturday, according to reports. He sent what is now regarded as the first email while working in Boston as an engineer for research company Bolt, Beranek and Newman. [BBC]
Ray Tomlinson in 2004

Video of the Day –

SAGE “August In Paris” from LABELGUM on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SabadoDaDetremuraSdv	Pat Conroy	#EpiloguesToSongs
2	#RenanExpulso	#SuperSaturday	#StradeBianche
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4	#Felices20MarioBau	#A3AñosDeTuSiembraComandante	#Shetland
5	#انا_من_جيل	#MakeAMovieFeelTheBern	#gogglebox
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7	KATHNIEL SA CDO	#5daysTilDangerouswoman	#sgpconf
8	#ALDUBMaineEvent	#Ver01	#UFC196
9	#PrettyLittleWeekend	#WTM16	#OJSimpson
10	#SöylemedenEdemiycem	#OJSimpsonASong	#AMVCA2016

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Taliban insurgency
- The Afghan Taliban releases a statement rejecting peace talks with the government of Afghanistan until foreign forces stop attacking their positions and withdraw from the country. Direct peace talks between the government and the Taliban were expected to take place in Islamabad, Pakistan next week. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- Second battle of Aden
  - Gunmen shoot dead the police chief of Aden‘s Tawahi district and one of his aides. (Reuters)

Business and economy

China announces plans to build a railway linking the Tibetan capital Lhasa with Chengdu. (Channel News Asia)

Disasters and accidents

More than 60 people are hospitalized after an engine explodes on a crowded Bangkok, Thailand, commuter boat. Police suspect a liquefied natural gas leak caused the blast. The boat operator has been ordered to use diesel fuel only on its 25-boat fleet. (AP) (International Business Times)

International relations

North Korea–Philippines relations
- The Philippines impounds a North Korean cargo ship in line with new UN sanctions on North Korea in response to Pyongyang‘s recent nuclear test and missile launch. Presidential spokesman, Manolo Quezon, said the 6,830-tonne cargo ship would not be allowed to leave the Port of Subic, Luzon, where it has been docked for three days, and that its crew would be deported. (The Straits Times)

Law and crime

Media freedom in Turkey
- Turkish police fire tear gas at protesters outside the Istanbul headquarters of the Zaman newspaper which has been taken over by the Turkish government. (BBC)
Gunmen dressed in police uniforms kill at least ten people in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016, Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
- Voters in the states of Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, Maine, and Kentucky, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico participate in a party caucus or vote in a primary election. (Presidential Primary Schedule)
- Ted Cruz wins the Republican Party caucus in Kansas and Maine. (CBS News), (The Guardian)
- Donald Trump wins the Louisiana primary and Kentucky caucus. (ABC News), (New York Times)
- Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic Party contests in Kansas and Nebraska while Hillary Clinton wins in Louisiana. (CNN), (Washington Post), (NOLA), (CNN)
Slovak parliamentary election, 2016
- Voters in Slovakia choose representatives for all 150 National Council seats. While anti-migrant Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer party is expected to lose its parliamentary majority, it should be in position to lead a coalition government. (Reuters via Firstpost) (New Europe), (Bloomberg)
Samoan general election, 2016
- Results from yesterday’s election indicate that the ruling Human Rights Protection Party will retain power in a landslide. (ABC News Australia)
Anti-corruption campaign in China:
- The former party chief of Liaoning and Jilin provinces, Wang Min, is placed under investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. (SCMP)

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March 15, 2016

Top News Stories –

Mother Teresa to be made a saint in September –
Pope Francis has announced that Mother Teresa will be elevated to sainthood on 4 September, months after he approved a second miracle for the late nun and Nobel prize winner who was known as the “Saint of the Gutters”. The canonisation of Mother Teresa, who was hailed for her work with impoverished and dying people living in the slums of Kolkata, India, has been highly anticipated by supporters, and will be a highlight of the church’s jubilee year of mercy. More than 300,000 pilgrims went to Rome in 2003 for Teresa’s beatification – the first step towards sainthood. The Vatican said in a short statement on Friday that the Argentinian pontiff had approved the second miracle – the final hurdle to make her a saint – in which a Brazilian man was said to have been cured of multiple brain tumours in 2008 following the nun’s intercession. [Guardian]
Mother Teresa in 1986

California homeless man receives $100,000 for spotting fugitives –
A homeless man from San Francisco is to be given a reward of $100,000 (£71,000) for helping police recapture two prison inmates who had escaped. Matthew Hay-Chapman had seen photographs of the two fugitives on the news and spotted them in a stolen van. They had broken out of Orange County Jail six days earlier, sparking a state-wide manhunt. The full $150,000 (£106,000) reward was split between four people, with Mr Hay Chapman getting the largest share. Mr Hay-Chapman spotted the fugitives in the stolen van next to a market in San Francisco and alerted officers in the area. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

After Hours from Todd Martin on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
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8	#PrimaryDay	3 Chicago	Sausage Party
9	#SiempreQueAndoFeliz	Mother Teresa	#BestFirstDateQuestions
10	#TerörsüzGünler	#FelizMartes	Mother Teresa

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

American-led intervention in Syria
- A senior Iraqi intelligence official, who is also a Syrian activist leader, says Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant commander Omar al-Shishani (Omar the Chechen, real name Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili) died of wounds suffered in a March 4 U.S. airstrike near the Syrian town of Al-Shaddadah. The U.S. State Department offered up to $5 million for information on his whereabouts. Amaq news agency, which supports ISIL, says Shishani is neither dead nor hurt. (New York Times) (Chicago Tribune) (Reuters via Swiss Broadcasting Corporation)
2016 Brussels police raid
- Belgian security forces hunt gunmen linked to the November 2015 Paris attacks following a raid on a house in Brussels which left four officers wounded and one suspect dead after an exchange of gunfire. Roads have been blocked off in the Belgian capital’s southern suburb of Forest as one or more gunmen remain at large. (The Independent) (Irish Times)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Airstrikes reportedly kill at least 41 people and wound 75 others in Yemen‘s northern Hajjah Governorate. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Pope Francis announces that Mother Teresa will be canonized on September 4. (The Guardian)

Business and economy

Brookfield Asset Management Inc and Qube Holdings join forces to make a A$ 9.1 billion bid for Australian freight logistics company Asciano Limited. (Bloomberg)
Linn Energy, an oil-and-gas producer with about $10 billion in debt, says a bankruptcy filing may be unavoidable. The company was founded in 2003 and had its initial public offering in 2006. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Ecuadorian Air Force Arava crash
- An Ecuadorian Air Force IAI Arava 201 crashes near Shell Mera in a mountainous part of eastern Ecuador during military exercises, killing all of the 22 soldiers on board. (BNO News) (Aviation Safety Network)
The entire Washington D.C. Metro system will shut down for 29 hours beginning at midnight Wednesday for an emergency investigation after an electric cable caught fire on Monday. (The Washington Post)(NBC4 Washington)
A fire severely damages the 16th century Wythenshawe Hall, near Manchester, England. (BBC)
A deadly fire breaks out at a rehabilitation center for addicts in Sterlitamak, Bashkortostan, a Republic of Russia, killing 12 people. An investigation was immediately launched. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Health and medicine

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues final recommendations urging doctors to try something besides an opioid when first treating pain, and if an opioid drug, such as hydrocodone oroxycodone, is the best choice, start with the lowest possible dose. (The Washington Post) (NBC News)

International relations

Burundian unrest (2015–present)
- The European Union suspends direct financial aid to Burundi after concluding that the Burundian authorities had not done enough to find a political solution to the ongoing conflict occurring in the country.(The Guardian)
Argentina–China relations
- Argentina‘s coastguard says it has sunk a Chinese fishing trawler that was operating illegally within its territorial waters. The coastguard says it rescued four of the trawler’s crew while others who abandoned ship were picked up by another Chinese vessel shadowing the pursuit. (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
The parliament of the Netherlands passes a resolution calling on the government to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia, citing ongoing “violations of humanitarian law” in Yemen. (Middle East Eye)

Law and crime

Shooting of Michael Brown, Ferguson unrest
- The Ferguson, Missouri, city council, after last month voting to change the terms of the agreement, reverses course and unanimously (6-0) agrees to accept a U.S. Justice Department overhaul of its troubled police force and municipal courts. This avoided a likely expensive legal battle with the federal government which had filed suit against the city following last month’s vote. (CNN)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Voters in the U.S. states of Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, North Carolina and the commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands head to the polls for Republican and Democratic Party primaries that the media has dubbed “Super Tuesday 2”. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
- Donald Trump wins primaries in Illinois, North Carolina, Missouri and Florida while John Kasich wins in Ohio. (NY Daily News) (Decision Desk HQ), (CNN), (USA Today), (NBC News)
- Donald Trump wins the Northern Mariana Islands caucus. (Politico)
- Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic primaries in Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri and North Carolina. (Fox News), (Washington Post), (NBC News), (NBC News Live Blog)
- Marco Rubio suspends his presidential campaign following a disappointing defeat in his home state of Florida. (The New York Times)
- North Carolina’s controversial voter ID law is in effect for the first time. Voters without these new ID credentials, including voters with a “reasonable impediment” to obtaining an ID, can cast a provisional ballot. Citizens (2,567) faced this problem during early voting, including U.S. Senator Richard Burr who, because his driver’s license was stolen, was without ID. In addition, votes for congressional candidates for House seats don’t count because the state’s congressional district map was redrawn after the ballots were printed. The actual congressional primary is scheduled for June 7. (WRAL)(The Nation via Moyers & Company) (NPR) (Charlotte Observer) (The New York Times)
Nigerien general election, 2016
- The government will release opposition candidate Hama Amadou from prison due to health issues. Amadou is facing off against incumbent President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou in the second round of voting on Sunday. (Reuters)
The Myanmar Assembly of the Union, or parliament, selects Htin Kyaw as the new President. Kyaw, a confidant of Aung San Suu Kyi, will be the first civilian president in decades. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, is constitutionally barred from the office. (Indian Express), (ABC News Australia)
The Obama administration announces it is cancelling plans to permit drilling for oil and gas off the southeastern U.S. Atlantic coast. A new plan involves 10 potential lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and three off the coast of Alaska. (USA Today) (The Island Free Press)

Science and technology

Andrew Wiles wins the 2016 Abel Prize for his solution to Fermat’s last theorem. (Nature)
Scientists, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences scientific journal, report that so-called fairy circles are caused by the plants themselves, which have self-organized. Michael Cramer and Nichole Barger suggested this in 2013. (The Washington Post) (PNAS) (The Atlantic)

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March 16, 2016

Top News Stories –

Chinese city brings in penalty points for dog owners –
A city in eastern China is tackling negligent dog owners with a new driving licence-style system. The pilot scheme, which started this month, gives pooches in the city of Shaoxing a licence pre-loaded with 12 points which are then gradually docked for breaking the rules, Qianjiang Evening News reports. Taking a dog into a public place such as a school or restaurant will cost an owner three points, while “failing to take effective measures” to stop a badly behaving dog results in six points being docked. A microchip under the dog’s skin will hold data on the penalties incurred. The biggest penalties are reserved for owners who use their pets to cause deliberate wounding, and those who abandon or abuse their animals – they’ll lose all 12 points and be banned from reapplying for an ownership licence. “Like drink-driving and other bad behaviour, dog owners will be blacklisted, and won’t be able to raise dogs again,” says city official Zhang Zhuoming. The paper says Shaoxing has experienced problems with both stray and domestic dogs, with more than 7,000 dog biting incidents registered last year. [BBC]

Pigeons track air pollution in London with tiny backpacks –
A small flock of pigeons have been given tiny backpacks to monitor air pollution in London. The project was dreamt up by Plume Labs, a company focused on the environmental problem, and the marketing agency DigitasLBi. The rucksacks are fitted to the birds using small fabric vests, and the sensors inside are able to measure nitrogen dioxide and ozone levels. Only 10 birds are in flight at any one time, so the amount of data being collected is pretty small. However, it’s still a creative way of analysing the air that millions breathe in every day in the capital. [Endgadget]

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan
- 2016 Peshawar bus bombing
  - A bomb detonates in a bus carrying government employees in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing 15 and injuring at least 54. (AP via CBS)
Boko Haram insurgency
- 2016 Maiduguri suicide bombings
  - Two female suicide bombers detonate their explosives at a mosque during morning prayer on the outskirts of Maiduguri, Nigeria, killing 22 and injuring 18. (AP via New York Times) (Newsweek)

Disasters and accidents

The Washington Metro, a commuter rail system which transports nearly 1 million passengers across the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area per day, shuts down to allow for an emergency inspection of 600 electrical cables, following two fires occurring over the past 14 months. Officials say the system is scheduled to resume service by the following morning, though individual Metro lines or stations could remain closed indefinitely if problems are identified. (The Washington Post) (The Washington Times) (CBS News)

Health and medicine

Zika virus outbreak
- Cuban officials announce they have detected the first case of the Zika virus transmitted inside the country: a 21-year-old Havana woman who had not traveled abroad. Cuba has reported a handful of travel-associated Zika cases, all believed imported from Venezuela. (Medical Xpress) (Outbreak News Today)

International relations

North Korea–United States relations
- North Korea sentences American Otto Warmbier, a 21-year-old from Cincinnati, Ohio, studying at the University of Virginia, to 15 years hard labor for removing a political poster from a hotel. (The Guardian) (The Washington Post)
- President Barack Obama orders new sanctions against North Korea in response to ‘illicit’ nuclear, missile tests. (AP)
Syrian Civil War, Syrian peace process
- The delegation of the government of Syria rules out starting any direct talks with the opposition delegation as U.N. sponsored peace talks enter a third day in Geneva. (BBC)
- Kurdish officials say they plan to declare a federal region in northern Syria after being excluded from peace talks in Geneva aimed at ending the 5-year-old conflict. The move will combine three Kurdish-led autonomous areas into a federal system in what is set to alarm neighboring Turkey. (USA Today)
Turkey–United Kingdom relations
- Turkey deports British academic Chris Stephenson, a computer science lecturer at Bilgi University in Istanbul, who is charged with making terrorism propaganda. The UK Foreign Office said it was providing assistance; there has been no comment from Turkish officials. (AP)

Law and crime

The travel ban for former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is lifted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Musharraf is currently facing treason charges in Pakistan. (Reuters)
PKK rebellion (2015–present)
- Authorities in Turkey arrest three academics on charges of “terrorist propaganda” after they called for an end to security operations in the country’s Kurdish-majority southeast. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Attacks on humanitarian workers
- The U.S. military disciplines more than a dozen personnel for mistakes that led to the bombing of a Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) hospital that killed 42 people in Afghanistan last October. No criminal charges are pending. The partially redacted investigation report is expected to be made public shortly. (AP)

Politics and elections

Republican Party presidential debates and forums, 2016
- Donald Trump announces he will skip the Fox News GOP presidential debate between the three remaining candidates on March 21, saying he thinks “we had enough of debates.” (Newsmax)
- Ohio Governor John Kasich says he will also skip the debate if Donald Trump follows through on his vow not to attend. (The Hill)
- Fox News cancels the Republican debate scheduled for Monday in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Utah Republican Party has received more than 50,000 ticket requests. Utah Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox is upset Trump, “…is snubbing the state of Utah.” According to Deseret News, Trump is in fourth place in Utah polls. (The Salt Lake Tribune) (Deseret News)
2016 Republican Party presidential primaries:
- Senior GOP rules committee member Curly Haugland says that “We (RCN committee members) choose the nominee, not the voters”. (Washington Post)
United States presidential election, 2016
- In the Missouri Primary, media outlets have held off calling yesterday’s races due to the extremely close results. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton lead in their party’s vote, but by just two-tenths of 1 percent ahead of Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders, respectively. Missouri law states a recount may be requested if the margin is less than half a percentage point. Either Cruz or Sanders or both can request a recount. These results are unofficial, until they’re certified by the Missouri Secretary of State, which reportedly could take up to four weeks. Trump leads by about 1,700 votes and Clinton’s edge is about 1,500. The state also needs to count the remaining absentee and provisional ballots; the deadline for overseas ballots is noon Friday. (The Hill) (CNN)
Barack Obama Supreme Court candidates
- President Barack Obama nominates Merrick Garland to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court of the United States. (BBC) (CNN)
Brazil‘s ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva takes Cabinet post as chief of staff to Brazil’s current president, Dilma Rousseff, thereby gaining legal shield. Only the Brazilian Supreme Court can try presidential Cabinet members for crimes. (New York Times) (UPI)
- Protests erupt outside the presidential palace in Brasília, and on São Paulo’s main Avenue Paulista. on news of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s appointment as President Rousseff’s chief of staff. Federal Judge Sérgio Moro says taped conversations between the two show Lula and Rousseff, apparently, trying to influence the investigation. (Reuters)

Science and technology

Scientists release a small flock of pigeons, dubbed “The Pigeon Air Patrol”, carrying tiny backpacks to monitor London‘s air quality during a period of moderate to high pollution. The backpacks contain sensors used to measure nitrogen dioxide and ozone levels. (Engadget) (The Guardian)

Sport

The PGA of America announces it is discontinuing the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, a special postseason event among the year’s winners of the four major championships of regular men’s golf. This year, it was set to be held at Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles, California. The 2015 event was cancelled after the PGA decided to move the exhibition contest from the same Trump Club, and they couldn’t find a replacement course golf course with suitable dates. (AP) (PGA) (ESPN)

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March 29, 2016

Top News Stories –

Chocolate shortage sparks violence at Easter family fun day in Skegness –
A volunteer at an Easter family fun day in Skegness was attacked by a visitor who became enraged when organisers ran out of chocolate eggs. Families paid £5 to attend Church Farm Museum’s “Easter Eggstravaganza”, which was raising funds for Bury-based charity Annabelle’s Challenge for Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. The fee included access to the site, billed as Lincolnshire’s only open air farming museum, along with a falconry display, an Easter bonnet competition, and an egg hunt. Families were also given an Easter egg – until supplies ran out. “We were handing them out and there were some people who got aggressive when we said we had run out of eggs. “A lady with her large family was aggressive and she grabbed my volunteer by the scarf round her neck, she pulled her across the counter and demanded her money back. [Daily Telegraph]

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Armed attacks and conflicts

2016 Brussels bombings
- Belgium officials lower the official death toll from 35 to 32, with nearly 100 still hospitalized. (UPI)
- Brussels Zaventem International Airport CEO Arnaud Feist says the airport will reopen at less than a quarter capacity Wednesday, as ongoing tests determine which flights can resume. It could take months for the airport to return to full capacity, Feist added. (UPI)

Business and economics

The U.S. Supreme Court’s even split among the current eight justices turns down a group of California teachers’ challenge to agency fees public sector unions representing government employees charge employees for collective bargaining costs, whether or not they choose to join the union. Twenty-four other states and the District of Columbia have a similar provision. The ninth circuit federal appellate court ruling in the union’s favor stands. Employees challenging the law may bring the appeal again, once the vacancy on the nation’s highest court is filled. (Boston Herald)
The U.S. National Labor Relations Board files an official complaint against a California warehouse after finding evidence it violated workers’ rights to organize. The allegations of wrongdoing submitted by a worker group against California Cartage Company, LLC, which serves Amazon.com, Inc., Lowe’s Companies. Inc., New Balance, and Sears Holdings Corp., will be heard by an NLRB administrative law judgein June 2016. None of the retailers were named in the NLRB complaint. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Alaska Airlines cancels additional flights, due to the ongoing eruption of Mount Pavlof on the Alaska Peninsula. (Alaska Dispatch News)
2016 Aero Teknic MU-2 crash
- Seven people die in a plane crash on the Magdalen Islands in the Canadian province of Quebec. Former minister Jean Lapierre was one of the people on board the plane. (CBC), (CTV News)
A United States Air Force F-16 crashes during takeoff from Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. The pilot ejected safely and was recovered by coalition forces, according to a U.S. military statement. (Reuters)

Health and medicine

Terminix, in the U.S. District Court in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, admits it “knowingly” applied fumigants including methyl bromide, which the EPA banned for residential use in 1984, at a resort in St. John that seriously sickened a family of four, and agrees to pay $10 million in fines and restitution. (NBC News) (NBC News²)
New research, published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, finds women who have endometriosis, the abnormal growth of uterine tissue outside the uterus, may face a 60 percent higher risk of developing heart disease than women without the disorder. The potential risk was especially high for women 40 or younger. At least 10 percent of women of reproductive age suffer from endometriosis (endo) says Dr. Stacey Missmer of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, who co-authored the study. (UPI) (NBC News)

International relations

Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute
- A United Nations commission rules in favour of Argentina to expand its maritime territory in the South Atlantic Ocean by 35% to include the Falkland Islands and beyond despite Argentina and the United Kingdom still having an unresolved dispute over the islands. (The Guardian)
Turkey–United States relations
- The United States State Department and the Pentagon order families of U.S. diplomats and military personnel to leave posts in southern Turkey due to “increased threats from terrorist groups” in the country. This order comes two days before Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s arrival in the U.S. for security meetings. (AP via New York Post)
Iran and weapons of mass destruction
- Reuters reports the United States and its European allies have notified the UN that Iran’s launching of nuclear-capable missiles violated United Nations Security Council resolution 2231 which endorsed the Iran deal, i.e., the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), last year. (Reuters)

Law and crime

The Indonesian foreign ministry says 10 Indonesian nationals are being held hostage after their tug boat and coal barge was hijacked in Philippine waters. Islamist militant group, Abu Sayyaf is demanding a ransom. (AP)
EgyptAir Flight 181
- A hijacked EgyptAir flight lands in Cyprus. All hostages have been released, and the hijacker has no evident ties to any terrorist organizations. (The Guardian)
Corey Lewandowski, campaign manager for U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, is charged with battery for allegedly grabbing former Breitbart News journalist Michelle Fields on March 8. (New York Times) (The Palm Beach Post)
Transgender rights in the United States
- Dozens of chief executive officers of major U.S. technology, biotech, and financial companies urge North Carolina to repeal a new state law forcing transgender people to use rest-rooms and changing-rooms according to the gender on their birth-certificate.(AP via WBT)
- North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper (D) says he will not defend the new state law in court. This year, Cooper is the state Democratic Party’s candidate for governor. Republican Senate Leader Phil Berger says the attorney general should resign if he will not defend the law. (AP)
- The NC Values Coalition, which worked to get Charlotte‘s nondiscrimination ordinance overturned by the state legislature, says hundreds of North Carolina businesses support the new state law, though fear retaliation if they make that support public. The coalition did list 17 businesses willing to be identified as supporting the new law. (AP)
Obamacare constitutional challenges, Zubik v. Burwell
- In a move designed to head off a 4-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court directs lawyers for the Obama administration, and for the religious groups who challenge it, to submit written briefs on a possible remedy to the case: whether coverage could be provided through the group’s insurance companies without any actual notice to the government. A 4-4 decision would not set a national precedent, and would let stand the preceding decision in each case. In these seven cases, the appeals court in six upheld the government mandate. (NBC News)
Samuel Moreno Rojas, the former mayor of the Colombian capital Bogota, is jailed for 18 years for taking bribes to award ambulance contracts. (AP via Town Hall)
El Salvador declares a state of emergency in seven prisons and transfers 299 prisoners in a crackdown on gang violence. (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

2015–16 protests in Brazil
- A legal request has been filed to impeach Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff for obstructing justice and fiscal accounting tricks, the second impeachment request against her. In response to the request,Minister of Tourism Henrique Eduardo Alves turned in a resignation letter while the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party is expected to hold a party vote on whether or not to leave Rousseff’s coalition government. (Al Jazeera)
- The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, the country’s largest party, decides unanimously to leave President Rousseff’s governing coalition. While Rousseff will remain in office, it’s likely she could be impeached in a matter of months, which would make Vice President Michel Temer president. (Reuters)
- Chief of staff Jaques Wagner says President Rousseff will announce a new governing coalition before the end of the week. The President has an opportunity to form a new coalition for her remaining two years and nine months in office, Wagner added. (Reuters²)
Tanzanian general election, 2015
- The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a United States foreign aid agency, pulls $472m of funding for a Tanzanian electricity project after concluding that the election held in Zanzibar “was neither inclusive nor representative”. Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, held a rerun of its election that was boycotted by the opposition after it was previously annulled because of supposed fraud. (BBC)
In the United States, the Tennessee state Senate will vote on a bill, which narrowly passed the House last year, to declare the Holy Bible the official book of Tennessee. Governor Bill Haslam (R) was among those who opposed the bill in 2015. (AP) (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
United States presidential election, 2016, Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016
- Candidate Donald Trump says he will no longer honor his pledge to support the eventual Republican Party pick for president because, “I have been treated very unfairly.” (AP) (Fox News)
- At the CNN Town Hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich also back away from earlier pledges to support the eventual Republican nominee. (CNN) (UPI)
2014–16 Venezuelan protests
- Two police officers are killed and four others are wounded in the western Venezuelan city of San Cristóbal after they were run over by a bus driven by young men protesting a hike in public transport fares, according to government officials and Reuters witnesses. (Reuters)

Science and technology

U.S. Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O’Rielly says, during a speech at the American Action Forum, that Netflix‘s admission last week that it has been intentionally slowing its video streaming transmission on some wireless mobile carriers for five years “deeply disturbing” which might warrant an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission and/or Congress. (UPI)

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April 19, 2016

Top News Stories –

Liking mornings linked to being stupid –
People who are upbeat in the morning have extremely low intelligence, it has been confirmed. Researchers at the Institute for Studies found that self-styled ‘morning people’ have IQ levels below that of most people and even some animals. Professor Henry Brubaker said: “People who jump eagerly out of bed to begin their ‘morning rituals’ have the simplistic upbeat mentality that comes from a general lack of awareness. Labradors are also like that. “Their only evolutionary purpose is to clatter around in the kitchen making smoothies, annoying the more intelligent humans so much that they are forced to crawl grudgingly out of bed and start doing the things that are truly necessary to society. “‘Morning people’ love poor quality cheerful art like ‘beach grooves’ compilation CDs and films about street dancers succeeding against the odds. They’re nice. They just aren’t very bright.” [Daily Mash]

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan
- April 2016 Kabul attack
  - A large explosion is reported in the Afghan capital Kabul a week after the Taliban declared the start of their annual spring offensive. The target was an Afghan government security compound with at least 28 people reported killed and more than 200 others injured. (Times of India), (AP via Fox News)
  - The United Nations Security Council condemns today’s attack in Kabul by the Taliban. (AP via The Washington Post)
War in North-West Pakistan
- A suicide bomber explodes his vest next to a government building in Mardan, Pakistan, killing one person and critically wounding three more. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Iraqi Civil War
- Iraqi officials, following arrested IS militants’ directions, uncover two mass graves with bodies of about 40 people in Ramadi. (AP via Fox News)
Syrian Civil War
- Airstrikes that were likely carried out by Syrian government forces kill around 40 people in a crowded market in rebel territory in Syria‘s Idlib Governorate. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Ecuador earthquake
- The death toll from Saturday’s earthquake has risen to at least 480 with 1,700 missing. Another 2,500 have been injured. President Rafael Correa states it is the worst disaster in Ecuador in seven decades, and the reconstruction will have a “huge economic impact” on the country. (BBC) (CBS News)

International relations

Sweden–United States relations
- Swedish deputy prime minister Åsa Romson is criticized after referring to the September 11 attacks in New York as mere “accidents”. Romson made the comments on public television while discussing the resignation of housing minister Mehmet Kaplan who had compared Israel’s treatment of Arabs to the Nazis’ treatment of Jews during the Holocaust. (Daily Mail) (The Local)
Cross-Strait relations
- Under pressure from the Chinese delegation, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Kris Peeters ejects the Taiwanese delegation from a symposium of the OECD Steel Committee; it was the first such incident since Taiwan joined the OECD Steel Committee in 2005. (Focus Taiwan) (AP via Daily Mail) (AFP via The Daily Star)
The European Union offers to help the fledgling new UN-backed Libyan unity government with assistance in its security sector, managing migration, border management and police capacity building. This comes after Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj appealed to foreign governments for help in fighting ISIL and aid to rebuild the country. (The Guardian)
India–United Kingdom relations
- In response to an ongoing Supreme Court case regarding the ownership of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, the government of India said it should not try to reclaim it from the United Kingdom. The government argues that the diamond was given to the British as a gift and was not stolen. However, the Supreme Court says it will continue with the case. (BBC)

Law and crime

Authorities in China sentence Huang Yu, a computer technician from Sichuan who worked for a government department which handled state secrets, to death for leaking more than 150,000 classified documents to an unidentified foreign power. The documents in question covered secrets ranging from the ruling Communist Party to military and financial issues. (The Guardian)
Lutz Bachmann, the leader of the German far-right and anti-Islam Pegida movement, goes on trial in Dresden on charges of hate speech. (BBC)
Transgender rights in the United States
- An American federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, rules a transgender high school student who was banned from the boy’s bathroom can proceed with the lawsuit against the school board.(Richmond Times-Dispatch)
- Yesterday, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a statement that North Carolina House Bill 2, a so-called bathroom bill, “…jeopardizes not only the dignity, but also the actual physical safety, of transgender people.” (The Washington Post)
Kidnapping and murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir
- A Jerusalem district court rejects an insanity plea and convicts Yosef Chaim Ben-David as the ringleader of the terrorist kidnapping and murder of the 16-year-old Palestinian. In November, the court convicted Ben-David’s two accomplices, both minors, of murder. (Haaretz) (Al Bawaba)
While South Korea prepares for the 2018 Winter Olympics, the Associated Press reports the country has covered up widespread human rights violations, including rapes and murders, when it swept so-called vagrants off the streets in the years prior to the 1988 Games in Seoul. Thousands of victims have received no compensation, nor public recognition nor an apology. The AP says two early attempts to investigate were suppressed by senior officials and the current government refuses to revisit the case and is blocking a push by an opposition lawmaker. (AP)
Flint water crisis
- According to government officials, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette tomorrow will announce criminal charges against two state regulators and a Flint employee in connection with the city’s lead-tainted water crisis. (AP via Fox News)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016, Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016
  - Voters in the U.S. state of New York go to the polls for a primary election with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump expected to win the respective contests for their parties in that state. (Reuters via The Star)
  - Donald Trump wins by a large margin in the Republican Party primary. (AP via OregonLive)
  - Hillary Clinton gains a decisive win (57.6 percent to 42.4 percent) over Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Party primary. (New York Times) (Five Thirty Eight) (The Washington Post)
Philippine presidential election, 2016
- Rodrigo Duterte apologizes for making remarks about rape. (Rappler)
The government of the Australian external territory of Norfolk Island announces it is going to take its governance issue to the United Nations. Former and final Chief Minister of the island Lisle Snell said he seeks to have Norfolk Island added on the UN’s list of Non-Self-Governing Territories and be given the rights that are accorded under the terms and conditions of being on the list. In 2015, the Australian government terminated Norfolk Island’s self-governing status in response to serious financial issues but without the islanders’ or government’s consent. (Radio New Zealand)
Princess Sofia of Sweden and Prince Carl Philip announce birth of first son. (Daily Mail)

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April 20, 2016

Top News Stories –

Harriet Tubman to be first African-American on U.S. currency –
Anti-slavery crusader Harriet Tubman will become the first African-American on the face of U.S. paper currency, and the first woman in more than a century, when she replaces former President Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill. The U.S. Treasury Department said on Wednesday that Tubman, who was born into slavery in the early 1820s and went on to help hundreds of slaves escape, would take the center spot on the bill, while Jackson, a slave owner, would move to the back. Introduced alongside a slew of changes to the $5 and $10 notes as well, the redesign gives the Treasury “a chance to open the aperture to reflect more of America’s history,” Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said. A new $10 bill will add images of five female leaders of the women’s suffrage movement, including Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, to the back, while keeping founding father Alexander Hamilton on the front. The reverse of a new $5 note will show former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., officials said. Former President Abraham Lincoln will remain on the front. [Reuters]

Victoria Wood dies aged 62 after cancer battle –
Comedian, singer and writer Victoria Wood has died after “a short but brave” battle with cancer aged 62. Her publicist said the star “died peacefully at her north London home with family” on Wednesday. Wood’s long-time comedy partner Julie Walters said she was “too heart sore to comment – the loss of her is incalculable”. Wood found fame in the 1980s and was best known for her BBC sketch Acorn Antiques and comedy Dinnerladies. She won five Baftas including two for her one-off ITV drama Housewife, 49. [BBC]
Victoria Wood in 2012

Video of the Day –

Clockwork | A Time-Lapse & Hyper-Lapse Reel – In 4K from Tyler Fairbank on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Victoria Wood’s best One-liners [The Independent]

“Sexual harassment at work. . . is it a problem for the self-employed?”

“My children won’t even eat chips because some know-all bastard at school told them a potato was a vegetable.”

“My boyfriend had a sex manual but he was dyslexic. I was lying there and he was looking for my vinegar.”

“Jogging is for people who aren’t intelligent enough to watch television.”

“People think I hate sex. I don’t. I just don’t like things that stop you seeing the television properly.”

“In my day we didn’t have sex education, we just picked up what we could off the television.”

“We’d like to apologise to viewers in the north. It must be awful for them.”

“I sometimes think that being widowed is God’s way of telling you to come off the Pill.”

“I once went to one of those parties where everyone throws their car keys into the middle of the room. I don’t know who got my moped but I’ve been driving that Peugeot for years.”

“Life’s not fair, is it? Some of us drink champagne in the fast lane, and some of us eat our sandwiches by the loose chippings on the A597.”

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide	USA
#QuartaDetremuraSdv	#HairMusicVideo
#FelizMiercoles	#WednesdayWisdom
#WednesdayWisdom	#NationalLookAlikeDay
Happy 420	Happy 420
#شي_تفتخر_فيه	#1linewed
#CuandoLlueveMeDanGanasDe	#WaysToUniteUsAll
#TodoBienHastaQue	Bob Marley
#ALDUBLoveOnCue	Harriet Tubman
#ImpeachmentDaAnatel	#FoodTank
#あなたは何故モテ�…	Prince George

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- April 2016 Kabul attack
  - The death toll from yesterday’s Taliban attack on the National Directorate of Security in Kabul rises to 64, with 347 others wounded, according to the Afghan Interior Ministry. (Reuters)
War in Donbass
- A Ukrainian military spokesman says three of its soldiers were killed by a mortar attack in the country’s east, the heaviest toll reported in the region in nearly two months. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
War in North-West Pakistan
- Pakistani Taliban militants, in two attacks, kill seven police officers who were guarding medical workers administering polio vaccinations in Karachi. (The Guardian)

Arts and culture

Former slave Harriet Tubman replaces Andrew Jackson on the United States twenty-dollar bill while Alexander Hamilton keeps his place on the ten after the public consultation process. (The New York Times) (Reuters)

Business and economics

The Kuwait Oil Workers Union ends their three-day strike that had cut Kuwait’s crude production by nearly half. (Gulf News) (CNBC)
Mitsubishi admits that its fuel efficiency tests broke Japanese rules for about 625,000 “ultrasmall” vehicles sold in Japan. (BBC) (UPI)
The European Union accuses Google of abusing the dominance of its Android by preloading its own apps. (Irish Times)
Volkswagen emissions scandal
- Volkswagen and United States officials agree in principle on a deal where the automaker could buy back up to 500,000 diesel cars. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2016 Ecuador earthquake
- A magnitude-6.1 aftershock has struck off the coast of Ecuador at 3:33 a.m. local time, the US Geological Survey says, in the same area as the massive earthquake on Saturday. (USGS), (Reuters via Asia-Pacific News)
- People in Ecuador start burying their dead as the death toll from the earthquake passes 500. (AP)
- President Rafael Correa announces a sales tax increase, and a one-time levy on millionaires as the country deals with the enormous damage from this disaster. (AP)
- The death toll rises to 570 with 163 people listed as missing. Those made homeless climbs to over 23,500. (AP)
European migrant crisis
- Up to 500 people are feared to have drowned off the coast of Libya in the Mediterranean last week, in what would be the deadliest migrant shipwreck in months. (The Guardian)
A small-plane crashes near Chugiak, Anchorage in Alaska, killing at least four people, according to the Anchorage Fire Department. (Alaska Dispatch News)
Hundreds of people are evacuated following a large explosion at an oil facility in Coatzacoalcos in southern Mexico. (BBC)

International relations

Yemeni Crisis
- The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the United States agree to carry out joint naval patrols to prevent Iranian arms shipments reaching Yemen, the Gulf bloc’s secretary general Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani said on Wednesday, following a meeting with United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. Iran denies it supplies weapons to the Houthis in Yemen. (Reuters)
Ukraine–European Union relations
- The European Union proposes offering Ukraine visa-free travel to its members. However, it is still unclear how fast the liberalization process will be dealt with in the European Parliament and European Council, where some EU member states might want to slow down the process. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
NATO–Russia relations
- NATO reopens informal talks with Russia for the first time in nearly two years. According to the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg “NATO and Russia have profound and persistent disagreements, today’s meeting did not change that.” (Euronews)
United Kingdom–United States relations
- The United Kingdom’s Foreign Office issues a travel advisory for gay people concerning travel to parts of the United States due to new legislation in North Carolina and Mississippi. (The Independent)

Law and crime

A women’s rights group files a lawsuit in the Philippine Commission on Human Rights against Rodrigo Duterte for his rape remarks. (The New York Times)
Australian media reports that a deal has been reached on an alleged kidnapping case against Tara Brown and the Australian 60 Minutes crew. (9 News)
The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany rules that an anti-terrorism law is unconstitutional and violates right to privacy. (DPA)
The U.S. state of Utah declares pornography a “public health risk” in a move Governor of Utah Gary Herbert says is to “protect our families and our young people”. The bill, signed by the governor, does not ban pornography in the state but does call for greater “efforts to prevent pornography exposure and addiction”. (BBC)
Anders Behring Breivik, a convicted mass murderer in the 2011 Norway attacks, wins a human rights case against the government of Norway. (BBC)
Flint water crisis
- The first criminal charges are laid against three people, two state officials and a municipal official, involved in the Flint water crisis. (New York Times)
Panama Papers
- In a letter to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the United States Department of Justice announces it is opening a criminal investigation into tax avoidance schemes exposed by the Panama Papers with U.S. attorney Preet Bharara asking the ICIJ for help. (BBC)
Two people are burned alive amid xenophobic riots in Lusaka, Zambia. The riots started after rumours spread that Rwandans were behind recent ritual killings in the city. More than 250 people have been arrested after more than 60 Rwandan-owned shops were looted in two days of violence. (BBC)
Drug policy of Canada
- Canada‘s Minister of Health Jane Philpott says federal legislation to legalize marijuana will be introduced in spring of 2017. (CBC)
The United States Supreme Court rules that almost $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets must be turned over to American families of people killed in attacks blamed on Iran, including the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Yasri Khan, a senior member of Swedish Green Party (part of the Government coalition), who was refusing to shake hands with a female reporter on grounds that it violated his Muslim faith, announces that he is quitting politics. (The Local)
Philippine presidential election, 2016
- Philippine presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte reneges on his apology and denies a statement by his party, PDP-Laban, which said he was sorry for his rape comments. (The Manila Bulletin)
2016 Macedonian protests
- Protests continue against President Gjorge Ivanov in Skopje, Macedonia. Opposition leader Zoran Zaev said he will only take part in EU-brokered negotiations with the government if certain conditions are met. (The Irish Times)

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April 29, 2016

Top News Stories –

Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry respond to Obamas’ Invictus Games challenge –
When US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama challenged Prince Harry on social media, he responded by bringing in a big gun — the Queen. The Obamas posted a video of themselves on Twitter promoting the Invictus Games, an international sports event for wounded, disabled and sick military personnel and veterans. Harry, fifth-in-line to the throne and a patron of the Invictus Games, responded to the US President and his wife in kind. “Unfortunately for you, Flotus and Potus, I wasn’t alone when you sent me that video,” the Prince tweeted to the Obamas. He also added a video of his own, showing him chatting amiably with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, while they thumbed through an Invictus Games brochure, just as the Obamas’ challenge lands in his cellphone. [ABC News] See Video of the Day

Large Hadron Collider: Weasel causes shutdown –
The Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator at Cern is offline after a short circuit – caused by a weasel. The unfortunate creature did not survive the encounter with a high-voltage transformer at the site near Geneva in Switzerland. The LHC was running when a “severe electrical perturbation” occurred in the early hours of Friday morning. A spokesman for Cern said that the weasel did not get into the tunnels, just the electrical facilities. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

The Queen vs the President ‘Boom’

Unfortunately for you @FLOTUS and @POTUS I wasn’t alone when you sent me that video 😉 – H.https://t.co/sjfSQvkzb6

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 29, 2016

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide	USA
#حلب_تحترق	#InternationalDanceDay
#HarryInDunkirk	#FlashbackFriday
#السعوديه_فكلم…	#CAGOPConvention
#DiaDelAnimal	#AddInTheButtToAMovieTitle
#InternationalDanceDay	#HomeDay
#OFrioEBomPara	#KnowHerTruths
#LoQueCallamosEnTuiter	#ArborDay
#NFLDraft2016	#FridayFeeling
#TagueirosSdvFrioBomPra	Titans
Janaína Paschoal	#ImSoUglyINeed

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- According to Russian ambassador to the United Nations Aleksi Borodavkin, the Syrian Army is preparing to launch an offensive against the ISIL strongholds of Al-Raqqah and the countryside around Deir ez-Zor and that the Russian Air Force will be providing the ground campaign with air support. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
- Airstrikes hit the Syrian city of Aleppo, destroying another medical facility and killing two civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economics

According to Eurostat, the Eurozone’s economy grew by 0.6% in the first three months of 2016, faster than what was originally expected, with unemployment falling to 10.2%. This growth suggest that the eurozone’s economy is now bigger than it was before the start of the financial crisis of 2007–08. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits off the coast of the Vanuatu island of Malakula, prompting the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) to issue a tsunami warning for the coasts of New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, which was later cancelled. (ABC News) (9 News Australia)
2016 Turøy helicopter crash
- Thirteen people were killed when a helicopter carrying offshore workers from Gullfaks B crash landed off the western coast of Norway. (LA Times) (VG.no, Norwegian)
Kenya flooding
- Heavy rain in Nairobi, Kenya, causes floods killing at least four people. (Standard Media)
- A six story residential building collapses in Nairobi. At least three people have died and scores are thought to be trapped. (BBC), (CNN)
At least 13 people die in a collision between a taxi and truck in the South African city of Bloemfontein. (Eyewitness News)

Health

Zika virus outbreak (2015–present)
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the first Zika virus related death in the United States, an elderly man in Puerto Rico. (Washington Post), (New York Times)

International relations

Lithuania–United States relations
- The United States Air Force lands two of its most advanced fighter jets in Lithuania for the first time in a show of support for the Baltic states which have become worried about Russia’s actions in Ukraine.(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

Law and crime

Australia commemorates the one-year anniversary of the execution of the ringleaders the Bali Nine. (ABC News)
North Korea sentences South Korea born American businessman Kim Dong Chul to ten years imprisonment for alleged spying. (Reuters via Trust)
A court in South Africa rules that the decision in 2009 to drop over 750 corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma was irrational and called for a review of them. However, the court ruling does not automatically reinstate the charges against Zuma as a legal team must be set up to decide on whether to charge him or not. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

Iranian legislative election, 2016
- Iran goes to the polls for second round elections in constituencies where no candidate achieved 25 per cent of the vote in February’s elections. (Reuters via Trust)
- Early results shows victory for Reformists. (tasnimnews)
2014–16 Venezuelan protests
- Protests erupt in various cities of Venezuela as the country faces increased food and power shortages, forcing the government to ration them, leading to widespread looting and violence. According to the opposition, who control the National Assembly, over a million people support its bid to start a referendum on ousting President Nicolás Maduro. (Al Jazeera)
Protests in France turn violent as protesters clash with police, injuring over 20 police officers and resulting in over 120 arrests nationwide. The protests are against a labour law being proposed in the National Assembly, saying it will reduce rights and deepen job insecurity for youth. (The Guardian)
Irish general election, 2016
- Fine Gael and Fianna Fail agree to the formation of a Fine Gael-led government. (Newstalk)

Protesters on Norfolk Island, an external territory of Australia, occupy the former Legislative Assembly to protest Australia’s termination of the island’s autonomy. In July, Norfolk Island is set to become part of the State of New South Wales. (Radio New Zealand)

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May 10, 2016

Top News Stories –

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

Video of the Day –

Farewell Boleyn 2015/16

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- Ali Haider Gilani, the son of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousaf Raza Gilani, is rescued in a joint operation by U.S. and Afghan forces three years after he was kidnapped by suspected Talibanmilitants. (AFP via ABC News Australia)
Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)
- At least three are killed in a car bomb targeting a Turkish police vehicle in Diyarbakır, Turkey. (FOX News)

Business and economics

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan blocks the $6.3 billion merger of major office supply companies Staples and Office Depot, finding it would result in reduced competition and higher prices. The companies announce they are abandoning the deal. (The Washington Post)

Disasters

At least 50 are killed in flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rains in Ethiopia. (FOX News)
2016 Fort McMurray wildfire
- Alberta authorities update information about the fire. About 2,400 homes and buildings were destroyed, but firefighters saved 25,000 others in the city, including the hospital, municipal buildings, and every functioning school. They expect most of the 88,000 evacuees will return to their homes within two weeks. The fire, which has merged with another blaze, is about 884 square miles (2,090 square kilometers) in size. The majority of Canada’s oil sands industry, and a third of the country’s total oil output, is offline, though Shell Canada has restarted its Albian Sands mining operations. (AP)

Law and crime

Munich knife attack
- One person is killed and several others injured in a knife attack at the Grafing station, a station of the Munich S-Bahn system in Germany. (Sky News)
An assailant stabs four people, killing two, at a home and a mall in Taunton, Massachusetts. A third victim is being treated for life-threatening injuries. The suspect was shot and killed by an off-duty deputy sheriff at the second scene. (CNN) (The Boston Globe)
Death of Freddie Gray
- Officer Edward Nero waives his right to a jury trial on misdemeanor charges of second-degree assault, two counts of misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment. (Reuters)

Politics and election

Philippine presidential election, 2016
- Rodrigo Duterte continues to lead in the presidential race, while Leni Robredo leads Bongbong Marcos by a small margin in the vice presidential race. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
United States presidential election, 2016, United States presidential election in West Virginia, 2016, United States presidential election in Nebraska, 2016
- Voters in the state of West Virginia head to the polls to vote in the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries. Voters in the state of Nebraska vote in the Republican presidential primary with Donald Trump just 169 delegates short of securing the nomination. (New York Daily News) (Lincoln Journal Star)
- Trump is projected as the winner in the Republican primary in West Virginia while Bernie Sanders is projected to win the Democratic Primary. (New York Times), (BBC)
- Trump is projected to win Nebraska. (Washington Examiner)
Impeachment process against Dilma Rousseff
- Brazil’s Federal Senate unanimously votes to strip Delcídio do Amaral of his senate seat. Amaral, one of Rousseff’s biggest foes, was arrested last November for allegedly taking kickbacks from Petrobras.(AP)
- The Supreme Federal Court rejects the government’s request to rule on the merits of last month’s Chamber of Deputies impeachment vote. (AP)

Science

NASA confirms that 1,284 objects discovered by its Kepler spacecraft are in fact exoplanets. (The Verge)

Sports

In basketball, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors is named NBA MVP for the second straight season. Curry is the first player ever to receive all possible first-place votes. (ESPN)
London football club West Ham United F.C. play the final match of their 112-year stay at the Boleyn Ground, before moving to the city’s Olympic Stadium. (BBC)

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May 11, 2016

Top News Stories –

Queen filmed calling Chinese officials ‘very rude’ –
The Queen has been filmed saying Chinese officials were “very rude” during last year’s state visit by President Xi Jinping. She was discussing their treatment of Britain’s ambassador to China with a senior police officer at a Buckingham Palace garden party on Tuesday. It came after David Cameron was overheard saying Afghanistan and Nigeria were “fantastically corrupt“. The Queen’s remarks were filmed as she was introduced to Metropolitan Police Commander Lucy D’Orsi, who the monarch is told had overseen security during President Xi’s visit to the UK in October. [BBC]
The Queen

Video of the Day –

Nightlife from Wriggles & Robins on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- 11 May 2016 Baghdad bombings
  - At least 64 people are killed and 87 injured in a bomb attack on a market in Sadr City, Baghdad. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) claims responsibility. (CNN) (NY Times)
- ISIS bury alive 45 of their own fighters in Qayyarah for fleeing a battle. (Mirror) (Armen Press)
Dissident Irish Republican campaign
- MI5 raises the threat level for dissident Northern Ireland militants from “moderate” to “substantial”, meaning there is a strong possibility of an attack on the British mainland. (NY Times) (Reuters) (BBC)

Arts and culture

A fragment of the world’s oldest ground-edge axe dated at between 45,000 and 49,000 years old is found in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. (ABC News Australia)

International relations

Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
- Israel seals off the West Bank and Gaza Strip for two days while Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s remembrance day and independence day) is celebrated. (Haaretz)

Law and crime

The head of Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Motiur Rahman Nizami, is executed for his alleged role in acts of genocide and war crimes 45 years ago during the independence war against Pakistan in 1971. Nizami is the fifth senior opposition leader to be executed in connection with the war; a total of 17 people have received the death penalty. Authorities prepare for possibly violent protests. (AP via The Washington Post) (Vice News) (The New York Times)
Amnesty International reports that this year at least 149 have died, including children, in a military detention center, Giwa barracks, in Maiduguri, Nigeria. (VOA News) (Amnesty)
West Fertilizer Company explosion
- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives finds that a 2013 fire at a fertilizer plant in the American town of West, Texas, that killed 15 people was arson and begins the search for suspects.(Fox News)
German Justice Minister Heiko Maas says he will propose legislation to annul homosexuality convictions, and create a “right to compensation.” A 19th-century law outlawed sexual relations between men. Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1969, but the law itself was not rescinded until 1994. (AP via The Washington Post) (Deutsche Welle)

Politics and elections

Impeachment process against Dilma Rousseff
- The Federal Senate of Brazil debates whether to suspend and impeach President Dilma Rousseff for allegedly breaching budget rules. The President’s allies are not optimistic about the Senate vote. (New York Times) (India.Com)
Recognition of same-sex unions in Italy
- The Italian Parliament gives final approval to legislation recognizing civil unions of same-sex couples. (The New York Times)
Ugandan general election, 2016
- Uganda arrests opposition leader Kizza Besigye as he addressed a crowd of supporters in the capital Kampala, and shuts down access to social media within the country prior to President Yoweri Museveni’s inauguration tomorrow. (The New York Times) (Global Voices)

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May 11, 2016

May 12, 2016

Top News Stories –

High heels row: Firm accused of sexism changes policy –
A firm that sent home a temp without pay for refusing to wear high heels has changed its policy. London receptionist Nicola Thorp, 27, says she was told to wear shoes with a “2in to 4in heel” when she arrived at finance company PwC in December. When she refused and was sent home she set up a petition calling for the law on dress code to be changed. Outsourcing firm Portico said “with immediate effect all our female colleagues can wear plain flat shoes”. The company initially said Ms Thorp, from Hackney, had signed its “appearance guidelines” but said it would review them. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Nightmare in the Morning from Yonatan Tal on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
- Al Qaeda militants kill at least 13 Yemeni government troops near the city of Mukalla. (AFP via Daily Mail)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- A twin suicide bombing attack at a police station in Baghdad kills five people. Yesterday 93 people had been killed and 165 injured in the deadliest day of attacks in Iraq this year. (AP via Fox News)

Business and economy

Nissan announces that it will buy 34% of fellow Japanese car manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors for 237.4 billion yen ($2.2 billion). (The Independent)
The Bank of England issues an unusually sharp warning about the possible economic consequences of an “Out” vote in the upcoming Brexit referendum. (Reuters)

Disasters

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
- The Government of Malaysia confirms that two more pieces of debris found in South Africa and Rodrigues Island off the coast of Mauritius are “almost certainly” from Malaysia Airlines 370 that disappeared two years ago. (AP via New York Times)

International relations

Syrian Civil War
- Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan threatens unilateral action against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria inside Syria. (Hurriyet Daily) (WSJ)

Law and crime

A criminal investigation is launched by the New Hampshire attorney general against law enforcement officials after news footage showed Massachusetts/New Hampshire police appear to beat a man who was surrendering at the end of a bi-state car chase. (Washington Post via MSN)

Politics and elections

Impeachment process against Dilma Rousseff
- The Brazilian Senate votes (55-22) to begin the impeachment process against the President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff and suspend her from office while the trial takes place. (BBC)
Baltimore, Maryland, primary election, 2016
- Maryland state elections officials decertify the results of Baltimore’s April 26, 2016, primary election because, for example, the number of ballots cast was hundreds more than the number of voters who checked in at polling places. (The Washington Post)

Science

Longevity claims
- A 120-year old woman is found living in the Astrakhan Oblast of Russia, which would make her the world’s oldest living person. However, her birth year remains internationally unverified. Thus, 116-year old Italian Emma Morano is still listed as the oldest verified living person. (TASS)
- The world’s oldest person, American Susannah Mushatt Jones, dies at the age of 116. (Wave 3)
Researchers from Konkoly Observatory in Budapest, Hungary, reveal that (225088) 2007 OR10 is the third largest dwarf planet in the solar system. (Gizmodo)

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May 25, 2016

Top News Stories –

‘Beauty and the Beast’ Teaser Tops ‘Star Wars: Force Awakens’ in First Day –
The first teaser trailer for Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast was viewed a record 91.8 million times in its first 24 hours — besting previous champ Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as well as Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Age of Ultron (each of them Disney films as well). The second teaser trailer for Force Awakens garnered 88 million views, followed by 61 million views for Captain America: Civil War, 55 million views for the second teaser for Force Awakens, and 34 million views for Avengers: Age of Ultron, according to Disney. [Hollywood Reporter] See Video of the Day

Norway consumer body stages live app terms reading –
Norwegians have spent more than 30 hours reading out terms and conditions from smartphone apps in a campaign by the country’s consumer agency. The average Norwegian has 33 apps, the Norwegian Consumer Council says, whose terms and conditions together run longer than the New Testament. To prove the “absurd” length, the council got Norwegians to read each of them out in real time on their website. The reading finished on Wednesday, clocking in at 31:49:11. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Beauty and the Beast Official US Teaser Trailer

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- The Afghan Taliban announces that Haibatullah Akhundzada will be its new leader replacing Akhtar Mansour who died recently in a drone strike. Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Yaqoob are named as deputy leaders. (Al-Jazeera)
- A suicide bomb attack kills at least 10 people and injures four people travelling on a bus for appeals court staff travelling west of Kabul. (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

Business and economy

Greek financial crisis
- The Eurozone agrees to a €10.3 billion ($11.48 billion) bailout package for Greece. (The Guardian)

International relations

Russia–Ukraine relations, War in Donbass
- Ukrainian pilot and parliamentarian Nadiya Savchenko, who has been detained in Russia since 2014, arrives home following a dramatic prisoner swap with Russia. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

In the United States, Hillary Clinton is criticized by the State Department’s inspector general for her usage of a private email server while she was secretary of state. The finding also concluded though that former secretary of state Colin Powell also had a private email server, as did former ambassador to Kenya Scott Gration. The inspector referred to the email server usage as “longstanding systemic weaknesses”. (New York Times)

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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)

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