Radio New Zealand - The 2010s

November 30, 2015

Top News Stories –

New Zealand: Auckland aims to become trilingual city –
New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland, has announced plans to encourage the entire population to speak English, Maori and a third language. The initiative, launched by the council-controlled educational organisation COMET, aims to get all of Auckland’s 1.4 million residents speaking the national language of Te Reo Maori, Radio New Zealand reports. Currently, only 2.3% of Aucklanders speak the language, the lowest rate in the country, while over 1m of the city’s residents are monolingual – usually English, the radio says. Some 377,000 residents already have two languages as a result of the city’s diverse ethnic mix, where 40% of Aucklanders were born overseas, but their languages tend to be overlooked in favour of English. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Domestic Appliances from Lewis Firth Bolton on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#CyberMonday	#CyberMonday	Sam Pepper
2	#FelizLunes	#mondaymotivation	#CyberMonday
3	Kobe	#PopeBars	#mondaymotivation
4	水木先生	Tomorrow is December	#StAndrewsDay
5	#SoulTrainAwards	#RejectedReindeer	Kobe Bryant
6	Balón de Oro	#COP21	#AuthorDay
7	水木しげる先生	Sam Pepper	75% of Labour
8	#TheWalkingDead	#ISurvivedHighSchoolBy	Overweight Haters Ltd
9	#الهلال_التعاون	Clay Helton	#PAKvENG
10	Sam Pepper	Anne of Green Gables	#TWDMidSeasonFinale

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Paris attack aftermath
- French intelligence services are reportedly operating under the theory that Paris-attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam has escaped to Syria despite country-wide martial law in 3 different countries. (CNN)
Iraqi Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL, American-led intervention in Iraq
- With the support of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, Iraqi Armed Forces have launched operations to retake Ramadi from ISIL. (Military Times)
Syrian Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that at least 50 United States military instructors have deployed to northern Syria from Turkey and Iraq to train Kurdish forces ahead of an assault on ISIL‘s de-facto capital Al-Raqqah. (Deutsche Welle)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- At least three Saudi border guards are killed following clashes with Yemeni forces in the kingdom’s southern Jizan Region near the border with Yemen. (Reuters)

Business and economics

Responding to reports, the American Tribune Publishing Co. states it is not in talks to sell the company. (Chicago Tribune) (Wall Street Journal)
Canadian BlackBerry Limited announces plans to shut down operations in Pakistan at year’s end because it cannot comply with the Pakistani government’s monitoring orders which would result in a massive invasion of user privacy. (CNET)
The International Monetary Fund modifies its benchmark currency basket to include the yuan of the People’s Republic of China. The basket also includes the U.S. dollar, the euro, the pound sterling, and the Japanese yen. (Reuters)
The United States Federal Reserve Board approves a rule prohibiting the government from extending emergency loans to “too big to fail” companies, a practice deemed essential during the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. (UPI)

Health and medicine

The capitals of the world’s two most populous nations, China and India, are blanketed in hazardous, choking smog. Beijing, on the second-highest pollution alert, is closing highways, halting or suspending construction while warning residents to stay indoors. The U.S. New Delhi embassy’s monitoring station recorded an air quality index of 372, putting air pollution levels into “hazardous” territory. No action by the New Delhi government. (Hindustan Times)
A UNICEF report finds AIDS is now the leading cause of death for African teenagers and the second most common killer for adolescents across the globe. While the Asia Pacific region has seen a 31 percent drop in new HIV infections, and 28 percent decline in AIDS-related deaths, the estimated number of adolescents dying of AIDS in the region has more than doubled since 2005. Tomorrow is World Aids Day. (AP via Huffington Post) (Reuters)

International relations

Martyrs’ Day (United Arab Emirates) is being observed in United Arab Emirates as Commemoration Day this year on November 30, 2015, recognising the sacrifices and dedication of Emirati martyrs who have given their life in the UAE and abroad in the field of civil, military and humanitarian service. (GulfNews)
South Korea’s parliament approves a free trade pact with China after opposition lawmakers, concerned that deal that would hurt agriculture and fisheries, secured a $1.4 billion relief package for farmers. (AP via Fox News)
2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference
- Around 150 world leaders attend the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, aiming for a global deal on limiting greenhouse gas emissions. (CNN)
Pope Francis’ 2015 visit to Africa
- Pope Francis travels to a besieged Muslim neighborhood known as PK5 in the Central African Republic, a country wracked by sectarian violence. This visit is part of Francis’s message of peace and reconciliation. As a result of the violence over the last two years, most of the capital Bangui’s 100,000-plus Muslims have fled; now only 15,000 remain. (AP via Bastrop Daily Enterprise)
- Pope Francis tells a crowd in a mosque in Bangui that “Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters.” (BBC)
Israel will open a diplomatic mission to the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), the headquarters of which are located near the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. Israel will be the first Irena member to open such a mission; other member nations work Irena relations from their missions to the UAE, which Israel does not have. (New York Times)
Arctic Joint Strategic Command (Russia)
- A Russian Airborne Troops spokesman says the VDV is planning to expand their military exercises into the North Pole area of the Arctic in 2016. (UPI)

Law and crime

The University of Chicago cancels classes for the day, and asks students, faculty, and non-essential staff to stay away from its main campus after being informed by the FBI of a threat of gun violence. (Reuters via The Jerusalem Post) (USA Today)
- One suspect, a student from the University of Illinois at Chicago is arrested. The University of Chicago announces classes remain canceled for the day. (Chicago Tribune)
Russian undesirable organizations law
- Russia bans two George Soros-run foundations, including the Open Society Foundations, for posing a threat to “Russian national security”. The Open Society Foundation and the Open Society Institute’s Assistance Foundation, both financed by business magnate Soros, are the latest additions to a list of “undesirable organizations”, a list the Russian government says is necessary to stop foreign governments from interfering in Russia’s internal affairs. (The Guardian)
Jury selection begins for the trial of William Porter, a Baltimore, Maryland police officer charged with manslaughter and other charges surrounding the April 19 death of Freddie Gray. Porter is the first of six officers to be tried. (CNN)

Politics and elections

Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2015
- Venezuela announces it will suspend the sale of alcoholic beverages, fireworks and weapons before Sunday’s parliamentary elections, starting Friday at 6 p.m. until next Monday at 6 p.m. Civilian permits for the possession and use of firearms and kniveswill be also be suspended for the same period. (UPI)
Burkinabé general election, 2015
- Former prime minister Roch Marc Kaboré appears on course for a commanding victory in Burkina Faso’s election, one large enough to eliminate the need for a run-off. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, with results from about 72 percent of the country counted, Kaboré has 54 percent of the vote with his closest challenger, former finance minister Zéphirin Diabré, getting 29 percent. (The Globe and Mail)
Saudi Arabia elections, 2015
- For the first time in the country’s history, Saudi Arabian women are allowed to vote and to stand for office in the December 12, 2015, elections. Candidacy filings opened yesterday. In two days, more than 900 women have signed up to run for various local government positions in the Arab nation. (UPI)

Science and technology

Researchers at North Carolina State University discover a new diamond-like, solid phase of carbon, called Q-carbon, that can be attained at room temperature. The result is a uniquely crystalline material, harder than a real diamond and likely boasting a variety of new properties, most unknown or unstudied. (UPI)

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March 17, 2016

Top News Stories –

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

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

Video of the Day –

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

Top Twitter Trends –

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

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

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

Arts and culture

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

Business and economics

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

Disasters and accidents

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

International relations

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

Law and Crime

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

Politics and elections

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

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April 1, 2016

Top News Stories –

Hello! Magazine apologises for ‘fabricated’ Clooney interview –
Hello! Magazine has apologised for running an “exclusive” interview with George Clooney that the actor says was completely fabricated. The UK-based magazine said it purchased the interview from an entertainment news agency called Famous, which they have worked with in the past. Hello! said it thought the article was accurate and has removed the piece from its website. Mr Clooney said the interview never took place. He said in a statement: “The problem is that I have not given an interview to Hello Magazine and the quotes attributed to me are not accurate. In my experience, being misquoted is not unusual but to have an ‘exclusive interview’ completely fabricated is something new. And a very disturbing trend.” [BBC]
George Clooney

Video of the Day –

Introducing the self-driving bicycle in the Netherlands – (only available on April 1st!)

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#FaleUmaMentira	#PowerpuffYourself	#FridayFeeling
2	#كذبه_ابريل	#FlashbackFriday	#futureMW
3	#BienvenidoAbril	#FridayFeeling	#totp
4	#JokerWasHere	#SnoopaVision	#AprilFools
5	#FridayFeeling	#TheChalkening	#NewMusicFriday
6	#DiaDaMentiraDetremuraSdv	#FuelYourHustle	#Skins2017
7	#AprilFools	John Stamos	#ourtreasurehunt
8	#LoveLiveforever	#JokerWasHere	#NameABand
9	#EnTwitterNuncaFalta	#NewMusicFriday	#JokerWasHere
10	#BuenViernes	#AprilFools	#ONALondon

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports airstrikes on the village of Deir al-Asafir, Rif Dimashq Governorate, have killed at least 30 people and left dozens more injured. (The Telegraph)
War in Donbass
- International monitors from the OSCE report that fighting has intensified in Eastern Ukraine as a second year of a shaky truce begins. The worst of the fighting is located between government-controlledAvdiivka and separatist-controlled Yasynuvata. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- A U.S. drone strike reportedly kills a key Al-Shabaab leader, Hassan Ali Dhoore, and two other militants, near the town of Jilib, Somalia, according to several U.S. officials. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

In a second day of severe weather, at least seven people are injured as tornadoes sweep across the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States, with more severe weather expected. (Al Jazeera)

Health and medicine

Health authorities in Fiji are urging people to observe strict personal hygiene as the country goes through a massive outbreak of conjunctivitis. In the past 14 days alone the number of cases of the virus in one district of Suva have jumped from 700 to 5000 cases. (Radio New Zealand)

International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- North Korea fires another ballistic missile off its east coast, according to South Korean officials. This occurred while world leaders are attending the annual Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., where North Korea is on the agenda for discussion. (The Guardian) (Yonhap)

Politics and elections

Moldovan presidential election, 2016, 2015–16 protests in Moldova
- The Parliament of Moldova announces that the country will hold a Presidential election on October 30. A court in early March ruled in favor of having a direct national election to choose a president rather than a vote in parliament, a concession to protesters who have been demonstrating for months against the political elite. This will be the first time since 2001 that the public will choose their country’s president directly. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
2015–16 protests in Brazil
- President Dilma Rousseff loses another key member of the country’s 2016 Summer Olympics organization. Colonel Adilson Moreira of the National Public Security Force, who was in charge of organizing security, in an email to his colleagues reportedly criticizes the President and other senior officials, saying he is ashamed of the country’s being led by an “unscrupulous group.” Brazilian officials, who earlier received Sports Minister George Hilton’s resignation, say the planning for the Olympic Games will not be affected. (BBC) (International Business Times)

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April 2, 2016

Top News Stories –

Scientists ‘find cancer’s Achilles heel’ –
Scientists believe they have discovered a way to “steer” the immune system to kill cancers. Researchers at University College, London have developed a way of finding unique markings within a tumour – its “Achilles heel” – allowing the body to target the disease. But the personalised method, reported in Science journal, would be expensive and has not yet been tried in patients. Experts said the idea made sense but could be more complicated in reality. However, the researchers, whose work was funded by Cancer Research UK, believe their discovery could form the backbone of new treatments and hope to test it in patients within two years. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Operator from Yann Heckmann on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#HappyBirthdayPattieMallette	#DullDownAMovie	#RenameAFilmBadly
2	#الانثي_مخلوق_�…	#HappyBirthdayPattieMallette	5SOSFAM NEVER QUIT
3	#SabadoTopNoClubeSDV	#ElClásico	#ElClasico
4	5SOSFAM NEVER QUIT	#WorldAutismAwarenessDay	#DullDownAMovie
5	#مقاضاه_MBC_ضروري	#ApologizeForWhat	#ZoomMW
6	#ElClasico	5SOSFAM NEVER QUIT	#PowerpuffYourself
7	#ALDUB3rdEBAwards	GO DIRECTIONERS GO	#WorldAutismAwarenessDay
8	#DiaMundialAutismo	Hurricane Chris	#NXTTakeOver
9	#WorldAutismAwarenessDay	#LDSconf	#gogglebox
10	#TodoBienHastaQue	#ASCD16	#BahrainGP

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Armenian–Azerbaijani border conflict
- 2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes
  - Armenia and Azerbaijan exchange gunfire for the third successive day after an escalation of a dispute over the boundaries between Azerbaijan and the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. (RT)
Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that the Al-Nusra Front as well as other insurgents have captured the village of Tel el-Ais in a strategic position overlooking the highway between Aleppoand Damascus. (AP)
- The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reports a mass grave, containing the bodies of beheaded women and children, has been found in the former ISIL-controlled city of Palmyra, recently retaken by the Syrian government. (The Independent)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- Two security guards are killed while repelling an ISIL attack on the Bayda oil field, near the town of Marada, Libya. (Reuters)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Hīt offensive (2016)
  - Iraqi security forces free a large number of prisoners from an underground ISIL-operated jail in the city of Hīt. Malallah al-Obeidi, a local official in the Al Anbar Governorate, put the number of freed prisoners at around 1,500, saying most of them were civilians. (AFP via Al Arabiya)
PKK rebellion (2015–present)
- A bombing kills at least five Turkish soldiers and one special forces police officer in the southeastern city of Nusaybin, near the Syria–Turkey border. (BBC)

Arts and culture

Archaeologists claim to have discovered a probable Viking settlement in North America on Newfoundland‘s Point Rosee. (AFP via ABC Australia)
Hong Kong terrestrial television provider Asia Television ceases all broadcasts at midnight, following a 2015 decision by the Hong Kong Government not to renew its television license. (Fortune.com)

Disasters and accidents

In the United States, a Lancair IV plane crashes into a car stopped along a highway, 50 miles north of San Diego, California, killing car passenger Antoinette “Toni” Frances Isbelle, a member of the WFTDA’sSan Diego Starlettes roller derby team. Five others, including the pilot, are hospitalized. (The San Diego Union Tribune) (New York Daily News)

International relations

European migrant crisis, Austria–Italy relations
- Austria plans to deploy soldiers on its border with Italy to stem an expected increase in migrants trying to get to northern Europe, according to Austrian Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil. “As the EU’s external borders are not yet effectively protected, Austria will soon ramp up strict border controls. That means massive border controls on the Brenner Pass, and with soldiers,” Doskozil told German daily newspaper Die Welt. (Reuters)
Burundian unrest (2015–present)
- The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts a resolution setting the stage for the deployment of UN Police to Burundi, where political unrest that has lasted nearly a year killed over 400 people and displaced tens of thousands. The resolution asks Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to present options within 15 days for the deployment of UN police in order to monitor the security situation, promote respect for human rights and advance the rule of law. (Al Jazeera)
NATO–Russia relations
- The United States Air Force sends 12 F-15C Eagles and 350 personnel to Iceland and the Netherlands to deter further Russian aggression in Europe. (CNN)
Greek government-debt crisis
- Greece demands an explanation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after an apparent leaked transcript suggested the IMF may threaten to pull out of the country’s bailout as a tactic to force European lenders to offer more debt relief. Whistleblowing site WikiLeaks published what it said was the transcript of a March 19 conference call of three senior IMF officials discussing tactics to apply pressure on Greece, Germany and the EU to reach a deal in April. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Indian women’s rights activists are barred by angry villagers and local authorities from entering Shani Shingnapur temple despite a court ruling guaranteeing access. Breaking with a centuries-old tradition, the high court in Mumbai ruled women have a fundamental right to enter Hindu temples across the state of Maharashtra, and the government has the responsibility to protect their rights. Bhumata Ranragini Brigade leader Trupti Desai and 25 other supporters were detained by police. All India Mahila Congress President Shobha Oza and Delhi Commission for Women chairwoman Swati Maliwal called the actions of locals and authorities “completely shameful.” (UPI)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016, Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016
- The Republican National Committeeman for North Dakota, Curly Haugland, says that the likelihood for outsiders such as Donald Trump to get state electoral votes are slim as the party honor its own elders. (Politico)
Trần Đại Quang is sworn in as the President of Vietnam. (Reuters via The Star)
The Saudi-owned news channel Al Arabiya shuts its offices in Beirut, Lebanon and dismisses 27 employees in a sudden move reflecting tensions between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. Saudi Arabia interpreted Lebanon’s lack of public solidarity as a sign that it had become beholden to Hezbollah. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
The Governor of the U.S. territory of Guam Eddie Calvo announces his intention to hold a plebiscite to decide the future political status of the island. Calvo said he hopes to start a successful “education campaign” on the issue before filing a petition to start a referendum. If the plebiscite does take place, voters on Guam would be asked to select which political status they would prefer; independence, statehood, or free association However, the possible vote would be non-binding as any change in political status would require an act of Congress in Washington, D.C.. Guam is currently on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories in need of decolonization. (Radio New Zealand)
Aftermath of the 2016 Brussels bombings
- Police in Brussels, Belgium arrest multiple right-wing and anti-racist protesters, with riot squads engaged in a tense confrontation with local youths in the district of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek. A standoff grew when far-right protesters faced a counter-demonstration, despite protests being banned by local authorities who were fearful of last Sunday’s event, in which police forcefully dispersed a right-wing protest with water cannons. (Reuters)

Sport

2016 World Figure Skating Championships
- Spanish figure skater Javier Fernández defends his world title after making a stunning comeback from behind Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu, who was ahead by 12 points, to win gold. (The Guardian)
2015–16 NBA season
- In basketball, the visiting Boston Celtics defeat the Golden State Warriors, snapping the Warrior’s 14-month, 54-game home win streak which leaves the San Antonio Spurs with the only undefeated home record this season. (Basketball-Reference.com) (SBNation) (ESPN)
2016 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament
- In the U.S. men’s national college basketball tournament semifinals in Houston‘s NRG Stadium, the Villanova Wildcats thrash the Oklahoma Sooners 95–51, the most lopsided result in men’s Final Four history; and in a battle between Atlantic Coast Conference members, the North Carolina Tar Heels defeat the Syracuse Orange 83–66. The title game on April 4 pits the Wildcats, 1985 champions, and the five-time champion Tar Heels. (NBC Sports) (Toronto Sun)

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April 7, 2016

Top News Stories –

Modern men lack Y chromosome genes from Neanderthals, researchers say –
Although it’s widely known that modern humans carry traces of Neanderthal DNA, a new international study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests that Neanderthal Y-chromosome genes disappeared from the human genome long ago. The Y chromosome is one of two human sex chromosomes. Unlike the X chromosome, the Y chromosome is passed exclusively from father to son. This is the first study to examine a Neanderthal Y chromosome, Fernando Mendez, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford said. Previous studies sequenced DNA from the fossils of Neanderthal women or from mitochondrial DNA, which is passed to children of either sex from their mother. “We’ve never observed the Neanderthal Y chromosome DNA in any human sample ever tested,” Bustamante said. “That doesn’t prove it’s totally extinct, but it likely is.” [phys.org]

NASA ‘cuts space station video’ immediately after bizarre UFO hovers above Earth –
A space enthusiast has come across what could be an astonishing visit from aliens. An unnamed alien hunter recorded the UFO while watching the live feed from the International Space Station earlier this week. However, the mysterious video of the giant UFO took a strange turn after the ISS video feed suddenly went dead for nearly an hour just as the bizarre flying object came into view. The “clearly defined UFO” appeared emerging above the horizon of Earth before it “disappeared completely from sight”. The enthusiast said the speed of the object “had to be in the tens of thousands of miles per hour.” He described the bizarre sighting on Tuesday as “unquestionably real and present” and raised suspicisions after “NASA cut the live feed for nearly an hour” just as the UFO vanished. [Daily Express] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

‘Millennium Falcon-type UFO’ spotted in NASA’s live International Space Station feed

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#WorldHealthDay	#NationalBeerDay	unavailable
2	#DiaMundialdelaSalud	#WorldHealthDay	unavailable
3	#FelizJueves	#RogueOne	unavailable
4	#QuintaSDVcomChalanco	Bomani Jones	unavailable
5	#RogueOne	#HillarySoQualified	unavailable
6	#البنت_القصيره	#IdolFinale	unavailable
7	#BeijarNosNaoBeija	Bill Clinton	unavailable
8	#نفسك_تاخد_سيل�…	#WEDay	unavailable
9	#ALDUB38thWeeksary	#FrozenFour	unavailable
10	#HillarySoQualified	#DadBrand	unavailable

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- According to Syrian state television, ISIL militants kidnapped over 300 staff members from a cement factory outside of the city of Al-Dumayr earlier this week and no contact with them has been made since. (Al Jazeera)
Military intervention against ISIL
- Turkish Armed Forces shell ISIL positions hours after projectiles hit Turkey‘s Kilis Province. (Hurriyet)

Arts and culture

American Idol (season 15)
- Trent Harmon is declared as the last winner of the American singing competition series, American Idol, which concluded after 15 seasons. (E! Online)

Business and economy

Australian mining and materials company Arrium goes into voluntary administration with 7,000 jobs under threat in Australia, including 1,000 at the Whyalla Steelworks in South Australia. (ABC News)
Bloomberg News reports Verizon Communications plans a bid for Yahoo Inc.’s Web business, including Yahoo Japan Corp., next week. Google, Time Inc., and private equity funds Bain and TPG are considering bidding for Yahoo’s core business. AT&T Inc., Comcast, and Microsoft Corp. reportedly aren’t interested. (Reuters) (Bloomberg News)

Disasters and accidents

Another earthquake measuring at 6.7 strikes off the northwest of Vanuatu, the third earthquake in the same region this week. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says the earthquake poses no tsunami threat. (Radio New Zealand)

Law and crime

Attacks on secularists in Bangladesh
- Attackers in Bangladesh wielding machetes kill Nazimuddin Samad, a liberal blogger. (Reuters)
- Students from Jagannath University in Dhaka, where Nazimuddin Samad studied, protest the killing and tell reporters that police inaction over previous killings contributed to the death of Samad. (BBC)
Panama Papers
- The government of Panama announces that it is creating an “international panel” to help improve transparency in its offshore financial industry. The move follows the leak of millions of documents from law firm Mossack Fonseca, showing it helped some clients evade tax and avoid sanctions. (BBC)
Colombia‘s Constitutional Court votes in favor of same-sex marriage, in a 6-3 decision. (ABC News) (The Advocate)
Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union sue Indiana stating the U.S. state’s new abortion law is unconstitutional because it bans the procedure if sought because of genetic abnormalities. (CBS News with AP) (Reuters)

Politics and elections

The National Assembly of Vietnam approves Nguyễn Xuân Phúc as the country’s new prime minister, succeeding Nguyễn Tấn Dũng. (Reuters) (Shanghai Daily)
Hashim Thaçi is sworn in as the new President of Kosovo. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
South Sudanese Civil War
- Former Vice President and opposition leader Riek Machar says he will return to the capital Juba on April 18 to form a transitional government with President Salva Kiir Mayardit in the hopes of bringing peace to South Sudan after their acrimonious split ignited more than two years of war. (Al Jazeera)
Aung San Suu Kyi, now the State Counsellor of Myanmar, says she will press for the release of political prisoners and student activists in the country, hinting that a mass amnesty may be imminent, a week after her government took power. (The Guardian)
United States presidential election, 2016, Donald Trump endorsements
- Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani endorses Donald Trump for U.S. President, predicting Trump will get more than 50% of the statewide vote. (CBS News)
Panama Papers
- United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron admits he benefited from a Panama-based offshore trust, Blairmore Holdings Inc., set up by his late father. Cameron says he divested himself of his shares, for £31,500 (US$44,300), before becoming prime minister in 2010. (The Guardian) (AP via The Washington Post)
- Jürgen Mossack, co-founder of the Mossack Fonseca law firm, resigns from an honorary, unpaid post on the National Council of Foreign Relations, which advises Panama’s government on foreign policy. (The New York Times)

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April 13, 2016

Top News Stories –

Russian warplanes ‘aggressively’ pass US missile destroyer –
Two Russian planes flew close to a US guided missile destroyer almost a dozen times, American officials have said. The Sukhoi SU-24 warplanes, in international waters in the Baltic Sea, had no visible weaponry and the ship took no action. One official called the events on Monday and Tuesday “one of the most aggressive acts in recent memory”. The commander of the missile destroyer, the USS Donald Cook, described the flights as a “simulated attack”. The passes were “unsafe, potentially provocative” and “could have caused an accident,” officials said in a release. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

French Horn Rebellion – Foolin’ Around (Official Video) from Ariel Fisher on Vimeo.

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Donbass
- The Ukrainian Army says eight of its soldiers were wounded in fighting against Russian-backed separatists in the east of the country during the previous 24 hours. A military spokesman said there had been 29 shelling incidents around Mariupol. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Moro Conflict
- Battle of Tipo-Tipo
  - ISIL claims responsibility for clashes between militants linked to the group and the Philippine Army that claimed 23 lives. (Reuters via Trust)

Business and economics

Peabody Energy, the largest privately-owned producer of coal in the world headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, files for bankruptcy court protection due to high debts and a drop in world prices. (Reuters)(ABC News Australia)

Disasters and accidents

At least 15 people are killed and 20 injured following a road accident in the Pakistani city of Faisalabad. (Samaa)
2016 Myanmar earthquake
- A magnitude 6.9 earthquake strikes Myanmar 396 kilometers (246 miles) north of the capital, Naypyidaw, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. (AP via CBS News)
The government of Malawi declares a state of emergency across the country over worsening food shortages caused by a severe drought that is affecting much of Southern Africa with about 2.8 million Malawians, or 20% of the population, facing food insecurity. (Al Jazeera)
2014–16 El Niño event
- Indian officials report, with 24 deaths today, the heatwave in the eastern state of Odisha has killed 135 people. Temperatures of 105.5 degrees Fahrenheit were recorded yesterday at 19 locations across the state. Meteorologists say the heat, an after-effect of El Niño, has delayed the traditional April rains. (UPI)
A Britten-Norman Islander light aircraft crashes in the Papua New Guinea town of Kiunga resulting in the deaths of all twelve people on board. (ABC News Australia)

Health

Zika virus outbreak (2015–present)
- The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that the Zika virus causes birth defects like microcephaly. (Fox News)

International relations

Russia–United States relations, Cold War II
- Two unarmed Russian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 jets flew simulated attacks on United States Navy destroyer USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea on Tuesday, according to a U.S. official, who described it as one of the most aggressive interactions in recent memory. A Russian Kamov Ka-27 naval helicopter also made seven passes around the USS Donald Cook, taking pictures of the warship. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Recognition of same-sex unions in China
- A judge rules against a gay couple in China’s first same-sex marriage case. (AP)
November 2015 Paris attacks
- Three people arrested yesterday in connection with last year’s attacks in Paris are released without charge. (AFP/Reuters via ABC News)
LGBT rights in the United States
- Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signs an anti-discrimination order protecting the rights of gay and transgender people that rescinds one his immediate predecessor, Bobby Jindal, signed that sought to limit same-sex marriage rights and the ability of transgender people to choose which public restrooms they may use. (Reuters via Huffington Post)

Politics and elections

South Korean legislative election, 2016
- Voters in South Korea go to the polls for a legislative election with the ruling Saenuri Party losing seats in a surprise setback. (AP) (Bloomberg)
- The opposition Minjoo Party of Korea wins the most seats in the Parliament. (BBC)
Syrian parliamentary election, 2016
- Voters in mostly government controlled areas of Syria will head to the polls to elect 250 members to the People’s Council of Syria. (RT) (TeleSUR)
2015–16 protests in Brazil
- The Progressive Party announces it is leaving President Dilma Rousseff’s coalition government and that its 47 politicians would support her impeachment. (Al Jazeera)
Papua conflict
- Massive demonstrations in support of the Free Papua Movement take place in various cities in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua. The demonstrations voice support for the Liberation Movement to become a full member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group. (Radio New Zealand)
A number of people were injured in clashes between police and several thousand protestors in Skopje, Macedonia, with demonstrators breaking into President Gjorge Ivanov‘s offices. (RT)

Sport

The World Anti-Doping Agency advises that WADA-accredited laboratories are currently conducting studies on meldonium excretion rates since existing data is lacking. Meldonium became a banned substance on January 1, 2016. A large number of athletes, including grand-slam tennis champion Maria Sharapova, had taken the medication in the past, and have tested positive this year. The new data will address how long meldonium stays in the body and determine if athletes were provided a reasonable amount of time to adhere to the new restrictions prior to testing. The drug was used by many Soviet-bloc athletes since the 80s. (Reuters) (WADA)
2015-16 NBA season
- In basketball, the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors team sets a new NBA record for regular season wins with 73 wins this season. The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls previously held the record with 72. (Washington Post)
- Kobe Bryant plays his last game in the NBA for the Los Angeles Lakers. He sets a new points record for a final match scoring 60 against the Utah Jazz. (Washington Post)

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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]

Video of the Day –

Giant Pictionary Team Battle | Dude Perfect

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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 22, 2016

Top News Stories –

Finland’s postal workers to mow lawns –
Finland’s postal service will be doing more than just delivering letters and parcels this summer – its workers will be mowing lawns, too. The state-owned Posti company is offering a weekly grass cutting service, with customers able to choose either 30 minutes or 60 minutes of lawn-mowing time, the national broadcaster Yle reports. It will only be available on Tuesdays, though, as the volume of post tends to be lighter than on other days, and customers will have to provide their own lawnmower. They’ll also have to be willing to pay 65 euro (£51; $73) a month for the half-hour sessions. [BBC]

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9	#صلو_علي_النبي	#EarthDay
10	#StopCoupInBrazil	#PuertoRicoPuertoRicans

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Moro conflict
- The U.K. Foreign Office and the U.S. State Department issue travel advisories regarding the Philippine island of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago after a recent kidnapping near Davao City. (Sun Star Cebu),(Rappler)
Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that airstrikes have killed at least seven people in Aleppo. (AP)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- A suicide bomber kills at least nine people at a Shi’ite mosque in southwestern Baghdad. A second attacker was shot dead by security forces before he could detonate his explosives. (Reuters)
The United States admits it has killed 20 civilians and wounded 11 others in airstrikes in Syria and Iraq between September 10, 2015, and February 2, 2016. (UPI)

Arts and culture

Eurovision Song Contest 2016, Romania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016
- Romania is expelled from this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm, Sweden, after its national broadcaster, Romanian Television (TVR) failed to pay outstanding debts dating back to 2007. Ovidiu Anton was due to perform the song “Moment of Silence” at the contest. (Sky News)
The Carver County, Minnesota Sheriff’s office conducts an autopsy on Prince to determine cause of death. (Reuters)

Business and economics

Creditors, including 800 sacked workers, vote to place Queensland Nickel into liquidation allowing creditors to pursue its owner, Australian politician Clive Palmer, for costs. (Australia)
Fiat Chrysler announces plans to withdraw 1.1 million vehicles worldwide due to problems with the gearshift confusing drivers. (BBC)
Valeant, a Canada based pharmaceutical company, says it has received new notices of default from its bondholders. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

A passenger train derails near the South Korean city of Yeosu resulting in the death of a railroad engineer and eight people being injured. (Reuters)
A warehouse storing chemicals and fuel catches fire in the Chinese city of Jingjiang resulting in an unknown number of casualties. (AFP via Channel News Asia)
At least 15 people have been killed in a landslide in the Tawang District in India‘s Arunachal Pradesh state. (Times of India)
2015–16 South Pacific cyclone season
- The Samoan Islands and Wallis and Futuna brace for the impact of Cyclone Amos as the Fiji Meteorological Service upgrades the cyclone to a category three storm, with sustained winds as high as 140 km/h at its centre. (Radio New Zealand)
State oil company Petroleos Mexicanos reports the death toll has risen to 28 from Wednesday’s explosion at Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo’s Clorados 3 petrochemical plant in the Gulf port city ofCoatzacoalcos, Veracruz. Some workers are still missing while 18 others remain hospitalized. Officials say the explosion came from an unspecified leak. The plant produces the hazardous industrial chemicalvinyl chloride. (AP)

International relations

United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- Mayor of London and cabinet member Boris Johnson says that U.S. President Barack Obama is “inconsistent and hypocritical” in persuading the British people to remain in the European Union. (The Sun)
Taiwan–United States relations
- The U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs unanimously passes a resolution reaffirming the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances. (Taipei Times) (Focus Taiwan)
2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference
- A record 175 states sign the United Nations climate agreement in New York on opening day. The agreement will enter into force once 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions formally join it. (ABC News Australia) (AP)
NATO–Russia relations, Cold War II
- U.S. General Curtis Scaparrotti, the incoming head of the United States military forces in Europe, says he supports a permanent brigade-sized presence of U.S. combat troops in Eastern Europe to deterRussia’s expanded and assertive actions. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Belizean–Guatemalan territorial dispute
- Belize accuses Guatemala of “amassing” troops on the disputed Belize–Guatemala border following the death of a teenage Guatemalan boy in a shooting incident apparently involving Belize Defence Force soldiers. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales called the shooting a “cowardly and excessive attack” that merits the “total condemnation of the Guatemalan state”. (AP via ABC News)

Law and crime

Former chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Rajendra K. Pachauri is to face a court in Delhi, India on charges of sexual harassment. Pachauri is accused of stalking, intimidation and sexual assault of a former employee. (The Guardian)
2016 Pike County, Ohio, shootings
- Eight family members are murdered in four different locations in Pike County, Ohio. Three children, including a four-day-old baby, survived the killings. (Fox News), (AP) (AP²)
Five people have been killed in two separate shootings in the American town of Appling, Georgia. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Felony disenfranchisement
- In the United States, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe signs an executive order restoring the rights of an estimated 200,000 convicted felons to vote and run for office. (AP)

Politics and elections

2016 Macedonian protests
- The European Union announces it is considering imposing sanctions on Macedonia’s leaders for reneging on an agreement last year to investigate corruption in the ruling class and issuing an amnesty instead to those involved. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Thousands of Sudanese students take to the streets around the University of Kordofan in Khartoum and other parts of the country to protest the recent killing of students last Monday. Security forces opened fire on a peaceful protest, killing many students after they attempted to nominate pro-opposition candidates for their campus elections. (The Guardian)
Mexican Drug War, War on Drugs
- Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto proposes legalizing marijuana for medical purposes and easing limits for personal use of the drug. He said he would be sending a bill to the Congress to increase the amount users can legally carry from the current five grams to 28 (0.18-1oz). The news comes just two days after he addressed the United Nations General Assembly at a special session on drug policy and is seen as a chance to re-think the current strategy of fighting drug-trafficking, especially in Mexico where the fighting has killed tens of thousands of people. (BBC)
Philippine general election, 2016
- The Commission on Election announced that the May 9 elections shall push through despite a massive breach on its database by hackers which puts 55 million registered Filipino voters at risk.

Science and technology

Amazon Reef
- Oceanographers discover an extensive reef system near the Amazon River, estimated to span an area of 3,600 square miles (9,300 km²). (The Atlantic), (The Guardian), (Los Angeles Times),(Phys.org), (CNN)
China’s National Space Administration says it is working on a program to land a rover on Mars by 2020. (AP)
Energy development
- The Alaska SeaLife Center (Seward, Alaska) announces that 98 percent of the center’s heating and cooling now comes from low-cost, alternative energy derived from seawater. (Tech Times)
Scientists discover the quantum tunneling of water molecules. (Phys. Rev. Letters), (Phys.org), (Tech Times)

Sport

2022 FIFA World Cup
- President of FIFA Gianni Infantino says a new independent committee will be set up to monitor working conditions at Qatar’s 2022 World Cup venues. The move is an attempt by the world football’s governing body to ease fears of human rights abuses in the state, where organizations like Amnesty International documented multiple cases of poor working conditions and abuses against migrant workers. (BBC)

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April 27, 2016

Top News Stories –

Facebook profits up almost 200% to $1.51 billion –
Facebook has revealed stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter, helped by a growing number of users and higher advertising revenue. The social network reported earnings of $1.51 billion, or 52 cents per share, up from $512 million, or 18 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier, and over 1.65 billion users now use the social network, with the average users visiting for 15 minutes a day. The results are in stark contrast to Apple and Twitter, who posted poor results yesterday, with Apple shares falling 7% today. Separately, Facebook also announced that it will create a new class of non-voting stock, known as ‘Class C capital stock,’ designated to let CEO Mark Zuckerberg keep tight reins on the company even as it issues more shares to compensate employees and investors. [Daily Mail]
Mark Zuckerberg

Video of the Day –

Reebok 25,915 Days

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Moro conflict
- Philippine president Benigno Aquino III says that the Abu Sayyaf militants plan to kidnap his sister actress Kris Aquino and boxer Manny Pacquiao. (CBS)
2016 Bursa bombing
- A suicide bomber blows herself up in the Turkish city of Bursa, injuring at least seven people. (AP via The Washington Post)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli forces kill two Palestinian assailants at a checkpoint in the West Bank. (Reuters)
2016 Cape Verde army mutiny
- Cape Verdean police capture a suspect in the murder of 11 soldiers. (AFP)
2016 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes
- According to officials from the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, one of their soldiers was killed overnight by Azerbaijani troops. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
War in Donbass
- Representatives of the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic in Eastern Ukraine say at least five civilians are killed by artillery fire at a checkpoint in the town of Olenivka, with another 10 injured.Kiev denies the accusation. A local border-guard spokesman says there was an explosion at the checkpoint but he saw no artillery fired from either side, suggesting the blast could have been a bomb.(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
War in Afghanistan
- The U.S. military warns that the Kabul Attack Network, comprised of fighters from various jihadist groups such as the Taliban and Haqqani networks, is planning attacks on people in the Parwan, Khost,Kabul, and Logar Provinces, Afghanistan, and asks for information from the Afghan public. (The Long War Journal)

Arts and culture

Archaeologists in Taiwan discover 48 sets of remains unearthed in graves in Taichung. The most striking discovery among them is the 4,800-year-old skeleton of a mother looking down at a child cradled in her arms. (The Guardian)
The German cities of Augsburg and Cologne are testing a scheme of traffic lights embedded in the ground to reduce cell phone-texting pedestrian accidents with vehicles that happen when so-called “smombies” step out into the street against the signal. (The Christian Science Monitor) (Autoblog)

Business and economy

Philippine presidential election, 2016
- The Philippine peso sinks to become the “worst performing currency in Asia” as a result of a volatile and unpredictable presidential election. (Bloomberg)

Disasters and accidents

Heavy rain pelts earthquake-hit Ecuador causing floods, mostly in the town of Alluriquin in the Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas Province, killing at least four people and injuring several more. About 300 people have been affected by the floods after a local river burst its banks, engulfing the town with water. (Al Jazeera)

Health and medicine

In the United Kingdom, the Royal College of Physicians reports e-cigarettes are “much safer” than tobacco smoking, and should be widely promoted as an option for smoking cessation. (BBC) (Daily Mail)

International relations

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O’Neill states that the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre will be closed following the ruling of the Supreme Court and that he will ask the Australian Government to make alternative arrangements for the asylum seekers detained there. (ABC News)
Libyan Civil War
- The unrecognized House of Representatives, one of the rival governments based in eastern Libya, ships its first cargo of crude oil in defiance of the U.N.-backed authorities in the capital Tripoli in a move that could deepen divisions within the country. The Tripoli-based government asked the United Nations Security Council yesterday to blacklist the tanker. (The Guardian)
European migrant crisis
- The government of Austria passes a new law that restricts the right of asylum in the country and allows claimants to be rejected directly at the border, a move criticized by rights groups. Officials say they are also considering building a fence at the main border crossing with Italy at the Brenner Pass. (BBC)
Taliban insurgency
- The Taliban’s Qatar office confirms its leaders are in Pakistan to talk about Afghan refugees and the release of prisoners. The representative did not say if the delegation will discuss the peace process.(The Nation PK) (Pakistan Today)
United Nations Security Council members are considering a draft resolution that would restore the UN mission in Western Sahara to full functionality. Last month, Morocco expelled 75 UN staffers. (AFP via GlobalPost)
Iraqi Civil War
- Senior Kurdish and Shi’ite Muslim leaders agree to withdraw from Tuz Khurmato, Iraq, where recent violence has killed more than 10 people. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Two days before the one-year anniversary of the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the ringleaders of the Bali Nine, member Michael Czugaj is discovered to be in possession of drugs in prison. (SBS)
November 2015 Paris attacks
- Belgian prosecutors hand over Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the November 2015 Paris attacks, to French authorities. (Washington Post)
Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Dennis Hastert is sentenced to 15 months in prison for breaking banking laws in order to make payments to cover sexual misconduct from past decades. (Wall Street Journal)
Iraqi authorities ban Qatar-based satellite television network Al Jazeera from broadcasting in the country and closes its offices in Baghdad, accusing it of violating government guidelines issued in 2014 to regulate media “during the war on terror”. (Reuters)
Censorship in Iran
- Iran sentences four reformist newspaper journalists to long prison terms for so-called national security crimes. Analysts say this case indicates that President Hassan Rouhani’s calls for press freedoms will likey face an unsympathetic hearing from Iran’s conservative judiciary. (UPI)

Politics and elections

An Iranian asylum seeker self-immolates himself in Nauru to protest Australia’s treatment of refugees. The protest coincides with a visit by representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to the island. Instead of admitting refugees into the country, Australia has been sending them to Nauru or Papua New Guinea. (Radio New Zealand)
The government of North Korea announces its ruling Workers’ Party of Korea will hold a party congress on May 6, the first in nearly 40 years. (BBC)
United States presidential election, 2016, Ted Cruz presidential campaign, 2016
- Texas Senator Ted Cruz names former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina as his vice-presidential running mate. (CNN)
Bradford West MP Naz Shah is suspended from the opposition Labour Party over comments she made on Facebook about Israel. (BBC)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office confirms German Federal Intelligence Service President Gerhard Schindler will be replaced by Bruno Kahl. Schindler has been widely criticized following the disclosure his agency spied for the U.S. National Security Agency. (BBC)

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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 2, 2016

Top News Stories –

Leicester City confirmed as 2015/16 Premier League champions –
Leicester City have completed one of the most remarkable triumphs in sporting history by winning the 2015/16 Premier League title. The club’s first top-flight championship in their 132-year history was sealed following Tottenham’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea on Monday night, meaning they have an unassailable seven-point lead at the top of the table with two games left to play. At the start of the season, Leicester were 5000/1 outsiders to become champions after flirting with relegation for most of last season and they were playing in League One as recently as 2009. [Sky News]
See Video of the Day

Craig Wright revealed as Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto –
Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright has publicly identified himself as Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. His admission follows years of speculation about who came up with the original ideas underlying the digital cash system. Mr Wright has provided technical proof to back up his claim using coins known to be owned by Bitcoin’s creator. Prominent members of the Bitcoin community and its core development team say they have confirmed his claims. By going public, Mr Wright hopes to put an end to press speculation about the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. The New Yorker, Fast Company, Newsweek and many other media organisations have all conducted long investigations seeking Bitcoin’s creator and named many different people as candidates. “I have not done this because it is what I wanted. It’s not because of my choice,” he said, adding that he had no plans to become the figurehead for bitcoins. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Leicester City players celebrate winning Barclays Premier League

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- Three bombings in and around Baghdad kill at least 14, including Shiite pilgrims, and injure more than 30. (Reuters via Trust) (Washington Post) (Reuters)
War in Somalia, War on Terror
- The first of seventy British military personnel arrive in Somalia to help combat the threat of Islamist militants. The remaining troops will join the United Nations peacekeepers and AMISOM soldiers in countering Al-Shabaab later on this year. This deployment is part of a greater effort by the United Kingdom to target terrorism. (The Guardian)
Syrian Civil War
- Syrian Army troops surround the central prison in Hama after inmates revolted, seizing several guards. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says inmates were protesting against a planned transfer of prisoners from Hama to Sednaya Prison near Damascus. (Reuters)
- American-led intervention in Syria, Military intervention against ISIL
  - Artillery shelling and drone attacks by the U.S.-led coalition strike Islamic State positions in Syria, according to Turkish authorities, killing 63 militants and destroying multiple rocket launcher and gun positions. (AP)

Business and economy

The Philippines stock market suffers the biggest drop since February amid uncertainty about the upcoming elections. (Bloomberg)
Australian tech entrepreneur Craig Steven Wright claims he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of the Bitcoin currency. There are about 15.5 million bitcoins in circulation. However, questions have been raised as to authenticity of his assertion. (The Economist) (BBC) (The Economist²) (AP via The Charlotte Observer)
Puerto Rican government-debt crisis
- Puerto Rico defaults on a $422 million debt payment. The Governor of Puerto Rico Alejandro García Padilla calls the situation a “humanitarian crisis”. This is the third time Puerto Rico has defaulted on bond payments. (CNN)

Disasters and accidents

The bodies of mountaineer Alex Lowe and photographer David Bridges are found on the Himalayan mountain Shishapangma after being buried in an avalanche in 1999. (The Guardian)

International relations

Moldova–United States relations
- About 200 U.S. troops arrive in Moldova from Romania for planned military exercises with the Moldovan military which will last until May 20. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Russia-United States relations
- United States Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John M. Richardson says Russian jets in the Baltics buzzing a U.S. military ship and planes are escalating tension between the two nations. Richardson added he doesn’t think the Russians are trying to provoke an incident but these actions increase the chance of a “tactical miscalculation.” (AP via CBS News)
European migrant crisis, EU-Turkey relations
- On Wednesday, the European Union will propose relaxing visa requirements for Turks as a reward for having reduced the flood of refugees and migrants into Europe. (Reuters) (BBC)

Law and crime

Papua conflict
- Police in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua arrest scores of protesters as planned demonstrations to mark the anniversary of the incorporation of the region with Indonesia were to take place today. (Radio New Zealand)

Honduran authorities arrest four men in the March 3 home invasion killing of Goldman Environmental Prize-winning environmental activist Berta Cáceres. One of the suspects was an active duty army officerwhile the others worked for Desarrollos Energeticos SA, whose hydroelectric project Cáceres had opposed since 2006. The four also face charges on the attempted murder of Mexican environmental activist Gustavo Castro Soto, who was injured in the attack. (AP) (The Guardian)
A United Nations arbitration court rules India must allow an Italian marine, facing charges of murdering two fishermen during an anti-piracy mission in 2012, to return home pending the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s decision over jurisdiction. The suspect, who will remain under the authority of the Supreme Court of India, has been staying in the Italian embassy in New Delhi; his co-defendant returned to Italy with health problems in 2014. (Reuters) (The Times of India) (Firstpost)

Politics and elections

Philippine presidential election, 2016
- The Catholic Church in the Philippines urges voters to reject Rodrigo Duterte. (Manila Standard)
A Somali asylum seeker sets herself alight in Nauru to protest her detention on the island by Australia, one week after an Iranian asylum seeker did the same thing. (BBC)
President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro orders clocks in the country to move forward by a half hour from UTC−04:30 to UTC−04:00 in order to save electricity as Venezuela faces an increasing electricity shortage. While gaining a half hour of sunlight, this means Venezuelans will now lose a half hour of sleep. (The Guardian)
Spanish general election, 2016
- Spanish politicians fail to meet a deadline to form a government after last year’s election so Felipe VI of Spain must dissolve the parliament and call a new election for June 26. (AP via ABC News America)

Science and technology

Researchers report in the journal Nature the discovery of three potentially habitable, Earth-like exoplanets orbiting TRAPPIST-1, an ultracool dwarf star 40 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius.(CNN) (The Atlantic) (Nature)

Sport

2015–16 Premier League
- Following a 2-2 draw between Chelsea F.C. and Tottenham Hotspur F.C. at Stamford Bridge, Leicester City F.C. are confirmed as champions of the Premier League for the first time in their history. Leicester City were 5000-1 outsiders at the beginning of the season. (Sky Sports), (BBC)
2016 World Snooker Championship
- Mark Selby wins the 2016 World Snooker Championship. (BBC)

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May 6, 2016

Top News Stories –

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

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

Video of the Day –

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

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Aleppo offensive (May 2016)
  - More than 72 are killed in clashes between Al-Nusra Front and Syrian government forces in Khan Tuman south of Aleppo, Syria. (i24 News) (VOA News)

Law and crime

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

Politics and elections

Philippine presidential election, 2016
- The supporters of presidential candidates Grace Poe and Mar Roxas post petitions and counter-petitions on Change.org urging either candidate to drop-out and give way for the other. (The Manila Standard)
- Vice presidential candidate Leni Robredo thanks supporters for the “Poe-Robredo tandem” pairing her with presidential candidate Grace Poe but insists she is loyal to her running-mate Mar Roxas.(Philippine Daily Inquirer), (GMA News)
- Mar Roxas and current President Benigno Aquino III call on political rivals Jejomar Binay, Miriam Defensor Santiago, and Grace Poe to unite and form a unity coalition in the upcoming elections. (CNN Philippines), (Channel News Asia)
- Grace Poe rejects Mar Roxas‘ offer saying she is not willing to withdraw. Jejomar Binay also rejects calls for him to withdraw. (Rappler), (The Philippine Star), (ABC News Go)
- Leni Robredo thanks a group of activist-farmers from Sumilao, Bukidnon for their support promising to continue their reforms. (Rappler)
Head of Australia’s Department of Immigration Mike Pezzullo denies that the detention centre for asylum seekers on Manus Island must be closed. He said there was no crisis that required any closure of the centre despite Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court ruling it to be unconstitutional and ordering the release of the detainees. (Radio New Zealand)
The Workers’ Party of Korea, the ruling party of North Korea, holds its first party congress in nearly 40 years. The meeting comes as the country is facing tougher sanctions for its recent missile launches.(BBC)
United Kingdom local elections, 2016
- London votes Sadiq Khan to succeed Boris Johnson as Mayor of London; Khan is the first Muslim to be elected to such an authoritative position. (BBC)

Science and technology

SpaceX successfully lands another Falcon 9 First stage onto a floating barge for the second time. It was carrying a Japanese communications satellite JCSAT-14, which was successfully put into geostationary orbit. (Wired)

Sports

Cameroonian footballer Patrick Ekeng of Romanian club FC Dinamo București dies after collapsing during a match. (Guardian)

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May 18, 2016

Top News Stories –

Sevilla beat Liverpool 3-1 to win the Europa League for fifth time –
Liverpool suffered a dramatic second-half collapse as Sevilla claimed the Europa League for the third season in succession with a superb comeback. Jurgen Klopp’s side looked on course to secure the prize of Champions League football – on offer to the winners of the competition – when Daniel Sturridge’s magnificent strike with the outside of his left foot gave them the interval lead. The good work was wrecked in the first 17 seconds of the second half when Kevin Gameiro turned in Mariano Ferreira’s cross to put Sevilla level. Coke’s fine 64th-minute finish confirmed Sevilla’s superiority and he added a contentious third from close range, which was initially disallowed but was then given as Liverpool slumped to their second final defeat this season after losing to Manchester City in the Capital One Cup. [BBC]
Coke

Google’s conversation-based Assistant takes on Amazon –
Google has announced a conversation-based tool to control smartphones, smartwatches and other devices. Google Assistant can be used to find information, play media and carry out tasks – such as booking cinema tickets – via a back-and-forth chat between the user and the software. The firm also announced a voice-activated device with a built-in speaker called Google Home to deliver the tech to living rooms. It will compete with Amazon’s Echo. Amazon launched its own dialogue-based smart home device in 2014, which is powered by the firm’s proprietary virtual assistant Alexa. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Google App: Ok, Google…

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in North-West Pakistan
- Twin bombings kill a police officer and wound nine people in Peshawar, Pakistan. (FOX News)
Use of chemical weapons in the Iraqi civil war
- Iraqi police claim ISIL militants fired chemical weapons, suspected to be mustard gas or chlorine, in the May 8 attacks on Bashir near Kirkuk, Iraq. (Time)
Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping
- One of the girls kidnapped in 2014 by Boko Haram in Nigeria is found and reunited with her family. (BBC) (CNN)

Business and economy

Suzuki says it used improper fuel economy tests for Japan in a widening of a scandal that hit Mitsubishi Motors. (Reuters)

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, met with a group of prominent U.S. conservatives, over allegations that the company censors conservative content. (Reuters).

Disasters and accidents

More than 150 people are feared dead by two landslides triggered by more than three days of heavy rain in central Sri Lanka. (Reuters) (The New York Times)
A powerful 6.7 magnitude earthquake hits Ecuador near the town of Muisne, one person is killed. (Reuters) (AP)
A United States Air Force B-52 Stratofortress crashes at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam. All seven aircrew members escaped. No injuries have been reported. (Pacific Daily News)

International relations

Cross-Strait relations
- China stages joint war games featuring mock beach landing, helicopter assaults and tank battles along its east coast, just days before the inauguration of Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-Wen. (AP via Daily Mail)

Law and crime

Michelle Lodzinski is convicted of murdering her five-year-old son Timothy Wiltsey 25 years ago in New Jersey. (AP via Chicago Tribune), (USA Today), (The New York Times)

Politics and elections

2014–16 Venezuelan protests
- Amid a state of emergency, Venezuelan police clash and fire tear gas at protesters calling for the downfall of socialist president Nicolás Maduro in central Caracas. The protests come a day after Maduro warned that the opposition-controlled National Assembly may soon “disappear”. (The Guardian)

Sport

2016 UEFA Europa League Final
- Spanish side Sevilla FC beats English opponent Liverpool F.C., 3-1, at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, to win the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League. It is their third straight UEFA Europa League title win. (Radio New Zealand)

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May 28, 2016

Top News Stories –

Real Madrid lift Champions League on penalties –
Real Madrid were crowned champions of Europe for the 11th time after beating Atletico Madrid in a dramatic penalty shootout in Milan. Sergio Ramos’ controversial finish put Zinedine Zidane’s side ahead before Atletico striker Antoine Griezmann missed a penalty. However, substitute Yannick Carrasco sent the Champions League final into extra-time with a close-range finish. Cristiano Ronaldo struck the winning penalty after Juanfran had missed. Zidane, a Champions League winner with Real as a player in 2002, replaced Rafael Benitez as manager at the Bernabeu in January, with Real still reeling from a bruising 4-0 hammering by Barcelona earlier in the season and facing the prospect of a second successive campaign without major silverware. The 43-year-old finishes it as the seventh different manager to deliver a European Cup to Real. [BBC]
Zinadine Zidane

Video of the Day –

First and last Appearance of Quentin Tarantino films. from Room 237 on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Winners of the Champions League since 2000 [from Wikipedia]

2000–01	Germany	Bayern Munich	1–1*^[G]	Valencia	Spain	San Siro, Milan	71,500
2001–02	Spain	Real Madrid	2–1	Bayer Leverkusen	Germany	Hampden Park, Glasgow	50,499
2002–03	Italy	Milan	0–0*^[H]	Juventus	Italy	Old Trafford, Manchester	62,315
2003–04	Portugal	Porto	3–0	AS Monaco	France	Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen	53,053
2004–05	England	Liverpool	3–3*^[I]	Milan	Italy	Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul	69,000
2005–06	Spain	Barcelona	2–1	Arsenal	England	Stade de France, Saint-Denis	79,610
2006–07	Italy	Milan	2–1	Liverpool	England	Olympic Stadium, Athens	63,000
2007–08	England	Manchester United	1–1*^[J]	Chelsea	England	Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow	67,310
2008–09	Spain	Barcelona	2–0	Manchester United	England	Stadio Olimpico, Rome	62,467
2009–10	Italy	Internazionale	2–0	Bayern Munich	Germany	Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid	73,490
2010–11	Spain	Barcelona	3–1	Manchester United	England	Wembley Stadium, London	87,695
2011–12	England	Chelsea	1–1*^[K]	Bayern Munich	Germany	Allianz Arena, Munich	62,500
2012–13	Germany	Bayern Munich	2–1	Borussia Dortmund	Germany	Wembley Stadium, London	86,298
2013–14	Spain	Real Madrid	4–1	Atlético Madrid	Spain	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon	60,976
2014–15	Spain	Barcelona	3–1	Juventus	Italy	Olympiastadion, Berlin	70,442
2015–16	Spain	Real Madrid	1–1*^[L]	Atlético Madrid	Spain	San Siro, Milan	71,942

Key
	Match was won during extra time
*	Match was won on a penalty shoot-out

G. Score was 1–1 after 90 minutes and extra time. Bayern Munich won the penalty-shootout 5–4.

H. Score was 0–0 after 90 minutes and extra time. Milan won the penalty-shootout 3–2.

I. Score was 3–3 after 90 minutes and extra time. Liverpool won the penalty-shootout 3–2.

J. Score was 1–1 after 90 minutes and extra time. Manchester United won the penalty-shootout 6–5.

K. Score was 1–1 after 90 minutes and extra time. Chelsea won the penalty-shootout 4–3.

L. Score was 1–1 after 90 minutes and extra time. Real Madrid won the penalty-shootout 5–3.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- Turkey claims that its artillery fire together with U.S. air strikes killed more than 104 ISIL militants after rockets fired from northern Syria killed several people in the Turkish town of Kilis. (AP via The Olympian) (The New York Times)
Conflict in the Niger Delta
- The Niger Delta Avengers militant group destroy gas and oil pipelines belonging to Shell and Agip in Nigeria. (The New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

Lightning strikes across Europe kill one person and injure at least 14 more. (BBC) (CNN)
2016 Atlantic hurricane season
- The United States National Hurricane Center issues a tropical storm warning for parts of South Carolina as the newly upgraded Tropical Storm Bonnie, at 5 p.m. EDT about 125 miles from Charleston, South Carolina, moves northwest toward the Atlantic Coast. (NBC News) (National Hurricane Center) (AP via The Washington Post)
A Rutan VariEze experimental aircraft crashes north of Ventura, California, killing the two people aboard. (UPI)

International Relations

The U.S. military restricts off-base alcohol consumption in Okinawa until July 24 after the arrest of a former Marine suspected of murder. (The New York Times)
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, warns Romania and Poland against hosting parts of the U.S. missile defense shield. (FOX News) (CNN)

Law and crime

Bryce Dejean-Jones, a National Basketball Association player with the New Orleans Pelicans, is shot dead in Dallas, Texas, after breaking down an apartment bedroom door. (Bleacher Report) (ESPN)
Brazilian Police say they have identified and are searching for four of the more than 30 men suspected in last Saturday’s gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in Rio de Janeiro. The assault came to light after several men posted about the attack online. (AP via New York Daily News)
The Chilean government says President Michelle Bachelet voluntarily testified this week as part of a probe into alleged tax crimes by her daughter-in-law Natalia Compagnon. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Iran’s newly elected parliament, officially called the Islamic Consultative Assembly, is opened and new members will be sworn-in during the first session. (ibtimes) (PressTV)
Former Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen is named an advisor for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, a move described by a Russian deputy chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee as a “hostile gesture”. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Anti-government protests erupt across Papua New Guinea against Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, calling on him to resign. Papua New Guinea has been in a state of political turmoil since 2014 when the Prime Minister was accused of fraud and corruption. (Radio New Zealand)
United States presidential election, 2016
- Federal District Judge Gonzalo Curiel unseals documents requested by The Washington Post that had been filed with the court in connection with pending civil cases against Trump University, a former business of the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. The judge noted that Mr. Trump’s candidacy has increased interest in these cases, and that Mr. Trump’s comments, “… (have) placed the integrity of these court proceedings at issue.” (The Washington Post) (Politico) (UPI) (Court Order)

Sports

Eight Russian Olympic athletes from three different sports have tested positive for banned substances during a re-examination of blood samples taken during the 2012 London Olympics, according to theRussian Olympic Committee. (The New York Times)
2015–16 UEFA Champions League
- In association football, Real Madrid C.F. defeats Atlético Madrid in a penalty shoot-out to win the final. (The Guardian) (Eurosport)

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May 31, 2016

Top News Stories –

Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood becomes father to twins, aged 68 –
Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has become a father again at the age of 68. His wife Sally, who is 38, gave birth to twin girls late on Monday evening, Wood’s publicist confirmed. A statement said: “Ronnie & Sally Wood are delighted to announce the birth of their twins Gracie Jane (6lb) & Alice Rose (5.7lb). “The girls arrived on 30 May at 22:30 and all are doing brilliantly. The babies are perfect.” The twins are Wood’s fifth and sixth children, but the first for him and his wife, who is a theatre producer. [BBC]
Ronnie Wood in 2012

MySpace and Tumblr hit by ‘mega breach’ –
Hundreds of millions of hacked account details from social networks MySpace and Tumblr have been advertised for sale online. In both cases, the logins appear to have been stolen several years ago but only recently came to light. The incident comes the same month it emerged that a four-year-old database containing more than 167 million LinkedIn IDs had been traded online. One expert said it was “intriguing” all had emerged in such a short period. Security researcher Troy Hunt also said millions of IDs from adult dating site Fling – which had been breached in 2011 – had been offered on a hacking forum at the start of the month. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Giant Gator Walks Across Florida Golf Course –

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- At least 23 people are killed in overnight air strikes in Idlib, Syria. (CNN) (BBC)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- Suspect Taliban militants kill nine and kidnap 170 in an attack on three passenger buses in Kunduz, Afghanistan. (Reuters) (CNN)

Business and economics

In the United States, a Delaware court rules Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners underpriced their 2013 $24.9 billion buyout of Dell Inc. by about 22 percent, and may have to pay tens of millions to investors who opposed the deal. (Financial Times) (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

At least 17 army personnel are killed in a fire in an ammunitions depot in the Indian town of Pulgaon, Maharashtra. (The New York Times) (NDTV) (AFP via ABC News Australia)
A five-storey apartment block collapses in Russian city of Mezhdurechensk, killing one man and injuring three. (RT)

Law and crime

The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rules (12-3) a warrant is not required for police to obtain a person’s cellphone location data from wireless carriers. (Reuters)

International relations

In an interview with the German broadsheet Frankfurter Allgemeine, the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama says that Germany has taken too many refugees and “from a moral standpoint” refugees should “only be accommodated temporarily” — with the goal of them returning home to rebuild their countries. (NBC News)
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- North Korea attempts again to launch a BM25 Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of striking South Korea or Japan but is unsuccessful. (The Guardian)
A recent Global Slavery Index report estimates the number of people born into servitude, trafficked for sex work, in debt bondage, or forced labour to be 45.8 million. India is reported to have the highest number at an estimated 18.4 million slaves, and North Korea the highest ratio, 4.4 percent of its population. (Reuters) (Bloomberg)

Politics and elections

Iranian legislative election, 2016
- Ali Larijani is reelected chairman of the Iranian Parliament for a one year term while Masoud Pezeshkian and Ali Motahari are elected deputy chairpersons. All three elected members were supported byList of Hope in the recent election. (Yahoo! news) (Xinhau net) (The New York Times)
Papua conflict
- Thousands of people take to the streets of Jayapura and other towns in Papua, Indonesia, in support of the Free Papua Movement and its effort to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group. Indonesia responded with a large police and military presence, with reports of police firing on demonstrators in Wamena and arresting dozens across the province. (Radio New Zealand)
Mohamed Abdelaziz, the leader of the Polisario Front which fought for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco, dies after leading the group since 1976. (Al Jazeera)
United States presidential election, 2016
- Conservative leaders seeking an alternative to the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump are urging Tennessee attorney and National Review writer David French to enter the 2016 presidential race as an independent candidate. (The Washington Post)

Sports

Association football icon Pelé announces that he will sell 1,500 lots of his possessions via Julien’s Auctions, which will include his medals, trophies, jerseys, and diplomatic gifts. (BBC)

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June 2, 2016

Top News Stories –

Dagger in Tutankhamun’s tomb was made with iron from a meteorite –
A dagger entombed with King Tutankhamun was made with iron from a meteorite, a new analysis on the metal composition shows. In 1925, archaeologist Howard Carter found two daggers, one iron and one with a blade of gold, within the wrapping of the teenage king, who was mummified more than 3,300 years ago. The iron blade, which had a gold handle, rock crystal pommel and lily and jackal-decorated sheath, has puzzled researchers in the decades since Carter’s discovery: ironwork was rare in ancient Egypt, and the dagger’s metal had not rusted. Italian and Egyptian researchers analysed the metal with an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer to determine its chemical composition, and found its high nickel content, along with its levels of cobalt, “strongly suggests an extraterrestrial origin”. They compared the composition with known meteorites within 2,000km around the Red Sea coast of Egypt, and found similar levels in one meteorite. That meteorite, named Kharga, was found 150 miles (240km) west of Alexandria, at the seaport city of Mersa Matruh, which in the age of Alexander the Great – the fourth century BC – was known as Amunia. [Evening Standard]

Video of the Day –

How Is Your Phone Changing You? ASAP Science

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Somalia (2009–present)
- In a raid by Somali forces near Kismayo, at least 16 Al-Shabaab militants are killed, including the mastermind of the Garissa University College attack. (BBC) (Daily Caller)

Disasters and accidents

2016 European floods
- At least eleven people are killed in heavy flooding across Europe. (BBC) (Bloomberg)
- The Louvre will close briefly to move the artwork most at risk from flooding. (The New York Times)
A Romanian medical helicopter crashes near Cahul, Moldova, killing four people. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
2016 Oklahoma floods
- At least five United States Army soldiers are killed and four are missing after their Light Medium Tactical Vehicle overturns near Fort Hood in Texas. (KXAN)

International relations

Armenian Genocide recognition
- The German Bundestag passes a resolution classifying the Ottoman Empire’s killing of Armenians in 1915 as genocide, provoking a furious reaction in Turkey. (BBC)

Law and crime

An autopsy finds that American musician Prince died of an overdose of fentanyl, an opioid painkiller 50 times more powerful than heroin. (AP) (The New York Times)
2016 UCLA shooting
- A second victim of the UCLA shooter is found in Minnesota; the shooter is identified as a former Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering that claimed his first victim had “cleverly stolen his code.” (The New York Times)
Four Syrians who are suspected of traveling to Europe on behalf of the Islamic State to attack Düsseldorf are arrested. (The New York Times)
2016 Mathura clash
- 24 people are killed and 368 arrested in the Indian city of Mathura as police attempt to clear members of a radical religious group from land they are occupying. (The Times of India)
Violence breaks out in a rally supporting Donald Trump in San Jose, California. An officer and several demonstrators were assaulted, and a few people were arrested. (CNN)

Politics and elections

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan endorses Donald Trump for President of the United States. (CNN), (Washington Post)
The Supreme Court of the United States accepts a petition by five people from American Samoa arguing that people born in this U.S. territory are entitled to U.S citizenship under the United States Constitution. The State Department currently opposes this idea. (Radio New Zealand)

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June 8, 2016

Top News Stories –

Maria Sharapova banned for two years for failed drugs test but will appeal –
Maria Sharapova has been banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation for using a prohibited drug. The Russian was provisionally banned in March after testing positive for meldonium at January’s Australian Open. The heart disease drug, which 29-year-old Sharapova says she has been taking since 2006 for health issues, became a banned substance on 1 January 2016. The five-time Grand Slam winner said she “cannot accept” the “unfairly harsh” ban – and will appeal. Sharapova will challenge the suspension, which is backdated to 26 January 2016, at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas). [BBC]
Maria Sharapova

Video of the Day –

Aberdeen : A Montage of Kurt Cobain's Artwork & Journals from Tourist Pictures on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- The Taliban kills 12 members of Afghanistan’s security forces who were captured in recent ambushes in the Ghazni Province on June 3 and 5. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015–present)
- June 2016 Tel Aviv shooting
  - Two Palestinian gunmen open fire in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv killing at least four people and injuring at least 18 others. The two gunmen are arrested. (AP)
Syrian civil war
- Airstrikes in rebel-held districts of Aleppo kill at least 15 people and wound dozens while three hospitals are hit including one of the few that still provides pediatric services. UNICEF says medics had to take babies out of incubators. It is unclear who was responsible, though government forces, backed by the Russian Air Force, have run operations to regain control of the divided city. (BBC) (Deccan Chronicle)

Disasters and accidents

A road collapse at a major intersection near the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa, Ontario, forces evacuation of a mall, a hotel, the Shaw Convention Centre, and a book store because of the smell of gas. Power and water are now shut off. (CBC)

International relations

A United Nations commission of inquiry says that Eritrea should be referred to the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity committed in the country, including the enslavement of between 300,000 and 400,000 people through military conscription. (AP)

Law and crime

Papua New Guinea student protests
- Police open fire on University of Papua New Guinea students in Port Moresby protesting against the government of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. Four people have been killed and seven injured. However, according to the police, nobody was killed while a university spokesperson claims police only fired tear gas. (ABC News) (Radio New Zealand)
- A Papua New Guinea court grants an injunction barring university students from protesting on campus. Thousands of students across the nation have been protesting and boycotting classes for weeks calling for Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s resignation over corruption allegations. (Reuters)
Eritrean Mered Medhanie, aka The General, leader of one of the largest criminal operations unsafely smuggling migrants from Africa to Europe for up to €5,000 (£3,900; $5,680), is extradited to Italy. Police say in one attempt at least 359 migrants died when their boat sank near the Italian island of Lampedusa in October 2013. (BBC)
Governor John Kasich signs a bill legalizing medical marijuana, making Ohio the 25th state in America to approve its use. (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Science and technology

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry proposes final names for four new chemical elements: nihonium (atomic number 113), moscovium (#115), tennessine (#117), and oganesson (#118).(CNN)

Sport

The International Tennis Federation suspends Russian star Maria Sharapova for two years for failing a drug test for meldonium at the Australian Open. (BBC)

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June 10, 2016

Top News Stories –

Spanish town’s giant dog dropping goes walkies –
A town in Spain is facing an unexpected bill after thieves apparently made off with a giant dog dropping being used as part of a local campaign. Torrelodones, a municipality just outside the capital Madrid, is 2,400 euros ($2,726; £1,885) out of pocket after the three-metre high inflatable bought as part of a campaign to encourage pet-lovers to pick up after their dogs went missing, El Pais newspaper reports. The bizarre inflatable disappeared after it had been packed away in its carry-case and the police are now on the trail of the 30 kilogramme dog poop, town officials say. Speaking to the ABC newspaper, town councillor Angel Guirao said staff were shocked and perplexed by the theft, and a replacement excrement was already on order because “we know that the campaign has been a great success”. The inflatable is not the only symbol of the municipality’s “Lay an egg” campaign. Torrelodones has also left a number of concrete dog poops around the town bearing the message “This is a big blockage to living together. If you have a dog, help us”. People taking the time to engage with the campaign by posting photos on social media can win “Lay an egg” T-shirts, tastefully illustrated with a picture of a hen’s egg. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

A Brief History of Video Game Title Design from Art of the Title on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- A blast occurs at a mosque in a small village in the Nangarhar Province, killing four people and injuring nearly 40 more. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
2016 Aktobe shootings
- Kazakh police kill five additional suspected militants in Aktobe as part of a “counterterrorism operation”. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Conflict in the Niger Delta
- The Niger Delta Avengers blow up an oil pipeline operated by Italy‘s Eni in the Niger Delta. (Reuters)
Syrian civil war, Manbij offensive
- Kurdish-led fighters completely encircle the ISIL-held town of Manbij, near the Turkish border, while Syrian forces move closer to ISIL’s de facto capital, Raqqa. (AP)

Business and economy

Gawker Media files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after losing an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit brought by former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, and has sold its blog network to Ziff Davis. (Bloomberg) (The New York Times), (Ad Week)
- The bankruptcy auction for the company gets underway when Gawker accepts tech publisher Ziff Davis’s bid for all seven of its brands and other assets, reportedly for $90 million to $100 million. (CNN)
Amazon.com Inc is preparing to start a stand-alone streaming music service, in direct competition with Apple Music and Spotify, according to sources who spoke to Reuters. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports a magnitude 5.1 earthquake strikes near Borrego Springs, Southern California. The Los Angeles County Fire Department and Riverside County Sheriff’s Department say they have received no reports of serious damage. (NBC News)
The United States Geological Survey also reports that a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Malaita island, Solomon Islands. However, no tsunami warning has been issued. (Radio New Zealand)

International relations

Israel temporarily bans all Palestinians from entering its territory until Sunday following the June 2016 Tel Aviv shooting. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Russia–United States relations
- Russia‘s Foreign Ministry warns of “retaliatory measures” over the entry of the United States Navy destroyer, USS Porter. The USS Porter arrived in the Black Sea port of Varna, Bulgaria, earlier this week for what the U.S. Navy called a routine deployment. (USA Today)
Cuba–United States relations
- The U.S. Department of Commerce approves service by six commercial airlines from five U.S. cities, including Miami and Philadelphia, to nine international airports in Cuba. Approval for routes to the capital Havana are still pending. Most of the carriers plan to begin their new service this fall and winter. (Miami Herald)

Law and crime

A Maldives court convicts Ahmed Adeeb, the country’s former vice president, of masterminding a plot to kill President Abdulla Yameen. He is sentenced to 15 years in prison. Earlier this week, Adeeb was sentenced to 10 years for firearms possession. (AP)
Christina Grimmie, a former contestant on The Voice and, at that point, a singer with Before You Exit, is shot by an unknown male assailant. She was hospitalized in critical condition and pronounced dead hours later due to her injuries. The band was signing autographs following a concert at The Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida, when the assault occurred. The shooter killed himself while attempting to flee. (NBC News) (WCAU) (Daily News)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016:
- In a substantial swing, the “Leave” camp is 10 points ahead of “Remain” with less than two weeks to go before Britain’s referendum on whether to stay in the European Union, according to a poll by ORB.(The Independent)
Georgia Senator David Perdue is criticized for remarks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority conference in which his quote of Psalm 109:8, “Let his days be few, and may another have his office,” appears to be a prayer for President Barack Obama’s death. Perdue says, “It was a little humor and I said it in a way that we were talking about his days as president.” (UPI) (The Daily Beast)

Sport

Gordie Howe, who scored 801 goals, was a six-time most valuable player during 26 years in the National Hockey League and won four Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings, dies at the age of 88. (CNN)

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June 14, 2016

Top News Stories –

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

Video of the Day –

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

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

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

Disasters and accidents

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

International relations

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

Law and crime

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

Politics and elections

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

Sport

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

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June 20, 2016

Top News Stories –

Finding Dory breaks US box office record –
Finding Dory has taken $136.2m (£93.3m) on its opening weekend – making it the most successful launch for an animated film in US box office history. The sequel to Finding Nemo has unseated Shrek the Third – which took $121.6m (£83.1m) on its release in 2007. It is also the second most successful opening weekend of 2016, behind Marv el’s Captain America: Civil War. Ellen DeGeneres voices the lead character in Finding Dory. [BBC]
Ellen DeGeneres (and others)

Video of the Day –

Why Don’t We Ever See Baby Pigeons? | Dolan Life Mysteries

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- A minibus carrying private security guards explodes in Kabul resulting in the death of at least 12 people and injuring several others. (Reuters and NBC News)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present)
- A suicide bombing strikes Camp Taji, killing four Iraqi Army soldiers. (Radio New Zealand)

Business and economy

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed an appeals court ruling that would have narrowly interpreted the auto salesman’s exemption from overtime pay rules mandated by statute under rules promulgated by theU.S. Labor Department, remanding the matter for further consideration. (slip opinion).

International relations

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the number of people displaced by conflicts in the world is at its highest level ever recorded, with an estimated 65.3 million people either being refugees, internally displaced or asylum seekers. (BBC)

Law and crime

Human rights in Bahrain
- Bahraini authorities strip Isa Qassim, the kingdom’s most influential Shia cleric, of his citizenship after they accused him of promoting “sectarianism and violence”. (BBC)
According to an environmental report by Global Witness, 2015 was the deadliest year ever for environmental activists, with the reported deaths of 185 activists, as a result of falling commodity prices prompting forceful land grabs by mining and foresting companies. (Deutsche Welle)
Gun politics in the United States
- The U.S. Supreme Court declines to review assault weapons bans in Connecticut and New York, as it did last December concerning Chicago, Illinois, city law. Five other states and Washington, D.C. have similar restrictions. (AP via Fox News)

Politics and elections

Croatian MPs vote to dissolve the Parliament, setting the stage for snap election, which are expected to take place in early September. This comes as Croatia is facing an escalating political crisis following thelast election in November 2015. (Al Jazeera)
2014–16 Venezuelan protests
- Per Venezuela’s National Electoral Council’s ruling, citizens across the country queue up for fingerprint validation of 1,850,000 signatures on referendum to recall President Nicolás Maduro. The oppositionDemocratic Unity Roundtable must validate 197,000 signatures (1 percent of registered voters) by Friday, in this first step of the recall referendum process. (Reuters) (TeleSUR)

Science and technology

Solar Impulse 2, a plane powered only by the sun, leaves New York on the 15th leg of its round-the-world journey, a 90-hour flight over the Atlantic Ocean to Western Europe. (Reuters) (Business Standard)

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June 26, 2016

Top News Stories –

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

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

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Armed conflicts and attacks

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

Business and economy

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

Disasters and accidents

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

Law and crime

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

Politics and elections

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

Sport

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

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July 4, 2016

Top News Stories –

UKIP leader Nigel Farage stands down –
Nigel Farage says he is standing down as leader of the UK Independence Party. Mr Farage said his “political ambition has been achieved” with the UK having voted to leave the EU. He said the party was in a “pretty good place” and said he would not change his mind about quitting as he did after the 2015 general election. Leading UKIP was “tough at times” but “all worth it” said Mr Farage, who is also an MEP. He added that the UK needed a “Brexit prime minister”. Mr Farage announced his decision to stand aside in a speech in London, saying: “I want my life back, and it begins right now.” He has been leader of UKIP for most of the past eight years, standing down briefly in 2009 and being re-elected the following year. He said he would quit after failing to win his seat at last year’s general election, but stayed on after the party rejected his resignation. [BBC]
Nigel Farage

Video of the Day –

EDMOND from ninagantz on Vimeo.

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Terrorism in Malaysia
- Malaysia confirms it has suffered its first bombing by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant during the previous week raising fears about the spread of influence of the militant group. (The New York Times)
CPP–NPA–NDF rebellion; Philippine Drug War
- The Communist Party of the Philippines agrees to fight drug lords after its legal wing Bagong Alyansang Makabayan joins the government cabinet of Rodrigo Duterte. (GMA News) (The Philippine Star)
Syrian Civil War, Israel–Syria relations
- Israel’s military attacks two Syrian Army targets in Syrian territory from the Golan Heights after a fire from the fighting damages a security fence on the border. (Reuters)
2016 Saudi Arabia bombings
- A suspected suicide bomber detonates his belt near the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, killing himself and wounding two guards. (BBC)
- A suicide bomber detonates a device near the security headquarters of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia, killing four security guards. (Daily Mail) (BBC) (Pakistan Today)
July 2016 Baghdad bombings
- The Baghdad Provincial Council deputy head reports the death toll has passed 200, with at least 225 more injured. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, visiting the Kerrada site, is jeered by onlookers who blame his government for not stopping ISIL-related bloodshed. (UPI)

Business and economics

United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- Standard Life Investments suspends trading in its UK property fund, in response to increased withdrawal calls since the vote, to protect the interests of all investors in the fund. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

Flooding caused by torrential rain in China kills at least 180 people, mostly along the Yangtze river. (BBC)

International relations

Blockade of the Gaza Strip
- A Turkish ship carrying humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip docks at the Israeli port city of Ashdod, the first warming move between the two countries since relations began to improve. Relations betweenTurkey and Israel were tense since the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid but ended last week when Turkey agreed to normalize ties in a diplomatic treaty. (The Guardian)
Russia–Turkey relations
- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu says Turkey’s cooperation with Russia in combating the Islamic State in Syria does not include Russia’s use of its Incirlik Air Base, which some have interpreted from his comments yesterday. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Eight members of the Cuba men’s national volleyball team, which is supposed to participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics, are arrested for aggravated group rape in Tampere, Finland, with two later being released. (BBC) (YLE)
Ling Jihua, former top aide to paramount leader Hu Jintao, is sentenced to life in prison for illegally obtaining state secrets and taking over $11 million in bribes. Ling’s misfortunes started when he was accused of trying to cover up a scandal connected to his 23-year-old son’s deadly crash in a Ferrari in 2012. (UPI)

Politics and elections

United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union
- Nigel Farage resigns as leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) but says he and other MEPs/MPs of the party would continue to carry out their term in the European Parliament. (BBC via Radio New Zealand)
Riots break out in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, after police attempt to disperse a protest by the city’s taxi drivers. (Reuters)
Australian federal election, 2016
- The election deadlock continues as neither Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull nor opposition leader Bill Shorten has the minimum number of Lower House seats (76) needed to form a government. Shorten leads Turnbull, 71-67, with only six seats undecided. (UPI) (Newstalk ZB)
Political reshuffle in the Communist Party of China
- Zhejiang governor Li Qiang is transferred to neighbouring Jiangsu province to serve as party chief. He is succeeded as Zhejiang governor by Xinjiang deputy party chief Che Jun. (Sina)
- Xian Hui is named acting Chairwoman of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, succeeding Liu Hui. It is the first time in the history of the People’s Republic that a woman has succeeded another woman in a provincial government leadership position. (Sina)

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July 9, 2016

Top News Stories –

Matador Victor Barrio killed by bull in Spain –
A matador has died after being gored by a bull in Spain – the first bullfighter to die in the ring in Spain this century. Victor Barrio, 29, a professional bullfighter, was killed when the bull’s horn pierced his chest. The fight, in the eastern town of Teruel, was being broadcast live on TV. Also on Saturday, a 28-year-old man died after being gored by a bull during a bull run through the village of Pedreguer, near Valencia. The last matador to die in a bullfight in Spain was Jose Cubero, or Yiyo, in 1985. Television footage shows the bull throwing Barrio into the air before goring him on the right-hand side of his chest and violently throwing him. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

BreakingPoint from Martin Lapp on Vimeo.

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
- 2016 Kashmir unrest
  - At least three people are killed and dozens more are wounded when protesters clash with Indian Army soldiers. The protesters defied an army curfew and took part in the funeral of a top rebel commander of Hizbul Mujahideen. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
South Sudanese Civil War
- According to a military spokesman of the rebel SPLM-IO, at least 115 soldiers between the two rival Sudan People’s Liberation Army factions are killed in clashes in the capital, Juba. (Reuters)
Syrian civil war, Russian intervention
- A Russian Air Force Mi-24 helicopter crashes near Palmyra, Syria, while assisting Syrian Army forces in the area. Russia‘s Ministry of Defence confirms two Russian pilots, Riafa’at Habibulin and Yevgeny Dolgin, are killed. (The Independent)

Disasters and accidents

Typhoon Nepartak (2016)
- Taiwan is recovering after Typhoon Nepartak hit yesterday killing two people and injuring 72. (PA via BT)

International relations

International reactions to Philippines v. China
- Ahead of a court decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, China holds a naval drill in the disputed South China Sea raising tensions in the region. (The New York Times)
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- South Korea claims that North Korea has fired a ballistic missile from a submarine. (Yonhap)
2016 Warsaw summit
- NATO members in Warsaw, Poland, agree to extend their mission in Afghanistan into 2017 and announced that they will continue to fund the Afghan Armed Forces to 2020. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Bahamian–United States relations, 2016 shooting of Dallas police officers
- Following the death of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile and the shooting of white police officers in Dallas, Texas, The Bahamas issues a rare travel warning for its citizens traveling to the United States.(BBC)

Law and crime

Human rights in the Philippines
- The government of the Philippines demands its critics to provide proof if there are human rights violations conducted during its drug war. (Rappler)
- More than a hundred suspected drug pushers have been killed since Rodrigo Duterte took office as president of the country, a situation likened to the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Child marriage
- This week, the Gambia and Tanzania outlawed child marriages. Friday, the Tanzanian High Court — in a case filed by the Msichana Initiative, a lobbying group that advocates for girls’ right to education — ruled in favor of protecting girls from the harms of early marriage. And during a feast ending the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Wednesday, The Gambian President Yahya Jammeh announced that child and forced marriages are banned. Jammeh called on the National Assembly to quickly take up the issue. (AP) (BBC) (Human Rights Watch)
2016 shooting of Dallas police officers
- Multiple gunshots strike the public safety headquarters of the San Antonio, Texas, Police Department. No injuries are reported. (USA Today)

Politics and elections

2016 Zimbabwe protests
- The Zimbabwe economy is crippled after a week of protests as a result of dissatisfaction with the regime of Robert Mugabe. (The Telegraph)
Nauruan parliamentary election, 2016
- Voters in Nauru go to the polls for an election. The President of Nauru Baron Waqa is reelected in his constituency. (Radio New Zealand), (ABC News Australia)
United States presidential elections, 2016
- Green Party presumptive presidential candidate Jill Stein invites Bernie Sanders to take over her place as the party’s nominee. (International Business Times)

Sport

2016 Wimbledon Championships – Women’s Singles
- In tennis, American defending champion Serena Williams defeats Angelique Kerber of Germany in straight sets to win her seventh Wimbledon Championships title and her 22nd Grand Slam title, tying the Open era record held by Steffi Graf. (BBC)

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July 13, 2016

Top News Stories –

Theresa May becomes new British Prime Minister –
The former home secretary, 59, becomes the UK’s second female prime minister in the wake of David Cameron’s resignation after the EU referendum. She had previously served in the Home Office for more than six years. In her first cabinet she appointed David Davis to the new cabinet position of secretary of state for exiting the European Union – or “Brexit secretary”. David Davis has been appointed to the new cabinet position of secretary of state for exiting the European Union – or “Brexit secretary”. In the post of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson succeeds Philip Hammond at the Foreign Office. [BBC] See List of the Day for full cabinet list
Theresa May

Marvel kills off Hulk alter ego Bruce Banner –
Marvel has killed off The Hulk’s human alter ego Bruce Banner in its latest comic. The character is seen dying as a result of an arrow to the head from Hawkeye, his Avengers teammate, in the third issue of Civil War II. Banner has been the Hulk’s alter ego since the character’s creation in 1962. However, for the last year, readers have seen Banner medicating himself to keep his anger management issues under control. During that time, a Korean-American teenage genius named Amadeus Cho has taken over as the new human alter-ego of The Hulk. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

The Shore’s Second Coming from Scott Secco on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Theresa May’s first cabinet [Wikipedia]

**Cabinet of the United Kingdom**
Portfolio	Minister	Term
Cabinet ministers
Prime Minister First Lord of the Treasury Minister for the Civil Service	The Rt Hon. Theresa May MP	2016–
Chancellor of the Exchequer Second Lord of the Treasury	The Rt Hon. Philip Hammond MP	2016–
Secretary of State for the Home Department	The Rt Hon. Amber Rudd MP	2016–
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs	The Rt Hon. Boris Johnson MP	2016–
Secretary of State for Defence	The Rt Hon. Michael Fallon MP	2014–
Lord Chancellor Secretary of State for Justice	The Rt Hon. Elizabeth Truss MP	2016–
Secretary of State for Education Minister for Women and Equalities	The Rt Hon. Justine Greening MP	2016–
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union	The Rt Hon. David Davis MP	2016–
Secretary of State for International Trade President of the Board of Trade	The Rt Hon. Dr Liam Fox MP	2016–
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy	The Rt Hon. Greg Clark MP PhD	2016–
Secretary of State for Health	The Rt Hon. Jeremy Hunt MP	2012–
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions	The Rt Hon. Damian Green MP	2016–
Leader of the House of Lords Lord Privy Seal	The Rt Hon. The Baroness Evans of Bowes Park PC	2016–
Secretary of State for Transport	The Rt Hon. Chris Grayling MP	2016–
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government	The Rt Hon. Sajid Javid MP	2016–
Leader of the House of Commons Lord President of the Council	The Rt Hon. David Lidington MP PhD	2016–
Secretary of State for Scotland	The Rt Hon. David Mundell MP	2015–
Secretary of State for Wales	The Rt Hon. Alun Cairns MP	2016–
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland	The Rt Hon. James Brokenshire MP	2016–
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	The Rt Hon. Andrea Leadsom MP	2016–
Secretary of State for International Development	The Rt Hon. Priti Patel MP	2016–
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport	The Rt Hon. Karen Bradley MP	2016–
Also attending cabinet meetings
Chief Secretary to the Treasury	The Rt Hon. David Gauke MP	2016–
Minister for the Cabinet Office Paymaster General	The Rt Hon. Ben Gummer MP	2016–
Attorney General	The Rt Hon. Jeremy Wright QC MP	2014–
Chief Whip in the House of Commons Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury	The Rt Hon. Gavin Williamson MP	2016–
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Chairman of the Conservative Party (Unpaid)	The Rt Hon. Patrick McLoughlin MP	2016–

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Iraqi Civil War
- A car bomb explodes at a checkpoint north of Baghdad, killing at least seven people. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
- The death toll from anti-government protests in the Indian state rises to 36 with over a thousand more being treated for injuries. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has called for calm. (BBC)
Syrian Civil War
- Russian war planes allegedly bomb a refugee camp near the border with Jordan, killing at least eight people. (BBC)
- According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, airstrikes in the towns of Al-Rastan and Ariha kill at least 24 people, despite a temporary ceasefire being declared by the Syrian government.(Reuters)
South Sudanese Civil War
- The United States deploys more than three dozen soldiers to Juba, South Sudan, to protect the U.S. embassy and help evacuate non-essential embassy staff due to local clashes. (UPI)

Arts and culture

Dr. Carla Hayden is confirmed to be the 14th Librarian of Congress, becoming the first woman and African-American to lead the Library of Congress.(Washington Post)

Disasters and accidents

A bus crashes on a highway in Dagestan, Russia, killing at least nine people and injuring dozens more. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

International relations

North Korea–South Korea relations
- South Korea announces plans to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-ballistic missile system in Seongju County in the country’s south in order to deter against a North Korean attack. (CNN)

Law and crime

In Brooklyn, New York 33 people are treated for a possible K2 overdose. The drug is illegal to sell or produce in the state. (New York Daily News)
2016 Zimbabwe protests
- A Zimbabwean court dismisses charges against opposition leader Pastor Evan Mawarire who was accused of trying to overthrow the government. (Reuters)
A serial killer who has murdered seven people over a period of several months is on the loose in Phoenix, Arizona. (NBC)

Politics and elections

Theresa May becomes the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. (The Telegraph)
Formation of the May ministry
- The new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May begins forming her ministry following the end of the Second Cameron ministry. The former Mayor of London Boris Johnson is appointedSecretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Philip Hammond is appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Amber Rudd is appointed Home Secretary filling Theresa May’s former position,Liam Fox is appointed as Secretary of State for International Trade and David Davis is appointed as minister for the newly created Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. (BBC)
Emperor Akihito of Japan intends to abdicate within a few years, citing old age. It would be the first abdication of a Japanese emperor in 200 years; the last emperor to abdicate was Emperor Kōkaku in 1817.(BBC) (The Guardian)
Nauruan parliamentary election, 2016
- Baron Waqa is reelected President of Nauru, winning 16 of the 18 votes in Parliament. (Radio New Zealand)
Human rights in Egypt
- In a report by Amnesty International, the group documents findings of Egyptian officials forcibly making hundreds of people disappear and face torture in the past year in an attempt to crack down on dissent in the country. (BBC)

Sport

In American football, a United States appeals court has denied New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady‘s appeal for his role in the Deflategate controversy. (ESPN)

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