Top News Stories –

Best photobomb ever? Seagull steals the show from Red Arrows display team –
An image that shows the latest addition to the world famous Red Arrows is a seagull has become an Internet hit. The amazing moment was captured by first year photography student Jade Coxon,18, as she took pictures at the Llandudno Air Show on 23 May. And, since posting the stunning snap online on Sunday, Jade is over the moon to have got more than 1 million views. The crisp pic clearly shows eight of the Red Arrows in tight formation trailing their famous vapour. But then where the ninth plane should be there is an intrepid seagull holding the formation in place and, amazingly, with his own vapour trail. [Daily Telegraph]
Red-Arrows-and-seagull (Photo – SWNS Group)

Taylor Swift enters Forbes 100 most powerful women list –
The 25 year old singer and songwriter has become the youngest woman ever to be included on the Forbes list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.
She’s included at number 64 in the list released on Tuesday because, Forbes says, she ‘has not only broken record sales and captivated the world with her fantastically honest lyrics, but she has proven herself as an impressive businesswoman.’ [Daily Mail] See List of the Day
Taylor Swift

The Charlie Charlie Challenge – what is the spooky craze? –
A strange new game is taking over Twitter, fuelled by speculation that its players can connect with a dead Mexican spirit known as Charlie. The Charlie Charlie Challenge has been played by thousands of young people after a number of videos purported to show supernatural goings-on. The game entails placing two pencils on a piece of paper in the shape of the cross with the words ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Participants then repeat the phrase “Charlie, Charlie can we play?” in order to connect with the demon. If Charlie is there the pencils will move to indicate his answer. [Daily Telegraph] See Top Twitter Trends 25 May 2015

Video of the Day –

Are You Consuming Your Coffee Correctly?

List of the day –

Forbes Magazine 100 Most Powerful Women in the World 2015 [Forbes]

Top Twitter Trends –

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
  • A suicide bomber and gunmen attack a court building in the provincial capital of Maidan Shahr in Maidan Wardak resulting in the deaths of two police officers and four of the attackers. (Tolo News)
• Thirteen Kenyan police officers are missing after an Al-Shabaab ambush in Garissa County. (Standard Digital)
• Yemeni Civil War (2015)
  • Shellfire from Yemen kills two people over the border in Saudi Arabia. (AFP via Daily Star)
• Boko Haram
  • Boko Haram kills at least 43 people in the town of Gubio in Nigeria‘s Borno State. (Reuters)

Business and economy

• Charter Communications announces plans to merge with Time Warner Cable in a $55.1 billion deal. (Market Watch) (Bloomberg)

Disasters and accidents

• Tornadoes of 2015
  • Flash floods, tornadoes and dangerous thunderstorms have so far claimed 8 lives with 12 people missing in the American states of Texas and Oklahoma with more rain on the way. (NBC News)
  • Thirteen die in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico in the city’s first-ever tornado. (BBC News)
  • Flash flood warnings are now in place in eight states with flood waters causing closures of roads, rail services and buses in Houston, Texas, fourth-largest city in the United States. (NBC News)
  • Thirty people are reported missing in the Houston area as the flood water levels continue to rise. (AP via News24)
• 2015 India heat wave
  • The death toll from the heat wave passes 800 as the roads in the capital New Delhi are melting in the heat. (AFP via AsiaOne)

Health

• A man dies of the rare Lassa fever in the American state of New Jersey after returning from West Africa. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

International relations

• The President of Taiwan Ma Ying-jeou proposes a mechanism for resolving disputes in the South China Sea. (The Guardian)
• The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force will participate in Exercise Talisman Saber, a joint exercise between the United States and Australia for the first time in July. (AFP via ABC Australia)

Law and crime

• A petition to legalize same-sex marriage in the Philippines is filed in the Supreme Court. (Rappler)
• Thieves use an online tax service provided by the American Internal Revenue Service to steal information from more than 100,000 taxpayers.(AP)
• A US Appeals Court rules that President Barack Obama will not be able to implement his executive action on immigration while it is being challenged by Texas and 35 other states. (Washington Examiner)

Science

• The Wildlife Conservation Society estimates that poachers have killed half of Mozambique‘s elephants in the past five years. (AFP via CapitalFM)

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