Top News Stories –

Higgs boson: scientists 99.999% sure ‘God Particle’ has been found –
The historic announcement came in a progress report from the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator. Professor John Womersley, chief executive of the Science and technology Facilities Council, told reporters at a briefing in London: “They have discovered a particle consistent with the Higgs boson. “Discovery is the important word. That is confirmed. It’s a momentous day for science.” Scientists say it is a 5 sigma result which means they are 99.999% sure they have found a new particle. Finding the Higgs plugs a gaping hole in the Standard Model, the theory that describes all the particles, forces and interactions that make up the universe. [Daily Telegraph]
Prof Stephen Hawking said Prof Higgs deserved a Nobel Prize for his work, but admitted the discovery of the new particle had come at a cost. He said: “I had a bet with Gordon Kane of Michigan University that the Higgs particle wouldn’t be found. It seems I have just lost $100.” [Daily Telegraph]
The CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider

Tom Cruise to file rival divorce case against Katie Holmes –
Tom Cruise will file a rival divorce case against Katie Holmes, his lawyer has said, adding that they were letting the “other side play the media until they wear everyone out”. Bret Fields told BBC Radio 1 that for the moment Cruise’s camp is content to let Holmes have the spotlight. “We are letting ‘the other side’ (Katie and her team), play the media until they wear everyone out and then we’ll have something to say,” he said.
“Tactically we can’t say where Tom will file a divorce case and if he’ll be seeking joint custody of [daughter] Suri.”
Tom Cruise with Katie Holmes in 2009

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Higgs Boson: The Inside Scoop

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian uprising (2011–present):
  • Syrian President Bashar al Assad accuses neighboring Turkey of supporting “terrorists” and contributing to the bloodshed in Syria. (Voice of America)
• A gunman, who was facing eviction from his apartment, is believed to have seized and killed four hostages in the German city of Karlsruhebefore turning the gun on himself. (BBC)
• Eleven people are killed in further unrest in Iraq, including eight people in a bombing of a Baghdad marketplace. (The Times of India)

Arts and culture

• China accuses the Vatican of obstructing the development of Catholicism after the latter threatens to excommunicate new bishops ordained without papal approval. (Washington Post)
• British broadcaster George Entwistle is named as the next Director-General of the BBC, beginning in autumn 2012. (BBC)
• Archaeologists in Israel discover a mosaic floor depicting the biblical figure of Samson and a Hebrew inscription in an ancient synagogue in theGalilee region. (CNN)

Business and economy

• Libor inter-bank interest rate:
  • Bob Diamond, former CEO of Barclays, gives evidence to the Parliament of the United Kingdom‘s Treasury Select Committee on the bank’s manipulation of Libor and Euribor interest rates. (RTÉ) (BBC)
  • Chancellor George Osborne accuses ministers in Gordon Brown’s government of attempting to manipulate interest rates during therecession. (The Guardian)
• Standard & Poor’s raises the credit rating of the Philippines to BB+. (Reuters)

International relations

• Egyptian officials deny that newly elected Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi will visit Iran to attend a conference. (The Times of Israel)

Law and crime

• Two Iranian suspects held by Kenyan police reportedly confess that they planned to detonate a series of 30 bombs simultaneously acrossKenya. (Kenya Standard Media)
• The Qatari-owned satellite channel, Al Jazeera, reports that traces of radioactive polonium-210 have been found in some personal effects of former PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, who died in 2004; the PLO and Arafat’s widow agree to his exhumation to investigate if he had beenpoisoned. (Huffington Post) (CNN) (YNet News)
• Spain‘s national court opens a criminal investigation into last year’s listing of Bankia SA on the stock market, with former chairman Rodrigo Ratoand 32 others listed as suspects. (Wall Street Journal)

Politics and elections

• Hundreds of protesters clash with police in the Ukrainian capital Kiev and the parliament speaker offers to resign over moves to boost the status of the Russian language in the country. (Al Jazeera)
• The Chinese city of Shifang cancels the planned development of a copper plant after thousands of people demonstrated. (CBC)
• The European Parliament rejects the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement in a session with more than 470 votes against the treaty. (CNet)
• Mexican general election, 2012: Over half of the ballot boxes in the Presidential election will have to be recounted following the discovery of voting irregularities. (AP via Fox News)
• Palestinians in Ramallah protest outside the offices of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas against the 1993 Oslo Peace Accordsbetween Israel and the PLO. (The Media Line)

Science and technology

• CERN scientists present recent results from CMS and ATLAS experiments consistent with the existence of a Higgs boson particle. (BBC)(CERN press release)

Sport

• The Scottish Premier League refuses to admit Newco Rangers, the team that emerged from the ashes of Rangers F.C. following its disintegration. (BBC)

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