Top Stories – Tragedy in Haiti –
A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hits Haiti in the north Atlantic sea. Early estimates are that the death doll is between 45,000 – 50,000 [Note: final Haiti government estimates were a death toll of 316,000]
Fallen idol –
Simon Cowell dramatically announces he is quitting American Idol the day before the series starts to air. The big question seems to be who will replace him? [Answer Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler]
Palin to significance –
Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin signs up to be a contributor on the Fox News Channel, 2 years after she gained fame as the presidential running mate of Republican John McCain. Sarah Palin
Top Stories – First cyber attack of the decade –
Internet giant Google says it may end its operations in China following a “sophisticated and targeted” cyber attack originating from the country.
Billion dollar game –
Video game Call of Duty – Modern Warfare 2 has taken more than $1bn (£625m)in revenue. It went on sale in November and made an estimated $550m in its first five days. The sales put it alongside other $1bn titles such as Guitar Hero III and World of Warcraft.
Girl survives plane crash –
A seven year-old girl who survived the plane crash that killed her parents in Kentucky, US, managed to walk a mile through dense woodland to raise the alarm. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the Piper PA-34 aircraft after the pilot reported engine problems.
Fancy a quick test drive? –
Former Formula One world champion Nigel Mansell now runs a Mitsubishi dealership on the British island of Jersey in the Channel Islands. The 1992 world champion raced for Renault Williams, Ferrari and Lotus as well as winning the CART title in the US in a Lola-Ford. He is running the franchise with his son.
Worth its weight in gold –
A fish owner in Norfolk, England paid £300 in vets’ fees when his pet goldfish became constipated. He took his fish to Toll Barn Veterinary Centre in North Walsham where vet Faye Bethell used anaesthetised water to knock out the goldfish before removing the blockages.
Elvis’ planes under the hammer –
A pair of jets that Elvis Presley called “Lisa Marie” and “Hound Dog II” are being auctioned off in Beverley Hills, California. The Convair 880 and Lockheed Jetstar were owned by Presley from 1975 just two years before he died. Neither can fly but the successful bidder has an option to buy a few acres of land by Graceland to display them.
Microsoft launch Windows 10 and the HoloLens-
Microsoft reveals the HoloLens holographic headset that will project the new Windows 10 OS over views of the real world. Windows 10 will also introduce its voice-controlled assistant Cortana to PCs. The OS upgrade will be offered free of charge for devices running Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Phone in its first year of release. The Internet Explorer web browser will be replaced by a new program codenamed Project Spartan. The HoloLens
Most dangerous sexual position –
Researchers in Brazil report that the woman-on-top position during intercourse is responsible for half of all penile fractures sustained during sex in cases recorded at three hospitals. Positions involving the woman on all fours was involved in 29 per cent of fractures and the safest position in the bedroom is the man-on-top ‘missionary position’. See List of the Day below.
No s**t Sherlock –
Australia’s National Rugby League has apologised after publishing players’ favourite swear words on its website. Shaun Johnson, Kurt Gidley and Sam Thaiday were among those asked to reveal their chosen profanities as part of their player profiles, but they were quickly removed. Shaun Johnson
Liam Neeson criticised by gun company –
PARA USA the firearms company that provided the guns for Liam Neeson’s movie Taken 3 has said they have “regrets” about working with him after he said that there are “too many… guns out there, especially in America.” The company will cut ties with the Taken franchise and recommended other companies to do the same. Leeson also said the gun problem was not connected to Hollywood’s action movies. Liam Neeson
Madonna hacking arrest –
An Israeli man who appeared on one of the country’s talent shows has been arrested on suspicion of hacking into singer Madonna’s computers and selling unreleased songs online. Madonna had to release some new songs early in December 2014 after demos from her new album Rebel Heart were discovered online.
Shazam worth $1 billion-
Shazam, the mobile music recognition service, has raised $30m in a funding round that pushes its valuation to $1bn. The $30m investment takes equity raised to $125m over the past eight years, during which its revenue has risen from £2.5m in 2007 to £31m in 2013. But the company has not made a profit in that period and in 2013 it lost £2m.
Video of the Day –
Shazam Top 20
X Factor Winner Marlisa Sings Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud
Cumberbatch upsets Cumberbitches by getting married –
Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch has married his fiancé Sophie Hunter at a private ceremony at the 12th century St Peter & St Paul Church, near Brighstone on the Isle of Wight.
No post today?
Demonstrators in Tokyo have marched against capitalism, chocolates and St Valentine’s Day in a demonstration against the commercialisation of February 14 by men who are unable to find a partner. The protest was organised by a group called Kakuhido, which translates roughly as the Revolutionary Alliance of Men that Women Find Unattractive.
Michele Ferrero dies –
Michele Ferrero, whose chocolate product company made him Italy’s wealthiest man, dies aged 89. His company makes Ferrero Rocher chocolates, Kinder eggs, Tic Tac sweets and hazelnut Nutella spread. Mr Ferrero’s father, a pastry manufacturer, developed the forerunner to Nutella in 1946, called Giandujot, combining cocoa and hazelnuts to make a spreadable paste. CLICK TO SEE MORE STUFF FROM THIS DAY…
Politician admits trampolining naked with a dog –
Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein president in Northern Ireland, claims that he trampolines naked along with his dog. Mr Adams explained that his house is “ring-fenced”, so he wasn’t affecting the neighbours, or can be snapped by the papparazzi. Gerry Adams
Russian hackers steal £650 million –
Investigators from Kaspersky Lab uncovers what is thought to be the biggest ever cybercrime with more than £650 million ($1 billion) going missing from banks around the world. A group of Russian hackers spent two years infiltrating the internal computer systems of over 100 financial institutions world-wide using malware.
Ski jump 250m barrier broken twice in two days-
The world ski jump record has been broken by Slovenian jumper Peter Prevc by travelling 250m (274 yards) at a World Cup event in Vikersund, Norway. But this is beaten by Anders Fannemel who travels 251.5m (276.14 yards). See Video below.
Zayn Malik solo track taken down after angry response from One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson –
A song featuring Zayn Malik without the rest of One Direction has been taken down, less than a day after it was shared on Twitter. Producer Naughty Boy posted a link to the track early on Tuesday, with the words “let the music do the talking”. It came less than a week after Zayn confirmed he was quitting 1D. Earlier on, the band’s Louis Tomlinson accused Naughty Boy of being “inconsiderate” to fans after he retweeted a video about Zayn. [BBC] Louis’ tweet
Top Gear: Richard Hammond and James May no longer work for the BBC –
James May and Richard Hammond are out of contract with the BBC from midnight, after declining to sign new deals to present the next series of Top Gear. The pair are now free agents, meaning rival broadcasters can approach them with job offers. Hammond has tweeted that he is “not ready for retirement”. May does not seem in a great hurry to find new employment, he is making a shepherds pie. [Daily Telegraph]
Google Maps launches PacMan on real streets –
Google has launched an April Fool’s Day version of Google Maps that allows users to play the classic arcade game Pac-Man on real streets. Google Map users can access the Pac-Man version by clicking on the icon in the bottom corner of the screen and then using their keyboard to play the game. The game is accessible on desktop computers and on the Google Maps app. It allows users to play the famous game around the world’s most recognisable streets or your own neighbourhood. At some famous locations, such as the area around the Taj Mahal and the Arc de Triomphe, Google has added a Pac-Man marker that also launches the game because the areas appear perfectly matched to the original Pac-Man layout. [Daily Telegraph]
Elon Musk’s $1bn tweet: news of secret product line sees Tesla shares soar –
Elon Musk, the billionaire technology entrepreneur, has announced a “major” new Tesla product line that is “not a car”, in a cryptic tweet which has left millions guessing. The CEO’s news sparked the hashtag #TeslaNewProductGuesses, with guesses ranging from a time machine to a real-life Iron Man suit. Shares in the electric car jumped to nearly 4 percent in just 10 minutes – adding a staggering $900 million (£600 million) to the company’s market cap in just 115 characters. The tweet went out to his 1.9 million followers and had thousands of retweets within an hour. [Daily Telegraph] Elon Musk
Video of the Day –
David Beckham and James Corden’s New Underwear Line
Andy Murray and Kim Sears wedding: Hundreds of wellwishers flood Dunblane –
Hundreds of people turned out to see Andy Murray wed Kim Sears in Dunblane Cathedral this afternoon. The couple, who turned down all offers from celebrity magazines to cover their wedding, made sure that their wedding remained a private affair – with Sears’ careful arrival granting onlookers the barest of glimpses of her dress. Murray and Sears, an artist, married in Dunblane’s 12th century cathedral at 4pm before attending a small reception with family and friends. The pair met in 2005 when they were introduced by Sear’s father Nigel, a tennis coach. [The Independent] Kim Sears and Andy Murray (Photo by Stirling Council)
Grand National 2015: Many Clouds wins as McCoy finishes fifth –
Many Clouds won the 2015 Grand National to give jockey Leighton Aspell his second consecutive victory in the race. Champion jockey AP McCoy was denied a fairytale Aintree farewell, finishing fifth on favourite Shutthefrontdoor. The Northern Irishman had said he would retire immediately if he had won, but the 40-year-old could now race on until the Sandown meeting at the end of April. [BBC] A P McCoy
Boat Races 2015: Oxford women and men beat Cambridge –
Heavy favourites Oxford beat Cambridge to win the historic first staging of the Women’s Boat Race on the same course and same day as the men. They finished six-and-a-half lengths ahead over the four-mile, 374-yard stretch from Putney Bridge to Chiswick Bridge in London on Saturday. The Dark Blues were half a length up after the first minute and pulled away ruthlessly to finish 19 seconds clear. Oxford also won the men’s race for the sixth time in eight years. In doing so, president Constantine Louloudis became just the 15th man to triumph for a fourth time. [BBC]
Capitol Building on lockdown after shots fired –
Shots were fired near the front of the US Capitol Building in Washington, according to police. The seat of Congress was immediately put on lockdown.
It later emerged that a man had committed suicide by shooting himself, sparking the alert. “The suspected shooter has been neutralised but the US Capitol Building has been locked down as a precautionary measure,” said Lt Kimberly Schneider of the Capitol Police, adding that no-one was being allowed to enter or exit. Police said they were also investigating a suspicious package on the lower West Terrace of the building, believed to be the man’s suitcase. [Daily Telegraph]
Kate Moss escorted off flight ‘for being disruptive’ –
Supermodel Kate Moss has been escorted off a plane at Luton airport after reportedly being disruptive. The Easyjet flight had arrived from Bodrum in Turkey on Sunday afternoon. In a statement, Bedfordshire Police said they “were called to assist staff in escorting a passenger from a flight arriving into Luton airport this afternoon”. No formal complaints were made against her and she was not arrested. [BBC] In February 2010 Calvin Klein said of Moss – while “a great model,” she was a “difficult” person to work with. Kate Moss with photographer Mario Testino
Bradley Wiggins breaks UCI Hour Record at Lee Valley Velopark –
Sir Bradley Wiggins has broken the iconic hour record by completing a distance of 54.526km (33.88 miles). The 35-year-old smashed the record previously held by fellow Briton Alex Dowsett of 52.937km (32.89 miles), which was set in May. Roared on by a capacity crowd at Lee Valley VeloPark in London, Wiggins became the sixth rider to claim a Tour de France title and the hour record. “I’m just glad it’s done. It was torturous,” he said.
“That’s the closest I have ever come to what it’s like to a have a baby,” Wiggins, who becomes the fifth person in the past nine months to break the record, joked. The multiple Olympic and world champion on track and road surpassed Dowsett’s 212 laps, set in Manchester, with 1min 42secs to spare and eventually completed 219 laps.[BBC] In January 2015, Wiggins launched his own cycling team, Team Wiggins, to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. Bradley Wiggins
Dame Helen Mirren reigns at Tony theatre awards –
Dame Helen Mirren has been named best actress in a play at the Tony theatre awards in New York. She took home the prize for her portrayal of the Queen in The Audience. Dame Helen, a previous Oscar-winner for The Queen, accepted the award saying: “Your Majesty, you did it again.” Other wins included Alex Sharp for best actor and Marianne Elliott for best directing of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which was also named best play. [BBC] See List of the Day
Actor, Sir Christopher Lee dies, aged 93 –
See full story on June 11, 2015 when his death was announced. Sir Christopher Lee (1922-2015)
WINNER: Michael Cerveris, Fun Home Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
Brian d’Arcy James, Something Rotten!
Ken Watanabe, The King and I
Tony Yazbeck, On the Town
Best leading actress in a musical
WINNER: Kelli O’Hara, The King and I Kristin Chenoweth, On the Twentieth Century
Leanne Cope, An American in Paris
Beth Malone, Fun Home
Chita Rivera, The Visit
Best leading actor in a play
WINNER: Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Steven Boyer, Hand to God
Bradley Cooper, The Elephant Man
Ben Miles, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Bill Nighy, Skylight
Best leading actress in a play
WINNER: Helen Mirren, The Audience Geneva Carr, Hand to God
Elisabeth Moss, The Heidi Chronicles
Carey Mulligan, Skylight
Ruth Wilson, Constellations
Best featured actor in a musical
WINNER: Christian Borle, Something Rotten! Andy Karl, On the Twentieth Century
Brad Oscar, Something Rotten!
Brandon Uranowitz, An American in Paris
Max von Essen, An American in Paris
Best featured actress in a musical
WINNER: Ruthie Ann Miles, The King and I Victoria Clark, Gigi
Judy Kuhn, Fun Home
Sydney Lucas, Fun Home
Emily Skeggs, Fun Home
Best featured actor in a play
WINNER: Richard McCabe, The Audience Matthew Beard, Skylight
K. Todd Freeman, Airline Highway
Alessandro Nivola, The Elephant Man
Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Micah Stock, It’s Only a Play
Best featured actress in a play
WINNER: Annaleigh Ashford, You Can’t Take It With You Patricia Clarkson, The Elephant Man
Lydia Leonard, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Sarah Stiles, Hand to God
Julie White, Airline Highway
Best book of a musical
WINNER: Fun Home, Lisa Kron An American in Paris, Craig Lucas
Something Rotten!, Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell
The Visit, Terrence McNally
Best original score (music and/or lyrics) for the theatre
WINNER: Fun Home, Music: Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics: Lisa Kron The Last Ship, Music & Lyrics: Sting
Something Rotten!, Music & Lyrics: Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick
The Visit, Music: John Kander, Lyrics: Fred Ebb
Best director of a play
WINNER: Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Stephen Daldry, Skylight
Scott Ellis, You Can’t Take It With You
Jeremy Herrin, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Moritz von Stuelpnagel, Hand to God
Best director of a musical
WINNER: Sam Gold, Fun Home Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
John Rando, On the Town
Bartlett Sher, The King and I
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris
Best scenic design of a play
WINNER: Bunny Christie and Finn Ross, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Bob Crowley, Skylight
Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
David Rockwell, You Can’t Take It With You
Best scenic design of a musical
WINNER: Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, An American in Paris David Rockwell, On the Twentieth Century
Michael Yeargan, The King and I
David Zinn, Fun Home
The death toll from the sinking of the Chinese cruise ship is now over 400 as the search area for bodies extends 1,000 km down the Yangtze River. (The Guardian)
Voters in Turkey go to the polls for a general election with the ruling AKP seeking enough votes to enable them to change the constitution. However, early projections show that they will lose their majority in the new parliament. (BBC), (New York Times)
‘Earth 2.0’ found in Nasa Kepler telescope haul –
A haul of planets from Nasa’s Kepler telescope includes a world sharing many characteristics with Earth. Kepler-452b orbits at a very similar distance from its star, though its radius is 60% larger. Mission scientists said they believed it was the most Earth-like planet yet. Such worlds are of interest to astronomers because they might be small and cool enough to host liquid water on their surface – and might therefore be hospitable to life. Nasa’s science chief John Grunsfeld called the new world “Earth 2.0” and the “closest so far” to our home. It is around 1,400 light years away from Earth. [BBC]
Taylor Swift apologises to Nicki Minaj –
Taylor Swift has apologised to Nicki Minaj following their Twitter row over the MTV VMA nominations. The singer’s admitted she misunderstood Nicki’s initial tweets, which attacked the music industry for favouring white females. “I thought I was being called out. I missed the point, then misspoke, I’m sorry, Nicki,” Taylor wrote. Nicki has accepted her apology by tweeting back: “That means so much Taylor, thank you.” It all started after Nicki voiced her disappointment at Anaconda not getting a nomination for video of the year. [BBC Newsbeat] Nicki Minaj
Sony Pictures buys rights to make an emoji movie –
Sony Pictures Animation has bought the rights to turn emoji icons into a movie. The studio plans to create an animated feature film about the smiley, winky and unhappy characters used in texts and on social media. At this stage, it’s not clear how it will turn the static yellow round faces into a Hollywood blockbuster. Commentators claim the success of The Lego Movie showed that any subject matter can be turned into a hit. Emojis were developed in Japan in the late 1990s as smiley-faced emoticons. [BBC Newsbeat]
Video of the Day –
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 Official Trailer – “We March Together”
Turkey scrambles fighter jets and Turkish tanks open fire on ISIS positions along the Syrian border following an exchange of fire which left one Turkish soldier dead and two injured. The clashes are the first direct combat between the Turkish military and ISIS forces. (Telegraph)
Turkey agrees to allow the United States access to İncirlik Air Base, near the city of Adana (in close proximity to the Syrian border) for the US-led coalition forces’ air strikes against ISIS. (Today’s Zaman)
Seven people are wounded, and three are dead (including the shooter) after a 58 year-old gunman opens fire at the Grand 16 Movie Theater in Lafayette, Louisiana during a showing of Trainwreck. (NBC)[(CNN)
One Direction release surprise single, Drag Me Down –
It’s a good day to be a Directioner. The four boys have surprised fans with their first single since Zayn Malik left the band. The song, Drag Me Down, premiered on iTunes and Spotify at 6.30am UK time. There’s no suggestion of *who* might have been dragging them down. Twitter, the home of any self-respecting One Direction fan, erupted. The hashtag #DragMeDown has been tweeted two million times in the seven hours since its release. [BBC Newsbeat]
Duchess of Cambridge qualifies as advanced diver –
Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, has taken an advanced diving course that means she can keep up with her husband when he goes shark-diving in Mustique. The Duke of Cambridge has been diving for much of his life, encouraged by his father the Prince of Wales, whom he succeeded last year as president of the British Sub-Aqua Club. The Duchess’s pursuit of advanced diving qualifications, to enable her to dive to the same depth as the Duke, has until now remained a secret. Kensington Palace confirmed to The Telegraph that the Duchess has passed a Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Advanced Open Water Diver qualification, meaning she can dive to a depth of 30 metres (98ft). [Daily Telegraph] Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
Turkey has killed around 260 members of the Kurdistan Workers Party in recent bombing campaigns in Turkey and northern Iraq. Officially the operation was started to attack ISIL but over 90% of attacks were against the PKK. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Brendan Rodgers: Liverpool boss sacked after Merseyside derby –
Liverpool have sacked manager Brendan Rodgers after three and a half years in charge. He was dismissed after Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Everton, which left the Reds 10th in the Premier League, but the decision was made before the game. “Although this has been a difficult decision, we believe it provides us with the best opportunity for success on the pitch,” read a club statement. Carlo Ancelotti and Jurgen Klopp are the favourites to replace Rodgers. [BBC] Brendan Rodgers
Dick Advocaat: Sunderland boss quits Premier League strugglers –
Dick Advocaat has resigned as Sunderland boss, with the team yet to win in the Premier League this season. The 68-year-old Dutchman was appointed in March, when the Black Cats were one point above the relegation zone.
He guided them to safety and was due to leave the club in the summer, only to sign a new one-year contract. [BBC] Dick Advocaat
Woolly mammoth skeleton unearthed by Michigan farmers –
Two farmers in Michigan made an astonishing discovery when they unearthed the remains of a woolly mammoth while digging in a soybean field. Experts say it is one of the most complete sets ever found in the state. University of Michigan researchers say there is evidence the mammoth lived 11,700-15,000 years ago. [BBC]
How rugby star daughter’s doll captivated Australia –
North Queensland swept to victory in Australia’s National Rugby League final on Sunday, but it was a little girl’s doll which stole the limelight. Cameras captured the moment a crying Queensland captain Johnathan Thurston celebrated his team’s win with his daughter who was clutching a dark-skinned doll. For the first time in NRL history, both teams in the final had been skippered by an Indigenous Australian, and the moment was seen by many as a moment of inclusion and diversity. [BBC] Johnathan Thurston
Video of the Day –
What Do You Mean / Epic Segway Dance Cover @justinbieber
Two Israeli civilians are killed and three injured by stabbing attacks carried out by Palestinians in Jerusalem‘s Old City. As a result Palestinians are banned from entering the Old City for two days unless they live there. (BBC News)(Yahoo News)(CNN)
Turkey’s air force launches a new wave of air-raids bombing PKK positions in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey. Turkish warplanes destroyed PKK fuel and ammunition depots in the Hakkari province on the border with Iraq as well as in the easternKars province according to a military statement. (AFP via Yahoo News)
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says reforms in Syria are unlikely until terrorism (“a word typically used to describe all of the government’s armed opponents”) is vanquished. The country will continue to send representatives to peace negotiations sponsored by Moscow, but ruled out negotiations with the Western-backed groups opposing his government. (Washington Post)
At least 17 people have been killed with four more missing following heavy flooding along the French Riviera in the southeast of France. Rail, road and air traffic were all suspended and 27,000 homes were without electricity. A major stretch of the French Riviera has been declared a natural disaster zone. According to local radio station France Bleu-Azur, more than 17cm of rain fell on the Alpes-Maritimes region in two hours, the same amount the region would usually expect over two months. (AFP via Yahoo News)(Sky News)(Euro News)
U.S. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for South Carolina, hit by a once-in-a-millennium downpour that dumped over two feet of rain in some areas and turned South Carolina roads into rivers and parking lots into lakes. More than 250 roads across the state closed. A low pressure area is funneling heavy tropical moisture into the region as well as pulling in Hurricane Joaquin-related precipitation. “Catastrophic flash flooding” is expected overnight. (CNN)(NBC News)
U.S. Coast Guard searchers, looking for the 790-foot El Faro cargo ship missing since Thursday, located multiple objects including life jackets, life rings, containers and an oil sheen in the waters off The Bahamas. Connection to El Faro is not immediately confirmed. (USA Today)(ABC News)
Bermuda, which suffered a glancing hit by then-Category 2Hurricane Joaquin, reports scattered power outages with heavy rain, high wind, and waves. The center of Joaquin, now Category 1 (max winds 85 mph), is moving north-northeast and will clear Bermuda sometime Monday. (Palm Beach Post)(AP via Orlando 6)(NHC)
Exit polls show Portugal’s centre-right government, in its first contest since tough austerity measures were launched to combat a debt crisis, is headed for victory but could lose its majority in parliament. (The Guardian)(Reuters)(The Telegraph)
In Minsk, about 1,000 opposition activists protest Russia’s plans to establish a military air base in Belarus, saying it would turn the former Soviet republic into a Kremlin “vassal” and add to regional tensions. Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has refrained from commenting on the initiative to establish the base. (Fox News)
Vanuatu president’s anger as stand-in pardons himself –
The president of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has expressed his anger after his deputy pardoned himself and 13 other convicts while he was out of the country. Speaker Marcellino Pipite was one of 14 MPs – half of the country’s parliament – who were convicted last Friday of giving and receiving corrupt payments over a vote of no confidence in a previous government. With President Baldwin Lonsdale out of the country on Saturday, Pipite used his delegated powers to gazette a pardon for himself and his fellow defendants. Vanuatu’s constitution allows the speaker to assume presidential powers in the absence of the head of the republic, including the power of pardon. [BBC]
Aerosmith To Donald Trump: Stop Using Our Song –
Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler has asked Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to stop using the band’s power ballad Dream On at campaign events. Attorneys for Tyler have sent a second cease-and-desist letter to Mr Trump’s campaign committee, saying he does “not have our client’s permission to use Dream On or any of Tyler’s other songs”. The letter adds that it “gives the false impression that he is connected with or endorses Mr Trump’s presidential bid”. Tyler, a registered Republican, went to the GOP contenders’ first debate in August. Attorney Dina LaPolt said in a statement that the letter is not a “political” or “personal issue with Mr Trump”, but one of permission and copyright. [Sky News] Steven Tyler
Israeli traffic police stop a Palestinian woman transporting a small car bomb within Israeli territory near Jerusalem. She detonates the bomb, lightly wounding a police officer and critically wounding herself. (AP via Houston Chronicle)(AFP via NDTV)
A suicide bomber targets a foreign forces convoy in the Joy Shir area of Kabul. Taliban insurgents claim responsibility. A statement from Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry reported at least three civilians were wounded. There are no report of casualties among the foreign forces. (AFP via Times of India)(Reuters)
Five members of the NATO-led coalition die and five others are injured in a non-combat helicopter crash in Kabul. The Associated Press reported the chopper collided with a monitoring balloon on landing. Nationalities weren’t identified by NATO’sResolute Support; the British said two were Royal Air Force personnel. (BBC)(CNN)(USA Today)
The Turkish Air Force launches a wave of airstrikes against PKK targets in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey. Turkish security officials have also rejected a PKK ceasefire declared on Saturday shortly after the bombings in Ankara, saying “The PKK ceasefire means nothing for us. The operations will continue without a break”. (Reuters)
Thousands gather in Ankara to pay their respects to those killed in Saturday’s peace rally bombings. Marches and sit-ins protesting the attack were also held in Istanbul. No group has claimed responsibility. Turkey’s already polarized political parties traded accusations of responsibility for the attack. National elections are still scheduled for November 1, 2015. (Los Angeles Times)(The Guardian)(CNN)
A 15-hour protest about police-related deaths, in Thalang on Thailand’sPhuket Island in the Andaman Sea, turned into a riot when the crowd attacked the Thalang Police Station with rocks and fire bombs. Two young men were killed in a motorcycle crash while being chased by police. Fourteen police were injured, nine cars were torched, 13 others and five motorcycles damaged. While numerous people were inconvenienced by the blockade, a heart attack patient died on his way to Thalang Hospital when the ambulance couldn’t get through the crowd. (AP via Fox News)(Celebcafe.org)(Immortal.org)(PhuketWan Tourism News)
Millions of Guineans vote peacefully in the West African country’s second free election since gaining independence from France nearly 60 years ago. Ballot counting started; the provisional outcome is not expected until the end of this week, an official said. Incumbent PresidentAlpha Conde is expected to win reelection. (Deutsche Welle)
Santa Claus is elected to North Pole City Council in Alaska –
Mr Claus, who is 68 years old, has a white beard and is often seen in his hometown wearing red. Admittedly this North Pole is actually in Alaska, not the one every associates with Christmas. And Mr Claus actually changed his name from Thomas Patrick O’Connor about 10 years ago. “I’m fairly well known. I think people are pleased with it. We’ll see. Time will tell,” he said. “I have three years to make a positive impression so hopefully I will get off on the right foot later this month.” North Pole, Alaska, is home to about 2,200 people. Their new city councillor will take his seat later this month. Mr Claus, who was living in Nevada when he changed his name, says he tries to help at-risk children and improve the lives of young people. [BBC Newsbeat]
China home to more billionaires than the US –
China has eclipsed the United States as home to the world’s highest number of billionaires, according to a new report. Despite China’s economy cooling in recent months, the number of billionaires within its borders rose this year by 242, bringing the total to 596. The US, in contrast, is currently home to 537 billionaires, according to The Hurun Report, which monitors the wealthy in China. The list reflects a power shift in China’s economy, with the surge in the number of super rich fuelled by the growth of the nation’s IT and manufacturing industries. [Daily Telegraph]
Yahoo Mail does away with passwords –
One of the biggest pains of the digital age is having to memorise multiple lengthy and appropriately unguessable passwords. Now, Yahoo has done away with the password altogether in its new Yahoo Mail app, instead asking users to sign in via push notification. The new app uses new sign-in method Yahoo Account Key, which sends a notification to the smartphone you’ve chosen to link to the account asking ‘Are you trying to sign in?’ and the option to select yes or no. Yahoo claims the feature is more secure than a traditional password due to the second step of phone verification, but without the need to input a code. [Daily Telegraph]
An Israeli soldier is stabbed shortly after the fire by a Palestinian posing as a journalist with a camera and a “PRESS” vest; the attacker is shot dead. (Reuters)
Many residents of Los Angeles and Kern Counties in southern drought-stricken California are trapped by flash floods after receiving four to six inches of rain in a short period of time. (CNN)
Six construction workers, injured when scaffolding at an unfinished building collapsed in Houston, Texas (US), are rushed to area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. Firefighters continue to sift through the debris for other potential victims. (Houston Chronicle)
The European Union and Turkey reach an agreement for Turkey to stem the flow of migrants into Europe in return for a £3bn aid package, easier visa conditions and re-energised talks to join the bloc. (ITV)
Russia and other ex-Soviet states meeting in Kazakhstan agree to set up a joint task force to tackle instability on their borders, most notably from Afghanistan. (Reuters)
China hosts the ministers of defense from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). During the meeting a Chinese defense official suggests joint maritime drills between the host and ASEAN. At the same time, it is widely expected that U.S. Navyvessels may soon sail within 12 nautical miles of islands China is constructing upon reefs and atolls in the South China Sea. (New York Times)(BBC)
Rafe Esquith, a notable teacher in the Los Angeles, California, public school system files a $1 billion class action lawsuit against the LA Unified School District. Esquith, recently removed from teaching and subsequently fired, alleges on behalf of almost 2,000 individuals, certain age-discrimination tactics by the school system against older teachers. (CNN)
Hawaii GovernorDavid Ige declares a state of emergency to address homelessness as the state has seen an alarming increase in unsheltered individuals and families over the past two years, particularly on O’ahu. Hawaii has the highest per capita rate ofhomelessness among the 50 states at about 465 people per 100,000 citizens. This act “frees up” money for this problem. (UPI)(Reuters)(Hawaii)
News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource
Wentworth golf club asks for six-figure membership fee –
One of the UK’s most exclusive golf clubs is to start charging £125,000 to new joiners. Wentworth, which was bought by the Beijing-based Reignwood Group in September 2014, has told existing members they must stump up £100,000. Annual fees on top of that are to rise from £8,000 to £16,000. James Wyatt said he and other members faced having to pay “an enormous amount”. The Surrey golf club said membership pricing “is a private club matter”. [BBC]
Working Enigma machine fetches world record price at New York auction –
An extremely rare and fully operational Nazi Enigma machine from Second World War has sold for $365,000 in New York, setting a new record at auction, Bonhams said on Thursday. The M4 machine, which was built between 1943 and 1945, is one of around 150 to have survived from an estimated 1,500 that were built as Nazi Germany fought to fend off the Allies. A spokeswoman for Bonhams said the $365,000 (£237,000) sale price set a new world record for an Enigma machine sold at auction. The purchaser at Wednesday’s sale was identified only as a private collector. [Daily Telegraph]
Rudely-named south-east London coffee shop ordered to remove its sign –
A crudely-named coffee shop in south-east London has been ordered by its landlord to remove the “offensive” sign bearing its name. Fuckoffee tweeted a picture of a letter it received from the landlord’s lawyers:
The letter read: “We are instructed that you have either erected or allowed your sub-tenant to erect an offensive sign on the exterior of the buliding… without the permission or authority from our client to do so and this constitutes a trespass.” According to the letter, the Bermondsey Street coffeeshop could face legal proceedings or the forfeiture of its lease if it does not remove the sign. It will also have to cover the costs of the legal steps taken so far. [Daily Telegraph]
In a pair of incidents on Tuesday and Wednesday, two migrants were killed, 16 are missing, and 48 were rescued from boats heading to Greece from Turkey that capsized in the Aegean Sea. (Hürriyet Daily News)
Authorities in Slovenia say around 2,000 migrants from a refugee camp at the Croatian border are traveling in four trains toward Austria, three to the overloaded crossing at Šentilj and the other to Jesenice. (Washington Post)
A teacher and a student are killed, and another student injured, in an attack at a high school in Trollhättan, Sweden. The attacker was shot dead by police. (BBC)(The Guardian)
Chilean officers start to grant civil unions licences to both heterosexual and homosexual couples, marking the first time a same-sex relationship is officially recognized in the country. (BBC)(The Guardian)
The UKHouse of Commons passes an “English votes for English laws” bill by 312 to 270 votes giving English MPs a greater say over legislation that only applies to England. The bill has been fiercely opposed by the opposition Labour Party and theScottish National Party. (BBC)
Lewis Hamilton wins his third F1 World Championship –
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won a thrilling United States Grand Prix to seal his third World Championship. Hamilton pressured team-mate Nico Rosberg into a mistake during a frantic last 10 laps after a safety car and swept by to take his 10th win of 2015. It was an exciting climax to a race of fluctuating fortunes, lead changes and superb racing in changing conditions. Hamilton becomes only the second British driver after Sir Jackie Stewart to win three Formula 1 drivers’ titles. [BBC] See List of the Day Lewis Hamilton
Moto GP: Valentino Rossi penalised for kicking Marc Marquez –
MotoGP championship leader Valentino Rossi will start the final race of the season from the back of the grid after kicking Marc Marquez off his bike during the Malaysian Grand Prix.Rossi finished third but was given three penalty points following a post-race investigation. He later accused Marquez of “making me lose the championship”. Honda’s Dani Pedrosa won the race, with Jorge Lorenzo second. The final race takes place in Spain on 8 November. Rossi now leads Lorenzo by just seven points in the championship. [BBC] Valentino Rossi
Video of the Day –
Confusion as Turkey clocks defy time-change delay –
Confused Turks are asking “what’s the time?” after automatic clocks defied a government decision to defer a seasonal hour’s change in the time. Along with other countries, Turkey had been due to “fall back” an hour on Saturday at the end of summertime daylight saving. The Turkish government however decided to postpone the change until after upcoming polls. But some clocks have changed the time regardless – causing bewilderment.
The hashtag #saatkac – or “what’s the time?” – is now trending in Turkey as Twitter users express confusion. [BBC]
The United Parcel Service pilots’ union authorizes its executive board to call a strike at the board’s discretion as contract talks slog into a fifth year. This, in the wake of competitor FedEx pilots’ approval of a new six-year contract. (WSJ)
The attorney for Adacia Chambers, the woman whose car plowed into homecoming parade crowd, says he doesn’t think his client was intoxicated at the crash. Tony Coleman said, “I don’t believe right now that she was intoxicated. … she’s suffering frommental illness.” (USA Today)(KFOR)
More than 200 bears are killed in a single day in the U.S. state of Florida after state officials allow the hunting of the animals for the first time in 21 years; supporters say the aim is to cut down on the surging population of black bears, but animal rights activists have criticized the hunts as cruel and ineffective. (Sky News)
Voters in Argentina go to the polls to select a new President and legislature with the presidential election to go to a runoff on November 22 as neither candidate could secure a majoriey. (BBC), (CNN)
Voters in Poland go to the polls for a parliamentary election with the opposition Law and Justice party performing well in exit polls. (BBC)
Exit polls show Poland’s conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, led by euroscepticJarosław Kaczyński and the new PM Beata Szydło, won an absolute majority in today’s general elections. Kaczyński is the twin brother of the late President Lech Kaczyński, who died in a 2010 jet crash. The PiS picks up 242 out of 460 seats in the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, ousting the governing Christian democratic Civic Platform (PO) party gets 133 seats and becoming the first party to win a majority in its own right since the collapse of communism in 1989. Prime MinisterEwa Kopacz has conceded defeat. (NDTV)(Newstalk)
Most polls in Haiti’s high-stakes presidential, second rounds of legislative, and local elections closed on schedule. Voting was relatively orderly across the nation of some 10 million people. Voters have 54 contenders for president to choose from; a runoff between the top two candidates is scheduled for December 27. (Miami Herald)(NBC News)(SABC)
Google’s Project Loon internet balloons to circle Earth –
Google believes it is on course to have enough internet-beaming balloons in the stratosphere to form a ring over part of the world next year. It told the BBC the move would let it trial a continuous data service to people living below the balloons’ path. The declaration coincides with the announcement that three of Indonesia’s mobile networks intend to start testing Project Loon’s transmissions next year. One expert said the plan had benefits over other solutions. Sri Lanka previously signed a separate agreement signalling its wish to be another participant in the giant helium balloon-based scheme. [BBC]
Biscuit that survived the Titanic sells for $23,000 –
A cracker that survived the Titanic and lives on, unmunched, today has been sold for $23,000 (£15,034). The biscuit was saved by James Fenwick, a passenger on the Carpathia vessel that saved Titanic passengers at sea, and was kept intact in a Kodak film envelope by Fenwick along with the following notation: “Pilot biscuit from Titanic lifeboat April 1912.” The 103-year-old biscuit was used as part of a survival kit on one of the Titanic lifeboats. [Daily Telegraph]
Apple reports biggest annual profit in history with net income of $53.4bn –
Apple has recorded the biggest annual profit in corporate history, with record sales of the iPhone helping it to make $53.4bn (£35bn) in the last 12 months. The world’s biggest company surpassed the $45.2bn made by ExxonMobil in 2008, after the release of its latest smartphones increased profits by 31pc in its fourth quarter. However, Apple warned that growth is likely to slow down significantly in the crucial Christmas period, and sales of the iPad fell by a fifth to their lowest level since 2011. The company predicted that sales in the current quarter would be between $75.5bn and $77.5bn – as little as 1pc up on the same period last year – partially due to a strong dollar. [Daily Telegraph]
Video of the Day –
HOW I CRASHED THE SPECTRE PREMIERE AND AFTER PARTY JAMES BOND STYLE
Ankara’s Chief Prosecutor’s office says it has “strong evidence” that an Islamic State group — based in Gaziantep, near the Syrian border — is behind the bombings at this month’s Ankara peace rally that killed 102 people, as well as four previous attacks in Turkey since May that have mainly targeted supporters of a pro-Kurdish party. (AP)(AFP via NDTV)
Aid workers warn that survivors of the earthquake are at risk of dying of exposure as temperatures in Pakistan and Afghanistan fall to near freezing levels. (Time)
Austrian ChancellorWerner Faymann, when discussing management of the flow of migrants with the press, talks about “technical security” measures but insists there will be “no fence” at the Slovenian border. This, in contrast to Interior MinisterJohanna Mikl-Leitner who earlier spoke of plans for a “fence” on the border to Slovenia. Austria has been one of the more vocal countries criticizing Hungary’s decision to build a fence along its border with Serbia. (AP)(BBC)
The Cassini probe makes a close flyby of Saturn’s sixth-largest moon, Enceladus, coming within approximately 49 km (30 mi) of the surface and passing through the icy plume above the south pole. The transit of the plume was the deepest to date. Photographs and other data from the mission are expected within 48 hours. (BBC Online)(JPL Press Release)
China: Guangzhou warns zombies to stay off metro –
Halloween revellers are being urged to avoid the underground system in one southern Chinese city, in case they cause a panic. Transport police in Guangzhou say people in ghoulish fancy dress have been making other passengers nervous in recent days, and officers want travellers to report anyone they spot wearing spooky costumes. “Passengers’ strange behaviour may make some feel uneasy, cause onlookers to panic and could easily lead to security risks,” the force says in a statement posted on its Sina Weibo microblog account. “Therefore the subway does not encourage such acts.” [BBC]
Justin Bieber sorry for storming off stage after one song in Norway –
Justin Bieber’s been living up to the name of his new song Sorry by apologising to his fans for storming off stage in Norway. He said he was “done” and “I’m not doing the show” after performing one track during a TV recording in Oslo. In fan-filmed videos, Justin Bieber can be seen getting annoyed with people at the front of the stage while trying to wipe the floor. The singer later posted an apology on his Instagram account. [BBC]
Andrew Parker, head of British security agency MI5, states that ISIS terrorists are planning attacks in Great Britain and current terror threat levels are the highest he’s witnessed in his career. (The Telegraph)
Quebec-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International cut all ties with Philidor Rx Services. This comes in the wake of recent revelations that Valeant was looking to acquire Philidor, a relationship that raised questions from various quarters. Valeant is the subject of U.S. federal investigations. (New York Times)
Greek prime ministerAlexis Tsipras lashes out at European “ineptness” in handling the continent’s massive immigration crisis. The Associated Press reports 31 more people — mostly children — drowned in shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea near the islands of Kalymnos and Rhodes. Turkey’s state-run agency says four children drowned and two others are missing after two new accidents with boats headed to Greece’s Lesbos and Samos islands. The death toll in the Aegean Sea over the past three days is at least 50. The Greek coast guard says they rescued 600 people in the past 24 hours, while thousands more made it safely from Turkey to Greece’s southeastern islands. (AP via Huffington Post)(Reuters)
Storms hit the American state of Texas causing at least two deaths with one person reported missing. Rivers overflowed as more than a foot of rain fell in some areas while tornadoes ripped through buildings outside San Antonio. (NBC News)(Reuters)
A Virginia (U.S.) school bus overturns after being struck by a van, sending 28 students to local hospitals with five seriously injured. (Inside Edition)
Taylor Swift sued over Shake It Off lyrics –
Pop star Taylor Swift is being sued for $42m (£27m) for allegedly stealing the lyrics to her hit 2014 song Shake It Off. US R&B singer Jesse Braham has claimed in legal papers Swift stole the words from a song he wrote in 2013 called Haters Gone Hate. As well as the monetary compensation, Mr Braham also wants his name added as a writer on the track. Representatives for Swift have yet to officially comment on the legal case. Shake It Off topped music charts around the world and reached number two in the UK. The video for the song has been watched more than 1.1 billion times on YouTube. [BBC] Taylor Swift
Australia drops knights and dames from honours system –
Australia will no longer appoint knights and dames under the honours system, PM Malcolm Turnbull has said. Mr Turnbull said the titles were “not appropriate” in modern Australia, and that Queen Elizabeth had accepted the cabinet’s recommendation to drop them. Former PM Tony Abbott reintroduced knighthoods and damehoods in 2014. His controversial decision to grant Prince Philip a knighthood in January was widely seen as one of the factors which ended his term as leader. [BBC] Mr Turnbull became Australia PM in September 2015 Malcolm Turnbull
Four gymnasts share asymmetric bars gold –
Fan Yilin, Viktoriia Komova, Daria Spiridonova and Madison Kocian shared an unprecedented four gold medals at the gymnastics world championships on Saturday when the judges could not decide between their asymmetric bars routines. With the giant television screen confirming that there were indeed four champions from the eight-woman final, the gold medalists stood with their arms around each other in a straight line as the crowd gave them a standing ovation. The Russians were still in shock after a prolonged medals ceremony featured three national anthems being played and the master of ceremonies making four announcements starting with “Winner of the gold medal and the 2015 uneven bars champion is….” Organizers also had to abandon the flag-raising ceremony as there was no room for three flags on the same horizontal pole. While so many gold medals have never been given out in one event before, there was a five-way tie for silver at the 1922 championships on the pommel horse. [Reuters] Daria Spiridonova
Islamic State fighters seize control of Mahin, a town in Syria‘s central Homs province, following clashes with government forces which left about 50 dead. Fighting was also reported to be taking place on the outskirts of Sadad, a nearby town mostly populated by Christians. (Reuters)
One Palestinian is killed and three Israeli soldiers injured in two attacks in the West Bank. According to the Israeli army, the Palestinian was shot dead after attempting to stab soldiers at a military checkpoint near the Beit Einun village in Hebron. In a second incident in the same area, a driver rammed and injured three Israeli paramilitary border policemen with his car before fleeing the scene. None of the three were injured seriously. (The Daily Star)(Al Jazeera)
Since the beginning of October, nine Israelis, 67 Palestinians – around half of them alleged attackers – and an Arab Israeli have been killed in this wave of violence. (AFP via Yahoo.)
The fate of slain Palestinians is fueling a new feud with Israeli authorities. The Israeli defense minister says Israel is refusing to return the bodies of Palestinians killed during this month-old surge of violence unless the Palestinian side agrees to keep theirfunerals “modest.” (Reuters)
An Israel Defense Forces inquiry concludes the death of a Palestinian woman at a checkpoint in Hebron last month was unnecessary, finding the teenager could have been detained and not killed. (Haaretz)
Disasters
The United States Navy sends a remotely operated underwater craft to investigate a wreck which they believe is the remains of the SS El Faro which disappeared on October 1 near the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin with 33 people on board. (CNN)
Teachers, writers and students lead a protest rally in Dhaka against the recent killings and attacks on secular authors and publishers in Bangladesh. (AFP via Straits Times)
Cheese burglars who are driving French farmers rind the bend –
Farmers in France are being driven crackers after thieves launched a string of raids – to steal wheels of cheese. With consumer demand high in the run-up to Christmas, criminal gangs have spotted a lucrative opportunity. More than four tons of Comté cheese, worth at least €40,000 (£28,550), were stolen last week from a renowned producer in eastern France near the Swiss border. The burglars cut through a barbed wire fence at night to enter the Napiot dairy in Goux-les-Usiers and loaded a lorry with 100 90lb “wheels” of the cheese which the family has been making since 1860. A police source said: “The newspapers are calling it a record theft, but there have been at least two other thefts of similar quantities of cheese in recent times. The cheesemakers decided not to make their misfortune public.” [Daily Telegraph]
Adele says management banned her from tweeting after she ‘drunk tweeted’ –
Adele says she’s not allowed to send her own tweets any more after “drunk tweeting” a few years ago. The singer says her posts now go through two sets of people and are signed off before being posted but she says she still writes them. The 27-year-old was answering a question from the audience in her pre-recorded BBC interview and performance. Adele said the rule was brought in after she nearly landed herself in trouble “quite a few times”. The star now has almost 24 million Twitter followers. [BBC Newsbeat] In October 2015 Adele went to the top of the Official Singles Chart with her comeback single Hello. Adele
Bombs in and around Baghdad kill at least nine people, police and medical sources say. There is no immediate claim of responsibility. (Reuters)
Art and culture
The University of Sydney‘s Australian Archaeological Mission, excavating at a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the southwest coast of the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, discover Cyprus’s oldest theatre. Located in the ancient city of Nea Paphos (capital of Cyprus at the time), it is a Hellenistic–Roman structure believed to have been in use for about six and a half centuries, from c. 300 B.C. until its final destruction in the earthquakes of A.D. 365. The Roman columns are made of granite from quarries in Troad,Turkey. (AFP, via MSN)
A sudden noise immediately before the “black box” flight data recorder went dark indicates the plane was brought down by a bomb, according to unnamed sources. Officially, Ayman el-Muqadem says the Egyptian investigative team is “considering all possible scenarios for the cause of the accident” and has not yet reached any conclusions. (BBC)(USA Today)(The Mirror)
As rescue teams labor to reach isolated communities, state officials are taking precautions to contain the environmental fallout from the burst dams. A state public prosecutor based in Mariana says he will seek 500,000 Brazilian reais (US$130,000) in personal damages for each of about 200 families most affected by the dam burst. (Reuters)
A manhunt is underway for a gunman who shot and seriously wounded presiding Travis County, Texas State District Judge Julie Kocurek at the driveway of her home in West Austin, Texas. It was unclear whether she and/or her family members were targeted (they were arriving home) or if it was a botched robbery. She was listed in serious condition at University Medical Center Brackenridge in Austin but is expected to recover. (USA Today, via MSN)
Taylor Swift to release concert video on Apple Music –
Taylor Swift is releasing a live concert special from her 1989 world tour exclusively on Apple Music. The 1989 World Tour Live can be streamed from 20 December. It is not available to buy but it is free for streaming for Apple Music subscribers. Swift criticised Apple Music in June for not paying artists during its free, three-month trial launch. She said she was withholding her 1989 album because of Apple’s stance. The company then did a u-turn. Swift said Apple “had shown such humility in what they did … so that’s how we get to (here).” [BBC Taylor Swift
Kim Jong-un ‘ordered girl group home over Chinese snub’ –
They mystery surrounding the hurried departure of Kim Jong-Un’s girl group from China may have been solved. North Korea reportedly ordered the Moranbong Band to return from China in a fit of pique after their scheduled performance was snubbed by the leadership in Beijing. The 21-strong Moranbong Band left Beijing abruptly just before they were due to perform at an invitation-only concert on Saturday. At least one member of China’s politburo was expected to attend, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News reported. A Chinese government official told Yonhap that North Korea initially expected Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, to attend he concert, but was horrified at the offer of only a politburo member. [Daily Telegraph]
Video of the Day –
36 Questions That Make Strangers Fall In Love (The LAB)
Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry reports their investigation of the 31 October 2015 deadly crash of Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 in the Sinai has not found any evidence of terrorism. Prior to this, the working assumption has been that plane was brought down by a bomb, and a group affiliated with ISIL said it was responsible. (Sky News)(CNN)
A Palestinian rams his car into a bus stop near the Chords Bridge at the entrance to Jerusalem before being shot dead by police; fourteen people, including a toddler, are injured in the attack. (Ynet News)(The Times of Israel)
At least seven people are killed in clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish protesters across southeast Turkey, as Turkish authorities declare new curfews across the restive region. According to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, 52 curfews have been imposed since mid-August by Turkish authorities across seven Turkish provinces in the region, placing around 1.3 million people under curfew. (Reuters)
Business and economics
Oil price reached its lowest since December 2008. Other indicators in broader markets caused investor jitters ahead of the expected interest rate hike by the U.S. central bank on Wednesday. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man from eastern Jerusalem, Muhammad Abu Kaf, is indicted by Israeli prosecutors on eight counts of incitement to violence or terror for posting a video on Facebook calling on people to stab Jews. (Ynet News)
Harrison Ford nets £23m from Star Wars –
Hollywood veteran Harrison Ford will rake in more than £23 million for his role in the new Star Wars blockbuster, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Insiders say Disney producers were so determined to get the 73-year-old to reprise his role as Han Solo for The Force Awakens that they agreed a £16.7 million fee. Ford will also get a 0.5 per cent share of the film’s gross earnings, which are expected to break records by hitting at least £1.3 billion. It means the actor’s share could be worth £6.5 million. His salary is more than 76 times greater than that of British newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega. They received £300,000 each for their starring roles in the movie. However, once worldwide box-office takings have topped the $1 billion mark, the pair will also start to receive a small cut. [Daily Mail] Harrison Ford
Fifa: Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini get eight-year bans –
Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Uefa boss Michel Platini have been suspended for eight years from all football-related activities following an ethics investigation. They were found guilty of breaches surrounding a £1.3m ($2m) “disloyal payment” made to Platini in 2011. The Fifa ethics committee found Blatter and Platini had demonstrated an “abusive execution” of their positions. “I will fight for me and for Fifa,” Blatter, 79, said at a news conference. Platini said the decision was a “masquerade” intended to “dirty” his name. Both men continue to deny wrongdoing and intend to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas). Swiss Blatter and 60-year-old Frenchman Platini have also been fined £33,700 ($50,000) and £54,000 ($80,000) respectively. [BBC] In September Swiss police opened a separate investigation into criminal mismanagement or misappropriation over a TV rights deal. Sepp Blatter
Martin Shkreli fired from drug firm KaloBios following arrest –
Martin Shkreli has been fired as chief executive from the drug company KaloBios Pharmaceuticals. It comes just days after his arrest by the FBI for securities fraud. In a short statement, the company said he had also stepped down voluntarily from the board. Mr Shkreli, who came to prominence after his company raised the price of a lifesaving HIV drug by 5,000%, has pleaded not guilty to the fraud charges. He has already resigned as head of the company which made the drug, Turing Pharmaceuticals. The FBI has accused Mr Shkreli of using assets from his former company, Retrophin, to illegally pay off debts at MSMB, the hedge fund he managed. He was released on $5m (£3.53m) bail. [BBC] Martin Shkreli
Video of the Day –
Fire-breathing Backflip with Steve-O – The Slow Mo Guys
Taliban forces overrun the Sangin District in Afghanistan‘s southern Helmand Province following clashes with Afghan security forces which left dozens dead. Taliban militants have reportedly surrounded the local police compound with around 170 officers trapped inside the compound, according to a local official. (FRANCE 24)
At least two people are killed in a attack, near the north-eastern village of El Wak in Mandera County near the Somali border. A group of Kenyan Muslims traveling on a bus ambushed by suspected Al-Shabaab insurgents, protected Christian passengers by refusing to be split into groups, according to eyewitnesses. (BBC)
Fighting continues to rage between the Turkish Army and PKK militants across southeastern Turkey, with the Kurdish-majority cities of Cizre and Silopi both becoming war zones as street-to-street fighting takes place. Turkish tanks shelled civilian houses in Silopi, while a Turkish military helicopter was damaged by PKK fire as it attempted to land in Cizre. Also, two Turkish soldiers were killed and six others wounded in a roadside bombing near the town of Bitlis. Many within Turkey are saying a civil war is now underway. (Al Jazeera)
In Sunday’s elections, Spain’s center-right ruling People’s Party (PP) wins 123 seats (35.1%), and the center-left Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) takes 90 (25.7%) of the 350 seats in parliament, thereby ending Spain’s two-party system since neither major party won an absolute majority. Turnout was 73 percent. Spain’s new political forces, Podemos and Ciudadanos (C’s), get 69 and 40 seats, respectively. Smaller parties split the remaining 28 seats, 17 to Catalonia parties which favor secession. It appears that a coalition government will be necessary. PSOE has declined to join the PP, which actually doesn’t want that either. King Felipe, who ascended the throne in June 2014, is constitutionally empowered to mediate. (Stratfor)(Fortune)(International Business Times)(BBC)
Skier’s Close Call As Drone Camera Crashes –
A skier has narrowly avoided serious injury after a drone being used to film the event he was competing in crashed to the ground. The drone hit the snow just centimetres away from Austria’s Marcel Hirscher during the alpine skiing World Cup slalom in Italy. “This is horrible,” Hirscher, who finished second in the event, said. A skier has narrowly avoided serious injury after a drone being used to film the event he was competing in crashed to the ground. The drone hit the snow just centimetres away from Austria’s Marcel Hirscher during the alpine skiing World Cup slalom in Italy. “This is horrible,” Hirscher, who finished second in the event, said. [MSN News] See Video of the Day Marcel Hirscher
Madonna goes to court to force 15-year-old son to return to New York –
Madonna has gone to court to force her 15-year-old son Rocco to return to New York, after his father Guy Ritchie insisted that he wanted to stay in the UK for Christmas. The singer appeared before a judge in Manhattan on Wednesday morning, where she won her bid to have her son forced to board a plane from London. Mr Ritchie, a film director who has two children with Madonna, argued through his lawyer that Rocco preferred to spend Christmas with his father, the New York Post reported. Judge Kaplan ordered that Rocco should talk with Madonna, and then revisit the issue of which parent he prefers. The judge told a smiling Madonna that Rocco must also present himself to court in the United States for the case to be decided. “I’m directing the child to be returned to New York. If he wants to stay with his father, he must return to his mother.” [Daily Telegraph] Madonna
Video of the Day –
TV drone crashes during ski race – Marcel Hirscher at Madonna di Campiglio
Amnesty International reports at least 200 civilians have been killed in Russian air strikes in Syria, indicating “serious failures by Russia to respect international humanitarian law”. Moscow denies causing civilian deaths. (BBC)
An overnight raid by suspected Boko Haram militants on Niger‘s southern border town of Abadam, kills two Nigerien Army soldiers and three civilians. And, separately, a suicide-bomb attack on Lake Chad killed three of the attackers but no one else. A military convoy was also ambushed by militants in northern Cameroon, although there were no reported deaths. (Reuters)
Clashes continue between PKK militants and Turkish Army troops in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakır in southeastern Turkey. At least one Turkish soldier is killed and several are wounded in a bomb attack. (Reuters)
Hacktivist collective Anonymous declares a cyber-war on Turkey, and claims responsibility for the major week-long cyber-attack between 14 and 21 December on Turkey, which it accuses of supporting the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and threatened additional attacks in case the alleged support continues. “We will continue attacking your internet, your root DNS, your banks and take your government sites down,” it said. “After the root DNS, we will start to hit your airports, military assets and private state connections. We will destroy your critical banking infrastructure,” the group added. (Hurriyet Daily News)(Independent)
South Korea announces an end to the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak that has killed 36 people since May 2015. The virus infected 186 people, with nearly 17,000 people confined to their homes and thousands of schools temporarily closing at the peak of the largest MERS outbreak outside Saudi Arabia, where it first appeared in 2012. (AFP via FRANCE 24)
UK astronaut Tim Peake calls wrong number from space –
British astronaut Tim Peake tweeted an apology on Christmas Day from the International Space Station after calling a wrong number. He wrote “I’d like to apologize to the lady I just called by mistake saying ‘Hello, is this planet Earth?’ — not a prank call — just a wrong number!” The 43-year-old former army helicopter pilot did not say who he was calling. Timothy Peake
Amnesty International reports at least 200 civilians have been killed in Russian air strikes in Syria, indicating “serious failures by Russia to respect international humanitarian law”. Moscow denies causing civilian deaths. (BBC)
An overnight raid by suspected Boko Haram militants on Niger‘s southern border town of Abadam, kills two Nigerien Army soldiers and three civilians. And, separately, a suicide-bomb attack on Lake Chad killed three of the attackers but no one else. A military convoy was also ambushed by militants in northern Cameroon, although there were no reported deaths. (Reuters)
Clashes continue between PKK militants and Turkish Army troops in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakır in southeastern Turkey. At least one Turkish soldier is killed and several are wounded in a bomb attack. (Reuters)
Hacktivist collective Anonymous declares a cyber-war on Turkey, and claims responsibility for the major week-long cyber-attack between 14 and 21 December on Turkey, which it accuses of supporting the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and threatened additional attacks in case the alleged support continues. “We will continue attacking your internet, your root DNS, your banks and take your government sites down,” it said. “After the root DNS, we will start to hit your airports, military assets and private state connections. We will destroy your critical banking infrastructure,” the group added. (Hurriyet Daily News)(Independent)
South Korea announces an end to the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak that has killed 36 people since May 2015. The virus infected 186 people, with nearly 17,000 people confined to their homes and thousands of schools temporarily closing at the peak of the largest MERS outbreak outside Saudi Arabia, where it first appeared in 2012. (AFP via FRANCE 24)
Man dies after blowing up condom machine, says German police –
A man died on Christmas Day in Germany after he was hit in the head by a flying piece of metal from a condom machine that he and two accomplices blew up in an apparent robbery attempt, police said on Monday. The 29-year-old man was taken to hospital in the western town of Schoeppingen, near the Dutch border, by the two other men who fled the scene of the explosion in a car, leaving behind condoms and money scattered around the gutted vending machine. The two men told hospital officials that their friend had fallen down the stairs, injuring his head. Suspicious of their story, the officials called the police. During questioning, police said, one of them admitted that the three had blown up the condom machine. Police said the three men apparently got into a car after triggering the explosion, but the 29-year-old did not close his door and was hit by debris when the machine exploded. [Daily Telegraph]
Lemmy, Motorhead frontman, dies aged 70 after cancer diagnosis –
Motorhead frontman Lemmy has died aged 70, two days after learning he had cancer, the British band has announced. Lemmy formed the rock group in 1975 and recorded 22 albums, including Ace of Spades, as he became one of music’s most recognisable voices and faces. The band said on its Facebook page: “Our mighty, noble friend Lemmy has passed away after a short battle with an extremely aggressive cancer.” Lemmy was born Ian Fraser Kilmister in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in 1945. He lived in Anglesey, Wales, as a child and acquired the nickname Lemmy while at school, although he claimed to have had no idea where it came from. [BBC] Lemmy in 2005
Game of Thrones tops list of 2015’s most pirated shows –
For the fourth year running, fantasy series Game of Thrones has topped a list of the most pirated TV shows. According to Torrentfreak, the season five finale was illegally downloaded 14.4m times. More than half of those came in the week after its US premiere. The Walking Dead and The Big Bang Theory rounded up the top three, with 6.6m and 4.4m downloads respectively. Earlier this year, Game of Thrones broke a record when more than 258,000 users shared the show simultaneously. The HBO drama was mainly downloaded on BitTorrent. [BBC] Last year Game of Thrones was only downloaded 8.1 million times. Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones)
At least 32 people are killed and 90 injured following a car bomb and suicide-bomb attack in the al-Zahra district of the Syrian city of Homs. (Reuters)
A Chinese official who sanctioned a dump of construction debris that led to a deadly landslide in the southern city of Shenzhen that killed at least 7 people and has left over 70 missing, kills himself by jumping from a building in the city’s Nanshan district, according to the South China Morning Post. (TIME)
A police officer storms the police headquarters in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, and shoots dead three fellow officers, including a commanding officer. Authorities say Guarionex Candelario, 50, was arrested for the killings shortly afterwards and taken to hospital for minor injuries. (NY Daily News)
A U.S. grand jury decides not to bring charges against a Cleveland policeman over the killing of 12 year old Tamir Rice. (BBC)
The leader of Poland‘s Democracy Defence Committee, Mateusz Kijowski, says the government has “broken the country” after Polish President, Andrzej Duda, enacted a measure curbing the powers of the country’s highest legislative court, theConstitutional Tribunal, despite protests and warnings from the European Union. Kijowski further called for foreign intervention in the country from “Europe and the United States” to topple the Law and Justice (PiS) government, saying “they must help us, otherwise Poland will leave the community of democracies”. After news broke that Duda had signed into law the constitutional tribunal bill, he made a speech on television defending his move. Polish newspaperGazeta Wyborcza quoted U.S. sources saying Barack Obama had objections and had let it be known he would delay meeting Duda. The newspaper also suggested Poland’s hosting of the next NATO summit, planned for July 2016, was in the balance. (The Guardian)
News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource
Baftas 2016: The Revenant rules at Baftas –
Wilderness drama The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, has dominated this year’s Baftas. It was named best film while DiCaprio won best actor and Alejandro G Inarritu best director. Apocalyptic action movie Mad Max: Fury Road took four awards: for make-up and hair, editing, costumes and production design. Brie Larson won the best leading actress award for her role as a kidnapped mother in Room. Director Lenny Abrahamson, who picked up the award on her behalf, called her “one of the best actors of her generation.” [BBC] Leonardo_DiCaprio
Kanye West REALLY wants $1 billion from Mark Zuckerberg –
Kanye West has publicly asked Mark Zuckerberg to invest $1bn (£700m) into Kanye West ideas. He take his money, when he’s a need. Yeah, he’s a trifling friend indeed. In a series of tweets Kanye begs the co-founder of Facebook for help because he doesn’t have “enough resources” to create what he “really can”. It comes after he claimed to have a personal debt of $53m (£36m). Yes, that’s FIFTY THREE MILLION DOLLARS. It’s all because Kanye thinks he can make the world a better place. He also thinks tech companies in San Francisco should donate money to him rather than African school children. [BBC Newsbeat]
Kanye West begging tweets
Video of the Day –
Simon’s Cat Logic – Love
List of the Day –
Winners of the BAFTA Film Awards 2016
Best film
Winner: The Revenant
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Carol
Spotlight
Outstanding British film
Winner: Brooklyn
45 Years
Amy
The Danish Girl
Ex Machina
The Lobster
Actor
Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
Bryan Cranston – Trumbo
Matt Damon – The Martian
Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl
Actress
Winner: Brie Larson – Room
Cate Blanchett – Carol
Saoirse Ronan – Brooklyn
Maggie Smith – The Lady in the Van
Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
Supporting actor
Winner: Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
Christian Bale – The Big Short
Benicio del Toro – Sicario
Idris Elba – Beasts of No Nation
Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight
Supporting actress
Winner: Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs
Jennifer Jason Leigh – The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara – Carol
Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina
Julie Walters – Brooklyn
Director
Winner: Alejandro G Inarritu – The Revenant
Todd Haynes – Carol
Adam McKay – The Big Short
Ridley Scott – The Martian
Steven Spielberg – Bridge of Spies
Adapted screenplay
Winner: The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
Room
Steve Jobs
Original screenplay
Winner: Spotlight
Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
The Hateful Eight
Inside Out
Animated film
Winner: Inside Out
Minions
Shaun the Sheep Movie
Documentary
Winner: Amy
Cartel Land
He Named Me Malala
Listen to Me Marlon
Sherpa
Foreign film
Winner: Wild Tales
The Assassin
Force Majeure
Theeb
Timbuktu
Cinematography
Winner: The Revenant
Bridge of Spies
Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
Sicario
Costume design
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road
Brooklyn
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Editing
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
The Martian
The Revenant
Make-up and hair
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road
Brooklyn
Carol
The Danish Girl
The Revenant
Music
Winner: The Hateful Eight
Bridge of Spies
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Production design
Winner: Mad Max: Fury Road
Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Martian
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Sound
Winner: The Revenant
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Special effects
Winner: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Ant-Man
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
British short animation
Winner: Edmond
Manoman
Prologue
British short film
Winner: Operator
Elephant
Mining Poems or Odes
Over
Samuel-613
Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer
The United Nations reports that civilian casualties reached a record level in 2015; at least 3,545 non-combatants were killed and 7,457 injured. (Reuters)
Maria Sharapova failed drugs test at Australian Open –
Former world number one Maria Sharapova has revealed she failed a drugs test at the Australian Open. The Russian, 28, tested positive for meldonium, a substance she has been taking since 2006 for health issues. Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion, is provisionally suspended from 12 March pending further action. “I did fail the test and take full responsibility for it,” said Sharapova, who won the Wimbledon title as a 17-year-old in 2004. “For the past 10 years I have been given a medicine called mildronate by my family doctor and a few days ago after I received a letter from the ITF [International Tennis Federation] I found out it also has another name of meldonium, which I did not know.” [BBC] See List of the Day Maria Sharapova
Peyton Manning: Denver Broncos quarterback retires from NFL –
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has announced his retirement, ending a sparkling 18-year career in the NFL. Manning struggled to hold back tears as he confirmed the news at a media conference in Denver on Monday. He said: “I fought a good fight. I finished my football race. After 18 years it is time.” Manning, who turns 40 on 24 March, played his last game when he helped the Broncos win the Super Bowl in February. It was his second Super Bowl win, the first coming in 2007 during a 14-year spell with the Indianapolis Colts. [BBC] Peyton Manning
The EU plans to boost aid to Greece and declare the route north through the Balkans closed. Presently, about 13,000 people are stranded at the Greece–Macedonia border. (BBC)(Kathimerini)
Amnesty International takes on the EU for using Turkey as a buffer to police Europe’s borders. Deputy Director Gauri van Gulik says Europe has an absolute duty to protect refugees and must fast-track significant, unconditional resettlement. (AP via The Washington Post)
Former mayor of the Pitcairn IslandsMike Warren is found guilty of downloading more than 1000 images and videos of child abuse and child pornography while working in child protection and is sentenced to 20 months in prison. (The Guardian)
American sportscaster Erin Andrews is awarded $55 million damages after a stranger, in 2008, secretly recorded her in the nude through a hotel door peephole, and posted the video on the Internet. (New York Daily News)
‘Fifth Beatle’ Sir George Martin dies, aged 90 –
Record producer Sir George Martin, known as the “fifth Beatle”, has died, aged 90. His family thanked “everyone for their thoughts, prayers and messages of support” after his death at home on Tuesday, his manager said. Beatles drummer Ringo Starr broke the news on Twitter and led tributes, saying Sir George “will be missed”. Sir George signed the Beatles and produced more than 700 records. He also worked with artists including Gerry and the Pacemakers, Shirley Bassey and Cilla Black. [BBC] George Martin in 2006
‘Le burger’ now top selling dish in French restaurants, new study reveals –
For the guardians of French gastronomy, the prospect of being served something as unsophisticated as a slab of mincemeat with a bap and slice of cheese would long have been considered sacrilegious. Today, however, the tables have turned. In a culinary revolution, three quarters of French restaurants now sell hamburgers and 80 per cent of these say it has become their top-selling dish, according to a new study. “Le burger” – as the French dub the quintessentially American invention to the despair of linguistic purists of the Académie Française – has become a feature of even the most illustrious eateries. Indeed, such is its success that sales are set to overtake those of the classic “jambon beurre” (ham and butter baguette), the nation’s staple lunchtime sandwich. Last year, the French chomped their way through 1.19 billion burgers, an 11 per cent rise on the previous year, while “le jambon beurre” fell to 1.23 billion. [Daily Telegraph]
Video of the Day –
A History of Rock in 15 minutes.
348 rockstars, 84 guitarists, 64 songs, 44 drummers, 1 mashup.
A Pew Research Center survey of Jewish and non-Jewish Israelis, via face-to-face interviews from October 2014 through May 2015, finds deep divisions in Israeli society – not only between Israeli Jewsand the country’s Arab citizen minority, but also among the religious subgroups that make up Israeli Jewry. An overwhelming majority (98%) of Israeli Jews agree all Jews should have the right to move to Israel and receive immediate citizenship. Close to half (48 percent) support the expulsion or transfer of Arabs from Israel, yet most secular Jews disagree (58%) with this, as do 54 percent of those in the center politically (more so from the left). Meanwhile, Israeli Arabs, currently about one-in-five of the country’s adults, generally do not think Israel can be a Jewish state and a democracy at the same time. Fewer Arabs (down 24 points) think a peaceful, two-state solution is possible, from 74% in 2013 to 50% now. Both groups are skeptical of the peace process: Israeli Arabs question the sincerity of the Israeli government in seeking a peace agreement, while Israeli Jews are equally skeptical about the sincerity of Palestinian leaders. (Pew is a non-partisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C.)(Pew Research Center)
An Istanbul court places the Cihan News Agency under state control. The seizure of the Fethullah Gülen-linked news agency comes just days after the Turkish government seized control of the oppositionZaman newspaper. (Reuters)
Paris St-Germain score 9 as they win French title –
Paris St-Germain were crowned French champions with two months to spare as Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored four in a 9-0 demolition of bottom side Troyes. Edinson Cavani, Javier Pastore and Adrien Rabiot put them 3-0 up inside 19 minutes before Ibrahimovic struck three within 10 minutes in the second half. Matthieu Saunier scored an own goal and Cavani made it 8-0 before Ibrahimovic added his fourth. [BBC]
Paris St-Germain won the league with 62 days and eight games to spare, a record for any of Europe’s ‘big five’ domestic leagues.
In 115 appearances in Ligue 1, Zlatan Ibrahimovic now has 102 goals and 35 assists.
This win was the sixth time this season that PSG have scored four goals or more in a Ligue 1 game.
This title is PSG’s sixth overall and their fourth in a row
Six people have been killed in Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma, with two Mississippi fishermen missing, in this week’s flooding in the America’s Deep South. More than 24 inches of rain has fallen in some of the hardest-hit areas with more rain today that is expected to lead to additional flooding later this week. (Fox News)(UPI)
Hulk Hogan awarded $115m in Gawker sex tape case –
A Florida jury has awarded Hulk Hogan $115m (£79m) after the gossip news website Gawker published a sex tape of the retired professional wrestler. Mr Hogan’s legal team argued the New York-based website violated his privacy and the video was not newsworthy. The case, which pitted freedom of the press against a celebrity’s right to privacy, has been closely watched. The video was posted in 2012 after Mr Hogan was secretly recorded having sex with his friend’s wife. Mr Hogan, whose given name is Terry Bollea, said the release of the sex tape hurt his career. He was one of the most popular professional wrestlers of the 1980s and 1990s and later starred in his own reality television show with his family. [BBC] Hulk Hogan
Sport Relief raises ‘a record’ £55m –
More than £55m has been raised so far for charity on Sport Relief’s live TV show, ahead of a weekend of fundraising. David Walliams, Alesha Dixon, Gary Lineker and Greg James were among those who hosted the BBC show, broadcast from London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Highlights included a Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em sketch featuring tennis siblings Andy and Jamie Murray. The total of £55,444,906 breaks the previous on-the-night record of £51m. [BBC] See List of the Day
Iain Duncan Smith quits over planned disability benefit changes –
Iain Duncan Smith has dramatically resigned from the [UK] Government in protest at George Osborne’s proposed cuts to benefits for the disabled. The former Conservative leader said that plans to cut the benefits paid to the disabled by more than £1 billion were a “compromise too far” and said that welfare for pensioners should be cut instead. He added that they are “not defensible” when announced alongside a budget that benefits higher earning taxpayers. Mr Duncan Smith [a former Conservative Leader] also accused the Chancellor of forcing through cuts to welfare for “political” rather than national economic reasons. [Daily Telegraph] Iain Duncan Smith
Australia Senate passes reforms after farcical all-nighter –
Monty Python references, a colonoscopy analogy and a pyjama-clad senator featured during an all-night sitting of Australia’s upper house. The Senate has finally passed changes to how its members are elected after 28 hours of debate. The changes will disadvantage so-called micro parties that have gained increasing power in the Senate. The ruling conservative Coalition formed an unlikely partnership with the Greens party to pass the reforms. But the opposition Labor Party and micro party senators, who opposed the laws, dragged out the debate with filibuster tactics and amendments. During the all-night debate, Labor senators consistently spoke off-topic to delay votes to the legislation giving voters greater control over where their preferences were allocated. The laws eventually passed by a margin of 36-24. [BBC]
Video of the Day –
Proof of evolution that you can find on your body
List of the Day –
Total charity donations “on the night” by BBC Sport Relief
European Union leaders offer Turkey a detailed package of cash and incentives to agree that all migrants attempting to cross the Aegean Sea by raft or boat would be sent back to Turkey which, in effect, becomes the region’s migrant holding center. A number of stumbling blocks remain, such as raising the amount of aid from 3 billion euros to at least 6 billion euros; reducing the “72 arduous conditions” the Turks must meet to implement visa-free travel for Turkish citizens; Europe agrees to accelerate talks with Ankara on its EU bid; etc. Human Rights Watch protests the proposed fast-track collective expulsions that fail to take individual circumstances into account and breach peoples’ right to seek asylum. (The Washington Post)(Journal of Turkish Weekly)
European Union and Turkish officials agree on how to handle the flood of refugees. The deal, to return irregular migrants to Turkey, includes acceleration of the country’s long-stalled bid for membership in the union; billions of euros in extra aid, 3 billion euros now, another 3 billion by 2018; and, visa-free travel for Turks once the country satisfies the EU criteria. Europe will be taking in thousands of Syrianrefugees directly from Turkey. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) strongly condemns the deal as “ugly and illegal.” The agreement is set to go into effect Sunday, March 20, 2016.(CNN)(Middle East Eye)(Reuters)
Health and medicine
Swiss research, published in the medical journal The Lancet, found that paracetamol — sold as Tylenol and as a generic, acetaminophen, in the United States — was not effective at reducing pain or improving movement in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip. The analysis examined 74 randomly-selected trials published between 1980 and 2015 with 58,556 patients who had osteoarthritis. The study did find the prescription drug diclofenac, sold in the U.S. as Cataflam or Voltaren, is the most effective NSAID available. McNeil Consumer Healthcare, the makers of Tylenol, disagree with the study’s conclusions.(CBS News)(The Lancet)
Jia Jia, a columnist for China’sTencent media company is reported missing after not being heard from since Tuesday, when he was on his way to Hong Kong. He was last heard from when he tried to warn a friend about publishing an anonymous letter calling for PresidentXi Jinping’s resignation. (BBC)
A Florida jury awards Hulk Hogan $115m after the gossip news website Gawker published a sex tape of the retired professional wrestler. Mr Hogan’s legal team argued that the New York City-based website violated his privacy and that the video wasn’t newsworthy. (BBC)
Politics and elections
Former PresidentPervez Musharraf travels to Dubai for medical treatment of his back and leg, before moving on to either the U.S. or U.K. for additional treatment, spokesperson Aasia Ishaque said. Musharraf, 72, will return to Pakistan to face all pending legal cases. Earlier this week, Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif’s government implemented the Supreme Court ruling, and lifted the 2013 ban that barred Musharraf from international trips. (Bloomberg)
Brazil’s lower house of Congress, which yesterday overwhelmingly approved (433-1) a 65-member investigatory, presidential impeachment committee, was in session today — unusual since lawmakers are generally away from the capital on Fridays. The charge alleges President Rousseff broke budget rules to boost public spending in the run-up to her re-election in 2014. The president has 10 lower house sessions to present her defense. Friday’s session means that clock has started and she now has nine sessions. (Reuters)(Reuters via Swiss Broadcasting Corporation)
Supporters of the governing Workers’ Party took to the streets, in a sense answering the massive anti-government gatherings since Sunday, in all of Brazil’s 26 states. Organizations from both sides of the protests have called for people opposed to the Workers’ Party to stay home Friday to avoid a repeat of Thursday’s clashes. (The Washington Post)(Fox News Latino)
News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource