Ukraine - The 2010s

April 29, 2015

Top News Stories –

American Airlines planes grounded by iPad app error –
A faulty app caused American Airlines to ground dozens of its jets on Tuesday. The glitch caused iPad software, used by the planes’ pilots and co-pilots to view flight plans, to stop working. The firm’s cockpits went “paperless” in 2013 to save its staff having to lug heavy paperwork on board. AA estimated the move would save it more than $1.2m (£422,770) in fuel every year. The company said that it was still investigating the cause of the problem. “Some American Airlines flights experienced an issue with a software application on pilot iPads yesterday evening,” a spokesman told the BBC. “In some cases, the flight had to return to the gate to access a wi-fi connection to fix the issue. [BBC]

Ed Miliband tells Russell Brand he’s ‘wrong’ on politics –
Ed Miliband has challenged Russell Brand over his view that voting is “pointless” in a video interview conducted by the campaigning comedian.
Taken to task by Brand about public disillusionment with politics, the Labour leader replied: “You implied… no change happened. That’s just wrong.” Prime Minister David Cameron called Mr Miliband’s meeting with Brand a “joke”. But Mr Miliband said the interview was a way to engage with millions of people not usually interested in politics. [BBC] See Video of the Day.

© @RustyRockets/Twitter

Russian spacecraft Progress M-27M ‘out of control’ –
A Russian spacecraft delivering supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) is out of control and will fall back to Earth, officials say. The unmanned cargo ship was launched from Kazakhstan on Tuesday, but contact was lost with it soon afterwards. Russia’s space agency says Progress M-27M is now orbiting in an uncontrolled spin. It cannot reach the ISS and is likely to break up on re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. [BBC]

How one tweet wiped $8bn off Twitter’s value –
Twitter was due to announce its earnings for the first quarter of the year after close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, where the company is listed. Announcing results after the markets close gives investors a chance to digest the news, sleep on it, and then start trading again the next day. Except it turns out that somebody thought it would be a good idea to release this information early, on the technology-led Nasdaq-run investor relations page for Twitter. Initially it seemed no-one really noticed the error, until a well-placed tweet highlighted the mistake and revealed Twitter’s disappointing results. The markets were still trading, and Twitter had not had the chance to formally present its results in a statement that would have bathed them in a more flattering light. At one point in the final hours of trading, the stock had lost more than $8bn (£5bn), or 25% of its opening price. Selerity is a tech start-up […] that automatically scans all sorts of documents, press releases, and social media online and looks for anything that could prove useful to investors. Selerity then tweeted its source, adding to Twitter’s embarrassment by making it clear that the results had been neither leaked or hacked.
Selerity tweet © @Selerity/Twitter

Video of the Day –

Russell Brand meets Ed Milliband (Leader of the UK Labour Party) –

CLICK TO SEE MORE STUFF FROM THIS DAY…

May 12, 2015

Top News Stories –

Nepal earthquake: Dozens die in new tremor near Everest –
A major earthquake has struck eastern Nepal, near Mount Everest, two weeks after more than 8,000 people died in a devastating quake. At least 48 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured, officials say. At least 17 have also died in India. The latest earthquake hit near the town of Namche Bazaar and sent thousands of panicked residents on to the streets of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. It had a magnitude of 7.3, compared with the 7.8 of the 25 April quake. [BBC]

Tom Brady: ‘Deflate-gate’ player banned for four matches –
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been suspended for four games by the National Football League after an inquiry into under-inflated balls. Brady, 37, will not receive any pay during his ban, while the team were fined $1m (£642,000) for a scandal that has become known as ‘Deflate-gate’. The NFL said on Monday the club were sanctioned after “failure to cooperate in the subsequent investigation”. According to reports, 11 of the 12 game balls they provided for the rain-affected match were under-inflated by about two pounds per square inch, giving Brady more grip in the cold and wet conditions. [BBC] The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl in April.
Tom Brady

Vienna brings in gay pedestrian crossing lights –
Dozens of traffic lights in the Austrian capital have been changed to show gay couples crossing the road instead of the traditional lone figure. Vienna has changed the signal images at 120 pedestrian crossings – also showing heterosexual couples – in preparation for the Eurovision Song Contest. Officials said the signals were a sign of Vienna’s open-mindedness. Toni Mahdalik of the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria called the initiative gender politics “gone mad”. He said the money would have been better spent on reducing poverty and improving unemployment figures. [BBC]

Verizon to buy AOL for $4.4bn –
US telecommunications giant Verizon has agreed to buy AOL in a deal worth $4.4bn (£2.8bn). Buying AOL will broaden the amount of advertising Verizon can sell and will increase video production. AOL owns websites such as the Huffington Post, Techcrunch, Engadget, Makers and AOL.com. Verizon is offering $50 a share for AOL, compared with AOL’s closing price of $42.59 on Monday. [BBC]
Arianna Huffington co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post

Video of the Day –

The Bull Rider from I Am Los Angeles – Joris Debeij on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#FelizMartes	#HipsterCrimes	#HipsterCrimes
2	Tinelli	Monty Williams	#InternationalNursesDay
3	#NoPuedoVivirSin	Yogi Berra	Strauss
4	#PrayForNepal	#BadFortuneCookiesToGet	Nepal
5	#NadaMejorQue	Verizon	#UnpopularTelevisionShows
6	Lali	#PrayForNepal	#IND2015
7	#camilabananaicecream	Don Rickles	Chuka Umunna
8	#AmoTwitterPq	#KylieJennerChallengeGoneW…	#cheekynandos
9	#LasChicasOdian	#UnpopularTelevisionShows	#TurnerPrize
10	Tom Brady	Bayern	#IHateYouSoMuch

Other News Stories –

Business and economy

The Philippines establishes regulations for ride-sharing apps, like Uber, making it the first country to do so. (Wired)
Verizon Communications Inc. announces that it will buy AOL Inc. for US$4.4 billion. (Fox Business)
Bus drivers in the Indian city of Delhi call off a strike to protest the murder of a driver after the state government invokes the Essential Service Maintenance Act. (NDTV)

Disasters and accidents

An explosion on a train in the Indian city of Kolkata results in at least 17 people being injured. (Hindustan Times)
Typhoon Noul arrives at the southern Japanese islands at Amami Oshima before moving through Kyushu and then Honshu. (AP)
May 2015 Nepal earthquake
- A magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes the town of Namche Bazaar, Nepal, near the Tibetan border and the base camp for Mount Everest.(MSN), (BBC), (ABC News Australia), (Reuters via Daily Mail)
- The reported death toll from this earthquake is at least 66 people, including 17 in neighboring India and one in Tibet. Many more have been injured. (NBC News) (Reuters)
- A United States Marine Corps Bell UH-1Y Venom helicopter on a relief mission goes missing over Charicot, Nepal, with eight people on board.(The Guardian), (NBC News)
May 2015 Amtrak derailment
- An Amtrak train derails in the Frankford neighborhood of the American city of Philadelphia causing cars to roll over. At least 5 people have been killed, 50 people are injured in the derailment, and 100 people total have been taken to hospitals.(USA Today)(Huffington Post),(CNN)

International relations

United States Secretary of State John Kerry will meet President of Russia Vladimir Putin during his first visit to Russia since the Ukraine crisisbegan. (BBC)
Democrats in the United States Senate block passage of a fast-track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership sought by President Barack Obama. Government officials are not allowed to publicly reveal the content of what is officially described as a “trade deal” but was revealed by wikileaks to contain legal restrictions on US citizens outside of USA law. (The Hill)

Law and crime

Bangladeshi secular blogger Ananta Bijoy Das is cut to pieces by a masked gang wielding machetes in the city of Sylhet. He is the third secular blogger to be killed in Bangladesh this year. (BBC)
Shooting of Tony Robinson
- Officer Matt Kenny of the Madison Police Department will not face charges in relation to the shooting of Tony Robinson in March 2015 in the American city of Madison. (CNN)

Science

Russia delays the return of three astronauts from the International Space Station due to a recent failure of a supply mission. (AFP bia France 24)

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May 21, 2015

Top News Stories –

F1’s Ecclestone in legal challenge over £1bn tax move –
Formula 1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone has gone to court to challenge the basis of assessments that have left him facing a UK tax claim of more than £1bn. The 84-year-old, at the F1 helm for 40 years, wants the assessments quashed, and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) held to an earlier April 2008 agreement. The new figure is believed to cover the period from the tax year ended 5 April 1996 to tax year ending 5 April 2006. The case revolves around the Ecclestone family’s Bambino trust which was set up in Liechtenstein in 1997 for the benefit of Mr Ecclestone’s now ex-wife, Slavica, and daughters Tamara and Petra. The UK tax authorities re-opened their investigation of Bambino after a high-profile bribery case in Germany last year, said the judge. [BBC]
Bernie Ecclestone

Black Sabbath celebrate at Ivor Novello awards –
Black Sabbath have received a lifetime achievement prize at the Ivor Novello songwriting awards. Guitarist Tony Iommi picked up the trophy, confirming the heavy metal band would embark on their “final tour” next year. Ed Sheeran was named songwriter of the year, while Boy George picked up an outstanding contribution award. Clean Bandit beat Sam Smith and George Ezra to win the prize for most performed song for Rather Be. The Ivor Novello awards are voted for by songwriters, with judges this year including Gary Barlow, Guy Chambers, Nik Kershaw, Shaznay Lewis and Kim Appleby of ’80s pop group Mel & Kim.[BBC]
Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath

Video of the Day –

List of the day –

Ivor Novello Award winners and nominees –
Best song musically and lyrically

Take Me to Church – Hozier
Above the Clouds of Pompeii – Bear’s Den
I Forget Where We Were – Ben Howard

Best contemporary song

Rather Be – Clean Bandit, featuring Jess Glynne
Every Other Freckle – alt-J
Two Weeks – FKA Twigs

Best album

So Long, See You Tomorrow – Bombay Bicycle Club
Royal Blood – Royal Blood
Present Tense – Wild Beasts

PRS for Music most performed work

Rather Be – Clean Bandit, featuring Jess Glynne
Stay With Me – Sam Smith
Budapest – George Ezra

Best original film score

’71 – David Holmes
Mr Turner – Gary Yershon
The Boxtrolls – Dario Marianelli

Best television soundtrack

The Honourable Woman – Natalie Holt and Martin Phipps
The Mill (Series 2) – Samuel Sim
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: Beyond the Pale – Edmund Butt

Lifetime Achievement: Black Sabbath

Outstanding Song Collection: Albert Hammond

PRS for Music Outstanding Contribution to British Music: Boy George

PRS for Music Special International Award: Paul Williams

Songwriter of the Year: Ed Sheeran

The Ivors Classical Music Award: Judith Weir

The Ivors Inspiration Award: Manic Street Preachers

The Ivors Special Anniversary Award: Midge Ure and Bob Geldof, Band Aid

BASCA Fellowship: Annie Lennox

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#MeDanGanasDe	#RedNoseDay	Sunderland
2	Santa Fé	#TakeAMovieToBreakfast	#ENGvNZ
3	황교안	#RejectedUniversityClasses	#NXTTakeOver
4	#TypeYourNameWithYourNose	#ThanksDave	#PPAFestival
5	JR Smith	Josh Duggar	Jamie Vardy
6	#えっちからの予測�…	Maggie Gyllenhaal	Aidy Ward
7	#ElSecretoDeLaFelicidad	#CultProblems	#SelfieForJames
8	#ThanksDave	#TylerOnEllen	#AstonGetStupid
9	#حصه_ال_الشيخ_ت…	#BuyBlackMagicOniTunes	Scrabble
10	#BuyBlackMagicOniTunes	Boy Scouts	#TakeAMovieToBreakfast

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- Islamic State fighters enter the ancient ruins of Palmyra after capturing the Syrian city of Tadmur yesterday. A hundred pro-governmentfighters are believed to have died in fighting. (Reuters)
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that Islamic State now controls more than half of Syria dominating 95,000 square kilometres and controls settlements in nine provinces. (News Limited)
Al-Shabaab militants briefly take over a mosque in Kenya‘s Garissa County. (BBC)
2014–15 Russian military intervention in Ukraine
- The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) claims that two Russians captured in the Ukraine have publicly admitted to being part of the GRU Russian special forces. The Donetsk People’s Republic (separatists) authorities claim these men were official policemen in the self-proclaimed republic. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

Arts and culture

Robert Gates, the President of the Boy Scouts of America, calls on the movement to end the ban on gay adult leaders and says the movement will no longer revoke the charters of chapters that accept gay male leaders. (Yahoo News)

Health

South Korea confirms its third case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. (Yonhap)
Two prisoners die and 30 are hospitalised following a cholera outbreak at the Shimo la Tewa facility in Mombasa, Kenya. (The Star via AllAfrica)
Cleanup continues from the 19 May 2015 Refugio Oil Spill at State Beach on Santa Barbara County, California coast.(ABC7.com)
Health authorities in the United States say that 53 people in nine states have been sickened in a salmonella outbreak. California is the worst affected state with 31 cases with the other states with cases include Arizona, Illinois, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Dakota, Virginia, Washingtonand Wisconsin. (NBC News)

Law and crime

Brazilian anti-corruption blogger Evany José Metzker is found dead after investigating a drug dealing and prostitution case. (Deutsche Weller)
Death of Freddie Gray
- A grand jury in the American city of Baltimore indicts six police officers relating to the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. All six officers will face charges of reckless endangerment. (AP via ABC News America), (ABC2)
Daron Dylon Wint is arrested in the American capital of Washington D.C. in relation to the murder of four people on May 14. (NBC Washington)
Mexican Drug War
- Mexican police find three dismembered bodies in a search for ten missing people in Chilapa, a city occupied by vigilantes with alleged links to drug rings between May 9-14. (AP)

Sports

Amnesty International accuses Qatar of failing to meet commitments on labor market reforms for migrant workers to be introduced before the2022 FIFA World Cup. Among other charges, Qatar uses North Korean labourers who are not paid personally but instead the money goes to their government. (AFP via Google News)

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May 23, 2015

Top News Stories –

Sweden wins Eurovision Song Contest –
Unabashed commercial dance music triumphed over kitsch and politics, as Sweden swept to its sixth victory in Eurovision, making it the most successful country in Eurovision history behind Ireland. Måns Zelmerlöw, a leather trousered hunk, with his pop anthem Heroes, beat off stiff competition from Russian (bolstered by some neighbourly votes from Eastern European nations) and Italy. Sweden won 365 points, while Russia, in second, got 303. [Daily Telegraph] Unfortunately after Eurovision went off air it was revealed that two countries had been disqualified. Montengro and Macedonia’s voting results have been disqualified after it was discovered the two countries used votes from the televoting to account for 100% of the country’s votes, rather than 50% with 50% coming from a jury, as is required. [Daily Mirror] See Video of the Day and List of the Day
Måns_Zelmerlöw from Sweden

Ireland becomes first country to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote –
Ireland has voted by a huge majority to legalise same-sex marriage, becoming the first country in the world to do so by popular vote in a move hailed as a social revolution and welcomed around the world. Some 62% of the Irish Republic’s electorate voted in favour of gay marriage. The result means that a republic once dominated by the Catholic church ignored the instructions of its cardinals and bishops. The huge Yes vote marks another milestone in Ireland’s journey towards a more liberal, secular society. Out of an electorate of more than 3 million, 1,201,607 backed gay marriage, while 734,300 voters said No. The result prompted a massive street party around the gay district of central Dublin close to the national count centre. [The Guardian]

Spanish La Liga ends with Barcelona on top but Cristiano Ronaldo with 61 goals –
Cristiano Ronaldo finished with a season’s best goals tally of 61 as his first-half hat-trick helped Real Madrid end their season by hammering Getafe 7-1. The Portuguese forward’s haul is one more than the 60 he scored in 2011-12. Barcelona had already won the title and said adios to their captain Xavi Hernández who has won eight La Liga titles with the side after joing the club aged 11 in 1991. See List of the Day 2
Xavi Hernández

Banned number plates revealed: VA61ANA banned but PEN15 allowed –
The DVLA has revealed its entire catalogue of forbidden car number plates – including some amusing selections as well as surprising omissions. It seems motorists can drive a PEN15, but not a VA61ANA, and while BL03 JOB is forbidden ORG45M is fine. The list of personalised plates the DVLA believes to be in poor taste runs to 46 pages and includes religious or homophobic words. [Daily Telegraph]
Banned number plates – how they might look

Video of the Day –

Måns Zelmerlöw – Heroes (Sweden) – LIVE at Eurovision 2015 Grand Final

List of the day 1 –

Eurovision Song Contest 2015 results

Sweden – 365 points
Russia – 303 points
Italy – 292 points
Belgium – 217 points
Australia – 196 points
Latvia – 186 points
Estonia – 106 points
Norway – 102 points
Israel – 97 points
Serbia – 53 points
Georgia – 51 points
Azerbaijan – 49 points
Montenegro – 44 points
Slovenia – 39 points
Romania – 35 points
Armenia – 34 points
Albania – 34 points
Lithuania – 30 points
Greece – 23 points
Hungary – 19 points
Spain – 15 points
Cyprus – 11 points
Poland – 10 points
United Kingdom – 5 points
France – 4 points
Germany – 0 points
Austria – 0 points

List of the day 2 –

2014-2015 Spanish La Liga final table

#	Team	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS

1	Barcelona	38	30	4	4	110	21	89	94

2	Real Madrid	38	30	2	6	118	38	80	92

3	Atlético Madrid	38	23	9	6	67	29	38	78

4	Valencia	38	22	11	5	70	32	38	77

5	Sevilla	38	23	7	8	71	45	26	76

6	Villarreal	38	16	12	10	48	37	11	60

7	Athletic	38	15	10	13	42	41	1	55

8	Celta Vigo	38	13	12	13	47	44	3	51

9	Málaga	38	14	8	16	42	48	-6	50

10	Espanyol	38	13	10	15	47	51	-4	49

11	Rayo	38	15	4	19	46	68	-22	49

12	Real Sociedad	38	11	13	14	44	51	-7	46

13	Elche	38	11	8	19	35	62	-27	41

14	Levante	38	9	10	19	34	67	-33	37

15	Getafe CF	38	10	7	21	33	64	-31	37

16	Deportivo	38	7	14	17	35	60	-25	35

17	Granada	38	7	14	17	29	64	-35	35

18	Eibar	38	9	8	21	34	55	-21	35

19	Almería	38	8	8	22	35	64	-29	32

20	Córdoba	38	3	11	24	22	68	-46	20

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	キスの日	#BreloVerdict	#BigWeekend
2	#PreguntasPelotudas	Ireland	#EqualityForAll
3	#JornadaDeReflexion	#SharedWordMovies	#furnishamovie
4	Dream Concert	Jeezy	Grange Hill
5	#جمال_الشخص_في	#BigWeekend	Adjoa
6	#اكتب_اسمك_وان�…	#NashsNewVideo	Southend
7	#EsteFindeLargoRePintaPara	#NewTLCShows	Fat Elvis
8	Dursun Özbek	Xavi	#askDinahYane
9	노건호	Bundesliga	Eric Pickles
10	#6raciesXavi	#UFC187	#CarShare

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- A roadside bomb kills two, including the district chief, in the Charcheno District of Afghanistan. (AP via ABC News America)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- Islamic extremists kill at least 18 people in an attack on two rural towns Awdhegie and Mubarak, (AP)
War in Donbass
- Pro-Russian separatist military leader colonel Alexei Mozgovoi is confirmed killed in an ambush on his car. (BBC News)

Arts and culture

The Venerable Servant of God Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, the assassinated former Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador in San Salvador, El Salvador (d. March 24, 1980, while saying Mass, at the start of the Salvadoran Civil War) is beatified, in Pope Francis‘s name, by Angelo Cardinal Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, in San Salvador. (White House) (CNN)(Vatican)
The final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 is held in Vienna, Austria with Måns Zelmerlöw of Sweden winning for the song Heroes. (Sydney Morning Herald), (BBC)
A memorial service is held in the Scottish capital Edinburgh for the Quintinshill rail disaster which occurred 100 years ago and claimed over 200 lives. (BBC)

Disasters

The death toll from China‘s latest round of flooding rises to at least 48. (AP via Washington Post)
An Indian heat wave claims over 200 lives with the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana worst affected. (The Hindu)
Record breaking rain causes flooding in the American states of Oklahoma and Texas with Oklahoma City recording record rainfall levels for the month of May. (CNN)

International relations

South East Asia people smuggling
- Julie Bishop, the Foreign Minister of Australia, says that Indonesia has advised that most of the people who have traveled to South East Asiaby boat are from Bangladesh, not Rohingya from Myanmar. (Straits Times)
- Myanmar announces plans to deport recently rescued migrants to Bangladesh. (Sky News Asia)

Law and crime

Cleveland Police Department officer Michael Brelo is acquitted of manslaughter in relation to the 2012 deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams following a a police chase. There are multiple arrests in protests afterwards (Los Angeles Times via WA Today), (Newsnet)
- The U.S. Justice Department announced it will review the decision to determine if further action is required. (The Guardian)
Nigerian drug agents arrest senator-elect Buruji Kashamu for extradition to the United States for his alleged involvement in a drug deal 20 years ago that is claimed to be the basis for the television show Orange is the New Black. (AP)
The President of Myanmar, Thein Sein, signs the Population Control Health Care Bill requiring some parents to space each child three years apart. (AP via Daily Mail)

Politics and elections

Peru declares a 60 day state of emergency in the Tambo Valley following violent protests against a mine project which has seen four deaths. (AP via ABC News)
The United States Senate adjourns without agreeing either to reform the National Security Agency or extend the Patriot Act which is due to expire at the end of this month. (The Hill)
Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015
- The counting of votes for yesterday’s referendum occurs with the Republic of Ireland becoming the first country to adopt same sex marriageby popular vote. (AP), (Independent Ireland), (The Guardian)

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June 9, 2015

Top News Stories –

One Direction to meet Leah Washington after Alton Towers crash –
The stars of One Direction have filmed a video message and offered to meet a teenage girl whose leg was amputated following a rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers. Leah Washington, 17, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was one of five people who suffered severe injuries on the Smiler ride on 2 June. A Twitter campaign – #Get1DToLeah – called for the pop band to contact her. Friends said Ms Washington would be “elated” at the news. [BBC]

Naked rambler Stephen Gough appears nude via video link from prison –
A man known as the naked rambler made legal history after appearing nude via prison video link at the Court of Appeal. Stephen Gough lost an appeal against a conviction for the breach of an Asbo. He appeared from Winchester Prison where he is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence for breaching the order banning him from being naked in public. His counsel Matthew Scott argued Gough should have been allowed to appear naked at the original trial. Lady Justice Rafferty refused Gough’s appeal. Clive Coleman, the BBC’s legal affairs correspondent, said Gough, 56, almost certainly made legal history by appearing in his natural state.

Video of the Day –

The Martian – Official Trailer – 20th Century FOX

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Pedro Zerolo	#MakeMarriageBetterIn4Words	#MakeMarriageBetterIn4Words
2	#MartesDeParo	#4BestWordsEver	#ChildrensLaureate
3	#HappyBirthdayJohnnyDepp	Vincent Bugliosi	#HSBC
4	#YoTodoElTiempo	#MyWorkOutRoutineIsMostly	#IAD15
5	#عبر_عن_نفسيتك_…	#MyBestFriendsAre	Rik Mayall
6	#KoalisyonTahminim	Texas A&	#4BestWordsEver
7	#MockingjayPart2	TCAs	#ENGvNZ
8	Alex Morgan	#MockingjayPart2	#USAvAUS
9	#NationalBestFriendsDay	#ItBugsMeWhen	Slaven Bilic
10	Teen Choice Awards	Robert Gibbs	John Carver

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
- Indian police kill at least 12 Naxalite Maoist rebels in a clash in the state of Jharkhand. (AP)
Syrian Civil War
- The Southern Front of the Free Syrian Army claims to have captured a major Syrian Army base known as Brigade 52 in Daraa Governorate.(BBC)

Business and economy

HSBC announces plans to cut 8,000 jobs in the United Kingdom, one-sixth of its U.K. workforce, via “natural attrition” as it restructures its banking business. A total of 25,000 jobs could be axed globally. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

Several firefighters are killed after an explosion at an oil depot near Kiev, Ukraine, with several people missing and hundreds evacuated. (Reuters UK), (AFP via Sydney Morning Herald)

Law and crime

At least four people have been killed (including the gunman) and five people injured following a shooting incident in China’s northern Hebeiprovince. (BBC)
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upholds a Texan law providing that abortion clinics meet the same standards as hospital style surgical clinics meaning that many abortion clinics must upgrade or close. (New York Times)

Politics and elections

The Turkish cabinet led by current Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu submits its resignation, but is asked to stay on until a new government forms after the election. (AFP via France 24)

Sports

2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup
- Two Brazilians reach historic milestones in the team’s 2–0 win over South Korea in Montreal. Marta sets a new record with her 15th goal inWomen’s World Cup play, and the 37-year-old Formiga becomes the oldest player to score in a Women’s World Cup. (ESPN)
In Major League Baseball, Chris Heston of the San Francisco Giants becomes the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the 2015 season in the Giants’ 5–0 win over the New York Mets. (ESPN)

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July 1, 2015

Top News Stories –

Katy Perry plans to buy former convent scuppered by nuns –
Katy Perry’s plans to buy a former convent in Los Angeles are being held up by a group of nuns. The sisters, who used to live on the site in the San Gabriel Mountains, say they’ve already sold it to a local restaurateur, Dana Hollister. But the local archbishop says the convent isn’t theirs to sell and has started legal action to stop it. Perry, the daughter of two Pentecostal preachers, reportedly met with the nuns in May to plead her case. “I found Katy Perry and I found her videos and… if it’s all right to say, I wasn’t happy with any of it,” Sister Rita Callanan told the Los Angeles Times. [BBC Newsbeat]
Katy Perry

Hottest July day ever recorded in UK –
The UK has seen the hottest July day on record, with temperatures hitting 36.7C (98F). The Met Office said the reading had been registered at Heathrow – breaking the previous record set in 2006. 38.5C (101.3F) is the hottest temperature ever recorded in the UK in Faversham, Kent in August 2003. A level 3 “heatwave action” heat-health alert has been declared for all parts of England. [BBC] See Top Twitter Trends

Billy Joel Bests Elton John, Sets New Record at MSG –
Billy Joel set a record for most performances by a single artist at Madison Square Garden with his 65th show Wednesday night, besting Elton John. “I didn’t know I’d be here 65 times, amazing,” Joel said. “I want to thank you very much for making this possible.” A banner rose to the top of the stage in honor of Joel’s 65th show. Actor-comedian Kevin James came onstage to help the veteran musician celebrate. [Elton] John, 68, previously had the MSG record with 64 performances. Joel sang John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” as yellow lights beamed from the stage.
Billy Joel

Video of the Day –

Steve Jobs – Official Trailer

List of the Day –

Billy Joel studio albums

Cold Spring Harbor (1971)
Piano Man (1973)
Streetlife Serenade (1974)
Turnstiles (1976)
The Stranger (1977)
52nd Street (1978)
Glass Houses (1980)
The Nylon Curtain (1982)
An Innocent Man (1983)
The Bridge (1986)
Storm Front (1989)
River of Dreams (1993)
Fantasies & Delusions (2001)

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#BuyCoolForTheSummerOniTunes	#LiesIveToldMyParents	#hottestdayoftheyear
2	#hottestdayoftheyear	#CanadaDay	#InternationalJokeDay
3	#LiesIveToldMyParents	#InternationalJokeDay	1st of July
4	#BienvenidoJulio	#AddGoatRuinAQuote	#AddGoatRuinAQuote
5	#الوليد_بن_طلا�…	#AskPOTUS	#CanadaDay
6	#MasterChefBR	Anthony Davis	Sir Nicholas Winton
7	#CanadaDay	Kevin Love	#BuyCoolForTheSummerOniTunes
8	#AddGoatRuinAQuote	Dukes of Hazzard	Debbie Harry
9	SASUKE	Aminu	Heathrow
10	Tiembla Chile	#BuyCoolForTheSummerOniTunes	#USAGER

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War (2015)
- Shells fired by Houthi forces have killed at least 18 people near the southern port city of Aden, meanwhile United Nations officials have warned that a deadly dengue fever outbreak is rapidly gaining pace in the war-torn country. (Reuters)
Sinai insurgency
- Militants launch attacks on Egyptian Armed Forces checkpoints in North Sinai, leaving dozens of security personnel and insurgents killed. TheIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the assaults. (Times of India)(AP)
Egypt‘s security forces kill nine ‘terrorists’ during a raid in a Western Cairo suburb. The group were among “the most dangerous terrorists” wanted in Egypt according to Giza deputy security director Magdy Abd El-Aal. It has also been reported that Nasser El-Hafi, a former MP and a leading lawyer for the Muslim Brotherhood was among those killed. (Ahram)

Arts and culture

The Episcopal Church in the United States adopts its liturgy for same sex marriages. (General Convention), (NBC News)

Business and economy

Greek government-debt crisis
- Greece becomes the first advanced economy to miss a payment to the International Monetary Fund in the 71-year history of the IMF, unwinding decades of precedent and affecting consequences for the fund’s future rescues. (Financial Times) (IMF)
- The Prime Minister of Greece Alex Tsipras has written to creditors claiming he will accept a bailout but with conditions. (Daily Telegraph)
- Moody’s Investors Service downgrades Greek bonds further to caa3 saying that it expects the country to default further without further support from official creditors. (Reuters)
The World Bank urges the People’s Republic of China to undertake financial reforms to keep economic growth on track. (AP)
The United Kingdom Airports Commission issues its report recommending a new runway at Heathrow. (BBC), (ITV)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Indonesia Hercules C-130 crash
- The death toll from yesterday’s crash in the Indonesian city of Medan rises to 141. (The Guardian)

International relations

The Russian gas company Gazprom suspends shipments of gas to Ukraine following a payment dispute. (BBC)
The United States and Cuba officially announce that embassies will be reopened in each other’s countries for the first time since 1961. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Thousands of people are expected at a pro-democracy demonstration in Hong Kong on a holiday to mark the transfer from British to Chinese rule.(AP)
Burundian legislative election, 2015
- The President of Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza claims victory for his National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy coalition despite the fact that opposition parties did not contest the election. (African Media Agency via Mail and Guardian)
The Constitutional Court of Russia rules that it is constitutional to hold the 2016 legislative election in September rather than early December. (AP via Fox News)

Science and technology

The black hole in the Milky Way galaxy‘s V404 Cygni system wakes up (becomes energized, with a flow of gamma rays and very brief intense flashes of light) after 26 years, as determined by a telescope and other instruments. (MSN)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 2, 2015

Top News Stories –

Robot kills man at Volkswagen plant in Germany –
A robot has killed a man at a Volkswagen car factory in Germany. The 22-year-old worker died from injuries he sustained when he was trapped by a robotic arm and crushed against a metal plate. The man, who has not been named, was part of a team that was setting up the automated machinery at the factory in Kassel, north of Frankfurt, according to Volkswagen. The robot in question is a mechanical arm that moves car parts into place, said Heiko Hillwig, a spokesman for the company. [Daily Telegraph]

Wimbledon 2015: Rafael Nadal dumped out of tournament by inspired Dustin Brown –
Wimbledon has a new cult hero. Dustin Brown, in a blur of flying dreadlocks and pure inspiration, on Thursday night produced one of the most thrilling upsets ever witnessed on these lawns by defeating the great Rafael Nadal in four breathlessly brilliant sets. With a combination of Sampras-esque serving and improvised groundstrokes that would not have looked out of place on the local park courts, the Jamaican-born German, who enraptured Centre Court by his Rastafarian cool, found an abundance of raw adrenalin to close out his astonishing 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 triumph. [Daily Telegraph] See Top Twitter Trends
Dustin Brown

Selfies to replace passwords in Mastercard online payments trial –
Mastercard is testing new app that could allow customers to make purchases online by taking a selfie rather than entering a password. Currently, Mastercard customers use a system called SecureCode to verify their identity while shopping online. This requires them to enter a password at the point of sale. Participants in Mastercard’s trial will be prompted to snap a photograph of their face using the Mastercard app on their smartphone at the online checkout point, rather than entering a password. This app then converts the photo into 1s and 0s using facial recognition technology, and transmits it over the internet to MasterCard, which compares it with a stored code representing the cardholder’s face. If the two codes match up, then the purchase will be approved. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Wingsuit Flight Through 2 Meter Cave – Uli Emanuele By GoPro Original Productions

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SiYoFueraPresidente	#ThingsIGetAlot	#BBHMMVideo
2	#EstaComoPara	#AyeMaOniTunes	Alton Towers
3	Jacobo Zabludovsky	#HowIShowMyAge	#Lionesses
4	#BBHMMVideo	#BuyDirtyWorkOniTunes	#HowIShowMyAge
5	#محاكمه_العواج…	#BBHMMVideo	Val Doonican
6	#UnutMadımaklımda	#LiesIveToldAGuy	Dustin Brown
7	#TrocoGenteFalsaPor	#ComicConAilments	#AskZoella
8	#هل_تتزوج_فتاه_…	#100DaysSinceZaynLeft	#CILIPConf15
9	#CunhaGolpista	Dustin Brown	#LiesIveToldMyParents
10	#QuintaDoFavQSdv	Cadet Kelly	Laura Bassett

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Sinai insurgency: July 2015 Sinai attacks
- Egypt vows to continue an offensive on the Sinai Peninsula until ISIL militants have been removed. A hundred people have been killed in fighting in the past two days. (BBC)
- Egyptian Air Force air strikes in the Sinai Peninsula kill at least 23 ISIS-linked militants a day after the deadliest clashes in the region in years.(Reuters)
Boko Haram
- Boko Haram gunmen kill scores of people in attacks on the Nigerian towns of Kukawa and Musarram in recent days. (Agencies via WA Today)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Airstrikes on Sanaa kill eight, according to Houthi officials. (AP)
An attack on a convoy in northern Mali kills six UN Peacekeepers. (AP)

Business and economy

Deepwater Horizon oil spill
- London-based BP agrees, pending court approval, to pay $US18.7 billion to compensate the United States government and the five Gulf Coast states–Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas–for damages stemming from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The settlement includes a civil penalty of $US5.5 billion under the Clean Water Act. (Fortune) (AP via Washington Post)
According to a statement from Ukraine‘s nuclear energy authority, Yadernoye Toplivo, a private U.S. nuclear energy company, ConverDyn, could begin helping Ukraine in the production of enriched uranium (specifically, jointly building the uranium hexafluoride production facilities), which at lower or moderate levels is used for peaceful nuclear fuel purposes in civilian nuclear reactors. This comes a day after Russia shut off natural gassupplies to the country after the two failed to reach agreement; Poland and Slovakia can provide their needs until the winter months. (MSN)

Disasters and accidents

Sinking of the Kim Nirvana
- The Kim Nirvana ferry capsizes off the Philippines en route from the city of Ormoc to Camotes island with 173 people onboard. So far at least 33 people are confirmed dead while at least 50 people have been rescued. (AFP via ABC Online), (BBC)

Law and crime

The Washington Navy Yard, in the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C., was locked down after a 7:29 a.m. report of gunfire in the building that was the site of the 2013 Washington Navy Yard shooting, which killed 12 and injured three. The police declared “all clear” around 10:00 a.m. after a thorough search found no signs of a shooter or any weapons. Earlier this week, U.S. Homeland Security had issued a warning about possibleJuly 4th Holiday incidents. (MSN) (CNN) (Washington Post)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Former Senator Jim Webb announces that he will seek the Democratic Party nomination. (Fox News)

Health and medicine

Health officials announced that a 21-year-old woman from Bishop, California had died June 20th at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno,Nevada from cardiac arrest caused by the rare brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri. Originally diagnosed as meningitis, primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) cases are rare but generally fatal. (Reno Gazette-Journal) (Inquisitr.com)
The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Stroke Association publish guidelines saying that, as emergency treatment for stroke, the use of stent retrievers (blood clot removal devices), when given at specialized centers, after the use of human tissue plasminogen activator(tPA) to treat some types of ischemic strokes involving blockages in the main arteries that supply the human brain (cerebral arteries), can significantly improve prognosis (mortality and morbidity rates and the chances of avoiding handicap or disability and regaining full or better function). (AHA)
The U.S.’s National Institute of Medicine (IOM), a branch of the U.S. National Academies, releases a report calling for wider and improved training in basic life support (BLS): rapid and correct cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), for the unconscious with no breathing and no pulse, followed as soon as possible, if available and a shockable rhythm is present, crucial defibrillation by an increasingly common automated external defibrillator (AED). They advocate for a major public education effort, making it a high school graduation requirement, and for more training among seniors. (Huffington Post), (IOM)

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July 4, 2015

Top News Stories –

Matt Stonie beats Joey Chestnut in Fourth of July hot dog eating contest –
America’s Independence Day celebrations were overshadowed on Saturday by the shock defeat of the country’s champion hot dog eating star. Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, 32, began strongly at the annual Nathan’s Famous contest in Coney Island, New York, before being overhauled and beaten by Matt “Megatoad” Stonie, who polished off 62 frankfurters and buns in 10 minutes (to add to a bacon eating record he claimed earlier this year). Mr Chestnut, unbeaten for eight years, fell two short. He managed a smile as he conceded defeat in front of thousands of fans. [Daily Telegraph] See List of the Day
Joey Chesnut

Chile beat Argentina on Penalties to win Copa America –
Chile secured the first major trophy in their history on home soil courtesy of a penalty shootout win over Argentina in the Copa America final.
Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez slotted in the winning spot-kick after Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain fired over and Ever Banega was denied by Claudio Bravo.
Higuain had earlier missed from close range after 90 minutes of few chances. Sanchez came closest in extra time for Chile, who scored all four of their penalties in the shootout. [BBC]
Alexis Sanchez (playing for Arsenal)

England finish third in the Women’s World Cup beating Germany 1-0 –
Fara Williams’s extra-time penalty ensured England beat Germany for the first time in 31 years to finish third at the Women’s World Cup. The performance was the second best by an England team following the 1966 win by the men’s side and eclipsed the 1990 men’s team, who finished fourth in Italy. The Lionesses had not beaten two-time World Cup winners Germany in 20 attempts but they more than matched their opponents and won the spot-kick in the second period of extra-time after substitute Lianne Sanderson was brought down by Tabea Kemme. Williams, who is England’s record cap holder and was homeless at one point in her England career, beat retiring German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer for her third penalty of the tournament. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Car Chase by Vania Heymann

List of the Day –

Joey Chesnut World Eating Records (as of July 4, 2015)

Deep Fried Asparagus Eating Championship in Stockton, California, May 2014: 12.8 lbs. deep fried asparagus in 10 minutes.
Pork ribs: 13.76 pounds pork rib meat in 12 minutes at John Ascuaga’s Nugget Casino Resort during the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off in Sparks, Nevada on August 28, 2013.
(Hot Dogs) Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs and buns (HDB): 69 HDB in 10 minutes during the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, New York on July 4, 2013.
Matzoh Balls: 78 matzoh balls in 8 minutes at Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen Restaurant in Houston, Texas on March 2, 2008
Bratwurst: 70 bratwursts in 10 minutes at Oktoberfest Zinzinnati in Cincinnati, OH on September 22, 2013.
Hard Boiled Eggs: 141 hard-boiled eggs in 8 minutes at the Radcliff Fall Festival in Radcliff, KY on October 5, 2013.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Happy 4th of July	Happy 4th of July	Happy 4th of July
2	#MeEncantaQue	Joe Budden	#IndependenceDay
3	#HarrysFriendIsMissing	#BeastInTheEast	#storm
4	#VamosVamosArgentina	#MakeABandUnhealthy	#ToughenUpACartoon
5	#EsMuyComunEnMiQue	#dontjudgechallenge	Skepta
6	Çinli	#CookoutNewsNetwork	#MakeABandUnhealthy
7	#IndependenceDay	#HarrysFriendIsMissing	#BeastInTheEast
8	#LasMinasQueremos	#americanproblemsnight	#HarrysFriendIsMissing
9	#musicday	Roy Hibbert	Fawkes
10	Beligoy	#DescribeYourSexLifeWithAMeal	Joe Budden

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Donbass
- A rally of war veterans in Kiev calls for Ukraine to abandon the Minsk II ceasefire agreement and to declare war on pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region. Despite two ceasefire agreements since September combat operations, including the use of heavy artillery and ballistic missiles, never stopped.(BBC)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Yemen‘s Houthi rebels shell the Saudi Arabian cities of Jizan and Najran with claims of several Saudi soldiers being killed. (Reuters via Daily Star)
Second Libyan Civil War
- At least ten civilians are killed when three separate car bombs exploded simultaneously in the eastern coastal city of Derna. (Yahoo news via AP)
Sinai insurgency
- A shell kills a woman and her two children as fighting continues on the Sinai Peninsula between the Egyptian Army and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants. (AFP via Times of India)
Syrian Civil War
- Mosque bombing in northern Syria kills 15 members of Al Qaida’s affiliate Nusra Front. (Fox News via Associated Press)
- The Syrian Army and Hezbollah launch an offensive to capture the rebel-held Syrian city of Zabadani. (Al-Arabiyah)
- Kurdish People’s Protection Units advance on the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant de-facto capital city of Raqqa. (ALJazeera)
- ISIL militants execute 25 Syrian Army soldiers in the ancient city of Palmyra. (Al-Arabiya)
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- The Azerbaijani military shoots down two Armenian drones over Azeri positions according to Azerbaijan’s defense ministry. (TREND)

Arts and culture

The Republic of China (Taiwan) holds a large military parade in Taipei to commemorate World War II in support of its claims that Kuomintangforces led by Chiang Kai-Shek played a leading role in the defeat of the Empire of Japan with the Chinese Communist Party under Mao Tse-Tungplaying a minor role. (AP)
UNESCO adds new sites to the World Heritage List including the French wine producing regions of Champagne and Burgundy. (AFP via Straits Times)

Disasters and accidents

At least nine people have been killed and 30 injured following a factory collapse in the city of Wenling in Zhejiang province. (AP via Star Tribune)
A wildfire in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan forces 8,000 people from their homes. (CBC)

Law and crime

A South Korean navy officer is charged with leaking confidential information to China. (RTHK)(AFP via Sky News)
Abdul Gani Patail, the Attorney General of Malaysia, says that a probe of troubled state owned investment bank 1Malaysia Development Berhadhas uncovered documents that show the transfer of money into private accounts of the Prime Minister Najib Razak. (Market Watch)

Politics

2015 Sousse attacks
- Tunisia’s President Beji Caid Essebsi declares state of emergency. (VOA News)
Tupou VI is officially crowned as the King of Tonga. (BBC)
Fidel Castro makes his first public appearance at a Cuban cheese factory since February 2015. (UPI)

Sport

2015 Tour de France
- In cycling, the 2015 Tour de France gets underway in the Dutch city of Utrecht with an individual time trial. (The Guardian)
2015 Super Rugby season
- The Highlanders from the New Zealand region of Otago defeat the Hurricanes from the New Zealand capital Wellington in the Super Rugby final 21-14. It is the Highlanders first Super 15 final. (The Age)
2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup
- In association football, England defeats Germany 1-0 through a extra time penalty goal by Fara Williams to win third place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. (BBC)
2015 Copa América
- In football, the Chile national football team win the Copa América for the first time, defeating Argentina 4–1 in a penalty shoot-out following a 0–0 draw.(The Guardian), (BBC)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 11, 2015

Top News Stories –

Williams Wins Wimbledon for ‘Serena Slam’ –
Serena Williams let herself briefly bask in the joy of a sixth Wimbledon championship, 21st Grand Slam singles trophy overall and fourth consecutive major title Saturday, even balancing the winner’s silver dish atop her head — Look, Ma, no hands! — as she sauntered off Centre Court. “I was peaceful, feeling really good,” Williams said. “Maybe a little after that, I started thinking about New York.” On to the next one. When the U.S. Open begins at Flushing Meadows in August, Williams will pursue pretty much the only accolade to elude her so far: a calendar-year Grand Slam, something no one has accomplished in tennis in more than a quarter-century. [NY Times]
Serena Williams

Earth heading for ‘mini ice age’ within 15 years –
The earth is 15 years from a “mini ice-age” that will cause bitterly cold winters during which rivers such as the Thames freeze over, scientists have predicted. Solar researchers at the University of Northumbria have created a new model of the sun’s activity which they claim produces “unprecedentedly accurate predictions”. They said fluid movements within the sun, which are thought to create 11-year cycles in the weather, will converge in such a way that temperatures will fall dramatically in the 2030s. Solar activity will fall by 60 per cent as two waves of fluid “effectively cancel each other out”, according to Prof Valentina Zharkova. [Daily Telegraph]

Kylie Jenner’s hair causes Instagram race row –
Kylie Jenner’s been accused of “appropriating black culture” in a row on Instagram. Hunger Games actress Amandla Stenberg made the claim after the reality star posted a picture of her hair in cornrows. The 16-year-old argued Kylie wasn’t using her fame to help black people. She accused her of “directing attention towards wigs instead of police brutality or racism”. Kylie replied: “Mad if I don’t, Mad if I do…. Go hang w Jaden or something.” Amandla went to a prom with Jaden Smith in May. [BBC Newsbeat]

©KylieJenner/Instagram

Manhunt for escaped Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman –
The Mexican President, Enrique Pena Nieto, says he has faith that the security forces will recapture one of the world’s most powerful drug lords, who has escaped from a high security prison. Mr Pena Nieto said he wanted a full investigation into Joaquin Guzman’s escape. Guzman, known as El Chapo, or “Shorty”, is believed to have made his way through a tunnel more than a kilometre long from showers near his cell. [BBC] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

Watch “El Chapo” Guzmán’s escape and his amazing 4,921-foot tunnel

List of the Day –

Serena Williams Grand Slam tournament performances

Tournament	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	SR	W–L
Australian Open	2R	3R	4R	QF	A	W	A	W	3R	W	QF	W	W	A	4R	QF	4R	W	6 / 15	68–9
French Open	4R	3R	A	QF	W	SF	QF	A	A	QF	3R	QF	QF	A	1R	W	2R	W	3 / 14	54–11
Wimbledon	3R	A	SF	QF	W	W	F	3R	A	QF	F	W	W	4R	W	4R	3R	W	6 / 16	79–10
US Open	3R	W	QF	F	W	A	QF	4R	4R	QF	W	SF	A	F	W	W	W		6 / 15	79–9
Win–Loss	8–4	11–2	12–3	18–4	21–0	19–1	14–3	12–2	5–2	19–3	19–3	23–2	18–1	9–2	17–2	21–2	13–3	21–0	21 / 60	280–39

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#MeEnamoroCuando	Roger Rees	Schweinsteiger
2	#KULOTPALASIHARRY	#WhyImNotGoingToYourFuneral	#WhiteGirlsDoItBetter
3	#SabadoDeGanarSeguidores	Capo	Bastian
4	Roger Rees	Hocus Pocus	#5YearsSinceLouisAudition
5	#PorCulpaDeTwitter	#BatmanvSuperman	Roger Rees
6	DAME ESTA NOCHE	#dontgotoseaworld	#BandsWithMeat
7	#EsteFinde	#FreeSlurpeeDay	#durhamminersgala
8	#5YearsSinceLouisAudition	#AngerABook	Jidenna
9	#CamComeThrough	Serena	#legup
10	Jidenna	#CamComeThrough	#TheForceAwakens

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram insurgency
- A suicide bomber attacks the Nigerian city of Maiduguri killing at least one person. (Reuters)
- A suicide bomber in a burqa kills 14 people in Chad‘s capital of N’Djamena. (Reuters) (Chron via AP)
South Thailand insurgency
- At least seven people have been killed and dozens injured in a series of attacks in southern Thailand. (AFP via The Daily Star)
2015 Bombing of the Cairo Italian Consulate
- A car bomb explodes outside the Italian consulate in the Egyptian capital Cairo, resulting in at least one death and four people injured; ISISclaims responsibility. (The Daily Star) (BBC), (CNN)
War in Somalia (2009–present)
- At least six people and four militants are killed in attacks on two hotels in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. (Reuters)
Yemeni crisis, Saudi-led intervention in Yemen (2015-present)
- A truce brokered by the United Nations due to last for the remainder of Ramadan is broken within an hour with both sides exchanging blame.(AP via US News and World Report)

Business and economy

Greek government-debt crisis
- The Hellenic Parliament passes a package of economic reforms to end the current stage of the debt crisis. (BBC)
Steve Huffman is re-appointed as the CEO of Reddit as Ellen Pao steps down over a dispute with the website’s users over the firing of a popular employee. (Irish Times)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Eastern China braces for the impact of Typhoon Chan-hom with the province of Zhejiang evacuating 865,000 people in coastal areas.(CNN), (Business Insider)
Volcán de Colima
- Hundred of villagers are evacuated from near the Colima volcano following recent eruptions. Authorities fear that it could be on the same scale as a 1913 eruption. (BBC)

Law and crime

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić is pelted with stones and other objects as he attempts to pay respects to the victims of the Bosnian Genocide, Vučić is a former member of the Serbian Radical Party, a far right anti-Islam party. (AP via New York Times)
Russian military intervention in Ukraine
- Dozens of Russian soldiers face trial for fleeing a training ground in Maikop, fearing deployment to Ukraine. (Deutsche Welle)
Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín Guzmán Loera escapes from a maximum security prison the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1. (AP)

Politics and elections

Aung San Suu Kyi announces that the National League for Democracy will participate in Myanmar’s general election later this year. (Wall Street Journal)

Sport

2015 Wimbledon Championships
- Serena Williams defeats Garbiñe Muguruza to win the 2015 Wimbledon Women’s Singles title. (The Guardian)

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July 17, 2015

Top News Stories –

Jules Bianchi: F1 driver dies from Suzuka crash injuries –
French Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi has died, nine months after suffering severe head injuries in a crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. Bianchi, 25, had been in a coma since crashing his Marussia into a recovery vehicle at October’s rain-hit race. His family said: “Jules fought right to the very end, as he always did, but today his battle came to an end.” The Marussia team, now known as Manor, said Bianchi had left an “indelible mark on all our lives”.
Jules Bianchi

Video of the Day –

Ciara – Dance Like We’re Making Love

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#1DRADIOPARTY	#1DRADIOPARTY	#1DRADIOPARTY
2	#WorldEmojiDay	#WorldEmojiDay	#fridayfeeling
3	#SHESKINDAHOT	#SHESKINDAHOT	#WorldEmojiDay
4	Kiko Casilla	David Brooks	Eid Mubarak
5	#GrowingUpWithStrictParents	#EidMubarak	#SHESKINDAHOT
6	#BuenViernes	The Revenant	Fabian Delph
7	Fabian Delph	#LyricsThatShouldBeShouted	#GrowingUpWithStrictParents
8	Luis Coronel	#GrowingUpWithStrictParents	#DavisCup
9	時かけ	#Take10MinutesADayTo	James Holmes
10	Gawker	Gawker	Gawker

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram, Timeline of Boko Haram insurgency
- Suicide bombers killed at least 64 people in multiple blasts in the northeastern towns of Gombe and Damaturu, Nigeria. (WSJ via AP)(Local 10) (BBC)
- Niger’s army killed at least 30 suspected Boko Haram fighters as it searched for militants in villages just over the border with Nigeria. (NewsDay Zimbabwe)
At least six people are killed in clashes between supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood and Egyptian police. (BBC)
Iraq War (2014–present), ISIL
- A car bomb in Khan Bani Saad City massacres more than 100 people, mostly Shias, celebrating the Eid after end of Ramadan. ISIL claims responsibility. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Australian artist Nigel Milsom wins the 2015 Archibald Prize for a portrait of barrister Charles Waterstreet who represented Milsom when he was sentenced for armed robbery. (ABC News Australia)
Holy Trinity University, Puerto Princesa, Philippines has been named as a new center to research ancient Palawan man, Tabon Caves, and large sculptures found along Palawan’s coast.(Palawan-News)

Business and economy

Greek government-debt crisis
- Bundestag, the German lower house of parliament, approves Greece’s bailout plan by 439–119 with 40 abstained. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Nangka passes through the western part of the main Japanese island of Honshu, causing at least two deaths, widespread flooding and the evacuation of 100,000 people. (Reuters)
Indonesian volcano eruptions
- Thousands of Indonesians are stranded on the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of Ramadan as five airports remain closed as a result of the eruption of the Raung and Gamalama volcanoes. (BBC)
At least five people are dead and three are missing after a coal mine in the Philippines province of Antique collapses. (AP)
Two commuter trains collide at the Booysens train station in Johannesburg, South Africa, injuring more than 250 people. (News24)

International relations

The People’s Republic of China releases 10 South African tourists held for allegedly distributing terrorist material. (News 24)
Ukraine expels Valery Shibeko, Russia’s top envoy to Odessa, after declaring the consulate general “persona non grata” for conducting unnamed activities “incompatible” with his diplomatic work. (AFP)

Law and crime

The Pakistan Rangers, a paramilitary group, raid the Karachi headquarters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party on the grounds that it had allegedly been producing hate speech, and arrest two people. (Reuters via Business Insider)
A man goes on a shooting spree in Maine, U.S., killing two people and wounding three others in the towns of Lee and Benedicta. A manhunt is executed, and the suspect is arrested in Houlton. (CBC)

Sport

List of world records in athletics
- Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia breaks the world record for women’s 1500 metres at the Herculis IAAF Diamond League event in Monacorunning three minutes 50.08 seconds. (BBC)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 29, 2015

Top News Stories –

Windows 10 launch: Microsoft releases new operating system –
Microsoft starts rolling out its new operating system, Windows 10, to customers around the world today, with members of its ‘Insider’ programme being the first to receive the free upgrade. Following a hostile reception to Windows 8, which launched in 2012 and introduced the concept of ‘live tiles’ for touch-based computing, Microsoft decided to bypass Windows 9 and jump straight to Windows 10, combining what it describes as the “best elements” of Windows 7 and Windows 8. Live tiles still feature in Windows 10, offering shortcuts to the user’s favourite applications, but are far less obtrusive than in Windows 8. Microsoft has also brought back the Start menu from Windows 7, allowing users to browse through a list of their most-used programs. [Daily Telegraph] See List of the Day

Gerard Depardieu banned from Ukraine for supporting Russia over Crimea –
Gerard Depardieu has been banned from Ukraine for five years for making public comments suggesting he supported Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The Ukrainian Security Service, the country’s main successor agency to the KGB, said the 66-year old French film star had been added to a blacklist of public figures considered hostile to Ukraine in its on-going confrontation with Russia. “The SBU has decided to ban Mr Depardieu for 5 years on the recommendation of the ministry of culture,” agency spokesman Elena Gitlyanskaya said. [Daily Telegraph]
Gerard Depardieu

Video of the Day –

1 Man + 12 Hairstyles

List of the Day –

Windows Operating Systems history [from Wikipedia]

Date	Title	Architecture
20 November 1985	Windows 1.0	x86 – 16-bit
9 December 1987	Windows 2.0	x86 – 16-bit
27 May 1988	Windows 2.10	x86 – 16-bit
13 March 1989	Windows 2.11	x86 – 16-bit
22 May 1990	Windows 3.0	x86 – 16-bit
20 October 1991	Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions	x86 – 16-bit
6 April 1992	Windows 3.1	x86 – 16-bit
27 October 1992	Windows for Workgroups 3.1	x86 – 16-bit
27 July 1993	Windows NT 3.1	IA-32, DEC Alpha, MIPS
8 November 1993	Windows for Workgroups 3.11	x86 – 16-bit
21 September 1994	Windows NT 3.5	IA-32, DEC Alpha, MIPS
30 May 1995	Windows NT 3.51	IA-32, DEC Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC
24 August 1995	Windows 95	IA-32
24 August 1996	Windows NT 4.0	IA-32, DEC Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC
25 June 1998	Windows 98	IA-32
5 May 1999	Windows 98 SE	IA-32
17 February 2000	Windows 2000	IA-32
14 September 2000	Windows ME	IA-32
25 October 2001	Windows XP	IA-32
25 October 2001^[1]	Windows XP 64-Bit Edition (v2002)	Itanium
31 October 2002	Windows XP Media Center Edition	IA-32
28 March 2003^[2]	Windows XP 64-Bit Edition (v2003)	Itanium
24 April 2003	Windows Server 2003	IA-32, x64, Itanium
30 September 2003	Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004	IA-32
12 October 2004	Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005	IA-32
25 April 2005	Windows XP Professional x64 Edition	x64
6 December 2005	Windows Server 2003 R2	IA-32, x64, Itanium
8 July 2006	Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs	IA-32
8 November 2006	Windows Vista for Business use	IA-32, x64
30 January 2007	Windows Vista for Home use; released in fifty countries	IA-32, x64
7 November 2007	Windows Home Server	IA-32, x64
27 February 2008	Windows Server 2008	IA-32, x64
22 October 2009	Windows 7	IA-32, x64
22 October 2009	Windows Server 2008 R2	x64
6 April 2011	Windows Home Server 2011	x64
4 September 2012	Windows Server 2012	x64
26 October 2012	Windows 8	IA-32, x64
26 October 2012	Windows RT	ARM
18 October 2013	Windows 8.1	IA-32, x64
18 October 2013	Windows RT 8.1	ARM
18 October 2013	Windows Server 2012 R2	x64
29 July 2015	Windows 10	IA-32, x64, ARM

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Nuno Silva	#ChangeTheWorldIn5Words	#Windows10
2	#BackToBack	#SamDubose	#RIPBuddy
3	#Windows10	Mullah Omar	#CaliforniaMusicVideo
4	#قبل_١٥_سنه	#DirtyPolitics	Sir Peter O’Sullevan
5	#OTRAKansasCity	#NationalLipstickDay	Calais
6	#MasterChefBR	Robert Kraft	#BackToBack
7	#RIPBuddy	#NationalChickenWingDay	#PLLChat
8	Mullah Omar	#BackToBack	#ChangeTheWorldIn5Words
9	Cristian Castro	#HarryPotterAMovie	#ManBooker2015
10	#SamDubose	#UnplannedParenthood	#HarryPotterAMovie

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- The Afghan government claims that Taliban leader Mohammad Omar died in April 2013 in Pakistan of natural causes. (BBC) (Reuters)
War in North-West Pakistan
- Malik Ishaq, leader of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, is killed during a shootout in which supporters of the group ambushed a prisoner convoy. The shootout killed 13 of the attackers, injured six police officers, and also killed two of Ishaq’s sons. (New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

The Wragg Fire in Northern California continues to burn at 80% containment with over 6,991 acres being destroyed and mandatory evacuations.(KQED)
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
- Debris found near the Indian Ocean island of Réunion is consistent with material from a Boeing 777 and is being examined to confirm whether it is from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. (CNN)
At least 27 people are killed and 149 injured after a out of control truck runs into a religious procession in the Mexican state of Zacatecas. (AP viaWashington Post)

Health

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia announces that 8-year old Zion Harvey became the first pediatric patient to receive a double hand transplant earlier this month. (ABC)

International relations

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari visits neighboring Cameroon to bolster support for a multinational army to fight Boko Haram. (AP viaWashington Post)

Law and crime

University of Cincinnati Police officer Ray Tensing is charged with murder for the July 19, 2015 shooting death of Samuel DuBose. (Yahoo News)
Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeffrey Rosell announces that Adrian Jerry Gonzalez, a 15-year-old will be tried as an adult in the murder of 8-year-old Madyson Middleton. (ABC News)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 31, 2015

Top News Stories –

Facebook unveils solar-powered drone that can beam the internet down to earth –
Facebook has unveiled a full-scale prototype of its Aquila drone – the high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft that the Californian tech giant wants to use to beam internet to people in parts of the world that are not yet connected. Aquila, which is solar-powered and named after the eagle in Greek mythology that carried Jupiter’s thunderbolts, is based on technology developed by Somerset-based company Ascenta, which Facebook bought in March 2014 for an estimated £12.5m. “Aquila has the wingspan of a 737 but weighs hundreds of times less, thanks to its unique design and carbon-fiber frame,” said Jay Parikh, vice president of global engineering and infrastructure at Facebook, in a blog post. [Daily Telegraph] See Video of the Day

Naomi Campbell guilty of assault on Sicilian paparazzo –
Naomi Campbell was convicted of assault by a Sicilian court on Friday after she scratched the eye of a paparazzo photographer who took pictures of her and her former boyfriend. The incident occurred in August 2009 when the British supermodel and her then partner Russian billionaire Vladimir Doronin moored their yacht off the Sicilian island of Lipari to visit the local town. They had just arrived from St Tropez. A photographer, Gaetano Di Giovanni, took several photos of Campbell as she walked through the narrow streets. Campbell then hit photographer with her handbag, scratching one of his eyes. [Daily Telegraph]
Naomi Campbell

Beijing to host 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics –
Beijing has been chosen to host the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, beating the bid of Kazakhstan’s Almaty. Having hosted the 2008 Olympics, the Chinese capital will be the first city to host both a summer and winter Games. Beijing and Almaty were considered outsiders when the 2022 bid race opened two years ago. But after a host of European cities withdrew for political or financial reasons, the Chinese bid beat Almaty by 44 votes to 40 with one abstention. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Inside Facebook’s Connectivity Lab

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#MilGanasDe	#LiesMenTell	#fridayfeeling
2	#DragMeDown	#DragMeDown	#DragMeDown
3	#حرقوا_الرضيع	#GotDumpedBecause	#WannaKnow
4	#SiempreMePasaQue	#BlueMoon	Rickie Lambert
5	#AysunAltay	#HappyBirthdayJKRowling	#HappyBirthdayJKRowling
6	San Félix	Russell Wilson	#ChoiceYouTuber
7	永遠の0	Cespedes	#LeaveAMark
8	Hayırlı Cumalar	Lynn Anderson	#HappyBirthdayBeau
9	ブルームーン	Roddy Piper	#AskMadison
10	#MeVendriaEstupendoQue	Supa	#LiesMenTell

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the Haqqani Network, is reported as having died in 2014. (BBC)
Turkey–PKK conflict
- Two Turkish police officers and two PKK militants are killed following a PKK raid on a police station in the south-eastern town of Pozantı. Also, in the eastern province of Kars, PKK militants bombed a railway line and then fired at repair workers, leaving one dead. (BBC)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Houthi shelling kills four Saudi Arabian soldiers and wounds eight others in the Saudi town of Aseer near the volatile Yemeni border. Jazeera)

Business and economy

Swiss National Bank reports a first half loss of 50 billion CHF as a result of the franc to euro peg removal earlier this year. (BBC)
Russian financial crisis (2014–present)
- The Central Bank lowers interest rate to 11%, while the ruble falls 1.5% on the day to close at 60.60 against the dollar. (Reuters UK)

Disasters and accidents

Four people including members of the Bin Laden family are killed in a business jet crash close to Blackbushe Airport in the United Kingdom.(BBC), (BBC)
More than 21 people are killed in Myanmar Flood and up to 150,000 people are displaced.

Law and crime

2015 West Bank Arson attack
- Suspected Jewish settlers set fire to a West Bank home and burned a sleeping Palestinian toddler to death in an attack that drew Palestinian rage and widespread Israeli condemnation. (KLTV)(NY Times)

International relations

India and Bangladesh have swapped control of some 160 small pockets of land on each other’s territory. Residents were asked to choose where they wanted to live and which nationality they would prefer. Most of them decided to change nationality and stay where they live. (BBC)
France agrees to pay Russia €1.16bn in refund and compensation after the cancellation of the sale of two warships following the military intervention in Ukraine. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Philippine presidential election, 2016:
- President Benigno Aquino III endorses the presidential candidacy of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas in 2016. (Rappler),(AP via Yahoo! News)
- Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas announces his presidential candidacy in 2016. (Rappler)

Sports

The International Olympic Committee selects Beijing as the host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Lausanne in Switzerland is chosen as the host city for the 2020 Youth Olympic Winter Games. (The Guardian). (USA Today)

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August 11, 2015

Top News Stories –

Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson makes emergency landing as plane runs low on fuel –
Bruce Dickinson, the Iron Maiden frontman, was forced to make an emergency landing at a Royal Air Force airfield when his replica war plane started to run low on fuel. The heavy metal star pilot made an unexpected appearance in his Fokker triplane at RAF Halton, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Dickinson took advantage of the Strasser Scheme, set up thanks to the work of Charles Strasser, the vice president of the Aircraft Operators and Pilots Association. It was established so that aircraft in can divert with no extra charge in the event of an emergency. All Ministry of Defence airfields, as well as 99 per cent of the UK’s civilian airfields, are signed up to the scheme. [Daily Telegraph]
Bruce Dickinson

Google unveils Alphabet… but that’s already trademarked by BMW –
The general reaction to Google’s announcement that it would create a new holding company called Alphabet, of which Google would be a subsidiary, was one of surprise and approval.
But perhaps the most surprised recipient of the news was BMW, which already runs a registered business called Alphabet. The German carmaker told WirtschaftsWoche, the German business magazine, that it will be “necessary to examine the legal trademark implications” of the name of Google’s new parent company. BMW also said it had not been contacted by Google before the surprise restructuring on Monday. In his announcement, Google co-founder Larry Page said Alphabet’s website would be http://abc.xyz, a decision that may have been influenced by the fact that alphabet.com is owned by BMW’s subsidiary, which operates in 18 countries and supplies 530,000 vehicles to corporate customers. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Men In Black Safety Defenders #AirNZSafetyVideo

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#FAceToFace	#FAceToFace	#FAceToFace
2	#MiFraseFavorita	Oath Keepers	Alphabet
3	#DeNoSerPorTwitter	#RobinWilliams	Robin Williams
4	Fran Rivera	#WhyIWouldMakeAGreatPresident	#TravelTuesday
5	Mehmet Topal	Geno Smith	#CharityTuesday
6	#SabesQueEsTuAmigoCuando	#RedneckScentedCandles	#TownNameUpAMovie
7	Alphabet	#BadWeddingVows	#BadWeddingVows
8	쿠키런	Kim K	Orton
9	#اكثر_كلمه_تسم�…	Sevilla	#tubestrikes
10	Geno Smith	Top Secret	Seth Rollins

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram insurgency
- A bomb attack consistent with Boko Haram kills 50 people in Nigeria‘s Borno State. (BBC)
In Puyallup, Washington, a gunman on a mass shooting spree shot and killed a man, then fired at homes and people before driving a stolen SUV through the garage door, crashing into several cars and shooting at police until stopped when his SUV was rammed by a police car. (KIRO)

Business and economy

The People’s Bank of China devalues the Chinese yuan by two percent in an attempt to boost its economy, a move which could spark a currency war. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

Debris from a Buk surface-to-air missile is found at an unspecified location in eastern Ukraine. According to the Dutch Safety Board and the Dutch prosecutor overseeing the criminal investigation, it may have come from a Buk (possibly of Russian origin) fired by rebel fighters, accidentally or purposefully, in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. The investigation remains classified. (AFP, via MSN)
A heatwave in Egypt has killed at least 42 people. (AP)
Flooding in Argentina kills at least three people and 11,000 are made homeless. (AFP via ABC News)
Japan’s Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Satsumasendai in Kagoshima Prefecture on Kyushu restarts reactor no. 1. This is the first of 50-plus shut-down nuclear reactors to go back online since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The problems discovered in the reactor model after the disaster have not been fixed. (UPI) (CNN)

International relations

In talks held regarding the course of the Syrian Civil War, Russia and Saudi Arabia fail to reach agreement over cooperation in the fight against ISIL, with the Saudi representative refusing any common struggle with Assad‘s regime. (The News Hub)
Georgia accuses Russia of cutting off its citizens from their farmland by installing border signposts demarcating the breakaway South Ossetia region, calling on Moscow to refrain from “escalation”. (The Daily Star)

Politics and elections

The Parliament of Iraq approves a package of measures proposed by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to tackle corruption and to abolish senior posts. (Radio Free Europe)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

August 18, 2015

Top News Stories –

Heidi Klum hits back at Donald Trump after he said she was ‘no longer a 10’ –
Heidi Klum has ridiculed Donald Trump after the presidential candidate said she was “sadly no longer a 10” in a sexist remark about her looks. The billionaire Republican, who has made a string of offensive comments since declaring his bid for the White House in June, claimed the German supermodel was no longer as attractive as previously.“Sometimes I do go a little bit far,” he said in an interview with the New York Times, in which he insisted he was not a misogynist. “Heidi Klum. Sadly, she’s no longer a 10.” In response, the German supermodel, who is a mother of four and regularly voted one of the most attractive women in the world, posted an amusing video on Twitter in which she poses for a photoshoot with a “10” on her t-shirt. [Daily Telegraph]
Heidi Klum on Twitter

Museum brings in security for Nicki Minaj waxwork –
Madame Tussauds has brought in extra security to monitor a waxwork of Nicki Minaj. The figure is based on the rapper’s iconic pose in her Anaconda video – where she’s posing in heels on her hands and knees. Since the Las Vegas museum unveiled it earlier this month, fans have been rushing to be photographed with it. Some visitors have been getting a bit too excited and taking “inappropriate” pics. [BBC Newsbeat]
Nicki Minaj

Video of the Day –

Los Angeles

Los Angeles from Ian Wood on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#MakeLifeBetterIn3Words	#MakeLifeBetterIn3Words	#ThingsJesusNeverSaid
2	#ComoMeGustariaQue	George Zimmerman	#MakeLifeBetterIn3Words
3	#WorthItVMA	#WorthItVMA	#fakeDWPstories
4	#ShesKindaHotVMA	#ShesKindaHotVMA	#ShesKindaHotVMA
5	#WhereAreUNowVMA	#WhereAreUNowVMA	Andre Gray
6	#GoodForYouVMA	Jared Fogle	#traveltuesday
7	#XuxaNaRecord	#RealTeenAwards	#WhereAreUNowVMA
8	#CoolForTheSummerVMA	Ronan	Flight of the Conchords
9	George Zimmerman	#favpichayes	#WorthItVMA
10	Federico García Lorca	Victor Frankenstein	Victor Frankenstein

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Donbass
- Fighting has intensified near the ceasefire line in eastern Ukraine with both the Government of Ukraine and the rebels blaming each other. The separatist-held cities of Donetsk and Horlivka were bombed with hundreds of shells and rockets in the last 72 hours. (New York Times)

Arts and culture

Two women pass the United States Army’s Ranger School becoming the first to do so, and earning Ranger tabs on their uniforms. (AP, via MSN)

Business and economy

The Obama administration, through the United States Environmental Protection Agency announces new regulations on emissions of the greenhouse gas methane.(New York Times) (WSJ) (NPR) (The Atlantic) (EPA)

Disasters and accidents

Trigana Air Service Flight 257
- Indonesian crews locate bodies of all 54 people aboard the wreckage of Trigana Air Service Flight 257 in a remote area of Papua. (New York Times) (CNN via Twitter)

Health

The US Food and Drug Administration approves the use of Flibanserin to help women with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder. (Washington Post)

Politics and elections

The Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoğlu returns his mandate to form a government to the President after failing to form a coalition government. This means that a new election is likely. (BBC) (The News Hub)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

August 25, 2015

Top News Stories –

Italian woman, 46, arrested for locking ‘toy boy’ in basement over sex demands –
An Italian woman has been arrested after allegedly locking up her “toy boy” boyfriend for refusing to have sex with her, in a story that has evoked comparisons with the classic film The Graduate. The woman, 46, who was divorced, met the 25-year-old during a holiday romance in Campania in southern Italy. Initially they got on well but the young man reportedly became increasingly vexed by the amount of sex that the older woman was demanding. He declined her advances on several occasions but she then took revenge by locking him up, against his will, in the basement of her house at Arzano, near Naples. The young man managed to raise the alarm, calling for help from passers-by. [Daily Telegraph]

George Clooney photobombs Cindy Crawford as she takes romantic selfie with husband –
Does anyone enjoy looking at “romantic selfies” of couples kissing on Instagram? It’s worse than a public display of affection (PDA), as it is done purely to show off how in love you are with the person you’re smooching. Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber were taking a tender selfie together, when George Clooney decided to ruin it by pulling a strange face in the background. [Daily Telegraph]
Cindy Crawford Instagram with Rande Gerber and George Clooney

International bridge champions accuse teammates of cheating –
Two Israeli men, Lotan Fisher and Ron Schwartz, have been accused by their team mates of cheating in three matches including the Spingold tournament – one of the most famous of all.
A triumphant team of bridge players has been ripped apart by accusations that would, in the words of the whistleblower, “even make a Hollywood movie surreal.” Two Israeli men, Lotan Fisher and Ron Schwartz, have been accused by their team mates of cheating. Quite how they cheated is unclear, but Norwegian bridge professional Boye Brogeland, one of the world’s highest-rated bridge players, said the other four members of the team were handing back three titles they had won together. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Dismaland [See August 23, 2015]

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#5monthswithoutzayn	#SolveMyProblemsIn4Words	#ask5sos
2	#RelationshipGoalsIn3Words	#RelationshipGoalsIn3Words	#RelationshipGoalsIn3Words
3	#Tucumanazo	Vick	#charitytuesday
4	#فتاه_تغتصب_شاب	#5monthswithoutzayn	House of Fools
5	#NuncaMePasoEsoDe	Curt Schilling	#1YearOfMyEverything
6	BeliebersVoteHottest	Aaliyah	#5monthswithoutzayn
7	#SolveMyProblemsIn4Words	#ask5sos	#TravelTuesday
8	LANA EU TE AMO	#BornToRun	Colin Fry
9	#FelizMartes	You Oughta Know	Harvey Proctor
10	NCAE	Jorge Ramos	Greg Rutherford

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Boko Haram
- A teenage girl suicide bomber kills five people and injures fourteen in the Damaturu area in northeast Nigeria. (AP via Fox News)
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
- Fourteen people are arrested in Spain and Morocco for allegedly trying to recruit people to ISIL. (Times of Israel)
North Korea and South Korea agree to stop airing propaganda at the border and stand down preparations for war. (NPR)

Business and economics

The People’s Bank of China cuts interest rates and lowers minimum requirements for bank reserves for the second time in two months. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Goni makes landfall in southwestern Japan with at least 26 people injured but no people killed. The death toll in the Philippines rises to 21 while South Korea is on alert. (AP), (Yonhap)
A gas explosion in the Afghanistan city of Herat kills eleven people and injures 18. (AP via Ahram Online)

International relations

A record number of migrants crossing the Balkans results in a record number of people in Hungary despite the government building a wall on the border with Serbia. (AP via The Columbian)

Law and crime

A Federal Security Service court in Russia sentences Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov to 20 years in prison for plotting terrorist acts in Crimea, amid allegations of torture and US claims that he is being held hostage in Russia after having been abducted from Ukraine by Russian-backed separatists. (BBC)
4 people are killed and 3 others are severely injured in a shooting at a camp in Roye, Somme, France. (L’Express)
Protests by the Patidar community in Ahmedabad turn violent, sparking violence across the state of Gujarat, India.(DNA)

Politics and elections

The Parliament of Singapore is dissolved with a general election to be held on September 11. (AFP/Reuters via ABC Australia)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resourceAugust 23, 2015

August 31, 2015

Top News Stories –

Bartender finds $20 note then wins $1 million California lottery with it –
An American man who found a $20 note on a street outside San Francisco International Airport used it to play the California lottery and won $1 million, a lottery spokesman said on Monday. Hubert Tang used the lucky note to buy two scratch cards at a shop near the airport on Wednesday and won the top prize with one of them, lottery spokesman Greg Parashak said. “I scratched the ticket outside of the store. I told my friend who I was with that I didn’t know if it was real but, ‘I think I just won a million dollars,'” Tang said, according to Parashak. Tang said he did not yet have plans for the money, but joked that he might use it to place $20 bills in random places for other lucky players to find, according to the lottery. [Daily Telegraph]

Bear Grylls to test President Obama’s survival skills in special episode of Running Wild –
President Barack Obama is to appear on a television show with Bear Grylls in Alaska, where the British adventurer will give him a “crash course” in how to survive in the wild. The president is to trek through the Alaskan wilderness with the survival expert and former SAS soldier, for a special episode of “Running Wild”, a show in which celebrities are thrown back to nature and pushed to their mental and physical limits. The participation in the show, which is due to air on NBC later this year, is part of a three day trip by President Obama to the Arctic Circle – the first by any sitting president – which he hopes to use to illustrate the urgency of his climate change agenda. [Daily Telegraph]
Bear Grylls

Isil ‘blows up Temple of Bel’ in ancient Syrian city of Palmyra –
Violent jihadists of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) have partially destroyed the the most famous landmark in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. The Temple of Bel was damaged on Sunday, according to messages posted on the Twitter account of a local activist group, the Palmyra Co-ordination Council. Although the extent of the destruction was unclear, a Palmyra resident, Nasser al Thaer, said that a huge blast had echoed through the area on Sunday afternoon. [Daily Telegraph]
Temple of Bel in 2011

Video of the Day –

I’m Going To Bite Someone

I’m Going To Bite Someone from steve dildarian on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#MTVHitsLA	#MyTypeIn4Words	Wes Craven
2	Wes Craven	#AshtonIsWorthIt	#BankHolidayMonday
3	#WhatDoYouMeanOnVEVO	Will Smith	#VMAs
4	#FelizLunes	Blue Bell	#AshtonIsWorthIt
5	#AshtonIsWorthIt	Fred Jackson	Martial
6	#VMAs	#MTVHitsLA	#WhatDoYouMeanMusicVideo
7	De Gea	#MondayMotivation	Wildest Dreams
8	Martial	Trent Richardson	Miley Cyrus
9	Iggy	Kirk Cousins	Kanye West
10	Kim Kardashian	#WhatDoYouMeanMusicVideo	#CONGRATS5SOS

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2015 Bangkok bombing
- Thai police say they have discovered bomb-making material in a raid in an apartment in an outer side of Bangkok. (AP)

Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL
- Reports suggest that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has partially damaged the Temple of Bel in Palmyra, Syria, by detonating an explosive within its walls. (CNN) (Al Jazeera English Online)

Arts and culture

Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America, officially regains its original Alaska Native name through an executive order issued by American President Barack Obama. Previously, since 1917, it had been known as Mount McKinley. (The New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Atlantic hurricane season
- Hurricane Fred hits Cape Verde causing flooding and the closure of airports. (AP via New York Times)

International relations

Turkey–PKK conflict
- Two reporters and a support worker for Vice News are charged with being members of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant by a judge in Turkey, following their arrest a few days prior. (Al Jazeera English Online)
Minsk II implementation
- Riot police clash with protesters armed with firecrackers and petrol bombs outside the parliament building, in Kiev, Ukraine, leaving one national guardsman dead and around 100 people injured. (Al Jazeera English Online) (The News Hub) (BBC)
Syria–North Korea relations
- A park in Damascus is named after the North Korean founding leader Kim Il-Sung. (Al Jazeera English Online)

Law and crime

Kevin Dahlgren, who is suspected of killing four Czech family members, has been extradited from the United States to face trial. (Yahoo news) (Fox news)
White supremacist Frazier Glenn Miller, Jr. (also known as Frazier Glenn Cross) is convicted of three counts of murder outside two Jewish centres in the American state of Kansas. (AP via Yahoo! News)
At least three people are dead and three people injured in the Churachandpur district of India‘s Manipur State following riots after the passage of three bills in the Manipur Legislative Assembly yesterday. (NDTV)

Science and technology

According to a new study, the Sumatran Rhino is now considered extinct in the wild in Malaysia. No new wild animals have been spotted since 2007, elsewhere fewer than 100 Rhinos remain in the wild. (MSN).

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

September 13, 2015

Top News Stories –

‘Stolen’ diamond surgically removed in Bangkok –
A Chinese woman suspected of stealing a $300,000 (£195,000) diamond in the Thai capital, Bangkok, has had the jewel surgically removed from her intestines. She is thought to have swallowed it in order to smuggle it out of the country. The woman is believed to have stolen the six-carat diamond from a jewellery fair on Thursday by swapping it for a fake gemstone. However, she was caught on security cameras at the fair and later arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. A man travelling with her was also arrested. Police said the woman initially denied involvement, but an X-ray revealed the diamond lodged inside her.
She was initially given laxatives, but when nature failed to take its course, a colonoscope was used to extract the gem. [BBC]

Elton John offers to meet Vladimir Putin to discuss gay rights –
Sir Elton John has said he wants to hold talks with Vladimir Putin over what he called the Russian president’s “ridiculous” stance on gay rights. The Rocket Man singer extended the offer of talks after speaking at a conference in neighbouring Ukraine, where he met with the country’s president Petro Poroshenko to lobby him about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights. Sir Elton accused Mr Putin of saying “stupid things” in reference to his warning to gay people travelling to the Winter Olympics to “leave the children in peace”. [Daily Telegraph] In March 2015 Sir Elton called for a boycott of fashion label Dolce & Gabbana after the legendary designers criticised same-sex families
Sir Elton John

Mens Tennis: Novak Djokovic clinches second US Open crown –
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic won his second US Open championship and his 10th career Grand Slam title with an electric four-set victory over 17-time major winner Roger Federer on Sunday evening. In a contest of the game’s premier heavyweights, it was the Serb who played the biggest points the best as he captured his first crown in the Big Apple since 2011 with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 triumph inside Arthur Ashe Stadium in a match that was delayed by approximately three hours because of rain. [US Open] Djokovic also beat Federer in four sets to win the Wimbledon title in July 2015. See List of the Day
Novak_Đoković

Womens Golf: Lydia Ko becomes youngest major winner –
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko has become the youngest winner of a major with a six-stroke victory at the Evian Championship in France on Sunday. The world number two is 18 years, four months and 20 days old. The previous record was held by American Morgan Pressel, who was 18 years, 10 months and nine days old when she won the Kraft Nabisco in 2007. In February, aged 17, Ko became the youngest player to reach the top of the rankings and she also holds the record as the youngest winner on the LPGA Tour after her Canadian Open victory as a 15-year-old amateur in 2012. [BBC]
Lydia Ko

Video of the Day –

Kelvin Jones: Call You Home

Kelvin Jones : Call You Home from Joe Connor on Vimeo.

Yup, that really is a TV in space, for real. I created this video by sending a vintage Sony TV into orbit on a weather balloon provided by Sent Into Space, surrounded by cameras so as to capture this spectacular footage hovering above the Big Blue Marble itself.More precisely, it took two launches – both from Snowdonia in Wales, with two identical TVs, with each launch providing the opportunity to rig the GoPros in different positions. I’m pleased to say that all TVs in this music video were harmed as they crash-landed back to earth. We sent the TV off from Snowdonia and it landed in Bury, Manchester – taking in my hometown of Warrington on the way which can be seen in the promo. I’m proud to say that the TV got 99.997% above the atmosphere, just 0.003% below the Armstrong line – surely the highest TV in history.

List of the Day –

Novak Djokovic Grand Slam Record [from Wikipedia]

Tournament	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	SR	W–L	Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	1R	1R	4R	W	QF	QF	W	W	W	QF	W	5 / 11	50–6	89.29
French Open	2R	QF	SF	SF	3R	QF	SF	F	SF	F	F	0 / 11	48–11	81.36
Wimbledon	3R	4R	SF	2R	QF	SF	W	SF	F	W	W	3 / 11	52–8	86.67
US Open	3R	3R	F	SF	SF	F	W	F	F	SF	W	2 / 11	57–9	86.3
Win–Loss	5–4	9–4	19–4	18–3	15–4	19–4	25–1	24–3	24–3	22–3	27–1	10 / 44	207–34	85.89

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#HappyBirthdayNiall	#HappyBirthdayNiall	#HappyBirthdayNiall
2	#Happy22ndBirthdayNiall	Cal Poly	Anthony Joshua
3	#LiamYouDeserveTheWorld	#LiamYouDeserveTheWorld	Groves
4	Oregon	#ScareADateIn4Words	#GreatNorthRun
5	FlyNoDomingoLegal	#UsOpenFinal	#RoaldDahlDay
6	#MaineMendozaOnKMJS	#MayweatherBerto	#mayweatherberto
7	#MayweatherBerto	Moses Malone	#marr
8	Moses Malone	#ValleyFire	Leicester
9	Supernatural 10	Mariota	#COYS
10	#بماذا_يمتاز_ن�…	#NFLGameDay	Adebayor

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Turkey–PKK conflict
- A PKK car bombing on a checkpoint kills two Turkish police officers and injures five others in south-eastern Turkey. Also, Turkish security forces impose a curfew in the region’s largest city, Diyarbakır. (Reuters)
Egyptian security forces open fire on a Mexican tourist convoy in the Western Desert while pursuing militants with at least twelve people killed and 10 injured. (AFP/Reuters via ABC News Australia)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- The death toll from flooding in Japan caused by Tropical Storm Etau rises to seven. (Straits Times), (Asia One)
- Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency (消防庁) advises 2.8 million people to evacuate due to heavy flooding in the eastern region of the country. (CNN)
An explosion in the Pakistan city of Multan kills at least eleven people and injures 79. (AFP via ABC News Australia), (Pakistan Tribune)
An Islamic school in the Nigerian town of Bukuru collapses with at least four students killed and 40 injured. (Reuters)
Thirty-four refugees, including four babies and 11 children, drown in the Aegean Sea when their wooden boat sinks off the Greek island of Farmakonissi, close to Turkey’s coast. (Xinhua News Agency), (Sydney Morning Herald)
The Valley wildfire claims at least one life in Lake County, California with thousands of people forced to evacuate. (ABC News Bay Area)

International relations

Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
- The government in exile says that it will no longer attend United Nations brokered talks with the rebel Houthis. (Trust)
Arab-Israeli conflict
- Israeli police clash with Palestinian protesters outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Fireworks and small explosive devices were used to attack the police. (AP via Washington Post)
- The Jordanian government condemns Israel for assaults on Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City. (Jerusalem Post)
European migrant crisis
- Germany reintroduces emergency controls on its border with Austria. (Washington Post)

Science and technology

Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka’s return from the ISS on Saturday sets a new record for time in space, breaking the one fellow countryman Sergei Krikalev set in 2005. Padalka totaled 879 days in space (2.41 years) over five flights. (NPR)

Health and medicine

Doctors at Salamanca University Hospital in Salamanca, Spain implant a 3-D printing-produced artificial titanium sternum (breastbone), and a portion of the ribs (as opposed to the current standard, a non-customized, flat piece of titanium, which can loosen over time) in a patient who had numerous cancerous tumors in that area, the first use of 3D printing technology to take the place of these specific body parts. (Quartz, via MSN)

Sport

2015 US Open (tennis)
- In tennis, Novak Djokovic of Serbia defeats Roger Federer of Switzerland 3 sets to 1 in the final of the men’s singles. (International Business Times), (The Guardian)
In golf, Lydia Ko wins the final LPGA major of the year, The Evian Championship, by six shots after a final-round 63. The New Zealander becomes the youngest person of either sex to win a professional major championship, at age 18 years, 142 days. (BBC Sport)

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September 24, 2015

Top News Stories –

Hajj Stampede Near Mecca Leaves Over 700 Dead –
In streaming ribbons of white, great masses of Muslim pilgrims made their way between cities of air-conditioned tents toward the next stop on their holy tour of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Then something went disastrously wrong, trapping the crowds in narrow streets and touching off a mass panic and crushing stampede that left the asphalt covered with lost sandals, crumpled wheelchairs and piles of white-robed bodies. It was the deadliest accident during the hajj pilgrimage in a quarter-century, with at least 717 pilgrims from around the world killed and more than 850 injured. [NY Times]

Russian billionaire hands two ‘stolen’ Picassos to French authorities –
A Russian billionaire has handed in to French authorities two Picassos, valued at £20 million, that the artist’s stepdaughter claims were stolen from her. Dmitri Rybolovlev, who owns Monaco football club, insists he acquired the portraits of Picasso’s second wife, Jacqueline Picasso, in good faith from Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier. In a statement, Mr Rybolovlev’s family trust said it was handing over “Tête de femme. Profil” [Head of a Woman. Profile] and “Espagnole à l’éventail” [Spanish Woman with a Fan] as they “possess immeasurable aesthetic and sentimental value” for Catherine Hutin-Blay, Jacqueline’s daughter. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Lenny’s Garage from Peter Crosby on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#StealMyGirlVideoToday	#StealMyGirlVideoToday	Halloween
2	Lamela	#EbolaInNYC	Lamela
3	#OdioQue	Steve Nash	Christmas
4	#BenceMutluluk	Halloween	#StealMyGirlVideoToday
5	Salam Maal Hijrah	#JcHasAnAfro	Russell Brand
6	#MessageToSelf	#MakeAMoviePG	#artRAVELondon
7	#NoQuieroEnamorartePero	Honey Boo Boo	London
8	#YoPorVos	#RTJ2	Harry Kane
9	#HappyKrystalDay	#MarysvilleShooting	#LifeStory
10	Here Comes Honey Boo Boo	Run The Jewels 2	#AskNigelFarage

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
- At least 29 people are killed in a bombing of a mosque in the Yemeni capital Sanaa during prayers for Eid al-Adha. (CNN)
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- The government of Armenia claims that Azerbaijani forces shelled Tavush Province resulting in three deaths. (AFP via France 24)
Arab–Israeli conflict
- Israel’s security cabinet issues a three-year temporary order that sets a four-year minimum sentence for adult stone- and firebomb-throwers. In addition, new rules of engagement allow police to open fire when the life of a third party is under threat. (NBC News), (Haaretz), (Newsweek)
2015 Burkinabé coup d’état
- The coup is reversed. Interim President Michel Kafando and interim Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac Zida are reinstalled, and government soldiers are returned to their stations. Coup leader Gen. Gilbert Diendéré apologizes for the coup and the week-long unrest that killed at least 10 people. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suggests that elections, originally scheduled for Oct. 11, be held Nov. 22, and that candidate eligibility rules be more inclusive. (AP via Washington Post),(Reuters), (Big News Network)

Arts and culture

Pope Francis’ visit to the United States
- Pope Francis becomes the first Pope ever to address a Joint Session of the United States Congress. Afterwards, he greets onlookers at the National Mall. He addresses many issues: abortion and the sanctity of life, the importance of the family and of marriage, climate change, immigration and the refugee crises caused by global unrest, proper business conduct, and worldwide abolition of capital punishment. (AP via MSN), (CNN), (Washington Post), (Time), (Vatican)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Hajj stampede
- At least 719 people are dead and 863 people injured in a stampede near Mecca during the Hajj pilgramage in Saudi Arabia. (BBC), (The New York Times), (Washington Post)
At least four people are killed and 12 critically injured after a charter bus, a Ride the Ducks tour vehicle, and two smaller vehicles crash on the Aurora Bridge in the U.S. city of Seattle, Washington. (King 5)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- Ten thousand migrants enter Hungary, mostly from Croatia, despite efforts by the Hungarian government and military to stop them. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
- Croatia and Serbia restrict cross-border traffic. (Reuters/AFP via ABC News Australia)
Luhansk People’s Republic officials in Donetsk told U.N. agencies and several other international NGOs to leave the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine. Despite the Minsk Protocol and Minsk II peace agreements low intensity fighting and shelling continued non-stop in the region for over a year. There are fears that full-scale war will start because the breakaway regions plan on holding local elecion without approval from the Ukrainian government. (AP via ABC News)

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September 25, 2015

Top News Stories –

Fifa: Sepp Blatter faces criminal investigation –
Swiss prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Sepp Blatter, the head of football’s world governing body Fifa. The attorney general’s office said he was suspected of criminal mismanagement or misappropriation over a TV rights deal and of a “disloyal payment” to European football chief Michel Platini. Mr Blatter was being questioned, and his office was searched, it added. Fifa said it was co-operating with the investigation. Mr Blatter, 79, has run Fifa since 1998 and has always denied any wrongdoing. [BBC] In July FIFA turned down a request for Blatter to Attend U.S. Senate Panel hearing
Sepp Blatter

London Zoo love triangle: Meerkat keeper glassed rival over llama handler –
A meerkat keeper has been found guilty of assaulting a monkey keeper in a vicious brawl at London Zoo’s Christmas party which saw the two love rivals fight over the llama keeper. Caroline Westlake, who will be sentenced next month, hit her colleague Kate Sanders in the face with a glass leaving a wound that required stitches, a court heard on Friday. Miss Westlake claimed that it was an accident, and that Miss Sanders had already punched her, held her backwards over a 30 ft balcony and then spat at her. [Daily Telegraph]

Netflix adds gender reassignment to staff benefits list –
Netflix has added gender reassignment surgery to its list of staff benefits. The streaming entertainment service is not the only one – other technology companies including Facebook and Tesla also offer the option, along with hormone therapy, in a bid to be as diverse as possible. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11886148/Netflix-adds-gender-reassignment-to-staff-benefits-list.html [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#6MonthsWithoutZayn	#6MonthsWithoutZayn	#fridayfeeling
2	Boehner	#DonaldTrumpsGoogleHistory	#MacmillanCoffeeMorning
3	#MeMolestaMuchisimo	Boehner	#6MonthsWithoutZayn
4	#BuenViernes	#VVS15	#BUYSECRETSONITUNES
5	#SOADnoMultishow	#NewNFLTeams	Bond
6	#HTGAWM	Bryson Tiller	Sepp Blatter
7	Bond	Kevin McCarthy	#bbcqt
8	#ALDUBPreparationDay	#fridayreads	Nigel Farage
9	ゴジラ	Johns Island	#JapaneseGP
10	#ALDubEBforLOVE	#DrugTVShows	#secretsinlondon

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2015 Burkinabé coup d’état
- Burkina Faso’s cabinet dissolves the elite presidential guard behind last week’s coup d’état, creates a commission to investigate these events, and dismisses the minister in charge of security. (Reuters)
Syrian Civil War
- New Syrian Forces trade American supplied equipment to the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front in return for safe passage. (Reuters via Daily Mail)

Business and economy

The People’s Republic of China will launch a cap and trade policy creating a carbon market in 2017. (The Guardian)
Ukraine selectively bans certain Russian airlines such as Aeroflot and Transaero from flying to and through Ukraine. (Ukraine Today)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Hajj stampede
- King Salman of Saudi Arabia orders an investigation into the stampede near Mecca which has claimed over 700 lives and caused 800 injuries. (AFP/BBC via ABC News Australia)
2015 Southeast Asian haze
- Singapore closes its primary and secondary schools as smoke from the Indonesian fires raises air pollution to hazardous levels. (CNN)
Thirty-nine people are injured after an earthquake in the waters off the coast of the Indonesian province of West Papua. (New York Daily News)

Health

The BBC reports that Nigeria will be removed from the list of countries where polio is endemic. (BBC)

Law and crime

2015 FIFA corruption case
- The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland opens criminal proceedings against the President of FIFA Sepp Blatter. (CNN)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- Croatia reopens its border with Serbia. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Hakubun Shimomura resigns as Japan‘s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology due to the design for the stadium for the 2020 Summer Olympics being abandoned. (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
John Boehner schedules his resignation from the position of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and from Congress for the end of October. (The New York Times), (Washington Post)

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October 2, 2015

Top News Stories –

Sam Smith’s James Bond theme makes UK chart history –
Sam Smith’s Writing’s On The Wall has made history by becoming the first Bond theme to reach number one in the UK. The track achieved combined chart sales and streams of 70,000 copies – 13,000 ahead of its closest competitor, Justin Bieber’s What Do You Mean? The previous highest-charting Bond themes were Adele’s Skyfall and Duran Duran’s View To A Kill, which both reached number two. Smith said he was “so proud” of the song and being number one was “crazy”. He told BBC Radio 1: “Out of all the songs I’ve brought out in my life, I was not expecting this to even chart in the top 10, let alone number one. It’s unbelievable.” [BBC] See List of the Day
Sam Smith

Janet Jackson puts the breaks on her Unbreakable world tour –
Janet Jackson has postponed her upcoming concert in Las Vegas and this isn’t the first time the pop icon has hit a road block along the way on her Unbreakable World Tour. The 49-year-old singer and performer announced her comeback this past June but it has been a series of highs and lows for the pop icon since. She has planned to reschedule this stop for next May 2016 when the venue will move to a new arena that can accommodate 20,000 fans. [Daily Mail] Today also saw the release of her new album “Unbreakable”, the first studio album from Jackson in seven years. See Video of the Day
Janet Jackson

Switzerland ‘could house 50,000 refugees in Cold War bunkers’ –
Switzerland can accommodate up to 50,000 refugees in nuclear bunkers, the country’s defence minister has said. During the Cold War, Switzerland began a policy of building enough fallout shelters that the entire country could safely retreat underground if there was a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the West. Today, while theoretically still available in a doomsday scenario, many of the bunkers are put to other uses. One in the small town of Sevelen was run as a “zero-star hotel” for some years, while the city of Geneva has used its bunkers as homeless shelters. Mr Maurer said around one-third of Switzerland’s public bunkers were currently in a position to take in refugees, with space for 50,000. [Daily Telegraph]

American wingsuit flier Johnny Strange dies in Switzerland accident –
Johnny Strange, an American adventurer who was the youngest person to climb the world’s seven tallest summits, has died in a wing suit accident in the Alps, Swiss police confirmed on Friday. The 23-year-old, who crashed shortly after jumping from Mount Gitschen in central Switzerland, is the latest casualty in what is regarded as one of the world’s most deadly extreme sports. He died on impact with the ground, likely after losing control mid-jump, according to authorities in the Swiss canton of Uri. Mr Strange, from Malibu, California, became the youngest person to scale the tallest peaks on each of the world’s seven continents in 2009, when he was 17. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Janet Jackson – BURNITUP! Feat. Missy Elliott (Lyric Video)

List of the Day –

James Bond Movie title themes [Wikipedia]

Film	Year	Score composer	Title song	Composed by	Performed by	U.K. peak position	U.S. peak position
Dr. No (soundtrack)	1962	Monty Norman	“James Bond Theme“	Monty Norman	John Barry & Orchestra; Monty Norman	—	—
Dr. No (soundtrack)	1962	Monty Norman	“Kingston Calypso”	Monty Norman	Byron Lee and the Dragonaires	—	—
From Russia with Love (soundtrack)	1963	John Barry	“Opening Titles: James Bond Is Back/From Russia with Love/James Bond Theme”	John Barry, Lionel Bart, Monty Norman	Matt Monro	—	—
Goldfinger (soundtrack)	1964		“Goldfinger“	Leslie Bricusse Anthony Newley John Barry	Shirley Bassey	21	8
Thunderball (soundtrack)	1965		“Thunderball”	John Barry Don Black	Tom Jones	35	25
You Only Live Twice (soundtrack)	1967		“You Only Live Twice“	Leslie Bricusse John Barry	Nancy Sinatra	11	44
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (soundtrack)	1969		“On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”	John Barry Hal David	The John Barry Orchestra	—	—
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (soundtrack)	1969		“We Have All the Time in the World” – Secondary Theme	John Barry Hal David	Louis Armstrong	—	—
Diamonds Are Forever (soundtrack)	1971		“Diamonds Are Forever”	John Barry Don Black	Shirley Bassey	38	57
Live and Let Die (soundtrack)	1973	George Martin	“Live and Let Die“	Paul McCartney Linda McCartney	Paul McCartney & Wings	7	2
The Man with the Golden Gun (soundtrack)	1974	John Barry	“The Man with the Golden Gun”	John Barry Don Black	Lulu	—	—
The Spy Who Loved Me (soundtrack)	1977	Marvin Hamlisch	“Nobody Does It Better“	Marvin Hamlisch Carole Bayer Sager	Carly Simon	7	2
Moonraker (soundtrack)	1979	John Barry	“Moonraker”	John Barry Hal David	Shirley Bassey	—	—
For Your Eyes Only (soundtrack)	1981	Bill Conti	“For Your Eyes Only“	Bill Conti Michael Leeson	Sheena Easton	8	4
Octopussy (soundtrack)	1983	John Barry	“All Time High“	John Barry Tim Rice Stephen Short	Rita Coolidge	75	36
A View to a Kill (soundtrack)	1985		“A View to a Kill“	John Barry Duran Duran	Duran Duran	2	1
The Living Daylights (soundtrack)	1987		“The Living Daylights“	John Barry Pål Waaktaar	A-ha	5	—
Licence to Kill (soundtrack)	1989	Michael Kamen	“Licence to Kill”	Narada Michael Walden Jeffrey Cohen Walter Afanasieff	Gladys Knight	6	—
GoldenEye (soundtrack)	1995	Éric Serra	“GoldenEye“	Bono The Edge	Tina Turner	10	102
Tomorrow Never Dies (soundtrack)	1997	David Arnold	“Tomorrow Never Dies“	Sheryl Crow Mitchell Froom	Sheryl Crow	12	—
The World Is Not Enough (soundtrack)	1999		“The World Is Not Enough“	David Arnold Don Black	Garbage	11	—
Die Another Day (soundtrack)	2002		“Die Another Day“	Madonna Mirwais Ahmadzaï	Madonna	3	8
Casino Royale (soundtrack)	2006		“You Know My Name“	David Arnold Chris Cornell	Chris Cornell	7	79
Quantum of Solace (soundtrack)	2008		“Another Way to Die“	Jack White	Jack White Alicia Keys	9	81
Skyfall (soundtrack)	2012	Thomas Newman	“Skyfall“	Adele Paul Epworth	Adele	2	8
Spectre (soundtrack)	2015	Thomas Newman	“Writing’s on the Wall“	[[Sam Smith (singer)\|Jade Thurbon] Jimmy Napes	Sam Smith	1	–

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	YAS BOOBOO	#WorldSmileDay	#FridayFeeling
2	Selamat Hari Batik Nasional	Chris Mintz	#WorldSmileDay
3	ハウル	#stuffhappens	Brian Friel
4	#DiaMundialdelaSonrisa	#Pizzalebrities	Zac Goldsmith
5	#AlgoQueMeHaceFelizEs	#Fridayreads	Cassper
6	#YaEsOctubreY	#4YearsOfAlwaysInMyHeart	#Dust2Dust
7	#TheVoiceBrasil	Will Smith	Ballon D’Or
8	#LoveMeLikeYouVideo	Arne Duncan	#UCCShooting
9	Hayırlı Cumalar	#Unbreakable	#SteamyClassicNovels
10	#BuenViernes	#LoveMeLikeYouVideo	#bbcqt

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Russian intervention in the Syrian Civil War
  - The Russian Government says Russian jets bombed Syria for the third consecutive day, hitting 12 Islamic State (ISIS) targets. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that ISIS has no presence in the western and northern areas struck though Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate al-Nusra Front does. Russian planes also bombed Raqqah, the unofficial capital of ISIL. (Daily Mail)
Turkey–PKK conflict
- At least 17 PKK militants are reportedly killed following a Turkish military operation in the Kurdish-majority city of Silvan. (RT)
War in Donbass, 2014-15 Russian military intervention in Ukraine
- OSCE observers who are monitoring a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian rebels, reported the presence of a new Russian weapons system in rebel-held territory this week, the ‘TOS-1 Buratino‘ is a thermobaricmultiple rocket launcher system which can destroy several city blocks in one strike and cause indiscriminate damage. Only Russia produces the system and it was not exported to Ukraine before the conflict broke out. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Air France KLM will cut 2,900 jobs after talks with pilots unions are unsuccessful. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

Indonesia‘s Aviastar airline loses contact with an aircraft between Masamba–Makassar carrying 10 people. (DailyMail)
Hurricane Joaquin
- The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a 735-foot (224-meter) cargo ship named ‘El Faro,’ with 33 people on board, that went missing near Crooked Island in the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin. Five Poles and 28 Americans make up the crew. (The Telegraph) (Reuters)
- Hurricane Joaquin attacked The Bahamas as a Category 4 hurricane and destroyed houses, cut communications and electric power, uprooted trees, and unleashed heavy flooding. So far, there are no reports of fatalities or injuries. The storm, which weakened to Category 3 status with 125 mph sustained winds, is expected to dump up to 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) of rain in some location before it moves away from the islands. (AP via Sacramento Bee) (AFP via Yahoo News)
El Cambray tragedy
- A Guatemalan hillside, loosened by heavy rains, collapses and sends tons of dirt and trees onto Santa Catarina Pinula on the edge of Guatemala City, killing at least 26 with as many as 600 people missing. (Reuters) (BBC)

Law and crime

A 15-year old boy shoots and kills a civilian NSW Police employee outside the NSW Police headquarters in Parramatta, Sydney. The incident is labelled as a terrorist attack. (Daily Telegraph)
Hackers steal the personal information of about 15 million T-Mobile US customers and applicants. The breach is at a unit of the credit agency Experian. (BBC)
2015 FIFA corruption case
- Longtime FIFA corporate sponsors — Coca-Cola Co., McDonald’s, Visa Inc., and Budweiser owner Anheuser-Busch InBev — demand FIFA President Sepp Blatter step down immediately following last week’s announcement of his criminal investigation by the Swiss attorney general. Blatter refused. (Reuters) (Irish Independent)

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October 15, 2015

Top News Stories –

Twitter goes down for 10 minutes, everybody panics –
Twitter went down for users in several parts of the world, causing widespread panic and much soul-searching across the UK, Japan and parts of America. The Twitter website, Tweetdeck – its service for power users, and its mobile apps were all down at 14:14 BST on Thursday. Service was restored roughly 10 minutes later. The website Down Detector, which registers reports of outages, registered a huge spike in queries for Twitter being down. Users in the UK, Japan, the US and the Middle East were among those affected. [Daily Telegraph]
Twitter down notice

Russia ‘tried to cut off’ World Wide Web –
Russia has run large scale experiments to test the feasibility of cutting the country off the World Wide Web, a senior industry executive has claimed. The tests, which come amid mounting concern about a Kremlin campaign to clamp down on internet freedoms, have been described by experts as preparations for an information blackout in the event of a domestic political crisis. Andrei Semerikov, general director of a Russian service provider called Er Telecom, said Russia’s ministry of communications and Roskomnadzor, the national internet regulator, ordered communications hubs run by the main Russian internet providers to block traffic to foreign communications channels by using a traffic control system called DPI. The objective was to see whether the Runet – the informal name for the Russian internet – could continue to function in isolation from the global internet. The experiment, which took place in spring this year, failed because thousands of smaller service providers, which Roskomnadzor has little control over, continued to pass information out of the country, Mr Semerikov said. [Daily Telegraph]

Porn during lunch breaks is OK but smoking cannabis can get you sacked, Italy’s highest court rules –
Employees cannot be sacked for watching porn during their lunch breaks if it does not impact upon their ability to do their work, Italy’s highest court has ruled. According to Italian media reports, the Court of Cassation ruled against major car manufacturer Fiat after it sacked a factory worker in Termini Imerese, a town in Sicily. Bosses had caught the man watching adult films at work, but he argued that his viewing was limited to “catching a glimpse of a movie during his lunch break”. But it wasn’t all bad news for Fiat, as in a separate ruling on Wednesday the court found the carmaker was within its rights to sack a man caught smoking cannabis during his lunch break – presumably because its effects continued into his working hours. [The Independent]

Video of the Day –

Back To The Future In ACTUAL 2015 – by College Humor

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#ImPerfect	#SpiritDay	#SNP15
2	#FelizJueves	#ProblemsTechnologyCantSolve	#EducationDay
3	Primark	Master P	Die Hard
4	#EstariaNecesitando	The Drone Papers	Oscar Pistorius
5	#شخصيه_كويتيه_�…	#OceanCelebs	#kidscompany
6	#5SOSMNL	Oscar Pistorius	Fantastic Four
7	Oscar Pistorius	#IDontMeanToScareYouBut	#GlobalHandwashingDay
8	#Empire	Theranos	Boris Johnson
9	#DiaDoProfessor	Fantastic Four	Danny Ings
10	#曲名に無職だけど�…	Evan Peters	King Kong

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- President of the United States Barack Obama announces that he will keep 5,500 troops in Afghanistan. (RT)
Internal conflict in Myanmar:
- The government of Myanmar signs a peace treaty with eight ethnic armed groups, although some powerful groups stay away. (AP via Star Tribune)
Yemeni Civil War (2015), Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Yemen‘s Sana’a-controlled forces fire a Scud missile at Saudi Arabia in retaliation to Saudi “war crimes”. A spokesman for Yemen’s military allied with Houthi militants said the missile hit a Saudi airbase and caused “widespread destruction”. There was no immediate comment from the Saudi side. (Reuters)
- Thousands gather in Aden‘s Al Ouroudh Square to thank coalition forces and to celebrate victory three months after pushing Houthi militants out of southern Yemen. (Gulf News)
European migrant crisis
- At least one person is reportedly killed after Bulgarian border guards open fire on a group of illegal migrants after they attempted to cross the border from Turkey. The incident happened near the southeastern town of Sredets. (AFP via Channel News Asia) (Yahoo)
Boko Haram insurgency
- A twin bombing near a mosque kills at least 26 people in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri. (The Washington Post)
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- An Israeli is stabbed by a fellow Israeli Jew, because he is mistaken for an Arab. (New York Times) (The Guardian)

Business and economy

Volkswagen emissions scandal
- The German automotive watchdog KBA orders Volkswagen to recall 2.4 million cars in that country after the emissions scandal becomes public knowledge. (Reuters via SBS Australia)

International relations

Vietnam says a Chinese vessel rammed into and sank one of its fishing boats near disputed islands in the South China Sea. More than 20 Vietnamese fishing boats have been attacked by Chinese vessels this year causing tensions between both countries.(AP via Yahoo)

Disasters and accidents

Hurricane Joaquin & SS El Faro
- The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NSTB) has asked the U.S. Navy to resume the search ended by the U.S. Coast Guard for the merchant vessel SS EL FARO believed lost on Oct. 7 during Hurricane Joaquin. The loss of the ship – with its crew of 33 hands – is regarded as “the worst U.S. merchant marine disaster of recent memory.” (USNI News)

Law and crime

2015 Parramatta shooting
- Rahan Alou and Talal Alameddine are charged with assisting Farhad Jabar to kill New South Wales Police Force accountant Curtis Cheng in Parramatta, Australia on 2 October 2015. (The Guardian) (ABC News Australia)
A cache of classified intelligence documents published from The Intercept, released by an anonymous whistleblower, highlight details surrounding post-September 11 attacks United States drone strikes in Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen, alleging that theUnited States conducts these strikes under extremely unreliable information and faulty pretenses. (Al-Jazeera America) (U.S. News) (Vice News)
Five individuals — four men and a teenage boy — are arrested in connection with the gang-rape of a 16-year-old girl at a Sydney, Australia, house party. (CNN)
Scottish and U.S. prosecutors identify two Libyans as suspects in the Lockerbie bombing. (CNN) (The Guardian)
The Nevada Gaming Control Board rules that daily fantasy sports leagues are a form of gambling that requires a license to operate in the state, including being offered to state residents. Due to Nevada’s status as a major gambling center, the decision is seen as potentially influencing other U.S. states’ stances on the leagues. (CBS News) (ESPN)

Politics and elections

2015 United Nations Security Council election
- Egypt, Senegal, Uruguay, Japan, and Ukraine are elected to two-year, non-permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council for 2016-17, replacing Chad, Chile, Jordan, Lithuania, and Nigeria. (New York Times)

Science

Astronomers say they have observed bizarre light patterns using the Kepler Space Telescope from a star that appears old, but is shrouded in debris like a much younger star, roughly 1,500 light-years away. This has led to speculation that these are an “artificial extraterrestrial mega-structure”, orbiting the star known as KIC 8462852 in the Cygnus constellation. KIC 8462852 lies just above the Milky Way between the constellations Cygnus and Lyra. It first attracted the attention of astronomers in 2009 when the Kepler Space Telescope identified it as a candidate for having orbiting Earth-like planets. (Independent) (Discovery News)

Sports

2015 MLB postseason
- In the U.S., the New York Mets defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3–2 in the deciding Game 5 of their National League Division Series. The Mets move on to face the Chicago Cubs in the best-of-seven 2015 National League Championship Series, which opens on October 17 at the Mets’ home of Citi Field. (AP via ESPN)

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October 17, 2015

Top News Stories –

Apple loses patent lawsuit to University of Wisconsin, faces hefty damages –
Apple Inc could be facing up to $862 million in damages after a U.S. jury on Tuesday found the iPhone maker used technology owned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s licensing arm without permission in chips found in many of its most popular devices. The jury in Madison, Wisconsin also said the patent, which improves processor efficiency, was valid. The trial will now move on to determine how much Apple owes in damages. WARF used the patent to sue Intel Corp in 2008, but the case was settled the following year on the eve of trial. Last month, WARF launched a second lawsuit against Apple, this time targeting the company’s newest chips, the A9 and A9X, used in the just-released iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, as well as the iPad Pro. [Reuters]

Volkswagen faces €40bn lawsuit from investors –
Volkswagen is set to be pushed deeper into crisis after it emerged that the carmaker is facing a record-breaking €40bn (£30bn) legal attack spearheaded by one of the world’s top law firms. Quinn Emanuel, which has won almost $50bn (£32bn) for clients and represented Google, Sony and Fifa, has been retained by claim funding group Bentham to prepare a case for VW shareholders over the diesel emissions scandal, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal. Bentham has recently backed an action by Tesco shareholders over the retailer’s overstating of profits. The pair are attempting to assemble a huge class action following what they call “fundamental dishonesty” at the German auto giant, which plunged the carmaker into crisis after it admitted using “defeat devices” to cheat pollution tests. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Jupiter in 4K

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#ALDUBTheBigSurprise	#1980sIn4Words	#LFC
2	#telethon7	#telethon7	#1980sIn4Words
3	ICFES	#MSUvsMICH	#juniorcontract
4	FlyNoRaulGil	Ole Miss	Howard Kendall
5	Howard Kendall	#FallBakingWithAlly	#RSAvWAL
6	#ShowtimeLovesCebu	#LFC	#BBC4
7	#FPtauromaquia	#MakeAMovieDeadly	#MakeAFilmPrimAndProper
8	#ATodosNosPasoEsoDe	Boise State	Oasis
9	#FindConfidentBR	Howard Kendall	#telethon7
10	#FallBakingWithAlly	#ALDUBTheBigSurprise	Watford

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Henriette Reker, a candidate in Cologne‘s mayoral race, is stabbed in the neck by a man claiming to be angry over Germany’s refugee policies. Reker is in serious condition, as is an aide. Three others suffered minor injuries. (BBC) (Today)
Syrian Civil War
- A top Al-Qaeda commander is killed in an airstrike in Syria. (USA Today)
- Battle of Aleppo (2012–present), Iranian involvement in the Syrian Civil War
  - The Syrian army, backed by Iranian fighters, captures several villages south of Aleppo. (Reuters)
Terrorism in Saudi Arabia
- A gunman from the Islamic State opens fire on a Shiite meeting hall in Saudi Arabia, killing five people. (Reuters)
2015 PKK rebellion
- Three Turkish troops, including a lieutenant colonel, are killed following clashes with PKK insurgents around Dağlıca vlliage, in the southeastern Hakkâri Province. At least 17 PKK insurgents were also reportedly killed in the fighting. (Today’s Zaman)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, Yemeni Civil War (2015)
- A Saudi-led coalition airstrike targeting Houthis in the southern Taiz Governorate mistakenly hits a Hadi-loyalist position, killing at least 20 fighters. (BBC)
- Hundreds of Sudanese troops arrive in the southern port city of Aden to reinforce coalition forces. (CBC News)
Mexican Drug War
- Fugitive drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán suffered injuries to his leg and face as he escaped Mexican authorities who were closing in on him in the mountains in Sinaloa in northwestern Mexico. (CNN) (Yucatan Times)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Israeli security forces kill four Palestinians and critically wound another who attempted to stab either police officers or a member of the public today. This is the latest in a month of similar attacks where 17 Palestinians, labelled as the attackers, and eight Israelis have been killed. (UPI) (Abu Dhabi National)

Arts and culture

Stephen Glass, author, former journalist and attorney, will repay Harper’s Magazine and other outlets because works he authored were found to have been fabricated. (New York Times)
The Writers’ Revolt: Nayantara Sahgal, is one of the latest authors in India who will return that nation’s highest award from the National Academy of Letters in protest against what Salman Rushdie has characterized as “thuggish violence” creeping into Indian life under the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (New York Times)

Business and economics

The United States cancels two potential Arctic lease sales off Alaska’s northern coast, and announces Shell and Statoil current leases will not be extended because of “current market conditions and low industry interest.” (NPR) (BBC)
US Airways final flight, Flight 1939 — named for the airline’s founding year, landed at Philadelphia International Airport at 5:54 a.m. Saturday. Future flights will fly under the American Airlines banner, completing the merger announced in 2013. (Christian Science Monitor) (AP via WSAW)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Koppu (Lando) heads towards the Philippines island of Luzon where it is expected to make landfall as a Category 4 storm, linger and deposit up to 50 inches of rain in some areas. (Mashable)
At least 15 people are killed in a wedding bus crash in Andhra Pradesh state in southern India. (AAP via News Limited)
At least 16 people are killed near Odessa in the Ukraine after a passenger boat sinks in bad weather. (RT)

Law and Crime

Ardit Ferizi, a 20-year-old hacker from Kosovo and computer student in Malaysia, is arrested for hacking into a Phoenix, Arizona computer system and stealing the names and personal information of thousands of U.S. military personnel. Ferizi is accused of giving the information to ISIS. The U.S. is seeking Ferizi’s extradition. (CNN)
A shooting just before midnight at the ninth annual Fort Myers, Florida, Zombicon kills one person and injures four others, none with life threatening injuries, and causes pandemomium on the city’s downtown streets. Police ask attendees to share smartphonevideo from the incident. (USA Today) (Reuters)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- The first migrants reach Slovenia after the border between Hungary and Croatia is closed. (Reuters)
- Turkey‘s Anadolu Agency reports that 12 migrants have drowned in the Aegean Sea while trying to get to Europe. (AP)

Politics and elections

Egyptian parliamentary election, 2015
- Egyptians residing abroad begin casting votes in the country’s first parliamentary election since the 2013 military overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi. Embassies and consulates in 139 countries will be open for two days of voting. (AP via Florence TimesDaily) (Gulf News)
Guinean presidential election, 2015
- The Guinea electoral commission reports that the President of Guinea Alpha Conde has won the election with 58 per cent of the vote. (Reuters)

Science and technology

Researchers from the University of Washington report an unusually large number of methane gas plumes detected off the Washington and Oregon coasts may be due to warming ocean waters a third of a mile below the surface, the exact depth at which frozen pockets of methane “ice” change over from a dormant solid to a greenhouse gas. (The Market Business) (Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

October 26, 2015

Top News Stories –

Dog named Trigger shoots owner in the foot in Indiana –
A dog named Trigger shot his 25-year-old owner in the foot in a bizarre accident that had Indiana officials on Monday reminding hunters to take safety lessons. Allie Carter of Avilla was wounded during a waterfowl hunt on Saturday morning at the Tri-County Fish and Wildlife Area in northern Indiana, according to Indiana Department of Natural Resources. She laid her 12-gauge shotgun on the ground while repositioning herself and her 11-year-old chocolate Labrador stepped on the gun, depressing the trigger, said Indiana Conservation Officer Jonathon Boyd. The safety of the shotgun was not on, so it went off and Carter was shot in the left foot, Boyd said. Carter, who had never completed a hunter education course, was hospitalized. She suffered non-life-threatening injuries from the bird shot pellets and was treated and released, Boyd said. [Reuters]

Saudi prince held after seizure of two tons of amphetamines at Beirut airport –
A Saudi prince has been detained at Beirut airport in Lebanon after two tons of an amphetamine drug popular with Syrian rebels was found on a private jet. Prince Abdel Mohsen Bin Walid Bin Abdulaziz and four other men were held after what was described as the biggest ever drugs bust at the city’s main Rafik Hariri International Airport, according to local media and security sources. They were allegedly “attempting to smuggle about two tons of Captagon pills and some cocaine”, a security source was quoted as saying. Captagon is a brand name for the widely used amphetamine phenethylline. Although this type of amphetamine has been prescribed in the past to treat childhood and other behavioural disorders, it is now used overwhelmingly as a stimulant in the Middle East. [Daily Telegraph]

11-year-old girl sets up business selling secure passwords for $2 –
Weak passwords are still the plague of the cybersecurity industry, with the most popular passwords of 2014 including “123456”, “password” and “qwerty”, making it easy for hackers to break into accounts and steal data. Now an 11-year-old girl from New York is offering a solution. Sixth-grader Mira Modi has started her own business making cryptographically secure passwords and selling them for $2 a pop. She generates the passwords using a system called Diceware to create strings of words that are easy to remember but difficult to crack. The system involves rolling a die to generate random numbers, which are matched to a list of short words from the Diceware dictionary. Those words are then combined into a non-sensical string, such as: alger klm curry blond puck horse. These six-word passphrases contain a lot of “entropy”, or randomness, which means that it would take a powerful computer a very long time to correctly guess them. They are also easier to memorise than strings of individual characters. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

OFFF Porto Main Titles from bif on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

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6	#ALDUBNewBeginnings	#AssaultAtSpringValleyHigh	Glenn
7	#تسجيل_السعيدي…	#TrumpTODAY	#bacon
8	#QueLindoEsoDe	World Health Organization	Artist Of The Year
9	Macri	#earthquake	Lesnar
10	Jimmy Morales	#IHonkedAtYouBecause	#taxcredits

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Spillover of the Syrian Civil War, Turkey–ISIL conflict
  - Four Islamic State militants and two Turkish policemen are killed during a raid on a house used by militants in the city of Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Four other police officers were injured. (AP via Fox News) (Reuters)
- United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports at least 120,000 people have been displaced in Syria this month because of fighting. These displaced Syrians need tents, basic household items, food, water and sanitation services. The agency’s humanitarian partners are scaling up their response. (AP)
Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
- The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed it has deployed special forces to Syria over the past weeks supporting its mission to back-up the Bashar al-Assad regime. A Russian official added that the special forces, who are “akin to the Delta Force of theU.S.,” had been operating in pro-Russian rebel held areas of Ukraine before being called off to Syria. (Business Insider) (The Wall Street Journal)
A suicide-bomb attack at a Shia mosque in the Saudi Arabian city of Najran accounts for over a dozen casualties. (BBC)
Yemeni Civil War (2015)
- At least 50 people are killed, including seven civilians, in heavy fighting between Houthi rebels and forces loyal to ousted President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi near the city of Taiz. (Al-Jazeera)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present), American-led intervention in Iraq, Syrian Civil War, American-led intervention in Syria
- United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter indicates a more robust role ahead for the United States military in bolstering indigenous forces countering ISIS and in response to Russia’s increasing role in Middle East conflicts. (WSJ)
Colombian conflict (1964–present)
- At least 11 Colombian Army soldiers and one policeman have been killed in an ELN attack in northeast Colombia. (Colombia Reports)

Business

MTN Group is fined $5.2 billion dollars by the Nigerian Communications Commission for failing to disconnect non-registered SIM cards. (BBC)
Toyota is once again the world’s largest carmaker with 7.5 million units sold thus far in 2015, compared to Volkswagen‘s 7.43 million and General Motors‘ 7.2 million. (BBC)
Japanese tire manufacturer Bridgestone announced it would buy US auto parts retailer Pep Boys for $835 million. (Reuters)
Duke Energy announced it would buy Piedmont Natural Gas for $4.9 billion. (Reuters)
USAA, one of the largest financial services companies in the U.S., announced the ending of its long-term relationship with MasterCard. The tenth-largest credit card issuer in the U.S. will replace the old credit cards with Visa cards next year. (WSJ)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Hindu Kush earthquake
- An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Moment magnitude scale (MMS) strikes in the Hindu Kush mountain range in northeastern Afghanistan, 158 miles from Kabul, in the remote province of Badakhshan, one of Afghanistan’s most inaccessible regions. Tremors reached as far as New Delhi, India. At least 263 are dead in Afghanistan and nearby northern Pakistan with more than 1,000 injured. The death toll will likely climb since communications in much of the affected areas are cut, and rescue teams had not yet reached districts closest to the epicenter, including some that are controlled by Taliban insurgents. (BBC) (Financial Express) (USGS) (Dawn) (Reuters) (L.A. Times) (AP)

International relations

Saudi Arabia–United Kingdom relations
- Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United Kingdom Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, in an op-ed piece in the The Daily Telegraph, warns of “potentially serious repercussions” for the two countries’ relationship unless a more respectful discourse developed. At issue is London’s withdrawal from a £5.9m (US$9.1m) prison deal with Saudi Arabia which has been linked to London’s concerns about a death penalty case and a case involving Karl Andree, a 74-year-old Briton who faces 350 lashes. Today, the Saudi Supreme Court confirmed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr’s death sentence. (Arab News) (BBC)
The United States is reportedly blocking a $400 million plan by South Korea to sell KAI T-50 Golden Eagle trainer jets, co-developed in 2006 with Lockheed Martin, to Uzbekistan, according to The Korea Times. The aircraft uses Lockheed Martin technologies — including avionics — and as such requires permission under the U.S. Arms Export Control Act for its sale to other countries. (UPI) (The Korea Times)
The U.S. Navy plans to send guided missile destroyer USS Lassen within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands built by China in the South China Sea. This first freedom of navigation challenge to China’s territorial claims in one of the world’s busiest sea lanesmay occur as soon as tomorrow, according to a U.S. defense official. (Reuters) (The Diplomat)

Law and crime

Indian fugitive gangster Chhota Rajan is arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali. (BBC)
Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court upholds the death sentence of Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who was found guilty of sedition and other charges following his involvement in the 2011 Arab Spring Movement. (Jurist)
A member of the Saudi Royal Family and four other people are detained in Lebanon for attempting to smuggle about two tons of Captagon pills and some cocaine on a private jet. This is the largest drug seizure in the history of Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency. (Al Jazeera) (NBC News)

Politics and elections

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a review of the status of certain Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. Netanyahu said he’s considering revoking residency status for Palestinians living there, according to Israel’s Channel 2. (AP)(UPI)

Science

A new study by scientists finds that areas of the Persian Gulf could become uninhabitable to humans in less than 100 years due to rising temperatures. (The Telegraph)(New York Times)(Nature)

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November 15, 2015

Top News Stories –

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

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

Video of the Day –

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

Top Twitter Trends –

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

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

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

Business and economics

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

Disasters and accidents

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

International relations

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

Politics and elections

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

Sport

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

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December 1, 2015

Top News Stories –

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg to give away 99% of shares –
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan say they will give away 99% of their shares in the company to good causes as they announce the birth of their daughter Max. Mr Zuckerberg made the announcement in a letter to Max on his Facebook page. He said they were donating their fortune to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to make the world a better place for Max to grow up in. The donation amounts to $45bn (£30bn) at Facebook’s current value. [BBC]
Mark Zuckerberg

Mariah Carey gets $300,000 for a one-hour store visit –
[Maria] Carey’s kicking off December with an appearance Tuesday night at a Pier 1 pop up store in New York, where Confidenti@l has learned she’s being paid a whopping $300,000 to attend the event for just one hour. “Let’s call it 45 minutes,” laughs our source, who adds that the “Hero” singer also had a few demands about her appearance. “She specifically wanted (it noted) that she was ‘appearing’ not ‘performing.’ They would have loved her to perform but just getting her is worth it.” Our insider adds that Carey gave final approval on the invite before it went out, requesting that she be called “The Queen of Christmas,” at the “Pier 1 Imports: Christmas Pop-Up Storybook” at 503 Broadway. [NY Daily News]
Mariah Carey

Video of the Day –

Amazon Prime Air

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1	Rosa Parks	#WorldAIDSDay	1st of December
2	#GivingTuesday	Rosa Parks	#PipKnit
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9	#BreakUpIn5Words	#Force4Ham	#LHHHReunion
10	Cameron Dallas	Mark Zuckerberg	Public Enemy

Other News Stories –

Armed conflict and attacks

Azerbaijan law enforcement agencies launch a special operation against Islamists in Nardaran, a suburb in the capital Baku. (Tass)
Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon
- The Lebanese Army and the al-Nusra Front conduct a prisoner exchange with Saja Dulaimi, former wife of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, being one of the prisoners released. The exchange was brokered byQatar. (Al-Jazeera) (Reuters)
Iraqi Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL, American-led intervention in Iraq
- The Iraqi government, via state TV, requests all civilians leave the ISIL-held city of Ramadi in Anbar province, after several days of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes against ISIL. Observers speculate this request precedes major ground operations to retake Ramadi, which fell to ISIL in May. (Deutsche Welle)
- U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said, in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, the U.S. military is preparing to establish a new Special Operations task force of about 200 service members in Iraq to intensify pressure on Islamic State commanders and expand U.S. troops’ direct involvement in battling the militant group. There are now about 3,500 U.S. troops in Iraq, including some Special Operations forces who are advising Iraqi forces in northern and central Iraq. (The Washington Post) (The Hill)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Dozens of Houthi fighters are reportedly killed, according to Saudi state television and residents, following a major push by Yemen-based Houthi forces into the kingdom’s southern Najran Region. The Houthi-run Saba News Agency said that Houthi fighters had seized three Saudi military outposts near the city of Najran, destroying several armored vehicles, including two U.S.-made M1 Abrams tanks and three Bradley vehicles. (Reuters)
Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
- U. N. attack helicopters launched strikes against positions of Allied Democratic Forces. This comes a day after a series of clashes between rebels and soldiers in a town in eastern Congo killed at least 30 people. (Yahoo news), (Reuters), (Press TV)
Five people are injured, says Bayrampaşa mayor Atilla Aydiner, when a pipe bomb explodes on an overpass near his city’s central metro station in suburban Istanbul, Turkey. (The Guardian) (The Atlantic) (BBC)

Arts and culture

So called “White Student Unions” begin springing up at several Australian universities, including the University of Queensland, University of Southern Queensland, University of Technology Sydney, Macquarie University, Western Sydney University,University of New South Wales and the University of Western Australia. The groups say they are defending the interests of white students who they say are becoming marginalized from on-campus life and politics. (News Corp Australia)

Business and economics

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announces the plan to donate 99 percent of the company stock he and his wife Priscilla Chan own over their lifetimes, shares today worth about $45 billion, to “advance human potential and promote equality for all children.” (The Washington Post)

Disasters and accident

Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501
- Indonesia releases a report into the crash of AirAsia Flight 8501 by the National Transportation Safety Committee. The report finds that crew error was responsible for the crash that claimed 162 lives. (Channel News Asia) (Sky News)

Health and medicine

The World Health Organization urges Ukraine’s health ministry to declare a state of emergency due to a polio outbreak, a move meant to prompt more action from the government in Kiev. Half of Ukraine’s children have not been vaccinated against polio, according to Dorit Nitzan, head of the WHO’s office in Ukraine. (AP via US News & World Report)
One of three people who contracted Legionnaires’ disease in Hannibal, Missouri, has died, according to health officials. Hannibal is about 20 miles from Quincy, Illinois, where a Legionnaires’ outbreak occurred earlier this year, contributing to 12 deaths and sickening dozens more. (AP via ABC News America) (ABC7 via WLS AM)
An American E. coli scare results in the recall of hundreds of thousands of products in a dozen states and covering major supermarket chains including Walmart, Safeway and Albertsons. (CNN)
The United States Centers for Disease Control announces the number of people newly diagnosed with diabetes declined in 2014 for the fifth consecutive year. Experts do not know whether efforts to prevent diabetes are finally started to work, or if the disease has simply peaked in the population. (NPR) (The New York Times)

International relations

European migrant crisis
- The U.S. Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Refugee Resettlement notifies all 50 states that if they deny services to any group of refugees, states may risk losing resettlement funding altogether. More than half of the nation’s governors have said they will not accept Syrian refugees in their states. (The Washington Post)

Law and crime

Death of Jennifer Laude
- A Philippine Olongapo City Regional Trial Court convicts U.S. Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton of homicide over the death of a transgender Filipina woman. (Rappler) (Buzzfeed) (BBC)
Chicago, Illinois Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked for and received the resignation of that city’s police superintendant Garry McCarthy. Emanuel spoke of the loss of the public’s confidence in the city police and announced a task force on police accountability. The change comes in the wake of protests over the release of police footage showing the October 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald. (CNN)

Science and technology

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports brains do not really fit into “male” or “female” categories. Tel Aviv University’s Daphna Joel’s research team, in analyzing the MRI scans of some 1,400 individuals, found only a very small number of the brains studied had features that were entirely male, female, or intermediate between the two. The vast majority had a mosaic. (The Washington Post) (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) (Daphna Joel)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

December 11, 2015

Top News Stories –

Tokyo police are using drones with nets to catch other drones –
Tokyo’s police force has introduced an elite fleet of interceptor drones designed to chase and catch suspicious-looking drones in nets flying over sensitive locations amid concerns for the prime minister’s safety. Riot police will control the camera-equipped interceptor drones to chase after private drones they feel may be spying on buildings, including the Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s office, and ensnare them in large nets before returning to the ground. Those controlling the force drone will first warn the suspicious drone’s operator to cease the flight, before pursuing them. A four-propellor drone carrying trace amounts of radioactive caesium was intercepted on the top of the prime minister’s office in April, raising terror concerns in the capital. Police said radioactivity levels were only a maximum of 1 microsievert of gamma rays per hour, a level that is not harmful to humans. [Daily Telegraph]

Google Chrome extension replaces all mentions of Donald Trump with Voldemort –
When JK Rowling said Donald Trump was worse than Lord Voldemort, after the former’s proposal that all Muslims should be banned from entering the US, the Harry Potter author inspired one person to take the idea that little bit further. A Google Chrome user has released an extension for the web browser that turns all mentions of Trump into various aliases for Harry Potter’s nemesis. A series of Trump-related Chrome extensions have filled the web. The Trumpweb inserts quotes from the man himself in between “Donald” and “Trump”, and another removes any mentions of him from Facebook. You can also change any mentions of Trump to “your drunk uncle”. [Daily Telegraph] A petition started on December 6 to ban Trump from entering Britain has now reached over half a million signatures.
Donald Trump

Video of the Day –

TIMEDRIFT II from Martin Heck | Timestorm Films on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#SextaCampuseirosClubSdv	#FlashbackFriday	Ian Bell
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9	#MiFraseDeBorracho	#YouAreInDenialIf	#bbcqt
10	#XMenApocalypse	#NewMusicFriday	#DiamondBall

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- The Taliban claims responsibility for a car bomb attack near the Spanish embassy in Kabul. At least one Spanish security officer is killed. (Reuters)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015),
- Three Palestinians are killed by Israeli forces, two in Hebron, one of whom reportedly tried to ram his car into soldiers and the other during a violent demonstration in the West Bank city. A third Palestinian died in clashes with Israeli troops at the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel. (Today) (AP via Stars & Stripes)
2015 Burundian unrest
- Burundi’s army repels attacks on military barracks in the capital, Bujumbura, in the worst violence since this spring’s unrest that developed after President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to seek a third term in office. According to an army spokesman, at least 12 gunmen are killed and 20 captured. Reports that at least five soldiers have been killed are denied by the army, which says the soldiers were wounded. Two southern sites, a police station and an army camp, were also attacked, with no report on casualties. Kenya Airways and RwandAir cancels its flights to Bujumbura. (Al Jazeera) (Bloomberg)
Syrian Civil War, Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict (2013–present)
- A triple truck-bomb attack on the Kurdish YPG militia-controlled town of Tell Tamer in Syria‘s northeast Al-Hasakah Governorate leaves as many as 50 people dead and 80 others wounded. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the attacks, saying in an online statement that three of its fighters driving three separate vehicles had detonated the suicide bombs targeting “bases” belonging to Kurdish fighters. (Reuters via NBC News)
Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant‘s branch in Libya (Libya Province) seizes control of the western Libyan town of Sabratha, after storming it in retaliation after two of their men were arrested in a house nearby; however they then set up checkpoints around the town, with little opposition from the local militias that were supposed to be in control of the area. There are now fears that the militant group could destroy the town’s Roman amphitheatre, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (The Telegraph)
Swiss police in Geneva, following yesterday’s CIA tip, arrest two Syrian nationals. Apparently, traces of explosives were found in their car. President Simonetta Sommaruga says, “There is currently no indication that there was a concrete attack planned.”(Sky News)

Business and economy

Chinese tycoon Guo Guangchang, founder and chairman of Fosun, is reported missing amid the Chinese anti-corruption campaign. (The Guardian)
Two of the U.S.’s oldest and largest companies, DuPont and Dow Chemical Company, will merge in an all-stock deal valued at $130 billion. The deal, which includes future plans for DowDuPont to split into three independent, public companies, is expected to face intense scrutiny from federal antitrust regulators, who will examine the impact on prices and the availability of vital seeds and herbicides.(Reuters) (The Washington Post)
China’s Alibaba Group Holding Limited acquires Hong Kong’s largest English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, in a deal reported to be worth about $100 million. (UPI)

Disasters and accidents

2015 South Indian floods
- Major UK-based reinsurance broker Aon Benfield estimates India has suffered over US$3 billion (over Rs. 200 billion) worth of losses as a result of the flooding, and rates them as the costliest floods and the eighth-costliest natural disaster of 2015.(Business Standard)

International relations

2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference
- French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announces the world climate talks (COP 21) will be extended to at least Saturday. (AP)
Syrian Civil War
- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he will not negotiate with armed groups, a day after the Syrian opposition’s multi-group, two-day meeting in Riyadh agreed on a framework for future negotiations to end the conflict. Assad’s statement also appears to put a damper on peace talks Russia and the United States are working to set up. (Reuters) (Syria Online)
War in Donbass
- The United States and Russia exchanged charges concerning U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Šimonović’s presentation at the U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine. While violence between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels has lessened since September’s agreement, Šimonović warned of the massive civilian toll if major hostilities re-erupt. OCHA’s John Ging said locals face unacceptable physical hardships and indignities, and that the suspension of humanitarian programs and expulsion of humanitarian workers in non-government controlled areas must end. (Reuters) (UN)

Law and crime

Hannibal Gaddafi, son of Libya’s late leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was kidnapped by militants, is released in Baalbek, Lebanon. Gaddafi’s abductors said they were seeking information on the fate of Shiite cleric Imam Moussa al-Sadr, who disappeared during a trip to Tripoli in 1978. (AP via ABC News) (Epoch Times) (AP via NBC News-update)

Politics and elections

Libyan Civil War (2014–present)
- Martin Kobler, United Nations envoy to Libya, announces the country’s two rival parliaments agreement to set a target date of Dec. 16 to sign a U.N.-sponsored agreement on forming a national unity government. (AP via ABC News) (Reuters)

Science and technology

Washington State University researchers report in the Journal of the American Chemical Society that they have invented a new catalyst that promises to enable production of bio-based chemicals and plastics. In the future, products could be made from bio-based ethanol rather than superheated crude oil. Other uses for this new catalyst are being explored. (UPI) (Phys.org)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

December 21, 2015

Top News Stories –

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

Top Twitter Trends –

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1	#EsHermosoCuando	#blackoutday	Hermione
2	#EuJaFuiCarrota	#mondaymotivation	#RHOA
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4	#SegundaComOClubeSDV	#ChristmasWeek	#mondaymotivation
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9	#WeAreAllZayn	#FelizLunes	#SPOTY
10	#EnEsteVeranoYo	Hermione	#AFCvMCFC

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- 2015 Bagram suicide bombing
  - A suicide-bomb attack on a joint Afghan-U.S. patrol near Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan‘s Parwan Province, kills at least six U.S. soldiers and wounds another six. The Taliban‘s spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, claims responsibility for the attack in a message on Twitter. (Reuters) (The Washington Post)
- 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 three rockets hit the capital Kabul, with two landing in the diplomatic zone of the Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood near the U.S. embassy building, while the other struck near the presidential palace complex. There were no reports of any casualties. (Reuters) (RT)
Terrorism in Kenya, War in Somalia
- 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)
Iraqi Civil War (2014–present), Military intervention against ISIL
- Around 20 people, including civilians and Islamic State militants, are killed in airstrikes on Mosul in northern Iraq. (Reuters)
2015 PKK rebellion
- 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)
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says military operations will continue in southeast Turkey and vowed that Kurdish rebels (PKK) along with their supporters, “will be buried in the trenches they have dug”. The state-run Anadolu Agency reports at least 115 PKK militants have been killed since December 15. (The Guardian)

Arts and culture

Pope Francis, in his annual pre-Christmas speech, urged the Roman Curia (cardinals and bishops who direct Holy See actions), to follow his “catalogue of virtues,” e.g., to show more maturity, honesty, humility, and sobriety in their tasks. He listed “Curial antibiotics” to treat the “15 ailments of the Curia” he outlined last year and which still plague the Vatican. (AP via Berlin Record) (National Catholic Reporter)

Health and medicine

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lifts the 32-year-old, lifetime ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men. Men can donate if they haven’t had sex with another man in the previous year. The FDA stance is in line with other countries, such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.K., and is consistent with rules on recent blood transfusion or accidental exposure to another individual’s blood. (The Guardian) (The Washington Post) (FDA)

International relations

Armenia–Russia relations
- Russia reinforces the joint Armenian–Russian run Erebuni Airport, home to the Russian 3624th Air Base, with six attack and transport helicopters. The Russian Defence Ministry said the Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters had been transferred from a military base in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar Krai to the air base in Erebuni, Armenia. (Radio Free Europe)
War in Donbass
- The European Union extends Russian sanctions for interference in Ukraine another six months, until 31 July 2016. The EU says it’s extending the sanctions because the Minsk peace accords would not be fully implemented by the end of this year.(Bloomberg) (Voice of America)

Politics and elections

Slovenian same-sex marriage referendum, 2015
- Slovenian voters reject a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the country with only 36% of registered voters supporting it, while over 63% of voters voted against the bill. (CNN)
Spanish general election, 2015
- 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)
United States presidential election, 2016, Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016
- South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham ends his campaign for the Republican Party nomination for President. During his campaign he has failed to poll above single digits nationally or in the early voting states. (USA Today)
Israeli Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom (Likud party) resigns because of allegations he sexually harassed several women during his career. Israel’s attorney general has started an investigation of Shalom, who also resigned his Interior Minister position andKnesset seat. (Reuters) (UPI)

Sports

2015 FIFA corruption case
- FIFA’s ethics committee issues an eight-year ban on President Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini from any football-related activity for a CHF 2,000,000 (£1.3m/US$2.02m) payment to Platini that Blatter approved. Ethics judges decided the pair, who were also fined, broke rules on conflict of interest, breach of loyalty, and offering or receiving gifts. Both men deny wrongdoing and intend to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). (BBC Sport) (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) (FIFA text via Channel NewsAsia)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 1, 2016

Top News Stories –

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

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

Video of the Day –

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

List of the Day –

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

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

Find out more

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

Find out more

3. Barack Obama calls David Cameron “bro”.

Find out more (Time)

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

Find out more

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

Find out more

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

Find out more (Washington Post)

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

Find out more

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

Find out more (Metro)

9. An egg can be unboiled.

Find out more (Metro)

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

Find out more

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

Find out more (Backchannel)

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

Find out more (Daily Telegraph)

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

Find out more (Buzzfeed)

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

Find out more

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

Find out more

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

Find out more (Independent)

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

Find out more

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

Find out more

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

Find out more (New Scientist)

20. King Arthur may have been Glaswegian.

Find out more (The National)

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

Find out more

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

Find out more (Financial Times)

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

Find out more

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

Find out more

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

Find out more

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

Find out more

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

Find out more (Guardian)

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

Find out more (Radio Times)

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

Find out more (Daily Mirror)

30. People who swear have larger vocabularies.

Find out more (Toronto Sun)

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

Find out more (Daily Mail

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

Find out more (New York Times)

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

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9	#1şeydiyeceğim	#2015TweepAwards	#ResolutionsFor2016
10	#2016IsZaynsYear	Tel Aviv	Entered 2016

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Armed conflicts and attacks

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

Arts and culture

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

Disasters and accidents

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

International relations

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

Law and crime

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

Politics and elections

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

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

January 18, 2016

Top News Stories –

Friends Reunited website to close down –
Friends Reunited – one of the UK’s first social networks – has announced it will soon close. One of its founders Steve Pankhurst explained in an email that the platform was still used by “a handful of members” but that it was “no longer used for the purpose it was built for”. Friends Reunited launched in the year 2000 and was bought by broadcaster ITV for £175m ($250m) in 2005. However, it failed to keep pace with other social networks. It was sold to comic publisher DC Thompson for only £25m in 2009 and Mr Pankhurst wrote in a blog post that the company had offered it back to him a couple of years ago. [BBC]

Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey, 67, dies –
Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey has died at the age of 67, the band has announced. He died in New York City on Monday from complications arising from rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and pneumonia. “Words can neither describe our sorrow, nor our love and respect for all that he has given to us,” his family and fellow band members said. The Eagles were one of the most successful bands of the 1970s, with multiple hit singles, including Hotel California in 1976. Frey co-founded the Eagles in 1971 with Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner. [BBC]
Glenn_Frey

Video of the Day –

Branded Dreams – The Future Of Advertising from STUDIO SMACK on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

The full list of winners for the 36th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards:
FILM OF THE YEAR: Mad Max: Fury Road
BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR: 45 Years
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR: The Look of Silence
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR: Am
ACTOR OF THE YEAR: Tom Courtenay — 45 Years
ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: Charlotte Rampling — 45 Years
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR: Mark Rylance — Bridge of Spies
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: Kate Winslet — Steve Jobs
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR: George Miller — Mad Max: Fury Road
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy — Spotlight
BRITISH/IRISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR: Tom Hardy — Legend, London Road, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant
BRITISH/IRISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: Saoirse Ronan — Brooklyn, Lost River
YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR: Maisie Williams — The Falling
PHILIP FRENCH AWARD FOR BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER: John Maclean — Slow West
BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM OF THE YEAR: Stutterer — Benjamin Cleary
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Ed Lachman, cinematography — Caro
DILYS POWELL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM: Kenneth Branagh

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#زد_رصيدك66	Happy MLK	#MLKDay
2	#FelizLunes	#WhatWomenWantIn5Words	#BlueMonday
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4	#BlueMonday	#BlueMonday	Stephanie
5	#WhatWomenWantIn5Words	Linda Perry	#UFCBoston
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8	#وش_تسوي_اذا_ال…	AP YAMS	#DemDebate
9	#TenerMuyMalaSuerteEs	No More Parties	#HSMReunion
10	#자신의_전공을_최��…	#ReclaimMLK	#CABLive

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2014–16 Russian military intervention in Ukraine
- Ukraine says that a cyberattack on Boryspil International Airport near Kiev came from Russian computers. (Sky News)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- A Saudi-led coalition airstrike on a police building in Yemen‘s capital, Sana’a, kills at least 26 people and injures 15 others. (RT)
Spillover of the Syrian Civil War
- A rocket fired from ISIL-controlled territory in Syria‘s Aleppo Governorate, kills at least one person and injures another in the Turkish city of Kilis, close to the Syria–Turkey border. The Turkish militaryresponded with artillery fire on ISIL positions. (AFP via Daily Mail)

Arts and culture

Glenn Frey, a founding member of The Eagles, dies of complications arising from rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and pneumonia. (BBC)

Business and economy

Reuters reports that Xiao Gang, the head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, has offered to resign after a sharp sell-off in two of China’s stock exchanges. (Reuters)
Tata Steel is to cut 1,050 jobs in the United Kingdom, with the majority going in South Wales. The Indian multinational steel-making company announced there will be 750 job losses at its Port Talbot Steelworks in Port Talbot, Wales while another 300 jobs will go at its plants in Corby and Hartlepool in England. (Bloomberg)

Disasters and accidents

At least five French Foreign Legion soldiers are killed and six injured in an avalanche while on a training exercise in the Alps, close to the Italian border. The soldiers were members of the 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment. (BBC)

Law and crime

November 2015 Paris attacks
- A man linked to the Paris attacks is arrested in Mohammedia, Morocco. (Sky News)
MASSOB
- Biafran separatists claim that police killed 8 protesters calling for independence. (AP via WTOP)

Politics and elections

The Russian Duma rejects a Communist Party bill banning homosexual expression. (Radio Free Europe)

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March 3, 2016

Top News Stories –

Italian parliament bar clamps down on bill-dodging –
The bar inside Italy’s lower house of parliament has deployed “receipt inspectors” to ensure that MPs pay their bills, it’s reported. The establishment at Palazzo Montecitorio, home to the Chamber of Deputies, has lost a significant chunk of revenue because some politicians have been failing to settle up, Corriere della Sera reports. The company that took over running the bar last year noticed that takings were 30% lower than expected. Staff have now been told that customers must pay for their order and show their receipt to the barista before actually being served any refreshments – something that is done in some Italian bars. They’ll be backed up by a team of receipt-checkers, whose job will involve being “discreet, but inflexible”, observing patrons and intervening if anyone fails to pay up, the paper says. [BBC]
Palazzo Montecitorio, Rome

Spain’s Princess Cristina denies role in tax fraud at ‘trusted’ husband’s company –
Princess Cristina of Spain denied any involvement in tax fraud on Thursday when she gave evidence in the first criminal trial held in the country with members of the royal family among the accused. King Felipe’s sister said that she had been completely unaware of the business operations at a company she owned jointly with her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, who is accused of a series of crimes including embezzlement of public funds and money laundering. Asked by her defence lawyer why she became the co-proprietor of the company called Aizoon, Princess Cristina it had been Mr Urdangarin’s idea and she had agreed: “Out of trust. He asked me and I accepted.” The 50-year-old princess, who has been stripped of her aristocratic title of Duchess of Palma by King Felipe, said that Aizoon existed “to channel my husband’s income”. “He was the administrator and he took the decisions”, she added. The public prosecutor has requested a 19.5-year jail sentence for Mr Urdangarin, who, along with his business partner, is accused of diverting €4.5 million of public money from a non-profit organisation to private accounts. [Daily Telegraph]
Infanta Cristina Duchess of Palma de Mallorca

Video of the Day –

KEN BLOCK’S GYMKHANA EIGHT: ULTIMATE EXOTIC PLAYGROUND; DUBAI

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	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#QuintaFeiraNoClubeSDV	#WorldBookDay	#WorldBookDay
2	#GIFparty	#GIFparty	#GIFparty
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9	#NicomaineAt21	#303Day	#UniMentalHealthDay
10	#SocialismoConstructor	#Ghostbusters	#ntsummit

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

DHKP/C insurgency in Turkey
- Istanbul police, after a standoff, shoot and kill two women from the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Army-Front suspected of ambushing a riot police station in the Bayrampaşa neighborhood on the city’sEuropean side. Two policemen were injured. (The Washington Post)

Disasters and accidents

A nationwide power outage hits Syria. The Syrian government says shortly before the power outage, militants had hit part of a power-generating station with rockets in the city of Hama, though it hasn’t said whether this damage was linked to the nationwide outage. Also, it isn’t clear how many people are affected by the power outage as many cities outside of the government’s control already weren’t being served by the government-run power grid. (CNN)
At least 31 people are killed in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe, when a bus, with a blown front tire, switches lanes and slams into an oncoming public transport minibus. (AP ia Fox News)

International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- South Korea claims that North Korea has launched several short range missiles into the Sea of Japan. (Yonhap) (AFP via Yahoo! News)
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un orders nuclear weapons to be ready for use at any time. (Sky News)
Taliban insurgency
- Sartaj Aziz, a top foreign affairs adviser for Pakistan, publicly admits for the first time that the Afghan Taliban‘s leadership is living in the country and that Islamabad has “considerable influence” over them.(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Russian military intervention in Ukraine (2014–present)
- The United States extends sanctions against Russia over its military intervention in Ukraine. (ABC News)
Jordan–United States relations
- The United States delivers eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to Jordan to help the Jordanian Armed Forces defend the country from the threat of ISIL. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Honduran indigenous environmental activist Berta Cáceres is assassinated in her home in La Esperanza in Intibucá Department. (Telesur)
A riot at a prison in Guyana‘s capital Georgetown leaves at least 16 people dead. The riot began when inmates angered by a search that led to the confiscation of mobile phones set fires in one part of the prison. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

New Zealand flag debate
- Voting begins for the second stage of New Zealand‘s flag referendum with the current flag going up against the design chosen on the first stage of the referendum. Voting will end on March 23 with polling showing the current flag is favoured to win. (BBC) (CNN)
2014–16 Venezuelan protests
- Violence breaks out in in the Venezuelan city of San Cristóbal between students and police after a supreme court ruling curtailed the power of the opposition-controlled National Assembly to review government appointments of Supreme Court justices. (BBC)
Republican Party presidential debates, 2016
- The eleventh Republican Party presidential debate of the election cycle takes place at the Fox Theatre in downtown Detroit, Michigan, airing live on Fox News Channel. The debate features four Republican candidates, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and John Kasich. Ben Carson was also invited to the debate but he said that he would not be attending. An estimated 16.9 million viewers watched the debate, 5.5 million of them adults aged 25-54, making it the most watched debate since December 2015. (Fox News) (CBS Local) (Hollywood Reporter)

Science and technology

Astronomers use the Hubble Space Telescope to discover GN-z11, the remotest galaxy yet discovered. (ABC News)

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March 20, 2016

Top News Stories –

Star Wars beats Mad Max at Empire awards –
Sci-fi blockbuster Star Wars: The Force Awakens trumped Mad Max: Fury Road at this year’s Empire Awards, winning five awards to the latter’s four. The Force Awakens was named best sci-fi/fantasy and was also honoured for its visual effects, director JJ Abrams and stars John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. Fury Road was recognised for its make-up, costumes, soundtrack and production design at the central London event. But neither title took home the best film award, which went to The Revenant. Matt Damon was on hand to accept his best actor award for The Martian, while Sweden’s Alicia Vikander won best actress for The Danish Girl. [BBC]
Matt Damon

Eddie Izzard completes Sport Relief marathons challenge –
Comedian Eddie Izzard has completed his challenge in South Africa to run 27 marathons in 27 days for Sport Relief. The 54-year-old needed to run a double marathon on Sunday to complete his challenge beneath a statue of Nelson Mandela, in Pretoria. Izzard attempted a similar feat in South Africa in 2012 but had to pull out for health reasons. The comedian’s endurance feat raised more than £1.35m. The 2016 Sport Relief total stands at £56,984,007. “That was very, very tough,” Izzard told reporters as he swigged from a celebratory bottle of sparkling white wine. The 27 marathons were intended to reflect the 27 years Mr Mandela had spent in prison before becoming South Africa’s first black president. [BBC]
Eddie Izzard

Video of the Day –

If The World Were 100 People | GOOD Data

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#اليوم_العالمي…	Come and See Me	#InternationalDayOfHappiness
2	#InternationalDayOfHappiness	#InternationalDayOfHappiness	#Marr
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4	#UnicoOnVevo	#PalmSunday	Barry Hines
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9	#DiadelaFelicidad	#firstdayofspring	#NorthLondonHalf
10	#PalmSunday	#afpfc	#tweepathon

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

March 2016 Istanbul bombing
- Turkish authorities name a Turkish man with alleged ties to the Islamic State responsible for this weekend’s suicide bombing in Istanbul. (The Washington Post)

Business and economics

The United States-based Sherwin-Williams Company agrees to acquire rival U.S. paint company Valspar Corporation in an all-cash deal valued at about $9.3 billion (8.2 billion euros). (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Thirteen are killed and 34 others injured after a bus carrying Erasmus exchange students returning from the renowned Falles fireworks festival in Valencia, crashes near Freginals, Spain. The regional government of Catalonia said in a statement that, “… according to the latest data, the ill-fated bus had students from Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Italy,Peru, Bulgaria, Poland, Ireland, Japan, Ukraine, Holland, Belgium, France, Palestine, Turkey, (and) Greece.” (The Independent) (Euronews) (AP via Bloomberg)
A 6.6 magnitude earthquake strikes off the eastern coast of Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia‘s Far East. Shaking was felt throughout large parts of the peninsula, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. (BNO News)
An Indonesian military helicopter crash shortly after takeoff from Poso kills 13 passengers. Their mission was to try to capture Indonesia’s most wanted militant, Abu Wardah Santoso, leader of the Islamic State affiliate East Indonesia Mujahidin network. (AP)

International relations

United States–Cuban Thaw
- U.S. President Barack Obama and the First Family begin their three-day visit to Havana, Cuba, to mark the end of 54 years of tensions in Cuba–United States relations. Obama is the first sitting U.S. president to visit the country since Calvin Coolidge in 1928. (Havana Times) (Jamaica Observer)
- Before the President’s arrival, Cuban authorities arrest more than 50 Ladies in White human rights activists. The group marches after every Sunday Mass at a church in the Miramar suburb of Havana, and usually get arrested and detained for hours or days. They had hoped President Obama’s visit would change that routine. (USA Today) (Havana Times)

Law and crime

A retired Pennsylvania state trooper’s attempted robbery of a fare collection vehicle at the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Fort Littleton toll plaza, 65 miles west of the capital Harrisburg, results in three deaths — a toll collector, a security guard, and himself. (AP via ABC News)

Politics and elections

Former Prime Minister of Denmark Anker Jørgensen (1972-1973 and 1975-1982) dies at the age of 93. (ABC)

Kazakhstani legislative election, 2016
- Voting is underway in today’s parliamentary election in the former Soviet republic. President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s Nur Otan party is expected to win easily, and retain control of the 107-seat Mazhilis, the lower house of parliament. The recent crackdown on political activists and media dims chances this election will be the first judged free and fair by Western observers. (AP via Sioux City Journal)(Townhall.com)

Laotian parliamentary election, 2016
- An election is held in Laos, with voter turnout expected to be low. The only legal party in Laos is the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party. (Vida Latina)

Republic of the Congo presidential election, 2016
- Voters in the Republic of the Congo go to the polls with current President Denis Sassou Nguesso expected to extend his 32-year rule. Telephone, internet and SMS services have been shut down in what has been called a “media blackout.” (Al Jazeera)

Beninese presidential election, 2016
- Voting for the second round of Benin’s election begins with current President Thomas Boni Yayi stepping down after completing two terms. (Townhall via Reuters)

Philippine presidential election, 2016
- The second leg of the presidential debates was held in Cebu City. AP via The Japan Times
Tanzanian general election, 2015
- A rerun of Zanzibar’s presidential election takes place amid an opposition boycott. The election originally occurred at the same time as Tanzania’s election in 2015 but was annulled because of supposed fraud. (Daily Nation)

Nigerien general election, 2016
- A run-off election begins in Niger with current President Mahamadou Issoufou highly favored to win as his main opponent Hama Amadou, who was earlier jailed, was flown out of the country for medical reasons. (Reuters)

Cape Verdean parliamentary election, 2016
- Voters in Cape Verde go to the polls for an election. (BBC)

Senegalese constitutional referendum, 2016
- A referendum is underway in Senegal where voters will vote on whether or not to reduce presidential term limits from seven to five years. Senegal’s referendum also calls for a strengthened National Assembly, better representation for Senegalese abroad, greater rights for the opposition and participation of independent candidates in elections among the 15 changes. (The Daily Star)

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