February 28, 2015

Top News Stories –

Blade Runner 2 to be made –
Harrison Ford will reprise his role as the ambiguous bounty hunter Rick Deckard in a sequel to 1982’s Blade Runner. Variety reports that the Oscar-nominated director Denis Villeneuve is close to signing on as director, replacing Ridley Scott, who will produce. Hampton Fancher, who co-wrote the original screenplay, has written the sequel with The Green Lantern writer Michael Green. [Daily Telegraph]
Harrison Ford

Round hens egg sells for £480 –
A “perfectly spherical” chicken egg has sold for an “unbelievable” £480 on the internet auction site eBay. Kim Broughton found one of her hens – now renamed Ping Pong – had laid the round egg in her garden in Latchingdon, Essex, on 17 February – Pancake Day. She decided to auction the egg in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust after a friend’s son died from the disease. Ms Broughton, 44, said she imagined the buyer was interested in preserving, rather than eating, the unusual egg. [BBC] The round egg

Video of the Day –

Downton Funk (Uptown Funk/Downton Abbey mashup)

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March 1, 2015

Top News Stories –

Lesbian banned from Nutella label –
Customers have been enjoying creating a digital custom made jar of the famous chocolate spread – emblazoned with their own slogan to share on social media. You can create your message and share it with those you love. But the word “lesbian” has been banned by the parent company of Nutella – deemed too offensive for labels. The list of banned words is actually quite extensive. Muslim and Jewish are not allowed. So presumably the message ‘Jews and Muslims can live in peace with each other’ would fall into the net of naughtiness. ‘Christian’ on the other hand is OK.

[Daily Telegraph]

8ft coffin for Britain’s tallest man –
A bespoke coffin for the funeral of a former Britain’s tallest man has been made measuring 8ft-long. Christopher Greener, who grew to 7ft 6ins before surgical intervention stopped him growing, will be laid to rest in a casket carried by 10 pallbearers. Funeral directors have calculated that 30st Mr Greener’s coffin will just about squeeze into the hearse before he will be buried in a double-sized plot of land on Monday. Mr Greener, who held the record for being the UK’s tallest man for more than four decades, died aged 71 on February 11 and will be buried near his home in Bromley, south-east London. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Lady Gaga plunges into frozen water for charity

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March 5, 2015

Top News Stories –

Harrison Ford crashes his plane for third time –
US actor Harrison Ford has been injured in a small plane crash in Los Angeles. The 72-year-old, star of the Indiana Jones and Star Wars films, reported engine failure and crash-landed his vintage plane on a Venice golf course. He was breathing and alert when medics arrived and took him to hospital in a “fair to moderate” condition, a fire department spokesman said. His son Ben, a chef in Los Angeles, later tweeted from the hospital: “Dad is OK. Battered but OK! [BBC]
Harrison Ford

Delta Aircraft slides off New York runway –
A passenger airliner has skidded off the runway at LaGuardia airport in New York City, as a major winter storm bears down on a large part of the US. Emergency officials helped 127 passengers and five crew off the plane just after 11:00 local time (16:00 GMT), but no one was seriously injured. Snow and freezing rain has been falling from Texas to New England over the past several hours. The flight, Delta 1086, was attempting to land at LaGuardia after flying from Atlanta. It veered to the left shortly after making contact with the runway, but avoided crashing into nearby Flushing Bay. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

“Treasures of Zakynthos”

Treasures of Zakynthos – A Timelapse Film from Maciej Tomków on Vimeo.
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March 30, 2015

Top News Stories –

Jay Z promotes ‘artist-owned’ music streaming brand –
Some of the biggest names in entertainment have re-launched the music subscription service Tidal, which they are billing as the first artist-owned platform for music and video. At an event in New York on Monday, Madonna, Beyonce, Kanye West, and 13 other performers announced they had become co-owners of Tidal. The service launched last October, but was recently bought by rapper Jay Z. It is hoping to compete with the likes of Spotify, Deezer and Google Play. Jay Z recently bought Aspiro a Scandinavian music streaming company. #TIDALforALL topped the USA and UK Twitter trends charts (see Video of the day and Top Twitter Trends below) [BBC]
Jay Z

Girl, 4, refuses to eat anything other than Petits Filous –
A four-year-old girl who has refused to eat anything other than Petits Filous fromage frais for her entire life has baffled doctors.
Emilie-Lea Hayward eats 30 pots every day and will only eat the raspberry and strawberry flavour. She refuses to eat any solid food and becomes hysterical every time mother Naomi, 32, offers her anything other than Petits Filous. The youngster won’t touch chocolate, sweets or ice cream and even bursts into tears if she is offered an alternative brand. Each 47g pot of Petits Filous contains around a teaspoon of sugar, meaning Emilie-Lea is consuming 30 teaspoons a day – more than twice the recommended adult intake. [Daily Telegraph]

Are these the most beautiful faces in the world? –
Scientists have used e-fits to create portraits of the most beautiful man and woman in the world – and say David Gandy and Natalie Portman are the closest real life examples. A computer programme usually used to draw up e-fits of wanted criminals has been used to create the faces of the most beautiful man and woman in the world. The pictures are the result of a two-month-long study led by Dr Chris Solomon, a world expert in facial mapping, that asked people to put together a composite of the perfect face using the EFIT-V PhotoFit software used by UK police. [Daily Telegraph]
The idealised faces (according to those living in the UK)

Video of the Day –

Launch of TIDAL

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April 3, 2015

Top News Stories –

Chelsea Manning begins tweeting from prison –
Former army intelligence analyst, serving a 35-year sentence for leaking US secrets, says she will be dictating tweets by telephone. Chelsea Manning, the US soldier serving a 35-year prison sentence for passing a trove of secret documents to WikiLeaks, started posting on Twitter on Friday, with help from supporters. Within minutes of her first tweets, Ms Manning had recruited more than 5,000 followers under the handle @xychelsea. In her initial tweets, Ms Manning acknowledged she had no Internet access behind bars and that she was dictating comments to a communications company by telephone. [Daily Telegraph]

Gadget which turns all traffic lights green trialled in UK –
The pioneering technology is being tested ahead of trials of driverless vehicles. A device which switches all red traffic lights to green has been launched in Newcastle to prevent cars from ever needing to stop. The pioneering technology is being tested ahead of trials of driverless vehicles, which would be linked to traffic lights so that fully-automated convoys could pass quickly through urban areas. The new gadget, which attaches to the windscreen like a Sat Nav, detects traffic lights from around 100 metres away and requests priority so that they switch to green as soon as the car arrives. It also tells drivers of the speed they should be driving to make sure they always hit a green light in the event of traffic. [Daily Telegraph]

Paris aims to become ‘world bike capital’ –
Paris’s mayor has announced plans to double the number of cycle lanes. Paris is to double the number of cycling lanes by 2020 as part of its Socialist mayor’s push to turn the city into “the world’s bike capital”. The 150 million-euro project will increase the number of safe bike lanes from the current 700 kilometres (435 miles) to 1,400 kilometres within five years. Paris town hall hopes the new lanes will help triple the number of journeys made on a bike from five per cent to 15 per cent in that time.

Video of the Day –

"The Heist" Short Film from Thomas Hefferon on Vimeo.

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April 11, 2015

Top News Stories –

Andy Murray and Kim Sears wedding: Hundreds of wellwishers flood Dunblane –
Hundreds of people turned out to see Andy Murray wed Kim Sears in Dunblane Cathedral this afternoon. The couple, who turned down all offers from celebrity magazines to cover their wedding, made sure that their wedding remained a private affair – with Sears’ careful arrival granting onlookers the barest of glimpses of her dress. Murray and Sears, an artist, married in Dunblane’s 12th century cathedral at 4pm before attending a small reception with family and friends. The pair met in 2005 when they were introduced by Sear’s father Nigel, a tennis coach. [The Independent]
Kim Sears and Andy Murray (Photo by Stirling Council)

Grand National 2015: Many Clouds wins as McCoy finishes fifth –
Many Clouds won the 2015 Grand National to give jockey Leighton Aspell his second consecutive victory in the race. Champion jockey AP McCoy was denied a fairytale Aintree farewell, finishing fifth on favourite Shutthefrontdoor. The Northern Irishman had said he would retire immediately if he had won, but the 40-year-old could now race on until the Sandown meeting at the end of April. [BBC]
A P McCoy

Boat Races 2015: Oxford women and men beat Cambridge –
Heavy favourites Oxford beat Cambridge to win the historic first staging of the Women’s Boat Race on the same course and same day as the men. They finished six-and-a-half lengths ahead over the four-mile, 374-yard stretch from Putney Bridge to Chiswick Bridge in London on Saturday. The Dark Blues were half a length up after the first minute and pulled away ruthlessly to finish 19 seconds clear. Oxford also won the men’s race for the sixth time in eight years. In doing so, president Constantine Louloudis became just the 15th man to triumph for a fourth time. [BBC]

Capitol Building on lockdown after shots fired –
Shots were fired near the front of the US Capitol Building in Washington, according to police. The seat of Congress was immediately put on lockdown.
It later emerged that a man had committed suicide by shooting himself, sparking the alert. “The suspected shooter has been neutralised but the US Capitol Building has been locked down as a precautionary measure,” said Lt Kimberly Schneider of the Capitol Police, adding that no-one was being allowed to enter or exit. Police said they were also investigating a suspicious package on the lower West Terrace of the building, believed to be the man’s suitcase. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

One Bright Dot from Clément Morin on Vimeo.

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April 14, 2015

Top News Stories –

When carp attack: Watch fish jump at rowers –
As the Washington University in St. Louis men’s rowing teams practiced Friday morning, a school of Asian carp showed their apparent displeasure with the activity by leaping frantically from the waters of Missouri’s Creve Coeur Lake. Junior Benjamin Rosenbaum, a captain of the varsity team, captured the aquatic onslaught on video. Rosenbaum says practices on the lake aren’t normally so eventful, but recent heavy rains and flooding may have brought more of the fish to this particular area. He had seen this activity once before, in 2013, when he was in a boat rather than on the banks. (See Video of the day) [USA Today]

Soul singer Percy Sledge dies aged 73 –
US soul singer Percy Sledge, famed for his song When a Man Loves a Woman, has died aged 73. Steve Green from talent agency Artists International Management Inc confirmed to the BBC that he died at his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday. Sledge’s debut single When a Man Loves a Woman reached the top 10 twice in the UK and topped the US Billboard chart for two weeks in 1966, when it also got to number four in the UK chart (See List of the day). During an interview for the the 2013 documentary Muscle Shoals, he recalled his first recording of it. “When I came into the studio, I was shaking like a leaf. I was scared,” he said, adding that it was the “same melody that I sang when I was out in the fields. I just wailed out in the woods and let the echo come back to me”.

Video of the Day –

Rowers attacked by asian carp 2015 –

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April 17, 2015

Top News Stories –

Lorry full of honey bees overturns in Washington State –
A lorry carrying honeybees has overturned in the US state of Washington, spewing bees across a motorway. The accident scattered boxes “containing millions of live bees across the highway”, KIRO 7 News reported. Each of the boxes contains about 5,000 live bees, some were crushed in the accident while others were freed. Beekeepers used smoke to try and calm the bees before the sun rose, which would raise temperatures and agitate the bees. At daybreak many of the boxes remained on the road and the bees became more active. The fire brigade was called to spray the bees with foam, which resulted in their death. [BBC]

All Nippon Airways Announces ‘Star Wars’ Project With R2-D2 Painted Jet –
In honor of the iconic movie series, the airline will paint one of its brand-new Boeing 787s with an R2-D2 motif. An apparent video rendering of the R2-D2 plane, released on YouTube Thursday, shows the nose of the plane decorated with R2-D2’s signature blue and white stripes, along with graphics depicting the robot’s various ports. A massive “Star Wars” logo dominates the rear of the plane. The R2-D2 jet marks the start of five-year All Nippon Airways “Star Wars” project, which will include “a range of novel initiatives,” the airline announced on its website. (also see Video of the Day) [The Huffington Post]

Japan’s magnetically levitated vehicle train sets new speed record –
Japan’s magnetically levitated (maglev) train has set a new speed record, hitting 366.61mph on a test track. Central Japan Railway Co., which is developing a vehicle that it sees as the long-distance, mass transportation system of the future, is aiming to break the 600km per hour (372.82mph) in more tests scheduled for next week. The seven-car maglev surpassed the previous record, which it sent in December 2003, for a period of 19 seconds on JR Central’s test track in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, on Thursday. The company is pushing ahead in its development of the maglev, which uses magnetic pulses to propel the carriages, doing away with the need for wheels, axles and bearings, after being granted approval to construct a track between Tokyo and Nagoya. [Daily Telegraph]
The SCMaglev test track in the Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan

James Anderson breaks Sir Ian Botham’s England wicket record –
English cricketer James Anderson surpassed Sir Ian Botham as England’s highest Test wicket-taker with his 384th dismissal in his 100th match. Anderson, 32, had West Indies’ Denesh Ramdin caught at first slip on the final day of the first Test in Antigua. The seamer, who began the Test on 380 wickets, was mobbed by his team-mates as his family celebrated in the crowd. [BBC]

England’s top Test wicket-takers
Player	Wickets	Tests	Years active	Average
James Anderson	384	100	2003-present	29.77
Ian Botham	383	102	1977-1992	28.40
Bob Willis	325	90	1971-1984	25.20
Fred Trueman	307	67	1952-1965	21.57
Derek Underwood	297	86	1966-1982	25.83

Video of the Day –

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Teaser #2 –

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April 19, 2015

Top News Stories –

Ben Affleck asked broadcaster to hide slave-owning ancestor –
Ben Affleck asked television producers not to reveal one of his ancestors was a slave-owner, leaked emails suggest. The actor was taking part in a US series called Finding Your Roots, where experts research a celebrity’s family history, when the discovery was made. The broadcaster, PBS, says in a statement that they didn’t censor the slave-owner details. It is “very common” to find slave-owning ancestors during research, the show’s host says. “For any guest, we always find far more stories about ancestors on their family trees than we ever possibly could use,” Prof Henry Louis Gates says in a statement sent to The Associated Press. The details of Affleck’s slave-owning family member were not included when his episode of Finding Your Roots was broadcast. [BBC]
Ben Affleck

Miley Cyrus Recounts Wanting to Have Sex with Joan Jett, Inducts Her Into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame –
Miley Cyrus isn’t one to shy away from shock factor, not even if she’s on stage to induct her idol Joan Jett at the 30th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Last night in Cleveland, Cyrus started off her speech to induct Jett and the Blackhearts into the Hall of Fame by going back in time and reminiscing: “Thank you guys so much. I’m going to start off this induction with the first time I wanted to have sex with Joan Jett. We were doing Oprah together, and I went up to Joan’s hotel room. Joan opens the door, and I come in, and Kenny Laguna is laying in bed. I don’t know what the fuck is going on. There’s towels shoved underneath all the door cracks, shower caps around all the smoke detectors. Joan is running around spraying orange-smelling cleaner to mask the smell of the pot (that’s what you guys call it)”.
Miley Cyrus

25 pregnant Navy sailors airlifted from ships –
More than two dozen female sailors have been airlifted home from Royal Navy warships after becoming pregnant in the past nine years, official figures show. A total of 25 expectant women were forced to leave on emergency flights, though the actual number who have gone home because of pregnancy is thought to be higher. The figures reported in The Sun were released under the Freedom of Information Act and follow the disclosure last year that 200 women were flown home from the Iraq and Afghan conflicts after commanders were told they were pregnant. A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said the Navy operates a strict “no touching” rule at sea, even for those already in a relationship and sources said most of the women are likely to have conceived before setting sail, or while on leave. [Daily Telegraph]

Benedict Cumberbatch commissions Kick Ass 2 replica sculpture –
Benedict Cumberbatch has commissioned the celebrity artist Schoony to reproduce a sculpture that appeared in Kick Ass 2. The Imitation Game star paid £7,000 for a gold rendering of Boy Soldier by his friend, the Hertfordshire-born artist Schoony. The original artwork appeared in Hollywood blockbuster Kick Ass 2, starring Jim Carrey and Chloe Moretz, and was located in the villain’s lair. [Daily Telegraph]

Benedict Cumberbatch

Video of the Day –

BATZ, the Full Movie from Kawa Paris on Vimeo.

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April 23, 2015

Top News Stories –

Hatton Garden heist: £20,000 reward offered by police –
A £20,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the gang responsible for the Hatton Garden heist. On BBC One’s Crimewatch, Det Supt Craig Turner, head of the Flying Squad, appealed for witnesses to the burglary, which took place over Easter. New CCTV images of the thieves entering and leaving Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd have been released. The contents of 56 safe deposit boxes were taken in the raid. Items were removed from the premises in wheelie bins and bags during the raid in Central London. No arrests have yet been made. [BBC]
Hatton Garden road sign

Student continues Sahara marathon on broken leg but still beats Sir Ranulph Fiennes –
A student broke his leg while competing in the ‘toughest race on earth’ – but still kept going for another 100 miles to overtake the explorer Ranulph Fiennes. James Tuffnell, 20, stumbled down a sand dune on the fourth day of the six-day Marathon Des Sables, a 155 mile ‘ultramarathon’ across the Sahara desert, shattering his ankle and fracturing his tibia. Despite his injuries he carried all his own supplies including food, water and sleeping materials for the length of the race in 50 degree heat. [Daily Telegraph]
James Tuffnell [@JamesTuffnell – Twitter]

Japan: Low-level radiation in drone found on PM’s roof –
A drone carrying a tiny amount of radioactive material has been found on the roof of the Japanese prime minister’s office in Tokyo. The four-propeller device was found on top of the building on Wednesday morning [22 April], and was carrying a container of liquid which was marked with a radiation warning symbol, the public broadcaster NHK reports. The 50cm (20in) wide drone was also equipped with a small camera. Police say “minute” levels of radiation were detected on the drone, which they think is likely to be radioactive caesium, but that the amount is too low to be harmful to human health. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wasn’t in the building at the time, as he’s currently in Indonesia. [BBC] In January 2015 the prime minister called the footage of Islamic State hostage Kenji Goto apparently holding a photograph showing the body of fellow captive Haruna Yukawa “outrageous and unacceptable”.
Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe

Video of the Day –

6 Craziest Extinctions ever – from ASAP Science –

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May 1, 2015

Top News Stories –

Uptown Funk credits Oops Up Side Your Head writers –
Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars have given The Gap Band a writing credit on their huge hit Uptown Funk, due to its similarities with their 1979 track Oops Up Side Your Head. Uptown Funk, which topped the UK chart for seven weeks and the US chart for 14, originally had six songwriters. The five writers of The Gap Band’s hit were added earlier this week, according to RCA documents seen by Billboard. It’s said to have followed a claim from publisher Minder Music on their behalf. The much-publicised Blurred Lines court case in March saw a jury order the track’s writers, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams, to pay Marvin Gaye’s estate $7.4m (£4.8m) in damages because of its similarities with Gaye’s 1977 hit Got to Give It Up. [BBC] See Videos of the Day
Bruno Mars

TV star Sofia Vergara in battle over frozen embryos –
Modern Family actress Sofia Vergara is in a legal battle with her former fiance, who wants to have children from the couple’s frozen embryos.
Nick Loeb said he wants a surrogate to carry and give birth to two embryos he and Vergara created through in vitro fertilisation before they split up. He said the actress, who plays Gloria in the ABC comedy, has refused. Vergara, who has been named the highest-earning actress on TV for the last three years, declined to comment. [BBC]
Sofia Vergara

Ben E King: R&B legend dies at 76 –
Ben E King, the soul and R&B singer best known for the classic song Stand By Me, has died aged 76. His publicist confirmed to The Telegraph that he died of natural causes on Thursday. The singer, loved around the world for the 1961 hit, rose to fame in the late 1950 with The Drifters, with songs including There Goes My Baby and Save The Last Dance For Me. The R&B singer went on to further success with Spanish Harlem, I (Who Have Nothing), and Don’t Play That Song (You Lied). [Daily Telegraph] (See List of The Day)

Videos of the Day –

Uptown Funk compared with Oops Upside Your Head –
Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk

The Gap Band – Oops Upside Your Head

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May 3, 2015

Top News Stories –

Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn split up –
Former world number one golfer Tiger Woods and his girlfriend, US Olympic skiing champion Lindsey Vonn, say they have ended their relationship.
Both blamed the pressure of their busy schedules for the split. Ms Vonn said on Facebook that the decision was mutual. In a statement on his website, Mr Woods said he would “always cherish our time together”. The sports stars first publicly announced they were an item in March 2013 following weeks of speculation. “After nearly three years together, Tiger and I have mutually decided to end our relationship,” Ms Vonn, 30, said on her Facebook page. [BBC]

In January Vonn won her 63rd World Cup downhill title and Woods lost a tooth in the media scrum.
Lindsey Vonn

Chelsea win Premier League: Jose Mourinho attacks critics after capturing league title at Stamford Bridge –
Eden Hazard’s goal confirmed Chelsea as champions for this first time in five years and manager Mourinho rejected any suggestions his side are not worthy winners or that they have been helped by the failure of others. “The people who have a big face to say we don’t deserve it are the ones who, in my country, say the dogs bark and the caravan goes by,” said Mourinho. This is the first title Mourinho has won with Chelsea since returning to the club since 2013 and his third with the club in total. (See List of the Day)
Jose Mourinho

Video of the Day –

“Fight of the Century” considered a disappointment so…
FLOYD MAYWEATHER PUNCH-OUT!!!

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May 6, 2015

Top News Stories –

Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson are fighting on Twitter –
Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Naughty Boy are having a row on Twitter. It seemed to start when Naughty Boy posted a picture of himself and Zayn along with the caption, “Replace this” – which Zayn then retweeted. Louis then wrote: “Remember when you were 12 and you used to think those Mac filters for your pictures were cool haha ! Some people still do HA!” Zayn then replied directly to Louis, saying: “Remember when you had a life..?” Naughty Boy, who has been working with Zayn, also had his own back-and-forth row with Louis on the social network. Also see Top Twitter Trends – #TOMLINSONSLAYSAGAIN [BBC]

Spanish domestic football to be suspended-
The Spanish football federation says it is suspending indefinitely all end-of-season games in disputes with the government, including over TV rights. A federation statement said it was also unhappy with receiving only 4.55% of pools revenue, though it said it was still open to dialogue. All matches will be suspended from 16 May, including the domestic cup final. In the top division, Barcelona lead La Liga rivals Real Madrid by two points, with only three games left to play. In the statement, the RFEF federation said it had acted after three months of talks with the government had failed to resolve the dispute. It said more than 600,000 players and 30,000 matches across the country would be affected by the suspension. [BBC]

Japan: Zoo sorry for naming monkey after new princess –
The Takasakiyama Zoo, in southern Japan, was inundated with complaints after announcing the female macaque monkey’s name on Wednesday, the Kyodo news agency reports. The zoo says the name was chosen after a public vote, a tradition for their first newborn macaque monkey each year. Charlotte received the most votes, although it wasn’t exactly a runaway winner, with 59 out of 853 people choosing it. But other members of the public felt that it was disrespectful to the British royal family to name a monkey after a princess. The zoo faced a “barrage” of complaints from people wanting them to re-name the macaque, with some noting that the Japanese people might not be best pleased if a British monkey were named after one of their own royal family, Kyodo reports. The zoo has apologised in a statement on its website. [BBC]

Hot Chocolate frontman Errol Brown dies, aged 71 –
Hot Chocolate frontman Errol Brown has died aged 71, his manager said. The singer, famous for hits including You Sexy Thing and It Started With A Kiss, died at home in the Bahamas. His manager, Phil Dale, said he had suffered from liver cancer. [Daily Telegraph] (See Video of the Day and List of the Day)

Video of the Day –

Hot Chocolate – You Sexy Thing

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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)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

May 14, 2015

Top News Stories –

Supergirl’s trailer reaction split between joy and ‘walking nightmare’ –
Saints be praised: a six-minute trailer for the new CBS TV series Supergirl is here, and it is extremely good.
Gone are the memories of the cult (and largely dreadful) 1984 film version starring a rather wet Helen Slater alongside Faye Dunaway chewing every piece of scenery in sight: the new Supergirl is kooky, charming and funny. Inevitably, Twitter was divided. A DC superhero show that was fun, frothy and where nobody looked anxious? What is this! Kara Jor-El fled the planet Krypton as a girl, and, like her cousin Superman, has grown up into a sweet, geeky character (played by Glee’s Melissa Benoist) who believes that wearing a pair of black plastic glassics is a cunning disguise. [Daily Telegraph] See Video of The Day
Calista Flockhart who plays Supergirl’s boss

Swiss freediver breaks world record for holding breath underwater –
Peter Colat, a Swiss freediver, has held his breath underwater for 19 minutes and 21 seconds, smashing the world record. Colat, 38, performed the feat in a water tank in St Gallen, Switzerland. The previous Guinness World Record for oxygen-assisted static apnea was 19 seconds shorter and was set by an Italian, Nicola Putignano, last May. Colat, an experienced diver from Zurich, said the first 12 minutes was no problem. He said: “I felt the first need to breathe very late, but because of this it was even stronger.” Under the Guinness rules he was allowed to inhale pure oxygen 10 minutes prior to his attempt. See List of the day

Video of the Day –

List of the day –

Oxygen-assisted static apnea previous records

Duration	Name	Date	Location
11:54	Branko Petrović	7 October 2014	Dubai, UAE
11:35 ^[2]	Stéphane Mifsud	8 June 2009	La Crau, France
10:12	Tom Sietas	7 June 2008	Athens, Greece
10:04	Stéphane Mifsud	12 July 2007	Hyères, France
9:15	Tom Sietas	12 May 2008	Mainz, Germany
9:08	Tom Sietas	1 May 2007	Hamburg, Germany
9:04	Herbert Nitsch	13 December 2006	Hurghada, Egypt
9:00	Tom Sietas	29 August 2006	Tokyo, Japan
8:58	Tom Sietas	12 December 2004	Eindhoven, Netherlands
8:47	Tom Sietas	11 June 2004	Hamburg, Germany
8:06	Martin Štěpánek	3 July 2001	Miami, USA^[1]

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#NoControlCampaignPH	The Simpsons	The Simpsons
2	Emanuel Ortega	Raven Symone	#Supergirl
3	#10TirosAesosQue	#GrooveMusicVideo	#GenderSwapAMovie
4	Corinthians	George Stephanopoulos	#AutocorrectedMovies
5	#TengoCeroGanasDe	#GenderSwapAMovie	Bale
6	#ViudasElFinal	#LittleWhiteLiesITold	#TGE15
7	Cruzeiro	#NoControlCampaignPH	#mobileengage
8	#GenderSwapAMovie	#ThinkContent	The Craft
9	#FelizJueves	#AdviceForNewParents	Ronaldo
10	Harry Shearer	#LegendsOfTomorrow	Inside the Milibunker

Other News Stories –

Disasters and accidents

In New Zealand‘s North Island heavy rains cause flooding on the Kapiti Coast and Wellington Region prompting evacuations and closing road and rail links. (TV NZ), (New Zealand Stuff)
2015 Philadelphia train derailment
- The death toll from the derailment rises to eight, with 43 of the more than 200 injured remaining hospitalised. (Guardian)

International relations

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with the Gulf Cooperation Council at the White House with a proposed nuclear deal with Iran top of the agenda. The king of Saudi Arabia was unable to attend. (CNN)
Malaysia turns away two boats with more than 800 Rohingya and Bangladesh migrants abandoned at sea by human traffickers. (AP)

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May 15, 2015

Top News Stories –

BB King: Tributes pour in after blues legend dies aged 89 –
His lawyer Brent Bryson said that King, who suffered from diabetes, died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Las Vegas on May 14, where he had been receiving hospice care. King’s style of singing and guitar playing was an inspiration to scores of musicians, and he mentored stars including Eric Clapton as well as collaborating with U2 on the 1989 track When Love Comes To Town. [Daily Telegraph] See List of The Day
B.B. King in 2009

Geri Halliwell marries Red Bull F1 team boss Christian Horner –
Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell has married Red Bull F1 team boss Christian Horner in a wedding attended by a string of celebrities from showbiz and motor racing worlds. The 42-year-old singer wed in St Mary’s Church in Woburn, Bedfordshire. She arrived at the parish church, just off the High Street, in a vintage Rolls Royce ahead of the wedding to Horner, who she first met in 2009. She was accompanied by her daughter Bluebell, who was her bridesmaid. [BBC] In February 2010 Geri Halliwell apparently made then boyfriend Henry Beckwith feel like Duke of Edinburgh according to his father
Geri Halliwell

Janet Jackson Announces New Album, Tour –
Janet Jackson delivered a surprise for fans on her birthday, announcing a new album and world tour. The singer made the big reveal at midnight eastern time on May 16 by tweeting a link to a video in which, in her unmistakable voice, she coos: “I promised you’d hear it from my lips and now you will. This year: new music; new world tour; a new movement. I’ve been listening. Let’s keep the conversation going.” [Billboard.com]
Janet Jackson

Boston bombing trial: Death sentence for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev –
A US jury has sentenced Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death by lethal injection. After 14 hours of deliberation, the jury of five men and seven women came to its decision. Three people were killed and 260 were injured when Tsarnaev, now 21, and his brother placed bombs at the finishing line of the Boston Marathon in 2013. Victims and their family members sobbed as the sentence was read. Tsarnaev bowed his head but showed no emotion. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Janet Jackson announcing new album and tour

Announcement from Janet Jackson on Vimeo.

BB King Studio albums [from Wikipedia]

Year	Original album and alternate reissues	Company /Subsidiary	Cat#	Peak chart positions					Certifications
Year	Original album and alternate reissues	Company /Subsidiary	Cat#	US	US R&B	US Jazz	US Blues	SWI	Certifications
1957	Singin’ the Blues	Modern/Crown	CLP-5020	—	—	—	—	—
1958	The Blues	Modern/Crown	CLP-5063	—	—	—	—	—
1959	B. B. King Wails – The Incredible Soul of B.B. King (LP, 1965) – I Love You So (LP, 1970)	Modern/Crown Modern/Kent United Superior	CLP-5115 KST-539 US-7711	—	—	—	—	—
1959	Sings Spirituals – Swing Low Sweet Chariot (LP, 1970)	Modern/Crown United Superior	CLP-5119 US-7721	—	—	—	—	—
1960	The Great B. B. King	Modern/Crown	CLP-5153	—	—	—	—	—
1960	King of the Blues – Better than Ever (LP, 1966)	Modern/Crown Modern/Kent	CLP-5167 KST-561	—	—	—	—	—
1961	My Kind of Blues	Modern/Crown	CLP-5188	—	—	—	—	—
1961	More B.B. King – Blues for Me (LP, 1970)	Modern/Crown United Superior	CLP-5230 US-7708	—	—	—	—	—
1962	Twist With B.B. King	Modern/Crown	CLP-5248	—	—	—	—	—
	Easy Listening Blues	Modern/Crown	CLP-5286	—	—	—	—	—
	Blues in My Heart – A Heart Full of Blues (LP, 1970)	Modern/Crown United Superior	CLP-5309 US-7703	—	—	—	—	—
1963	B.B. King – The Soul of B.B. King (LP, 1970)	Modern/Crown United Superior	CLP-5359 US-7714	—	—	—	—	—
1963	Mr. Blues	ABC-Paramount	456	—	—	—	—	—
1966	Confessin’ the Blues	ABC-Paramount	528	—	—	—	—	—
1968	Blues on Top of Blues	ABC/Bluesway	BLS-6011	—	46	—	—	—
1968	Lucille	ABC/Bluesway	BLS-6016	192	—	—	—	—
1969	Live & Well	ABC/Bluesway	BLS-6031	56	11	17	—	—
1969	Completely Well	ABC/Bluesway	BLS-6037	38	5	—	—	—
1970	Indianola Mississippi Seeds	ABC Records	ABCS-713	26	8	7	—	—
1971	B. B. King in London	ABC Records	ABCX-730	57	15	—	—	—
1972	L.A. Midnight	ABC Records	ABCX-743	53	21	—	—	—
1972	Guess Who	ABC Records	ABCX-759	65	14	—	—	—
1973	To Know You Is to Love You	ABC Records	ABCX-794	71	13	—	—	—
1974	Friends	ABC Records	ABCX-825	153	27	—	—	—
1977	King Size	ABC Records	AB-977	154	34	—	—	—
1978	Midnight Believer	ABC Records	AA-1061	124	27	—	—	—
1979	Take It Home	MCA Records	MCA-3151	112	22	—	—	—
1981	There Must Be a Better World Somewhere	MCA Records	MCA-5162	131	26	—	—	—
1982	Love Me Tender	MCA Records	MCA-5307	179	45	—	—	—
1983	Blues ‘N’ Jazz	MCA Records	MCA-5413	172	38	21	—	—
1985	Six Silver Strings	MCA Records	MCA-5616	—	31	23	—	—
1988	King of the Blues: 1989	MCA Records	MCA-42183	—	—	—	—	—
1991	There is Always One More Time	MCA Records	MCA-10295	—	76	—	—	—
1993	Blues Summit	MCA Records	MCA-10710	182	64	—	—	93
1995	Lucille & Friends	MCA Records	MCD-33008	—	—	—	—	—
1997	Deuces Wild	MCA Records	MCD-11711	73	—	—	1	33	CAN: Platinum US: Gold
1998	Blues on the Bayou	MCA Records	MCD-11879	186	—	—	2	—
1999	Let the Good Times Roll	MCA Records	088 1120422	—	—	—	2	—
2000	Riding with the King	Reprise Records	9 47612-2	3	—	—	—	3	AUS: Gold CAN: Platinum US: 2x Platinum
2000	Makin’ Love Is Good for You	MCA Records	112 299-2	—	—	—	2	—
2001	A Christmas Celebration of Hope	MCA Records	088112756-2	151	—	—	1	—
2003	Reflections	MCA Records	000053202	165	—	—	2	—
2005	B. B. King & Friends: 80	Geffen Records	B000526302	45	—	—	1	78
2008	One Kind Favor	Geffen Records	B0011791-02	37	—	—	1	78

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#LateLateShowWith1D	#BBKing	#FridayFeeling
2	#BBKing	#LateLateShowWith1D	Jake Livermore
3	#FINALamoraprueba	#AddAProfessionRuinAMovie	#AddAProfessionRuinAMovie
4	Boca	#WhenIWasAKidIWas	#LesserKnownBondFilms
5	#FelizDiaDelMaestro	#VegasIn5Words	The Lobster
6	#ScandalFinale	Bill Cosby	#SuperheroDay
7	Clippers	Ramadi	#bbcqt
8	Hayırlı Cumalar	#Tsarnaev	Boca
9	Ases Falsos	Mitt Romney	#LateLateShowWith1D
10	#النصر_١٦_دوري	The Edge	#FoodRevolutionDay

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

2015 Burundian coup d’état attempt
- Burundi officials say that they have arrested the leader of the failed coup against President Pierre Nkurunziza, Major General Godefroid Niyombare. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Irish journalist and TV3 political editor Ursula Halligan comes out as lesbian ahead of the country’s Marriage Equality referendum next week.(Guardian) (The Irish Times)

Disasters and accidents

April 2015 Nepal earthquake
- Wreckage from the American helicopter missing since Tuesday has been located, with bodies of some of the occupants. (CNN)

Law and Crime

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is sentenced to death for his role in the Boston Marathon bombings. (New York Times)

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May 20, 2015

Top News Stories –

Record fines for currency market fix –
Five of the world’s largest banks are to pay fines totalling $5.7bn (£3.6bn) for charges including manipulating the foreign exchange market.
Four of the banks – JPMorgan, Barclays, Citigroup and RBS – have agreed to plead guilty to US criminal charges. The fifth, UBS, will plead guilty to rigging benchmark interest rates. Barclays was fined the most, $2.4bn, as it did not join other banks in November to settle investigations by UK, US and Swiss regulators. Barclays is also sacking eight employees involved in the scheme. [BBC]

Chinese professor accused in ‘Breaking Bad’ drugs plot –
Police in China have arrested a chemistry professor for his part in producing a psychoactive drug in a case that has been likened to US crime drama Breaking Bad. State agency Xinhua said 17 people were arrested including a Xian university professor alleged to have helped provide the recipe for methcathinone. Police seized 128kg (282lb) of the drug and more than 5m yuan ($806,095; £519,450). The drug lab was raided last year. [BBC]

David Letterman saluted by stars on final Late Show –
Four US presidents have joined stars including Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Jerry Seinfeld and Foo Fighters to pay tribute to TV host David Letterman on his final late night talk show. Letterman has bowed out after 33 years and 6,028 late-night broadcasts.He joked that physicist Stephen Hawking had calculated it “works out to about eight minutes of laughter”.He gave emotional thanks to his family, crew and viewers, saying: “There’s nothing I can ever do to repay you.”The 68-year-old began his late-night career on NBC in 1982, before moving to CBS’s Late Show in 1993.[BBC] See Video of the Day and List of the Day.
David Letterman

Video of the Day –

Celebrity Top Ten Things I’ve Always Wanted to Say To David Letterman

List of the day –

David Letterman’s final Top Ten list – “Top 10 things I’ve always wanted to say to Dave:”

10. Alec Baldwin: “Of all the talk shows, yours is the most geographically convenient to my home.”

9. Barbara Walters: “Did you know you wear the same cologne as Muammar Qaddafi?”

8. Steve Martin: Your extensive plastic surgery was a necessity…and a mistake.”

7. Jerry Seinfeld: “I have no idea what I’ll do when you go off the air. You know what, I just thought of something: I’ll be fine.”

6. Jim Carrey: “Honestly Dave, I’ve always found you to be a bit of an over-actor.” (He gesticulated wildly).

5. Chris Rock: “I’m just glad your show is being given to another white guy.” (Dave: “You know, I had nothing to do with that.”)

4. Julia Louis-Dreyfus: “Thanks for letting me take part in another hugely disappointing series finale.” (Seinfeld smirks). (Dave: “I had nothing to do with that either.”)

3. Peyton Manning: “Dave, you are to comedy what I am to comedy.”

2. Tina Fey: “Thanks for finally proving men can be funny.”

1. Bill Murray: “Dave, I’ll never have the money I owe you.”

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#DescribeYourselfIn3Words	#DescribeYourselfIn3Words	#DescribeYourselfIn3Words
2	#undiasinmusica	#HumpDay	#TDC15
3	#MTVBattle1D	Riley Curry	#SoftenAFilm
4	#MasterChefBR	#SoftenAFilm	#supportbaharmustafa
5	#MiVidaSeBasaEn	#MTVBattle1D	Bermuda
6	#EnQueIdiomaTeDigoQue	#StandWithRand	#HumpDay
7	PARABÉNS RANGEL	#Blackhawks	#5ONTHEWALL
8	#MiConsejoDeVida	#NXTTakeOver	#GeordieShore
9	Yiğit Bulut	#bucciovertimechallenge	Uwe Rosler
10	#JustinForMMVA	#NoWayThatsAHoliday	#TheFlashSeasonFinale

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
- Islamic State captures the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra from the Syrian Army with grave concerns held about its world heritage site. (The Hindu) (BBC)
The People’s Liberation Army Navy issues warnings eight times as a United States surveillance plane flies over manmade islands in the South China Sea. (CNN)

Arts and culture

Tools found near Lake Turkana in Kenya by Sonia Harmand and Jason Lewis of Stony Brook University are dated at 3.3 million years making them the oldest yet discovered. (AP via ABC News America)
The last edition of the Late Show with David Letterman goes to air on CBS Television in the United States. Following his retirement, David Letterman will be succeeded by Stephen Colbert on September 8, 2015. (CNN Money)

Disasters and accidents

A Shosholoza Meyl passenger train collides head-on with a goods train in Eastern Cape, South Africa, killing two people and injuring 20. (News24)
A rupture of an underground oil pipeline in California‘s Santa Barbara County near Refugio State Beach may have released 105,000 gallons ofcrude oil with tens of thousands gallons released into the Pacific Ocean. Jerry Brown, the Governor of California later declares a state of emergency. (Los Angeles Times), (ABC7 Los Angeles)
2015 Colombian landslide
- The death toll from Monday’s landslide in the town of Salgar rises to 80. (CNN)

International relations

South East Asian migrant crisis
- The foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand meet in Kuala Lumpur to discuss people smuggling and the migrant crisis. Malaysia and Indonesia agree to accept asylum seekers providing that they can be resettled or repatriated within a year. (Straits Times), (wires and ABC Online)
- Over 430 migrants are rescued off the coast of Indonesia‘s eastern Aceh province. (AP via New York Times)
North Korea
- North Korea abruptly cancels an invitation for Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to visit. (AFP via Sydney Morning Herald)
- The Korean Central News Agency claims that North Korea has the ability to miniaturize nuclear weapons and place them on ballistic missiles.(CNN)

Law and crime

Zambia lifts a ban on hunting big cats imposed over corruption in hunting concessions in the past. (AFP via Yahoo News)
Five big banks Barclays, RBS, Citi, JP Morgan and UBS are fined $5.7 billion after a United States Department of Justice investigation into collusion by forex traders in several countries. (The Guardian)
An arrest warrant is issued for Daron Dylon Wint in the US capital Washington, D.C. in connection to the alleged murder of four people on May 14.(WJLA)
The legislature in the American state of Nebraska votes to abolish the death penalty. (Washington Post)

Sports

British driver Lewis Hamilton signs a three year contract with the German constructors Mercedes AMG. (CNN)

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May 22, 2015

Top News Stories –

One Direction, Robert Pattinson help out in first Red Nose Day in America –
One Direction, Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Pattinson were among British stars who helped raise money for the first Red Nose Day in America.
The three-hour TV show opened with a monologue from host Seth Meyers. He announced his plans to trump the UK version of the fund-raising marathon.
“I don’t want the British doing anything in front of the cameras,” said the late night talk show host. “They are famously terrible actors so they are all working backstage.” Cameras cut to Simon Cowell in the director’s chair, Orlando Bloom at the sound board, Naomi Campbell operating a camera, Sir Ian McKellen working the teleprompter, Cumberbatch struggling with cue cards and Dame Helen Mirren making tea. Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne was left with the task of wishing people good luck while Pattinson struggled with valet parking and crashed the first car given to him.[BBC]
Highlight of the night was Cold Play creating a musical version of Game of Thrones with many of the cast appearing including John Snow (Kit Harrington). See Video of the Day.
Kit Harrington

Thousands of new words added to Scrabble dictionary –
Thousands of new words – including slang terms lolz, shizzle and obvs – have been added to the latest Scrabble word list, its publisher has said.
About 6,500 words have been added to the latest Collins Scrabble Word List, including a number of slang terms used on social media and in text messages. New words include twerking, emoji, bezzy and ridic – short for ridiculous. One the highest scoring new entries is quinzhee – an Inuit snow shelter – which scores 29 Scrabble points. Other new words now acceptable in the board game include onesie, devo – short for devolution – vape, and shootie, meaning a fashionable shoe that covers the ankle. [BBC]

Kim Jong-un’s ‘brat pack’ brother jets in to London for Eric Clapton concert –
Kim Jong-chol, allegedly passed over as heir to the North Korea regime because he has a weak character, was seen entering the Royal Albert Hall with a female companion and wearing a leather jacket. Wearing a leather jacket, T-shirt and sunglasses, Kim Jong-chol was caught on film by a camera crew from Japan’s TBS channel entering the venue with an unidentified woman. South Korean media reported that Kim was staying at The Chelsea Harbour Hotel and was scheduled to board a flight from London to Moscow on Friday. Rooms at the hotel cost up to £2,184 a night. Mr Kim, 33, was passed over by his father, Kim Jong-il, as heir to the North Korean regime because he has a weak character, according to South Korean intelligence reports. To compensate, he has taken on the mantle of the unofficial leader of the North’s “brat pack” of children of the regime’s elite.[Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Red Nose Day – Game of Thrones, Coldplay’s New Musical (Episode Highlight)

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#BuenViernes	#MemorialDayWeekend	#BankHolidayWeekend
2	#TeLoConfiesoAsiD1	#VoteYes	#FridayFeeling
3	#NoSoporto	#WhatWouldYouDoFor100dollars	Eric Pickles
4	#Vertigo	Mike Huckabee	#FarewellFearne
5	#تفجير_ارهابي_�…	#ItsNotADateIf	#KentEarthquake
6	#MeCambiaElDia	19 Kids and Counting	#VoteYes
7	Samid	#DisneyPrincessProblems	George Best
8	Hayırlı Cumalar	#WhyImATerribleCookIn5Words	#bbcqt
9	Harden	Hard Knocks	#MadMenFinale
10	#EuAdmitoQue	#AskTOP	#WhatWouldYouDoFor100dollars

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant captures the border crossing at Al Waleed (al-Tanf in Syria), the last remaining border crossing between Syriaand Iraq controlled by the Government of Syria. ISIL reportedly advances to within 40 km of Baghdad after their victory in Ramadi. (BBC)
A suicide bomber targeting Shiites at a mosque in Qatif, Saudi Arabia, has killed 19 and injured 28, per Red Crescent authorities. (Irish Independent)
Mexican Drug War
- At least 42 members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and two Federal Police officers are killed in a shootout in the state of Michoacán. The death toll is preliminary and is expected to rise. (Reuters)

Business

Li Hejun, formerly China’s richest man, loses an estimated US$14 billion when his energy shares plunge nearly 50%. (Forbes)

Disasters and accidents

Surrounding areas of Wembley Stadium, London, UK have been evacuated following the discovery by construction crews of a still-live World War II-era 50-kg (110-llb) conventional-explosive bomb, a remnant of the Blitz. (MSN)
The Myanmar Navy rescues two boats carrying 208 migrants as it faces growing international pressure to tackle the Rohingya migration crisis.(AFP via Yahoo! News)

Politics

Voters in Ireland go to the polls to vote on constitutional referendums, including one that would allow same-sex marriage. (BBC)
The Senate of the United States passes legislation to allow President Barack Obama to fast track trade negotiations with other countries. (AP via ABC News America)

Science

Science publishes a series of papers on biodiversity in the deep sea, including tens of thousands of single-celled organisms most of which had not been previously identified. (BBC)

Sports

In cricket, Pakistan plays a Twenty20 match against Zimbabwe at Lahore. This is the first time a test playing nation toured Pakistan for a cricket match since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team. (IndiaTV)

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May 25, 2015

Top News Stories –

‘Dancing Man’ Sean O’Brien parties in Los Angeles –
A British man who attracted global support after “fat-shaming” images of him were posted online has attended a party in his honour in Los Angeles.
Liverpudlian Sean O’Brien, who now lives in London, was trolled in March after being spotted dancing at a gig. He was dubbed “The Dancing Man” by a social media campaign to uncover his identity and offer support. During his LA trip he has been feted by stars, appeared on TV shows and thrown the first pitch at an LA Dodgers game. Campaigner Monica Lewinsky, musicians Andrew WK and Moby attended his party, while Pharrell Williams recorded a special video message of support that was played at the party. [BBC]
Sean O’Brien aka Dancing Man

Galapagos volcano erupts for first time in 30 years –
A volcano in the Galapagos Islands erupted for the first time in more than 30 years on Monday, spilling streams of bright orange lava and raising fears for the world’s only colony of pink iguanas. The Galapagos National Park warned on Twitter that Isabela Island, where Wolf Volcano erupted at dawn, holds “the world’s only population” of the critically endangered Conolophus marthae, also known as the Galapagos rosy iguana. [Daily Telegraph]
Wolf Volcano
Galapagos pink iguana (Conolophus marthae)

Instagram spams users with ‘highlights’ from their friends’ feeds –
Instagram has started sending unsolicited emails to users with a selection of posts from their friends’ news feeds, in an attempt to re-engage people who have drifted away from the social network. Like Twitter, Instagram presents updates in reverse-chronological order, meaning that the posts people see when they log on are simply the most recent – not necessarily the most relevant. While this is an effective way of keeping people’s news feeds fresh, it also creates the risk that users miss the most interesting content, due to the constant stream of updates cascading through their news feeds. Instagram’s email updates are designed to offer a more curated experience, presenting users with only the most popular content from their network of contacts, TechCrunch reports. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Dior Secret Garden IV – Versailles – Long Version
In the Palace of Versailles and surrounded by darkness, Rihanna lights up the screen in this exclusive short film from the Secret Garden IV campaign, shot by Steven Klein.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#charliecharliechallenge	Ray McDonald	#charliecharliechallenge
2	EU TE AMO LIAM	#MemorialDay	#BankHolidayMonday
3	#PSYAngUnangPagIbig	#YouWontHearMeSay	#ReplaceMovieTitlesWithPubes
4	#MeCaesMalSi	#RIPGrandmaSepi	#3Queens
5	#MemorialDay	#MallMovies	#AfricaDay
6	#RIPGrandmaSepi	Which Beyoncé Song Are You	#MOTD
7	#OrgulloFriki	Ancelotti	Norwich
8	#UberSeQueda	#AfricaDay	#ENGvNZ
9	Enem	#charliecharliechallenge	Trevor Bayliss
10	Felices 114	#LHHWedding	#BGTlive

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- A suicide bomber and gunmen attack a court building in the provincial capital of Maidan Shahr in Maidan Wardak resulting in the deaths of two police officers and four of the attackers. (Tolo News)
Thirteen Kenyan police officers are missing after an Al-Shabaab ambush in Garissa County. (Standard Digital)

International relations

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

Disasters and accidents

Tornadoes of 2015
- Flash floods, tornadoes and dangerous thunderstorms have so far claimed 8 lives with 12 people missing in the American states of Texas andOklahoma with more rain on the way. (NBC News)
- Flash flood warnings are now in place in eight states with flood waters causing closures of roads, rail services and buses in the fourth largest city in the US Houston. (NBC News)
2015 India heat wave
- The death toll from the heat wave passes 800 as the roads in the capital New Delhi melting in the heat. (AFP via AsiaOne)

Law and crime

A petition to legalize same-sex marriage in the Philippines is filed in the Supreme Court. (Rappler)

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May 27, 2015

Top News Stories –

Fifa officials corrupted football – US prosecutors –
US prosecutors have accused several officials from football’s governing body Fifa of racketeering, fraud and money laundering involving tens of millions of dollars over 24 years. Prosecutors said they had discovered a dozen schemes, including one awarding the 2010 World Cup to South Africa.
Fourteen people have been indicted, with seven held in Zurich on Wednesday. Those indicted in the US case are accused of accepting bribes and kickbacks estimated at more than $150m (£97m) over a 24-year period beginning in 1991. [BBC] President Sepp Blatter has not been implicated by the US Presecutors. In December 2014 a complaint by US lawyer Michael Garcia who spent two years investigating World Cup corruption claims for Fifa was dismissed by football’s governing body.
Sepp Blatter at the 2014 FIFA Tournament Announcement in 2007

London is getting a cannabis-inspired restaurant –
Grub Club and the chefs at Grub London have teamed up to create ‘Cannabistro’, a two night pop-up event coming to London in June.Diners at London’s first weed-themed restaurant will be treated to a four-course gourmet meal of dishes inspired by “hazy memories of teenage years combined with the clichés of getting high – ‘The Way Up’ – and coming down – ‘The Munchies’.” [Daily Telegraph]

SpaceX cleared for US military launches –
Billionaire Elon Musk’s firm SpaceX has won long-waited approval from the US Air Force to launch military satellites, opening the way to a lucrative market that has been a virtual monopoly for a Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture. With the certification, California-based SpaceX can now compete against the United Launch Alliance – the giant Boeing-Lockheed joint venture – for defence contracts valued at about $9.5bn over the next five years. In January 2015 Musk announced that he will build a test track for his “Hyperloop” transport system that could theoretically travel at speeds of up to 700 miles per hour. [news24.com]
Elon Musk

Video of the Day –

A Guy’s Understanding of Women’s Underwear – Robbie Sherrard

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#CharlieCharlie	Rick Santorum	Point Break
2	FIFA	#TeenChoice	#QueensSpeech
3	#PSYAngPagsinta	#HumpDay	#FIFA
4	#MeTatuariaLaFrase	Sepp Blatter	#5WordWeddingToast
5	La MUD	#ARRAY	Andy King
6	#FelizMiercoles	FIFA	Tony Blair
7	#FIFA	#5WordWeddingToast	#GazaUnderAttack
8	Point Break	Jared Dudley	#StateOpening
9	#MasterChefBR	#Replace1DSongsWithNiallsHat	#JustinGiveUsYourSnapchat
10	Rafael Esquivel	#FIFA	#Replace1DSongsWithNiallsHat

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
- Islamic State militants have carried out multiple suicide bombings targeting the Iraqi Army in Anbar Province killing at least 17 people. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

At least 12 people, associated with the Kangleyuan Rest Home in the Chinese city of Pingdingshan in Henan province which was destroyed by fire with the loss of 38 lives, are detained for questioning. (AP)
A sixth person is found to have died in this week’s floods in Harris County, Texas, which contains the city of Houston. (Houston Chronicle)
2015 Indian heat wave
- The death toll in the two worst affected states Andhra Pradesh and Telangana passes 800. (Times of India)

International relations

Representatives from the United States, Japan and South Korea meet in Seoul on how to respond to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.(AP)
Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair resigns as the peace envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East. (ABC News)

Law and crime

FIFA corruption scandal
- Six FIFA officials are detained in Switzerland for extradition to the United States in relation to allegations of corruption between the 1990s and now. Those arrested include Jeffrey Webb, Jack Warner, Eduardo Li, Eugenio Figueredo and Jose Maria Marin. Fourteen people involved in world soccer. (AP), (BBC), (Washington Post)
- Swiss federal prosecutors open criminal procedures in relation to the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. (AP)
- FIFA suspends eleven people from involvement in football over the scandal. (AP)
The Legislature of the US state of Nebraska votes to outlaw the death penalty, overriding a veto by Governor Pete Ricketts. (Lincoln Journal Star)

Politics

The newly-elected British House of Commons commences its session with the State Opening of Parliament ceremony in which the Queen’s Speech will be delivered. (BBC)
The Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt calls an election for June 18. (Reuters via Straits Times)
Rick Santorum announces he will be seeking the nomination of the Republican Party in the United States presidential election, 2016. (Washington Post)

Science and technology

Elon Musk‘s SpaceX wins U.S. Air Force approval to launch military satellites. (AFP via News24)

Sport

2014–15 UEFA Europa League
- In association football, Sevilla FC of Spain becomes the first club to win the UEFA Europa League four times defeating Dnipro Dnipropetrovskof Ukraine 3-2 with Colombian striker Carlos Bacca scoring twice in the final. (CNN)
- Matheus Leite Nascimento collapses on the field of play during the 2015 UEFA Europa League Final in Warsaw. (SM)
2015 NBA Finals
- In basketball, the Golden State Warriors defeat the Houston Rockets 104-90 to win the Western Conference 104-90 and go to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1975. (Bleacher Report)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

May 30, 2015

Top News Stories –

Prince William issues call for Fifa to ‘put the sport first’ –
The Duke of Cambridge has urged world football governing body Fifa to “show that it can represent the interests of fair play and put the sport first”. Prince William, the president of the FA, made his comments during a speech before the cup final at Wembley. He urged sponsors and other backers to use their influence with Fifa to support reform. It comes after Fifa’s president Sepp Blatter was re-elected, following the arrests of seven people linked to Fifa. [BBC]

Arsenal win the FA Cup for 12th time –
Arsenal beat fellow Premier League side Aston Villa 4-0 at Wembley in London, the largest margin of victory in an FA Cup Final since 1994. The title means Arsenal manager has won 6 FA Cups equalling a record set by former Aston Villa manager George Ramsay – who previously stood alone with the record for his victories with Villa between 1887 and 1920. Arsenal’s goals were scored by Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez, Per Mertesaker and Olivier Giroud. See List of the Day 1
Arsene Wenger

Barcelona wins Copa del Rey –
Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 with goals from Lionel Messi (2) and Neymar. Along with fellow striker Luis Suarez, the trio have scored 120 goals this season, the most by three players in the history of first class football.
Lionel Messi

Wolfsburg win German Cup final –
Wolfsburg win the German Cup for the first time beating Borussia Dortmund 3-1. Luiz Gustavo, Kevin De Bruyne and Bas Dost scored Wolfsburg’s Goals. It was Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp’s final match in charge of the team.
Jurgen Klopp

Paris St Germain win French treble –
Paris St-Germain became the first French team to win a domestic treble beating Auxerre 1-0 in the French Cup final. Laurent Blanc’s side also beat Bastia 4-0 to win the French League Cup and were crowned Ligue 1 champions for a third successive year. Edinson Cavani scored the only goal in the final.
Edinson Cavani

Alastair Cook: Captain becomes England’s leading Test run scorer –
Alastair Cook has passed Graham Gooch to become England’s leading Test run scorer. In reaching 32 on the second day of the second Test against New Zealand at Headingley, he overtook Gooch’s mark of 8,900, which has stood since 1995. England captain Cook, 30, is playing his 114th Test, having made his debut in 2006. [BBC] See LIst of the Day 2

Video of the Day –

Every Inspirational Video Ever

List of the day 1 –

Arsene Wenger managerial career (as of May 30, 2015)

Club	From	To	Record
Club	From	To	G	W	D^[c]	L	Win %
AS Nancy	1 July 1984	1 July 1987	114	33	30	51	28.95
AS Monaco	1 July 1987	17 September 1994	266	130	53	83	48.87
Nagoya Grampus	9 December 1994	30 September 1996	56	38	0	18	67.86
Arsenal	1 October 1996	Present	1,065	612	249	204	57.46
Total			1,501	813	332	356	54.16

List of the day 2 –

English cricket Test run record [as of 30 May 2015 – from Wikipedia]

Rank	Runs	Player	Matches	Innings	Average
1	8,944	Alastair Cook	113	197	46.82
2	8,900	Graham Gooch	118	215	42.58
3	8,463	Alec Stewart	133	255	39.55
4	8,231	David Gower	117	204	44.25
5	8,181	Kevin Pietersen	104	181	47.28
6	8,114	Geoffrey Boycott	108	193	47.72
7	7,728	Michael Atherton	115	212	37.70
8	7,624	Colin Cowdrey	114	188	44.07
9	7,310	Ian Bell	106	183	45.40
10	7,249	Wally Hammond	85	140	58.46
Source: [10]. Last updated: 31 May 2015.

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#FACupFinal	#BreakUpIn4Words	#FACupFinal
2	YouTubeさん	#HappyBirthdayJazmynBieber	#AvivaPremFinal
3	#كذبه_ساره_ابر�…	#BadAttitudeATVShow	Chris Pratt
4	#QueLindoCuando	#smallaccsappreciationday	Khan
5	사람들	#FACupFinal	#ToryBooks
6	#HappyBirthdayJazmynBieber	Messi	#smallaccsappreciationday
7	#HighSchoolMusical2	Derek Norris	#BadAttitudeATVShow
8	#FrasesDeMaestros	Tron 3	#bbc4
9	#NoSeLoQueHariaYoSin	Martin O’Malley	Ross Ulbricht
10	Lovatics	#NotMyAmerica	Rio Ferdinand

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates that barrel bombs dropped by the Bashar al-Assad regime have killed at least 45 people in the Aleppo Governorate and injured dozens more. (AFP via Daily Star)
Boko Haram
- A suicide bomber kills 26 people in a Maiduguri mosque hours after militants launch an attack on the first full day of President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari‘s term of office. (AFP via Sky News)

Disasters and accidents

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurs off the coast of Japan. No tsunami warning is issued. (BBC)
The Italian Coast Guard states that at least 17 people have died and 4,200 have been rescued in the Mediterranean Sea attempting to travel toEurope in the past 24 hours. Ships from nations including Italy, Republic of Ireland, Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom have been involved in rescue efforts. (AFP/Reuters via ABC Online)

International relations

Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- The United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter warns that the People’s Republic of China‘s island building in the South China Sea is undermining security in the Asia-Pacific region and has called for a diplomatic solution. (The Guardian)
- US surveillance detects two large self-propelled artillery vehicles on one of the islands. (AP via News24) (CNN)

Law and crime

2015 Rohingya refugee crisis
- A Thai national is arrested in Myanmar in relation to human trafficking offences after the Myanmar Navy rescues more than 200 people from a boat that he allegedly owns. (AFP via Myanmar Mail)

Politics and elections

Beau Biden, U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden‘s son, who had served in the Iraq War and for multiple terms as the Attorney General of Delaware, dies at Walter Reed Medical Center after a battle with malignant brain cancer. (MSN)
Martin O’Malley announces that he will be seeking the Democratic Party nomination in the 2016 US presidential election. (CNN)

Science

A mystery disease has killed over 120,000 saiga antelopes – more than a third of the world’s total population – in Kazakhstan in recent weeks.(AFP via ABC Online)

Sport

Football
- In England, Arsenal defeat Aston Villa 4-0 in the 2015 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, with the victors playing in a record 19th final and achieving a record 12th win. (BBC) (The FA via Twitter)
- In Scotland, Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC defeat Falkirk FC 2-1 at Hampden Park to win the 2015 Scottish Cup Final. This is Inverness’ first major title. (BBC), (The Guardian)
- In South Africa, Namibia defeat Mozambique 2-0 to win the 2015 COSAFA Cup for the first time. (COSAFA)
- In Spain, FC Barcelona defeat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 in the 2014–15 Copa del Rey final meaning they complete a domestic double after winningLa Liga. Lionel Messi scored a brace in the victory. (The Guardian) (Reuters via Sydney Morning Herald)
Alistair Cook becomes the leading run scorer of all time in test cricket for England playing against New Zealand in the second test at Headingley Stadium in Leeds. (BBC)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

June 2, 2015

Top News Stories –

Fifa’s Sepp Blatter resigns Fifa presidency and is ‘under investigation in US’ –
Fifa president Sepp Blatter is being investigated by US officials as part of their inquiry into corruption at the world football body, US media say.
The news came hours after Mr Blatter announced that he was stepping down from his role. US prosecutors launched a criminal inquiry last week, with seven Fifa officials arrested in Switzerland, part of a group of 14 people indicted. Two days after the arrests, Mr Blatter was re-elected president of Fifa. However, he said on Tuesday that it appeared the mandate he had been given “does not seem to be supported by everyone in the world”. [BBC]
Sepp Blatter at the 2014 FIFA Tournament Announcement in 2007

Kim Kardashian catches fire at awards dinner –
Kim Kardashian has already got enough on her plate, what with her expecting her second child and all. So it probably didn’t help when her first outing since announcing her happy news ended in flames. Not actual Kim Kardashian, but her dress at the CFDA Awards. The feathers on her see-through embellished dress brushed against a candle, and she needed some A-list emergency help to put her out. Luckily Pharrell (sans big hat) and his wife Helen were nearby to “jump” on her to pat Kim out. [BBC] See List of the Day
Kim Kardashian Instagram

Four teenagers air-lifted to hospital with serious injuries on roller-coaster crash at Alton Towers –
Five people were hospitalised and a further eleven required medical attention yesterday following a crash on an Alton Towers roller-coaster that the theme park described as the worst in its 35-year history. Two men aged 27 and 18 and two women aged 19 and 17, were airlifted to hospital after suffering serious leg injuries and another man aged 20 was treated for neck and abdominal injury before being taken to hospital by land ambulance. A dozen riders were released one at a time over four hours after being stranded 25ft in the air at an angle of 45 degrees when a carriage carrying 16 people crashed into an empty carriage on The Smiler ride, which has a top speed of 50mph. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Winners of the 2015 Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Awards

Semi-Permanent 2015 Opening Titles. from Raoul Marks – MARXº on Vimeo.

List of the day –

Womenswear Designer of the Year: Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen for The Row

Menswear Designer of the Year: Tom Ford

Accessories Designer of the Year: Tabitha Simmons

Swarovski Award for Womenswear: Rosie Assoulin

Swarovski Award for Menswear: Shayne Oliver for Hood by Air

Swarovski Award for Accessory Design: Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavrielfor Mansur Gavriel

Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award: Betsey Johnson

The Media Award in Honor of Eugenia Sheppard: Instagram

The Founder’s Award in Honor of Eleanor Lambert: Millard “Mickey” Drexler, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of J.Crew Group, Inc.

International Award: Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli for Valentino

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	MC Dinero	#WearingOrange	#BeatlesRecipes
2	Charles Kennedy	Nick Young	#CharityTuesday
3	#EstoyHartoDe	Mike Huckabee	Charles Kennedy
4	#FelizMartes	#BeatlesRecipes	Big Trouble in Little China
5	#QueBroncaCuando	#SummerOfAnswers	Alton Towers
6	#MiEstrategiaEnTuiterEs	Charles Kennedy	#nusnec
7	#bringbackmagcon	#BadTeamBuildingActivities	Jeremy Hunt
8	Drake Bell	Fallout 4	#bringbackmagcon
9	Fallout 4	#ImNotHappyIf	#CFDAAwards
10	Flor de la V	Swaggy P	Fallout 4

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Yemeni Civil War (2015)
- Armed tribesmen kill 18 Houthi fighters in an ambush in Yemen‘s Ibb Governorate. (Reuters)
Communist insurgency in the Philippines
- Adelberto Silva, the highest ranked leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army, has been arrested. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Boko Haram
- A suicide bombing in the city of Maiduguri in the north of Nigeria kills 20 people. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Indian heat wave
- The official death toll from the Indian heat wave rises to 2,330 with meteorologists warning that relief from the monsoon season could still be days away. (CNN)
Sinking of the Dong Fang Zhi Xing
- Rescue efforts continue for people on board the ship that sank on the Yangtze River in China‘s Hubei province with over 450 people on board. So far, fewer than 12 have been rescued and five bodies recovered. (New York Times), (CNN)
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
- Two brothers whose father was on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 last year when it disappeared receive compensation from the government ofMalaysia and Malaysian Airlines. (AP via Asian Correspondent)

Health

Two people die of Middle East respiratory syndrome in South Korea. (NBC News)

Law and crime

Beijing bans smoking in indoor public places, including offices, shopping malls, restaurants, bars and airports, and in outdoor public places, including hospitals and schools. (CNN)
Thai Army Lieutenant General Manus Kongpan is suspended after police order his arrest on involvement in people trafficking. (Reuters via ABC Online)
2013 Boston Marathon bombings
- Dias Kadyrbayev, a college friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is sentenced to six years for obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges after Kadyrbayev removed incriminating evidence from Tsarnaev‘s college dorm room. (CBS Local)

Politics and elections

The United States Senate passes the USA Freedom Act, which will transfer the responsibility of Americans’ bulk telephone metadata collection from the National Security Agency to telephone companies. (The Guardian)

Sport

2015 FIFA corruption case
- Sepp Blatter announces that he will resign as President of FIFA as a result of the corruption scandals with an emergency congress to be called as soon as possible. (BBC) (RTÉ News)
- In Cricket, New Zealand beats England by 199 runs to draw the test series. (Telegraph)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

June 3, 2015

Top News Stories –

Fifa crisis: Ex-official Chuck Blazer details bribe-taking –
Former top Fifa official Chuck Blazer has admitted that he and others on the executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the choice of South Africa as 2010 World Cup host. The American said he also helped to arrange bribes over the 1998 event. The admissions come in a newly released transcript from a 2013 US hearing in which he pleads guilty to 10 charges. [BBC]

Godzilla appointed Tokyo tourism ambassador –
He’s a lizard, he’s 120 metres high, and he smashes cities for fun. He’s also now a resident of Shinjuku, Tokyo. And a tourism ambassador for the district, following an official ceremony. The fictional monster blockbuster was issued a special certificate of residency by officials in the district, for services to tourism and bringing visitors to Japan. [BBC] See List of The Day

Video of the Day –

The Good Dinosaur Trailer UK – Official Disney Pixar

List of the day –

Godzilla’s Shinjuku residency papers –

Name: Godzilla

Address: Shinjuku-ku, Kabuki-cho, 1-19-1

Date of birth: November 3, 1954 (this is the year the first Godzilla film was released)

Date of Shinjuku residency: April 9, 2015

Reason for special residency: Promoting the entertainment of and watching over the Kabuki-cho neighborhood and drawing visitors from around the globe in the form of the Godzilla head built atop the Shinjuku TOHO Building.

Previous visits to Shinjuku Ward: 3 times; Godzilla (1984), Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Godzilla 2000 Millennium (1999)

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#TengoAmorEternoA	#NationalRunningDay	#NationalRunningDay
2	#OdioTotalmenteQue	#FreshmanAdvice	#keepitgoing
3	Nadal	#ComplimentYourselfIn4Words	#HumpDay
4	#WeCameBackWithAllDirectio…	#EroticBroadway	#PMQs
5	#NationalRunningDay	Kidd Kidd	Andy Coulson
6	Rafa Benítez	#ProsOfDatingMe	#confed2015
7	#MasterChefBR	#MistakeAMovie	Jeremy Corbyn
8	#PSYAngPananagutan	#HumpDay	#ROWYSONewcastle
9	#keepitgoing	Lincoln Chafee	Rafa Benitez
10	#NiUnaMenos	Fernando Rodney	Ali Smith

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- The Saudi Arabia led coalition launches airstrikes on military bases near the Yemeni capital Sanaa. (Reuters)
The Grozny Chechnya office of the Committee Against Torture NGO is attacked by masked men who came out of a crowd of protesters. They broke down the door and trashed the office. National Leader Ramzan Kadyrov speculated the attack could have been carried out by relatives of Dzhambulat Dadayev upset that the NGO which investigates torture did not lead protests of the shooting of Dadayev by law enforcement officers from another region. Moscow Times
War in Donbass
- Pro-Russian separatists launched an offensive to take Marinka, Ukraine 5 kilometers from the separatist capitol of Donetsk. At least 19 people have died in fighting. Ukrainian sources claimed at least 10 tanks took part in the battle. (AFP via Yahoo! News), (New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

Sinking of the Dong Fang Zhi Xing
- The search continues for survivors of the Dong Fang Zhi Xing which sank on China‘s Yangtze River with 450 passengers on board. So far, 18 people have been confirmed dead with 14 people rescued. (CCTV via Twitter)
At least 11 people are killed in a fire at a filling station in the Ghanaian capital Accra. (Kasapa)

International relations

South Korea has successfully test fired two ballistic missiles that can hit all of North Korea. (AP)

Law and crime

2015 FIFA corruption case
- Interpol issues red notices linked to arrest warrants for two former FIFA officials Jack Warner and Nicolas Leoz and four executives. (Interpol via Twitter), (AP), (ITV)
- Former FIFA official Chuck Blazer admits to taking bribes in relation to bids for the 2010 and 1998 FIFA World Cups. (CNN)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Former Governor of Rhode Island Lincoln Chafee announces he is seeking the Democratic Party nomination. (New York Times)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

June 6, 2015

Top News Stories –

Xavi departs from Barcelona by winning the Champions League again –
After playing his last game at the Nu Camp last month Xavi Hernandez played his 397th and final game for Barcelona in the Champions League Final. Barcelona beat Juventus 3-0 to secure a treble of victories following the La Liga and Copa del Rey successes. It is the fourth time Xavi has one the Champions League Title and was celebrated by his club in a tweet. See List of the Day

Xavi Hernández

Frankie Dettori wins Epsom Derby on favourite Golden Horn –
Frankie Dettori capped his renaissance with a thrilling victory on favourite Golden Horn to win the 236th running of the Derby at Epsom. Dettori produced an ice-cool ride on the 13-8 favourite to beat his John Gosden-trained stablemate Jack Hobbs by three-and-a-half lengths, with Storm The Stars third. The 44-year-old jockey punched the air as he passed the line and did a trademark flying dismount in the winner’s enclosure. “It was unbelievable. The horse was brilliant,” said Dettori, riding for the first time in the race since returning from a six-month drugs ban two years ago. [BBC]
Frakie Dettori

Video of the Day –

IKE INTERVIEWS GOD from Eli Shapiro on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Xavi Hernandez honours

Barcelona

La Liga (8): 1998–99, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15
Copa del Rey (3): 2008–09, 2011–12, 2014–15
Supercopa de España (6): 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013
UEFA Champions League (4): 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2014–15
UEFA Super Cup (2): 2009, 2011
FIFA Club World Cup (2): 2009, 2011

International

Individual

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#5HatCapitalSTB	#UCLfinal	#CapitalSTB
2	#Appreciate5YearsOfZayn	SATs	#AddACharacterChangeAFilmT…
3	#EstaIndirectaEsParaVos	#EdibleBands	#fabsummer
4	ジブリ悪役診断	#DDay	#UCLfinal
5	#NiallTheBadBoy	#Appreciate5YearsOfZayn	#EdibleBands
6	#FrasesDeBorracho	#AddACharacterChangeAFilmT…	Murray
7	総選挙速報	#TripleCrown	#ROWYSOBirmingham
8	#UCLfinal	Cheetah Girls	Juve
9	5 Seconds Of Summer	#IfIWereGodICould	#TorySongs
10	カノ嘘	Pirlo	Dark Souls 3

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Saudi Arabia shoots down a Scud missile fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen according to Saudi State media. (Reuters)
- At least four Saudi Arabian Army soldiers and dozens of rebels are killed in fighting near the border, according to Saudi government. They^[who?] capture the District and kill ten police officers. (AFP via France 24), (Al-Hazeera via Yahoo! Maktoob)
War in Afghanistan (2015–present)
- The Taliban launches a major offensive in the Yamgan District of Badakhshan Province with hundreds of militants involved. (AP)
War in Donbass
- The President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko claims that his forces have repelled an attack on the town of Marinka and captured 12 rebels including one Russian. (BBC)
Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel
- For the second time this week, a rocket fired from Gaza lands in Israel. There were no immediate reports of injuries, or claims of responsibility.(Times of Israel)

Disasters and accidents

Sinking of the Dong Fang Zhi Xing
- The death toll from the sinking of the Dong Fang Zhi Xing rises to 396 with 46 unaccounted for. (CCTV via Twitter)
Eleven bodies have been recovered from Mount Kinabalu and 8 people remain missing following yesterday’s Sabah earthquake. (Straits Times)
Lightning strikes at the Rock am Ring rock festival held at the Mendig Air Base in Germany, injuring 33 people. (AP via News24)
Ships from the British and German navies are dispatched to rescue thousands of migrants stranded in the Mediterranean Sea. (CNN)

Health

2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak in South Korea
- The number of confirmed MERS cases in South Korea rises by 9 to 50. (AFP via Straits Times)

International relations

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi travels to Bangladesh for the signing of an agreement that dissolves all 162 enclaves in the border region between the two nations and allows thousands of people living in the territories to choose their nationality. (Al-Jazeera)
Reuters reports that an Egyptian court has overturned a ruling that Hamas is a terrorist organisation. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Five police are injured following violent protests at a gay pride march in Kiev. (BBC)

Politics and elections

The President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir swears in a new Cabinet after having been sworn in for a five-year term earlier in the week. (al-Arabiya)

Sports

Association football
- Italian side Juventus FC and Spanish side FC Barcelona play in the final of the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin with Barcelona winning their fifth European championship 3-1. (ESPN), (The Guardian)
- The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup gets underway in Canada with the Canadians beating China 1-0 in the first match. (BBC)
Horse racing
- The 236th running of the Epsom Derby is held at Epsom Downs Racecourse in England with Golden Horn ridden by Frankie Dettori winning and stablemate “Jack Hobbs” coming second. (BBC), (The Telegraph)]
- The 2015 Belmont Stakes is held at Belmont Park with American Pharoah becoming the first horse in 37 years to win the Triple Crown.(Bloomberg)
2015 French Open – Women’s Singles
- In tennis, number one seed Serena Williams of the US meets number 13 seed Lucie Šafářová of Czech Republic in the women’s singles final of the 2015 French Open. Williams wins her 20th Grand Slam title winning 6-3, 6-7, 6-2. (The Guardian)

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June 12, 2015

June 11, 2015

Top News Stories –

Sir Christopher Lee death announced –
In one of his final interviews, Sir Christopher Lee declared his intention never to retire. “When I die, I want to die with my boots on,” he said.
The actor remained true to his word. He was preparing for his latest film role – a drama called The 11th, co-starring Uma Thurman – when he died on Sunday morning [June 7, 2015] at London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Sir Christopher was one of the greats of the 20th century, but his career hit new heights in the last 15 years of his life. He will be best remembered by those of a certain age for playing Count Dracula in his Hammer Horror days, but to younger film fans he was a star of two of the biggest franchises ever made: Saruman in Lord of the Rings and Count Dooku in Star Wars. [Daily Telegraph] He appeared in over 200 films (See List of the Day)
Sir Christopher Lee (1922-2015)

Female scientists post ‘distractingly sexy’ photos –
Female scientists have been sharing “distractingly sexy” photos of themselves after a feminist website encouraged them to respond to comments by a Nobel laureate. Nobel Prize winner Tim Hunt was roundly criticised when he detailed his thoughts about the “trouble with girls” at a conference of science journalists. “Three things happen when they are in the lab,” he said, “you fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticise them they cry.” He said his comments were meant to be “light-hearted, ironic comment”, but whatever the intention, it went over like a heavy metallic dirigible in a field with some widely acknowledged gender issues. Hunt has now resigned from his position at University College London. On Thursday the hashtag #DistractinglySexy began taking off, with more than 10,000 tweets in a matter of hours. [BBC Trending] See Top Twitter Trends (UK)

Video of the Day –

Saruman the White – from Lord of the Rings [from Youtube]

List of the Day –

Sir Christopher Lee film appearances (including voiceovers) [List from Wikipedia]

#	Year	Film	Role	Notes
1	1948	Corridor of Mirrors	Charles
2	1948	One Night with You	Pirelli’s Assistant
3	1948	Hamlet	Spear Carrier	Uncredited
4	1948	Penny and the Pownall Case	Jonathan Blair
5	1948	A Song for Tomorrow	Auguste
6	1948	My Brother’s Keeper	Second Constable	Deleted scenes
7	1948	Saraband for Dead Lovers	Bit Part	Uncredited
8	1948	Scott of the Antarctic	Bernard Day
9	1949	Trottie True	Bongo
10	1950	They Were Not Divided	Chris Lewis
11	1950	Prelude to Fame	Newsman
12	1951	Valley of Eagles	Det. Holt
13	1951	Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.	Spanish Captain
14	1951	Quo Vadis	Chariot Driver	Uncredited^[1]
15	1952	The Crimson Pirate	Joseph (attache)
16	1952	Top Secret	Russian Agent	Uncredited
17	1952	Paul Temple Returns	Sir Felix Raybourne
18	1952	Babes in Bagdad	Slave Dealer
19	1952	Moulin Rouge	Georges Seurat
20	1953	Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot	Voice	Uncredited
21	1953	Innocents in Paris	Lieutenant Whitlock	Uncredited
22	1954	Destination Milan	Svenson
23	1955	Man in Demand
24	1955	Crossroads	Harry Cooper
25	1955	Final Column
26	1955	That Lady	Captain
27	1955	Police Dog	Johnny, a constable
28	1955	The Dark Avenger	French Patrol Captain at Tavern	Uncredited
29	1955	The Cockleshell Heroes	Submarine Commander
30	1955	Storm Over the Nile	Karaga Pasha
31	1956	Alias John Preston	John Preston
32	1956	Private’s Progress	Gen. von Linbeck’s aide	Uncredited
33	1956	Port Afrique	Franz Vermes
34	1956	Beyond Mombasa	Gil Rossi
35	1956	The Battle of the River Plate	Manolo
36	1957	Ill Met by Moonlight	German Officer at Dentists
37	1957	Fortune Is a Woman	Charles Highbury
38	1957	The Traitor	Dr. Neumann
39	1957	The Curse of Frankenstein	The Creature
40	1957	Manuela	Voice	Uncredited
41	1957	Bitter Victory	Sgt. Barney
42	1957	The Truth About Women	François
43	1958	A Tale of Two Cities	Marquis St. Evremonde
44	1958	Dracula	Count Dracula	Alternative title: Horror of Dracula
45	1958	Battle of the V-1	Labor Camp Captain, Men’s Section
46	1958	Corridors of Blood	Resurrection Joe
47	1959	The Hound of the Baskervilles	Sir Henry Baskerville
48	1959	The Man Who Could Cheat Death	Dr. Pierre Gerard
49	1959	The Treasure of San Teresa	Jaeger
50	1959	The Mummy	Kharis, the Mummy
51	1959	Uncle Was a Vampire	Baron Roderico da Frankurten
52	1960	Too Hot to Handle	Novak
53	1960	Beat Girl	Kenny
54	1960	The City of the Dead	Prof. Alan Driscoll	Alternative title: Horror Hotel
55	1960	The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll	Paul Allen
56	1960	The Hands of Orlac	Nero the magician
57	1961	The Terror of the Tongs	Chung King
58	1961	Taste of Fear	Doctor Pierre Gerrard
59	1961	The Devil’s Daffodil	Ling Chu
60	1961	Ercole al centro della terra	King Lico (Licos)	Alternative title: Hercules in the Haunted World
61	1962	Stranglehold
62	1962	The Puzzle of the Red Orchid	Captain Allerman
63	1962	The Pirates of Blood River	Captain LaRoche
64	1962	The Devil’s Agent	Baron von Staub
65	1962	Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace	Sherlock Holmes
66	1963	Katarsis	Mephistoles
67	1963	La vergine di Norimberga	Erich	Aka Castle of Terror and Virgin of Nuremberg
68	1963	La frusta e il corpo	Kurt Menliff	Aka The Whip and the Body and Night Is the Phantom
69	1964	Il castello dei morti vivi	Count Drago	Alternative title: Castle of the Living Dead
70	1964	La cripta e l’incubo	Count Ludwig Karnstein	Aka Crypt of the Vampire and Crypt of Horror
71	1964	The Devil-Ship Pirates	Captain Robeles
72	1964	The Gorgon	Prof. Karl Meister
73	1965	Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors	Franklyn Marsh
74	1965	She	Billali
75	1965	The Skull	Sir Matthew Phillips
76	1965	Ten Little Indians	Voice of “Mr. Owen”	Uncredited
77	1965	The Face of Fu Manchu	Dr. Fu Manchu / Lee Tao
78	1966	Theatre of Death	Philippe Darvas
79	1966	Dracula: Prince of Darkness	Count Dracula
80	1966	Rasputin, the Mad Monk	Grigori Rasputin
81	1966	Circus of Fear	Gregor	Alternative title: Psycho Circus
82	1966	The Brides of Fu Manchu	Fu Manchu
83	1967	The Vengeance of Fu Manchu	Dr. Fu Manchu
84	1967	Night of the Big Heat	Godfrey Hanson
85	1967	Five Golden Dragons	Dragon #4
86	1967	The Blood Demon	Count Frederic Regula, Graf von Andomai	Aka The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism and Castle of the Walking Dead
87	1968	Curse of the Crimson Altar	Morley
88	1968	The Devil Rides Out	Duc de Richleau
89	1968	Eve	Colonel Stuart	Alternative title: The Face of Eve
90	1968	The Blood of Fu Manchu	Fu Manchu
91	1968	Dracula Has Risen from the Grave	Count Dracula
92	1969	The Castle of Fu Manchu	Fu Manchu
93	1969	The Oblong Box	Dr. J. Neuhart
94	1969	The Magic Christian	Ship’s vampire
95	1970	Scream and Scream Again	Fremont
96	1970	Umbracle	The Man
97	1970	The Bloody Judge (es)	Lord George Jeffreys	Alternative title: Night of the Blood Monster
98	1970	Count Dracula	Count Dracula
99	1970	Taste the Blood of Dracula	Count Dracula
100	1970	One More Time	Count Dracula
101	1970	Julius Caesar	Artemidorus
102	1970	Eugenie	Dolmance	Aka Eugenie – The Story of Her Journey into Perversion
103	1970	The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes	Mycroft Holmes
104	1970	Scars of Dracula	Count Dracula
105	1971	The House That Dripped Blood	John Reid	Segment: “Sweets to the Sweet”
105	1971	Cuadecuc, vampir	Count Dracula/Himself
106	1971	I, Monster	Dr. Charles Marlowe/Edward Blake
107	1971	Hannie Caulder	Bailey
108	1972	Death Line	Stratton-Villiers, MI5	Alternative title: Raw Meat
109	1972	Nothing But the Night	Col. Charles Bingham
110	1972	Dracula A.D. 1972	Count Dracula
111	1973	Dark Places	Dr. Mandeville
112	1973	The Creeping Flesh	James Hildern
113	1973	The Satanic Rites of Dracula	Count Dracula
114	1973	Horror Express	Sir Alexander Saxton
115	1973	The Three Musketeers	Rochefort
116	1973	The Wicker Man	Lord Summerisle
117	1974	The Four Musketeers	Rochefort
118	1974	The Man with the Golden Gun	Francisco Scaramanga
119	1975	Diagnosis: Murder	Dr. Stephen Hayward
120	1975	Le boucher, la star et l’orpheline	Van Krig/Himself
121	1976	The Keeper	The Keeper
122	1976	Killer Force	Major Chilton	Alternative title: The Diamond Mercenaries
123	1976	To the Devil, A Daughter	Father Michael Rayner
124	1976	Dracula père et fils	Prince of Darkness	Alternative title: Dracula and Son
125	1976	Albino	Bill	Aka Whispering Death and Death in the Sun
126	1977	Airport ’77	Martin Wallace
127	1977	Meatcleaver Massacre	On-screen narrator	Aka Evil Force and Revenge of the Dead
128	1977	End of the World	Father Pergado / Zindar
129	1977	Starship Invasions	Captain Rameses
130	1978	Return from Witch Mountain	Dr. Victor Gannon
131	1978	Caravans	Sardar Khan
132	1978	Circle of Iron	Zetan	Alternative title: The Silent Flute
133	1979	The Passage	Gypsy
134	1979	Arabian Adventure	Alquazar
135	1979	Nutcracker Fantasy	Uncle Drosselmeyer / Street Singer / Watchmaker	Voice
136	1979	Jaguar Lives!	Adam Caine
137	1979	Bear Island	Lechinski
138	1979	1941	Capt. Wolfgang von Kleinschmidt
139	1979	Captain America II: Death Too Soon	Miguel
140	1980	Serial	Luckman Skull
141	1981	The Salamander	Prince Baldasar, the Director of Counterintelligence
142	1981	Desperate Moves	Dr. Carl Boxer
143	1981	An Eye for an Eye	Morgan Canfield
144	1982	Safari 3000	Count Borgia
145	1982	The Last Unicorn	King Haggard	Voice; also in German language version
146	1983	New Magic	Mr. Kellar
147	1983	The Return of Captain Invincible	Mr. Midnight
148	1983	House of the Long Shadows	Corrigan
149	1984	The Rosebud Beach Hotel	Mr. Clifford King
150	1985	Mask of Murder	Chief Supt. Jonathan Rich
151	1985	Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf	Stefan Crosscoe
152	1986	The Girl	Peter Storm
153	1987	Jocks	President White
154	1987	Mio min Mio	Kato
155	1988	Dark Mission	Luis Morel
156	1989	Murder Story	Willard Hope
157	1989	La chute des aigles	Walter Strauss
158	1989	The Return of the Musketeers	Rochefort
159	1990	The Rainbow Thief	Uncle Rudolf
160	1990	L’avaro	Cardinale Spinosi
161	1990	Honeymoon Academy	Lazos
162	1990	Panga	–
163	1990	Gremlins 2: The New Batch	Doctor Catheter
164	1991	Curse III: Blood Sacrifice	Doctor Pearson
165	1992	Jackpot	Cedric
166	1992	Kabuto	King Philip
167	1994	Police Academy: Mission to Moscow	Cmndt. Alexandrei Nikolaivich Rakov
168	1994	Funny Man	Callum Chance
169	1994	Flesh and Blood	Narrator/Self	Last collaboration with Peter Cushing
170	1995	A Feast at Midnight	V. E. Longfellow, a.k.a. Raptor
171	1996	Welcome to the Discworld	Death
172	1996	The Stupids	Evil Sender
173	1998	Tale of the Mummy	Sir Richard Turkel
174	1998	Jinnah	Mohammed Ali Jinnah	Lee considers this to be his favourite role/most significant^[2]
175	1999	Sleepy Hollow	Burgomaster
176	2001	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Saruman
177	2002	Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones	Count Dooku / Darth Tyranus
178	2002	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Saruman
179	2003	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Saruman	Extended Edition only
180	2004	Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse	Heinrich von Garten
181	2005	The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby	The Lord Provost
182	2005	Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith	Count Dooku / Darth Tyranus
183	2005	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	Dr. Wilbur Wonka
184	2005	Corpse Bride	Pastor Galswells	Voice
185	2007	The Golden Compass	First High Councillor
186	2008	Star Wars: The Clone Wars	Count Dooku / Darth Tyranus	Voice
187	2009	Boogie Woogie	Alfred Rhinegold
188	2009	Triage	Joaquín Morales
189	2009	Glorious 39	Walter
190	2010	Alice in Wonderland	Jabberwocky	Voice
191	2010	Burke & Hare	Joseph
192	2010	The Heavy	Mr. Mason
193	2011	Season of the Witch	Cardinal D’Ambroise
194	2011	The Resident	August
195	2011	The Wicker Tree	Old Gentleman
196	2011	Grave Tales	Himself	Original version only
197	2011	Hugo	Monsieur Labisse
198	2012	The Hunting of the Snark	Narrator	Voice
199	2012	Dark Shadows	Silas Clarney
200	2012	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey	Saruman
201	2013	Night Train to Lisbon	Father Bartolomeu
202	2013	Necessary Evil	Narrator	Voice
203	2013	The Girl from Nagasaki	Old Officer Pinkerton
204	2014	The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies	Saruman
205	2014	Extraordinary Tales		Voice
206	2015	Angels in Notting Hill	The Boss, Mr. President

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#LiamDay	NOT AVAILABLE	#MakeAMovieLessRomantic
2	#QueSeriaMiVidaSin	NOT AVAILABLE	#LiamDay
3	Marge y Homero	NOT AVAILABLE	Christopher Lee
4	Christopher Lee	NOT AVAILABLE	Ornette Coleman
5	#ConfiesoQue	NOT AVAILABLE	#SAScon
6	Perrie Malik	NOT AVAILABLE	#MyDadWouldAlwaysSay
7	#WorstChildhoodRumors	NOT AVAILABLE	#TimeToDeactivate
8	#RetoTelehit	NOT AVAILABLE	#distractinglysexy
9	Dusty Rhodes	NOT AVAILABLE	#VFintelligence
10	#BuenJueves	NOT AVAILABLE	#ROWYSOLiverpool

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Military intervention against ISIL
- A US citizen fighting alongside Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) against ISIL is killed in action near Kobani. (Today’s Zaman via AP)
Syrian Civil War
- Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, the Al-Nusra Front, shoots dead at least 20 Druze villagers in Idlib in what is being described as a “massacre”.(The Telegraph)
Boko Haram
- Residents of northeast Nigeria claim that Boko Haram has killed at least 43 people and burnt down three villages in recent attacks. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel
- A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip towards the Ashkelon region fell short and did not land in Israel with Palestinian sources indicating it may have hit a house. There were no immediate reports of injuries, or claims of responsibility. (Times of Israel)

Arts and culture

Spain gives the late writer Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, a formal burial at a Madrid convent nearly 400 years after his death in 1616. (AP)

Business and economics

After a poor 1st quarter earnings report, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo steps down with co-founder Jack Dorsey taking over as interim CEO effective July 1. (USA Today)
Rupert Murdoch will step aside as CEO of 21st Century Fox to be replaced by his son James Murdoch. (AFP via ABC Online)

Disasters and accidents

At least 41 people have been killed, 8 injured, and scores are missing in landslides in Nepal‘s Taplejung District caused by heavy rain. (The Hindu)

Health

Health officials in the United States are advising doctors to be on the lookout for MERS following an outbreak in South Korea. (AP via Washington Post)

International relations

NGO Save the Children
- Federal Interior Ministry of Pakistan has sealed the offices of the NGO Save the Children in Pakistan and issued order for its foreign staff to leave the country within 15 days on account of the NGO’s anti-Pakistan activities. (Express Tribune).
Nuclear program of Iran:
- A new version of the Israeli-linked malware Duqu is found at hotels hosting Iran nuclear talks by Kaspersky; Israel denies involvement. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

China‘s former security chief Zhou Yongkang is given a life sentence for bribery, leaking state secrets and abuse of power. (ABC News Australia)
Shooting of Tamir Rice
- A court in the American city of Cleveland, Ohio, finds probable cause that Cleveland Police Department officer Timothy Loehmann should face murder charges in relation to the shooting of Tamar Rice. (Cleveland.com)
King Felipe VI of Spain strips his sister Cristina of her titles after she is charged with tax evasion. (AFP via Yahoo!)
Authorities from the Marshal’s Service, the FBI, Customs, state and local police, and the Forest Police searching for 6 days in northeastern New York (about 25 miles south of the Canadian border, near Lake Champlain and Vermont, in the Adirondack Forest area, in Dannemora, New Yorkand Plattsburgh, New York) for two high-risk murderers who staged an elaborate escape from the high-security Clinton Correctional Facility– the first there- the night of Friday, June 5, 2015 (it was discovered the next morning), using bloodhounds, find a scent and leftover evidence that could be from the two, Richard Matt and David Sweat. (CNN)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

June 13, 2015

Top News Stories –

Sweden royal wedding: Prince Carl Philip marries ex-reality star –
Sweden’s Prince Carl Philip has married a former reality-TV star and glamour model in a lavish ceremony in the chapel at Stockholm’s Royal Palace.
Sofia Hellqvist, 30, also worked as a topless model and a yoga instructor before helping to set up a charity. Her new husband, 36-year-old Carl Philip, is third in line to the throne. Thousands of well-wishers lined the streets for the event, despite polls suggesting the Swedish royal family’s popularity is waning. They cheered as Miss Hellqvist, a 30-year-old commoner, became a princess. [BBC]
Sofia Hellqvist

Gunman killed by police snipers after attack on Dallas police headquarters –
A police sniper has shot and killed an armed suspect in Texas hours after the gunman opened fire on Dallas police headquarters before fleeing in an armoured van. The getaway vehicle was pursued by police to a fast food restaurant parking lot in the nearby city of Hutchin, where officers disabled the vehicle, in the incident early on Saturday morning. Some hours later, police said the suspect was killed. Two explosive devices, including one described as a pipe bomb, were found earlier on outside the Dallas police building. They have both been cleared. One detonated when a bomb disposal robot attempted to move it, but nobody was injured. [Daily Telegraph]

Queen’s birthday honours list: knights outnumber dames five to one –
Men outnumber women by almost five to one in the highest honours announced for the Queen’s birthday, which sees knighthoods for comedian Lenny Henry, trade unionist Paul Kenny and singer-songwriter Van “the Man” Morrison. For only the second time in honours history, more women received awards – 51% of all recipients – but just seven are made dames, compared with 33 knighthoods for men, reflecting a gender imbalance at the highest levels of industry, business, politics and academia. [Guardian] See List of the Day

Video of the Day –

BEAT DOWN from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

The Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2015 – [For full list click here from the Metro]

KNIGHTS BACHELOR

Henry Angest. National Treasurer Conservative Party. For political service. (London)

Professor Harshad Kumar Dharamshi Bhadeshia F. R.S., Tata Steel Professor of Metallurgy, University of Cambridge. For services to Science and Technology. (Cambridgeshire)

The Rt Hon Simon Hugh McGuigan Burns. Member of Parliament for Chelmsford. For parliamentary and political service. (Essex)

Dr Philip Henry Montgomery Campbell. Editor in chief Nature. For services to Science. (London)

Dr Kevan Arthur Collins. Chief executive Education Endowment Foundation. For services to Education. (London)

Naim Eliahou Dangoor, CBE. Philanthropist. For charitable services. (London)

Michael Lawrence Davis. Chair Prime Minister’s Holocaust Commission. For services to Holocaust Commemoration and Education.

Ciaran Gearoid Devane. Chief executive Macmillan Cancer Support. For services to Cancer Patients. (London)

Professor Charles Peter Downes, OBE, FRSE. Principal and vice-Chancellor, University of Dundee. For services to Higher Education and Life Sciences. (Newport-on-Tay, Fife)

Gareth Owen Edwards, CBE. For services to Sport and for charitable services. (Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan)

Bernard Peter Gray. Chief of Defence Materiel Ministry of Defence. For public service, particularly to Defence. (Oxfordshire)

Patrick Head. Director Williams Hybrid Power Ltd. For services to Motorsport. (London)

Lenworth George Henry, CBE. Actor and Comedian. For services to Drama and Charity. (London)

The Rt Hon Simon Henry Ward Hughes. Member of Parliament for Bermondsey and Old Southwark. For public and political service. (London)

Thomas Baird Jeffery, CB. Director general, Department for Education, Children’s Services and Departmental Strategy Directorate. For services to the Department for Education. (Lewes, East Sussex)

Dr Karl William Pamp Jenkins, CBE. Composer. For services to Composing and Crossing Musical Genres. (London)

Paul Stephen Kenny. General secretary GMB Union. For services to Trade Unions. (London)

Dr James Loy Macmillan, CBE. Composer and conductor. For services to Music. (Glasgow)

Francis McLoughlin, CBE. Principal, City and Islington College and Chair, Commission on Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning. For services to Further Education. (London)

Iain Macleod McMillan, CBE. For services to the Scottish Economy. (Falkirk, Stirling and Falkirk)

George Ivan Morrison, OBE. For services to the Music Industry and to Tourism in Northern Ireland. (Down)

Professor Stephen John Nickell, CBE, FBA. Economist. For services to Economics. (Banbury, Oxfordshire)

Dr Nicholas Beaver Penny, FBA. Director general, National Gallery. For services to the Arts. (London)

Professor Hussein Munir Pirmohamed. David Weatherall Chair of Medicine University of Liverpool. For services to Medicine. (West Kirby, Merseyside)

Andreas Whittam Smith, CBE. For public service particularly to the Church of England. (London)

Gary Keith Verity. Chief executive Welcome to Yorkshire. For services to Tourism and the Tour De France Grand Depart 2014. (North Yorkshire)

Professor Ian Vincent Derrick Weller. Emeritus Professor of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Department of Infection and Population Health, University College, London.

For services to HIV Research. (Grantham, Lincolnshire)

Nicholas John Weller. Executive Principal Dixons Academies, Bradford. For services to Education. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)

Adrian Edwin White, CBE, DL. For services to International Trade and Investment. (Dorking, Surrey)

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#AskRachel	#DallasPDShooting	#BirthdayHonours
2	#ComoOdioAEsosQue	John Stamos	#NRocks
3	Dave Grohl	#FoodAnEightiesSong	#WorldGinDay
4	Jurassic World	#BecauseOfAriana	Dave Grohl
5	#AssistamTeuOlharFLY	Uncle Jesse	#SkypeREECEandCHARLIE
6	#ARGENTINARMY	#GETWELLSOONMICHAEL	Van Morrison
7	Bolivia	#NoControlMusicVideo	#TroopingTheColour
8	#USAvSWE	#Hillary2016	#IREvSCO
9	Barbie Velez	#UFC188	Wales
10	Fede Bal	#WhenIDiePeopleWillBeShock…	#QueensBirthdayHonours

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

The Taliban kill 20 police officers in attack in Helmand, Afghanistan. (WTVM)
Syrian Civil War
- Some 13,000 refugees have crossed into Turkey as Syrian Kurd People’s Protection Units encircle the ISIL-held town of Suluk. (AP via Yahoo!)

Arts and culture

The trooping the colour ceremony is held in London to celebrate the Queen’s Official Birthday while singer Van Morrison and American actorKevin Spacey are given knighthoods at the Birthday Honours. (CNN), (BBC)
The wedding of Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland, and Sofia Hellqvist takes place in Stockholm. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

At least 22 Hindu pilgrims are killed after a van they are travelling in falls into a reservoir in the southern Indian town of Dhavaleswaram in Andhra Pradesh. (AAP via News Limited)

International relations

Immigration to Europe
- Austria stops processing asylum requests in an effort to pressure other European Union member states to do more to help absorb waves of refugees pouring into the continent. (Irish Times), (Telegraph)
Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Scheduled talks of 14th June, 2015 between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and the exiled government which are brokered by the UN have been postponed with a new schedule set for Monday 15 June, 2015 (The Daily Star (Lebanon) via Reuters
P5+1
- Iran asks Austria to secure the talks over its nuclear program following reports of cybersecurity breaches. (AFP via Daily Star)
Egypt opens its border with the Gaza Strip temporarily for the first time in months. Egypt blames Hamas for the Sinai insurgency. (AP via Daily Star)
Dozens of migrants who refused entry to France go on hunger strike at the border crossing in the Italian town of Ventimiglia. (AFP via Daily Star)

Law and crime

A man opens fire at policemen outside the police headquarters in the Texan city of Dallas, while a bag containing a pipe bomb is also found. He was later shot dead by police snipers following a car chase and standoff. (AP), (CNN)

Politics and elections

Thousands of people protest in Skopje demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister of Macedonia Nikola Gruevski. (AFP via Yahoo! News)

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

June 16, 2015

Top News Stories –

Chris Evans to be new Top Gear presenter –
TV and radio personality Chris Evans will replace Jeremy Clarkson as the lead presenter of an all-new Top Gear line-up, the BBC has announced. Evans said he was “thrilled” to get the job, describing the motoring show as his “favourite programme of all time”. “I promise I will do everything I possibly can to respect what has gone on before and take the show forward,” he added. Clarkson was dropped in March after punching a producer while on location.
Chris Evans (L) with Joss Stone

Foo Fighters cancel Glastonbury gig –
Rock group Foo Fighters have cancelled their headline slot at this year’s Glastonbury Festival. The announcement comes four days after frontman Dave Grohl fell off stage at a concert in Sweden, fracturing his leg. June dates in Belgium, and at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium and London’s Wembley Stadium have also been cancelled. Grohl apologised to fans, saying it was “just not physically possible” for him to perform at the moment.

Video of the Day –

Chris Pratt Dinosaurs Prank

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	Bolivia	#ThreeWordsSheWantsToHear	Shenmue 3
2	#ARGENTINARMY	#MakeAMovieUnderwhelming	#ThreeWordsSheWantsToHear
3	#ComoOdioAEsosQue	#WeCantDateIf	#RoyalAscot
4	Dave Grohl	Donald Trump	#xfactor
5	Jurassic World	Tupac	Donald Trump
6	#GoodForYou	#MyCampaignIn3Words	Michelle Obama
7	Fede Bal	Cardinals	#MakeAMovieUnderwhelming
8	#AskRachel	Happy Birthday Tupac	#SonyE3
9	#TeQueresReMorirCuando	#HonestyHour	Falcao
10	Barbie Velez	#USAvNGA	#Bloomsday

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
- al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula announces that its leader Nasser al-Wuhayshi was killed in a US drone strike last Friday. (BBC)
Syrian Civil War
- Kurdish People’s Protection Units have captured the border town of Tell Abyad from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant forces. (Al-Jazeera)
Libyan Crisis (2011–present)
- Three of the ten Tunisian consular staff kidnapped last week have been released and negotiation is ongoing about the others. (Reuters via Trust)

Arts and culture

The British Broadcasting Corporation announces that Chris Evans will be the new presenter of the very popular Top Gear television series. (BBC)

Business and economy

Airbus announces plans to build 900 satellites on behalf of the OneWeb satellite constellation with the project starting in 2018. (The Guardian)
Rupert Murdoch confirms stepping down as the CEO of the 21st Century Fox to be succeeded by his son James on July 1, 2015. Rupert will continue as its executive chairman with his eldest son, Lachlan, as a future executive co-chairman. (USA Today)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Atlantic hurricane season
- Texas braces for the impact of Tropical Storm Bill bringing heavy rainfall and renewed flooding. (Accuweather)
A train crashes with a truck in central Tunisia killing at least 12 people and injuring 70. (Al-Jazeera)
Six people are killed and eight are injured, some with life-threatening injuries, after a balcony collapses in the San Francisco Bay Area city ofBerkeley, California, near the campus of the University of California, Berkeley; five of the casualties are Irish students. (NBC News), (AP)

Health

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), issues a mandate that all trans fatty acids (trans fats) must be eliminated, within three years (2018) from all foods grown, imported to, or sold within the United States. It is the strictest and most final type of ruling, even more so than a black-box warning or a warning to list ingredients, that can be given from the federal agency, which has ultimate jurisdiction over the safety of all food and drug products, public or private, in the United States. The substances occur in processed meats and other foods, and have been repeatedly implicated in atherosclerotic coronary heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. (MSN), (Washington Post),(CNN Money), (FDA’s statement)
2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in South Korea
- South Korea reports three more deaths from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome bringing the death toll to 19 with 154 people diagnosed with the disease. (Yonhap)

Law and crime

Bangladesh‘s Supreme Court upholds the death sentence against senior Islamist leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid in an appeal hearing.(AFP via France 24)
An Egyptian court commutes the death sentence given to former President Mohamed Morsi for conspiring with foreign groups but upholds a death sentence for a prison break. Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat el-Shater and two others are given death sentences. (al-Jazeera), (AP via Breaking News)

Politics and elections

United States presidential election, 2016
- Real estate mogul and reality television host Donald Trump announces that he will be a candidate for the Republican Party nomination.(Bloomberg)

Sport

2015 NBA Finals
- In basketball, the Golden State Warriors defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-97 in Game 6 to secure their first title since 1975. Andre Iguodalais named as series MVP. (Fox Sports), (AL.com)

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June 23, 2015

Top News Stories –

Tom Holland is announced as the new Marvel Spider-Man –
Tom Holland, who was in Wolf Hall and the stage musical Billy Elliot, has grabbed the lead in the franchise reboot. Marvel and Sony confirmed the news in a statement on their website. The 19-year-old takes over from Andrew Garfield for the new film which is due out July 2017. In a statement posted on their website, Marvel said: “Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are proud to announce that after a full worldwide casting search, Tom Holland will play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the next Spider-Man film.” The statement also said: “The studios and producers were impressed by Holland’s performances in The Impossible, Wolf Hall, and the upcoming In the Heart of the Sea, and by a series of complex screen tests.” [BBC Newsbeat] He celebrated with some acrobatic videos on his Instagram account
Tom Holland

Titanic composer James Horner dies in plane crash –
The composer James Horner, who won Oscars for the theme song and score for the film Titanic, has died in a plane crash in California. He was 61. His credits included numerous other high-profile films, among them Avatar, Braveheart and Aliens. He was alone in his two-seater plane when the accident happened. [BBC]

Formula 1: US-Qatari investors ‘to bid for sport’ –
The Miami Dolphins American football team owner Stephen Ross is reportedly working with investors from Qatar to buy a stake in Formula 1 racing. RSE Ventures and Qatar Sports Investments plan a bid for CVC Capital Partners’ 35.5% stake in the holding company that owns F1. The Financial Times and Reuters said the deal could be worth up to $8bn, and help build F1’s presence in the US. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

7 Days in Hell: Trailer (HBO)

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#EnLaPrimaria	George Karl	James Horner
2	James Horner	Undo Send	#NWED
3	#FelizMartes	#RejectedPrezCampaignSlogans	#skinnyjeans
4	#PudimosSerTodoPero	#filmprequels	#charitytuesday
5	#UnaTrompadaAEsosQue	#LameSuperGroups	Calais
6	Ylenia	James Horner	#filmprequels
7	#DecimeQueGanasCon	Spider-Man	Spider-Man
8	#LameSuperGroups	#Smallzys5SOSCakeBake	Auschwitz
9	#MiProblemaEs	#O2LFOREVER	#Lionesses
10	Diddy	Dick Van Patten	#Smallzys5SOSCakeBake

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL
- The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) capture the military base Brigade 93 and enter the town of Ayn Issa, the first defense line of ISILnorth of its de facto capital al-Raqqah.
- ISIL claims it has started the destruction of the ancient complex of Palmyra. (euronews)

Arts and culture

South Korean author Shin Kyung-sook admits to plagiarising a short story from Japanese author Yukio Mishima. (AP)
Australian author Sofie Laguna wins the Miles Franklin Award for her novel The Eye of the Sheep. (ABC News Australia)

Business and economy

The deputy speaker of the Greek parliament, Alexis Mitropoulos, warns that the body may reject concessions the government had made to the country’s creditors. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pakistani heat wave
- The death toll from the 2015 Pakistan heatwave rises to 450. (AFP via Yahoo News)

Health

South Sudan declares a cholera outbreak after 18 people die and 171 are infected. (Al-Jazeera), (REUTERS)

International relations

Hungary unilaterally suspends European Union asylum seeker rules that require it to take back people who first enter Hungary, then travel to other nations. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Charleston church shooting
- Amazon.com announces that it is removing Confederate Flag merchandise from sale following the shootings. (Time)

Sport

The suspension appeal hearings for Tom Brady‘s 4-game suspension over Deflategate begin today. (New York Times)

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June 25, 2015

Top News Stories –

Avengers star Patrick Macnee dies –
Actor Patrick Macnee, star of The Avengers TV series, has died in California at the age of 93. The Briton, best known for playing John Steed in the 1960s television spy series, died at home with his family at his bedside, his son Rupert said. Macnee also played roles in theatre, appearing on Broadway, and served in the Royal Navy during World War Two. A statement on the actor’s website read: “Wherever he went, he left behind a trove of memories.” He died peacefully at his home in California’s Rancho Mirage. [BBC] See List of the Day below
Patrick Macnee in Lobster man from Mars

Clint Dempsey gets two-year US cup ban for outburst –
Clint Dempsey has been banned from the US Open Cup for two years after ripping up a referee’s notebook during a game. The Seattle Sounders forward, 33, flicked the notebook out of Daniel Radford’s hand, picked it up off the pitch and then tore it into pieces after a team-mate had been sent off. The ex-Fulham and Spurs man was duly sent off, as Seattle ended with seven men in a 3-1 loss to Portland Timbers. The US captain is banned for six games or two years – whichever is longer. [BBC]
Clint Dempsey

France cracks down on Uber service after protests –
France’s interior minister has ordered a ban on the low-cost car-sharing service UberPOP after a day of nationwide protests by taxi drivers. Bernard Cazeneuve said the service was “illegal” and ordered police and prosecutors to enforce its closure. His announcement followed a day of sometimes violent protests by French taxi drivers, who say the US-based firm Uber is stealing their livelihoods. [BBC]

US spy chief James Clapper says China lead suspect in cyber hack –
China is the “leading suspect” in the massive hack of a US government agency holding the personnel records of millions of Americans, US intelligence chief James Clapper has said. He is the highest-ranking US official to publicly implicate Beijing since news of the data breach emerged. China always dismissed suggestions that it was behind the hacking. The statement comes after three days of high-level talks in which China and the US agreed to a “code of conduct”. “China remains the leading suspects,” said Mr Clapper at a conference in Washington DC, but “the US government continues to investigate” he added, according to his office.
James_R._Clapper, US intelligence Chief

Video of the Day –

Legacy from MURAT SAYGINER on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Patrick Macnee Filmography [from Wikipedia]

1948 : Hamlet (as Extra)
1949 : The Small Back Room (Extra, uncredited)
1950 : The Girl Is Mine
1950 : Dick Barton at Bay
1950 : The Elusive Pimpernel
1951 : Scrooge (A Christmas Carol in USA) (as young Jacob Marley)
1953 : Tales of Adventure (TV series)
1955 : Three Cases of Murder
1956 : The Battle of the River Plate
1957 : Les Girls
1959 : The Twilight Zone (TV series – Episode “Judgment Night“)
1959 : Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond (TV series)
1961−1969 : The Avengers (TV series)
1971 : Alias Smith and Jones (TV series)
1972 : Incense for the Damned
1975 : Columbo: Troubled Waters
1976 : Sherlock Holmes in New York (TV film)
1976−1977 : The New Avengers (TV series)
1977 : Dead of Night (TV film)
1977 : King Solomon’s Treasure
1978 : Evening in Byzantium (TV film)
1978 : Battlestar Galactica
1979 : The Billion Dollar Threat
1980 : The Littlest Hobo
1980 : The Sea Wolves
1981 : The Howling
1981 : The Hot Touch
1982 : Rehearsal for Murder (TV film)
1982 : Young Doctors in Love
1982 : Gavilan (TV series)

1983 : The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1983 : Sweet Sixteen
1983 : The Creature Wasn’t Nice
1983 : For the Term of His Natural Life
1984 : This Is Spinal Tap
1985 : A View to a Kill
1985 : Lime Street
1985 : Shadey
1988 : Waxwork
1988 : Transformations
1989 : Eye of the Widow
1989 : Lobster Man From Mars
1989 : Around the World in 80 Days (TV miniseries)
1989 : Masque of the Red Death
1989 : The Return of Sam McCloud
1991 : The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw
1991 : Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (TV film)
1992 : Incident at Victoria Falls (TV film)
1992 : Waxwork II: Lost in Time
1992 : Super Force (TV series)
1993 : The Hound of London
1993 : King B: A Life in the Movies
1994 : Thunder in Paradise (TV series)
1994 : Don’t Look Back In Anger (Music video)
1996 : Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Temporal Nexus
1997 : Night Man (TV series)
1998 : The Avengers
1999 : Nancherrow (TV film)
2000 : Ian Fleming: 007’s Creator (documentary)
2003 : The Low Budget Time Machine

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#6YearsWithoutMichaelJackson	#6YearsWithoutMichaelJackson	#6YearsWithoutMichaelJackson
2	#WeAreReadyForLarry	#AlcoholicMovies	#3WordFashionAdvice
3	#NeMutluTürküzDiyene	#ImNotReallyLazyBut	Cavani
4	AlwaysWithYouJustin	#3WordFashionAdvice	Helen
5	#TerroristTurkey	#HispanicGirlsUnited	Oxford English Dictionary
6	#LasMañanasSeHicieronPara	#SCOTUS	#ImNotLeavingTwitterUntil
7	TeröristPKK YPG	Draft Day	Network Rail
8	#taxis	#WeAreReadyForLarry	#WatchNewStitchesVideo
9	Jara	F-16	#WeAreReadyForLarry
10	Eloy	#NBADraft	#WWENXT

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant forces re-enter the Kurdish town of Kobanî after a successful large-scale counterattack against the Kurds.(BBC)

Business and economy

Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, opens a new terminal at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pakistani heat wave
- The death toll from the heat wave passes 1,000 in Sindh province alone. (CNN)
The wreckage of a small plane carrying eight passengers on a shore excursion from Holland America Line‘s MS Westerdam cruise ship near theAlaskan town of Ketchikan. All nine people on board including the pilot died. (AP via Seattle Times)

Health

2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in South Korea
- The number of MERS casualties in South Korea rises to 29 with the number of cases rising to 180. (Yonhap)

International relations

India offers Nepal an additional billion dollars to help it recover from the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. (Reuters via Daily Mail)
South Africa reviews its participation in the International Criminal Court following a failed attempt to arrest the President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, on South African soil. (BBC)
The Prime Minister of Haiti Evans Paul accuses the Dominican Republic of causing a humanitarian crisis by mass deportation of people mainly from Haiti. (AP via Star Tribune)

Law and crime

The Committee to Protect Journalists claims that the Government of Egypt has incarcerated 18 journalists, mostly from Al-Jazeera. (AP via The Guardian)
More than 400 Albanian police supported by Army helicopters surround the village of Lazarat in southern Albania known as the “cannabisKingdom” where an armed criminal gang has entrenched itself. (AFP via ABCNews Australia)
A journalist from CNN is shot and killed in the Philippines, the 27th journalist murdered during the administration of Benigno Aquino III. (Rappler)
King v. Burwell
- The Supreme Court of the United States upholds key elements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) including subsidies for healthcare policies and employer mandates, with a 6-3 vote. (CNBC)

Politics and elections

The United States House of Representatives votes to grant President Barack Obama fast track authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. (AP)

Sports

In basketball, the 2015 NBA draft is held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, with the Minnesota Timberwolves selecting Karl-Anthony Towns as the first pick. (Los Angeles Times)

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July 3, 2015

Top News Stories –

Solar Impulse completes epic flight to Hawaii –
Solar Impulse, the aeroplane that is powered only by the sun, has landed in Hawaii after making a historic 7,200km flight across the Pacific from Japan. Pilot Andre Borschberg brought the vehicle gently down on to the runway of Kalaeloa Airport at 05:55 local time (15:55 GMT; 16:55 BST). The distance covered and the time spent in the air – 118 hours – are records for manned, solar-powered flight. The duration is also an absolute record for a solo, un-refuelled journey. Mr Borschberg’s time betters that of the American adventurer Steve Fossett who spent 76 hours aloft in a single-seater jet in 2006. [BBC] See Video of the Day
Solar Impulse

Music streaming reaches a record high in 2015 –
Music streaming has reached a record high in the UK, with the number of songs played rising by 80% compared to this time last year. New figures from the British Phonographic Industry show there have been 11.5 billion streams in the first six months of 2015. That’s compared to 14.8 billion for the whole of 2014. Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk is the most streamed track of the year, with 45 million plays. [BBC Newsbeat]
Mark Ronson

BP reaches £12bn record settlement over Gulf oil spill –
British Petroleum has agreed to pay the largest settlement by a single company in US history over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. deal, which is still awaiting approval, will be worth $18.7bn (£12bn). Over 125 million gallons of oil were spilt into the Gulf after an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in 2010. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Solar Impulse Airplane: Landing in Hawaii

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	サマーウォーズ	#SingleBecause	#100DaysSinceZaynLeft
2	#SingleBecause	#NothingMoreAmericanThan	#SingleBecause
3	#LoUnicoQuePidoEs	#ThingsIRevoltAgainst	#fridayfeeling
4	#100DaysSinceZaynLeft	#ToughenUpACartoon	#ThingsIGetAlot
5	#استشهاد_رجل_ا�…	Humana	#NothingMoreAmericanThan
6	#JustinBiberSatanista	#1Droasts	Falcao
7	#BuenViernes	#4thofJulyweekend	Kids Company
8	Hayırlı Cumalar	Serena	#bbcqt
9	BuyCoolForTheSummerOniTunes	#USMNT	Kyrgios
10	#NaMinhaInfanciaEu	Happy 4th of July	#celebritymasterchef

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Turkey deploys additional troops along its border with Syria as fighting intensifies. (france24 with Reuters)
Boko Haram insurgency
- Toll of Boko Haram massacre in northeastern Nigeria rises to nearly 170.(News 24)(Naij)

2015 Sousse attacks
- The United Kingdom holds a minute of silence at midday to commemorate the 38 people – including 30 Britons – killed in Tunisia a week ago.(BBC)
Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
- A United States drone strike kills at least four militants in Yemen. (AFP via Frnce24)

Arts and culture

The XV International Tchaikovsky Competition concludes with a ceremony awarding top prizes to Dmitry Masleev in piano, Yu-Chien Tseng in violin, Andrei Ionuț Ioniță in cello, as well as Yulia Matochkina and Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar in voice. (medici.tv) (Reuters)

Business and economy

American health insurer Aetna agrees to buy competitor Humana in a $37 billion deal. (AP)
A UBS whistle blower is assisting the government of Brazil in its investigation of currency manipulation by global banks, according to a Brazilian paper. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

Six people are dead following an explosion at a chemical plant in Ulsan in South Korea. (Yonhap), (AP via ABC News America)
2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Typhoon Chan-hom strengthens as it heads towards the Pacific island of Guam. (Accuweather)
At least four people are dead and 48 injured following a 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Pishan County in China‘s Xinjiang region. (BBC)
Sinking of the Kim Nirvana
- The death toll from yesterday’s capsizing of the M/B Nivana off the coast of the Philippines rises to 56 as murder charges are filed against the owner and crew. (AP via USA Today), (AFP via Straits Times)

Health and medicine

Research shows that during the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa, the ReEBOV Antigen Rapid Test, developed by Corgenix, showed promise as a bedside rapid Ebola test, successfully detecting Ebolavirus. (Harvard), (Corgenix), (The Lancet)
At least 29 people have died in a cholera outbreak in South Sudan. (AFP via Daily Star)

Law and crime

Phil Walsh, the coach of the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League, is stabbed to death in his home with his son charged with murder. (ABC News Australia)
Dutch police detain 200 young people in The Hague for not following curfew as violence continues in the Schilderswijk district for a fourth night.(AFP via Daily Star)
Jeffrey Webb, a former Vice President of FIFA and President of CONCACAF, is reportedly charged with healthcare fraud in his native Cayman Islands. (Eurosport via Yahoo!)

Politics and elections

Danish general election, 2015
- Pia Kjærsgaard becomes the first woman to be elected speaker of the Danish parliament, the Folketing. (Politiko.dk/Berlingske)

Science and technology

The U.S. Air Force‘s outgoing chief scientist, Mica Endsley, announces plans for an unmanned hypersonic flying weapon by 2023, which could travel at least up to Mach 5. (CNN)
Solar Impulse project
- The solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse 2 landed in Hawaii from Japan, completing the longest leg of its circumnavigation trip starting in Abu Dhabi. (BBC)

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July 5, 2015

Top News Stories –

Greece votes ‘No’ and gambles its future –
Greek voters have delivered a defiant response to Europe. Political leaders and heads of government had lined up to warn the Greeks that a “No” vote would be a vote to leave the euro. It did not deter them. Indeed many voters seemed to revel in their resistance. The European Project is now facing its gravest crisis. [BBC]

USA beat Japan 5-2 in Women’s FIFA World Cup Final –
Carli Lloyd scored an incredible 13-minute hat-trick as the United States thrashed Japan to win their third Women’s World Cup title. In a repeat of the 2011 final, which Japan won on penalties, the Nadeshiko could not live with their stronger and quicker opponents, who went 4-0 up when Lloyd scored an astonishing third from the halfway line. The pulsating finale to an entertaining tournament was the highest-scoring final in the tournament’s history, and matched the highest scoring men’s final, when Brazil defeated Sweden by the same scoreline in 1958. [BBC] See Video of the Day
Carli Lloyd

Video of the Day –

List of the Day –

FIFA Women’s World Cup results [from Wikipedia]

Year	Host	Champions	Score	Runners-up	Third Place	Score	Fourth Place	Teams
1991	China	United States	2–1	Norway	Sweden	4–0	Germany	12
1995	Sweden	Norway	2–0	Germany	United States	2–0	China PR	12
1999	United States	United States	0–0 a.e.t. (5–4 pen)	China PR	Brazil	0–0 ^[A] (5–4 pen)	Norway	16
2003	United States	Germany	2–1 asdet	Sweden	United States	3–1	Canada	16
2007	China	Germany	2–0	Brazil	United States	4–1	Norway	16
2011	Germany	Japan	2–2 a.e.t. (3–1 pen)	United States	Sweden	2–1	France	16
2015	Canada	United States	5–2	Japan	England	1–0 a.e.t.	Germany	24

Top Twitter Trends –

	Worldwide	USA	UK
1	#ToNoTwitterPq	Happy 5th of July	#greekreferendum
2	#QueLindoEstariaQue	#USAvJPN	Chile
3	デスノート	#dontjudgechallange	Messi
4	#Grefenderum	#ImThatGirlfriend	#UKBuyWorthIt
5	AGUANTE MESSI CARETAS	#YouMightBeARacist	#PutWalesinaFilm
6	Dragon Ball Super	#WeLoveYouHalsey	Argentina
7	#كم_رصيد_حسابك	#BadCharitiesToDonateTo	#YouMightBeARacist
8	#شي_مانستغني_عنه	#MakeAMovieMoreAmerican	Sanchez
9	Messi	Best 4th of July	#BritishGP
10	Vidal	Take Jackson Off the $20 Bill	#marr

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts

American-led intervention in Syria
- A United States bombing campaign against ISIL has killed at least 30 people in the Syrian city of Al-Raqqah. (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Iraq War (2014–present)
- Iraqi government air strikes kill at least 73 people in the ISIL held cities of Ramadi and Fallujah. (Al-Jazeera)
War in North-West Pakistan
- A roadside bomb in North Waziristan kills at least three Pakistan Army soldiers and injures six others. (AFP via Daily Star)
Boko Haram
- A suicide bomber attacks a church in the Potiskum area of Nigeria‘s Yobe State, killing five and raising the toll of Boko Haram attacks for the past week to 200. (BBC) (DailyStar via AP)

Arts and culture

UNESCO adds more sites to the World Heritage List including the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park in the US city of San Antonio, Texasand Scotland‘s Forth Bridge. (My San Antonio), (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2015 Pacific typhoon season
- Over 1000 people in the Philippines are stranded temporarily by Severe Tropical Storm Linfa (Egay) as landslides occur in Palawan province.(GMA Network)
Canadian wildfires
- More than 60 wildfires start in the Canadian province of British Columbia over the weekend leading to several communities declaring a state of emergency. (CBC)
- Nearly 1,000 military personnel are sent to fight wildfires in Saskatchewan, (CTV)

Politics and elections

Greek bailout referendum, 2015
- Greek voters solidly rejected (61.3 percent) the latest austerity proposal of the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and theEuropean Central Bank. (Sky News), (The Guardian) (Reuters)
- The Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and the President of France Francois Hollande call for an international summit of Eurozone leaders to discuss the next moves. (Bloomberg)
- The Greek opposition leader Antonis Samaras resigns as leader of his party, New Democracy; the new temporary leader is Evangelos Meimarakis. (To Vima)

Science and technology

A Russian space capsule reaches the International Space Station allowing resupply of provisions after the crash of the SpaceX space capsule last week. (CNN)

Sports

2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup
- The United States defeats defending champion Japan, 5-2, to win the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Vancouver, British Columbia,Canada. (BBC) (AP via Washington Post)
2015 British Grand Prix
- In motorsport, Lewis Hamilton wins the race for the second consecutive year with team mate Nico Rosberg finishing second. (News24)

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Tag Archives: USA

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April 19, 2015

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