Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 28th June 2009. I’m Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week’s news…
The world of football had one of its biggest ever shocks this week when underdogs, USA, beat tournament favourites, Spain, in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup in South Africa. Spain had a world record of 15 consecutive wins and had been unbeaten in 35 matches. The USA had been comprehensively beaten by Italy and Brazil earlier in the tournament. Goalkeeper Tim Howard kept them in the game. Goals came from Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey. The winning scoreline was 2-0. Their win makes it the first time that they will appear in the final of a major international tournament. The USA face Brazil in the final who promise that their own weak semifinal performance against South Africa will be bettered.
Nine people were killed and about 70 injured in a subway train crash in Washington DC. Carriages of one of the trains came to rest on top of the other after a moving train hit a stationary vehicle above ground near a station. The crash which was the worst in the 33 years of the Metro system, happened above ground between Fort Totten and Takoma at 1700 local time on Monday. Two men and seven women died, including Jeanice McMillan, 42, who was the driver of the moving train. The train that crashed was part of a fleet of older carriages and the ongoing investigation into the crash is gathering details from the black box recorders to try to find out what caused it.
Australian wallabies are eating opium poppies and creating crop circles as they hop around "as high as a kite". The kangaroo-like marsupials have been getting into poppy fields grown for medicine in Tasmania. Australia supplies about 50% of the world's legally-grown opium used to make morphine and other painkillers. Apparently the effect of stoned animals grazing on opium and then walking around in circles till they fall over in a heap was first noticed in sheep. The circle hopping wallabies are the latest revelation in the global crop circle mystery which often blames aliens for the strange designs in fields. The evidence on the phenomenon was presented to the Australian government as part of a report on the security for poppy crops.
The row over MPs expenses has spilled over to other areas of the public sector. The BBC’s director general Mark Thompson has said £350,000 in expenses claims paid out to the corporation's top executives was "reasonable and justified". He defended his decision to publish the salaries of executives but not of BBC talent. Claims included luxury hotels, vintage champagne, parties and a private aeroplane. There was public demand to discover what amounts were being paid to the BBC’s so-called ‘stars’ but Thompson said that in such a competitive industry as that of entertainment, where there was no history of such disclosure, in publishing salary information the BBC could potentially face a talent drain.
A bomb killed at least 72 people on Wednesday at a busy market in eastern Baghdad's Sadr City slum. About 127 people were wounded by the blast in the poor, mostly Shi'ite Muslim area. A witness said the explosion tore through a part of the Mraidi Market where birds are sold, setting stalls ablaze. Bloodshed has dropped sharply across Iraq in the past year, but militants including Sunni Islamist al Qaeda continue to launch car and suicide bombings aimed at undermining the government and reigniting sectarian conflict. Wednesday's market bombing came four days after the U.S. military formally handed control to local forces in Sadr City, where U.S. and Iraqi forces fought fierce battles against Shi'ite militiamen in the spring of 2008.
The Swine Flu endemic continues to engulf the globe. Statistics show that there are now more than 1 million cases in the US. In Britain. There are 3600 confirmed cases with only one death so far. The worst hit areas in the UK are the West Midlands, London and Glasgow. The West Midlands has about twice as many cases (more than a thousand) than each of the other two areas. Two university students and a ten year old have showed signs of the disease at the Glastonbury music festival. Due to the rapid spread of the disease, UK officials have dismissed the possibility of containment exercises by closing schools . 29 schools where cases of the disease have been found are indeed staying open. Officials have remarked how surprised they are at the unexpected low death levels that the pandemic has induced so far across the world.
Popular BBC television series Top Gear has pulled a remarkable publicity coup. The hit series for car lovers, presented by Jeremy Clarkson, has a cult driver, The Stig, whose white suit and crash helmet keep his identity disguised as he performs driving feats. He has a massive following and to mark the start of a new series, presenter Clarkson promised a moment in television history to ‘rival the moon landings and JR’s shooting.’ The Stig was unveiled, to everyone’s surprise, as former German formula 1 world champion, Michael Schumacher. Doubters of the veracity of this mystery solution were immediate and the internet was full of conspiracy theories. At the end of the show doubt was cast on Michael Schumacher’s Stig as he made a terrible mess of a test drive. Publicity stunt or not, does the Stig’s identity remain a mystery? It is certainly no mystery that viewing figures rose substantially.
A gunman opened fire in a packed restaurant in West London on Friday night. A man and a fifteen year old boy are suffering from non life threatening bullet wounds. The incident occurred at Harry Morgan's restaurant in St John's Wood High Street, a relatively affluent area of the capital. Pop star Rachel Stevens was dining at the venue at the time. A spokeswoman for the former S Club 7 member said: "Rachel and her family were in a restaurant where there was gunfire. It was very frightening for everyone there but none of the diners were hurt." A man in a motorbike helmet brandishing two automatic pistols chased the two victims into the restaurant and opened fire, sending diners scurrying to the floor to hide beneath their tables. Harry Morgan's was established in 1948 by a London butcher and has been shortlisted in the Evening Standard Restaurant Awards. Fortunately none of the diners were hurt.
Britain has expelled two Iranian diplomats from the country in a clear sign of ever-worsening relations with the Middle Eastern country. The decision was made by the Prime Minister as a tit-for-tat response after two British diplomats were expelled from Tehran. As the post-election crisis continues further foreign influence carries on. President Obama said Mir Hossein Mousavi, the head of the opposition, had captured the imagination of groups in Iran that were interested in opening up to the world. Dr Arash Hejazi, who is studying at a university in the south of England, has spoken of the moments when he tended to the shot female protestor, Neda Agha-Soltan, who bled to death. President Ahmadinejad accuses foreign governments of stirring up the current troubles and his paranoia is not without reason as the history of Iran is full of foreign intelligence inspired coups, in particular coups provoked by the CIA and SIS or British MI6.
And this week’s top story…
‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson has died suddenly after suffering a cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home. After collapsing, his personal physician failed to revive him and ambulance crews rushed the singer to the UCLA medical centre where he was pronounced dead. The star was fifty years old and was in preparations for a heavily scheduled farewell world tour, commencing with a series of gigs at London’s O2 Arena. Fans immediately began congregating outside the hospital and rumours flew across the media. It was the biggest ever single news event on twitter and all major web services reported carrying capacity problems, including Google who thought that they were under attack by spammers. Michael Jackson was one of the most famous people on the planet and not since the death of Elvis Presley has such a death devastated the entertainment world. His album, Thriller is the biggest selling album of all time. Jackson’s life was surrounded by a media circus and his death appears no different. He is often mocked for his extensive plastic surgery and the controversial child abuse court case severely affected his reputation in recent years. However, I am sure that the annals of history will remember this star, who has died before his time, for his remarkable catalogue of hit pop music. Rest in Peace, Michael Jackson.
That’s all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.
Welcome to Newslip. Today is Sunday, 28th June 2009. I’m Wesley Gerrard and here are the stories making this week’s news…
The world of football had one of its biggest ever shocks this week when underdogs, USA, beat tournament favourites, Spain, in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup in South Africa. Spain had a world record of 15 consecutive wins and had been unbeaten in 35 matches. The USA had been comprehensively beaten by Italy and Brazil earlier in the tournament. Goalkeeper Tim Howard kept them in the game. Goals came from Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey. The winning scoreline was 2-0. Their win makes it the first time that they will appear in the final of a major international tournament. The USA face Brazil in the final who promise that their own weak semifinal performance against South Africa will be bettered.
Nine people were killed and about 70 injured in a subway train crash in Washington DC. Carriages of one of the trains came to rest on top of the other after a moving train hit a stationary vehicle above ground near a station. The crash which was the worst in the 33 years of the Metro system, happened above ground between Fort Totten and Takoma at 1700 local time on Monday. Two men and seven women died, including Jeanice McMillan, 42, who was the driver of the moving train. The train that crashed was part of a fleet of older carriages and the ongoing investigation into the crash is gathering details from the black box recorders to try to find out what caused it.
Australian wallabies are eating opium poppies and creating crop circles as they hop around "as high as a kite". The kangaroo-like marsupials have been getting into poppy fields grown for medicine in Tasmania. Australia supplies about 50% of the world's legally-grown opium used to make morphine and other painkillers. Apparently the effect of stoned animals grazing on opium and then walking around in circles till they fall over in a heap was first noticed in sheep. The circle hopping wallabies are the latest revelation in the global crop circle mystery which often blames aliens for the strange designs in fields. The evidence on the phenomenon was presented to the Australian government as part of a report on the security for poppy crops.
The row over MPs expenses has spilled over to other areas of the public sector. The BBC’s director general Mark Thompson has said £350,000 in expenses claims paid out to the corporation's top executives was "reasonable and justified". He defended his decision to publish the salaries of executives but not of BBC talent. Claims included luxury hotels, vintage champagne, parties and a private aeroplane. There was public demand to discover what amounts were being paid to the BBC’s so-called ‘stars’ but Thompson said that in such a competitive industry as that of entertainment, where there was no history of such disclosure, in publishing salary information the BBC could potentially face a talent drain.
A bomb killed at least 72 people on Wednesday at a busy market in eastern Baghdad's Sadr City slum. About 127 people were wounded by the blast in the poor, mostly Shi'ite Muslim area. A witness said the explosion tore through a part of the Mraidi Market where birds are sold, setting stalls ablaze. Bloodshed has dropped sharply across Iraq in the past year, but militants including Sunni Islamist al Qaeda continue to launch car and suicide bombings aimed at undermining the government and reigniting sectarian conflict. Wednesday's market bombing came four days after the U.S. military formally handed control to local forces in Sadr City, where U.S. and Iraqi forces fought fierce battles against Shi'ite militiamen in the spring of 2008.
The Swine Flu endemic continues to engulf the globe. Statistics show that there are now more than 1 million cases in the US. In Britain. There are 3600 confirmed cases with only one death so far. The worst hit areas in the UK are the West Midlands, London and Glasgow. The West Midlands has about twice as many cases (more than a thousand) than each of the other two areas. Two university students and a ten year old have showed signs of the disease at the Glastonbury music festival. Due to the rapid spread of the disease, UK officials have dismissed the possibility of containment exercises by closing schools . 29 schools where cases of the disease have been found are indeed staying open. Officials have remarked how surprised they are at the unexpected low death levels that the pandemic has induced so far across the world.
Popular BBC television series Top Gear has pulled a remarkable publicity coup. The hit series for car lovers, presented by Jeremy Clarkson, has a cult driver, The Stig, whose white suit and crash helmet keep his identity disguised as he performs driving feats. He has a massive following and to mark the start of a new series, presenter Clarkson promised a moment in television history to ‘rival the moon landings and JR’s shooting.’ The Stig was unveiled, to everyone’s surprise, as former German formula 1 world champion, Michael Schumacher. Doubters of the veracity of this mystery solution were immediate and the internet was full of conspiracy theories. At the end of the show doubt was cast on Michael Schumacher’s Stig as he made a terrible mess of a test drive. Publicity stunt or not, does the Stig’s identity remain a mystery? It is certainly no mystery that viewing figures rose substantially.
A gunman opened fire in a packed restaurant in West London on Friday night. A man and a fifteen year old boy are suffering from non life threatening bullet wounds. The incident occurred at Harry Morgan's restaurant in St John's Wood High Street, a relatively affluent area of the capital. Pop star Rachel Stevens was dining at the venue at the time. A spokeswoman for the former S Club 7 member said: "Rachel and her family were in a restaurant where there was gunfire. It was very frightening for everyone there but none of the diners were hurt." A man in a motorbike helmet brandishing two automatic pistols chased the two victims into the restaurant and opened fire, sending diners scurrying to the floor to hide beneath their tables. Harry Morgan's was established in 1948 by a London butcher and has been shortlisted in the Evening Standard Restaurant Awards. Fortunately none of the diners were hurt.
Britain has expelled two Iranian diplomats from the country in a clear sign of ever-worsening relations with the Middle Eastern country. The decision was made by the Prime Minister as a tit-for-tat response after two British diplomats were expelled from Tehran. As the post-election crisis continues further foreign influence carries on. President Obama said Mir Hossein Mousavi, the head of the opposition, had captured the imagination of groups in Iran that were interested in opening up to the world. Dr Arash Hejazi, who is studying at a university in the south of England, has spoken of the moments when he tended to the shot female protestor, Neda Agha-Soltan, who bled to death. President Ahmadinejad accuses foreign governments of stirring up the current troubles and his paranoia is not without reason as the history of Iran is full of foreign intelligence inspired coups, in particular coups provoked by the CIA and SIS or British MI6.
And this week’s top story…
‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson has died suddenly after suffering a cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home. After collapsing, his personal physician failed to revive him and ambulance crews rushed the singer to the UCLA medical centre where he was pronounced dead. The star was fifty years old and was in preparations for a heavily scheduled farewell world tour, commencing with a series of gigs at London’s O2 Arena. Fans immediately began congregating outside the hospital and rumours flew across the media. It was the biggest ever single news event on twitter and all major web services reported carrying capacity problems, including Google who thought that they were under attack by spammers. Michael Jackson was one of the most famous people on the planet and not since the death of Elvis Presley has such a death devastated the entertainment world. His album, Thriller is the biggest selling album of all time. Jackson’s life was surrounded by a media circus and his death appears no different. He is often mocked for his extensive plastic surgery and the controversial child abuse court case severely affected his reputation in recent years. However, I am sure that the annals of history will remember this star, who has died before his time, for his remarkable catalogue of hit pop music. Rest in Peace, Michael Jackson.
That’s all for Newslip. Thanks for tuning in. See you again soon. Goodbye.
No comments:
Post a Comment