Author: News Desk

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said President Donald Trump is a “clown” who only pretends to support the Iranian people, referring to the US President’s comical twitter messages in Farsi, and will “push a poisonous dagger” into their backs, in his Friday sermon. https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1216503368715309057 In his first sermon in eight years the Supreme leader responded to the recent missile attack on U.S. troops in Iraq led to “American humiliation,” and said “They stealthily and cowardly assassinated General Soleimani in a terrorist fashion. This resulted in a disgrace for America.” The Ayatollah was addressing huge crowds that had gathered in…

Wolf Cukier, 17, made quite the impression during the third day of his NASA internship.  The teen was helping out at the space agency in the United States and was checking images from its super-strength satellite when he noticed something strange.  It was a new planet, 1,300 light-years away from Earth, NASA has confirmed. Wolf is now back at high school in New York but took some time to chat to Radio 1 about his discovery.  The teen explained he got the two-month placement with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre last summer. He was given the job of examining…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, The headlines are: The Australian Tourism board has called on the government to lure visitors back after bushfires cost tourism A$1 billion.  In the US, despite repeatedly saying no there was no US causalities during last week’s attack on an Iraq base housing US troops – the US now says 11 troops were hurt.  ‘No Arabs Please’ said a job rejection email at a prestigious architect firm in Germany. A screenshot of the email has gone viral and ignited outrage online.  Christopher Tolkien, the son of “Lord of the Rings “…

With the Super Bowl just around the corner, Netflix has released a three-part docuseries telling the shocking story of a much-loved NFL player convicted of first-degree murder. The modern-world loves a fall from grace but the trajectory of Aaron’s was particularly steep and strangely compelling – a senseless, horrific collapse unfolding in the social media age.  Netflix’s new series – Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, examines the facts of the case. In the summer of 2013, Hernandez was arrested for the murder of Odin Lloyd at his mansion in Massachusetts, it all seemed unreal.  The facts of the…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, The headlines are: TV cameras will soon be allowed into Crown Court for serious high-profile criminal cases. But only the Judges comments during sentencing will be filmed, not the trial itself. Popular site Reddit went down in parts of the United States and Europe, many users took to Twitter to vent their frustrations. Thousands of problems were registered within just a couple of hours. In France, a former Catholic priest who is on trial for sexually abusing children has blamed the Church for failing to help him. The former priest said…

Extreme weather has claimed the lives of more than 70 people in Pakistan-administred Kashmir and neighbouring Afghanistan, as heavy snowfall triggers avalanches.  55 people in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and 15 people in Afghanistan have died, officials said on Tuesday.  The latest deaths raise the two countries’ overall death toll from the severe weather to 126 since Sunday. From the snowy Alps, this may not seem very extreme. However, both Pakistan and Afghanistan are not prepared for such cold or extreme weather, so the slightest increase in extremity severely affects the region.  https://twitter.com/PakistanVisit1/status/1217108523970187265 The Himalayan region of Kashmir was the worst-affected area,…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, The headlines are: Israeli jets strike Syria – Syrian military has said Israeli jets have struck airbases in Homs. They say their air defence intercepted several missiles.  A ‘staggering number’ of human rights activists were killed last year in Colombia according to the UN.  In the UK, the government has struck a deal to save regional airline Flybe. The Democrats have released new documents on the eve of President Trump’s impeachment trial. In Pakistan, extreme weather has claimed the lives of at least 73 people – ten people are still missing. …

Oscars nominations overwhelmingly white and male – AGAIN This year’s Oscar nominations have been announced, and its a familiar sight. Once again leading the pack is white men.  Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix, is up for 11 awards. The controversial film is followed by The Irishman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and 1917 which all have 10 nods each.  However, the prestigious Academy Awards are facing criticism once again for the lack of diversity. Only one black person made it into the acting category and one non-white director was chosen for the director’s category. Once again, no women were nominated…

BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING In today’s briefing update, the Canadian prime minister has said further talks over Harry and Meghan’s move to Canada are needed. He said the shape and cost of the move have yet to be discussed.  A third day of protesting in Iran after public anger boils over downed Ukrainian passenger plane.  An 11-year-old in Mexico shot and killed his teacher and injured 6 others. The boy has also been confirmed dead. Authorities say they believe the school shooting was influenced by a video game.  The US has warned the potential rollout of Huawei 5G in…

A volcano in the Philippines has started spewing red-hot lava, and authorities have warned of “an imminent hazardous eruption.” Multiple sources have predicted the volcano will erupt within a matter of hours.  The Taal Volcano in Batangas province, South of the capital Manila, began to erupt in the early hours of Monday after blasting steam and rock up to 15,000 metres into the air on Sunday.  Clouds of ash travelled more than 62 miles north to Manila and forced a partial shutdown of the country’s main airport. The ash clouds have led to more than 240 international and domestic flights…