News Brief for July 2017

July 2017 News

Into the second half of the year and nature took it's toll with earthquakes and flooding in various parts of the world. Corruption scandals hit Brazil and South Africa while the Trump Administration saw more controversies while the GOP controlled houses failed to repeal and replace Obama Care. Cyber currencies experienced wild swings and Brexit lumbered forward. In the world of sports we saw Wimbledon come to an end with Roger Federer claiming his 8th title and Garbine Muguruza beating Venus Williams. Comic Con brought incredible creations to life while a Bill Cosby retrial was set for November. On the technology front we saw more cyber crimes unfolding as the world becomes ever more connected.

What Happened at Rio Olympics 2016

August has come and gone along with the biggest event in sports, the Olympics. This years Rio Olympics were undoubtedly the most controversial from athletes not attending to concerns about Zika and crime to the political climate in Brazil. There's no doubt this years Olympics was going to be talked about.

Breaking Records

There were clear favourites with Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt living up to the hype and setting new records and growing their medal counts. Surprises came in the form of younger unknown swimmers and new world records on the race tracks.

Breaking Bones

As with any event when you push yourself there are bound to be injuries. There were some scary crashes and dislocated elbows, Gymnasts snapped bones in their legs and divers seriously bruised their egos.

Controversy

While certain aspects of Rio's instability did feature with muggings, shootings and green pools it was the Olympics itself which brought it's own controversy as the Russian's fought to have their athletes accepted and the Olympics torch itself came under threat. However, the Gold for most ludicrous controversy went to US swimmer Ryan Lochte.

The Big Stories of May 2016

May saw the refugee crisis continue as thousands fled war torn countries along with more natural disasters striking from landslides to wild fires and earthquakes.

Headlines

Natural disasters claimed hundreds of lives around the world with landslides in Sri Lanka and wild fires in Canada and a deadly earthquake in Ecuador. Elsewhere the refugee crisis made headlines with boats capsizing during the perilous trip to Europe. Another aviation disaster struck with a plane from Egypt to Paris disappearing and parts of it's wreckage and victims found in the Mediterranean Sea.

Business

The world of business was quiet with the Panama Papers and it's consequences to the world's wealthy slowly engulfing more victims. The build up to the G7 meeting revealed priorities with countries adding to the agenda.

Sports

The sports world prepared with anticipation for the Olympics taking concerns into account over fears of the Zika virus while Brazil itself struggled with corruption charges in government before the Olympics.

Entertainment

Celebrities were kept busy with the Cannes Film Festival as they made their way on the publicity tour selling their wares in France while on the other side of the world at the Billboard Music Awards artists paid their respects with tributes to fallen artist Prince.

Technology

On the technology front we saw Google announce it's latest offerings at the I/O 2016 event which saw them playing catch up with other tech companies. In the cyber world criminals made off with millions in a massive ATM attack while the hacker responsible for hacking celebrity accounts and distributing nude photos pleaded guilty in court.

Style

The style world enjoyed themselves at the annual Met Gala in New York where celebrities were dressed in the best designer offerings for the red carpet. Later the fashionable crowd headed for the warm weather in the South of France for the Cannes Film Festival which saw the beautiful people of showbiz mingle with gorgeous models on the famous red carpet at Cannes.

The Big Stories of March 2016

March ended with the all to familiar sound of explosions as Brussels was attacked by terrorists hell bent on destabilizing the world.

Headlines

Brussels was attacked by terrorists claiming to be part of ISIS who detonated multiple bombs at the airport and subways killing over 30 people and injuring hundreds more. ISIS however saw it's strangle hold in Iraq and Syria slowly slipping away as the world continued to fight the oppressive regime. Elsewhere we saw the refuge crisis growing with European nations trying to hold back the influx of refuges while in Brazil protests raged on over a corruption scandal at the very highest office in the land.

Business

The VW scandal continued in the business world with the US chief stepping down and lawsuits from investors. Multinational companies and their taxes were in the spotlight with European governments desperate to bring in more money instead of focusing on inefficiencies.

Sports

The FIFA corruption scandal grew with more allegations levied against those responsible while FIFA itself has said the scandal has affected it's bottom line and want money back from those responsible.

Entertainment

Controversy from the Oscar's held in February carried on into March with host Chris Rock taking flak for some of his jokes while one performer walked away with a smile on his face this month when Hulk Hogan one his legal battle against Gawker receiving over $115 million in compensation for his leaked sex tape.

Technology

The battle between Apple and the FBI fizzled out when an alternative third party presented an offer to the FBI to help crack the iPhone security, meanwhile cyber criminals finally met their match when the long arm of the law closed in on them while troubling news from west Africa shows that Ebola was making a come back with more cases reported.

Style

Lastly Paris Fashion Week closed out the fashion week scene giving the beautiful people a chance to rest up for the second half of the year.

The Business of Politics and Lawsuits

Another week in the world of money which saw politics and lawsuits dominate the headlines.

Politics

We start this week in the world of politics where a Brazilian judge has accepted charges filled by state prosecutors against 11 companies for allegedly forming a cartel to control construction and upkeep of the subway and train systems in Sao Paulo just weeks after a corruption scandal involving state oil giant Petrobras was revealed. In other South American news Citigroup was authorized by a US judge to process Argentine dept payments after numerous lengthy court battles while on the other side of the world in the Middle East we saw trouble as conflict in Yemen sent oil prices soaring. Europe saw protestors marching in Madrid against austerity measures called the "march for dignity" while the always complicated relationship between EU and Greece raised its head when Germany and other EU leaders set strict terms for Greek aid.

Legal

But it wasn't just bureaucracy this week as we also saw legal disputes with the Ellen Pao lawsuit taking center stage as her legal team wrapped up arguments. However, they weren't alone with Twitter also being sued for gender discrimination. The technology world also saw the Google anti competitive report leaked and news that Google had become a lobbying powerhouse with near weekly meetings at the White House. Outside of the tech world Ex-American Apparel CEO, Dov Charney, is seeking $40 million in damages after being fired last year.

Stock Markets

We end the week on Wall Street where news of Heinz and Kraft merging had mouths salivating with the prospect of a new super food company and lastly, the stuff dreams are made of, when we heard luxury car maker Porsche gave each of it's employee's a sizable bonus sharing the spoils after a successful year.

What Happened? 2014 Sports News

Sporting legends made their presence felt in 2014 but it was the behaviour off the field that garnered most of the attention.

Events

It was the FIFA World Cup 2014 that gained the most attention kicking off the year with some truly shocking events including protests after Brazil's dismal performance and subsequent defeat with Germany taking the title. The Winter Olympics took place in Sochi Russia and went relatively smoothly even if there were issues with accommodation.

The Laureus sports awards recognized the skills and technique needed to succeed in the world of sport while the big annual events saw the best of the best at Wimbledon where Novak Djokovic took the title along with Martin Kaymer who won the US Open. On the team front the Super Bowl was won by the Seattle Seahawks while the World Series went to the San Francisco Giants.

Individuals

Sporting legends made the news like former F1 champion Michael Schumaker who made progress and was brought out of his coma. Derek Jeter played his final game at Fenway Park in an emotional event which saw everyone from celebrities to athletes tip their hat in respect. Soccer legend Pele was hospitalized following surgery for kidney stones but was later released and Michael Sam became the first openly gay player to join the NFL.

It wasn't all good news when Australian Phillip Hughes passed away 2 days after sustaining a head injury during a cricket match. The NFL had a major image problem with domestic abuse claims and child abuse taking center stage and things got down right ugly at the FIFA soccer world cup which saw unsportsmanlike behaviour when Brazil's Neymar was kneed in the back and when Uruguayan player Luiz Suarez was banned after biting another player. Finally, off the court we saw the Oscar Pistorius trial which had people glued to the TV and the court room drama when Donald Sterling lost the Clippers in a disputed sale but walked away with $2billion despite his actions.

Sporting Shockers

Wow, what a week. From World Cup slaughters to court room drama, the sporting world has never been more explosive.

Beyond Shocking

In one of the biggest FIFA World Cup shockers of all time Germany decimated Brazil with a 7 - 1 win in the semi finals knocking the host country out of contention. The aftermath of the defeat made it's way on to the streets where buses were set on fire by fans expressing their rage. After the game the German boss urged calm saying "There is no euphoria" insisting the team were already focused on the final.

On a lighter note the internet was awash with meme's at the expense of Brazil and as bad as things were for Brazil, feel a little sympathy for the German promotion that offered Formula 1 tickets at a discount based on the number of goals scored by Germany during the semi-finals.

The Ugly Side of the Beautiful Game

It wasn't all skill and technique when Brazil's Neymar suffered a major setback after being kneed in the back by Juan Zuniga during the match between Brazil and Columbia. Even though the tackle was widely condemned FIFA's disciplinary committee announced they would not sanction the Columbian for his actions. After the events Neymar revealed he feared he would be paralyzed later discovering the tackle resulted in a cracked vertebrae.

Speaking of unsportsmanlike like behaviour, Luis Suarez biting ban appeal was turned down.

Off the Field

The Donald Sterling/Clippers legal battle found it's way to court but as expected things didn't go smoothly. Initially Donald wanted the case moved to another court but was denied when the trial finally got underway Donald made a scene and was combative in court shouting at his wife "Get away from me, you pig!". Things didn't get better with Donald verbally attacking two doctors who declared him mentally incapacitated.

The case against Oscar Pistorius came to an end with Oscar's defense team closing the case with final arguments set for August. However just before the end of the trial a video was leaked on Australian TV showing Oscar re-enacting the events of the night he killed Reeva Steenkamp. Oscars legal team said they would take legal action over the leaked footage.

Need to Know - FIFA World Cup 2014

It's time for what some might call the greatest sporting event ever, even bigger than the Olympics but marred by, if not the same problems that plagued Russia's Sochi Winter Olympic games, a very similar set of problems.

Infrastructure

Since the announcement Brazil seems to have taken it's time preparing with delays to construction being reported in the build up to the games. Concerns over safety have also been top priority not only due to questionable construction but to the large number of deaths that have accompanied the construction of the various stadiums across Brazil.

Protests

Not only was the infrastructure progress questioned by the international media but locals took to the streets with protests often turning bloody over the high costs of hosting the World Cup. Calls for peace and calm often went unnoticed as riots and clashes with police persisted in the build up. Just days before the opening ceremony and first match between Brazil and Croatia there were skirmishes between protestors and police. But the protests didn't stop with those on the streets but continued with several key industries being brought to their knee's by striking workers.

Scandal

While the FIFA World Cup has officially been launched questions of it's readiness still abound. However, not only is the current event in question but also the future 2022 games to be held in Qatar which has been plagued with rumours of corruption and fraud. Even though Sepp Blatter, President of FIFA, has been surrounded by controversy over past, current and future hosting he has thrown his hat into the ring to continue his presidancey in what is a very dark history for FIFA and the World Cup.