The Big Stories of February 2016

With February being the shortest month it surprised everyone managing to pack a lot in.

Headlines

We begin with protests which broke out in Hong Kong at the start of the Chinese new year while Julian Assange made a bid to leave the Ecuadorean Embassy with some help from the UN. The standoff between the FBI and occupiers at the Wildlife Refuge in Oregon came to an end while everyone was on edge after North Korea launched a satellite into space spreading fears of their launch abilities while a tropical cyclone slammed into Fiji.

Business

The business world saw the oil situation being addressed with Russia and 3 OPEC members agreeing the freeze oil output while the IMF warned that the global economy was still fragile.

Sports

The sporting world saw the Australian Open come to an end while ex FIFA bosses fought their suspensions dropping them from 8 to 6 years.

Entertainment

The awards ceremony season saw the Grammy's and BRIT Awards celebrate the best of music while the BAFTA's celebrated stars on the screen. The month ended with the controversial Oscar's awarding those in the movie industry.

Technology

The technology world came together when Apple refused to assist the FBI in unlocking an iPhone once again raising the issue of privacy. Outside of the politics in science we saw an amazing breakthrough in the form of gravitational waves being confirmed confirming long standing theories.

Style

Finally the fashion world saw the return of Fashion Weeks with New York Fashion Week kicking things off followed by London Fashion Week and then Milan Fashion Week. Lastly, rounding things off for the start of the year was Paris Fashion Week.

Terrorism on Trial

The week saw unsettled business take center stage with the beginning of the Boston Marathon Bombing trial along with various other worrying developments around the world.

Tackling Terrorism

We begin this week with the Boston Marathon Bombing trial which began after struggling to find jury members. The trial kicked off with opening statements with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's attorney admitting his client had carried out the attacks but tried to push the blame onto his older brother. The trial continued with testimony from survivors recounting their experience on the tragic day with the trial expected to continue for weeks to come.

In other terror related news the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram released a graphic video showing the beheading of two men believed to be spies while in the US, Twitter revealed that it had suspended over 2000 accounts used by ISIS in recruiting new members resulting in ISIS threatening Twitter staff.

Political Front Lines

Politicians were on the front line this week when a man armed with a razor attacked a US ambassador slashing his face and wrist in opposition to military drills by South Korea and the US. The military drills also received attention from North Korea who fired two short range missiles into the sea as the drills began.

In Russia a new video has surfaced of the assassination of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov last week, showing the bridge as the attack takes place. On the topic of high profile leaders, Ex-CIA chief Petraeus, has pleaded guilty to mishandling classified material with his mistress.

Blood on the Streets

In the world of drugs it was revealed that the Bali 9 were executed on a secluded island ignoring pleas from the Australian government while in Mexico police and troops made progress capturing Zetas cartel leader, Omar Trevino Morales, in a wealthy suburb of Monterrey.

Images were released which the police say confirms the homeless man shot by LAPD had tried to take an officers weapon. Finally we end the week with a Justice Department investigation into the Ferguson police which shows excessive use of force and unjustified arrests.

Awards Season Begins

The week saw the start of award season in Hollywood with the Golden Globes kicking things off followed by the Critics Choice Awards and nominations in the hotly contested Oscars race.

Golden Globes

All the action kicked off on the Red Carpet with celebrities creating a sea of designer labels with well sculpted heads bobbing on the surface. Inside saw Tina Fey and Amy Poehler host the event where hilarity ensued leaving no celebrity safe from the cunning duo. Current events were targeted with North Korea and Sony receiving mention but it was Bill Cosby who became the ultimate punchline. Along with the humour and jest there were somber moments with many recognizing the tragic events in Paris.

When it came time for awards the men were unusually emotional from George Clooney receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award to Michael Keaton who took home Best Actor in a Comedy and Eddie Redmayne taking Best Actor in a Drama. The ladies on ther other hand were pillars of strength with Amy Adams winning for Best Actress in a Comedy and Maggie Gyllenhaal taking Best Actress in a TV series while Patricia Arquette took Best Actress in a Drama. The Globe for Best Original Song went to John Legend and Common while the overall Best Picture - Drama was won by Boyhood.

Critics Choice

The critics Choice Awards were also held this week with Boyhood and Birdman taking top honors along with Michael Keaton and Julian Moore.

The Nominees

With the mood set the Oscars were next on the agenda with the naming of the nominee's revealing Birdman and Grand Budapest Hotel taking poll position with 9 nods each. While the full list of nominee's contains many stellar performances there were a few missing with neither Angelina Jolie nor Jennifer Aniston grabbing a nod.

What Happened? 2014 Entertainment News

2014 was the year we celebrated achievements in the arts but also saw a darker side with threats and hacking into celebrities private lives.

Events

The movie world delivered the goods ready for when award season swung round with the Golden Globes hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler while Ellen took to the stage again to host the The Oscars and set the record for the most re-tweeted selfie. The Cannes film festival had it's moments including some on the red carpet and the best of British was celebrated at the BAFTA's.

In the world of music MTV brought outrageous celebrity moments with the MTV Movie Award's and the MTV VMA's while the Emmys and Billboard Music Award's celebrated musical skill and talent.

Actors

Celebrities stood up for a cause this year including Emma Watson and her UN speech along with celebrities who supported the protests in Ferguson while the ALS ice bucket challenge saw celebrities getting wet for a good cause.

The world said good bye to many entertainers this year but it was the tragic loss of beloved icons that brought things back to reality with Robin Williams shocking the world when he took his own life and Philip Seymour Hoffman who died of an overdose. While some made news for their stellar work and activism others made news for all the wrong reasons with Bill Cosby being accused of rape by multiple women and Woody Allen being accused of child molestation by his daughter, Dylan.

Under Attack

Hollywood came to a screeching halt after numerous celebrities had their iCloud devices hacked and the private intimate photo's released onto the web. The hack affected many big names including Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and Rhianna with Jennifer breaking her silence calling the attack a "sex crime".

Sony Entertainment was brought to it's knees when it was hacked and sensitive information was leaked to the media revealing the dirty side of business in Hollywood. The attack was believed to have been carried out by North Korea who were infuriated by "The Interview" which depicted the assignation of it's leader Kim Jong-un. After threats were made the movie was pulled from release but later reinstated after an uproar from the public for giving in to terrorist threats.

What Happened? 2014 Headline News

2014 wasn't an easy year for the world at large with tragedies and human suffering defining a difficult time for many. While governments struggled with conflict and people fought for their rights, nature reminded everyone who was in charge.

Tragedies

Tragedy struck with Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappearing on a route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with not a trace to be found of the 239 on-board. Things got worse when Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over the Ukraine by pro-Russian rebels killing all 298 on-board. But it wasn't over when another aviation tragedy struck on the tail end of 2014 when communication was lost with Asia Airs Flight QZ8501 echoing the loss of MH370 with 162 on-board until search parties discovered parts of the wreckage and bodies of the crew and passengers.

South Korea suffered a national disaster when a Ferry carrying 450 people, mostly school children, capsized. Towards the end of the year another Ferry disaster struck in the Adriatic Sea when the ferry caught on fire killing 11 on-board. The year ended with 35 people killed in a New Years celebration's stampede.

Protests

The year saw people protesting across the world starting with the unfortunate killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri which sparked protests around police brutality. Things only got worse when a second man, Eric Garner, was killed in New York by a police officer using a choke hold. However the protests against police brutality were stymied after 2 police officers were executed in New York by a lone gunman and tension grew as more police became targets.

It wasn't only the US that saw people protesting as Hong Kong came to a grinding halt after protestors took over the main business district. With corruption and gang violence prevalent Mexico experienced protests after 43 students went missing and were believed to have been killed by gangs with government assistance. Protests were triggered in the Ukraine by politics resulting in the President being thrown out, but it didn't end there with things only getting worse.

Politics

After protests in the Ukraine erupted Russia invaded Crimeia outraging the international community and beginning the process of sanctions on Russia for it's actions. While some conflicts resulted in financial pain others were outright bloody with old enemies fighting in Gaza to a new foo the world learnt to fear with ISIS who resorted to beheading journalists as threats against the west.

North Korea flexed it's muscle with it's old adversary South Korea and challenged Sony when a movie about it's leader resulted in hackers believed to be from North Korea breaking into Sony's network and threatening terrorist style attacks if the movie was released. Even with blood in the streets it was what happened behind the scenes that brought about outrage when the CIA torture report was released detailing it's torture methods. Boko Harem in Nigeria resorted to kidnapping 273 school girls and selling them off into slavery triggering the campaign for #BringBackOurGirls.

Individuals

Some individuals shone bright making their names with the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to Malala Yousafzai making her the youngest ever recipient while the entertainment world lost great entertainers with Robin Williams death shocking everyone.

The news wasn't great for everyone with Rob Ford caught in another video smoking crack less than a year after the first video emerged and the Oscar Pistorius trial which gripped the world. US President Obama had a tough year when the Democrats lost control after many cut ties to Obama and top officials like Eric Holder resigned.

Nature

For a year where man did his best to destroy nature wasn't going to be outdone with Earthquakes ravaging areas and Wild fires tearing through Northern California destroying everything in its path as it passed through, Hawaii had to call in the National Guard after a volcano directed a slow moving mass of lava into populated areas.

Over 900,000 people had to be evacuated after Typhoon Hagupit slammed into the Philippines all the while a deadly disease threatened to take down everyone in the form of Ebola which spread through West Africa claiming nearly 7000 lives.

Conflicts Turn Into Catastrophe

This week has revealed a world in turmoil with futures uncertain for many in and around hotbeds of violence.

Russia and Ukraine

The US imposed further unilateral sanctions on Russia striking another blow to Russia's economy who were not happy with the newly imposed sanctions and threatened retaliation.

While politicians continued to argue blood was shed with the Ukraine army pushing back on the rebel-held Donetsk. However the world stood up and took notice when commercial flight MH17 was shot down by pro Russian militants killing 298 people on board. Among the passengers were 100 AIDS researchers on a trip to a conference in Melbourne, Australia. Since the shooting down of Flight MH17 the UN Security Council has called for an emergency meeting to discuss the growing problems.

Israel and Gaza

After the kidnapping and murder of several teenagers Israel forces retaliated by sending in troops to the north of Gaza and later bombing Hamas targets hitting a Mosque and clinic. Hamas countered taking aim at Tel Aviv with casualties beginning to grow on both sides of the conflict. As the conflict escalated the number of casualties rose further as both sides fought tit for tat.

There was a brief seize fire organized by Egypt which Israel accepted in return for militants stopping rocket fire, however, it did not last long with Hamas armed wing vowing to intensify the conflict and Israel targeting top Hamas leaders in return. As the conflict continued more innocents paid the price with an Israeli airstrike killing four children on a Gaza beach. Israel claimed a small victory when it stopped 13 men tunneling in from Gaza. There was momentary peace when another seize fire was agreed for 5 hours for humanitarian aid with fighting continuing soon after.

Libya

Fighting at Tripoli's international airport escalated with clashes between Zintan and Islamist Militia killing 7 people with fighting continuing when days after the initial attacks the airport was hit by rockets. With unrest threatening to spiral out of control the UN withdrew all it's staff from Libya and Libyan airspace was closed.

A suspect in the 2012 attack on the US embassy in Benghazi was found dead in his prison cell after only 2 days in custody.

Iraq

The US and Iraqi government have tried to use growing tension between the extremists groups against each other. However the US see's risks in assisting Iraq directly with many units are deeply infiltrated by either Sunni extremist informants or Shiite personnel. With fighting Kurdish women battled jihadist-led rebels in Iraq and lastly 29 people were killed in Baghdad when Militia stormed an apartment building in the east.

A week of Death, Destruction and Foreboding

It's been a week where Mother Nature's devastating reach took it's toll and men tried to match her destructive power.

Nature

An earthquake hit off the northern coast of Chile with a magnitude of 8.2 triggering a tsunami warning. A 7.6 aftershock hit Chile the following day.

An outbreak of Ebola has been reported in Guinea with 63 people reported dead. Liberia has also confirmed cases of Ebola while Senegal and other neighbouring countries have closed their borders to prevent the spread of the disease.

A mudslide in Washington has officially killed 27 people with 19 victims positively identified. Along with the human lives many pets and livestock have also been lost.

A UN panel on Climate Change warns that global temperatures will likely be "severe, pervasive, and irreversible" in coming years. 7 Key findings in the report summary span only 44 pages with full chapters providing in depth details.

Man

Both Korea's traded fire over a sea border after South Korea warned North Korea of immediate retaliation if any ordinance was fired across the border. North Korea had declared a no-go area in disputed waters warning South Korea that it would be using live fire while conducting drills.

Another shooting took place at Fort Hood with 4 people killed, including the gunman, and 14 injured. President Obama has vowed to get to the bottom of the shooting.

A Senate report claims the CIA mislead the US and that the "enhanced interrogations" contributed almost nothing in the fight against al-Qaeda. The Senate Intelligence Committee voted to declassify portions of the report on the CIA's torture program.

The Philippines has filed a case after a Chinese navy vessel tried to prevent a Philippine supply boat from delivering supplies to a disputed island. The confrontation was captured on film by reporters on board the Philippine boat.

What Happened? 2013 Headline News

Another year has passed with a mixed bag of events.

Depraved individuals

3 women were saved from a house in Cleveland after being imprisoned for more than a decade. The women had been kidnapped by a Ariel Castro who had repeatedly raped and abused the women. Later in the year Ariel Castro was found dead in his prison cell. Reports indicate that he had hung himself later being classified as a "sex act" gone wrong.

A former neighbour of Ariel Castro has admitted to numerous rapes and murders committed 2 decades ago. He has been sentenced to 445 years imprisonment with no chance of parole.

British soldier Lee Rigby was hacked to death after being hit by a car by his two assailants. The two responsible stood around talking to those gathered trying to excuse their cowardly actions.

Loss of lives

Militants attacked a mall in Kenya killing anyone in their way. The Kenyan military arrived on the scene and besieged the mall finally killing the remaining terrorists.

The UN investigated allegations of chemical weapons use by Syrian leader, Assad. An agreement was reached to destroy all chemical weapons.

Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines causing wide spread destruction with an estimated 10 000 people killed and more displaced.

Tornado's ravaged the United States over the course of the year with multiple tornado's killing people.

A New York City commuter train derailed killing 4 people injuring 60 when it ignored speed warnings.

Governments unrestrained

Fear spread earlier in the year when an earthquake in North Korea looked to be caused by nuclear testing. North Korea continued it's Sabre rattling putting rockets on standby after US stealth bombers where detected raising fears of war.

More revelations revealed the extent to which the NSA had spied on foreign nations. Many nations were outraged and approached the UN for a resolution.

Toronto mayor Rob Ford made headlines when he finally admitted to smoking crack cocaine but refused to step down.

The US nearly came undone when political posturing resulted in a shutdown raising concerns overs America's global standing.

Loss of a legend

The year ended on a sad note with the passing of Nelson Mandela. Madiba passed away at the age of 95 with leaders from around the world paying their respects.

Section Summaries

For more stories in specific sections of the news please read the following posts...

Business News from 2013

Sports News from 2013

Entertainment News from 2013

Technology News from 2013

Style News from 2013