The Hangover News

Tragedy in Taiwan
AN EARTHQUAKE LEFT 23 PEOPLE DEAD AND ABOUT 120 MISSING
Buildings in southwest Taiwan collapsed and others were left tilting dangerously

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A 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit the Taiwanese city of Tainan in the early hours of Saturday morning, killing at least 23 people and leaving more than 120 trapped in the rubble of a collapsed commercial-residential building.

According to the BBC, tin cans and white polystyrene reinforced the concrete of the building, exposed since the structure's collapse and indicative of serious – and potentially illegal – breaches of construction standards. Tainan officials have said that it's too soon to know for certain whether poor construction contributed to the building's collapse.

The quake hit at the start of this year's Chinese new year, when many families were gathered at home to celebrate. About 100 people were believed to still be trapped in the rubble on Sunday evening, according to the Guardian, while rescuers had managed to pull out more than 240 survivors from beneath the wreckage.

Long-Range Rockets
NORTH KOREA SAY THEY LAUNCHED A SATELLITE INTO ORBIT
The UN Security Council is pissed, and to hold an emergency summit as a result

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On Sunday North Korea made good on last week's promise to launch a long-range rocket, sparking both condemnation from the international community and an emergency UN Security Council meeting.

North Korea's government has said that the rocket is carrying an Earth observation satellite while critics believe the launch counts was a long-range missile test, in violation of UN resolutions.

Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary, deemed the launch "deplorable" and US National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice called the long-range missile test a "reckless action" that would have "serious consequences". Russia's Foreign Ministry also released a statement critical of the launch.

North Korea last launched a long-range satellite in December 2012, and last month tested a nuclear device for the fourth time – again, largely condemned by the global diplomacy community. North Korean state media reportedly termed the launch a "breakthrough in boosting our national defence capability".

Unmasking an ISIS "Beatle"
ONE OF FOUR ISIS EXECUTION CELL MEMBERS REPORTEDLY IDENTIFIED
Londoner Alexanda Kotey was linked to Mohammed Emwazi's beheading group

Unmasked: The second member of ISIS's

— BuzzFeed UK (@BuzzFeedUK)February 7, 2016

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Alexanda Kotey was revealed to reportedly be the second known member of ISIS' notorious execution group, in a BuzzFeed News investigation on Sunday.

Kotey, a 32-year from west London, is believed to be one of four ISIS guards responsible for beheading more than 25 hostages. The first was Mohammed Emwazi, dubbed "Jihadi John" by the press and allegedly killed by in airstrikes last year.

Kotey reportedly travelled to Gaza on an aid convoy in 2009, and whether he has returned to the UK since has not been confirmed.

The four ISIS "Beatles" allegedly earned their nickname from past hostages thanks to their English accents. They are believed to have beheaded 18 members of the Syrian army as well as seven American, British and Japanese hostages.

Bridge Blast
A DOUBLE-DECKER BUS EXPLODED ON LAMBETH BRIDGE
The bus was blown to pieces – for a Jackie Chan film

Just another day on the River… — LAMBETH FIRE (@FireLambeth)February 7, 2016

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A double-decker bus blew up as it drove across London's Lambeth Bridge on Sunday, for a scene from a forthcoming action film starring Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan. Residents had been warned about the planned blast, according to reports, but those in the area may have been left confused unless they just so happened to be following the London Fire Brigade on Twitter.

A Port of London Authority spokesperson confirmed to the Press Association on Sunday that the explosion was a stunt. Eagle-eyed Londoners may have noticed that anyway, because the 211 bus does not actually cross Lambeth Bridge along its normal route.

Factual inaccuracies aside, the film, The Foreigner, has been described as a "gritty action thriller" by its producers. The bridge had been closed off before the controlled explosion.