Another pointless week, sadly marked by the passing of Rutger Hauer. Although many of you have seen him in Blade Runner, my personal favourite of his was Salute of the Jugger, but most if his 80’s films were awesome! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Rutger Hauer, 75, Dutch actor (Blade Runner, Nighthawks, The Hitcher).
• Li Peng, 90, Chinese politician, Premier (1987–1998), Vice Premier (1983–1987). Known as the “Butcher of Beijing” for his role in the Tiananmen Square massacre.  
• Maxim Dadashev, 28, Russian boxer, head injuries sustained in match.  
• Carl Mattsson, 111, Swedish supercentenarian, oldest person in the Nordic countries.  
• Jimmy Patton, 87, British comedian (Patton Brothers, ChuckleVision), cancer.  
• Russi Taylor, 75, American voice actress (Disney’s House of Mouse, The Simpsons, DuckTales).

In Other News

Comedian and broadcaster Sir Michael Palin is to have surgery to fix a “leaky valve” in his heart. The Monty Python member discovered a problem with his mitral valve – a small flap that stops blood flowing the wrong way around the heart – five years ago. It had not affected his general fitness until earlier this year, he said. “Recently, though, I have felt my heart having to work harder and have been advised it’s time to have the valve repaired,” he wrote on his website. “I shall be undergoing surgery in September and should be back to normal, or rather better than normal, within three months.” According to the NHS, a leaking mitral valve – known as mitral regurgitation – can cause dizziness, breathlessness, tiredness and chest pain, and can potentially lead to an irregular and fast heartbeat, high blood pressure and heart failure. The 76-year-old has cancelled a book tour scheduled for October to promote his North Korea Journal, a spin-off from his recent Channel 5 documentary about the country. 

Wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein was found semi-conscious in his prison cell on Thursday, US media reports say. The 66-year-old, who is awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, was reportedly found sprawled on the floor with injuries to his neck on Wednesday. The cause is unclear – neither suicide attempt nor assault has been ruled out. He has been at the New York facility since being denied bail last week. Epstein has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. The US Bureau of Prisons issued a statement saying that Epstein was, as of noon local time (16:00 GMT), at New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Centre and “not in a local hospital as has been reported”. But it was not clear if he had been treated for injuries either at a hospital or the prison, with officials saying “we do not share information on an inmate’s medical status or their conditions of confinement”. He was taken to a nearby hospital in Manhattan, reports say, but his condition has not been made public. Investigators are working to establish what happened.  According to the indictment, the financier is accused of paying girls under the age of 18 to perform sex acts at his Manhattan and Florida mansions between 2002 and 2005. 

Finally, because Nickie is obsessed with it, I’m bringing back the Last Meals section. A few longtime subscribers might remember a few of these from back in the day, so forgive me if I’m repeating myself. 

We’ll start with John Wayne Gacy (1942 –1994). He was an American serial killer who raped, tortured and murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978 in Cook County, Illinois. All of Gacy’s known murders were committed inside his Norwood Park ranch house. His victims were typically induced to his address by force or deception, and all except one of his victims were murdered by asphyxiation or strangulation with a makeshift garrotte, his first victim was stabbed to death. Gacy buried 26 of his victims in the crawl space of his home. Three other victims were buried elsewhere on his property, while the bodies of his last four known victims were discarded in the Des Plaines River. Gacy became known as the “Killer Clown” because of his charitable services at fund-raising events, parades, and children’s parties where he would dress as “Pogo the Clown” or “Patches the Clown”, characters that he had created. Popular rumour suggests that Ronald McDonald was retired due to Gacy’s actions and that many horror clown stories are based on him. For his last meal, Gacy requested 12  fried shrimp, a bucket of original recipe KFC, french fries, and a pound of strawberries. His final statement to his lawyer before his execution was that killing him would not compensate for the loss of others, and that the state was murdering him. His final spoken words were “Kiss my ass”. One fun fact, prior to being convicted, Gacy managed three KFC outlets. Nom Nom! 

On This Day

• 1540 – Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of treason. Henry marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, on the same day.
• 1976 – The Tangshan earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 moment magnitude flattens Tangshan in the People’s Republic of China, killing 242,769 and injuring 164,851.
• 2005 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army calls an end to its thirty-year-long armed campaign in Northern Ireland.

Deaths

• 1540 – Thomas Cromwell, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1495)
• 1655 – Cyrano de Bergerac, French poet and playwright (b. 1619)
• 1741 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1678)
• 1750 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German organist and composer (b. 1685)
• 2004 – Francis Crick, English biologist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (48), Taylor Schilling (34), Donnie Yen (55), Jason Statham (52), Kate Beckinsale (46), Sandra Bullock (55), Kevin Spacey (60), Helen Mirren (74), Nana Visitor (62), Eve Myles (41), Mick Jagger (76), Roger Taylor (70), Matt LeBlanc (52), Iman (64), Elisabeth Moss (37), Jennifer Lopez (50), Summer Glau (38), Anna Paquin (37), Lynda Carter (68), Danny Dyer (42), Daniel Radcliffe (30), Woody Harrelson (58), Charisma Carpenter (49), Ronny Cox (81), Slash (54), Willem Dafoe (64), Rhys Ifans (52), Selena Gomez (27), Terence Stamp (81), Danny Glover (73), Louise Fletcher (85), Ross Kemp (55), John Woodvine (90), and Paloma Faith (38).

Yup, we’re really struggling to find anyone you’ve ever heard of this week!   

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Craig Fallon, 36, British judoka, world champion (2005).  
• Marc Batchelor, 49, South African footballer (Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates), shot.  
• Karl Shiels, 47, Irish actor (Fair City, Into the Badlands, Henry IV, Part 1).  
• Pernell Whitaker, 55, American boxer, four-weight world champion, Olympic champion (1984), traffic collision.  
• Richard Carter, 65, Australian actor (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Great Gatsby, Rafferty’s Rules).

In Other News

Hong Kong actor Simon Yam has been stabbed while speaking at an event in southern China. According to his manager, Lester Mo Gee-man, Yam was stabbed in the stomach but police say his injuries are not life-threatening. The 64-year-old actor is currently undergoing “a minor operation” at a hospital in Zhongshan city. “He was stabbed in his stomach and slashed on his arm, but was conscious the entire time,” Lester Mo Gee-man told the South China Morning Post. He added: “A preliminary investigation showed his injuries were not critical but the doctors are still deciding whether to operate on him”. Yam has appeared in more than 125 movies and 40 television series.  His most high-profile Hollywood role came in 2003 Hollywood sequel Lara Croft: Tomb Raider -The Cradle of Life. Yam was attending the opening of new shop in Zhongshan in the southern province of Guangdong on Saturday when a man rushed the stage and attacked Yam. Two videos have surfaced on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. One shows Yam clutching his stomach after the attack. A suspect has been detained, but a motive remains unclear.   

Labour MP Emily Thornberry was taken to hospital after coming off her bicycle in an accident outside Parliament. The shadow foreign secretary was involved in a collision with a vehicle in Parliament Square, Westminster, outside the House of Commons on Friday. The Islington South and Finsbury MP was taken to hospital in an ambulance. spokesperson for Ms Thornberry said she had now been discharged and was “hugely grateful” for the support of the paramedics and A&E staff. “She will be back to work and back on her bike as soon as possible,” the spokesperson added. Looks like she’s not that good at cycling, so we should really keep an eye on her.  

A man choked to death on a piece of meat about five months after his brother died in exactly the same way. An inquest has been opened into the death of Selwyn Francis, 68, who choked on food at a restaurant in Flintshire and died in hospital two days later. He died a day after an inquest heard his brother Gwyn Francis had died after choking on a piece of steak at a pub. Their brother Kenneth Francis had said he and his two brothers ate quickly without chewing their food properly. Kenneth Francis told the inquest into Gwyn’s death that Selwyn had choked on a piece of steak at the same pub 18 months earlier but the obstruction had been cleared by someone performing the Heimlich manoeuvre. “I said it should be a warning to us all,” Kenneth Francis had told the earlier inquest. Let’s hope that Kenneth chews his food from now on. 

On This Day

• 356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson.
• 1865 – In the market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots and kills Davis Tutt in what is regarded as the first western showdown.
• 1969 – At 02:56 UTC, astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon.
• 1972 – The Troubles: Bloody Friday: The Provisional IRA detonate 22 bombs in central Belfast in the space of 80 minutes, killing nine and injuring 130.
• 1983 – The world’s lowest temperature in an inhabited location is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F).
• 2001 – At the conclusion of a fireworks display on Okura Beach in Akashi, Hyōgo, Japan, 11 people are killed and more than 120 are injured when a pedestrian footbridge connecting the beach to JR Asagiri Station becomes overcrowded and people leaving the event fall down in a domino effect.

Deaths

• •1796 – Robert Burns, Scottish poet and songwriter (b. 1759)
• •1967 – Basil Rathbone, South African-American actor and singer (b. 1892)
• •1998 – Alan Shepard, American admiral, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1923)
• •2004 – Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (b. 1929)
• •2015 – E. L. Doctorow, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1931)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Diana Rigg (80), John Francis Daley (33), Gisele Bündchen (38), Benedict Cumberbatch (43), Jared Padalecki (37), Brian May (72), Kristen Bell (39), Vin Diesel (52), Priyanka Chopra (37), Alex Winter (54), Donald Sutherland (84), David Hasselhoff (67), Konnie Huq (44), Phoebe Cates (56), Will Ferrell (52), Corey Feldman (48), Travis Fimmel (40), Diane Kruger (43), Brigitte Nielsen (56), Forest Whitaker (58), Celia Imrie (67), Jesse Ventura (68), Linda Ronstadt (73), Phoebe Waller-Bridge (34), Jackie Earle Haley (58), David Mitchell (45), and Kyle Gass (59).

Apologies for the late issue, life had to take precedence this week. However, a shorter than usual edition for you to read, even though we’ve had quite a spate of deaths over the last week. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Freddie Jones, 91, British actor (Emmerdale, The Ghosts of Motley Hall, Dune).  
• Arthur Ryan, 83, Irish clothier, founder and chairman of Primark.
• Ross Perot, 89, American billionaire businessman, philanthropist and presidential candidate, founder of Electronic Data Systems and the Reform Party, leukemia.  
• Rip Torn, 88, American actor (Cross Creek, The Larry Sanders Show, Men in Black), Emmy winner (1996).  
• Denise Nickerson, 62, American actress (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Dark Shadows, Smile), seizure. 
• Albert Shepherd, 82, British actor (The Anniversary, Charlie Bubbles, Before Winter Comes, Crossroads).  
• Brendan Grace, 68, Irish comedian (Moondance, Father Ted) and singer, lung cancer.

In Other News

Sting has cancelled multiple European concert dates due to a mystery illness. The 67-year-old singer announced the news on Twitter on Tuesday just hours after revealing he couldn’t play his upcoming Munich concert under “doctor’s orders”. Taking to social media, the former The Police frontman apologised for “disappointing” any excited fans.  “It is with great regret that Sting’s concerts previously scheduled for Thursday, Jul 11 at Jazzopen in Stuttgart, Germany and Friday, July 12 at the Castle Garden in Slavkov u Brna, Czech Republic will be cancelled,” a statement on his Twitter read. “As reported earlier this week, Sting is under the weather and under doctor’s orders, was forced to also cancel concerts in Ghent, Belgium (Monday July 8) and Munich, Germany (Wednesday, July 10). “Sting sincerely regrets disappointing or causing any inconvenience to the fans.” he post added that fans could obtain refunds for their tickets on his website. Fans are currently none the wiser about the nature of the singer’s health issues. It comes after Sting was also forced to cancel a concert with Jamaican singer Shaggy back in 2018 due to medical reasons.  

Nell Gifford, co-founder of Giffords Circus, has revealed the sad news that she has a year to live. Giffords Circus, based at Fennells Farm in Lypiatt, is a Stroud institution, with many families returning year upon year for each new show. Nell, the creative visionary behind the circus, and also one of its glamorous performers, shared her cancer prognosis in an interview with the Evening Standard yesterday. “I have a poor outlook,” she said. “I’ve been diagnosed with a year to live and things like that and I can hardly remember the feeling of being without cancer. But I’m having loads of treatment under an incredible oncologist, ducking and diving through the NHS and private system.” Nell has kept her nine-year-old twins Red and Cecil fully informed about what’s going on. She said the circus ‘has become a lifeline’. “It always has been. It’s a support system, I’m the happiest I am here on the show. It probably props me up more than I prop it up. In the most calamitous times it’s been what I’ve turned to and what’s contained me and where I’ve felt safe. It’s the community, being by the horses; knowing you have your tribe; it’s cool.” Nell was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago and has now been told the disease has spread to her bones and lymph nodes. Last month she was advised she would need more chemotherapy and since then has been dividing her time between hospital and her circus. Nell created the circus with her former husband, Toti Gifford, in 2000. Since then, it has been at the centre of her life and brought joy to thousands of people. Low-fi and vintage in feel, Giffords is now famed for its magical performances. 

On This Day

• 1789 – French Revolution: Citizens of Paris storm the Bastille.  
• 1865 – First ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper and party, four of whom die on the descent.  
• 1881 – Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Pat Garrett outside Fort Sumner.  
• 1992 – 386BSD is released by Lynne Jolitz and William Jolitz beginning the Open Source operating system revolution. Linus Torvalds releases his Linux soon afterwards.  
• 2002 – French President Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed during Bastille Day celebrations.

Deaths

• 1881 – Billy the Kid, American criminal (b. 1859)  
• 1998 – Richard McDonald, American businessman, co-founded McDonald’s (b. 1909)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Harrison Ford (77), Patrick Stewart (79), Ken Jeong (50), Michael Mando (38), Topher Grace (41), Michelle Rodriguez (41), Anna Friel (42), Cheryl Ladd (68), Tamsin Greig (53), Bill Cosby (82), Stephen Lang (67), Mark Lester (61), Lil’ Kim (45), Caroline Quentin (59), Craig Charles (55), Chiwetel Ejiofor (42), Sofía Vergara (47), Peter Serafinowicz (47), Jessica Simpson (39), John Simm (49), Tom Hanks (63), Richard Roundtree (77), Kelly McGillis (62), Fred Savage (43), Scott Grimes (48), Brian Dennehy (81), Linda Park (41), O.J. Simpson (72), Courtney Love  (55), Richard Wilson (83), Jack White (44),  Kevin Bacon (61), Anjelica Huston (68), Jaden Smith (21), Billy Crudup (51), Jeffrey Tambor (75), Jack Whitehall (31), Shelley Duvall (70), and Ringo Starr (79).

After three earthquakes in California, you’d have expected a few celebrities on today’s list, however, the best we can muster is John McCririck and Vinny Jones’ wife. Luckily to fill the gap we have a guest post from Neil G. plus we have to award some points to Paul C. 71 well earned points for the aforementioned John McCririck!  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Glyn Houston, 93, Welsh actor (Doctor Who).
• Mr. Two Bits, 97, American cheerleader (University of Florida).
• Christopher Booker, 81, British journalist (The Sunday Telegraph, Private Eye).
• John McCririck, 79, British horse racing journalist. 
• Cameron Boyce, 20, American actor (Jessie, Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything, Descendants), seizure.

In Other News

Stevie Wonder will have a kidney transplant later this year, he has announced. The singer told the crowd about his medical condition as he finished his set at British Summer Time Hyde Park. He said he had found a donor and would perform three more shows before the operation in September, saying: “I’m all good, I’m all good.” Fans greeted the news with a loud, supportive cheer, applauding the 69-year-old singer as he left the stage. He had just finished playing the song Superstition when he told the crowd he wanted to prevent “rumours” spreading about his health. “I’m all good, I’m all good, all good, I have a donor and it’s all good,” he said. “I want you to know, I came here to give you my love and thank you for your love. I love you and God bless you.”     

BBC newsreader Kate Williams has revealed she has a rare form of cancer. Williams, who works for BBC Radio 5 Live, said she was diagnosed with cystic peritoneal mesothelioma in 2017. Following surgery later that year, she said her first annual scan showed no evidence of disease, although there was a chance of reoccurrence. She was only aware of three others in the UK who have the cancer, which affects the abdominal cavity. Williams, who is married with two children, said: “If you look at the medical literature, they often quote 153 cases in the world. “And in the UK I know of three other people, mainly through a Facebook group that I joined. “If you look at mesothelioma it’s not a nice one to look at. It’s very aggressive, malignant, quite often caused by asbestos.” Having a rare disease was “really lonely”, she said. “It’s also quite traumatic because every time [I see a new doctor] I have to explain it,” she added. Describing her course of surgery, she said: “It’s called MOAS – mother of all surgeries. “They took out the cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, greater omentum, lesser omentum, pelvic peritoneum, another bit of my peritoneum.” She added: “I keep saying I’m lucky or it wasn’t too bad – my surgery was only about six hours. Williams said she still had problems with her bowels and stomach as well as weak bones following the surgery and will continue to have annual scans for the foreseeable future – although her first scan in November showed no evidence of disease.  

A ‘relieved’ Chris Froome says he will be following the Tour de France from bed after returning home to start his recovery from the crash which left him seriously injured. Froome, 34, broke his neck, femur, elbow, hip and ribs in the accident on 12th June. “It’s a huge disappointment not to be at the Tour but I’m relieved to finally be out of hospital and home,” he said. Froome hit a wall at 54km/h when he took a hand off his handlebars to blow his nose during a practice ride before stage four of the Criterium du Dauphine in Roanne, France. He would have been chasing a record-equalling fifth victory in the Tour, which starts in Brussels on Saturday. 

On This Day

• 1928 – Sliced bread is sold for the first time (on the inventor’s 48th birthday) by the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri.
• 1954 – Elvis Presley makes his radio debut when WHBQ Memphis played his first recording for Sun Records, “That’s All Right”.
• 1992 – The New York Court of Appeals rules that women have the same right as men to go topless in public.
• 2005 – A series of four explosions occurs on London’s transport system, killing 56 people, including four suicide bombers, and injuring over 700 others.

Deaths

• 1307 – Edward I, king of England (b. 1239)
• 1930 – Arthur Conan Doyle, British writer (b. 1859)
• 1973 – Veronica Lake, American actress (b. 1922)

Tales From The Darkside by Neil G.

A cheesy title for the following ramblings, I know – but what else would you call an article for the masterpiece of macabre that is “The Dead Pool”?

I could hardly have called it “The Wistful Musings from the Meadow of My Memories – A List of Those Whom I Wish Dead”.

To be fair though I do think about death a lot, particularly on or around December the 31^st when I realise I’ve done no actual research into my Dead Pool list for the following year and it’s due in just a few hours.

I often ponder how I might die, in fact just the other day my father imparted to me recently what I would be receiving as my inheritance, “High cholesterol, dodgy prostate and a stamp collection”. Which of that trio might get me first is anyone’s guess but at this point the stamp collection is the clear favourite.

I mean I’m not actually sure how things could be worse at my coronial hearing:

Dr. – He was found dead surrounded by first editions of the Postal Service Commemorative 1^st class stamp depicting the Margret Thatcher years, the excitement caused a peak to his blood pressure that his weak heart just couldn’t take.

Coroner –  And his prostate?

Dr. – I beg your pardon?

Coroner – His prostate, man. Did it in some way contribute to his untimely death?

Dr. – Um, no your honour. By the normal method of examination it was perfectly fine…

The normal manner of investigation, I shudder, we men folk – such delicate flowers. A one-off finger (lubed) up the clacker as opposed to a lifetime, post-adolescence, of constant examination of the holiest of holies. A poem about prostate examination…

Oh no, oh no the indignity,

For the fingerer and the fingeree.

Right. Back on track and more about death. Who else has a steaming turd of a pointless list this year?

Seriously, I’m considering leaking to the Hollywood elite the miraculous life extending power of my list, those who at a five to midnight on December the 31^st are predicted by the honest news available online to soon be ex-celebrities. Imagine the money on offer to be included in my list of the lucky, guaranteed to grant you an extension of at least five years, nay, if not a complete cure even.

Oh no, not next year, oh no. For my planning has begun in earnest already…

As such I will now retreat to some wistful musings from the meadows of my memories to come up with some names. And if by chance you find yourself wandering by some beautiful field full of long grasses and wildflowers, butterflies silhouetted against the setting sun as the beautiful song of the nightingale sounds out into the void, listen closely you may hear a list being repeated in a manner not dissimilar to that of the diminutive murderess of millions Arya Stark, “Donald Trump, Borris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, Benjamin Netanyahu, Simon Cowell…” 

Well you know, you will have stumbled upon the meadow of my memory, take a look around… It’s entirely at your own risk.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Sylvester Stallone (73), Eva Green (39), Kevin Hart (40), Ned Beatty (82), Geoffrey Rush (68), Jennifer Saunders (61), 50 Cent (44), Burt Ward (74), Huey Lewis (69), Neil Morrissey (57), Ronni Ancona (51), Tom Cruise (57), Patrick Wilson (46), Kurtwood Smith (76), Yeardley Smith (55), Margot Robbie (29), Lindsay Lohan (33), Larry David (72), Jerry Hall (63), Pamela Anderson (52), Liv Tyler (42), Dan Aykroyd (67), Jean Marsh (85), Debbie Harry (74), David Prowse (84), Vincent D’Onofrio (60), Mike Tyson (53), Katherine Ryan (36), and Cheryl (36).

What’s all  this?! “Points?” I hear you say?? Yes!! With the death of the very well known Beth Chapman, our Laura has scored! Well done Laura, 99 points and a boost to fourth place!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Peter Ball, 87, English Anglican cleric and convicted sex offender, Bishop of Lewes (1977–1992) and Gloucester (1992–1993).  
• Billy Drago, 73, American actor (The Untouchables, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., Pale Rider), complications from a stroke.  
• Bryan Marshall, 81, British actor (The Spy Who Loved Me, Quatermass and the Pit, The Long Good Friday).  
• Beth Chapman, 51, American bounty hunter and reality television personality (Dog the Bounty Hunter, Dog and Beth: On the Hunt, Dog’s Most Wanted), throat cancer.    
• Douglas Fielding, 73, British actor (Z-Cars, EastEnders) and narrator (Nightfall in Middle-Earth).  
• Max Wright, 75, American actor (ALF, Reds, All That Jazz), lymphoma.  

In Other News

Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler has been rushed to hospital after suffering a stab wound, according to reports. The Media reports that someone called emergency services on Thursday night, to report that someone had stabbed themselves. Adler was apparently found at his home in LA with a stab wound to the stomach, and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No one else was suspected to have been involved in the incident. Adler has struggled with substance abuse for decades. He was kicked out of Guns N’Roses over his issues with addiction in 1990, after achieving worldwide success as one of the original five in the late Eighties. Adler was later inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the group in 2012.  

Rapper Slim 400 was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital after suffering multiple gunshot wounds, according to reports. Local law enforcement told the media that they received a call at approximately 8.30pm on Friday night for a male who had been shot in Compton. Sources say the circumstances of the shooting are unclear, though it’s believed a black vehicle seen leaving the scene may be involved. The rapper is best known for his appearance on the track “Bruisin”, alongside YG and Sad Boy Loko. Podcaster Adam Grandmaison, known as Adam22, wrote on Twitter: “Slim 400 got shot 10 times and is currently in the hospital. Pray for him.” He also posted text screenshots that claimed the rapper had been shot in the face and back.

Former deputy prime minister and Labour veteran John Prescott has been admitted to hospital after suffering a stroke, his family has said. A statement on the 81-year-old’s Twitter account said he was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary on Friday. He is “over the worst” and “talking”, former Home Secretary Alan Johnson told the BBC. A statement from the family of Lord Prescott said the hospital staff had been “remarkable and we cannot thank them enough”. “He is receiving excellent care from the NHS,” they said, praising the “swift actions” of the paramedics and A&E staff. Mr Johnson said Lord Prescott was enormously grateful for the care he had received. “Now it’s about the aftercare – it’s what comes afterwards that is as important as what happens on the day of the stroke itself,” he said. “They want him to get proper rest to get over this, that’s the number one priority, to recover and get over that important after-stage.” He said there had been no concerns for Lord Prescott’s health in the days prior to the stroke and there were “no signs of him slowing down at all”.  

Former West Indies captain Brian Lara says doctors believe his health scare is “nothing major” after he was taken to hospital in Mumbai with chest pain. Lara, 50, had tests on Tuesday after suffering the pain in the gym but hoped to be discharged on Wednesday. “A couple of the tests have come back already,” said Lara in a message on Twitter from Cricket West Indies. “The doctors were quite happy that there is nothing major. I’ll be back in full health very soon.” One of the finest batsman in the game’s history, Lara is in India to perform media duties during the World Cup. “I think I maybe just extended myself too much in the gym this morning and there’s been a bit of pain in my chest,” added Lara. “I’m just letting everyone know I’m fine, I’m recovering and I’ll be back in my hotel room tomorrow. Lara is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen the game has ever seen.  

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she is “fine” following two bouts of shaking in public that have sparked concerns about her health. Speaking at the G20 summit in Osaka, she said she was convinced that “this reaction will disappear just as it has arisen”, German news agency DPA said. Asked what lay behind it and whether she had seen a doctor, she said she had “nothing in particular to report”. On Thursday she was seen shaking for two minutes at a ceremony in Berlin. The chancellor, who turns 65 next month, gripped her arms until she became steadier. She was offered a glass of water but did not drink it. The previous incident – which she later blamed on dehydration – saw her shaking while standing next to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in hot sunshine. In 2017 she had an earlier bout of shaking in hot weather on a visit to Mexico as she was attending a military honours ceremony. Reports said that subsequent medical checks had found nothing to be wrong. Mrs Merkel is now in her fourth term as chancellor, a role she began in November 2005. She has said she will leave politics when her current term ends in 2021. She has a reputation for remarkable stamina – during intensive late-night discussions at EU summits, for example. She has been in good health while in office, and even worked from home after a knee operation in 2011; she suffered a fall while skiing in 2014. Her absences were only brief on those occasions. 

On This Day

• 1905 – Albert Einstein sends the article On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, in which he introduces special relativity, for publication in Annalen der Physik. 
• 1908 – The Tunguska Event, the largest impact event on Earth in human recorded history, resulting in a massive explosion over Eastern Siberia.  
• 1934 – The Night of the Long Knives, Adolf Hitler‘s violent purge of his political rivals in Germany, takes place.  
• 1937 – The world’s first emergency telephone number, 999, is introduced in London. 
• 2007 – A Jeep Cherokee filled with propane canisters drives into the entrance at Glasgow Airport, Scotland in a failed terrorist attack.   
• 2009 – Yemenia Flight 626, an Airbus A310-300, crashes into the Indian Ocean near Comoros, killing 152 of the 153 people on board. A 14-year-old girl named Bahia Bakari survives the crash.

Deaths

• 2012 – Yitzhak Shamir, Israeli politician, 7th Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1915)   
• 2017 – Barry Norman, English television presenter (b. 1933)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Gary Busey (75), Amanda Donohoe (57), John Cusack (53), Mel Brooks (93), Kathy Bates (71), Felicia Day (40), Alice Krige (65), Aileen Quinn (48), Elon Musk (48), Tobey Maguire (44),  Courtney Ford (41), J.J. Abrams (53), Meera Syal (58), Ariana Grande (26), Ricky Gervais (58), Carly Simon (74), Iain Glen (58), Nancy Allen (69), Peter Weller (72), Mick Fleetwood (72), Selma Blair (47), Frances McDormand (62), Joss Whedon (55), and Bryan Brown (72).