News Article 12

Pitch Perfect 2 top US Box office charts

Pitch Perfect 2 has made an impressive $70.3m (£44.7m) debut at the US box office, storming ahead of George Miller's Mad Max reboot, Fury Road.

The comedy sequel earned more in its first weekend than the $65m that the first film pulled in over the course of its entire US run in cinemas. Universal's Nick Carpou described the musical sequel's success as "amazing". Directed by actress Elizabeth Banks, it marks the highest ever opening for a first-time feature film director.

"People loved the first movie and it resonated well beyond that $65m that the first film did," said Carpou, Universal's domestic distribution chief. "To be able to build on the first film and expand its popularity is pretty amazing."

The film sees Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson reprising their original roles, alongside newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, as the fictional a capella singing group The Barden Bellas. The story sees the Bellas square off against German aca-champions Das Sound Machine in an international singing contest.

Tom Hardy in his new role as Mad Max

Tom Hardy's turn as the reinvented Mad Max - filling the shoes of Mel Gibson 30 years on - racked up $44.4m, having received positive reviews when it premiered at Cannes Film Festival last week.

However the film remains a long way from profit. Pitch Perfect 2 cost a modest $29m to produce, while Mad Max: Fury Road carries a significant $150m price tag.

News Article 11

Riots have broken out in London over election Result

There have been riots in London concerning the Conservatives getting into power for the next four years. Thousands of people went to London to protest against the Conservatives getting into power once again. It is said that the Conservatives did not receive the most amount of votes but received the highest amount of seats in parliament.

The people are rioting over some changed that the Conservatives have said they will make. Some of these changes will be privatising the NHS, scrapping the human rights act to replace it with the British Bill of rights and reducing annual benefits.

The Conservatives with leader David Cameron reached 331 seats in parliament, Labour had 232 seats and the Lib Dems only received 8 seats.
Mr Cameron's rivals Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage have all resigned after election disappointment.

I personally don't think these riots will change anything in the country and unfortunately wont get the Conservatives out of power but I think it's good that people are finally standing up for what they believe in. I'm unhappy that the Conservatives are in power and if I could vote would vote for Labour. I disagree with how power is granted and feel our votes should be the decider on who governs our country. Some of the changes that will be made such as privatising the NHS will ruin the county and it reinforces the idea that the Conservatives are only for the rich.

News Article 10

Nigerian Women freed by Boko Haram tell of captivity horror

Former hostages held by Boko Haram militants in northern Nigeria say some fellow captives were stoned to death as the army approached to rescue them.

The Military says many Boko Haram bases in the Sambisa Forest have been destroyed

The women said Boko Haram fighters started pelting them when they refused to run away as the army came nearer. A group of nearly 300 women and children was brought out of the vast Sambisa forest to a government camp.

The military says it has rescued more than 700 people in the past week in an offensive against the Islamist group. The women said several were killed in the stoning, but they did not know how many.

Others were killed inadvertently by the military during the rescue operation, they added. Soldiers did not realise "in time that we were not the enemies" and some women and children were "run over by their trucks", said survivor Asama Umoru.

The survivors said that when they were initially captured, the militants had killed men and older boys in front of their families before taking women and children into the forest. Some were forced into marriage. One woman, Lami Musa, 27, said she had avoided that fate. "When they realised I was pregnant, they said I was impregnated by an infidel [her husband] and they killed him," she said.

Other survivors said the militant Islamists never let them out of their sight - not even when they went to the toilet. "They didn't allow us to move an inch," one of the freed women, Asabe Umaru, told Reuters news agency. "We were kept in one place. We were under bondage."

One woman described how they were fed just one meal a day. "We were fed only ground dry maize in the afternoons. It was not good for human consumption," Cecilia Abel told Reuters. "Every day, we witnessed the death of one of us and waited for our turn," said Umaru, a 24-year-old mother of two.

Boko Haram is said to have abducted over 2000 women and children but of those released none of the freed women and children are thought to be any of the 300 school girls that were abducted more than 1 year ago. 

I think the events that have happened in Nigeria are absolutely awful and the rest of the captive need to be found and returned. What is happening in Nigeria is not aired on the news enough so people don't understand just how terrible the events have gotten.