Your morning briefing: What you should know for Thursday, February 6

Hollywood 'Golden Age' legend Kirk Douglas dies aged 103

Kirk Douglas, who was one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, has died aged 103.

The Spartacus actor died yesterday, his son and acting icon Michael Douglas confirmed as he paid tribute to his Oscar-winning father.

“To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years,” his son said.

Some of the biggest names in the movie business spoke out to remember the film star, including the likes of Catherine Zeta Jones and Steven Spielberg.

Trump claims 'full exoneration' after surviving impeachment trial

Donald Trump has claimed “full vindication and exoneration” after surviving his historic impeachment trial in the Senate.

The White House welcomed the decision to acquit the president, branding the proceedings a “witch hunt… based on a series of lies”.

Senators voted 52-48 in favour of clearing the US leader of abuse of power, and then 53-47 of obstruction of Congress’ investigation.

But lashing out following the verdict, Nancy Pelosi described the move as a “betrayal of the Constitution”.

The House speaker, who led the impeachment proceedings, added that Mr Trump remains an “ongoing” threat to democracy.

Buttigieg clings onto narrow lead in Iowa caucuses

Pete Buttigieg clung on to his narrow lead over Bernie Sanders after a new batch of votes in the Iowa caucuses were released.

The former South Bend Mayor was ahead of the Vermont Senator by less than one percentage point with 92 per cent of precincts reporting.

Iowa is the US state that traditionally kicks off a presidential election campaign that culminates this year on November 3.

Three dead after plane skids from runway and breaks up at Istanbul airport

At least three people have been killed and 179 were hurt as a budget airline plane skidded off a runway at an airport in Turkey.

The Boeing 737-800 landed in Istanbul in wet weather before it plunged from the airstrip and burst into flames in horrifying scenes.

Passengers on the Pegasus Airline plane were seen being evacuated through cracks in the fuselage and led to a patch of grass next to the runway.

Scientists baffled as mysterious 'monster star' goes dark

A mysterious monster galaxy that existed about 12 billion years ago and suddenly went dark has baffled scientists.

The galaxy formed an immense number of stars by the time the universe was only one billion-years-old.

But a mere eight million years later, it suddenly became inactive, astronomers at the University of California, Riverside, claim – and it is not clear why.

Before the universe had reached two billion years, XMM-2599 had managed to form a mass of more than 300 billion suns, researchers said.

On this day...

1665: Queen Anne, last Stuart ruler, second daughter of James II, was born in London.

1685: The "merry monarch" Charles II died. Some say his last words to his brother James were: "Don't let poor Nellie starve" - a reference to his favourite mistress Nell Gwyn.

1783: English landscape gardener Lancelot 'Capability' Brown died. Kew Gardens and the grounds at Blenheim Palace are examples of his work.

1788: Massachusetts became the sixth state of the United States.

1838: Sir Henry Irving, English actor, was born in Somerset. He was the first actor to be knighted.

1918: The Representation of the People Act received Royal Assent, granting the vote to women over 30.

1927: A boy violinist in short trousers, aged 10, caused a sensation in Paris when he performed Symphonie Espagnole. The child prodigy was Yehudi Menuhin.

1952: King George VI died during the night at Sandringham, aged 56. His daughter, on safari in Africa at the time, succeeded as Elizabeth II.

1958: Seven Manchester United footballers - the Busby Babes - were killed when their plane crashed in thick snow at Munich airport. An eighth, Duncan Edwards, died 15 days later in hospital.

1983: Nazi fugitive Klaus Barbie was charged in Lyon, France, with crimes against humanity.

1997: A widow was allowed to be inseminated with her dead husband's sperm by the Court of Appeal in a historic judgement.

2001: Ariel Sharon, leader of the right-wing Likud party, became the new prime minister of Israel.

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