Nelson Mandela

Happy birthday Nelson Mandela! The South African former-president, anti-apartheid activist and all-round hero turns 94 today. Twitter certainly knows how to celebrate in style with #mandeladay #madiba and Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela dominating today’s trends.

@NelsonMandela – the official Twitter handle for the Nelson Mandela Foundation tweeted at midnight to say: “Today is #MandelaDay, will you be joining a global movement for good & giving 67 minutes in honour of the 67 years #Madiba gave to humanity?” spurring a flurry of Twitter good will.

The tributes have flooded in all afternoon…

@Oxfam: “Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela! You r a symbol of hope & inspiration to people around the world”

@Azadessa: “Happy birthday #Madiba, Your name has become the grammar of hope, inspiration and shared humanity on the beloved continent. #Mandela”

A handful of public figures have also praised the South African figurehead, including William Hague who tweeted: “Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela. Thank you for your inspiration to everyone striving for freedom around the world #Madiba”

But it is @dosomething who make the best of their limited tweet capacity: “Happy birthday, Nelson Mandela. You are too much to appreciate in 140 characters.”

Rajesh Khanna

From the birthday of one of South Africa’s figureheads to the death of Rajesh Khanna, one of Bollywood’s founding fathers. Amongst India’s first superstars, Khanna has passed away from an undisclosed illness at the age of 69.

It didn’t take long for Bollywood and the world to tweet out their gushing tributes…

@AnupamPkher sums up what made the great man so special: “Rajesh Khanna gave us a crash course in Romance. He introduced us to a special twinkle in the eye that made us feel good about ourselves. RIP”

The actor was a giant in his industry, a fact verified by @BBCEnt_India’s tweet: “RIP Rajesh Khanna! Hailed as India’s first superstar after 15 consecutive superhits – a record that is still unbroken.”

Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar added “Very unfortunate to hear about the demise of Rajesh Khanna Ji. While growing up I watched so many of his movies…”  

And finally, his Bollywood reign is poignantly summed up by fellow cricketer Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) – “The King of romance, the original superstar – painful to know Rajesh Khanna is no more.”

Pete Doherty

And from the plaudits of a Bollywood superstar to the misdemeanours of Britain’s favourite drug addict. Yep, Pete Doherty was back in the news again yesterday and has been trending ever since. Guess what? He’s stooped to new lows (we know what you’re thinking – how much lower can he go?)

Well, the former Libertines and Babyshambles frontman has failed in his latest attempt to kick his drug habit after being thrown out of a Thai rehab clinic for allegedly being a “disruptive influence”. It doesn’t take much to set off an onslaught of Doherty abuse, but he certainly isn’t doing himself any favours…

@mitchrhyskent: “Can’t believe Pete Doherty got kicked out of rehab in Thailand. Bet he tried to give heroin to a tiger.”

@factorybristol: “Pete Doherty’s been thrown out of rehab for ‘disrupting other patients' treatment’. Funny-his music’s been disrupting ours for many years…”

And finally, @alexfordham: “Wish I’d put money on Pete Doherty not completing his rehab stint.” We reckon the odds on that were probably pretty short, Alex.

And finally… Finding Nemo 2

Grown adults worldwide were dancing around with glee earlier today when Pixar announced plans for a sequel to their 2003 animated hit Finding Nemo. Hot on the heels of the upcoming Monster’s University (Monster’s Inc’s eagerly-waited follow up), the Nemo hype has prompted a flurry of rumours regarding a possible Toy Story 4, although production on the latter is yet to be confirmed. All three films dominated Twittersphere chatter throughout the morning:

An outbreak of overgrown children reacted to the news by tweeting their excitement, none more so than @MoreSarcasm: “Finding Nemo 2, Toy Story 4, Monsters Inc. 2. I WILL BE PUSHING LITTLE KIDS OUT OF THE WAY, SCREAMING, 'CHILDHOOD IS MINE, MINE I TELL YOU'.”

If your perforated eardrums have recovered from that outburst, why not find out what everyone’s favourite forgetful fish made of the news? @ArryPottah: “They told Dory the news, but she’s already forgotten.”

And @BieberGum whets our cinema-going appetite: “Toy Story 4, Finding Nemo 2 and Monsters Inc 2! Step aside children this cinema is booked for the 90’s kids.”