February 4th 2011

Tahrir square battles intensify in Egypt –
At least 7 anti-Mubarak protesters in Cairo died after night of violence as they fought to hold Tahrir square against pro-government fighters. Separately Vodafone claims the Egyptian authorities forced it to send pro-government text messages during this week’s protests.

Fry avoids Japan after joke –
Stephen Fry pulls out of going to film a documentary in Japan after comments he made about a survivor of the two atomic bombs during the second world war in the programme QI caused upset. Fry told the story of Tsutomu Yamaguchi who was on business in Hiroshima when it was destroyed by an atomic bomb on 6 August 1945. After surviving and spending a night in Hiroshima, Yamaguchi travelled by train back to his home town, Nagasaki. That city was bombed on 9 August as Yamaguchi was explaining his earlier near death experience to his manager. Fry had commented: “Well, this man is either the unluckiest or the luckiest, it depends which way you look at it.”
Stephen_FryStephen Fry
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March 11, 2016

Top News Stories –

Japan earthquake: Tsunami hits north-east –
Japan’s most powerful earthquake since records began has struck the north-east coast, triggering a massive tsunami. Cars, ships and buildings were swept away by a wall of water after the 8.9-magnitude tremor, which struck about 400km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo. A state of emergency has been declared at a nuclear power plant, where pressure has exceeded normal levels. Officials say 350 people are dead and about 500 missing, but it is feared the final death toll will be much higher. In one ward alone in Sendai, a port city in Miyagi prefecture, 200 to 300 bodies were found. The quake was the fifth-largest in the world since 1900 and nearly 8,000 times stronger than the one which devastated Christchurch, New Zealand, last month, said scientists. Thousands of people living near the Fukushima nuclear power plant have been ordered to evacuate. [BBC] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

Japan Tsunami Footage

List of the Day –

List of ten most powerful earthquakes [Wikipedia]

Rank Date Location Event Magnitude
1 May 22, 1960 Valdivia, Chile 1960 Valdivia earthquake 9.5
2 March 27, 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska, United States 1964 Alaska earthquake 9.2
3 December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean, Sumatra, Indonesia 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake 9.1
4 March 11, 2011 Pacific Ocean, Tōhoku region, Japan 2011 Tōhoku earthquake 9.0
5 November 4, 1952 Kamchatka, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union 1952 Kamchatka earthquakes 9.0
6 August 13, 1868 Arica, Chile (then Peru) 1868 Arica earthquake 9.0 (est.)
7 January 26, 1700 Pacific Ocean, USA and Canada (then part of the British Empire) 1700 Cascadia earthquake 8.7–9.2 (est.)
8 July 9, 869 Pacific Ocean, Tōhoku region, Japan 869 Sanriku earthquake 8.9 (est.)
9 December 2, 1611 Pacific Ocean, Hokkaido, Japan 1611 Sanriku earthquake 8.9 (est.)
10 April 2, 1762 Chittagong, Bangladesh (then Kingdom of Mrauk U) 1762 Arakan earthquake 8.8 (est.)

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October 20, 2011

Top News Story –

Libya’s Col Muammar Gaddafi killed, says NTC

Libya’s ex-leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has been killed after an assault on his birthplace of Sirte, officials say.

The circumstances of his death are not yet clear. Video has emerged purporting to show Col Gaddafi being captured alive and bundled on to a truck.

Fighters loyal to the National Transitional Council (NTC) said they found him hiding in a hole, and shot him when he tried to escape.

Col Gaddafi was toppled in August after 42 years in power.

Acting Justice Minister Mohammad al-Alagi told the AP news agency Saif al-Islam had been captured and taken to hospital with a leg wound.

A corpse that officials identified as that of Mutassim has been laid out in a house in the city of Misrata, where locals have been queuing to take pictures.

The body of Col Gaddafi has also reportedly been taken to Misrata.

Nato, which has been running a bombing campaign in Libya for months, said it had carried out an air strike earlier on Thursday.

French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet said French jets had fired warning shots to halt a convoy carrying Col Gaddafi as it tried to flee Sirte.

He said Libyan fighters had then descended and taken the colonel.

Proof of Col Gaddafi’s fate came in grainy pieces of video, first circulated among fighters, and then broadcast by international news channels.

The first images showed a bloodied figure presumed to be Col Gaddafi.

Later, video emerged of the colonel being bundled on to the back of a pick-up truck after being captured alive.

Muammar al-Gaddafi at the 12th AU summit, February 2, 2009, in Addis Abeba.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jesse B

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