July 31, 2015

Top News Stories –

Facebook unveils solar-powered drone that can beam the internet down to earth –
Facebook has unveiled a full-scale prototype of its Aquila drone – the high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft that the Californian tech giant wants to use to beam internet to people in parts of the world that are not yet connected. Aquila, which is solar-powered and named after the eagle in Greek mythology that carried Jupiter’s thunderbolts, is based on technology developed by Somerset-based company Ascenta, which Facebook bought in March 2014 for an estimated £12.5m. “Aquila has the wingspan of a 737 but weighs hundreds of times less, thanks to its unique design and carbon-fiber frame,” said Jay Parikh, vice president of global engineering and infrastructure at Facebook, in a blog post. [Daily Telegraph] See Video of the Day

Naomi Campbell guilty of assault on Sicilian paparazzo –
Naomi Campbell was convicted of assault by a Sicilian court on Friday after she scratched the eye of a paparazzo photographer who took pictures of her and her former boyfriend. The incident occurred in August 2009 when the British supermodel and her then partner Russian billionaire Vladimir Doronin moored their yacht off the Sicilian island of Lipari to visit the local town. They had just arrived from St Tropez. A photographer, Gaetano Di Giovanni, took several photos of Campbell as she walked through the narrow streets. Campbell then hit photographer with her handbag, scratching one of his eyes. [Daily Telegraph]
Naomi-Campbell Naomi Campbell

Beijing to host 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics –
Beijing has been chosen to host the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, beating the bid of Kazakhstan’s Almaty. Having hosted the 2008 Olympics, the Chinese capital will be the first city to host both a summer and winter Games. Beijing and Almaty were considered outsiders when the 2022 bid race opened two years ago. But after a host of European cities withdrew for political or financial reasons, the Chinese bid beat Almaty by 44 votes to 40 with one abstention. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Inside Facebook’s Connectivity Lab

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #MilGanasDe #LiesMenTell #fridayfeeling
2 #DragMeDown #DragMeDown #DragMeDown
3 #حرقوا_الرضيع #GotDumpedBecause #WannaKnow
4 #SiempreMePasaQue #BlueMoon Rickie Lambert
5 #AysunAltay #HappyBirthdayJKRowling #HappyBirthdayJKRowling
6 San Félix Russell Wilson #ChoiceYouTuber
7 永遠の0 Cespedes #LeaveAMark
8 Hayırlı Cumalar Lynn Anderson #HappyBirthdayBeau
9 ブルームーン Roddy Piper #AskMadison
10 #MeVendriaEstupendoQue Supa #LiesMenTell

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks
Business and economy
Disasters and accidents
Law and crime
International relations
Politics and elections
Sports

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource