March 8th 2014

Air Malaysia flight goes missing –
An Air Malaysia aircraft flight MH370 with 239 people on board has gone missing after taking off from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, bound for Beijing. No distress messages were received and no sign of the plane has been found.

Brian O’Driscoll almost bows out –
Rugby Union’s Irish captain Brian O’Driscoll makes his final match in Ireland’s 46-7 win over Italy. It was his 140th cap making him the most capped international rugby player of all time.
Brian_O'DriscollBrian O’Driscoll
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January 3, 2015

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Girl survives plane crash –
A seven year-old girl who survived the plane crash that killed her parents in Kentucky, US, managed to walk a mile through dense woodland to raise the alarm. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the Piper PA-34 aircraft after the pilot reported engine problems.

Fancy a quick test drive? –
Former Formula One world champion Nigel Mansell now runs a Mitsubishi dealership on the British island of Jersey in the Channel Islands. The 1992 world champion raced for Renault Williams, Ferrari and Lotus as well as winning the CART title in the US in a Lola-Ford. He is running the franchise with his son.
Nigel Mansell 2007

Worth its weight in gold –
A fish owner in Norfolk, England paid £300 in vets’ fees when his pet goldfish became constipated. He took his fish to Toll Barn Veterinary Centre in North Walsham where vet Faye Bethell used anaesthetised water to knock out the goldfish before removing the blockages.

Elvis’ planes under the hammer –
A pair of jets that Elvis Presley called “Lisa Marie” and “Hound Dog II” are being auctioned off in Beverley Hills, California. The Convair 880 and Lockheed Jetstar were owned by Presley from 1975 just two years before he died. Neither can fly but the successful bidder has an option to buy a few acres of land by Graceland to display them.
Lisa Marie

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Blackout City from Nicholas Buer on Vimeo.

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March 5, 2015

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Harrison Ford crashes his plane for third time –
US actor Harrison Ford has been injured in a small plane crash in Los Angeles. The 72-year-old, star of the Indiana Jones and Star Wars films, reported engine failure and crash-landed his vintage plane on a Venice golf course. He was breathing and alert when medics arrived and took him to hospital in a “fair to moderate” condition, a fire department spokesman said. His son Ben, a chef in Los Angeles, later tweeted from the hospital: “Dad is OK. Battered but OK! [BBC]
Harrison-Ford Harrison Ford

Delta Aircraft slides off New York runway –
A passenger airliner has skidded off the runway at LaGuardia airport in New York City, as a major winter storm bears down on a large part of the US. Emergency officials helped 127 passengers and five crew off the plane just after 11:00 local time (16:00 GMT), but no one was seriously injured. Snow and freezing rain has been falling from Texas to New England over the past several hours. The flight, Delta 1086, was attempting to land at LaGuardia after flying from Atlanta. It veered to the left shortly after making contact with the runway, but avoided crashing into nearby Flushing Bay. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

“Treasures of Zakynthos”

Treasures of Zakynthos – A Timelapse Film from Maciej Tomków on Vimeo.
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April 7, 2015

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American Pie lyrics sell for $1.2m –
The original manuscript of Don McLean’s American Pie has sold for $1.2m (£806,000) at a New York auction. The 16-page draft had been expected to fetch as much as $1.5m (£1m) at the Christie’s sale. McLean had hinted in February the original manuscript would reveal the song’s lyrical meaning – which had always been kept a mystery. “The writing and the lyrics will divulge everything there is to divulge,” he said. The 69-year-old previously acknowledged the beginning of the song is about the death of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper – Jiles P Richardson – in a plane crash, but has remained elusive about the rest of the track. (See List of the Day) [BBC]

Lindsay Lohan Attempts to “Break the Internet” With Her Clothes On in Racy Jumpsuit –
Step aside, Kim Kardashian, there’s another former Hollywood party girl looking to effectively “break the Internet.” On Saturday, March 7, Lindsay Lohan posted a shot of herself in Paris on Twitter, wearing a revealing black lace jumpsuit and hat. [US Magazine]
Lindsay Lohan Tweet - Break The Internet Lindsay Lohan Tweet – copyright @LindsayLohan Twitter

US judge strikes out Prince Andrew sex claims –
Claims that a woman was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17 are to be struck from the record of a civil case in the US, a judge has said. The Duke of York was named in court papers in Florida by a woman alleging financier Jeffrey Epstein forced her to have sex with the duke three times. But Judge Kenneth Marra said the “lurid” claims were “unnecessary” to decide the civil case. Buckingham Palace has previously “emphatically” denied the allegations. [BBC]
Prince Andrew August 2014 (cropped)

Rand Paul announces 2016 White House bid –
Senator Rand Paul has announced he is launching a 2016 presidential election campaign on the Republican ticket. “Today begins the journey to take America back,” he said in a campaign event in Kentucky. Mr Paul, a Kentucky senator, stands out from the Republican pack because of his comparatively libertarian views. He becomes the second Republican to enter the contest that concludes in November 2016.
Rand-Paul

Apple wants to stop fans queuing outside stores for its watch –
Internal memo urges staff to tell customers to order Apple Watch online instead of waiting outside stores. Apple wants to stop hundreds of people queuing outside stores when its smartwatch goes on sale later this month. The technology giant has adopted a “significant change in mindset” and urged staff to tell customers to order the Apple Watch online, an internal memo stated. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Dark Horse: An all-electric ’68 Mustang’s quest to shatter records from The Verge on Vimeo.

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June 23, 2015

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Tom Holland is announced as the new Marvel Spider-Man –
Tom Holland, who was in Wolf Hall and the stage musical Billy Elliot, has grabbed the lead in the franchise reboot. Marvel and Sony confirmed the news in a statement on their website. The 19-year-old takes over from Andrew Garfield for the new film which is due out July 2017. In a statement posted on their website, Marvel said: “Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are proud to announce that after a full worldwide casting search, Tom Holland will play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the next Spider-Man film.” The statement also said: “The studios and producers were impressed by Holland’s performances in The Impossible, Wolf Hall, and the upcoming In the Heart of the Sea, and by a series of complex screen tests.” [BBC Newsbeat] He celebrated with some acrobatic videos on his Instagram account
Tom-Holland ©tomholland2013/InstagramTom Holland

Titanic composer James Horner dies in plane crash –
The composer James Horner, who won Oscars for the theme song and score for the film Titanic, has died in a plane crash in California. He was 61. His credits included numerous other high-profile films, among them Avatar, Braveheart and Aliens. He was alone in his two-seater plane when the accident happened. [BBC]

Formula 1: US-Qatari investors ‘to bid for sport’ –
The Miami Dolphins American football team owner Stephen Ross is reportedly working with investors from Qatar to buy a stake in Formula 1 racing. RSE Ventures and Qatar Sports Investments plan a bid for CVC Capital Partners’ 35.5% stake in the holding company that owns F1. The Financial Times and Reuters said the deal could be worth up to $8bn, and help build F1’s presence in the US. [BBC]

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7 Days in Hell: Trailer (HBO)

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  • The deputy speaker of the Greek parliament, Alexis Mitropoulos, warns that the body may reject concessions the government had made to the country’s creditors. (Reuters)
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June 30th 2015

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1 second lie-in tonight –
At 11:59:59pm today, the clock struck 11:59:60pm a ‘leap second’ to compensate for the slowing of the Earth’s rotation around the Sun. The last time the world added a leap second, in 2012, major websites including Reddit, Foursquare, Yelp and LinkedIn were not being programmed to deal with an unexpected extra second and crashed. To avoid this Google have added fractions of a second to programmes over the last year, a technique known as a “leap smear”. Scientists at the the International Earth Rotation Service and Paris Observatory say this allows “Earth time” to catch up to “atomic time” and will be the 26th leap second since 1972. [BBC] See Top Twitter Trends

Hollywood couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner to divorce –
Hollywood couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner say they have made “the difficult decision to divorce”. The couple have been married since 2005 and have three children between the ages of three and nine. In a statement they said: “We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children”. [BBC]
Ben_AffleckBen Affleck

Apple Music Makes Debut With D.J. Carrying the Flag –
“Into the unknown we go,” the D. J. Zane Lowe said just after noon on Tuesday, as he began his first show on Beats 1, the Internet radio station that is a big feature of Apple’s new music service. As Apple Music opened on Tuesday — most listeners found it as part of an update of Apple’s mobile operating system — much of the attention turned to Beats 1, a live radio feed that in some ways functions as marketing for the entire service. Led by Mr. Lowe, who was born in New Zealand and became a top announcer on the BBC station Radio 1, Beats 1 is in some ways an old-fashioned radio station, with D. J.s, promotional recordings — “carts,” as they are in industry parlance, after the tape cartridges they used to fit on — and teases about new songs.
Zane Lowe tweetZane Lowe tweet [@zanelowe]

Donna Karan Steps Down as Head of Iconic Brand –
In a major shift for American fashion, Donna Karan, the 66-year-old founder and chief designer of Donna Karan International, a brand that defined the way American working women dressed for decades, announced on Tuesday that she was leaving the helm of the house that bears her name. Ms. Karan will remain as an adviser to Donna Karan International, but devote more time to her Urban Zen line, which centers on wellness and artisanal goods, and its foundation. [NY Times]

Video of the Day –

Asking Siri 0 divided by 0 [See Top Twitter Trends – “Siri”]

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July 6, 2015

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Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro held at gunpoint for second time in year as robbers steal his car –
Armed thieves carjacked Rio de Janeiro’s archbishop, making off with his car and briefly holding the driver hostage in the 2016 Olympic host city’s latest brazen act of street crime. Archbishop Orani Tempesta was returning home with two Italian friends late on Sunday after celebrating Mass when his car was attacked in northern Rio, police and the archbishop’s office said on Monday. [Daily Telegraph]

Rory McIlroy sustains major ankle injury in build-up to Open –
World number one and defending champion Rory McIlroy is a doubt for the Open after totally rupturing an ankle ligament playing football with friends. The 2015 Open begins in nine days’ time at St Andrews in Scotland. McIlroy, 26, wrote on Instagram: “Total rupture of left ATFL (ankle ligament) and associated joint capsule damage in a soccer kickabout with friends. “Continuing to assess extent of injury and treatment plan day by day. Rehab already started.” [BBC]
Rory-McIlroy/Instagram
Rory-McIlroy/InstagramRory McIlroy Instagram

Astronomers discover ‘monster black holes’ –
Five monster black holes that were previously hidden by dust and gas have been uncovered by astronomers. The British-led discovery suggests there may be millions more “supermassive” black holes in the universe than were previously thought. Supermassive black holes are powerful cosmic “drains” sucking material into a point of infinite density formed from the compressed mass of hundreds of thousands to billions of suns. High energy X-rays emitted from around the newly identified black holes revealed their presence at the centre of five galaxies. [Daily Telegraph]

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Elsewhere from Stefaan De Croock on Vimeo.

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November 1, 2015

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Taylor Swift sued over Shake It Off lyrics –
Pop star Taylor Swift is being sued for $42m (£27m) for allegedly stealing the lyrics to her hit 2014 song Shake It Off. US R&B singer Jesse Braham has claimed in legal papers Swift stole the words from a song he wrote in 2013 called Haters Gone Hate. As well as the monetary compensation, Mr Braham also wants his name added as a writer on the track. Representatives for Swift have yet to officially comment on the legal case. Shake It Off topped music charts around the world and reached number two in the UK. The video for the song has been watched more than 1.1 billion times on YouTube. [BBC]
Taylor_SwiftTaylor Swift

Australia drops knights and dames from honours system –
Australia will no longer appoint knights and dames under the honours system, PM Malcolm Turnbull has said. Mr Turnbull said the titles were “not appropriate” in modern Australia, and that Queen Elizabeth had accepted the cabinet’s recommendation to drop them. Former PM Tony Abbott reintroduced knighthoods and damehoods in 2014. His controversial decision to grant Prince Philip a knighthood in January was widely seen as one of the factors which ended his term as leader. [BBC] Mr Turnbull became Australia PM in September 2015
Malcolm_TurnbullMalcolm Turnbull

Four gymnasts share asymmetric bars gold –
Fan Yilin, Viktoriia Komova, Daria Spiridonova and Madison Kocian shared an unprecedented four gold medals at the gymnastics world championships on Saturday when the judges could not decide between their asymmetric bars routines. With the giant television screen confirming that there were indeed four champions from the eight-woman final, the gold medalists stood with their arms around each other in a straight line as the crowd gave them a standing ovation. The Russians were still in shock after a prolonged medals ceremony featured three national anthems being played and the master of ceremonies making four announcements starting with “Winner of the gold medal and the 2015 uneven bars champion is….” Organizers also had to abandon the flag-raising ceremony as there was no room for three flags on the same horizontal pole. While so many gold medals have never been given out in one event before, there was a five-way tie for silver at the 1922 championships on the pommel horse. [Reuters]
Daria_SpiridonovaDaria Spiridonova

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Alladin Magic Carpet Prank

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November 11, 2015

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Rare pink diamond sells for £19 million –
A large diamond of a rare pink hue fetched 28.725 million Swiss francs (£19 million) setting a new record on Tuesday, the star lot of Christie’s semi-annual jewellery sale in Geneva. A Chinese client based in Hong Kong bought the cushion-shaped pink diamond weighing 16.08 carats and graded vivid fancy pink, which is set in a platinum and gold ring surrounded by a double row of pave-set white diamonds. Its pre-sale estimate was $23 million to $28 million. The seller was not identified and the buyer, who has named the pink diamond “The Sweet Josephine,” wished to remain anonymous, Christie’s said. The diamond’s origin was not disclosed. In almost 250 years of auction history, only three pure vivid pink diamonds of over 10 carats have appeared for sale, according to Christie’s. [Daily Telegraph]

Call of Duty: Black Ops III ‘is the biggest entertainment launch of 2015’ –
Activision is claiming the biggest entertainment launch of the year with Call of Duty: Black Ops III. Not just in gaming. According to the game maker, it’s bigger than any film, music or book launch in 2015. Since its release on 6 November the new Call of Duty instalment has been beating records left, right and centre. During its opening weekend the game brought in over $550m (£362m) in worldwide sales. This beats 2015’s blockbuster hits such as Jurassic World and Furious 7 and chart topper Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk. [BBC Newsbeat]

Video of the Day –

‘Finding Dory’ Trailer

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March 29, 2016

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Chocolate shortage sparks violence at Easter family fun day in Skegness –
A volunteer at an Easter family fun day in Skegness was attacked by a visitor who became enraged when organisers ran out of chocolate eggs. Families paid £5 to attend Church Farm Museum’s “Easter Eggstravaganza”, which was raising funds for Bury-based charity Annabelle’s Challenge for Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. The fee included access to the site, billed as Lincolnshire’s only open air farming museum, along with a falconry display, an Easter bonnet competition, and an egg hunt. Families were also given an Easter egg – until supplies ran out. “We were handing them out and there were some people who got aggressive when we said we had run out of eggs. “A lady with her large family was aggressive and she grabbed my volunteer by the scarf round her neck, she pulled her across the counter and demanded her money back. [Daily Telegraph]

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Armed attacks and conflicts
  • 2016 Brussels bombings
    • Belgium officials lower the official death toll from 35 to 32, with nearly 100 still hospitalized. (UPI)
    • Brussels Zaventem International Airport CEO Arnaud Feist says the airport will reopen at less than a quarter capacity Wednesday, as ongoing tests determine which flights can resume. It could take months for the airport to return to full capacity, Feist added. (UPI)
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April 30, 2016

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Russia challenges US after Baltic jet face-off –
Russia says it was right to confront a US Air Force reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea on Friday. The Pentagon said a Russian jet fighter acted in an “unsafe and unprofessional manner”, and performed a barrel roll over its plane. Russia said that the American jet had turned off its transponder signal, which helps others identify it. It is the second incident in the Baltic this month in which the US has accused Russian planes of flying aggressively. US jets “regularly” try to approach Russia’s borders with transponders switched off, the statement said. Over the past 18 months, Russia has been repeatedly accused of the same practice over the Baltic and near UK waters. It is not clear how close to Russia’s waters Friday’s incident occurred. [BBC]

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The magic ingredient that brings Pixar movies to life | Danielle Feinberg

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  • A heatwave in India has claimed 300 lives in April with daytime cooking banned in some parts of the country to prevent fires which have claimed an additional 80 lives. (AP)
  • 2016 Kenya floods
  • A three-storey building collapses in the Indian city of Mumbai, resulting in six deaths and trapping many others. (Times of India)
  • At least five people are killed by floods in the U.S. state of Texas. (FOX News)
  • A mosque under refurbishment in Mogadishu, Somalia, collapses, killing at least 15 people and injuring around 40. Hundreds more are thought to be buried under the rubble. (BBC)
  • European migrant crisis
    • According to survivors, at least 70 migrants are missing after their dinghy sank off the coast of Libya. 26 people were rescued by the Italian coast guard. (BBC)
  • Five people are killed in a military plane crash in Sudan. (Reuters)
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