April 6, 2015

Top News Stories –

Mieko Nagaoka: 100-year-old Japanese swimmer sets 1,500m record –
A Japanese woman has become the first 100-year-old to complete a 1,500m freestyle swim in a 25m pool. Mieko Nagaoka, who only took up swimming at the age of 82, already holds the record in her age category for the same distance in a 50m pool. She completed the latest feat in just over one hour and 15 minutes, using backstroke all the way. She was the only person taking part in her age range – 100 to 104 – at the competition in Matsuyama on Saturday. Nagaoka already dominates the world record board for her age group, as awarded by the international swimming federation (Fina), holding 24 titles over both short and long distances. [BBC]

Smartphones could be charged in 60 seconds with new battery –
An iPhone 6 takes around two hours to charge but could be full of power in a minute if fitted with a new aluminium battery. Smartphones could be charged in less than one minute after scientists at Stanford University invented an aluminium battery so powerful it could revolutionise the industry. The new rechargeable battery can go from flat to full in a fraction of the time it currently takes to pull in enough electricity to fully charge a phone, laptop or tablet. While an iPhone 6 takes around two hours to fully charge its in-built battery, if it was fitted with the aluminium power source it would be completely topped up in around 60 seconds. And it will keep going for more than seven times as long as a lithium-ion battery. A traditional battery can be recharged around 1,000 times, while the new one can withstand 7,500 cycles. [Daily Telegraph]

Biggest American Indian tribe in US introduces country’s first junk food tax –
As diabetes and obesity spiral out of control on their vast reservation, Navajo Nation harks back to a healthier time and starts taxing Spam and crisps. In times gone by, Navajo Indians ate whatever mother nature was generous enough to bestow, their existence intimately and spiritually bound up with the land on which they lived. Their food would have been the envy of any modern dietitian as they foraged for pinyon nuts and wild potato, and nibbled on sumac berries, yucca fruit, prickly pears and beeweed greens. Today, life is very different in the Navajo Nation, the largest American Indian reservation in America, which covers an area of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah that is the size of Scotland and has a tribal population of 300,000. The modern Navajo, who prefer to be called the Diné, are facing an intensifying health crisis fuelled by a complete transition to a diet based largely on fried potatoes, tortillas, cookies, crisps, sugary drinks and Spam. [Daily Telegraph]

[Daily Telegraph]

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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]

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

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April 8, 2015

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South Carolina policeman charged after black man shot dead –
A white South Carolina police officer has been charged with murder after video emerged of him shooting a black man, running away from him. State investigators arrested North Charleston police officer Michael Slager on Tuesday after viewing the mobile phone video of the shooting. Authorities say victim Walter Lamer Scott was shot after the officer had already targeted him with a stun gun. #WalterScott is top trending hashtag Worldwide and UK (See Top Twitter Trends) [BBC]

The Interview: Activist ‘sends DVDs into N Korea by balloon’ –
A South Korean activist says he has flown thousands of copies of controversial Sony film The Interview over the North Korean border. Sony initially pulled the film after a hacking attack and threats to attack cinemas which were screening it.Lee Min-bok said he had carried out the launches at night four times since January, most recently on Saturday. Mr Lee, a defector from the North, said he had tied the DVDs to balloons along with bundles of US dollars and leaflets criticising Mr Kim’s regime. He told AFP news agency: “I launched thousands of copies and about a million leaflets on Saturday, near the western part of the border.” [BBC]

Narendra Modi: Bus tours to India PM’s Vadnagar tea stall –
A private tour operator in India plans to lay on daily bus trips to the town where PM Narendra Modi was born and worked at his father’s tea stall.
The day-long tour of Vadnagar in western Gujarat state has run once a week since starting in February and has proved a big draw with visitors.
The operator expects tens of thousands to sign up for the tour this summer. Mr Modi was Gujarat chief minister for more than a decade before his landslide general election win last year. The tour of the BJP leader’s birthplace includes visits to the street where he once lived, his former school, the railway station where he sold tea and a local lake where, according to reports, he once “caught a baby crocodile” [BBC]
PM-Modi

Hatton Garden raiders plunder jewels worth up to £200m from safety deposit boxes –
Jewels worth tens of millions of pounds were stolen during a raid on hundreds of safety deposit boxes in Hatton Garden, London’s most exclusive jewellery district. Burglars are believed to have used heavy cutting equipment to cut through the roof before abeiling down a lift shaft to access the vault over the Easter weekend. They disabled the alarm system, leaving them four days to plunder around 300 boxes in the vault over the Bank Holiday. Former Flying Squad chief Roy Ramm said he “would not be surprised” if the stolen gems were worth £200 million, although he said the figure would probably never be declared in full. (See List of the Day) [Daily Telegraph]

Apple releases Mac app to store photos in iCloud –
Apple has released a new photo storage app for Macs, which can automatically store full-resolution images online. The iCloud Photo Library syncs photos across devices while managing storage. Users can opt to keep original high-res photos in the cloud with lower-res version on a Mac, PC or iOS device. But critics highlight recent online photo security breaches and say Apple’s storage fees are much higher than some of its competitors.
The iCloud Photo Library app responds to how much storage is left on each device. It automatically downgrades the resolution of images held on a device as its storage space starts to run out – starting with the oldest images first – while ensuring they are still of suitable quality to be viewed full-screen. [BBC]

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April 9, 2015

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Milan court shooting: Man kills lawyer, judge and co-defendant –
A gunman has killed three people in a shooting spree at the Palace of Justice in Milan in northern Italy. The suspect, Claudio Giardiello, was arrested in a suburb after fleeing the scene on a motorbike. He was reportedly a defendant in a bankruptcy case. He is believed to have shot dead a co-defendant, his former lawyer and a bankruptcy court judge. The newspaper La Repubblica, quoting officials and witnesses, said that the gunman had been attending a bankruptcy hearing when a fight broke out inside the third floor courtroom. He pulled out a weapon and shot the lawyer, named as Lorenzo Alberto Claris Appiani, as well as one of his co-defendants, named as Giorgio Erba. According to La Repubblica, Mr Appiani was a former lawyer for Mr Giardiello who was acting as a witness in the case. The gunman then left the courtroom and headed to the office of appeals court judge, Fernando Ciampi, shooting him dead. It is not known if the gunman had any links to the judge. [BBC]

Taylor Swift’s mum has cancer –
Taylor Swift has told her fans news about her mother no daughter ever wants to hear. “The results came in, and I’m saddened to tell you that my mom has been diagnosed with cancer,” she posted on her Tumblr page. The music industry’s best-selling star said she asked her mother, Andrea Finlay, to get screened for potential health issues as a Christmas present last year, “just to ease some worries of mine.” “There were no red flags and she felt perfectly fine, but she did it just to get me and my brother off her case about it,” Swift wrote. While the 25-year-old intends to keep her mother’s exact diagnosis and condition private, she said Finlay wanted to talk publicly to encourage others to get tested. [Daily Mail] #PrayForMamaSwift becomes one of the top trending hashtags of the day. (See Top Twitter Trends)
Taylor-Swift

Richie Benaud: Australia cricket legend & commentator dies at 84 –
Former Australia captain and legendary cricket commentator Richie Benaud has died at the age of 84. A pioneering leg-spin bowler, Benaud played in 63 Tests, 28 as captain, before retiring in 1964 to pursue a career in journalism and broadcasting. His final commentary in England came during the 2005 Ashes series but he continued to work for Channel Nine in Australia until 2013. [BBC]

Google ‘looking at buying Twitter’ –
More than $1.5bn (£1bn) was added to the value of Twitter following reports Google could launch a bid for the social network. Shares in Twitter jumped 4.8pc on reports the US company had hired Goldman Sachs as an adviser to fend off approaches. Two companies are believed to have contacted Twitter with “serious” interest, according to Briefing.com, with Google identified as one of those firms. Twitter, which allows its users to post short messages online, has a market capitalisation of more than $34bn. Despite being less than 10 years old, the company has 288m monthly active users. Google launched its own social network, Google+, in 2011, but despite racking up around 300m monthly active users, it has struggled against rivals such as Twitter and Facebook. [Daily Telegraph]

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Museum of Energy Mechanical Surface A/V Performance_santralistanbul 100th Anniversary from Ouchhh on Vimeo.

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April 10, 2015

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Alex Jones accidentally flashes her nipples in see-through top as she Hosts the One Show –
BBC TV’s The One Show host Alex Jones left viewers with more than they bargained for on Friday night, when she accidentally showed her nipples live on air. The gorgeous brunette telly presenter suffered the awkward wardrobe malfunction in a sheer white blouse which turned see-through under the BBC studio lights. Alex, who wore her hair in a chic French plait seemed completely oblivious to her wardrobe malfunction. [Daily Mirror] The presenter quickly found herself trending on Twitter.
Alex-Jones-thehshq.com Alex Jones

Sandra Bullock’s 911 call from inside closet as she hid from stalker –
The emergency call made by Sandra Bullock as she hid in a wardrobe from a stalker, has emerged after it was played in court. Joshua Corbett, the man accused of breaking into the Oscar-winning-actress’ Los Angeles home, appeared in court on Thursday for a preliminary hearing on felony charges of burglary, stalking and possession of a machine gun, and 19 additional felony weapons charges. The audio played in court was taken from her June 8, 2014, call to police. In it, a frantic and fearful Bullock is heard describing the events. “Someone has broken into my house. I’m hiding in the closet,” says Bullock, in the recording. “I’m locked in my closet. I have a safe door in my bedroom, and I’ve locked it, and I’m locked in the closet right now,” she adds.
sandra-bullock Sandra Bullock

Chinese GP: Man arrested after running on to track –
A man who ran across the track during practice for the Chinese Grand Prix has been arrested. He crossed the main straight shortly before a car, climbed the fence and ran into the pits before trying to enter Ferrari’s garage. He is reported to have said he wanted to try a car, before being apprehended by security and handed to police. Formula 1 bosses will investigate how the tight security measures, which are imposed at all races, were breached. A Ferrari spokesperson said the man headed straight for the team’s garage, but did not make it inside after he was stopped on the threshold by two mechanics. He was then handed over to security and then the police. [BBC]

Hatton Gardens heist: Metropolitan Police could have to pay millions in compensation –
Scotland Yard could face compensation claims running into millions of pounds after admitting that officers failed to respond to a burglar alarm during the Hatton Garden heist, insurance experts warned. Angry jewellers who fear they may have lost a fortune when 70 safe deposit boxes were looted during a daring raid last weekend have warned they may sue the Metropolitan Police over alleged incompetence. [Daily Telegraph]

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LEGO Dimensions: Official Announce Video

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April 11, 2015

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Andy Murray and Kim Sears wedding: Hundreds of wellwishers flood Dunblane –
Hundreds of people turned out to see Andy Murray wed Kim Sears in Dunblane Cathedral this afternoon. The couple, who turned down all offers from celebrity magazines to cover their wedding, made sure that their wedding remained a private affair – with Sears’ careful arrival granting onlookers the barest of glimpses of her dress. Murray and Sears, an artist, married in Dunblane’s 12th century cathedral at 4pm before attending a small reception with family and friends. The pair met in 2005 when they were introduced by Sear’s father Nigel, a tennis coach. [The Independent]
Andy-Murray-Kim-Sears-copyright-Stirling-CouncilKim Sears and Andy Murray (Photo by Stirling Council)

Grand National 2015: Many Clouds wins as McCoy finishes fifth –
Many Clouds won the 2015 Grand National to give jockey Leighton Aspell his second consecutive victory in the race. Champion jockey AP McCoy was denied a fairytale Aintree farewell, finishing fifth on favourite Shutthefrontdoor. The Northern Irishman had said he would retire immediately if he had won, but the 40-year-old could now race on until the Sandown meeting at the end of April. [BBC]
Tony-McCoyA P McCoy

Boat Races 2015: Oxford women and men beat Cambridge –
Heavy favourites Oxford beat Cambridge to win the historic first staging of the Women’s Boat Race on the same course and same day as the men. They finished six-and-a-half lengths ahead over the four-mile, 374-yard stretch from Putney Bridge to Chiswick Bridge in London on Saturday. The Dark Blues were half a length up after the first minute and pulled away ruthlessly to finish 19 seconds clear. Oxford also won the men’s race for the sixth time in eight years. In doing so, president Constantine Louloudis became just the 15th man to triumph for a fourth time. [BBC]

Capitol Building on lockdown after shots fired –
Shots were fired near the front of the US Capitol Building in Washington, according to police. The seat of Congress was immediately put on lockdown.
It later emerged that a man had committed suicide by shooting himself, sparking the alert. “The suspected shooter has been neutralised but the US Capitol Building has been locked down as a precautionary measure,” said Lt Kimberly Schneider of the Capitol Police, adding that no-one was being allowed to enter or exit. Police said they were also investigating a suspicious package on the lower West Terrace of the building, believed to be the man’s suitcase. [Daily Telegraph]

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April 12, 2015

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Hillary Clinton declares 2016 Democratic presidential bid –
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has formally entered the 2016 race for the White House in a bid to become the first woman US president.
She launched her campaign website on Sunday, telling Americans she wanted to be their “champion”. Mrs Clinton ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 but lost to Barack Obama. The overwhelming Democratic favourite, she had been expected to declare her candidacy for months. In a video on her website, Mrs Clinton declared: “I am running for president”. [BBC]
Hillary-ClintonHilary Clinton

Game Of Thrones season five leaked online –
The first four episodes of Game of Thrones season five have been leaked online a day before its official release. The copies were spotted on IPTorrents, The Pirate Bay, RARBG and KickassTorrents. The US TV network has yet to comment on the pirated episodes. [BBC]
Sophie-TurnerSophie Turner (Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones)

Masters 2015: Jordan Spieth wins first major with dominant display –
Jordan Spieth equalled the lowest winning score in Masters history to cap a record-breaking display at Augusta and win his first major. The 21-year-old American, second on his debut last year, shot a two-under 70 to triumph on 18 under. England’s Justin Rose hit 70 to finish 14 under, joint second with three-time champion Phil Mickelson (69) who ended runner-up in a major for the 10th time. World number one Rory McIlroy tied for fourth on 12 under after a 66. Spieth, the new world number two, dominated the headlines on each day, equalling Tiger Woods’s winning score of 18 under in 1997, when the former world number one won his first Green Jacket. Spieth also became the second-youngest Masters champion, winning the tournament at the age of 21 years and 259 days, 155 days older than Woods when he recorded his 1997 win. He also became the first player in 39 years to lead a Masters from start to finish, and the first to shoot 28 birdies at the tournament. [BBC]
Jordan_SpiethJordan Spieth

Bad move: Grandmaster caught cheating at chess in a lavatory –
A disgraced chess Grandmaster faces a 15-year ban from the game after being caught pretending to be desperate for the loo so he could use a mobile phone to cheat. Georgian champion Gaioz Nigalidze was expelled from the Dubai Open on Saturday after his opponent Tigran Petrosian, became suspicious about the amount of times he nipped to the lavatory. A complaint followed and Nigalidze was challenged. Tournament organisers then found Nigalidze had stored a mobile phone in a cubicle, behind the pan and covered in toilet paper. The device was found to be logged into Nigalidze’s social networking account and had one of his games being analysed by a smartphone chess app.
Gaioz-NigalidzeGaioz Nigalidze

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Game of Thrones Season 5 Trailer

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