November 12, 2014

Top News Stories –

Ecstatic reaction as Rosetta spacecraft mission lands on comet –
The Rosetta spaceship, which was launched in 2004, has landed on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in a mission which could reveal the origins of life on Earth. The spacecraft’s thrusters failed to work during the mission prompting fears that the lander could simply bounce off the comet and back into space. But the Philae landing craft managed to land safely. The small probe took pictures as it descended as well as monitored chemical levels. The European Space Agency’s ground-breaking £1 billion mission to chase, orbit, and execute a soft landing on a moving comet has been called one of the most extraordinary achievements in space history. [Daily Telegraph] See Video of the Day
Artist's impression of the Philae landerArtist’s impression of the Philae lander

Video of the Day –

Philae Lands On Comet! – Mission Control Celebrates | Video

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1 #HomeToMama #BreakTheInternet Dapper Laughs
2 #WishKoSaPasko #CometLanding #CometLanding
3 Weather Update #WeCanLandOnACometButWeCant Christmas
4 Happy Veterans Day #RejectedMuppets Ched Evans
5 #MeCambiaElDiaSi Zoboomafoo Jalen McMillan
6 #Supernatural200thEpisode Gruber #HousingDay
7 Carol Ann Susi #Supernatural200thEpisode #HomeToMama
8 #HariAyah Christmas Warren Clarke
9 99 iPhones Too Many Cooks #BreakTheInternet
10 #CometLanding Kim K Newsnight

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April 3, 2015

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Chelsea Manning begins tweeting from prison –
Former army intelligence analyst, serving a 35-year sentence for leaking US secrets, says she will be dictating tweets by telephone. Chelsea Manning, the US soldier serving a 35-year prison sentence for passing a trove of secret documents to WikiLeaks, started posting on Twitter on Friday, with help from supporters. Within minutes of her first tweets, Ms Manning had recruited more than 5,000 followers under the handle @xychelsea. In her initial tweets, Ms Manning acknowledged she had no Internet access behind bars and that she was dictating comments to a communications company by telephone. [Daily Telegraph]
Chelsea-Manning-tweet copyright @xychelsea Twitter

Gadget which turns all traffic lights green trialled in UK –
The pioneering technology is being tested ahead of trials of driverless vehicles. A device which switches all red traffic lights to green has been launched in Newcastle to prevent cars from ever needing to stop. The pioneering technology is being tested ahead of trials of driverless vehicles, which would be linked to traffic lights so that fully-automated convoys could pass quickly through urban areas. The new gadget, which attaches to the windscreen like a Sat Nav, detects traffic lights from around 100 metres away and requests priority so that they switch to green as soon as the car arrives. It also tells drivers of the speed they should be driving to make sure they always hit a green light in the event of traffic. [Daily Telegraph]

Paris aims to become ‘world bike capital’ –
Paris’s mayor has announced plans to double the number of cycle lanes. Paris is to double the number of cycling lanes by 2020 as part of its Socialist mayor’s push to turn the city into “the world’s bike capital”. The 150 million-euro project will increase the number of safe bike lanes from the current 700 kilometres (435 miles) to 1,400 kilometres within five years. Paris town hall hopes the new lanes will help triple the number of journeys made on a bike from five per cent to 15 per cent in that time.

Video of the Day –

"The Heist" Short Film from Thomas Hefferon on Vimeo.

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August 4, 2015

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British men become youngest to row Atlantic Ocean –
Two British men have become the world’s youngest to row across the Atlantic Ocean. Tom Rainey and Lawrence Walters, both aged 23, left New York on 3 May in their boat Yves, bound for the UK. They landed in Salcombe, Devon, after rowing for about 3,800 miles and were welcomed by hundreds of well-wishers. Team Ocean Valour is raising funds for the Brain Tumour Charity, in memory of Mr Rainey’s father who died from the disease. The pair, who survived capsizes and huge waves, also set an unexpected world record on route after they rowed 112.5 nautical miles (129 miles) in 24 hours at the end of May, breaking the record by nearly 10 nautical miles. The first thing they did after they got out of the boat was to eat a bacon sandwich. Their on-board food would have run out on Wednesday. [BBC]
Ocean Valour Crew ©Ocean ValourTom Rainey and Lawrence Walters ©Ocean-Valour

Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale file for divorce –
After almost 13 years of marriage, Gwen Stefani has filed for divorce from Gavin Rossdale. The No Doubt musician cited irreconcilable differences for their split. Stefani filed her petition for divorce on Monday 2 August, Los Angeles Superior Court spokeswoman Mary Hearn said. The former couple, who married in 2002, have three sons together, and are seeking joint custody of their children Zuma, Kingston and Apollo. [The Guardian]
Gwen_StefaniGwen Stefani

Video of the Day –

What Is Fire? – It’s OK To Be Smart

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1 #1DonGMA #ArchThatBackChallenge #92Live
2 #NoMeVaEsoDe Lenny Kravitz #OVOFest
3 #EstoyConGanasDe Perrie Les Munro
4 #وظيفه_تحس_انك_… #1DonGMA #1DonGMA
5 #لو_تتمني_لاعب_… Kelly Osbourne #SignsYoureRightWing
6 Perrie #BadSharkTankPitches #examresults
7 야마자키 Miss Piggy Perrie
8 Kelly Osbourne #TravelTuesday Gwen Stefani
9 Gwen Stefani Happy Birthday Mr. President #BritishUpAMovie
10 #قصه_رعب_في_كلم… #CMAfest Vic O

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  • A street-corner sized sinkhole forms at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 64th Street in Sunset Park in Brooklyn, New York City, ruining the street corner, around 7:30 AM. The northbound N Broadway Local train is delayed; there is at least one disconnected pipe and gas lines are being repaired by National Grid workers; and the police have cordoned off the area. No fatalities or injuries have been reported. (Business Insider, via MSN)
  • At least 31 people are killed and about 100 injured as two express passenger trains (12 coaches of the Kamayani Express; to Varanasi fromMumbai, or Bombay) derail, partially swept off a bridge while crossing flooded tracks in India‘s Madhya Pradesh state. Related to this incident are monsoon rains and the end of a cyclone which have killed more than 100 in India. (NDTV), (Reuters, via MSN)
  • Several people are dead after two boats collide between Kiwa and Remba Islands on Lake Victoria. (The Nation)
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January 14, 2016

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Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard actor, dies aged 69 –
Actor Alan Rickman, known for films including Harry Potter, Die Hard and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, has died at the age of 69, his family has said. The star had been suffering from cancer, a statement said. He became one of Britain’s best-loved acting stars thanks to roles including Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films and Hans Gruber in Die Hard.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling led the tributes, describing him as “a magnificent actor and a wonderful man”. [BBC]
Alan_RickmanAlan Rickman in 2011

Hatton Garden heist: Three men found guilty over £14m jewellery raid –
Three men have been found guilty of involvement in the Hatton Garden safe deposit raid, the largest burglary in British legal history. Jewellery and valuables worth an estimated £14 million were stolen when a gang of thieves carried out the “sophisticated” and meticulously planned break-in over the Easter weekend last year. The group used a drill to bore a hole 20in deep, 10in high and 18in into the wall of a vault in London’s jewellery quarter, before ransacking 73 safety deposit boxes. Following a trial at Woolwich Crown Court, Carl Wood and William Lincoln were found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property, while Hugh Doyle was convicted of concealing, converting or transferring criminal property. [Daily Telegraph]
Hatton_Garden_Road_SignHatton Garden road sign

Video of the Day –

Bygone Behemoth from Harry Chaskin on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

10 Highest US Lottery jackpots [See January 13, 2016]
1. $656.0 million, Mega Millions, March 30, 2012 (three tickets, from Kansas, Illinois and Maryland)
2. $636 million, Mega Millions, Dec. 17, 2013, (two tickets, from California and Georgia)
3. $590.5 million, Powerball, May 18, 2013 (one ticket, from Florida)
4. $587.5 million, Powerball, Nov. 28, 2012 (two tickets, from Arizona and Missouri)
5. $564.1 million, Powerball, Feb. 11, 2015 (three tickets, from North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Texas)
6. $448.4 million, Powerball, Aug. 7, 2013, (three tickets, one from Minnesota and two from New Jersey)
7. $425.3 million, Powerball, Feb. 19, 2014 (one ticket, from California)
8. $414 million, Mega Millions, March 18, 2014, (two tickets, from Florida and Maryland)
9. $399.4 million, Powerball, Sept. 18, 2013, (one ticket, from South Carolina)
10. $390.0 million, Mega Millions, March 6, 2007 (two tickets, from Georgia and New Jersey)

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1 #LittleMixBRITs #GOPDebate #transinquiry
2 #زد_رصيدك62 Jakarta #OscarNoms
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4 #1128katil #PrivacyCon Chris Grayling
5 #QuintaDetremuraSdv Alan Rickman #bbcqt
6 #もし女子高生にな�… #AskPOTUS Jakarta
7 #ALDUB26thWeeksary #RuinALoveSong Shami Chakrabarti
8 Shaolin Indonesia #StargazingLive
9 #結婚からの予測変�… #SuperDraft Giroud
10 #معلومه_لاتعرف… #IHaveADreamFor2016 #CarpoolKaraoke

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June 20, 2016

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Finding Dory breaks US box office record –
Finding Dory has taken $136.2m (£93.3m) on its opening weekend – making it the most successful launch for an animated film in US box office history. The sequel to Finding Nemo has unseated Shrek the Third – which took $121.6m (£83.1m) on its release in 2007. It is also the second most successful opening weekend of 2016, behind Marv el’s Captain America: Civil War. Ellen DeGeneres voices the lead character in Finding Dory. [BBC]
Photo: Ellen Degeneres - public domainEllen DeGeneres (and others)

Video of the Day –

Why Don’t We Ever See Baby Pigeons? | Dolan Life Mysteries

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