June 23, 2016

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BRITAIN VOTES FOR ‘BREXIT’ IN HISTORIC REFERENDUM –
Britain has voted to leave the European Union in a referendum, defying its prime minister and confounding most analysts’ expectations. The result raises questions over the future of Prime Minister David Cameron, and over the future of Scotland within the United Kingdom. The results expose a British electorate deeply divided by age, class and geographical location. Most large urban centers elected to stay part of the European Union, particularly in London, where many local authorities delivered vast majorities for the pro-EU campaign. Polls completed before the vote suggested the young were significantly more likely to back EU membership than the old, and that poorer, less-educated voters were likelier to be Brexiters. Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU. Wales surprised many observers by voting in favor of a “Leave” vote, with just over 850,000 Welsh voters choosing to leave the bloc, and a little more than 770,000 voting to Remain. [Newsweek] See List of the Day

Solar plane lands in Spain after three-day Atlantic crossing –
An airplane powered solely by the sun landed safely in Seville in Spain early on Thursday after an almost three-day flight across the Atlantic from New York in one of the longest legs of the first ever fuel-less flight around the world. The single-seat Solar Impulse 2 touched down shortly after 7.30 a.m. local time in Seville after leaving John F. Kennedy International Airport at about 2.30 a.m. EDT on June 20.
The flight of just over 71 hours was the 15th leg of the round-the-world journey by the plane piloted in turns by Swiss aviators Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg. [Reuters] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

Solar Impulse Airplane – Leg 15 – Flight New York to Seville

List of the Day –

How the home nations voted in the EU Referendum [BBC]

England

Leave 53.4%
15,188,406 VOTES
Remain 46.6%
13,266,996 VOTES
Counting complete
Turnout: 73.0%

Northern Ireland

Leave 44.2%
349,442 VOTES
Remain 55.8%
440,437 VOTES
Counting complete
Turnout: 62.9%

Scotland

Leave 38.0%
1,018,322 VOTES
Remain 62.0%
1,661,191 VOTES
Counting complete
Turnout: 67.2%

Wales

Leave 52.5%
854,572 VOTES
Remain 47.5%
772,347 VOTES
Counting complete
Turnout: 71.7%

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  • Solar Impulse 2, a plane powered only by the sun, lands safely in Seville, Spain, shortly after 7.30 a.m. local time after a flight of just over 71 hours. The 15th leg of the round-the-world journey had been expected to take up to 90 hours. (Reuters) (Reuters²)
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June 24, 2016

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Brexit fallout, Cameron quits, markets rocked –
Britain has voted to leave the European Union, forcing the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron and dealing the biggest blow since World War Two to the European project of forging greater unity. Global stock markets plunged on Friday, and the British pound saw its biggest one day drop in history, as results from a referendum defied bookmakers’ odds to show a 52-48 percent victory for the campaign to leave the bloc Britain joined more than 40 years ago. The United Kingdom itself could now break apart, with the leader of Scotland, where nearly two-thirds of voters wanted to stay in the EU, saying a new referendum on independence from the rest of Britain was “highly likely”. In an emotional speech on Friday, UK Prime Minister Cameron, who led the campaign to remain in Europe to defeat, after promising the referendum in 2013, said he would leave office by October. Lawmakers from the opposition Labour Party launched a no-confidence motion to topple their leader, leftist Jeremy Corbyn, accused by opponents in the party of campaigning tepidly for its Remain stance. The British pound fell as much as 10 percent against the U.S. dollar on Friday to levels last seen in 1985 on fears the decision could hit investment in the world’s fifth-largest economy, threaten London’s role as a global financial capital, and usher in months of political uncertainty. The euro slid 2.0 percent against the U.S. dollar. [Reuters] In February Cameron secured a deal with the EU to try to avoid an exit vote.
David_CameronDavid Cameron

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Brexit: UK prime minister David Cameron addresses British voters on leaving the EU

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June 30, 2016

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Boris Johnson rules himself out of Conservative leader race –
Ex-London mayor Boris Johnson has ruled himself out of the race to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister. In a speech in London – billed as his campaign launch – Mr Johnson said he did not believe he could provide the leadership or unity needed. It comes after Justice Secretary and fellow Brexit campaigner Michael Gove’s surprise announcement on Thursday morning that he would run for leader. Home Secretary Theresa May is among the candidates. Nominations closed at noon. Also in the running are Energy minister Andrea Leadsom and former Defence Secretary Liam Fox – who campaigned to leave the EU – and Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb, who backed Remain. The contest was sparked after David Cameron announced he would resign following the EU referendum result, which saw the UK vote by 52% to 48% to leave the EU. Mr Johnson’s unexpected – and dramatic – announcement that he would not stand for Tory leader or prime minister, positions he is long thought to have harboured ambitions for, has dramatically altered the race. Mr Gove and his team of advisors clearly did not believe Boris Johnson had the spine to fully divorce Britain from the EU. Nor did a number of Tory Mps trust Mr Johnson to deliver the promises he was making in terms of personnel and jobs. When Mr Gove made his move, hardened Brexit believers instantly went with him, sinking Boris Johnson. The irony of course is that Boris Johnson, who did so much to take Britain out of the EU, has seen his own ambitious crushed in the aftermath. It could be that the big winner from this vicious Tory drama is the woman in charge of law and order – Theresa May. [BBC]
Boris_JohnsonBoris Johnson

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CLIMBING THE EIFFEL TOWER + DRONE

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  • Colombian, Italian, and U.S. police seize 11 tonnes of cocaine smuggled to various countries and arrest 33 people across Colombia and Italy after the discovery of seven laboratories in the Colombian jungle run by local organized criminal groups and ‘Ndrangheta. (Reuters)
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July 1, 2016

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Lindsay Lohan set to turn on Christmas Lights in Kettering… after her furious tweet about Northamptonshire town went viral during EU referendum vote –
She took the internet by storm when her impassioned tweets about the EU referendum went viral. And Lindsay Lohan – who was staunchly in the Remain camp – appears to have made amends with the people of Kettering after angering MP Philip Hollobone with her comments during the results night when the town voted Leave by a margin of 61 to 39 per cent. But despite disagreeing with the Brexit result, the 29-year-old actress has now pledged her support to the Northamptonshire town by accepting to turning on their Christmas lights. A furious backbench Tory slammed the US star for criticising his home town of Kettering in a series of tweets Miss Lohan sent on the night of the referendum. Philip Hollobone demanded that the actress should visit the Midlands town – while a Cabinet Minister suggested that a trip to Kettering could boost the career of the troubled A-lister. [Daily Mail]
Lindsay_LohanLindsay Lohan

Battle of the Somme: Royals at Somme centenary commemoration –
Thousands of people, including members of the Royal Family, have attended a ceremony in France to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were at the Thiepval Memorial for the event. Earlier, a UK-wide two-minute silence at 07:28 BST marked the start of the World War One battle on 1 July 1916.
More than a million men were killed or wounded on all sides at the Somme. The Battle of the Somme, one of WW1’s bloodiest, was fought in northern France and lasted five months, with the British suffering almost 60,000 casualties on the first day alone. The British and French armies fought the Germans in a brutal battle of attrition on a 15-mile front. [BBC]

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July 4, 2016

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UKIP leader Nigel Farage stands down –
Nigel Farage says he is standing down as leader of the UK Independence Party. Mr Farage said his “political ambition has been achieved” with the UK having voted to leave the EU. He said the party was in a “pretty good place” and said he would not change his mind about quitting as he did after the 2015 general election. Leading UKIP was “tough at times” but “all worth it” said Mr Farage, who is also an MEP. He added that the UK needed a “Brexit prime minister”. Mr Farage announced his decision to stand aside in a speech in London, saying: “I want my life back, and it begins right now.” He has been leader of UKIP for most of the past eight years, standing down briefly in 2009 and being re-elected the following year. He said he would quit after failing to win his seat at last year’s general election, but stayed on after the party rejected his resignation. [BBC]
Nigel-Farage Nigel Farage

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EDMOND from ninagantz on Vimeo.

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  • Flooding caused by torrential rain in China kills at least 180 people, mostly along the Yangtze river. (BBC)
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January 5, 2017

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Crash was economists’ ‘Michael Fish’ moment, says Andy Haldane –
The failure to predict the financial crisis was a “Michael Fish” moment for economists, the Bank of England’s chief economist has said. Andy Haldane compared financial forecasts to the famously inaccurate forecast by the BBC weatherman, ahead of the UK’s great storm of 1987. He said the profession was “to some degree in crisis” following the 2008-09 crash and the Brexit vote. The Bank denies claims it gave gloomy forecasts to support the Remain side. [BBC]
Andy_HaldaneAndy Haldane

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  • Following a start-of-year hike to the price of gas, widespread riots and looting mostly targeting gas stations, supermarkets and department stores take place in several cities in Mexico. Over 250 people are said to have been arrested so far while blockades to PEMEX installations potentially lead to critical situations in some states. (Reuters)
  • Sears Holdings announces that 108 Kmart and 42 Sears stores will close in the United States in 2017, affecting retailers in 40 states. The company also announced it is selling its trademark Craftsman tool brand to Stanley Black & Decker for $900 million. (USA Today), (Bloomberg)
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July 23, 2019

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Boris Johnson wins race to be Tory leader and PM

Boris Johnson has been elected new Conservative leader in a ballot of party members and will become the next UK prime minister.

He beat Jeremy Hunt comfortably, winning 92,153 votes to his rival’s 46,656.

The former London mayor takes over from Theresa May on Wednesday.

In his victory speech, Mr Johnson promised he would “deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn”.

Speaking at the Queen Elizabeth II centre in London, he said: “We are going to energise the country.

“We are going to get Brexit done on 31 October and take advantage of all the opportunities it will bring with a new spirit of can do.

“We are once again going to believe in ourselves, and like some slumbering giant we are going to rise and ping off the guy ropes of self doubt and negativity.”

(BBC)

Twitter trends [from Trendinalia] – today from UK

Hyperloop test pod sets speed record

A competition helping to drive development of the futuristic hyperloop transport system has been won by engineering students from Munich.

The hyperloop idea involves passengers in pods travelling at very high speeds down sealed tunnels.

The team’s pod hit 457km/h (290mph) on a 1.2km (0.75 mile) test track.

Run by the SpaceX aerospace company, the competition aims to refine the technologies that could underpin the super-fast transport system.

The win is the third in a row for the Technical University of Munich team.

The competition saw student teams from universities around the world gather in California to put their prototype pods through their paces.

The idea for hyperloop, which would see pods speed through a sealed tunnel to reduce friction or air resistance, has been around for decades and was fleshed out by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2012.

He suggested that pods could travel along the system’s tunnels at speeds in excess of 1,000km/h.

Critics have voiced concerns about the potential cost of building a large hyperloop and whether its technical demands can be met.

Mr Musk’s SpaceX company has run a series of competitions to drive development of the concept.

In the latest round of the competition, the Munich team, Warr Hyperloop, outpaced rival capsules, which could manage speeds of only 88mph (Delft University) and 55mph (EPF Loop, from Switzerland), to beat its own record speed, 323km/h, set in the second competition, in September 2017.

(BBC)

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