Tag Archives: Cairo

February 4th 2011

Tahrir square battles intensify in Egypt –
At least 7 anti-Mubarak protesters in Cairo died after night of violence as they fought to hold Tahrir square against pro-government fighters. Separately Vodafone claims the Egyptian authorities forced it to send pro-government text messages during this week’s protests.

Fry avoids Japan after joke –
Stephen Fry pulls out of going to film a documentary in Japan after comments he made about a survivor of the two atomic bombs during the second world war in the programme QI caused upset. Fry told the story of Tsutomu Yamaguchi who was on business in Hiroshima when it was destroyed by an atomic bomb on 6 August 1945. After surviving and spending a night in Hiroshima, Yamaguchi travelled by train back to his home town, Nagasaki. That city was bombed on 9 August as Yamaguchi was explaining his earlier near death experience to his manager. Fry had commented: “Well, this man is either the unluckiest or the luckiest, it depends which way you look at it.”
Stephen_FryStephen Fry
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March 6, 2015

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China blocks pollution documentary –
The authorities in China have a removed from websites a popular documentary which highlights the country’s severe pollution problem. Under the Dome explains the social and health costs of pollution, and was watched by more than 100 million people online, sparking debates. It was removed just two days after Premier Li Keqiang called pollution a blight on people’s lives. [BBC]

NASA probe reaches Ceres –
The US space agency’s Dawn probe has gone into orbit around Ceres, the largest object in the Solar System between Mars and Jupiter. A signal from the satellite confirming its status was received by ground stations at 13:36 GMT. Ceres is the first of the dwarf planets to be visited by a spacecraft. Scientists hope to glean information from the object that can tell them about the Solar System’s beginnings, four and a half billion years ago. Dawn has taken 7.5 years to reach its destination. Its arrival has seen it pass behind the dwarf to its “dark side”. [BBC]
Dawn_Flight_Configuration - NASA-Image The Dawn probe (by NASA)

“25 0” licence plate sells for £518,000 –
When the auctioneer’s hammer came down, classic car dealer John Collins was looking at a bill of £518,000. But it was not a rare Ferrari that he had bought. It was a number plate. The registration plate “25 O” is the most expensive ever bought at a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) auction. Even so, Mr Collins, who owns classic Ferrari dealer Talacrest, says he would have bid more at the auction for the plate which matches the 250 model. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Furious 7 trailer –

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April 15, 2015

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Gisele Bundchen Shares Throwback Photo in Honor of Last Runway Show –
The 34-year-old model will hang up her catwalking shoes after she struts her stuff during São Paulo Fashion Week tonight, walking for Brazilian street label Colcci, a brand she has represented since 2005. Before she takes the runway for the last time, Bündchen shared a sweet throwback photo to her Instagram account from her very first show. [Celebuzz.com]
Gisele-first-assignment copyright giseleofficial InstagramGisele Bunchen (Instagram – giseleofficial)
Gisele-Instagram-text

Unpaid spaceport workers appeal to Vladimir Putin with giant graffiti –
Construction workers at a £9 billion cosmodrome in eastern Russian have resorted to extreme measures to appeal to Vladimir Putin after going four months without pay. Employees of TMK at the Vostochny spaceport were so exasperated at failing to receive their money that they painted a message to the Russian president in huge white letters on top of their construction huts. The giant letters read, “Dear Putin, V.V.”, “Save the workers”, “Four months without pay” and “We want to work”. [Daily Telegraph]
Russian-Spaceport-message-twitter copyright @amurinfo

Record dive rescues $50m wartime silver from ocean floor –
A British-led team has recovered a $50m (£34m; €47m) trove of silver coins that has lain on the seabed since the steamship carrying them from Bombay to England was sunk in 1942. The SS City of Cairo was torpedoed 772km (480 miles) south of St Helena by a German U-boat and sank to 5,150m. The 100 tonnes of coins, recovered in the deepest salvage operation in history, belonged to HM Treasury. The coins have now been melted down in the UK and sold, with the undisclosed sum divided between the treasury – which technically owns the coins – and the salvagers, who take a percentage of the sale. The salvage was completed in September 2013, but DOS has only now been given permission by the Ministry of Transport to announce it. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

HDD and Floppy Music: Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit –

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September 9, 2015

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Queen Elizabeth II becomes longest-reigning UK monarch –
The Queen has thanked well-wishers at home and overseas for their “touching messages of kindness” as she becomes Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. Speaking in the Scottish Borders, the 89-year-old monarch said the title was “not one to which I have ever aspired”. At 17:30 BST she had reigned for 23,226 days, 16 hours and approximately 30 minutes – surpassing the reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. David Cameron said the service the Queen had given was “truly humbling”. The exact moment the Queen became the longest-reigning sovereign is unknown. Her father, George VI, passed away in the early hours of 6 February 1952, but his time of death is not known. [BBC] See Video of the Day and List of the Day
Queen_Elizabeth_II Queen ELizabeth II in March 2015

iPad Pro, new Apple TV and iPhone 6S handsets unveiled –
Apple has unveiled a larger iPad tablet, a TV box with its own app store and new iPhones that can detect how firmly their screens are being pressed. The firm suggested the iPad Pro was suited to work tasks, video games and both editing and watching movies. Sales of the company’s earlier iPads had been on the decline. Apple said the “3D touch” feature of its new phones “transformed” the experience of using them by making it easier to use and switch between apps. The iPad Pro has a 12.9in (32.8cm) display, making its shortest edge the length of its earlier iPad Air 2’s height. In addition, the firm announced a stylus called the Apple Pencil, which has sensors in its tip to help mimic the effect of using a real pencil on paper. The announcement is notable since the firm’s ex-chief executive Steve Jobs said in 2010: “If you see a stylus, they blew it.” [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Brief History of the Royal Family

List of the Day –

Monarchs of Great Britain and Ireland 1603 – present day [from Wikipedia]

House of Stuart

House of Hanover

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

House of Windsor

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December 4, 2015

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British astronaut set to be the first man to run a marathon in space –
A British astronaut is set to become the first man to run a marathon in space. Tim Peake is due to take on 26.2 miles on a tredmill at the same time as the London Marathon in April 2016. This will make him the first person to run a marathon in space. He is due to blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on December 15 and will stay in space for 173 days until June 5 next year. He will be attached to the treadmill when he takes on the marathon by a harness in order to combat weightlessness and will be watching a video of the London course on a big screen. [Daily Telegraph]
Timothy_PeakeTimothy Peake

Norway newspaper publishes Father Christmas ‘obituary’ –
A Norwegian newspaper has apologised to its readers after publishing a death notice for “Father Christmas”. The fictional death announcement was for “Dear Father Christmas, born 12 December 1788”, said to have died on 3 December in Nordkapp, Norway’s northernmost point. The funeral was to be held on 28 December at the “North Pole Chapel”. Norway’s second-biggest selling newspaper blamed an error in its internal procedures. Aftenposten said it had removed the classified advertisement from its website after it was made aware of its error. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Snow Cat – Simon’s Cat (A Festive Special)

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