December 8, 2014

Top News Stories –

Korean Air boss nut allergy –
Cho Hyun-ah, a Korean Air executive, is under investigation over claims she delayed a plane over the way she was served nuts. Ms Cho, a vice-president of the firm and daughter of the Korean Air president demanded the removal of a crew member from a flight for failing to serve nuts on a plate, forcing the Incheon-bound flight to taxi back to the terminal in New York.

London mayor asked to pay tax in US –
The new American ambassador in London, Matthew Barzun, says London Mayor Boris Johnson should settle a six-figure tax bill in the US on profits on the sale of his home in London in 2009. The London Mayor, who was born in New York and has dual citizenship, revealed last month that he is being pursued by the US tax authorities.
Boris_Johnson_FT_2013Boris Johnson

London mayor asks US embassy to pay charges in London –
Previously Boris Johnson has praised the new ambassador for his diplomatic abilities but wants him get the US to pay the £6 million outstanding in congestion charges run up by diplomats which the embassy refuses to pay.

Video of the Day –

Ghost Peloton from NVA on Vimeo.

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January 16, 2015

Top News Stories –

Beagle 2 probe found on Mars –
Pictures taken by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have spotted the missing Mars robot Beagle2, identified its landing location and it looks to be in one piece. The probe designed an promoted by the late Professor Colin Pillinger landed on Mars on 25th December 2003, but no radio contact was ever made with the probe. It was assumed to have crashed but it now seems that for some reason two of the solar panels did not deploy and the radio signal was consequently blocked.
Beagle 2 replicaReplica of Beagle 2 at the London Science Museum

Britain’s oldest person dies age 114 –
Ethel Lang has died at the age of 114. She was believed to be the last person living in the UK who was born in the reign of Queen Victoria. The oldest person in the world is thought to be Misao Okawa, a Japanese woman who celebrated her 116th birthday in March 2014.

Elon Musk proposes 700 mph test track in Texas –
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) the billionaire founder of PayPal tweets that he will build a test track for his “Hyperloop” transport system that could theoretically travel at speeds of up to 700 miles per hour. He tweets the most likely location for the test track that works in a partial vacuum using magnets is in Texas, USA.
Elon Musk tweet 16 01 2015Elon Musk - The Summit 2013Elon Musk in 2013

Video of the Day –

CNN explains Elon Musk’s Hyperloop

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July 2, 2015

Top News Stories –

Robot kills man at Volkswagen plant in Germany –
A robot has killed a man at a Volkswagen car factory in Germany. The 22-year-old worker died from injuries he sustained when he was trapped by a robotic arm and crushed against a metal plate. The man, who has not been named, was part of a team that was setting up the automated machinery at the factory in Kassel, north of Frankfurt, according to Volkswagen. The robot in question is a mechanical arm that moves car parts into place, said Heiko Hillwig, a spokesman for the company. [Daily Telegraph]

Wimbledon 2015: Rafael Nadal dumped out of tournament by inspired Dustin Brown –
Wimbledon has a new cult hero. Dustin Brown, in a blur of flying dreadlocks and pure inspiration, on Thursday night produced one of the most thrilling upsets ever witnessed on these lawns by defeating the great Rafael Nadal in four breathlessly brilliant sets. With a combination of Sampras-esque serving and improvised groundstrokes that would not have looked out of place on the local park courts, the Jamaican-born German, who enraptured Centre Court by his Rastafarian cool, found an abundance of raw adrenalin to close out his astonishing 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 triumph. [Daily Telegraph] See Top Twitter Trends
Dustin-BrownDustin Brown

Selfies to replace passwords in Mastercard online payments trial –
Mastercard is testing new app that could allow customers to make purchases online by taking a selfie rather than entering a password. Currently, Mastercard customers use a system called SecureCode to verify their identity while shopping online. This requires them to enter a password at the point of sale. Participants in Mastercard’s trial will be prompted to snap a photograph of their face using the Mastercard app on their smartphone at the online checkout point, rather than entering a password. This app then converts the photo into 1s and 0s using facial recognition technology, and transmits it over the internet to MasterCard, which compares it with a stored code representing the cardholder’s face. If the two codes match up, then the purchase will be approved. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Wingsuit Flight Through 2 Meter Cave – Uli Emanuele By GoPro Original Productions

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #SiYoFueraPresidente #ThingsIGetAlot #BBHMMVideo
2 #EstaComoPara #AyeMaOniTunes Alton Towers
3 Jacobo Zabludovsky #HowIShowMyAge #Lionesses
4 #BBHMMVideo #BuyDirtyWorkOniTunes #HowIShowMyAge
5 #محاكمه_العواج… #BBHMMVideo Val Doonican
6 #UnutMadımaklımda #LiesIveToldAGuy Dustin Brown
7 #TrocoGenteFalsaPor #ComicConAilments #AskZoella
8 #هل_تتزوج_فتاه_… #100DaysSinceZaynLeft #CILIPConf15
9 #CunhaGolpista Dustin Brown #LiesIveToldMyParents
10 #QuintaDoFavQSdv Cadet Kelly Laura Bassett

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July 3, 2015

Top News Stories –

Solar Impulse completes epic flight to Hawaii –
Solar Impulse, the aeroplane that is powered only by the sun, has landed in Hawaii after making a historic 7,200km flight across the Pacific from Japan. Pilot Andre Borschberg brought the vehicle gently down on to the runway of Kalaeloa Airport at 05:55 local time (15:55 GMT; 16:55 BST). The distance covered and the time spent in the air – 118 hours – are records for manned, solar-powered flight. The duration is also an absolute record for a solo, un-refuelled journey. Mr Borschberg’s time betters that of the American adventurer Steve Fossett who spent 76 hours aloft in a single-seater jet in 2006. [BBC] See Video of the Day
Solar-ImpulseSolar Impulse

Music streaming reaches a record high in 2015 –
Music streaming has reached a record high in the UK, with the number of songs played rising by 80% compared to this time last year. New figures from the British Phonographic Industry show there have been 11.5 billion streams in the first six months of 2015. That’s compared to 14.8 billion for the whole of 2014. Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk is the most streamed track of the year, with 45 million plays. [BBC Newsbeat]
Mark-RonsonMark Ronson

BP reaches £12bn record settlement over Gulf oil spill –
British Petroleum has agreed to pay the largest settlement by a single company in US history over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. deal, which is still awaiting approval, will be worth $18.7bn (£12bn). Over 125 million gallons of oil were spilt into the Gulf after an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in 2010. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Solar Impulse Airplane: Landing in Hawaii

Worldwide USA UK
1 サマーウォーズ #SingleBecause #100DaysSinceZaynLeft
2 #SingleBecause #NothingMoreAmericanThan #SingleBecause
3 #LoUnicoQuePidoEs #ThingsIRevoltAgainst #fridayfeeling
4 #100DaysSinceZaynLeft #ToughenUpACartoon #ThingsIGetAlot
5 #استشهاد_رجل_ا�… Humana #NothingMoreAmericanThan
6 #JustinBiberSatanista #1Droasts Falcao
7 #BuenViernes #4thofJulyweekend Kids Company
8 Hayırlı Cumalar Serena #bbcqt
9 BuyCoolForTheSummerOniTunes #USMNT Kyrgios
10 #NaMinhaInfanciaEu Happy 4th of July #celebritymasterchef

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February 26, 2017

Oscars 2017: Moonlight wins best picture after announcement mix-up –
Moonlight has won best picture at the Oscars – but only after an error saw La La Land initially declared the winner. The La La Land producers were in the middle of their acceptance speeches when the mistake was discovered. PriceWaterhouseCooper, the accountancy firm responsible for counting the ballots, apologised for the mix-up. La La Land still ended up the biggest winner of the night, taking home six Oscars including a best actress award for Emma Stone. [BBC]
Emma Stone (By Disney / ABC Television Group (Flickr) [CC BY-SA 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons)

 

List of the Day –

89th Academy Award Winners (Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (double-dagger))

Other News Stories –

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Arts and culture
Disasters and accidents
  • Millions of residents in the Chilean capital Santiago are left without access to running water after the Maipo River is contaminated by flooding and landslides. At least four people have died in the floods. (BBC)
  • 16 people dead in northern India after a truck carrying villagers to church overturned on a mountain road. (DW)
Politics and elections
Sport

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