July 13, 2016

Top News Stories –

Theresa May becomes new British Prime Minister –
The former home secretary, 59, becomes the UK’s second female prime minister in the wake of David Cameron’s resignation after the EU referendum. She had previously served in the Home Office for more than six years. In her first cabinet she appointed David Davis to the new cabinet position of secretary of state for exiting the European Union – or “Brexit secretary”. David Davis has been appointed to the new cabinet position of secretary of state for exiting the European Union – or “Brexit secretary”. In the post of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson succeeds Philip Hammond at the Foreign Office. [BBC] See List of the Day for full cabinet list
Theresa_MayTheresa May

Marvel kills off Hulk alter ego Bruce Banner –
Marvel has killed off The Hulk’s human alter ego Bruce Banner in its latest comic. The character is seen dying as a result of an arrow to the head from Hawkeye, his Avengers teammate, in the third issue of Civil War II. Banner has been the Hulk’s alter ego since the character’s creation in 1962. However, for the last year, readers have seen Banner medicating himself to keep his anger management issues under control. During that time, a Korean-American teenage genius named Amadeus Cho has taken over as the new human alter-ego of The Hulk. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

The Shore’s Second Coming from Scott Secco on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Theresa May’s first cabinet [Wikipedia]

Cabinet of the United Kingdom 
Portfolio Minister Term
Cabinet ministers
Prime Minister
First Lord of the Treasury
Minister for the Civil Service
The Rt Hon. Theresa May MP 2016–
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Second Lord of the Treasury
The Rt Hon. Philip Hammond MP 2016–
Secretary of State for the Home Department The Rt Hon. Amber Rudd MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The Rt Hon. Boris Johnson MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Defence The Rt Hon. Michael Fallon MP 2014–
Lord Chancellor
Secretary of State for Justice
The Rt Hon. Elizabeth Truss MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Education
Minister for Women and Equalities
The Rt Hon. Justine Greening MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union The Rt Hon. David Davis MP 2016–
Secretary of State for International Trade
President of the Board of Trade
The Rt Hon. Dr Liam Fox MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy The Rt Hon. Greg Clark MP PhD 2016–
Secretary of State for Health The Rt Hon. Jeremy Hunt MP 2012–
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions The Rt Hon. Damian Green MP 2016–
Leader of the House of Lords
Lord Privy Seal
The Rt Hon. The Baroness Evans of Bowes Park PC 2016–
Secretary of State for Transport The Rt Hon. Chris Grayling MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government The Rt Hon. Sajid Javid MP 2016–
Leader of the House of Commons
Lord President of the Council
The Rt Hon. David Lidington MP PhD 2016–
Secretary of State for Scotland The Rt Hon. David Mundell MP 2015–
Secretary of State for Wales The Rt Hon. Alun Cairns MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The Rt Hon. James Brokenshire MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Rt Hon. Andrea Leadsom MP 2016–
Secretary of State for International Development The Rt Hon. Priti Patel MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport The Rt Hon. Karen Bradley MP 2016–
Also attending cabinet meetings
Chief Secretary to the Treasury The Rt Hon. David Gauke MP 2016–
Minister for the Cabinet Office
Paymaster General
The Rt Hon. Ben Gummer MP 2016–
Attorney General The Rt Hon. Jeremy Wright QC MP 2014–
Chief Whip in the House of Commons
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
The Rt Hon. Gavin Williamson MP 2016–
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chairman of the Conservative Party (Unpaid)
The Rt Hon. Patrick McLoughlin MP 2016–

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks
Arts and culture
Disasters and accidents
International relations
Law and crime
Politics and elections
Sport

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource

July 23, 2019

Top News Story –

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)

Other News Stories –

International relations

News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource