February 18, 2016

Top News Stories –

Hairy panic sets in as homes are swallowed in masses of tumbleweeds –
Bizarre images have emerged of houses inundated with tumbleweeds in rural Victoria after extreme dry conditions cover homes in clouds of ‘hairy panic’. Residents have been left frustrated and exhausted trying to rid their properties of the ghost-like weed, which has engulfed front and back yards, gardens and garages. Named hairy panic, the weeds of Wangaratta are world-class, holding their own against Texas tumblers. Locals say the tumbleweed has been around for a couple of years but, with dry conditions, this summer is by far the worst. They suspect it’s coming from a nearby paddock that a farmer has failed to maintain. The council can’t help because the situation is not considered a fire risk, which has left homeowners to clean up indefinitely. [Yahoo News Australia]
Hairy panic tweet

‘Unauthorised trousers’ kill Canadian zoo’s otter –
A Canadian zoo is under scrutiny following the death of an otter which had been given a pair of trousers to play with in its enclosure. Logan, a 12-year-old American river otter, drowned at Calgary Zoo after being given the article of clothing as an “unauthorised enrichment item”, the Calgary Sun newspaper reports. The zoo’s general curator, Colleen Baird, says Logan got trapped in one of the trouser legs, and two employees have subsequently been disciplined following an investigation into the incident. “It was human error and we take animal deaths very seriously,” she tells the paper, but refuses to be drawn on who was responsible. “It’s irrelevant how exactly the pants got in there, it’s more that the pants got in there in the first place.” [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Skylight

Skylight from Chris Pritchard on Vimeo.

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1 #OhNoBriana #NationalDrinkWineDay Oli Sykes
2 #QuintaDetremuraSdv #OhNoBriana Big Ang
3 #NationalDrinkWineDay #UgandaDecides #NationalDrinkWineDay
4 #FelizJueves #IfTechnologyNeverAdvanced #ZAYNOnFallon
5 #DigaUmaFraseLegal #4CCTaipeiCity #OhNoBriana
6 #ZAYNOnFallon #DayWithoutLatinos #jointenterprise
7 #Freedom251 #FamousAF #DebbieDownerAMovie
8 #ALDUB31stWeeksary #RIPBigAng #10000BC
9 #あなたの緑川光は�… #CanAmDuel #NolanLive
10 #SiTeAmaEntonces #SFin6words Tim Montgomerie

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  • At least 71 people are killed in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck in Ghana. (Sky News) (BBC)
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  • A man sues an Oklahoma gun range after he is told to leave after identifying himself as a Muslim. The gun range owners though claim that the man was acting belligerent. (Associated Press via MSN)
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May 1, 2016

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Malia Obama: US president’s daughter to go to Harvard –
US President Barack Obama’s eldest daughter Malia will attend Harvard University in 2017, after taking a year off following her high school graduation, the White House says. “Malia will take a gap year before beginning school,” a White House statement said. The 17-year-old will be following in the footsteps of her parents, both of whom went to Harvard Law School. Her choice of university has been a subject of much speculation. Malia is the eldest of the Obamas’ two daughters. She and her sister Sasha, 15, attend the Sidwell Friends, a prestigious local private school. [BBC]

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Homemade Hoverbike

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#SuaMãeSabe #LastRelationshipTaughtMe
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#LastRelationshipTaughtMe Christos Anesti
#كل_ما_لمحتك_قلت #ewa16
#ALDUBKiligSaSweetDay #BroadStreetRun
#احمد_الشقيري_�… Malia Obama
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May 4, 2016

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Instagram hacked by 10-year-old boy –
A 10-year-old Finnish boy named Jani has been given $10,000 (£7,000) after he found a security flaw in image-sharing social network Instagram. The boy, who technically is not allowed to even join the site for another three years, discovered a bug that allowed him to delete comments made by other users. The issue was “quickly” fixed after being discovered, said Facebook, which owns Instagram. Jani was paid soon after – making him the youngest ever recipient of the firm’s “bug bounty” prize. After discovering the flaw in February, he emailed Facebook. Security engineers at the company set up a test account for Jani to prove his theory – which he did. The boy, from Helsinki, told Finnish newspaper Iltalehti he planned to use the money to buy a new bike, football equipment and computers for his brothers. Facebook told the BBC it had paid $4.3m to bug bounty recipients since 2011. [BBC]

Apple loses trademark fight over ‘iPhone’ name in China –
Apple has lost a trademark fight in China, meaning a firm which sells handbags and other leather goods can continue to use the name “IPHONE”. The Beijing Municipal High People’s Court ruled in favour of Xintong Tiandi Technology, said the official Legal Daily newspaper. Xintong Tiandi trademarked “IPHONE” for leather products in China in 2010. Apple filed a trademark bid for the name for electronic goods in 2002, but it was not approved until 2013. [BBC]

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7 Tips To Wake Up Without Coffee – ASAP Science

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May 24, 2016

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Facebook to update Trending Topics –
Facebook has announced changes to the way it runs its Trending Topics feed, following an internal investigation. There will be more training for staff and the feed will no longer rely on a list of news organisations, including the BBC, Washington Post and Buzzfeed News, to validate subjects. The feed, which lists popular headlines along with a brief description, has been accused of political bias. However, Facebook’s report found no evidence of this. Facebook general counsel Colin Stretch said the investigation analysed 3,000 reviewer decisions following allegations that conservative issues were being suppressed. [BBC]

Google’s Paris HQ raided in tax probe –
French finance officials have raided the Paris offices of US internet giant Google as part of a tax fraud investigation. Reports say about 100 tax officials entered Google’s offices in central Paris early in the morning. Police sources confirmed the raid. Google said: “We comply with French law and are co-operating fully with the authorities to answer their questions.” Google is accused of owing €1.6bn ($1.8bn; £1.3bn) in unpaid taxes. [BBC]

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Chewbacca Mom Takes James Corden to Work

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May 30, 2016

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Masked Gary Barlow stuns Bristol shoppers with surprise concert –
Take That star Gary Barlow surprised shoppers in Bristol with an impromptu concert – which started with him wearing a disguise… as himself. The star wore a Gary Barlow mask as he began playing Could It Be Magic on a piano at Cabot Circus shopping centre. Shoppers watching the mystery performer were astonished when he revealed his true identity and sang the hit song. [BBC]
Gary Barlow in BristolGary Barlow in Bristol (Tweet by Marjolein Nap)

Cheese-rolling spectators gather for Cooper’s Hill tradition –
Thousands of people lined a steep hill in Gloucestershire to watch crowds of thrill-seekers fling themselves down in pursuit of a wheel of cheese.The 8lb (3.6kg) Double Gloucester is chased 200 yards down the 1:2 gradient Cooper’s Hill at Brockworth every year. Chris Anderson, 28, won the first two downhill races – his 16th and 17th Cheese Rolling victories in total. “It’s brilliant, I’m really happy,” said the soldier from Brockworth who serves with 1 Rifles. Competitors travelled from across the world to take part in the races with TV crews from across Europe also in attendance. Warning signs are put up around the site warning spectators and competitors that they are attending entirely at their own risk. In 2010 the official event was cancelled over safety fears when more than 15,000 people turned up the previous year to watch the competition. Since then it has been held unofficially with roads closed up to 2.5 miles (4km) around the slope. [BBC] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling 2016 – The Tumbles

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  • Hissene Habre, ex president of Chad, is sentenced to life in prison for ordering rape, sexual slavery and killings during his rule from 1982 to 1990. (BBC)
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June 5, 2016

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French Open: Novak Djokovic completes grand slam collection –
The first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win four straight grand slams. The eighth man to complete the career grand slam. The first man to claim the first two majors in a calendar year since Jim Courier in 1992. Novak Djokovic made plenty of history Sunday when he beat Andy Murray 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-4 in the French Open final. Djokovic, especially in the past two seasons, never hid how desperately he wanted to win the world’s premier clay-court tournament. He had lost three finals, including last year to Stan Wawrinka. When Murray sent a backhand into the net on a third match point, Djokovic fell to the court on his back. Finally the Coupe des Mousquetaires was his. [CNN]
Novak-ĐokovićNovak_Đoković

Video of the Day –

How Mosquitoes Use Six Needles to Suck Your Blood | Deep Look

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  • English/American comedian John Oliver buys and then forgives $15,000,000 (USD) in medical debt to about 9,000 people, making it the biggest ever giveaway in television history. (CNN)
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June 13, 2016

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Microsoft to buy LinkedIn in $26.2 billion deal –
The networking site for white-collar workers will be acquired by technology titan Microsoft for $26.2 billion in an all-cash deal, the companies said Monday. LinkedIn Chief Executive Jeff Weiner will continue at the helm of the company but will report to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, according to a joint statement. LinkedIn will keep its “distinct brand, culture and independence,” the companies said. Over the past year, LinkedIn has been striving — and struggling — to grow beyond its roots as a resume-on-the-web service and become more of a daily hub for professionals, much as Facebook has become more than simply a site for sharing family photos. Steps in that direction include last year’s $1.5 billion acquisition of online training site Lynda.com and a thorough upgrade of its mobile app. The 13-year-old service has 433 million users worldwide. It’s free to use, but charges for features such as advanced search and the ability to send messages to strangers. [CNET]
Jeff_WeinerJeff Weiner

Video of the Day –

Are You More Forgetful Than A Fish? – ASAP Science

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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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