December 12, 2014

Top News Stories –

Star Wars character names posted by director –
The names of characters in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” to be released in December 2015 have been revealed in a mocked-up set of trading cards. John Boyega will be Finn, Oscar Isaac is Poe Dameron and Daisy Ridley’s character is called Rey. Director JJ Abrams confirmed the names via some old school trading cards, in reference to when the Star Wars films were first released in the 1970s.
Oscar_IsaacOscar Issac

World’s longest ship launched –
Shanghai-based marine-shipping company China Shipping Container Lines has launched the world’s largest container ship, the “CSCL Globe”. The ship is more than 400m (1,312ft or a quarter of a mile) long, 56.8m (186ft) wide, 73m (240ft) high and 186,000 tonnes gross. The ship, which is longer than four football pitches, is making its maiden voyage from Shanghai to Europe.
CSCL_GlobeThe CSCL Globe

Marriage proposal fail –
A Dutchman’s attempt at a romantic wedding proposal using a mobile crane has resulted in the crane falling over and smashing into a neighbour’s roof. The man had rented a crane in the central town of Ijsselstein to descend in front of his girlfriend’s bedroom window, play her a song and ask her to marry him. Despite the disaster in which no-one was hurt, his girlfriend agreed to marry him.

Pope avoids Dalai Lama meeting –
Pope Francis will not meet the exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama because of the “delicate situation” with China, according to the Vatican. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after Chinese troops crushed an attempted uprising in Tibet and China describes him as a separatist. The Vatican does not want to jeopardise improving relations between itself and China.
Pope_Francis Pope Francis

Video of the Day –

Star Wars – The Force Awakens Official Trailer –

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March 20, 2015

Top News Stories –

America’s longest-serving innocent prisoner receives $1m for 39 years in jail –
An Ohio man freed last year after spending 39 years in jail for a murder he did not commit will receive more than $1 million from the state for his wrongful imprisonment. Ricky Jackson, the longest-held US prisoner to be cleared of a crime, will receive just over $1 million (£680,000) following an order from an Ohio Court of Claims judge on Thursday. The 39 years Mr Jackson spent in jail was the longest time a prisoner had been held before being exonerated. [Daily Telegraph]

‘Breathtaking’ solar eclipse witnessed by millions –
Millions of people in the UK and northern Europe have glimpsed the best solar eclipse in years. A great swathe of the Earth’s surface was plunged into darkness as the Moon came between us and the Sun. From an aeroplane above the Faroe Islands, a BBC camera crew captured startling footage of the event reaching totality at 09:41 GMT. The deep shadow formed first in the North Atlantic and then swept up into the Arctic, ending at the North Pole. See video of the day [BBC]

Martin Guptill hits highest World Cup score in New Zealand victory –
New Zealand’s Martin Guptill smashed the highest score in World Cup history with 237 not out against West Indies to send his team into the semi-finals. The 28-year-old’s 163-ball innings featured 11 sixes and 24 fours and beat the 215 made by West Indies’ Chris Gayle earlier in the tournament. Guptill hit 137 from his last 52 balls to help his side post 393-6. Trent Boult then took four early wickets as New Zealand bowled out the Windies for 250 to seal a 143-run win. [BBC]
Martin-GuptillMartin Guptill

Video of the Day –

UK Solar Eclipse [Daily Telegraph]

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March 24, 2015

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Germanwings plane 4U 9525 crashes in French Alps – no survivors –
A Germanwings plane carrying 150 people has crashed in the French Alps on its way from Barcelona to Duesseldorf. The Airbus A320 – flight 4U 9525 – went down between Digne and Barcelonnette. There are no survivors, officials say. The “black box” flight recorder has been found, the French interior minister says. The cause of the crash is not known and the plane did not send a distress signal. Among the passengers were 16 German pupils returning from an exchange trip. [BBC]
Germanwings_A319Germanwings A319 plane

 

Nash Grier offer ignites Twitter –
Nash Grier asks for selfies to be posted on his Twitter feed with the hashtag #BartAndNashsContest for a chance to be in his next Vine video. Result is top trending for the hashtag. (see Top Twitter Trends).
Copyright @NashGrier  TwitterNash Grier Twitter

Jaguar Launches the XF on a high wire –
The new lightweight Jaguar XF tackles a London water crossing via a 28mm wide high-wire suspended 18 metres above the city. Movie stuntman, Jim Dowdall was at the wheel in an attempt at the world’s longest high-wire water crossing by car. (See Video of The Day)

China orders square dancers to walk the line –
Chinese officials say they will introduce guidelines to regulate square-dancing in the country. The dance is wildly popular with elderly Chinese women and is performed en masse at night in public squares. However, Chinese authorities say the “over-enthusiasm of participants has dealt it a harmful blow, with disputes over noise and venues”. Fitness authorities plan to introduce 12 authorised routines and also permissible times and music volume. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

The Jaguar #NewXF performs the world’s longest high-wire water crossing –

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June 5, 2015

Top News Stories –

Southampton footballers set new world record for longest match –
A new world record for the longest football match has been set at St Mary’s, the home of Southampton FC, after a 102 hour-long charity game. The 36 players, from the Testlands Support Project, a Southampton charity, played on until 00:30 BST on Friday to break the previous record, of 101 hours. The players took turns to take breaks to eat, get physiotherapy and sleep. They began the 11-a-side match at 18:30 on Sunday, scoring over 1,600 goals. The Reds went on to beat the Whites 910-725. [BBC]

Surprising pop star facts revealed by YouTube –
YouTube reveals statistics, usually only visible to those behind the scenes, showing some bizarre trends about the world’s biggest stars. They show that Taylor Swift is twice as popular in Bangkok in Thailand than New York, for example. Or that One Direction are huge in Quezon City, the Philippines, as well as Mexico City. The Artist Insights service was unveiled on Wednesday. Google says it means musicians will be able to see the cities where they have the largest number of fans. The records go back to September 2014 and include original versions of the artist’s videos as well as fan shares and re-uploads. [BBC Newsbeat] See List of the Day

Taylor-Swift Taylor Swift

‘Female Viagra’ to boost women’s libido one step closer –
The development of a pill to boost women’s libido is one step closer after an American panel recommended the approval of the female equivalent of Viagra. A panel of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisers has voted in favour of recommending flibanserin, a daily pill nicknamed the “female Viagra”. The recommendation will be seen as a major coup for campaigners who have fought for women’s sex drives to receive the same level of medical attention as men’s. The decision will now be passed to the FDA itself, which will rule on whether the pill will be officially approved for public use later this year. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Trick Meter from Simeon Duncombe on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Taylor Swift’s YouTube fanbase by country (September 2014 – June 5, 2015) – Data from YouTube Artist Insights

1

United States
678,418,914 total views
2

United Kingdom
204,980,705 total views
3

Mexico
190,668,351 total views
4

Philippines
158,830,256 total views
5

Brazil
145,212,778 total views
6

Thailand
116,673,111 total views
7

Canada
100,100,885 total views
8

Japan
77,336,118 total views
9

France
67,362,320 total views
10

Republic of Indonesia
66,044,140 total views

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #PSYYnaAtAngelo #NationalDonutDay #FirstYearAdvice
2 #ComoDiceUnaCancion #WorldEnvironmentDay #FridayFeeling
3 #DiaMundialdelMedioAmbiente #RubioCrimeSpree #WorldEnvironmentDay
4 #NBAFinals #NBASongs #BBCMusicDay
5 #NationalDonutDay #FlashbackFriday Jerry Collins
6 Warriors #USMNT #NBAFinals
7 #الهلال_النصر Chris Brown #NationalDonutDay
8 #WorldEnvironmentDay Ferris Bueller #NationalFishandChipDay
9 Jerry Collins Pat Venditte #bbcqt
10 Chris Brown Jerry Collins #aqabiology

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August 26, 2015

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Ex-Broadcaster Kills 2 on Air in Virginia; Takes Own Life –
He was a fired television reporter with a history of conflicts at work and rage apparently stoked by racial grievances. And when he sought revenge on Wednesday, gunning down two former colleagues, he used the tools of social media to ensure that his crime was broadcast live, recorded from multiple angles and posted online. Vester Lee Flanagan II, 41, identified by the authorities as the gunman, waited until Alison Parker and Adam Ward, young journalists at WDBJ in Roanoke, were on air, then killed them while recording on his own video camera. Mr. Flanagan shot himself in the head hours later, the authorities said, but as the chase for him was on, he wrote about the shooting on Twitter, uploaded his video to Facebook and sent a manifesto to ABC News that spoke admiringly of mass killers and said that as a black, gay man he had faced discrimination and sexual harassment. [NY Times]
Alison_Parker_and_Adam_WardAlison Parker and Adam Ward

Theater shooter Holmes gets 12 life sentences, plus 3,318 years –
A Colorado judge formally sentenced James Eagan Holmes to multiple life terms plus thousands of years in prison for the Aurora movie theater massacre that killed 12 and wounded 70. Holmes, a 27-year-old former grad student, received one life term for each person he killed, plus 3,318 years for the attempted murders of those he wounded and for rigging his apartment with explosives. He is not eligible for parole. Prosecutor George Brauchler said he believed the sentence was the fourth longest in U.S. history. He described the judge’s command to promptly remove Holmes from the courtroom as “the right exclamation point” to bring a painful, difficult trial to a close. [CNN]

James_Holmes_2012James_Holmes_2012

Burger King is trying to make the McWhopper happen –
Lovers of fast food burgers are in for a treat: why choose between the Big Mac and the Whopper when you can have both in one mouthful and save the world at the same time? Burger King has approached McDonald’s about combining their star burgers for one day only, in a bid to raise awareness of Peace Day, the day of global unity recognised by the United Nations held annually on September 21. The McWhopper would be six parts Big Mac (top bun, all-beef patty, cheese, lettuce, special sauce and middle bun) and six parts Whopper (tomato, onion, ketchup, pickles, flame-grilled patty and bottom bun). The limited edition burger would be available in a co-branded pop-up restaurant in Atlanta, the mid-way point between McDonald’s headquarters in Chicago and Burger King HQ in Miami. [Daily Telegraph] See Video of the Day

Video of the Day –

Burger King | McWhopper Proposal

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #5monthswithoutzayn #SolveMyProblemsIn4Words #ask5sos
2 #RelationshipGoalsIn3Words #RelationshipGoalsIn3Words #RelationshipGoalsIn3Words
3 #Tucumanazo Vick #charitytuesday
4 #فتاه_تغتصب_شاب #5monthswithoutzayn House of Fools
5 #NuncaMePasoEsoDe Curt Schilling #1YearOfMyEverything
6 BeliebersVoteHottest Aaliyah #5monthswithoutzayn
7 #SolveMyProblemsIn4Words #ask5sos #TravelTuesday
8 LANA EU TE AMO #BornToRun Colin Fry
9 #FelizMartes You Oughta Know Harvey Proctor
10 NCAE Jorge Ramos Greg Rutherford

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November 17, 2015

Top News Stories –

Charlie Sheen confirms he is HIV positive –
Hollywood star Charlie Sheen has confirmed he is living with HIV in a US television interview. “I am here to admit that I am HIV positive,” he said. The former star of sitcom Two And A Half Men appeared on NBC’s Today show, ending days of intense media speculation. Sheen revealed to Matt Lauer he had paid “enough to take it into the millions” to keep people from going public about his illness. “I have to put a stop to this onslaught, this barrage of attacks and of sub-truths,” he said, adding he was diagnosed four years ago. [BBC] In March 2015 Sheen launched a racist Twitter attack on Barack Obama.
Charlie_SheenCharlie Sheen

Bangkok sets record for longest half-marathon after route blunder –
The 6,000 runners who just completed the Bangkok half-marathon will have a special mention in sporting trivia quizzes for years to come, after they were forced to run an extra four miles to reach the finish line. Mark Kent, the British ambassador to Thailand, was among those who finished the longest half-marathon in history after a route blunder by organisers. The mishap occurred as the wrong gate was opened on a main road for the runners to complete a U-turn, some two miles further on than planned. The organisers have apologised profusely for the mistake and offered all competitors a free commemorative T-shirt bearing the message: “Finisher of 27.6 km”. An actual half-marathon should last 21.1 kms, or about 13 miles. [Daily Telegraph]

 

Video of the Day –

ACROSS THE SKY – a world record slackline in the utah desert from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

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1 #1DMX #IKWYDLSAtMidnight #1DUK
2 #جده_الان #BEFOUR #CharityTuesday
3 #1DPL #PrisonBooks Oxford Dictionaries
4 #ReinadoColombia #1DonGMA Charlie Sheen
5 #FelizMartes Bobby Jindal Mitchell Johnson
6 Pampita #BadFirstDateActivities FHM and Zoo
7 #السعوديه_تيمور #6YearsOfMyWorld #WorldPrematurityDay
8 Leyla Zana Charlie Sheen #EngvFra
9 上原亜衣 #Our4WordFuture #IKWYDLSAtMidnight
10 #6YearsOfMyWorld JJ Watt #Barney

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March 2, 2016

Top News Stories –

Kanye West appears to have torrent site Pirate Bay open in a photo he’s tweeted –
Kanye West is in trouble over his tweets – again – after the background to a photo he posted made it look like he was illegally downloading files. He sent out a picture on Twitter showing him listening to a Sufjan Stevens track on YouTube, but fans quickly spotted other tabs he had open. One of them says “Xfer Records Serum”, but is next to others saying “Pirate Bay Torrent Xfe” and “MediaDownloader”. Deadmau5 hit out at Kanye, saying: “@kanyewest – can’t afford Serum?” Kanye’s original tweet simply said “Day 3” alongside the photo. [BBC Newsbeat]
In September 2015 West announced he will be running for US President in 2020.
Kanye WestKanye West

Emirates A380 makes longest non-stop flight as airlines launch long-haul battle –
An Emirates superjumbo touched down in Auckland, New Zealand, on Wednesday, after spending more than 17 hours in the air from Dubai – making it the world’s longest commercial scheduled flight. The Emirates A380 covered a route of about 8825 miles, before turning around and doing it all again on the way home. It beat the previous record – Qantas’s Dallas to Sydney route – by about 250 miles. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

STREET SWEEPER from Rupert Walker on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #QuartaFeiraNoClubeSDV #TwoWordTrump High School Musical 4
2 #FelizMiercoles #WCH2016 #WednesdayWisdom
3 #HaydiSURaAblukayıKaldır… #TexasIndependenceDay #HappyValley
4 #QuienMeConoceSabe Sports Authority #BackInTimeForTheWeekend
5 #ALDUBMysteryBox #WednesdayWisdom #DolanTwinsNewVideo
6 #PrendeOCunhaSTF #TroyeOnHits1 #MorningsWouldBeBetterIf
7 #WednesdayWisdom #StopTheSham European Super League
8 #كفايات_المعلم… #1linewed #borntobedifferent
9 #حلوه_الحياه_لما #ICON16 #digifest16
10 High School Musical 4 #ReadAcrossAmerica #ExOnTheBeach

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June 1, 2016

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European leaders open world’s longest rail tunnel in Switzerland –
The world’s longest rail tunnel, running for 35 miles (57km) under the Swiss Alps, has officially opened. The Swiss president, Johann Schneider-Ammann, said the tunnel, which it is hoped will ease transit through the heart of the continent, would “join the people and the economies” of Europe at a time of rising nationalism and border closures. He spoke before European leaders made a ceremonial first journey through the Gotthard base tunnel. Passengers included the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, the French president, François Hollande, and the Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi. While the tunnel was entirely funded by Switzerland, a non-EU member, the bloc’s transport commissioner, Violeta Bulc, hailed it as “a godsend” for the continent. It runs from Erstfeld in the central Swiss canton of Uri, to Bodio in the southern Ticino canton. [The Guardian]

Video of the Day –

Gotthard base tunnel

List of the Day –

World’s longest tunnels (in use) [Wikipedia]

Name Location Length Type Year Comment
Delaware Aqueduct United States New York state, United States 137,000 m (85.1 mi) Water supply 1945 4.1 m wide. New York City‘s main water supply tunnel, drilled through solid rock.
Päijänne Water Tunnel Finland Southern Finland, Finland 120,000 m (74.6 mi) Water supply 1982 16 m2 cross section
Dahuofang Water Tunnel China Liaoning Province, China 85,320 m (53.0 mi) Water supply 2009 8 m in diameter (50m2 cross section)
Orange–Fish River Tunnel South Africa South Africa 82,800 m (51.4 mi) Water supply 1972 Longest continuous enclosed aqueduct in the southern hemisphere (22.5 m2cross section)
Bolmen Water Tunnel Sweden Kronoberg/Scania, Sweden 82,000 m (51.0 mi) Water supply 1987 8 m2
Tunel Emisor Oriente Mexico Mexico City, Mexico 62,500 m (38.8 mi) Waterwaste 2006-2012 Water management in Greater Mexico City. Longest waterwaste tunnel.
Guangzhou Metro Line 3 China Guangzhou, China 60,400 m (37.5 mi)Excl. branch Metro 2005-2010 Guangzhou Metro. Longest metro/rapid transit tunnel;
longest railway tunnel
Beijing Subway Line 10 China Beijing, China 57,100 m (35.5 mi) Metro 2008-2012 Beijing Subway
Gotthard Base Tunnel Switzerland Lepontine Alps, Switzerland 57,091 m (35.5 mi) or 57,017 m (35.4 mi) Railway Twin Tube 2016 The longest railway tunnel excluding urban metro lines with intermediate stations.
Two tubes (East 57,091 m (35.5 mi), West 57,017 m (35.4 mi)), 8.8–9.5 m (29–31 ft) diameter, (71m2 cross section)
Seikan Tunnel Japan Tsugaru Strait, Japan 53,850 m (33.5 mi) Railway Single Tube 1988 74 m2

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