January 26, 2015

Top News Stories –

Greek parties form anti-austerity coalition –
The winner of yesterday’s election in Greece, the far-left Syriza party won 149 seats, just two short of an absolute majority. It has formed an anti-austerity coalition right-wing party, the Greek Independents led by Panos Kammenos.
Discours de Panos Kammenos (cropped)Panos Kammenos, leader of the Greek Independents

Greek F-16 crashes at Spanish airbase –
A Greek F-16 jet “lost power” during take-off at the Los Llanos airbase in Albacete in central Spain and crashed into a number of parked planes and ground crew. Ten people have died including the two pilots of the plane.

Demis Roussos dies –
Demis Roussos, a Greek singer who sold more than 60 million albums worldwide most during the 1970s and 1980s has died aged 68 in Athens. He was best known for solo hits including Forever and Ever, Goodbye and Quand je t’aime as well as writing the soundtrack to the film Abigail’s party.
Demis Roussos in Baku 2

Video of the Day –

Light Goes On from Darren Pearson on Vimeo.

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December 20, 2015

Top News Stories –

Miss Universe: Miss Colombia mistakenly crowned as winner –
The host of the Miss Universe has apologised after mistakenly naming the wrong woman as winner, leaving Miss Colombia empty-handed. After the error, Ariadna Gutierrez was instead declared runner-up and surrendered her crown to Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach. #MissUniverse2015 became Twitter’s biggest trend of the night as social media users expressed their disbelief. The host Steve Harvey responded, saying it was “his mistake” and he would take responsibility for not reading the winning card correctly. [BBC] See Video of the Day
Pia_Alonzo_WurtzbachPia Alonzo Wurtzbach

Star Wars smashes box office records on opening weekend –
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” shattered box office records with an estimated $517 million (£350 million) in worldwide ticket sales on its opening weekend, a staggering debut that re-established the celebrated space saga as a global phenomenon. The first “Star Wars” film in a decade recorded the biggest domestic opening in Hollywood’s history, collecting $238 million over the weekend in the United States and Canada. Global sales for “Force Awakens” finished second only to the dinosaur film “Jurassic World,” which in its June opening garnered $525 million worldwide, including China, where the “Star Wars” film will not open for weeks. “Jurassic World” took $208.8 million at domestic cinemas in its first weekend. “Force Awakens” is the seventh installment in the epic science-fiction franchise created by George Lucas in 1977. [Daily Telegraph] See List of the Day

Video of the Day –

THE 64TH ANNUAL MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT | Can’t ‘Miss’ Moment: The Reveal

List of the Day –

Star Wars films in order of box office performance –

1. Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) – $1,486m

IMDb rating:8.7

2. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) – $818m

IMDb rating:8.8

3. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) – $784m

IMDb rating:8.4

4. Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) – $707m

IMDb rating:6.5

5. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) – $495m

IMDb rating:7.7

6. Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) – $446m

IMDb rating:6.7

7. The Clone Wars (2008) – $41m

IMDb rating:5.8
Note that figures are for US box office and allow for the effects of inflation.

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #DomingoComOClubeSDV Air France #WeAreAllHarry
2 #زد_رصيدك37 #PeopleWhoMadeMy2015 #SoundOfMusicLive
3 #FelizDomingo #EleccionesGenerales2015 #DemDebate
4 #50ShadesOfLouisAss #INeverReallyTrusted #TheBridge
5 #حزب_اللي_ياكل�… #8DaysOfBlueNeighbourhood #Strictly
6 #Garzoners Chabelo #LouisBeHappy
7 #WeAreAllHarry #ThePerksOfBeingInTheFamily #UFCOrlando
8 #もし女子高生にな�… #WWELA Air France
9 Chabelo #1989WorldTourLIVE #2015In5Words
10 #CiteFatosDePobre #ATLvsJAX #1989WorldTourLIVE

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