Top Story –
Ultimate Lock-in –
About 30 guests celebrating new year at the Tan Hill Inn in North Yorkshire, the highest pub in England, finally left today after heavy snow left them stranded for three days.
The Tan Hill Inn
Tag Archives: NFL
November 28, 2014
Top News Stories –
Canberra Christmas lights set world record –
A Christmas lights display in the Australian capital, Canberra, has set a new world record. Almost 1.2 million LED lights on 120km (75 miles) of cables have been strung in the shape of three interconnected giant, wrapped Christmas presents. Guinness World Records confirmed it was the largest-ever LED image display. The display in the Petrie Plaza mall was the result of months of planning by Canberra lawyer David Richards and a team of volunteers. [BBC] See Video of the day
Sony’s latest wearable is a watch made of electronic paper –
The Wall Street Journal has uncovered Sony’s clandestine involvement in a smartwatch project. Under the name Fashion Entertainment (FES), the company has thrown an electronic paper watch into the wearable product scrum. All credit to Sony, the watch itself is very slick looking. It overcomes many of the problems existing smartwatches on the market present – namely that they are overly bulky and have naff battery lives. Electronic paper, which is famously used in ebook readers to provide them with long-lasting battery, should ensure that this device can keep running for weeks on a single charge, rather than just a day or two. Sony secretly put the watch on a crowdfunding site in September, not taking ownership of the product until this week. The device surpassed its 2 million yen goal (£108,000), raising 3.5 million yen (£188,000) in total. [Wired.com]
Video of the Day –
August 9, 2015
Top News Stories –
Australia proposes limiting Vegemite sales to prevent alcohol abuse –
Australia’s government says Vegemite sales should be limited in some communities to prevent the yeast-based spread being used to make home-made alcohol. Nigel Scullion, the indigenous affairs minister, said the spread – which is considered something of a national culinary staple – was a “precursor to misery” in communities suffering from alcohol abuse. He said he was not proposing a ban but wanted to restrict excessive sales of high-yeast products such as Vegemite in “dry” communities – typically remote Aboriginal townships where alcohol sales are banned. Vegemite, from the same family of spreads as Marmite, has been produced in Australia since 1923 and its advertising jingles have sometimes been said to be more widely known than the national anthem. [Daily Telegraph]
A woman’s bra wire saves her from bullet in German hunting accident –
A woman’s bra wire has saved her life after a bullet hit her during a hunting accident in north-eastern Germany. The tourist was cycling through woods with her husband in the Mecklenberg-Western Pomerania area of the country. According to newspaper the Gadebusch-Rehnaer Zeitung, the pair had inadvertently strayed into the middle of a boar hunt while crossing a field. The woman said she felt a pain in her chest, which turned out to be a bullet ricocheting off her bra underwire. She was taken to a doctor in nearby Gadebusch by a passing motorist and treated for severe bruising on her chest plus a small blood clot. The gun and ammunition from the hunt were also impounded and police with sniffer dogs and metal detectors searched the area. [BBC Newsbeat]
Video of the Day –
THE WILD from LIEBER FILMS on Vimeo.
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Other News Stories –
- Arts and culture
- Japan commemorates the 70th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped over the Japanese city of Nagasaki during World War II. (BBC)
- Disasters and accidents
- 2015 Pacific typhoon season
- At least 22 people are dead or missing in China and millions are without power after Typhoon Soudelor hit the nation yesterday. (USA Today)
- Law and crime
- An arrest warrant has been issued for the cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Suleiman Hilal Al-Assad, who is accused of shooting and killing Colonel Hassan Al-Sheikh of the Syrian Armed Forces at what can be described as a traffic dispute. (The News Hub) (France 24)
- Shooting of Michael Brown
- Tyrone Harris, Jr is shot in Ferguson, Missouri one year after the death of Michael Brown after allegedly firing shots at police. He is in a critical condition.(St Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Politics and elections
- The Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi calls for abolishing the positions of Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister and says he is opening graft investigations. The previous vice president Tariq al-Hashimi was sentenced to death in absentia over political murders. (Bloomberg)
- Sports
- NFL player and sportscaster Frank Gifford dies at the age of 84. (NBC)
News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource
January 24, 2016
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Tokyo police roll out 3D mug shots –
Tokyo’s police force is to start taking 3D mug shots of suspects being held in custody, it’s reported. The images will form part of a database which officers hope will make it easier to analyse CCTV footage, the the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reports. All of the Japanese capital’s 102 police stations will be fitted with a 3D camera as part of the new process, which will begin in April. “As we can identify the suspects more quickly and accurately, our arrest rate is expected to become greater,” one senior officer tells the paper. Unlike regular two-dimensional mug shots, the 3D images can be adjusted to match the angle of security camera footage, which is often shot from above, rather than at face height. At the moment police only photograph suspects’ faces from the front and diagonally, making it difficult to match mug shots to CCTV images. Tokyo’s police force says it is the first to roll out the cameras across all of its stations – until now they have only been installed at some regional police headquarters in Japan. [BBC]
Australia makes ‘captain’s call’ on best words of 2015 –
Captain’s call – a phrase “plucked” from the cricket pitch and politicised by former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott – has become the Macquarie Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2015. Mr Abbott’s controversial choice to award Prince Philip a knighthood was one of his many “captain’s calls”. The noun is defined as “a decision made by a political or business leader without consultation with colleagues”. The dictionary said the word “perfectly encapsulates” Australia in 2015. [BBC] See List of the Day
Video of the Day –
Liquid Ping Pong in Space – RED 4K
List of the Day –
Australian Word of the Year runners-up
lumbersexual: a portmanteau of lumberjack and metrosexual – referring to urban men who adopt the style of an outdoorsman as a fashion statement.
deso: Colloquially refers to a designated driver, who refrains from drinking alcohol in order to drive others safely home. Also, deso driver.
open kimono: A business policy of sharing information freely with an outside party.
keyboard warrior: a person who adopts an excessively aggressive style in online discussions which they would not normally adopt in person-to-person communication, often in support of a cause, theory, world view, etc.
ghost plate: a clear plastic numberplate cover which becomes opaque when viewed from certain angles, thereby obscuring the registration number; designed to circumvent identification by speed cameras.
athleisure: clothing, shoes, etc., designed for both exercise and general casual wear.
tri-tip: a cut of beef, taken from the bottom of the sirloin.
digital disruption: Commerce the impact of digital technology in making various established industries and products obsolete.
abandoned porn: a genre of photography which romanticises abandoned buildings and urban areas in a state of decay. Also, ruin porn.
wombat gate: a swing gate installed in a ditch going underneath a fence, so that wombats, who follow very predictable patterns at night, can come and go without destroying the fence.
Top Twitter Trends –
Other News Stories –
- Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Army takes control of the strategic Turkmen town of Rabia in Syria‘s Latakia Governorate. The town had been under rebel control since 2012. (AFP via Global Post)
- Disasters and accidents
- Heavy snowfall in western and central Japan leaves at least two people dead and over a hundred injured. Snowfall was also recorded for the first time in 155 years on Amami Ōshima, a subtropical island in Japan’s southern Kagoshima Prefecture. (The Japan Times)
- A magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes southwestern Alaska, leaving 10,000 in the Anchorage area without power and forcing the evacuation of several homes on the Kenai Peninsula. The National Weather Service reported that there was no tsunami following the earthquake. (USGS) (ABC) (The Los Angeles Times)
- Politics and elections
- Sports
- In sumo, Kotoshōgiku Kazuhiro wins his first makuuchi (top division) championship to end a decade-long drought of a Japanese-born championship winner. (Kyodo via Nikkei Asia Review) (Reuters via Daily Mail)
- 2015–16 NFL playoffs
- The Denver Broncos beat the New England Patriots 20-18 to win the AFC Championship and qualify for Super Bowl 50. (Washington Post)
- The Carolina Panthers beat the Arizona Cardinals 49-15 to win the NFC Championship and qualify for Super Bowl 50. (The Guardian)
News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource
February 6, 2016
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How Facebook updated ‘six degrees of separation’ (it’s now 3.57) –
If you pick any two Facebook users, it’s been calculated there’s an average of 3.57 “degrees of separation” between them. The maths has been done using the social media giant’s handy data set of 1.6 billion people. Facebook wanted to test the age-old “six degrees of separation” theory to mark its 12th birthday. “This is a significant reflection of how closely connected the world has become,” the firm says. “When people connect, powerful things happen and lives are changed. “We see this on Facebook every day, whether it’s an exchange with an old friend that brings a smile to your face or a new connection that changes your life path, or even the world.” It means that each person in the world (at least among the 1.59 billion people active on Facebook) is connected to every other person by an average of three and a half other people. Find out your own degrees of separation at Facebook’s blog page. [BBC Newsbeat]
Video of the Day –
“NFL 2016: Part One” — A Bad Lip Reading of the NFL
Part 2 available here
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Other News Stories –
- Armed conflicts and attacks
- An al Qaeda affiliate has freed Jocelyn Elliott, an Australian woman kidnapped in Burkina Faso along with her husband. (ABC News Australia)
- Syrian Civil War
- Northern Aleppo offensive (2016)
- The Syrian Army, backed by the Russian Air Force, takes control of the town of Ratyan in the Aleppo Governorate, after defeating Al-Nusra Front and Ahrar ash-Sham fighters. (Xinhua)
- Northern Aleppo offensive (2016)
- Arts and culture
- Queen Jetsun Pema of Bhutan gives birth to a son, the heir apparent of the Bhutanese throne. (Kuensel)
- Disasters and accidents
- 2016 Kaohsiung earthquake
- A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck southern Taiwan. Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported that 14 people were killed and 484 injured. (CNN) (Metro) (AP) (AFP/Reuters via ABC News Australia)
- The earthquake toppled two high-rise buildings in the city of Tainan with at least 160 people rescued and many more trapped inside. (AP)
- Five people are killed in an avalanche that buried 17 Czechs in Austria. (NBC News)
- International relations
- North Korea brings forward the date of a potential satellite launch to as early as tomorrow. (BBC)
- Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present)
- Law and crime
- Twitter claims to have closed down 125,000 accounts linked to ISIL. (Reuters via ABC News Australia)
- Sports
- In American football, eight people are inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame including Oakland Raiders former quarterback Ken Stabler, Former San Francisco 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr., Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, Green Bay Packers former quarterback Brett Favre, Los Angeles Rams former linebacker/defensive end Kevin Greene, Indianapolis Colts former wide receiver Marvin Harrison, St. Louis Rams former offensive tackle Orlando Pace and Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins former guard Dick Stanfel. (CNN)
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February 7, 2016
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Super Bowl 50: Denver Broncos beat Carolina Panthers –
The Denver Broncos produced a defensive masterclass to upset the Carolina Panthers 24-10 and win Super Bowl 50. Carolina were heavy favourites, having lost only once all season and with the league’s Most Valuable Player of the season Cam Newton at quarterback. But Newton was smothered by the Broncos defence and gave up three turnovers, including one that led to a touchdown. That helped Denver, quarterbacked by veteran Peyton Manning, open a 10-0 lead early on and they never lost it. It had been rumoured the game would be 39-year-old Manning’s last, but he said afterwards he would “take time to reflect”. [BBC]
Coldplay and Beyonce star in half-time show –
British group Coldplay were the main performers at the half-time and they were joined by Beyonce, Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson. Coldplay opened the show by singing ‘Yellow’ and ‘Viva La Vida’ as children carrying multi-coloured umbrellas and violins streamed onto the pitch. Mars and Ronson performed their hit ‘Uptown Funk’, before Beyonce sang her new song ‘Formation’. The artists closed the show by performing a mash-up of Coldplay’s hit ‘Fix You’ and Beyonce’s ‘Crazy In Love’. [BBC]
Twitter suspends 125,000 ‘terrorism’ accounts –
Twitter says it has suspended more than 125,000 accounts since mid-2015 “for threatening or promoting terrorist acts”. In a blog, the US-based firm said the accounts “primarily related to ISIS” (the so-called Islamic State group). “We condemn the use of Twitter to promote terrorism,” it said, adding that it had increased its report reviewing teams to react faster. Twitter has more than 500 million users around the world. [BBC]
Video of the Day –
“NFL 2016: PART TWO” — A Bad Lip Reading of the NFL
Part One available here
List of the Day –
List of Superbowl Champions [from Wikipedia]
Game | Date | Winning team | Score | Losing team | Venue | City | Attendance | |
50 | February 7, 2016 | Denver Broncos† | 24–10 | Carolina Panthers* | Levi’s Stadium | Santa Clara, California (2)[note 1] | 71,088 | |
(8, 3–5) | (2, 0–2) | |||||||
XLIX | February 1, 2015 | New England Patriots† | 28–24 | Seattle Seahawks* | University of Phoenix Stadium (2) | Glendale, Arizona (3)[note 1] | 70,288 | |
(8, 4–4) | (3, 1–2) | |||||||
XLVIII | February 2, 2014 | Seattle Seahawks* | 43–8 | Denver Broncos† | MetLife Stadium | East Rutherford, New Jersey | 82,529 | |
(2, 1–1) | (7, 2–5) | |||||||
XLVII | February 3, 2013 | Baltimore Ravens† | 34–31 | San Francisco 49ers* | Mercedes-Benz Superdome (7) | New Orleans, Louisiana (10) | 71,024 | |
(2, 2–0) | (6, 5–1) | |||||||
XLVI | February 5, 2012 | New York Giants* | 21–17 | New England Patriots† | Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis, Indiana | 68,658 | |
(5, 4–1) | (7, 3–4) | |||||||
XLV | February 6, 2011 | Green Bay Packers* | 31–25 | Pittsburgh Steelers† | Cowboys Stadium | Arlington, Texas | 103,219 | |
(5, 4–1) | (8, 6–2) | |||||||
XLIV | February 7, 2010 | New Orleans Saints* | 31–17 | Indianapolis Colts† | Sun Life Stadium (5)[note 3] | Miami Gardens, Florida (10)[note 2] | 74,059 | |
(1, 1–0) | (4, 2–2) | |||||||
XLIII | February 1, 2009 | Pittsburgh Steelers† | 27–23 | Arizona Cardinals* | Raymond James Stadium (2) | Tampa, Florida (4) | 70,774 | |
(7, 6–1) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
XLII | February 3, 2008 | New York Giants* | 17–14 | New England Patriots† | University of Phoenix Stadium | Glendale, Arizona (2)[note 1] | 71,101 | |
(4, 3–1) | (6, 3–3) | |||||||
XLI | February 4, 2007 | Indianapolis Colts† | 29–17 | Chicago Bears* | Dolphin Stadium (4)[note 3] | Miami Gardens, Florida (9)[note 2] | 74,512 | |
(3, 2–1) | (2, 1–1) | |||||||
XL | February 5, 2006 | Pittsburgh Steelers† | 21–10 | Seattle Seahawks* | Ford Field | Detroit, Michigan (2)[note 1] | 68,206 | |
(6, 5–1) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
XXXIX | February 6, 2005 | New England Patriots† | 24–21 | Philadelphia Eagles* | ALLTEL Stadium | Jacksonville, Florida | 78,125 | |
(5, 3–2) | (2, 0–2) | |||||||
XXXVIII | February 1, 2004 | New England Patriots† | 32–29 | Carolina Panthers* | Reliant Stadium[note 3] | Houston, Texas (2) | 71,525 | |
(4, 2–2) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
XXXVII | January 26, 2003 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers* | 48–21 | Oakland Raiders† | Qualcomm Stadium (3)[note 3] | San Diego, California (3) | 67,603 | |
(1, 1–0) | (5, 3–2) | |||||||
XXXVI | February 3, 2002 | New England Patriots† | 20–17 | St. Louis Rams* | Louisiana Superdome (6) | New Orleans, Louisiana (9) | 72,922 | |
(3, 1–2) | (3, 1–2) | |||||||
XXXV | January 28, 2001 | Baltimore Ravens† | 34–7 | New York Giants* | Raymond James Stadium | Tampa, Florida (3) | 71,921 | |
(1, 1–0) | (3, 2–1) | |||||||
XXXIV | January 30, 2000 | St. Louis Rams* | 23–16 | Tennessee Titans† | Georgia Dome (2) | Atlanta, Georgia (2) | 72,625 | |
(2, 1–1) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
XXXIII | January 31, 1999 | Denver Broncos† | 34–19 | Atlanta Falcons* | Pro Player Stadium (3)[note 3] | Miami Gardens, Florida (8)[note 2] | 74,803 | |
(6, 2–4) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
XXXII | January 25, 1998 | Denver Broncos† | 31–24 | Green Bay Packers* | Qualcomm Stadium (2)[note 3] | San Diego, California (2) | 68,912 | |
(5, 1–4) | (4, 3–1) | |||||||
XXXI | January 26, 1997 | Green Bay Packers* | 35–21 | New England Patriots† | Louisiana Superdome (5) | New Orleans, Louisiana (8) | 72,301 | |
(3, 3–0) | (2, 0–2) | |||||||
XXX | January 28, 1996 | Dallas Cowboys* | 27–17 | Pittsburgh Steelers† | Sun Devil Stadium | Tempe, Arizona[note 1] | 76,347 | |
(8, 5–3) | (5, 4–1) | |||||||
XXIX | January 29, 1995 | San Francisco 49ers* | 49–26 | San Diego Chargers† | Joe Robbie Stadium (2)[note 3] | Miami Gardens, Florida (7)[note 2] | 74,107 | |
(5, 5–0) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
XXVIII | January 30, 1994 | Dallas Cowboys* | 30–13 | Buffalo Bills† | Georgia Dome | Atlanta, Georgia | 72,817 | |
(7, 4–3) | (4, 0–4) | |||||||
XXVII | January 31, 1993 | Dallas Cowboys* | 52–17 | Buffalo Bills† | Rose Bowl (5) | Pasadena, California (7)[note 1] | 98,374 | |
(6, 3–3) | (3, 0–3) | |||||||
XXVI | January 26, 1992 | Washington Redskins* | 37–24 | Buffalo Bills† | Metrodome | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 63,130 | |
(5, 3–2) | (2, 0–2) | |||||||
XXV | January 27, 1991 | New York Giants* | 20–19 | Buffalo Bills† | Tampa Stadium (2) | Tampa, Florida (2) | 73,813 | |
(2, 2–0) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
XXIV | January 28, 1990 | San Francisco 49ers* | 55–10 | Denver Broncos† | Louisiana Superdome (4) | New Orleans, Louisiana (7) | 72,919 | |
(4, 4–0) | (4, 0–4) | |||||||
XXIII | January 22, 1989 | San Francisco 49ers* | 20–16 | Cincinnati Bengals† | Joe Robbie Stadium[note 3] | Miami Gardens, Florida (6)[note 2] | 75,129 | |
(3, 3–0) | (2, 0–2) | |||||||
XXII | January 31, 1988 | Washington Redskins* | 42–10 | Denver Broncos† | Jack Murphy Stadium[note 3] | San Diego, California | 73,302 | |
(4, 2–2) | (3, 0–3) | |||||||
XXI | January 25, 1987 | New York Giants* | 39–20 | Denver Broncos† | Rose Bowl (4) | Pasadena, California (6)[note 1] | 101,063 | |
(1, 1–0) | (2, 0–2) | |||||||
XX | January 26, 1986 | Chicago Bears* | 46–10 | New England Patriots† | Louisiana Superdome (3) | New Orleans, Louisiana (6) | 73,818 | |
(1, 1–0) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
XIX | January 20, 1985 | San Francisco 49ers* | 38–16 | Miami Dolphins† | Stanford Stadium | Stanford, California[note 1] | 84,059 | |
(2, 2–0) | (5, 2–3) | |||||||
XVIII | January 22, 1984 | Los Angeles Raiders† | 38–9 | Washington Redskins* | Tampa Stadium | Tampa, Florida | 72,920 | |
(4, 3–1) | (3, 1–2) | |||||||
XVII | January 30, 1983 | Washington Redskins* | 27–17 | Miami Dolphins† | Rose Bowl (3) | Pasadena, California (5)[note 1] | 103,667 | |
(2, 1–1) | (4, 2–2) | |||||||
XVI | January 24, 1982 | San Francisco 49ers* | 26–21 | Cincinnati Bengals† | Pontiac Silverdome | Pontiac, Michigan[note 1] | 81,270 | |
(1, 1–0) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
XV | January 25, 1981 | Oakland Raiders† | 27–10 | Philadelphia Eagles* | Louisiana Superdome (2) | New Orleans, Louisiana (5) | 76,135 | |
(3, 2–1) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
XIV | January 20, 1980 | Pittsburgh Steelers† | 31–19 | Los Angeles Rams* | Rose Bowl (2) | Pasadena, California (4)[note 1] | 103,985 | |
(4, 4–0) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
XIII | January 21, 1979 | Pittsburgh Steelers† | 35–31 | Dallas Cowboys* | Miami Orange Bowl (5) | Miami, Florida (5)[note 2] | 79,484 | |
(3, 3–0) | (5, 2–3) | |||||||
XII | January 15, 1978 | Dallas Cowboys* | 27–10 | Denver Broncos† | Louisiana Superdome | New Orleans, Louisiana (4) | 76,400 | |
(4, 2–2) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
XI | January 9, 1977 | Oakland Raiders† | 32–14 | Minnesota Vikings* | Rose Bowl | Pasadena, California (3)[note 1] | 103,438 | |
(2, 1–1) | (4, 0–4) | |||||||
X | January 18, 1976 | Pittsburgh Steelers† | 21–17 | Dallas Cowboys* | Miami Orange Bowl (4) | Miami, Florida (4)[note 2] | 80,187 | |
(2, 2–0) | (3, 1–2) | |||||||
IX | January 12, 1975 | Pittsburgh Steelers† | 16–6 | Minnesota Vikings* | Tulane Stadium (3) | New Orleans, Louisiana (3) | 80,997 | |
(1, 1–0) | (3, 0–3) | |||||||
VIII | January 13, 1974 | Miami Dolphins† | 24–7 | Minnesota Vikings* | Rice Stadium | Houston, Texas | 71,882 | |
(3, 2–1) | (2, 0–2) | |||||||
VII | January 14, 1973 | Miami Dolphins† | 14–7 | Washington Redskins* | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (2) | Los Angeles, California (2)[note 1] | 90,182 | |
(2, 1–1) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
VI | January 16, 1972 | Dallas Cowboys* | 24–3 | Miami Dolphins† | Tulane Stadium (2) | New Orleans, Louisiana (2) | 81,023 | |
(2, 1–1) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
V | January 17, 1971 | Baltimore Colts† | 16–13 | Dallas Cowboys* | Miami Orange Bowl (3) | Miami, Florida (3)[note 2] | 79,204 | |
(2, 1–1) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
IV | January 11, 1970 | Kansas City Chiefs^ | 23–7 | Minnesota Vikings‡ | Tulane Stadium | New Orleans, Louisiana | 80,562 | |
(2, 1–1) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
III | January 12, 1969 | New York Jets^ | 16–7 | Baltimore Colts‡ | Miami Orange Bowl (2) | Miami, Florida (2)[note 2] | 75,389 | |
(1, 1–0) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
II | January 14, 1968 | Green Bay Packers‡ | 33–14 | Oakland Raiders^ | Miami Orange Bowl | Miami, Florida[note 2] | 75,546 | |
(2, 2–0) | (1, 0–1) | |||||||
I | January 15, 1967 | Green Bay Packers‡ | 35–10 | Kansas City Chiefs^ | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Los Angeles, California[note 1] | 61,946 | |
(1, 1–0) | (1, 0–1) |
Top Twitter Trends –
Other News Stories –
- Disasters and accidents
- 2016 Kaohsiung earthquake
- The death toll from yesterday’s earthquake in Taiwan rises to at least 29, with at least 120 trapped under collapsed buildings in Tainan, while 198 people have been rescued. (AP) (Taipei Times)
- A man is killed and three other employees are injured following a suspected meteorite strike in a garden outside the Bharathidasan Engineering College in Tamil Nadu, India. Witnesses say they saw a mysterious object fall from the sky. If confirmed, this would be the first recorded fatality from a meteorite strike. (Metro) (The Indian Express)
- One person is killed and six others injured in an explosion at JCG Farms, an American feed mill near Atlanta, Georgia. (AP)
- International relations
- North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- North Korea launches a long range rocket that critics claim is a test of banned technology for a long range missile that could hit the United States. South Korea’s military says the rocket released an object into orbit. (AP via Washington Post) (CNN) (Reuters)
- Japan‘s NHK news reports the rocket passed over the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzō Abe, condemns the launch and says, “We absolutely cannot allow this. We will take action to totally protect the safety and well-being of our people”. The Japanese government says no rocket debris fell on Japanese territory and there are no reports of damage. The rocket reportedly falls into waters southwest of Jeju Island. (ABC News), (Yonhap)
- South Korea’s intelligence agency claims that North Korea is preparing for another nuclear test. (Yonhap)
- The United Nations Security Council condemns North Korea’s long-range missile launch, a violation of numerous U.N. resolutions. (CNN) (USA Today)
- Syrian Civil War, Foreign involvement in the Syrian Civil War
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) says it is ready to deploy ground troops to Syria as part of an international coalition to fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, if said coalition was led by theUnited States. (Al Jazeera)
- Law and crime
- Two people are killed and ten others are injured in a shooting outside an Orlando, Florida nightclub. (Click Orlando)
- One person is killed and seven others are injured in a shooting outside a Rochester, New York sports bar. (ABC News)
- Hamas reports it has executed one of its commanders, Mahmoud Eshtewi, for “moral and behavioral violations.” Human Rights Watch, contacted by Eshtewi’s family, had been monitoring the case. (AP viaThe Washington Post)
- Politics and elections
- Politicians in Haiti agree to a process to select an interim President to replace Michel Martelly. Presidential elections will be held on April 14 with the winner to be sworn in on 14 May. (BBC)
- Haiti delays Carnival celebrations over concern that anti-government protests might turn violent. (Reuters) (The Guardian)
- The Parliament of Algeria considers a new constitution imposing term limits for the President and recognising Amazigh as an official language. (AP)
- Sport
- In American football, the Denver Broncos defeat the Carolina Panthers 24–10 in Super Bowl 50. Von Miller, an outside linebacker, is named as the game’s Most Valuable Player. (BBC), (ESPN)
News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resource
March 7, 2016
Top News Stories –
Maria Sharapova failed drugs test at Australian Open –
Former world number one Maria Sharapova has revealed she failed a drugs test at the Australian Open. The Russian, 28, tested positive for meldonium, a substance she has been taking since 2006 for health issues. Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion, is provisionally suspended from 12 March pending further action. “I did fail the test and take full responsibility for it,” said Sharapova, who won the Wimbledon title as a 17-year-old in 2004. “For the past 10 years I have been given a medicine called mildronate by my family doctor and a few days ago after I received a letter from the ITF [International Tennis Federation] I found out it also has another name of meldonium, which I did not know.” [BBC] See List of the Day
Maria Sharapova
Peyton Manning: Denver Broncos quarterback retires from NFL –
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has announced his retirement, ending a sparkling 18-year career in the NFL. Manning struggled to hold back tears as he confirmed the news at a media conference in Denver on Monday. He said: “I fought a good fight. I finished my football race. After 18 years it is time.” Manning, who turns 40 on 24 March, played his last game when he helped the Broncos win the Super Bowl in February. It was his second Super Bowl win, the first coming in 2007 during a 14-year spell with the Indianapolis Colts. [BBC]
Peyton Manning
Video of the Day –
DreamRide from Juicy Studios on Vimeo.
List of the Day –
Maria Sharapova Grand Slam Tournament record [Wikipedia]
Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | 1R | 3R | SF | SF | F | W | A | 1R | 4R | F | SF | 4R | F | QF | 1 / 13 | 52–12 | 81.25% |
French Open | 1R | QF | QF | 4R | SF | 4R | QF | 3R | SF | W | F | W | 4R | 2 / 13 | 53–11 | 82.81% | |
Wimbledon | 4R | W | SF | SF | 4R | 2R | 2R | 4R | F | 4R | 2R | 4R | SF | 1 / 13 | 47–12 | 79.66% | |
US Open | 2R | 3R | SF | W | 3R | A | 3R | 4R | 3R | SF | A | 4R | A | 1 / 10 | 32–9 | 78.38% | |
Win–Loss | 4–4 | 15–3 | 19–4 | 20–3 | 16–4 | 11–2 | 7–3 | 8–4 | 16–4 | 21–3 | 12–3 | 16–3 | 14–3 | 4–1 | 5 / 48 | 184–44 | 80.70% |
Top Twitter Trends –
Other News Stories –
- Armed conflicts and attacks
- Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002-present)
- At least 50 people are killed, including 33 militants, seven civilians and ten soldiers, in armed clashes between the Tunisian Army and Islamist militants in the town of Ben Gardane, near the border withLibya. (Reuters) (Al-Jazeera) (AFP via Daily Mail)
- War in North-West Pakistan
- A Taliban suicide bomber hits a court complex in the town of Shabqadar killing at least 13 people and injuring 36. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Pakistani Taliban faction, says the attack is retaliation for Mumtaz Qadri’s execution last week. (Voice of America) (UPI)
- War in Somalia (2009–present)
- According to the Pentagon, more than 150 al-Shabaab fighters are reportedly killed Saturday by U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft strikes targeting a training camp near the central Somali town ofBuloburde. (FOX News) (The New York Times)
- The Royal Australian Navy seizes a large cache of weapons from a fishing vessel near Oman‘s coast, that was bound for Somalia. The Australian Navy, which patrols waters around the Indian Ocean as part of an international maritime force, said it has seized nearly 2,000 AK-47 rifles, 100 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 49 PKM machine guns, 39 PKM spare barrels and 20 mortar tubes from thestateless vessel. 20 tonnes of weaponry in total. (Reuters)
- Syrian Civil War
- A Syrian Arab Air Force or Russian airstrike reportedly kills a dozen people at a market selling diesel fuel in the rebel-held Idlib Governorate. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the death toll is likely to rise. (Reuters)
- Business and economics
- Germany’s BASF SE, the largest chemical producer in the world, is pursuing a counterbid for DuPont that could short circuit the Delaware-based company’s announced merger with fellow American firm, Dow Chemical Company. (Bloomberg) (Fortune)
- Apple Inc. must pay the $450 million July 2014 settlement in a price fixing case since the U.S. Supreme Court will not hear its appeal of the June 2015 Court of Appeals ruling that it played a “central role” in a conspiracy with publishers to eliminate retail price competition and raise e-book prices. (Reuters) (Bloomberg) (AppleInsider)
- Disasters and accidents
- In the United States, an Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) San Francisco Bay Area commuter train bound for Stockton, California, derails and falls into a creek, injuring 14 people, four in serious condition. The crash shuts down service along the ACE system through Tuesday. (Los Angeles Times) (CNN)
- International relations
- South Korea–United States relations
- South Korea and the United States start a joint military exercise as North Korea repeats threats of “indiscriminate” nuclear strikes. (AFP via Rappler)
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo calls on Muslim leaders at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit meeting in Jakarta to unite and be part of the solution on Palestine, noting the entire world is concerned about its deteriorating situation. Jokowi also criticizes what he calls Israel’s “unilateral and illegal policies.” (The Jakarta Post) (AP via Appeal-Democrat)
- European migrant crisis
- Today’s European Union summit with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in Brussels, Belgium, will discuss ways to stanch the flow of European-bound migrants. (CNN) (Voice of America)(Summit website)
- The EU plans to boost aid to Greece and declare the route north through the Balkans closed. Presently, about 13,000 people are stranded at the Greece–Macedonia border. (BBC) (Kathimerini)
- The leaders plan to give Turkey €3bn to take back thousands who don’t qualify for asylum. (Kathimerini) (Business Day)
- Amnesty International takes on the EU for using Turkey as a buffer to police Europe’s borders. Deputy Director Gauri van Gulik says Europe has an absolute duty to protect refugees and must fast-track significant, unconditional resettlement. (AP via The Washington Post)
- Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) opens a humanitarian camp for migrants in the Grande-Synthe suburb of Dunkerque, France. (AP via ABC News)
- Today’s European Union summit with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in Brussels, Belgium, will discuss ways to stanch the flow of European-bound migrants. (CNN) (Voice of America)(Summit website)
- Enlargement of the European Union
- The Turkish deputy ambassador to Britain says Turkey should be allowed to join the European Union in order to help solve the Syrian refugee crisis. (The Independent)
- Law and crime
- A gunman, who killed one man, injured two others, and was holding three people hostage, is found dead when an armed tactical response police team storms a building in the Ingleburn industrial area in suburban Sydney, Australia. All hostages were unharmed. (The Sydney Morning Herald) (Stuff.co.nz) (Sky News via KLFM)
- Venezuelan security forces search for 30 gold miners reportedly killed last week in the state of Bolívar in the country’s southeast. Survivor reports state the miners were shot last Friday in a fight for control of a gold deposit by criminals who then hid the bodies. Bolívar Governor Francisco Rangel Gómez denies any such massacre occurred. (EFE via Fox New Latino) (Reuters via The Times of India)
- Pitcairn sexual assault trial of 2004
- Former mayor of the Pitcairn Islands Mike Warren is found guilty of downloading more than 1000 images and videos of child abuse and child pornography while working in child protection and is sentenced to 20 months in prison. (The Guardian)
- American sportscaster Erin Andrews is awarded $55 million damages after a stranger, in 2008, secretly recorded her in the nude through a hotel door peephole, and posted the video on the Internet. (New York Daily News)
- Politics and elections
- United States presidential election, 2016
- Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg announces he will not run for president in 2016 because of the impact his candidacy might have on the outcome in November. (CBS News)
- Science and technology
- Research, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Geoscience, confirms that Mercury’s darker than expected crusty exterior is from carbon, likely the remains of the planet’s ancient surface crust of graphite, rather than carbon dust from comet impacts as previously postulated. (Christian Science Monitor) (The Washington Post) (Nature Geoscience)
- Sport
- Maria Sharapova tests positive for meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open tennis championship. She has taken the drug since 2006 on prescription for health issues. World Anti-Doping Agency President Craig Reedie says an athlete found guilty of using meldonium would normally face a one-year suspension. (BBC) (AP via The Times-Picayune)
- Nike, Inc. suspends ties with Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova after she failed a drug test at the 2016 Australian Open. (Reuters) (Fox Sports)
- American football quarterback Peyton Manning retires after eighteen seasons in the National Football League with two Super Bowl championships, five MVP awards, and single-season and career league records for most passing yards and touchdown passes. (NFL)
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April 5, 2016
Top News Stories –
Panama Papers: Iceland PM Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson resigns –
Iceland’s prime minister has resigned – the first major casualty of the leaked Panama Papers that have shone a spotlight on offshore finance. The leaks, from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, showed Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson owned an offshore company with his wife but had not declared it when he entered parliament. He is accused of concealing millions of dollars’ worth of family assets. Mr Gunnlaugsson says he sold his shares to his wife, and denies any wrongdoing. He is one of dozens of high-profile global figures mentioned in the 11.5 million leaked financial and legal records, which were first published on Sunday. [BBC]
Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson
Doncaster Rovers fans angry at 1D star Louis Tomlinson’s competition win –
Doncaster Rovers fans have reacted angrily to One Direction star Louis Tomlinson and his grandfather winning a competition to design the football club’s new away kit. The club revealed the ‘Story Of My Life’ singer was behind the design on Monday after the poll had closed. In the wake of the announcement some fans have criticised the club and questioned the credibility of the vote. Doncaster Rovers say the voting process “was all was fair and above board”. Writing on Twitter one fan said: “I wonder if the vote was rigged or that shirt actually won??? #drfc.” [BBC]
Louis Tomlinson
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Other News Stories –
- Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War
- Al-Nusra Front militants shoot down a Syrian Arab Air Force Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jet and capture its pilot in the northern Aleppo Governorate. (The Telegraph)
- PKK rebellion (2015–present)
- The Turkish military say it carried out air strikes in northern Iraq against targets belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, hitting weapon stores and shelters. (Al Jazeera)
- Business and economics
- In American football, Twitter wins the bidding contest over Amazon, Verizon, and others, for streaming rights to 10 of 16 National Football League (NFL) regular season Thursday Night Football Games, ones that will also be telecast by either CBS or NBC. The league streamed one game last year with Yahoo!. Verizon, meanwhile, already owns the mobile rights to all NFL games which are available to subscribers via a mobile app; the 10 NFL games on Twitter will be free. (Re/code) (ESPN) (NFL.com)
- Tax inversion
- Pfizer Inc. decides to terminate its $160 billion merger with Allergan, Plc as officials in Washington crack down on corporate inversions. Pfizer will need to pay a $400 million fee to Allergan for expenses relating to the deal. (Bloomberg)
- Health and medicine
- India’s health ministry orders government agencies to enforce a new rule for larger health warnings that cover 85 percent of a cigarette pack‘s surface, up from 20 percent now. India‘s biggest cigarette makerITC Ltd., part-owned by British American Tobacco, and Godfrey Phillips India Ltd., a partner of U.S.-based Philip Morris International, shut factories on Friday in protest. (Reuters)
- International relations
- China–North Korea relations
- China’s Ministry of Commerce says that it is restricting trade with North Korea, in line with the recent sanctions approved by the United Nations Security Council last March. China will be banning the export of jet fuel and import of gold, some coal and “rare earth metals” used in high-tech goods. (BBC)
- North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- South Korea has determined North Korea is capable of mounting a nuclear warhead on its medium-range Rodong-1 ballistic missile, which could reach all of South Korea and most of Japan, according to a senior government official. (The New York Times)
- Panama Papers
- France places Panama back on its list of countries that do not cooperate in catching tax evaders. “France has decided to put Panama back on the list of uncooperative countries, with all the consequences that will have for those who have transactions” with the Central American state, Finance Minister Michel Sapin, told Parliament on Tuesday. (AFP via Al Jazeera)
- Mexico–United States relations
- Due to concerns about an increasingly anti-Mexican climate across the border, Mexico unexpectedly changes two of its top officials responsible for U.S. relations. Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieutold local media, “We have been warning that our citizens have begun to feel a more hostile climate. This (anti-Mexican) rhetoric has made it clear that we have to act in a different way so that this tendency being generated doesn’t damage the bilateral relationship.” (Reuters)
- Law and crime
- The International Criminal Court terminates the case against Kenya‘s Deputy President William Ruto and ends his trial, saying there is insufficient evidence he was involved in deadly violence that erupted after his country’s 2007 presidential election. (Al Jazeera)
- The Military junta of Thailand gives the Royal Thai Armed Forces broad police-like powers. The military is now allowed to prevent or suppress over 27 types of offenses. The move created an outcry from human rights organizations and prompted the United States to express its concern over the growing influence of the military in the country. (The Guardian)
- LGBT rights in the United States
- Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant approves a new law that allows religious groups and private businesses to deny services to gay and transgender people. (AP via The Washington Post)
- Politics and elections
- Panama Papers
- Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson temporarily steps down amid allegations his family attempted to hide millions in an offshore account. (The Guardian)
- The Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif sets an independent judicial commission to investigate allegations of graft against his family following documents leaked as part of the Panama papers showed his sons owned several offshore accounts. (AP via ABC News America)
- Philippine general election, 2016
- Imee Marcos (daughter of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos and sister of vice presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos), her three sons, and JV Ejercito (son of Manila mayorial candidate Joseph Estrada) are among hundreds of Filipino celebrities and politicians implicated for laundering money in tax havens. (GMA News), (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
- United States presidential election, 2016
- Voters in the U.S. state of Wisconsin go to the polls for a primary election with Ted Cruz winning the Republican Party contest and Bernie Sanders winning the Democratic Party primary. (ABC News America), (Reuters via ABC News Australia)
- Queensland term length referendum, 2016
- The results of a referendum last month in the Australian state of Queensland with voters agreeing to plans for a four year fixed parliamentary term. (AAP via Yahoo! News)
- The South African Parliament debates a minority motion to impeach President Jacob Zuma following last week’s Constitutional Court judgment that Zuma had violated the constitution in a spending scandal involving the president’s private home. The African National Congress has a 249 – 151 majority, making this motion’s chance of gaining a two-thirds majority unlikely. (AP via The Washington Post)(Reuters)
- The motion failed by 243 votes to 133. (News24)
- 2015–16 protests in Brazil
- Marco Aurélio Mello, a Supreme Federal Court judge orders Brazil‘s Chamber of Deputies to start impeachment proceedings against Vice President Michel Temer over charges he helped doctor budget accounting as part of President Dilma Rousseff‘s administration. (Reuters)
- Peruvian general election, 2016
- Peruvians protest in five cities, including the capital Lima, against the presidential candidacy of Keiko Fujimori, daughter of imprisoned ex-president Alberto Fujimori, who exactly 24 years ago this day carried out a coup by shutting down Congress and taking over the courts with the support of the military. Keiko Fujimori is the front runner in Sunday’s April 10, 2016, election. Yesterday, Fujimori committed to respect democratic liberties and the rule of law, and to work against corruption, which some opponents have rejected. The Organization of American States says the election could lack credibility unless two recently-disqualified candidates are allowed to run. (NBC News) (AP via The Washington Post) (Prensa Latina)
- Sports
- 2016 NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Championship Game
- In women’s college basketball, the Connecticut Huskies top the Syracuse Orange to cap a perfect season (38-0) with the program’s fourth straight national championship, and in all four, UConn’s senior center Breanna Stewart wins the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. (CNN) (ESPN)
- 2015–16 Rangers F.C. season
- Rangers F.C., the association football club with the most domestic league titles in the world, earn promotion to the Scottish Premiership, returning to the nation’s top division for the first time since their triple relegation for financial reasons in 2012. (BBC Sport)
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