Scottish referendum takes place –
Scotland independence referendum takes place with the result looking very uncertain. Tennis player Andy Murray used Twitter to back the Yes vote along with actor Sean Connery. Those backing the No vote and wanting Scotland to remain part of the UK include Sir Paul McCartney, Sting, Mick Jagger, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, comedian Eddie Izzard, actresses Helena Bonham-Carter and Dame Judi Dench, Simon Cowell, and Stephen Hawking all of whom signed a letter urging Scotland to stay in the union. The result will be known tomorrow. Andy Murray tweet.
Ig Nobel prizes announced –
The annual Ig Nobel prizes awarded by the Annals of Improbable Research have picked out some classic scientific investigations again. Researchers who measured the slipperiness of banana peels, why pork strips appear to stop nosebleeds, and how reindeer react to humans in polar bear suits were among the winners. CLICK TO SEE MORE STUFF FROM THIS DAY…
Syriza party wins Greek election –
In the Greece general election Alexis Tsipras’ party wins a clear victory with a projected 149 seats. The Syriza party ran on an anti-austerity ticket and has vowed to reverse many of the austerity measures adopted by Greece since a series of bailouts began in 2010. The party first came to prominence following the 2008 Greek riots. Alexis Tsipras
Prime Minister, call on line hoax –
A hoax caller pretending to be GCHQ director Robert Hannigan today managed to get through to the British Minister on the phone; David Cameron quickly realised it was not the GCHQ head and ended the call. GCHQ director Robert Hannigan
Proposal racquet down under –
At the Australian Open tennis tournament a man in the crowd proposed to his girlfriend during Novak Djokovic’s third round match against Fernando Verdasco. When the woman accepted the proposal the crowd and players burst into applause.
Rihanna new single rocks Twitter with #FourFiveSeconds –
Rihanna releases her new single Four Five Seconds, the first release from her new album and it features Kanye West and someone called Paul McCartney who has worked with a few stars before (see List of the day). Rihanna
Sam Smith’s James Bond theme makes UK chart history –
Sam Smith’s Writing’s On The Wall has made history by becoming the first Bond theme to reach number one in the UK. The track achieved combined chart sales and streams of 70,000 copies – 13,000 ahead of its closest competitor, Justin Bieber’s What Do You Mean? The previous highest-charting Bond themes were Adele’s Skyfall and Duran Duran’s View To A Kill, which both reached number two. Smith said he was “so proud” of the song and being number one was “crazy”. He told BBC Radio 1: “Out of all the songs I’ve brought out in my life, I was not expecting this to even chart in the top 10, let alone number one. It’s unbelievable.” [BBC] See List of the Day Sam Smith
Janet Jackson puts the breaks on her Unbreakable world tour –
Janet Jackson has postponed her upcoming concert in Las Vegas and this isn’t the first time the pop icon has hit a road block along the way on her Unbreakable World Tour. The 49-year-old singer and performer announced her comeback this past June but it has been a series of highs and lows for the pop icon since. She has planned to reschedule this stop for next May 2016 when the venue will move to a new arena that can accommodate 20,000 fans. [Daily Mail] Today also saw the release of her new album “Unbreakable”, the first studio album from Jackson in seven years. See Video of the Day Janet Jackson
Switzerland ‘could house 50,000 refugees in Cold War bunkers’ –
Switzerland can accommodate up to 50,000 refugees in nuclear bunkers, the country’s defence minister has said. During the Cold War, Switzerland began a policy of building enough fallout shelters that the entire country could safely retreat underground if there was a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the West. Today, while theoretically still available in a doomsday scenario, many of the bunkers are put to other uses. One in the small town of Sevelen was run as a “zero-star hotel” for some years, while the city of Geneva has used its bunkers as homeless shelters. Mr Maurer said around one-third of Switzerland’s public bunkers were currently in a position to take in refugees, with space for 50,000. [Daily Telegraph]
American wingsuit flier Johnny Strange dies in Switzerland accident –
Johnny Strange, an American adventurer who was the youngest person to climb the world’s seven tallest summits, has died in a wing suit accident in the Alps, Swiss police confirmed on Friday. The 23-year-old, who crashed shortly after jumping from Mount Gitschen in central Switzerland, is the latest casualty in what is regarded as one of the world’s most deadly extreme sports. He died on impact with the ground, likely after losing control mid-jump, according to authorities in the Swiss canton of Uri. Mr Strange, from Malibu, California, became the youngest person to scale the tallest peaks on each of the world’s seven continents in 2009, when he was 17. [Daily Telegraph]
Video of the Day –
Janet Jackson – BURNITUP! Feat. Missy Elliott (Lyric Video)
OSCE observers who are monitoring a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian rebels, reported the presence of a new Russian weapons system in rebel-held territory this week, the ‘TOS-1 Buratino‘ is a thermobaricmultiple rocket launcher system which can destroy several city blocks in one strike and cause indiscriminate damage. Only Russia produces the system and it was not exported to Ukraine before the conflict broke out. (Reuters)
Business and economy
Air France KLM will cut 2,900 jobs after talks with pilots unions are unsuccessful. (BBC)
Hurricane Joaquin attacked The Bahamas as a Category 4 hurricane and destroyed houses, cut communications and electric power, uprooted trees, and unleashed heavy flooding. So far, there are no reports of fatalities or injuries. The storm, which weakened to Category 3 status with 125 mph sustained winds, is expected to dump up to 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) of rain in some location before it moves away from the islands. (AP via Sacramento Bee)(AFP via Yahoo News)
‘How VIP do we gotta get?’: Sir Paul McCartney turned away from Grammys after-party –
This is one for the ages … Paul McCartney turned away at a Grammy after-party … not once, but twice. Paul, Beck, and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins went to Argyle in Hollywood Monday night to hobnob at the bash hosted by Tyga. Security was not impressed and told them they were not welcome. You hear Paul say, “How VIP do we gotta get? We need another hit.” After a second failed attempt, the trio bails and they make their way to Hyde for the Republic Records party. They had better luck there. UPDATE – A rep for Argyle says Paul was not denied at the door, but instead there was a mix up. The rep claims Paul was trying to go to Mark Ronson’s Republic Records party (which was at Hyde Lounge) … and once Paul figured that out he left. We’re told the club absolutely would have let in Sir McCartney if he wanted access. [TMZ] Sir Paul McCartney
Women hit their ‘style peak’ at 30 – six years before men –
Women hit their ‘style peak’ at 30 when they feel most fashionable and confident, but men must wait until they’re 36. The study found women aged 30 now own an average of 212 clothes, shoes and accessories worth an eye-watering £7,658. This huge collection includes 166 items of clothing – including seven high-fashion outfits worth £2,399 and seven pairs of designer shoes, costing £2,086. Meanwhile, women aged 30, such as actress Keira Knightley, typically own 24 pieces of jewellery worth £2,800, the study, carried out by home insurer MORE TH>N, found. The study found men own an average of £8,868 worth of ‘stylish belongings’, including 182 items of clothing, designer shoes, watches, bags and jewellery. The research suggests that women aged 30 and men aged 36 are more confident in their style sensibilities as well as owning more valuable items. Just one year later, the value of a person’s style and their confidence decreases, the study of 2,000 UK adults found. [Daily Telegraph]
Andy Murray tweet.
