December 15, 2014

Top News Stories –

Sydney hostage situation –
A gunman takes hostages in the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Sydney’s Martin Place. The hostage taker is identified as a 50-year-old cleric from Iran, Man Haron Monis who gained asylum in Australia. Passers by are criticised for taking “selfies” in front of the cafe.
2014_Sydney_hostage_crisisCrowds outside the sieged building

Ultimate fare-dodger –
A commuter in London who avoided paying for his train fares has been banned for life from working in any regulated financial industries. Jonathan Paul Burrows has paid back the £42,550 he is estimated to have avoided paying, plus £450 in legal costs. He was a director with financial services company BlackRock.

Denmark claims north pole –
Denmark makes a claim to the UN that the area surrounding the North Pole is connected to the continental shelf of Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory. Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard says it is a “historic and important milestone” for Denmark. In 2008, a US Geological Survey report estimated that as much as 22% of the world’s undiscovered and recoverable resources lay north of the Arctic Circle, but the North Pole itself is unlikely to have much oil or gas beneath its deep waters. Canada and Russia have already tried to assert their sovereignty over Arctic territory.
Nuclear_icebreaker_ArktikaNuclear icebreaker Arktika

Video of the Day –

Brain Lapse from Jake Fried on Vimeo.

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March 31, 2015

Top News Stories –

Zayn Malik solo track taken down after angry response from One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson –
A song featuring Zayn Malik without the rest of One Direction has been taken down, less than a day after it was shared on Twitter. Producer Naughty Boy posted a link to the track early on Tuesday, with the words “let the music do the talking”. It came less than a week after Zayn confirmed he was quitting 1D. Earlier on, the band’s Louis Tomlinson accused Naughty Boy of being “inconsiderate” to fans after he retweeted a video about Zayn. [BBC]
copyright @Louis_Tomlinson TwitterLouis’ tweet

Top Gear: Richard Hammond and James May no longer work for the BBC –
James May and Richard Hammond are out of contract with the BBC from midnight, after declining to sign new deals to present the next series of Top Gear. The pair are now free agents, meaning rival broadcasters can approach them with job offers. Hammond has tweeted that he is “not ready for retirement”. May does not seem in a great hurry to find new employment, he is making a shepherds pie. [Daily Telegraph]
copyright @MrJamesMay Twitter

Google Maps launches PacMan on real streets –
Google has launched an April Fool’s Day version of Google Maps that allows users to play the classic arcade game Pac-Man on real streets. Google Map users can access the Pac-Man version by clicking on the icon in the bottom corner of the screen and then using their keyboard to play the game. The game is accessible on desktop computers and on the Google Maps app. It allows users to play the famous game around the world’s most recognisable streets or your own neighbourhood. At some famous locations, such as the area around the Taj Mahal and the Arc de Triomphe, Google has added a Pac-Man marker that also launches the game because the areas appear perfectly matched to the original Pac-Man layout. [Daily Telegraph]

Elon Musk’s $1bn tweet: news of secret product line sees Tesla shares soar –
Elon Musk, the billionaire technology entrepreneur, has announced a “major” new Tesla product line that is “not a car”, in a cryptic tweet which has left millions guessing. The CEO’s news sparked the hashtag #TeslaNewProductGuesses, with guesses ranging from a time machine to a real-life Iron Man suit. Shares in the electric car jumped to nearly 4 percent in just 10 minutes – adding a staggering $900 million (£600 million) to the company’s market cap in just 115 characters. The tweet went out to his 1.9 million followers and had thousands of retweets within an hour. [Daily Telegraph]
copyright @elonmusk twitter
Elon Musk - The Summit 2013Elon Musk

Video of the Day –

David Beckham and James Corden’s New Underwear Line

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March 27, 2016

Top News Stories –

Syria civil war: Assad hails Palmyra recapture from IS –
President Bashar al-Assad has hailed the recapture of Palmyra from so-called Islamic State (IS) as an “important achievement” in the “war on terrorism”. A monitoring group has backed the Syrian government’s claim that the city was recaptured overnight by the army. Military sources say the Syrian army now has “full control”. It had been gaining ground for several days, supported by Russian air strikes. President Assad said this showed the success of the army’s strategy. His comments, to a group of visiting French parliamentarians, were carried on state TV. IS seized the Unesco World Heritage site and modern town in May 2015. When IS seized the city it destroyed archaeological sites, drawing global outrage. Two 2,000-year-old temples, an arch and funerary towers were left in ruins. The jihadist group, which has also demolished several pre-Islamic sites in neighbouring Iraq, believes that such structures are idolatrous. [BBC]
Temple_of_Bel Temple of Bel in 2011

Cat accidentally sent 260 miles away survives eight days in the post –
A Siamese cat had a very lucky escape when its owners accidentally posted her 260 miles away to West Sussex. Cupcake’s owners were sending some DVDs to a buyer in Worthing but failed to spot their pet was asleep in the cardboard box. The feline spent eight days in the post but miraculously survived the traumatic journey from Falmouth in Cornwall. “Imagine how surprised the recipient was when, along with the anticipated DVDs, an elegant Siamese cat emerged from the box,” explained the Grove Lodge Veterinary Group, who helped track down Cupcake’s owner. “This person was somewhat startled as they were not expecting to receive a free cat along with their order of DVDs.” The stunned buyer contacted the RSPCA who collected the cat and brought her to Grove Lodge for a health check. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Glas from Aeon Video on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #IndvsAus #6YearsOfVictorious #GetWeirdTourLondon
2 Felices Pascuas Happy Easter #BoatRace2016
3 #FelizDomingo #GoodPlacesToHideAnEgg #IndvsAus
4 #HistoriaTristeEnTresPalabras Kevin Stallings British Summer Time
5 #DiaMundialDelTeatro #11YearsOfGreys #clocksgoforward
6 Feliz Páscoa #IndvsAus #11YearsOfGreys
7 #كلمه_ل_الرجيم Jim Harrison Watership Down
8 Happy Easter #ResurrectionSunday #6YearsOfVictorious
9 #11YearsOfGreys Felices Pascuas #TrumpTributeBands
10 #27MartDünyaTiyatroGünü #BernieMadeMeWhite #askjack

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April 22, 2016

Top News Stories –

Finland’s postal workers to mow lawns –
Finland’s postal service will be doing more than just delivering letters and parcels this summer – its workers will be mowing lawns, too. The state-owned Posti company is offering a weekly grass cutting service, with customers able to choose either 30 minutes or 60 minutes of lawn-mowing time, the national broadcaster Yle reports. It will only be available on Tuesdays, though, as the volume of post tends to be lighter than on other days, and customers will have to provide their own lawnmower. They’ll also have to be willing to pay 65 euro (£51; $73) a month for the half-hour sessions. [BBC]

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA
1 #DiaDeLaTierra Happy Passover
2 #SextaDetremuraSdv #FlashbackFriday
3 #EarthDay #FridayFeeling
4 #شي_مات_في_مجتم… #RUDigitalBlackness
5 #ALDUBAkingMahal #SpotifyGameOfThrones
6 #TirusDay2016 #DiaDeLaTierra
7 #ComoPretextoDiré Pike County
8 #TomorrowlandNoMultishow #PrinceGoneTooSoon
9 #صلو_علي_النبي #EarthDay
10 #StopCoupInBrazil #PuertoRicoPuertoRicans

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June 21, 2016

Top News Stories –

Albania football win brings team diplomatic passports –
Albania says it will reward its national footballers with diplomatic passports for having beaten Romania 1-0 at the Euro 2016 tournament. The country has never played before in a major football competition. But it is not yet clear whether Albania will qualify for the next round in France. The team will get €1m (£770,000; $1.1m) in extra funding as well as the new passports, the government said. Albania lost their other two matches, coming third in their Euro 2016 group. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama captured the nation’s excitement on Sunday by tweeting “Goooooooooool….” when Armando Sadiku headed the winning goal against Romania in the first half. The award of diplomatic passports is mainly symbolic, as many of the Albanian players are already with clubs elsewhere in Europe and Albanians enjoy visa-free travel to the EU. They will not enjoy diplomatic immunity, as that is reserved for official diplomats, but they will benefit from easier international travel. [BBC]

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MAN IN PHONE – Short Film from Mackenzie Sheppard on Vimeo.

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