November 16, 2015

Top News Stories –

‘Pastafarian’ wins right to wear colander on head in driving licence photo –
A woman in the US has won the right to wear a colander on her head in her driving licence photo. The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles had previously forbidden Lindsay Miller from sporting the unconventional headgear, worn by followers of the satirical Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or ‘Pastafarians’. However, the decision was overturned after Miller launched an appeal with the assistance of the Secular Legal Society. Lawyer Patty DeJuneas told the Boston Globe: “I’m not a Pastafarian. But my understanding, and my view of it, is that it’s a secular religion that uses parody to make certain points about a belief system.” The Pastafarian ‘religion’ was founded a decade ago after the Kansas school board came under pressure to teach the theory of intelligent design in biology class as an alternative to evolution. [Daily Telegraph]

Town pays people to cycle to work –
An Italian town will pay people hundreds of euros per year if they cycle to work instead of using their cars. The council in Massarosa, just north of Pisa, says the pilot scheme will see cyclists paid 25 cents per kilometre travelled, up to a monthly cap of 50 euros (£35), the regional Il Tirreno news website reports. That means commuters who switch to two wheels could pocket up to 600 euros (£424) in a year. It’s said to be the first such scheme in Italy. Fifty workers will be included in the 12-month pilot, which will use a smartphone app to record the distance travelled each day. The scheme is being funded from fines collected from traffic tickets in the town, which by law has to be reinvested in road safety, the site points out. [BBC]

Budget private jet firm launched by French rugby legend –
Philippe Saint-André, the coach who took France to the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup, aims to democratise private jet travel. He and ex-player Christophe Ducluzeau have founded Le Jet, offering London to Paris flights for £363 one-way. The 45-minute service will launch on November 23 and will initially run on Mondays and Fridays, ferrying passengers between the private jet terminal of Stansted Airport and Le Bourget airport near Paris. Further London-Paris services and routes to other European destinations are also being planned. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Moto Experiment: Truth or Drop: How far will people go to protect their phones

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1 #PrayForSyria #justiceforbrokeliebers #mondaymotivation
2 次の漢字の読み #SyrianRefugees #PrayForSyria
3 #justiceforbrokeliebers Charlie Sheen Cynthia Payne
4 Jessica #mondaymotivation #AntiBullyingWeek
5 장동민 Dixie Chicks #justiceforbrokeliebers
6 Daryl Starwood John Oliver
7 #ArgentinaDebate #IWillNeverBeTooOldTo Northern Powerhouse
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9 Carlos Herrera Rob Ryan Charlie Sheen
10 Giants #playpurpose #StormBarney

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  • Six people, including a child, have been found dead on private property in Anderson County, southeast of Dallas, Texas, USA. The victims are members of two different families. One person, unrelated to the victims, is charged with one count of murder. More charges are expected. (CBS DFW)
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November 23, 2015

Top News Stories –

Belgians tweet cat pictures during #BrusselsLockdown –
On Sunday night, as a major anti-terror police operation was under way in Brussels, authorities asked the public to not report officers’ movements online. The Belgian capital has been on lockdown since Saturday amid a search for suspected Paris attacks gunman Salah Abdeslam. On Twitter, the hashtag #BrusselsLockdown had been the term of choice for people discussing the raids. But on Sunday night, the term was overtaken by Twitter users posting pictures and videos of cats, to make sure that any leaking of operational details were drowned out. After the raids, and the arrest of 16 people across the country, authorities thanked Belgians for their co-operation:”To all the cats who helped us last night: help yourselves! #BrusselsLockdown” [BBC]
Jayce le Satirique tweetJayce le Satirique tweet

Sepp Blatter says he was close to death after being taken to hospital earlier this month –
Sepp Blatter has said he was “close to dying” upon being hospitalised this month following a health scare. The Fifa president, who is facing a multi-year ban from football and is currently serving a 90-day provisional suspension, spent several days being treated for stress before being discharged from hospital a week and a half ago. In his first interview since his release, the 79-year-old told Swiss broadcaster RTS: “I was close to dying. I was between the angels who were singing and the devil who was lighting the fire, but it was the angels who sang. [Daily Telegraph]

Genetically modified mosquito no longer infects humans with malaria –
A mosquito has been genetically modified so that it can no longer pass on malaria to humans in a breakthrough which could save millions of lives. The insect was biologically engineered by scientists to produce antibodies that interfere with the malaria parasite’s life cycle and prevent it being transmitted. Importantly, the heritable trait was passed on to 99.5 per cent of the mosquito’s offspring, a result described as ‘astonishing’ by the scientists. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Wizard Cops

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1 La Nación #BlackFridayIn3Words #mondaymotivation
2 #FelizLunes #mondaymotivation #AMAs
3 #قبيله_تحبها_و�… Anti-Muslim Is Anti-American #LoveSUs
4 #زد_رصيدك10 #OddThingsToFindInBed #SurvivorSeries
5 Jon Snow Jon Snow Prince Charles
6 #AMAs Prince Charles #OddThingsToFindInBed
7 #SurvivorSeries Amanda Blackburn Jon Snow
8 The Weeknd Bill Walton The Sun
9 LACRE DO ANO EU FUI Les Miles #BrusselsLockdown
10 Camren e Larry #MarathonsICouldFinish #AskBoris

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March 18, 2016

Top News Stories –

Hulk Hogan awarded $115m in Gawker sex tape case –
A Florida jury has awarded Hulk Hogan $115m (£79m) after the gossip news website Gawker published a sex tape of the retired professional wrestler. Mr Hogan’s legal team argued the New York-based website violated his privacy and the video was not newsworthy. The case, which pitted freedom of the press against a celebrity’s right to privacy, has been closely watched. The video was posted in 2012 after Mr Hogan was secretly recorded having sex with his friend’s wife. Mr Hogan, whose given name is Terry Bollea, said the release of the sex tape hurt his career. He was one of the most popular professional wrestlers of the 1980s and 1990s and later starred in his own reality television show with his family. [BBC]
Hulk_Hogan_2014Hulk Hogan

Sport Relief raises ‘a record’ £55m –
More than £55m has been raised so far for charity on Sport Relief’s live TV show, ahead of a weekend of fundraising. David Walliams, Alesha Dixon, Gary Lineker and Greg James were among those who hosted the BBC show, broadcast from London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Highlights included a Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em sketch featuring tennis siblings Andy and Jamie Murray. The total of £55,444,906 breaks the previous on-the-night record of £51m. [BBC] See List of the Day
Sportrelief_logo

Iain Duncan Smith quits over planned disability benefit changes –
Iain Duncan Smith has dramatically resigned from the [UK] Government in protest at George Osborne’s proposed cuts to benefits for the disabled. The former Conservative leader said that plans to cut the benefits paid to the disabled by more than £1 billion were a “compromise too far” and said that welfare for pensioners should be cut instead. He added that they are “not defensible” when announced alongside a budget that benefits higher earning taxpayers. Mr Duncan Smith [a former Conservative Leader] also accused the Chancellor of forcing through cuts to welfare for “political” rather than national economic reasons. [Daily Telegraph]
Iain_Duncan_SmithIain Duncan Smith

Australia Senate passes reforms after farcical all-nighter –
Monty Python references, a colonoscopy analogy and a pyjama-clad senator featured during an all-night sitting of Australia’s upper house. The Senate has finally passed changes to how its members are elected after 28 hours of debate. The changes will disadvantage so-called micro parties that have gained increasing power in the Senate. The ruling conservative Coalition formed an unlikely partnership with the Greens party to pass the reforms. But the opposition Labor Party and micro party senators, who opposed the laws, dragged out the debate with filibuster tactics and amendments. During the all-night debate, Labor senators consistently spoke off-topic to delay votes to the legislation giving voters greater control over where their preferences were allocated. The laws eventually passed by a margin of 36-24. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Proof of evolution that you can find on your body

List of the Day –

Total charity donations “on the night” by BBC Sport Relief

2004 £11,078,359
2006 c. £18,000,000
2008 £19,640,321
2010 £31,633,091
2012 £50,447,197
2014 £51,242,186
2016 £55,444,906

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1 #SextaTopNoClubeSdv #FlashbackFriday #FridayFeeling
2 #BuenViernes Tray Walker #SportRelief
3 #VemPraDemocracia #WorldSleepDay #WriteAPoemAboutTories
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6 Día Mundial del Sueño #ULTRALIVE #AddOneLetterRuinAMovie
7 #SportRelief #NewMusicFriday #NUSScot16
8 #يوم_الجمعه Salah Abdeslam #SYP2020
9 Salah Abdeslam #SpringBreakIn4Words #TechNorthTalent
10 #LaMujerPerfecta #GetWellSoonDylan #SkyF1

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