Top Story –
Avatar becomes the fastest movie ever to achieve $1bn (£625.6m) in ticket sales around the world according to 20th Century Fox and it’s done it in just 17 days. Apparently it is the most expensive film ever made. The film Lord of the Rings – The Return of The King was the highest grossing film in the last decade only making $1.12bn in total.
Avatar Poster (copyright 20th Century Fox)
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Monogrenade: Ce soir from Monogrenade on Vimeo.
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Luis Figo enters FIFA presidential race –
Luís Figo the former Portuguese football who famously played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona has entered himself to stand for the FIFA presidential election and claims to have the required five nominations from among FIFA’s 209 members. He joins Prince Ali of Jordan, the Dutch FA president Michael van Praag, Jérôme Champagne and David Ginola facing up to current president Sepp Blatter.
Luis Figo
Apple now have enough money to own the largest navy in the world –
Apple the tech company reports the biggest quarterly profit of any company in the world ever with revenues of $74.6bn and a net profit of $18bn. It’s cash holdings are now $178bn which according to The Guardian newspaper “is enough to commission 40 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, giving Apple more force capability than every other navy in the world – combined”.
USS Nimitz (planes not included in price)
Cat survives car crash and burial –
A cat in Florida that was buried in a shallow grave after being apparently killed by a car has managed not only to survive but to dig its way out of the grave. Bart the zombie cat as he is now known was found by a neighbour and is now recovering after surgery on a broken jaw and damaged eye.
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Sommersby Cider – The Somersby Store
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Kate Moss escorted off flight ‘for being disruptive’ –
Supermodel Kate Moss has been escorted off a plane at Luton airport after reportedly being disruptive. The Easyjet flight had arrived from Bodrum in Turkey on Sunday afternoon. In a statement, Bedfordshire Police said they “were called to assist staff in escorting a passenger from a flight arriving into Luton airport this afternoon”. No formal complaints were made against her and she was not arrested. [BBC] In February 2010 Calvin Klein said of Moss – while “a great model,” she was a “difficult” person to work with.
Kate Moss with photographer Mario Testino
Bradley Wiggins breaks UCI Hour Record at Lee Valley Velopark –
Sir Bradley Wiggins has broken the iconic hour record by completing a distance of 54.526km (33.88 miles). The 35-year-old smashed the record previously held by fellow Briton Alex Dowsett of 52.937km (32.89 miles), which was set in May. Roared on by a capacity crowd at Lee Valley VeloPark in London, Wiggins became the sixth rider to claim a Tour de France title and the hour record. “I’m just glad it’s done. It was torturous,” he said.
“That’s the closest I have ever come to what it’s like to a have a baby,” Wiggins, who becomes the fifth person in the past nine months to break the record, joked. The multiple Olympic and world champion on track and road surpassed Dowsett’s 212 laps, set in Manchester, with 1min 42secs to spare and eventually completed 219 laps.[BBC] In January 2015, Wiggins launched his own cycling team, Team Wiggins, to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
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Bradley Wiggins
Dame Helen Mirren reigns at Tony theatre awards –
Dame Helen Mirren has been named best actress in a play at the Tony theatre awards in New York. She took home the prize for her portrayal of the Queen in The Audience. Dame Helen, a previous Oscar-winner for The Queen, accepted the award saying: “Your Majesty, you did it again.” Other wins included Alex Sharp for best actor and Marianne Elliott for best directing of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which was also named best play. [BBC] See List of the Day
Actor, Sir Christopher Lee dies, aged 93 –
See full story on June 11, 2015 when his death was announced.
Sir Christopher Lee (1922-2015)
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My Homemade 40W LASER SHOTGUN!!!!!
List of the Day –
Tony Awards 2015 Winners –
An American in Paris
Something Rotten!
The Visit
WINNER: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Disgraced
Hand to God
Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
WINNER: Skylight
The Elephant Man
This Is Our Youth
You Can’t Take It With You
WINNER: The King and I
On the Twentieth Century
On the Town
WINNER: Michael Cerveris, Fun Home
Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
Brian d’Arcy James, Something Rotten!
Ken Watanabe, The King and I
Tony Yazbeck, On the Town
WINNER: Kelli O’Hara, The King and I
Kristin Chenoweth, On the Twentieth Century
Leanne Cope, An American in Paris
Beth Malone, Fun Home
Chita Rivera, The Visit
WINNER: Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Steven Boyer, Hand to God
Bradley Cooper, The Elephant Man
Ben Miles, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Bill Nighy, Skylight
WINNER: Helen Mirren, The Audience
Geneva Carr, Hand to God
Elisabeth Moss, The Heidi Chronicles
Carey Mulligan, Skylight
Ruth Wilson, Constellations
WINNER: Christian Borle, Something Rotten!
Andy Karl, On the Twentieth Century
Brad Oscar, Something Rotten!
Brandon Uranowitz, An American in Paris
Max von Essen, An American in Paris
WINNER: Ruthie Ann Miles, The King and I
Victoria Clark, Gigi
Judy Kuhn, Fun Home
Sydney Lucas, Fun Home
Emily Skeggs, Fun Home
WINNER: Richard McCabe, The Audience
Matthew Beard, Skylight
K. Todd Freeman, Airline Highway
Alessandro Nivola, The Elephant Man
Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Micah Stock, It’s Only a Play
WINNER: Annaleigh Ashford, You Can’t Take It With You
Patricia Clarkson, The Elephant Man
Lydia Leonard, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Sarah Stiles, Hand to God
Julie White, Airline Highway
WINNER: Fun Home, Lisa Kron
An American in Paris, Craig Lucas
Something Rotten!, Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell
The Visit, Terrence McNally
WINNER: Fun Home, Music: Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics: Lisa Kron
The Last Ship, Music & Lyrics: Sting
Something Rotten!, Music & Lyrics: Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick
The Visit, Music: John Kander, Lyrics: Fred Ebb
WINNER: Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Stephen Daldry, Skylight
Scott Ellis, You Can’t Take It With You
Jeremy Herrin, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Moritz von Stuelpnagel, Hand to God
WINNER: Sam Gold, Fun Home
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
John Rando, On the Town
Bartlett Sher, The King and I
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris
WINNER: Bunny Christie and Finn Ross, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Bob Crowley, Skylight
Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
David Rockwell, You Can’t Take It With You
WINNER: Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, An American in Paris
David Rockwell, On the Twentieth Century
Michael Yeargan, The King and I
David Zinn, Fun Home
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Pierce Brosnan tries to board plane with 10-inch knife –
Pierce Brosnan, the former James Bond actor, has been stopped by airport security as he tried to board a plane in America with a large knife. The star had the 10-inch hunting blade confiscated from his hand luggage after it showed up during screening at Burlington International Airport, in Vermont. Brosnan, 62, was reportedly left embarrassed and angry when the knife was taken away by US Transportation Security Administration agents. [Daily Telegraph]
Pierce Brosnan
Mormons reveal Seer Stone for first time –
The Mormon Church released photographs on Tuesday of a so-called “seer stone” that members believe was used by the Utah-based faith’s founder, Joseph Smith, to write the Book of Mormon, its principal sacred text. Photos of the egg-shaped, chocolate-brown rock are in a new publication that also carries images of the first printer’s manuscript of the Book of Mormon, which Smith said was based on ancient records and include an account of a visit to America by Jesus Christ. The LDS Church teaches that Smith found gold plates engraved with ancient Egyptian symbols in upstate New York 185 years ago. [Daily Telegraph]
Natalia Molchanova: Freediving champion feared dead –
Russian freediving champion Natalia Molchanova is feared dead after going missing on Sunday. The 53-year-old was diving for fun off Formentera, a Spanish island near Ibiza, when she failed to surface. Search efforts have been continuing but it is feared she may have been caught up in strong underwater currents. She became “the most decorated competitive freediver in the world”, with 41 world records, said her family and the global freediving federation AIDA in a joint statement. [BBC] See List of the Day. On May 14, 2015 Peter Colat, a Swiss freediver, held his breath underwater for 19 minutes and 21 seconds, smashing the world record.
Natalia Molchanova in 2009
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The Lexus Hoverboard: It’s here
List of the Day –
AIDA recognised freediving records (as of May 15, 2015)
| Discipline | Gender | Depth [m] | Distance [m] | Time | Name | Date | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Static apnea (STA) | Men | – | – | 11 min 35 sec |  Stéphane Mifsud (FRA) |
2009-06-08 | Hyères, Var, France |
| Women | – | – | 9 min 02 sec |  Natalia Molchanova (RUS) |
2013-06-29 | Belgrade, Serbia | |
| Dynamic apnea with fins (DYN) | Men | – | 281 | – |  Goran Čolak (HRV) |
2013-06-28 | Belgrade, Serbia |
| Women | – | 237 | – | Natalia Molchanova (RUS) |
2014-09-26 | Sardinia, Italy | |
| Dynamic apnea without fins (DNF) | Men | – | 226 | – |  Mateusz Malina (POL) |
2014-11-09 | Brno, Czech Republic |
| Women | – | 182 | – | Natalia Molchanova (RUS) |
2013-06-27 | Belgrade, Serbia | |
| Constant weight apnea (CWT) | Men | 128 | – | – | Alexey Molchanov (RUS) |
2013-09-19 | Kalamata, Greece |
| Women | 101 | – | – | Natalia Molchanova (RUS) |
2011-09-22 | Kalamata, Greece | |
| Constant weight apnea without fins (CNF) | Men | 101 | – | – |  William Trubridge (NZL) |
2010-12-16 | Dean’s Blue Hole, Long Island Bahamas |
| Women | 71 | – | – | Natalia Molchanova (RUS) |
2015-05-13 | Dahab, Egypt | |
| Free immersion apnea (FIM) | Men | 121 | – | – | William Trubridge (NZL) |
2011-04-10 | Dean’s Blue Hole, Long Island Bahamas |
| Women | 91 | – | – | Natalia Molchanova (RUS) |
2013-09-21 | Kalamata, Greece | |
| Variable weight apnea (VWT) | Men | 145 | – | – |  William Winram (CAN) |
2013-09-03 | Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt |
| Women | 127 | – | – | Natalia Molchanova (RUS) |
2012-06-06 | Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt | |
| No-limits apnea (NLT) | Men | 214 | – | – |  Herbert Nitsch (AUT) |
2007-06-14 | Spetses, Greece |
| Women | 160 | – | – |  Tanya Streeter (GBR) |
2002-08-17 | Turks and Caicos |
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Italian woman, 46, arrested for locking ‘toy boy’ in basement over sex demands –
An Italian woman has been arrested after allegedly locking up her “toy boy” boyfriend for refusing to have sex with her, in a story that has evoked comparisons with the classic film The Graduate. The woman, 46, who was divorced, met the 25-year-old during a holiday romance in Campania in southern Italy. Initially they got on well but the young man reportedly became increasingly vexed by the amount of sex that the older woman was demanding. He declined her advances on several occasions but she then took revenge by locking him up, against his will, in the basement of her house at Arzano, near Naples. The young man managed to raise the alarm, calling for help from passers-by. [Daily Telegraph]
George Clooney photobombs Cindy Crawford as she takes romantic selfie with husband –
Does anyone enjoy looking at “romantic selfies” of couples kissing on Instagram? It’s worse than a public display of affection (PDA), as it is done purely to show off how in love you are with the person you’re smooching. Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber were taking a tender selfie together, when George Clooney decided to ruin it by pulling a strange face in the background. [Daily Telegraph]
Cindy Crawford Instagram with Rande Gerber and George Clooney
International bridge champions accuse teammates of cheating –
Two Israeli men, Lotan Fisher and Ron Schwartz, have been accused by their team mates of cheating in three matches including the Spingold tournament – one of the most famous of all.
A triumphant team of bridge players has been ripped apart by accusations that would, in the words of the whistleblower, “even make a Hollywood movie surreal.” Two Israeli men, Lotan Fisher and Ron Schwartz, have been accused by their team mates of cheating. Quite how they cheated is unclear, but Norwegian bridge professional Boye Brogeland, one of the world’s highest-rated bridge players, said the other four members of the team were handing back three titles they had won together. [Daily Telegraph]
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Dismaland [See August 23, 2015]
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Armed conflicts and attacks
News from Wikipedia – please support this valuable resourceAugust 23, 2015
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Five police officers shot dead at a protest in Dallas –
At least one sniper, who said he wanted to shoot white police officers, killed five officers and wounded seven others at a demonstration in Dallas on Thursday night against police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana, officials said. The sniper was killed, and three other people are in custody, officials said. During an hours long standoff after the attack, in which two civilians were also wounded, the gunman told police negotiators that “he was upset about Black Lives Matter,” the Dallas police chief, David O. Brown, said on Friday. “He said he was upset about the recent police shootings,” Chief Brown said. “The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers.” The police killed the suspect using an explosive delivered by a robot, he said, and arrested three other people. [New York Times]
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