January 9, 2015

Top News Stories –

Paris gunmen killed after 2 sieges –
The 2 gunmen who carried out the Charlie Hebdo massacre on January 7th 2015 have been killed by French police after a brief siege at a warehouse in Dammartin-en-Goele, 35km (22 miles) north of Paris. Brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi were shot dead as they came out of a warehouse building firing at police. Two officers were injured. Simultaneously, Amedy Coulibaly, the man who killed a policewoman on 7th January, was shot dead at a kosher supermarket in Paris after he had killed 4 hostages – 15 hostages were rescued. Coulibaly knew one of the brothers and their respective partners had spoken on the phone more than 500 times. A total of 17 people plus the 3 gunmen have died in the 3 days.

Brand and Rascal to be studied –
The exam board Oxford, Cambridge and Royal Society of Arts (OCR) plan to include evidence given by Russell Brand to a Commons select committee inquiring into drugs and an interview between Dizzee Rascal and Newsnight’s Jeremy Paxman as part of the English A-level syllabus as from this September. The plans have been approved by exams regulator Ofqual amongst 37 new specifications for GCSEs and A-levels put forward by the exam board.
13-06-09 RaR Dizzee Rascal 10Dizzee Rascal

AirAsia tail section recovered –
The tail section of AirAsia flight QZ8501 that crashed while flying from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore has been recovered from the seabed using inflatable devices. Although the flight recorders are positioned in the tail it appears that the “black boxes” have been separated from it and the search continues.
The Indonesian navy has retrieved from the seabed the tail of the AirAsia plane that crashed two weeks ago.

Lucky he was a Dolphin –
Former Miami Dolphins running back Rob Konrad swam nine miles to shore after falling off his boat while fishing and his boat, which was on auto pilot, drifted away from him off the South Florida coast. Konrad, who played 82 games for the Dolphins between 1999-2004, was treated for hypothermia after it took 12 hours to swim to shore.

Saturn centre pinpointed –
Scientists have located the centre of the planet Saturn to within just 2 miles using ten antennae, known as the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), spread over an area from Hawaii to the Virgin Islands. The antenna assembly uses signals sent by the Cassini probe to monitor the position of the gas giant. Previously estimates of the positions of Saturn and its satellites used data received by tracking Cassini’s radio signal during its communications with Earth but the new calculations are about 20 times more accurate.
Saturn PIA06077

Video of the Day –

Horsepower –

Horsepower | Brett Rheeder from Mind Spark Cinema on Vimeo.

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February 27, 2015

Top News Stories –

Leonard Nimroy dies aged 83 –
US actor Leonard Nimoy, who played the half-human, half-Vulcan character Mr Spock in the cult sci-fi series Star Trek, dies at the age of 83 in Los Angeles. He had been taken to hospital on 19 February after suffering from chest pains and later tweeted: “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.” He signed off with “LLAP” – a reference to his character’s famous catchphrase, “Live long and prosper”. It was to be his final tweet. [BBC]

copyright @TheRealNimoy

Internet brought to it’s knees by a dress and it’s not worn by Kim Kardashian-
Social media has been sent into spasms over the colour of a dress – is it black and blue or white and gold? Scottish singer Caitlin McNeill posed the question on Tumblr. What followed was an internet storm. Thousands took to Twitter to fight aggressively in either camp and even some celebrities stepped in on the debate. See Video of the Day.

 

Video of the Day –

The Dress


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June 23, 2015

Top News Stories –

Tom Holland is announced as the new Marvel Spider-Man –
Tom Holland, who was in Wolf Hall and the stage musical Billy Elliot, has grabbed the lead in the franchise reboot. Marvel and Sony confirmed the news in a statement on their website. The 19-year-old takes over from Andrew Garfield for the new film which is due out July 2017. In a statement posted on their website, Marvel said: “Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios are proud to announce that after a full worldwide casting search, Tom Holland will play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the next Spider-Man film.” The statement also said: “The studios and producers were impressed by Holland’s performances in The Impossible, Wolf Hall, and the upcoming In the Heart of the Sea, and by a series of complex screen tests.” [BBC Newsbeat] He celebrated with some acrobatic videos on his Instagram account
Tom-Holland ©tomholland2013/InstagramTom Holland

Titanic composer James Horner dies in plane crash –
The composer James Horner, who won Oscars for the theme song and score for the film Titanic, has died in a plane crash in California. He was 61. His credits included numerous other high-profile films, among them Avatar, Braveheart and Aliens. He was alone in his two-seater plane when the accident happened. [BBC]

Formula 1: US-Qatari investors ‘to bid for sport’ –
The Miami Dolphins American football team owner Stephen Ross is reportedly working with investors from Qatar to buy a stake in Formula 1 racing. RSE Ventures and Qatar Sports Investments plan a bid for CVC Capital Partners’ 35.5% stake in the holding company that owns F1. The Financial Times and Reuters said the deal could be worth up to $8bn, and help build F1’s presence in the US. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

7 Days in Hell: Trailer (HBO)

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #EnLaPrimaria George Karl James Horner
2 James Horner Undo Send #NWED
3 #FelizMartes #RejectedPrezCampaignSlogans #skinnyjeans
4 #PudimosSerTodoPero #filmprequels #charitytuesday
5 #UnaTrompadaAEsosQue #LameSuperGroups Calais
6 Ylenia James Horner #filmprequels
7 #DecimeQueGanasCon Spider-Man Spider-Man
8 #LameSuperGroups #Smallzys5SOSCakeBake Auschwitz
9 #MiProblemaEs #O2LFOREVER #Lionesses
10 Diddy Dick Van Patten #Smallzys5SOSCakeBake

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  • The deputy speaker of the Greek parliament, Alexis Mitropoulos, warns that the body may reject concessions the government had made to the country’s creditors. (Reuters)
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December 7, 2015

Top News Stories –

Austria: Linz scraps gay pedestrian crossing lights –
The Austrian city of Linz has scrapped its gay-themed pedestrian crossing lights, which were adopted earlier this year with the aim of promoting tolerance. The red and green signals, depicting same-sex couples holding hands, were first introduced in Vienna to coincide with the the Eurovision Song Contest in May. Their popularity meant Salzburg and Linz later followed suit. But while the signals have become a permanent feature in the capital, they’ve now been removed from the streets of Linz. [BBC]

IBM pulls #HackAHairDryer campaign following Twitter backlash –
IBM has pulled the plug on its #HackAHairDryer campaign designed to encourage more female engineers and scientists after social media users turned against it. The initiative, which was centered around encouraging more women to apply for positions within the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) industries, was roundly derided after Twitter users claimed it was patronising and trivialised science. Angry users took issue with the use of a hairdryer, claiming the campaign belittled women’s scientific abilities. [Daily Telegraph] See Top Twitter Trends

Video of the Day –

Jedi Levitation Prank

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #SegundaComOClubeSDV #ReasonWhyWeAreNotFriends #TurnerPrize
2 #ReasonWhyWeAreNotFriends #HackAHairDryer #mondaymotivation
3 #زد_رصيدك24 #NuevaAsamblea #TCDisrupt
4 #7DElDebateDecisivo #PearlHarbor #SheWantsAManFromBrum
5 #امنيه_تتمنونه… Grammy #ReasonWhyWeAreNotFriends
6 #UnaVelitaPor Jose Fernandez #beforeandafter1d
7 #NuevaAsamblea Ralph Peters #HackAHairDryer
8 #MeGustasComoPara #YearInMusic #ontopictalkshow
9 #انترنت_السعود… #AvaBarbie #SelfieForNash
10 #お前らたまにはア�… #MyXMasStripperName #musicmonday

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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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May 22, 2016

Top News Stories –

Naked sleepwalker helped back to Manchester hotel –
A man was helped back to his hotel after sleepwalking into the street in Manchester city centre without any clothes on, police have said. The naked man was spotted outside his hotel on Chorlton Street, at about 04:30 BST. Greater Manchester Police said it was a “genuine case of sleepwalking”. GMP tweeted: “We checked with officers; was proper somnambulism, not a dare. Person grateful for our help + saw the funny side themselves.” The man’s identity has not been revealed by police. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Everything is a Remix: The Force Awakens from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

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Science
  • NASA projects that 2016 will have the warmest global temperature average on record, breaking the previous record high set in 2015. This year would be the third record-breaking year in a row. Per NOAAannals, April marked the 12th record warmest month in a row. (Scientific American)

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June 18, 2016

Top News Stories –

UK astronaut Tim Peake returns to Earth –
UK astronaut Tim Peake is back on Earth after a historic six-month stay on the International Space Station. A Soyuz capsule carrying Major Peake and two other crew members touched down in Kazakhstan at 10:15 BST. He called the journey back “the best ride I’ve been on ever”, adding: “The smells of Earth are just so strong.” Maj Peake is the first person to fly to space under the UK banner since Helen Sharman in 1991 and made the first spacewalk by a UK astronaut. During the 186-day mission, Maj Peake also remotely steered a robot on Earth and ran the London Marathon. Just before 15:00 BST, Maj Peake landed by helicopter on the runway at Karagandy airport. [BBC]
Timothy_PeakeTimothy Peake

Video of the Day –

WALT from justinclifton on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Ten longest human space flights [Wikipedia]

# Time in space Crew Country Launch date (Launch craft) Landing date (Landing craft) Space Station or mission type
1 437.7 days Valeri Polyakov  Russia 1994-01-09 (Soyuz TM-18) 1995-03-22 (Soyuz TM-20) Mir
2 379.6 days Sergei Avdeyev  Russia 1998-08-13 (Soyuz TM-28) 1999-08-28 (Soyuz TM-29) Mir
3 365.0 days Vladimir Titov
Musa Manarov
 Soviet Union 1987-12-21 (Soyuz TM-4) 1988-12-21 (Soyuz TM-6) Mir
4 340.4 days Mikhail Korniyenko
Scott Kelly
 Russia
 United States
2015-03-27 (Soyuz TMA-16M) 2016-03-01 (Soyuz TMA-18M) International Space Station
5 326.5 days[ Yuri Romanenko  Soviet Union 1987-02-05 (Soyuz TM-2) 1987-12-29 (Soyuz TM-3) Mir
6 311.8 days Sergei Krikalev  Soviet Union/ Russia 1991-05-18 (Soyuz TM-12) 1992-03-25 (Soyuz TM-13) Mir
7 240.9 days Valeri Polyakov  Soviet Union 1988-08-29 (Soyuz TM-6) 1989-04-7 (Soyuz TM-7) Mir
8 237.0 days Leonid Kizim
Vladimir Solovyov
Oleg Atkov
 Soviet Union 1984-02-08 (Soyuz T-10) 1984-10-02 (Soyuz T-11) Salyut 7
9 215.4 days Mikhail Tyurin
Michael López-Alegría]
 Russia
 United States
2006-09-18 (Soyuz TMA-9) 2007-04-21 (Soyuz TMA-9) International Space Station
10 211.4 days Anatoli Berezovoy
Valentin Lebedev
 Soviet Union 1982-05-13 (Soyuz T-5)[19] 1982-12-10 (Soyuz T-7)[19] Salyut 7

Other News Stories –

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  • A week of heavy rains and flooding in south China results in at least 25 deaths, six people missing and 33,000 people displaced. (ABC News)
  • Six people are killed and 10 injured when a van crashes in the U.S. state of Virginia. (Reuters)
Law and crime
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July 2, 2016

Top News Stories –

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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