John Terry in Wembley trouble –
The Daily Mail reveal that Chelsea player and former England football captain rents out his private box at Wembley stadium for £4,000 , despite the rules prohibiting it. This follows the revelation of Terry’s affair with his team-mate Wayne Bridge’s girlfriend on January 29th 2015. John Terry
Tom Watson expects Tiger to show humility –
Tom Watson has called on Tiger Woods to “show some humility” and apologise for his behaviour before returning to golf. Woods has taken an indefinite break from golf after major speculation surrounding his private life at the end of November 2009 forced him to stop playing. Tom Watson
Trial off, football on –
A New Orleans judge, Michael Bagneris, postpones a trial because he is believes that everybody in the city will be too distracted by New Orleans Saints forthcoming performance in the Super Bowl. It will be the Saints’s first ever Super Bowl appearance on Sunday, when they play the Indianapolis Colts.
Saints beat Colts in Super Bowl –
New Orleans Saints made the most of their first Super Bowl appearance in the 42-year history of the franchise by defeating Indianapolis Colts 31-17 at Miami’s SunLife Stadium. The NFC-champion Saints came from 10-0 down at the end of the first quarter – equalling the largest deficit overturned to win a Super Bowl – and still trailed by a point at 16-17 heading into the fourth before dominating the final period to deny Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning and his side a second Super Bowl victory in four years. It was an emotional occasion for the city of New Orleans, less than five years after it bore the brunt of Hurricane Katrina, as a series of bold calls from head coach Sean Payton helped them claim the title. Saints quarterback Drew Brees was named MVP (See List of the Day). [Daily Mail]
Italians spend £5 billion a year on fortune tellers and astrology –
Italy’s worst recession since the Second World War has prompted Italians to spend a staggering £5 billion a year seeking financial advice not from banks and brokers but fortune tellers and astrologers. Tarot card readers and pavement fortune tellers are doing a roaring trade, with about 30,000 Italians paying between 20 and 600 euros a day looking for advice to help them out of their financial woes. [Daily Telegraph]
Jazz star Johnny Dankworth dies aged 82 –
Tributes have been paid to British jazz legend Sir John Dankworth after his death at the age of 82. The saxophonist, whose career spanned more more than half a century, died on Saturday in King Edward VII hospital, London. He had been ill for several months. His death was announced last night by his jazz singer wife, Dame Cleo Laine, during a star-studded concert marking the 40th anniversary of the entertainment venue they set up together at their Buckinghamshire home. Dame Cleo broke the news to the artists before the concert began, but did not tell the 400-strong audience until just before the finale. [Daily Telegraph] Johnny Dankworth
Patriots win the Super Bowl –
The New England Patriots become the first team in Super Bowl history to trail by double digits in the second half and win Super Bowl XLIX at the University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona. The Patriots took the lead from the Seattle Seahawks with two minutes left and held on for a 28-24 victory. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who completed a Super Bowl record 37 of 50 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions, was named Super Bowl MVP. The half-time show was fronted by Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliot. Tom Brady
Djokovic defeats Murray to win Aussie Open again –
Novak Djokovic wins his fifth Australian Open, beating Andy Murray 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-0. Andy Murray’s fiancee Kim Sears laughed off the controversy over her colourful language caught on camera during Murray’s semi-final against Tomas Berdych on January 29th 2015 in Melbourne by wearing a ‘Parental Advisory: Explicit Content’ t-shirt at the Australian Open final.
Adding insult to injury –
Democratic Republic of Congo footballer Gabriel Zakuani is run into by the stretcher buggy during his team’s semi final against Congo in the Africa Cup of Nations. The defender was already injured when the buggy hit him. DR Congo went on to win 4-2 without Zakuani who also plays for Peterborough United in the UK, but he was not badly hurt.
Super Bowl gets super viewing figures –
Yesterday’s Super Bowl saw America’s highest-ever overnight ratings with New England Patriots late win over Seattle. The Nielsen ratings company said that 49.7 percent of the homes in the nation’s largest media markets were watching the game, up four percent over last year’s game which was seen by 111.5 million. Later information revealed viewing figures of 114.4 million on NBC, the largest audience for a U.S. television program in history.
Apple feeling a bit broke –
Apple is issuing bonds today which are expected to raise at least $5bn (£3.3bn) mainly to be used to help the company return more than $130bn to shareholders by the end of this year. Despite the company sitting on a cash pile of $142bn almost 90% of the cash is held outside the US, and it would have to pay a corporate tax rate of 35% if it returned the money from abroad, so it is borrowing the money instead.
The there’s muck there’s… gold –
Staff cleaning unused dirty lockers at a school in the city of Ahmedabad, western India, uncover 2kg in gold bars and 10m rupees in cash ($160,000; £108,000). The clean up was part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Clean India” campaign. Two unused lockers in the staff room had no keys, so staff broke into them and made the discovery. According to police, the solid gold is worth nearly 6m rupees. No-one has claimed ownership.
My BMW has a virus –
BMW patches a security flaw that meant 2.2 million cars fitted with BMW’s ConnectedDrive software, including Rolls Royces and Minis, were open to hackers. The software operated door locks, air conditioning and traffic updates and although no cars have actually been hacked, the flaw was identified by German motorist association ADAC.
One underscores the other doesn’t score –
Father Michael Duffy a New York priest has been receiving Twitter messages congratulating him on signing for Celtic Football Club. In fact another Michael Duffy who was transferred to the Scottish football champions from Derry City club has the same twitter handle as the priest, but the footballer has an underscore at the end. Father Duffy has gained many new followers and today tweeted:
Painting sells for $300m, a world record –
One of French artist Paul Gauguin’s most famous paintings showing to Tahitian ladies is sold for $300m (£197m), making it the most expensive work of art ever sold. Entitled Nafea Faa Ipoipo, or When Will You Marry?, was painted in 1892 by the French Post-Impressionist and has apparently been sold to a museum in Qatar.
Phantom of the Opera apprehended –
Austrian police arrest a 63-year-old man who has become known as the Phantom of the Opera at the Vienna State Opera House. Security guards have been trying to catch the man, who buys a cheap ticket and then sits in expensive seats, for months. When he was seen in the best seat in the house, the police were called, but he made a run for it and then punched one of the police officers after he was cornered in the Gustav Mahler Hall. He was arrested and given a ban from all future performances at the State Opera.
Left shark designer hit with cease and desist order –
Fernando Sosa who is selling the design for a 3D-printer model of the “Left Shark” dancer from Katy Perry’s Super Bowl half-time show has received a letter from Perry’s lawyers saying, “Your unauthorised display and sale of this product infringes our client’s exclusive rights.” Left Shark became a viral hit after forgetting its steps during the performance of Teenage Dream and California Gurls. CLICK TO SEE MORE STUFF FROM THIS DAY…
Nepal earthquake: Dozens die in new tremor near Everest –
A major earthquake has struck eastern Nepal, near Mount Everest, two weeks after more than 8,000 people died in a devastating quake. At least 48 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured, officials say. At least 17 have also died in India. The latest earthquake hit near the town of Namche Bazaar and sent thousands of panicked residents on to the streets of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. It had a magnitude of 7.3, compared with the 7.8 of the 25 April quake. [BBC]
Tom Brady: ‘Deflate-gate’ player banned for four matches –
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been suspended for four games by the National Football League after an inquiry into under-inflated balls. Brady, 37, will not receive any pay during his ban, while the team were fined $1m (£642,000) for a scandal that has become known as ‘Deflate-gate’. The NFL said on Monday the club were sanctioned after “failure to cooperate in the subsequent investigation”. According to reports, 11 of the 12 game balls they provided for the rain-affected match were under-inflated by about two pounds per square inch, giving Brady more grip in the cold and wet conditions. [BBC] The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl in April. Tom Brady
Vienna brings in gay pedestrian crossing lights –
Dozens of traffic lights in the Austrian capital have been changed to show gay couples crossing the road instead of the traditional lone figure. Vienna has changed the signal images at 120 pedestrian crossings – also showing heterosexual couples – in preparation for the Eurovision Song Contest. Officials said the signals were a sign of Vienna’s open-mindedness. Toni Mahdalik of the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria called the initiative gender politics “gone mad”. He said the money would have been better spent on reducing poverty and improving unemployment figures. [BBC]
Verizon to buy AOL for $4.4bn –
US telecommunications giant Verizon has agreed to buy AOL in a deal worth $4.4bn (£2.8bn). Buying AOL will broaden the amount of advertising Verizon can sell and will increase video production. AOL owns websites such as the Huffington Post, Techcrunch, Engadget, Makers and AOL.com. Verizon is offering $50 a share for AOL, compared with AOL’s closing price of $42.59 on Monday. [BBC] Arianna Huffington co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post
Bus drivers in the Indian city of Delhi call off a strike to protest the murder of a driver after the state government invokes the Essential Service Maintenance Act. (NDTV)
The reported death toll from this earthquake is at least 66 people, including 17 in neighboring India and one in Tibet. Many more have been injured. (NBC News)(Reuters)
An Amtrak train derails in the Frankford neighborhood of the American city of Philadelphia causing cars to roll over. At least 5 people have been killed, 50 people are injured in the derailment, and 100 people total have been taken to hospitals.(USA Today)(Huffington Post),(CNN)
Bangladeshi secular blogger Ananta Bijoy Das is cut to pieces by a masked gang wielding machetes in the city of Sylhet. He is the third secular blogger to be killed in Bangladesh this year. (BBC)
Officer Matt Kenny of the Madison Police Department will not face charges in relation to the shooting of Tony Robinson in March 2015 in the American city of Madison. (CNN)
Russia: Book of Putin quotes ‘given to officials’ –
Officials across Russia have been given a 400-page book of “prophetic” quotes by President Vladimir Putin as a new year gift, it’s reported. The collection, entitled Words That Change The World, was sent to as many as 1,000 people by one of Mr Putin’s top aides, Vyacheslav Volodin, according to the business newspaper RBK. Recipients include MPs, regional governors and civil society representatives. In an accompanying letter, Mr Volodin says the book should be seen as a guide to the Kremlin’s “values and guiding principles”. He’s also reported to have recommended it to a recent meeting of officials as “required reading for any politician”. [BBC] Vladimir-Putin
Russia ‘unlikely’ to return by Rio Olympics –
Russia are unlikely to return to international competition in time for next year’s Rio Olympics, says European Athletics president Svein Arne Hansen. Russia’s athletics federation was banned by the International Association of Athletics Federations for alleged involvement in widespread doping. An IAAF inspection committee is due to visit Russia in January. “For the moment they have to fulfil the conditions, but I cannot really see them competing in Rio,” Hansen said. [BBC]
Video of the Day –
VertiGo – A Wall-Climbing Robot Including Ground-Wall Transition
List of the Day –
Google Trends 2015 – Top Searches – Global Sporting Events
Missouri GovernorJay Nixon warns residents that the state faces historic flooding that likely will rival Great Flood of 1993 levels. Swollen rivers are still rising and won’t crest for days. The Mississippi River is expected to reach nearly 15 feet above flood stage on Thursday. Nixon pleaded with drivers to stay off inundated roadways. Twelve of the 13 people killed from these recent storms died after their vehicles were swept from flooded roadways. (NBC News)(UPI)
Ethan Couch, the so-called “affluenza” teen who violated probation for killing four people when driving while intoxicated when he disappeared from Tarrant County, Texas, is taken into custody in Mexico. Mexican officials will remand Couch and his mother, with whom he fled, to the U.S. Marshals Service. (Reuters)
Tokyo police roll out 3D mug shots –
Tokyo’s police force is to start taking 3D mug shots of suspects being held in custody, it’s reported. The images will form part of a database which officers hope will make it easier to analyse CCTV footage, the the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reports. All of the Japanese capital’s 102 police stations will be fitted with a 3D camera as part of the new process, which will begin in April. “As we can identify the suspects more quickly and accurately, our arrest rate is expected to become greater,” one senior officer tells the paper. Unlike regular two-dimensional mug shots, the 3D images can be adjusted to match the angle of security camera footage, which is often shot from above, rather than at face height. At the moment police only photograph suspects’ faces from the front and diagonally, making it difficult to match mug shots to CCTV images. Tokyo’s police force says it is the first to roll out the cameras across all of its stations – until now they have only been installed at some regional police headquarters in Japan. [BBC]
Australia makes ‘captain’s call’ on best words of 2015 –
Captain’s call – a phrase “plucked” from the cricket pitch and politicised by former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott – has become the Macquarie Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2015. Mr Abbott’s controversial choice to award Prince Philip a knighthood was one of his many “captain’s calls”. The noun is defined as “a decision made by a political or business leader without consultation with colleagues”. The dictionary said the word “perfectly encapsulates” Australia in 2015. [BBC] See List of the Day
Video of the Day –
Liquid Ping Pong in Space – RED 4K
List of the Day –
Australian Word of the Year runners-up
lumbersexual: a portmanteau of lumberjack and metrosexual – referring to urban men who adopt the style of an outdoorsman as a fashion statement.
deso: Colloquially refers to a designated driver, who refrains from drinking alcohol in order to drive others safely home. Also, deso driver.
open kimono: A business policy of sharing information freely with an outside party.
keyboard warrior: a person who adopts an excessively aggressive style in online discussions which they would not normally adopt in person-to-person communication, often in support of a cause, theory, world view, etc.
ghost plate: a clear plastic numberplate cover which becomes opaque when viewed from certain angles, thereby obscuring the registration number; designed to circumvent identification by speed cameras.
athleisure: clothing, shoes, etc., designed for both exercise and general casual wear.
tri-tip: a cut of beef, taken from the bottom of the sirloin.
digital disruption: Commerce the impact of digital technology in making various established industries and products obsolete.
abandoned porn: a genre of photography which romanticises abandoned buildings and urban areas in a state of decay. Also, ruin porn.
wombat gate: a swing gate installed in a ditch going underneath a fence, so that wombats, who follow very predictable patterns at night, can come and go without destroying the fence.
Heavy snowfall in western and central Japan leaves at least two people dead and over a hundred injured. Snowfall was also recorded for the first time in 155 years on Amami Ōshima, a subtropical island in Japan’s southern Kagoshima Prefecture. (The Japan Times)
Peta’s NSFW Super Bowl 50 advert banned by TV execs –
An advert produced by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, intended to air during the Super Bowl next month, has been barred from viewers’ screens by TV executives. The advert, depicting two couples having sex, is intended to encourage people to adopt veganism. “Vegans last longer. See the side by side proof here,” reads the supporting text, as the vegan and meat-eating couples are shown going at it hammer-and-tongs. The meat-eaters’ love-making is over within moments of the advert beginning – while the vegans keep going until the end. PETA says it planned for the clip to be aired during the Super Bowl, where advertisers pay millions of dollars to target US TV’s largest, most receptive audience of the year. “We did try to submit the ad last fall but we didn’t get a response from the executives at CBS,” a spokesman for the animal rights organisation said. However, since news broke that the advert was banned it’s received a huge amount of attention, winning 1.1 million YouTube views in just three days. [Daily Telegraph] See Video of the Day PETA Tweet
Video of the Day –
Last Longer | Vegan Sex Drive Shown in Steamy Scene
Georgia welcomes the ICC‘s investigation into alleged war crimes committed during the 2008 South Ossetia war, which will be the first inquiry by the ICC into possible abuses by Moscow and/or Georgia.(Radio Free Europe)
Super Bowl 50: Denver Broncos beat Carolina Panthers –
The Denver Broncos produced a defensive masterclass to upset the Carolina Panthers 24-10 and win Super Bowl 50. Carolina were heavy favourites, having lost only once all season and with the league’s Most Valuable Player of the season Cam Newton at quarterback. But Newton was smothered by the Broncos defence and gave up three turnovers, including one that led to a touchdown. That helped Denver, quarterbacked by veteran Peyton Manning, open a 10-0 lead early on and they never lost it. It had been rumoured the game would be 39-year-old Manning’s last, but he said afterwards he would “take time to reflect”. [BBC]
Coldplay and Beyonce star in half-time show –
British group Coldplay were the main performers at the half-time and they were joined by Beyonce, Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson. Coldplay opened the show by singing ‘Yellow’ and ‘Viva La Vida’ as children carrying multi-coloured umbrellas and violins streamed onto the pitch. Mars and Ronson performed their hit ‘Uptown Funk’, before Beyonce sang her new song ‘Formation’. The artists closed the show by performing a mash-up of Coldplay’s hit ‘Fix You’ and Beyonce’s ‘Crazy In Love’. [BBC]
Twitter suspends 125,000 ‘terrorism’ accounts –
Twitter says it has suspended more than 125,000 accounts since mid-2015 “for threatening or promoting terrorist acts”. In a blog, the US-based firm said the accounts “primarily related to ISIS” (the so-called Islamic State group). “We condemn the use of Twitter to promote terrorism,” it said, adding that it had increased its report reviewing teams to react faster. Twitter has more than 500 million users around the world. [BBC]
Video of the Day –
“NFL 2016: PART TWO” — A Bad Lip Reading of the NFL
The death toll from yesterday’s earthquake in Taiwan rises to at least 29, with at least 120 trapped under collapsed buildings in Tainan, while 198 people have been rescued. (AP)(Taipei Times)
A man is killed and three other employees are injured following a suspected meteorite strike in a garden outside the Bharathidasan Engineering College in Tamil Nadu, India. Witnesses say they saw a mysterious object fall from the sky. If confirmed, this would be the first recorded fatality from a meteorite strike. (Metro)(The Indian Express)
Japan‘s NHK news reports the rocket passed over the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzō Abe, condemns the launch and says, “We absolutely cannot allow this. We will take action to totally protect the safety and well-being of our people”. The Japanese government says no rocket debris fell on Japanese territory and there are no reports of damage. The rocket reportedly falls into waters southwest of Jeju Island. (ABC News), (Yonhap)
South Korea’s intelligence agency claims that North Korea is preparing for another nuclear test. (Yonhap)
One person is killed and seven others are injured in a shooting outside a Rochester, New York sports bar. (ABC News)
Hamas reports it has executed one of its commanders, Mahmoud Eshtewi, for “moral and behavioral violations.” Human Rights Watch, contacted by Eshtewi’s family, had been monitoring the case. (AP viaThe Washington Post)
Politics and elections
Politicians in Haiti agree to a process to select an interim President to replace Michel Martelly. Presidential elections will be held on April 14 with the winner to be sworn in on 14 May. (BBC)
Maria Sharapova failed drugs test at Australian Open –
Former world number one Maria Sharapova has revealed she failed a drugs test at the Australian Open. The Russian, 28, tested positive for meldonium, a substance she has been taking since 2006 for health issues. Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion, is provisionally suspended from 12 March pending further action. “I did fail the test and take full responsibility for it,” said Sharapova, who won the Wimbledon title as a 17-year-old in 2004. “For the past 10 years I have been given a medicine called mildronate by my family doctor and a few days ago after I received a letter from the ITF [International Tennis Federation] I found out it also has another name of meldonium, which I did not know.” [BBC] See List of the Day Maria Sharapova
Peyton Manning: Denver Broncos quarterback retires from NFL –
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has announced his retirement, ending a sparkling 18-year career in the NFL. Manning struggled to hold back tears as he confirmed the news at a media conference in Denver on Monday. He said: “I fought a good fight. I finished my football race. After 18 years it is time.” Manning, who turns 40 on 24 March, played his last game when he helped the Broncos win the Super Bowl in February. It was his second Super Bowl win, the first coming in 2007 during a 14-year spell with the Indianapolis Colts. [BBC] Peyton Manning
The EU plans to boost aid to Greece and declare the route north through the Balkans closed. Presently, about 13,000 people are stranded at the Greece–Macedonia border. (BBC)(Kathimerini)
Amnesty International takes on the EU for using Turkey as a buffer to police Europe’s borders. Deputy Director Gauri van Gulik says Europe has an absolute duty to protect refugees and must fast-track significant, unconditional resettlement. (AP via The Washington Post)
Former mayor of the Pitcairn IslandsMike Warren is found guilty of downloading more than 1000 images and videos of child abuse and child pornography while working in child protection and is sentenced to 20 months in prison. (The Guardian)
American sportscaster Erin Andrews is awarded $55 million damages after a stranger, in 2008, secretly recorded her in the nude through a hotel door peephole, and posted the video on the Internet. (New York Daily News)
John Terry
Tom Watson
![By Morgaledh at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons](http://absoluteonesies.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/WSO-Interior.jpg)
