December 4, 2014

Top News Stories –

The Obama’s light up –
President Barack Obama, wife Michelle and their daughters, Malia and Sasha switch on the lights of the Christmas Tree at the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at the Ellipse near the White House in Washington DC.
2014_National_Christmas_Tree2014 National Christmas Tree

Psy’ched out –
Psy’s Gangnam Style video has been watched so many times that the YouTube’s counter is being upgraded from 32-bit to 64-bit. The old 32-bit system only counted up to 2,147,483,647 views with Gangnam Style hitting 8,000 more than that. The mew 64-bit system will count up to 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 views (around 9 quadrillion). (See Video of the Day and List of the Day below)
FMFA_2013_(8565145586)

Apple accused of wiping competitors tunes –
A US district court has heard lawyers accuse Apple of “deleting” songs from rival services from some iPods in 2007-09. Users with non-iTunes music received a message telling them to restore devices to their factory settings when they tried to sync them. Apple said that the move was a legitimate security measure. The case has been going on for more than a decade and could result in Apple paying out $1bn in damages.

Nobel Prize medal sells for $4.75m –
The Nobel Prize medal of American geneticist James Watson sold for $4.75 million at auction in New York today. It is the first time a Nobel Prize of a living laureate has been sold and almost doubled the estimate price. The Nobel Prize was awarded to Dr Watson in 1962 for his discovery of DNA’s double helix structure in 1953.
James_D_WatsonDr James D Watson

Video of the Day –

Gangnam Style – Psy

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February 26, 2015

Top News Story –

Owl attacks in Nederlands –
Residents in the northern Dutch town of Purmerend have been advised to take umbrellas out at night after a spate of attacks by an owl. Dozens of residents have suffered head injuries over the past three weeks at the claws of the rogue European eagle owl. Two runners were attacked on Tuesday, with one requiring stitches for five separate head wounds. The European eagle owl’s usual prey are small mammals and birds. [BBC]
European-Eagle-Owl

Video of the Day –

Pilot successfully crash lands historic fighter plane

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April 17, 2015

Top News Stories –

Lorry full of honey bees overturns in Washington State –
A lorry carrying honeybees has overturned in the US state of Washington, spewing bees across a motorway. The accident scattered boxes “containing millions of live bees across the highway”, KIRO 7 News reported. Each of the boxes contains about 5,000 live bees, some were crushed in the accident while others were freed. Beekeepers used smoke to try and calm the bees before the sun rose, which would raise temperatures and agitate the bees. At daybreak many of the boxes remained on the road and the bees became more active. The fire brigade was called to spray the bees with foam, which resulted in their death. [BBC]

All Nippon Airways Announces ‘Star Wars’ Project With R2-D2 Painted Jet –
In honor of the iconic movie series, the airline will paint one of its brand-new Boeing 787s with an R2-D2 motif. An apparent video rendering of the R2-D2 plane, released on YouTube Thursday, shows the nose of the plane decorated with R2-D2’s signature blue and white stripes, along with graphics depicting the robot’s various ports. A massive “Star Wars” logo dominates the rear of the plane. The R2-D2 jet marks the start of five-year All Nippon Airways “Star Wars” project, which will include “a range of novel initiatives,” the airline announced on its website. (also see Video of the Day) [The Huffington Post]

Japan’s magnetically levitated vehicle train sets new speed record –
Japan’s magnetically levitated (maglev) train has set a new speed record, hitting 366.61mph on a test track. Central Japan Railway Co., which is developing a vehicle that it sees as the long-distance, mass transportation system of the future, is aiming to break the 600km per hour (372.82mph) in more tests scheduled for next week. The seven-car maglev surpassed the previous record, which it sent in December 2003, for a period of 19 seconds on JR Central’s test track in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, on Thursday. The company is pushing ahead in its development of the maglev, which uses magnetic pulses to propel the carriages, doing away with the need for wheels, axles and bearings, after being granted approval to construct a track between Tokyo and Nagoya. [Daily Telegraph]
JR-Maglev-MLX01 The SCMaglev test track in the Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan

James Anderson breaks Sir Ian Botham’s England wicket record –
English cricketer James Anderson surpassed Sir Ian Botham as England’s highest Test wicket-taker with his 384th dismissal in his 100th match. Anderson, 32, had West Indies’ Denesh Ramdin caught at first slip on the final day of the first Test in Antigua. The seamer, who began the Test on 380 wickets, was mobbed by his team-mates as his family celebrated in the crowd. [BBC]

England’s top Test wicket-takers

Player Wickets Tests Years active Average
James Anderson 384 100 2003-present 29.77
Ian Botham 383 102 1977-1992 28.40
Bob Willis 325 90 1971-1984 25.20
Fred Trueman 307 67 1952-1965 21.57
Derek Underwood 297 86 1966-1982 25.83

Video of the Day –

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Teaser #2 –

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June 4, 2015

Top News Stories –

Millions of US government workers hit by data breach –
Chinese hackers are suspected of carrying out a “massive breach” affecting the data of millions of US government workers, officials said. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) confirmed on Thursday that almost four million current and past employees have been affected. The breach could potentially affect every federal agency, officials said. Susan Collins, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said it was thought to have originated in China. The Chinese embassy in Washington warned against “jumping to conclusions”. [BBC]

Sam Smith can speak again after vocal cord operation and reschedules gigs –
Sam Smith says he can now speak again and is ready to go back on tour after his vocal cord operation. The singer posted on Instagram: “I CAN SPEAK AGAIN!!!!!!!!” with a picture of Ariel from The Little Mermaid. He also shared a photo of the doctor who helped him to reclaim his voice and publicly thanked him. Four performances that he had to postpone in April after having problems with his voice have now been announced in Australia. [BBC]
Sam-Smith-with-Doctor-Zeitels  © Samsmithworld/InstagramSam Smith with Doctor Zeitels © Samsmithworld/Instagram
Sam Smith Instagram message

Tricky GCSE maths exam sees pupils take to Twitter –

A tricky GCSE maths question stumped thousands of students – but inspired them to take to Twitter to vent their anger and frustration. The equation in Thursday’s Edexcel exam was on the probability of taking two orange sweets from a bag. By the afternoon the topic was trending on Twitter and online petitions were set up calling on the board to lower the grade boundaries when marking. Edexcel’s owner Pearson said it aimed to “test the full range” of abilities. But it said it would ensure students were “treated fairly” when the papers are marked. [BBC]  See Top Twitter Trends (UK)

Video of the Day –

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation Trailer 2

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #PSYAngBatasNgApi Rick Perry #EdexcelMaths
2 #MeSobranGanasDe #CheeseFilms #ProsOfDatingMe
3 #SiempreMePasaQue #PitMad #GeekPickUpLines
4 メンタルヘルス Hannah Montana #CheeseFilms
5 Rick Perry #ProsOfDatingMe #ComplimentYourselfIn4Words
6 #FelizJueves #GeekPickUpLines #OrangeFestBands
7 #KeferaNoEncontro #NBAFinals Charlotte Church
8 #SeriaRePiolaQue #HugYourCatDay Royal Mail
9 #GeekPickUpLines #DuggarInterview Skrtel
10 #شعورك_الان_بت�… Michael Ealy Chuck Blazer

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  • Officials of the ruling Syriza party in Greece say that they cannot accept a last-minute deal proposed by the country’s creditors: default deadline looms. (AP)
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August 24, 2015

Top News Stories –

Edinburgh Fringe: Mobile phone joke voted funniest –
A pun by comedian Darren Walsh has scooped the prize for funniest joke of the Edinburgh Fringe. The 39-year-old, whose show Punderbolt is on at the Pleasance, took first place in the vote by TV channel Dave. The winning joke was: “I just deleted all the German names off my phone. It’s Hans free. Walsh, from Peterborough, who won the first UK Pun Championship last year, said he was delighted. “What a punderful feeling,” he said. [BBC] See List of the Day

British IndyCar Driver Justin Wilson Dies of Injuries From Pocono Crash –
Justin Wilson, a British racecar driver who was struck by debris from another car during the closing laps of the penultimate race in the IndyCar Series season, died Monday, racing officials said. He was 37. Wilson was struck in the head on Sunday at Pocono Raceway by a piece of debris that broke off from the car of Sage Karam, who was leading the race before he crashed. Wilson had tried to avoid the subsequent pileup, but his car hit the debris and veered into an interior wall. He was airlifted to a hospital in Allentown, Pa., where he was in a coma in critical condition before he died. [NY Times]
Justin-WilsonJustin Wilson in 2008

China’s ‘Black Monday’ sends markets reeling across the globe –
China has been a major contributor to economic growth and low global inflation for more than two decades. But tonight, investors around the globe are catching their breath after one of the worst day’s trading in many years. They’re now pondering whether today marks the start of a new and alarming phase of the crisis which began some eight years ago. And while today’s losses are sizeable, they’re not among the worst losses in market history. For all the talk of Black Monday in China,and gloomy photos to match, this was more of a correction in Western markets. [The Guardian]

Windows 95 turns 20 –
Windows 10 might be the current OS of choice for many, but 20 years ago today (August 24) the world of home computing underwent a seismic shift as Windows 95 rolled off the production lines and into people’s lives. The basis for many consumers’ first computing experience, Windows 95 revolutionised the computing space not only on the surface, but beneath it too. From an all new graphical user interface to a switch to 32-bit foundations, it’s hard to overstate the impact this Start menu introducing software has had on the world. If you can even remember the days of floppy disks then you’ll know how much of a nightmare the Windows 95 update must have been to install, compared to today when waiting 17 seconds for a film to buffer on Netflix seems outrageous. For those without a CD-ROM drive, each of the 3.5-inch cartridges held a measly 1.44MB of data. Later updates, for those refusing to accept CDs had taken off, jumped to 26 floppy disks. [Digital Spy] See Top Twitter Trends
Windows-95-logo

Video of the Day –

Guy annoys girlfriend with puns at Ikea – We moved in together recently so had to make the unavoidable trip to IKEA; I figured out how to get through there as quickly as possible.
Yeah, yeah I know, vertical video and all that. I filmed it in Snapchat, you’ll survive.

List of the Day –

The top 10 funniest jokes of the Edinburgh Fringe

  1. “I just deleted all the German names off my phone. It’s Hans free” – Darren Walsh
  2. “Kim Kardashian is saddled with a huge arse … but enough about Kanye West” – Stewart Francis
  3. “Surely every car is a people carrier?” – Adam Hess
  4. “What’s the difference between a ‘hippo’ and a ‘Zippo’? One is really heavy, the other is a little lighter” – Masai Graham
  5. “If I could take just one thing to a desert island I probably wouldn’t go” – Dave Green
  6. “Jesus fed 5,000 people with two fishes and a loaf of bread. That’s not a miracle. That’s tapas” – Mark Nelson
  7. “Red sky at night. Shepherd’s delight. Blue sky at night. Day” – Tom Parry
  8. “The first time I met my wife, I knew she was a keeper. She was wearing massive gloves” – Alun Cochrane
  9. “Clowns divorce. Custardy battle” – Simon Munnery
  10. “They’re always telling me to live my dreams. But I don’t want to be naked in an exam I haven’t revised for…” – Grace The Child

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 Windows 95 #BlackMonday Justin Wilson
2 #SummerSlam #HeadlinesWeWouldLove #3YearsOfUnionJ
3 #OTRAChicago #NationalWaffleDay #mondaymotivation
4 #كرتون_ادمنتو_�… Windows 95 #TubeStrike
5 Yarbay Alevi #firstdayofschool #BlackMonday
6 #هل_تتزوج_فتاه_… Quentin Tarantino #SummerSlam
7 #شي_تحتاجه_حال�… Reggie Wayne #OneDirection
8 Aamir Khan #ask5sos Fight Club
9 #BlackMonday #InBedThinkingAbout #iamgratefulfor
10 #FelizLunes David Wright #RuinASongYouLike

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October 17, 2015

Top News Stories –

Apple loses patent lawsuit to University of Wisconsin, faces hefty damages –
Apple Inc could be facing up to $862 million in damages after a U.S. jury on Tuesday found the iPhone maker used technology owned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s licensing arm without permission in chips found in many of its most popular devices. The jury in Madison, Wisconsin also said the patent, which improves processor efficiency, was valid. The trial will now move on to determine how much Apple owes in damages. WARF used the patent to sue Intel Corp in 2008, but the case was settled the following year on the eve of trial. Last month, WARF launched a second lawsuit against Apple, this time targeting the company’s newest chips, the A9 and A9X, used in the just-released iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, as well as the iPad Pro. [Reuters]

Volkswagen faces €40bn lawsuit from investors –
Volkswagen is set to be pushed deeper into crisis after it emerged that the carmaker is facing a record-breaking €40bn (£30bn) legal attack spearheaded by one of the world’s top law firms. Quinn Emanuel, which has won almost $50bn (£32bn) for clients and represented Google, Sony and Fifa, has been retained by claim funding group Bentham to prepare a case for VW shareholders over the diesel emissions scandal, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal. Bentham has recently backed an action by Tesco shareholders over the retailer’s overstating of profits. The pair are attempting to assemble a huge class action following what they call “fundamental dishonesty” at the German auto giant, which plunged the carmaker into crisis after it admitted using “defeat devices” to cheat pollution tests. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Jupiter in 4K

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #ALDUBTheBigSurprise #1980sIn4Words #LFC
2 #telethon7 #telethon7 #1980sIn4Words
3 ICFES #MSUvsMICH #juniorcontract
4 FlyNoRaulGil Ole Miss Howard Kendall
5 Howard Kendall #FallBakingWithAlly #RSAvWAL
6 #ShowtimeLovesCebu #LFC #BBC4
7 #FPtauromaquia #MakeAMovieDeadly #MakeAFilmPrimAndProper
8 #ATodosNosPasoEsoDe Boise State Oasis
9 #FindConfidentBR Howard Kendall #telethon7
10 #FallBakingWithAlly #ALDUBTheBigSurprise Watford

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Law and Crime
  • Ardit Ferizi, a 20-year-old hacker from Kosovo and computer student in Malaysia, is arrested for hacking into a Phoenix, Arizona computer system and stealing the names and personal information of thousands of U.S. military personnel. Ferizi is accused of giving the information to ISIS. The U.S. is seeking Ferizi’s extradition. (CNN)
  • A shooting just before midnight at the ninth annual Fort Myers, Florida, Zombicon kills one person and injures four others, none with life threatening injuries, and causes pandemomium on the city’s downtown streets. Police ask attendees to share smartphonevideo from the incident. (USA Today) (Reuters)
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October 27, 2015

Top News Stories –

Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez announce divorce after two years of marriage –
Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry and her French actor husband, Olivier Martinez, said on Tuesday they are divorcing after two years of marriage. It is the third divorce for Berry, 49, who has a two-year-old son with Martinez. The couple cited irreconcilable differences, according to celebrity website TMZ.com. Berry in 2002 became the only black actress to win an Academy Award for a lead role, clinching the Oscar for her performance in Monster’s Ball. [Daily Telegraph]
Halle_BerryHalle Berry

Darth Vader supporter Chewbacca arrested in Ukraine –
It’s a sentence we never thought we’d write, but here goes: Chewbacca has been arrested in Ukraine after police say they caught him campaigning for Darth Vader. A candidate, using the identity of the Star Wars Sith Lord has been running in local elections in the city of Odessa. It’s claimed the man dressed as Chewbacca had broken election day rules by campaigning on voting day. It’s being reported Chewbacca was fined the equivalent of a fiver. He’d arrived at a polling station along with the candidate when police stepped in. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

Create & Explore 009 – Braden Lee x HWLS from Create & Explore on Vimeo.

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #AMAs1D #BlackCatDay #BlackCatDay
2 #FelizMartes #HappyBirthday1989 #AssaultAtSpringValleyHigh
3 #كلمه_تتحرك_في�… #AMAs1D #charitytuesday
4 Pujol Don Lemon Philip French
5 #شي_حلو_بحرف_ال… Greenland Is Melting Away Trigger
6 #TengoGanasDe Halle Berry #AMAs1D
7 Ravens #AdviceForTeenagersIn4Words Chris Grayling
8 처녀자리 Coke Zoo #ScreamQueens
9 Bro Ocholla #IWillOnlyDateYouIf #3daysTilFocus
10 #UKVOTY1D #IDontBelongToYou #stateofthenorth

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March 10, 2016

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Nasa’s super-slippery anti-insect coating could slash cost of flying –
Nasa has invented a super-slippery material which could allow planes to glide through the air with less resistance and cut could the price of travel. The new coating would reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency, it is predicted. Up to now even the tiniest pieces of debris in the air, such as insects, trigger swirling air turbulence which perturbs the airstream, making it harder for a plane to push through. The new substance is designed on the microscopic pits and ridges of the lotus leaf which naturally repels water. It will allow insects to simply slip off the side rather than stick, causing more resistance. Nasa forecasts that debugging aircraft combined with new designs to take advantage of the smoother airflow, could improve fuel efficiency by more than one percent. Although it does not seem like much, it could see costs for an airline like British Airways fall by £35 million a year. [Daily Telegraph]

Fukushima nuclear plant ‘will leak radioactive water for four more years’ –
Operators of Japan’s damaged nuclear power plant Fukushima have warned that it will take a further four years to fix the problem of contaminated water leaks. The admission was made as a sombre nation prepared to mark the fifth anniversary of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which triggering the world’s worst nuclear disaster in decades. The problem of dealing with contaminated water leaks – which now exceed 760,000 tonnes – has emerged as major challenge to the decommissioning of the Fukushima plant. Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), which operates Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, confirmed it will take four years to collect and treat all contaminated water pooled around the reactors. [Daily Telegraph]

Video of the Day –

Can You Actually Eat A Bus?

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #شي_منتفخ_بحرف_… #DangerousWomanTONIGHT Dan Jarvis
2 #الهلال_النصر Wilkinsburg #WorldKidneyDay
3 #FelizJueves #MAR10DAY #BBCSchoolReport
4 #SegQSigoDeVoltaClubeSDV #BestSchoolDay #LFCvMUFC
5 #NewZingle #FutureOfWar #HistoricalTVShows
6 #PurposeTourSeattle Pawn Stars #PurposeTourSeattle
7 #NoEsPorPresumir #AfterBreakfastIUsually #betterjobs
8 #اسم_حلو_من_ارب… #SearchFest #Dunblane
9 #ALDUB34thWeeksary Goose Gossage #MBI2016
10 #GüneşinKızlarıDevamEtsin Michelle Fields Di Maria

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  • Two days of heavy rain in the American state of Louisiana has caused at least three deaths and caused more than a thousand people to evacuate their homes. (Fox News)
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April 1, 2016

Top News Stories –

Hello! Magazine apologises for ‘fabricated’ Clooney interview –
Hello! Magazine has apologised for running an “exclusive” interview with George Clooney that the actor says was completely fabricated. The UK-based magazine said it purchased the interview from an entertainment news agency called Famous, which they have worked with in the past. Hello! said it thought the article was accurate and has removed the piece from its website. Mr Clooney said the interview never took place. He said in a statement: “The problem is that I have not given an interview to Hello Magazine and the quotes attributed to me are not accurate. In my experience, being misquoted is not unusual but to have an ‘exclusive interview’ completely fabricated is something new. And a very disturbing trend.” [BBC]
George_ClooneyGeorge Clooney

Video of the Day –

Introducing the self-driving bicycle in the Netherlands – (only available on April 1st!)

Top Twitter Trends –

Worldwide USA UK
1 #FaleUmaMentira #PowerpuffYourself #FridayFeeling
2 #كذبه_ابريل #FlashbackFriday #futureMW
3 #BienvenidoAbril #FridayFeeling #totp
4 #JokerWasHere #SnoopaVision #AprilFools
5 #FridayFeeling #TheChalkening #NewMusicFriday
6 #DiaDaMentiraDetremuraSdv #FuelYourHustle #Skins2017
7 #AprilFools John Stamos #ourtreasurehunt
8 #LoveLiveforever #JokerWasHere #NameABand
9 #EnTwitterNuncaFalta #NewMusicFriday #JokerWasHere
10 #BuenViernes #AprilFools #ONALondon

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  • Health authorities in Fiji are urging people to observe strict personal hygiene as the country goes through a massive outbreak of conjunctivitis. In the past 14 days alone the number of cases of the virus in one district of Suva have jumped from 700 to 5000 cases. (Radio New Zealand)
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November 9, 2016

Top News Stories –

US election 2016 result: Trump beats Clinton to take White House –
Donald Trump will become the 45th US president after a stunning victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. The Republican nominee’s victory came down to a handful of key swing states, despite months of polling that favoured Mrs Clinton. The battlegrounds of Florida, Ohio and North Carolina cleared the way for his Brexit-style upset. Global markets plummeted, with the US dollar diving and gold prices surging. Mr Trump’s shock victory in Wisconsin put him over the 270 out of 538 electoral college votes needed to win the White House, after a gruelling and rancorous campaign. The US president-elect took to the stage with his family at his victory rally in a New York hotel ballroom and said: “I just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us on our victory.” [BBC]
Donald_Trump President elect Donald Trump

Video of the Day –

Donald Trumps acceptance speech

List of the Day –

Popular vote results in US election

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January 20, 2017

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Donald Trump is sworn in as 45th President of the United States –
There is some dispute to the size of the inauguration crowd, starting an acrimonious war of words between the new president and the press.


The President and First Lady at the Liberty Ball on Inauguration Day

Video of the Day –

How did The Mall in Washington fill up in 2009 compared to 2017 – Daily Mirror

List of the Day –

US Presidents 1 – 45 – source Wikipedia

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