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Thursday, November 17, 2016

Passenger plane in 'very near miss' with drone near The Shard

A drone "narrowly avoided" crashing into a passenger plane as it flew near The Shard, it has been revealed.

The Airbus 320, which had 165 passengers on board, was making its final approach to Heathrow over central London when it was involved in a "very near miss".
The drone, described as black and about 50cm wide, was spotted from the right flight deck window at about 12.45pm on 18 July, the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) report into the incident said.
The plane was flying at an altitude of 4,900ft near the 1,016ft high skyscraper, which is the tallest building in western Europe.
The crew said the drone had "probably" passed above the right wing and the horizontal stabiliser, found on the tail of the plane.
The UKAB report said: "Members agreed that this incident appeared to be a very near-miss and that the drone operator should not have been flying in that location at that altitude."
It added that the account given of the incident "portrayed a situation where a collision had only been narrowly avoided and chance had played a major part".
It deemed the incident to be in the most serious category of risk and said the drone operator had not been traced.

MoD threatens action after WW2 war graves looted in Indonesian waters

The MoD has warned it will take action if British warships sunk off Indonesia in 1942 and considered war graves have been looted.

Three Royal Navy ships containing human remains are believed to have been illegally salvaged for scrap metal, as well as three Dutch vessels and a US submarine.
All were sunk when the Japanese defeated a joint British, American, Australian and Dutch fleet in the Battle of the Java Sea.
As many as 2,300 Allied servicemen were killed.
An expedition to document sunken ships reportedly showed that HMS Exeter and HMS Encounter had been almost totally removed form the sea bed.
Winston Churchill on board HMS Exeter in February 1940
Image Caption:Winston Churchill on board HMS Exeter in February 1940
Another destroyer, HMS Electra, had also been looted, although much of it remains.
The Dutch defence ministry has begun its own investigation into the disappearance of three of its vessels. 
The US submarine USS Perch has also been removed.
"The UK government condemns the unauthorised disturbance of any wreck containing human remains," said the MoD.
"We have contacted the Indonesian authorities to express our serious concern at this news and to request that they investigate the reports and take appropriate action to protect the sites from any further disturbance."
The MoD said international law protects war graves and it would expect them to be left undisturbed.
"Desecration of wrecks of war and merchant vessels causes distress to loved ones of those lost on board ... The desecration of a war grave is a serious offence," it said.
The MoD said it would continue to work with governments to prevent "inappropriate activity".
"A military wreck should remain undisturbed and those who lost their lives on board should be allowed to rest in peace," said the MoD.
"Where we have evidence of desecration of these sites, we will take appropriate action."

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

That ‘Unprecedented’ Sinkhole in Japan? It’s Already Fixed

That was quick, and impressive. Nearly a week after a giant sinkhole opened on a five-lane street in a southwestern Japanese city, all appears normal.
The 65-foot-deep sinkhole opened early on Nov. 8 in the business district of Fukuoka and was thought to be the result of work on an underground subway line extension. Slabs of pavement, traffic lights and utility poles were swallowed when the road caved in; some locals were evacuated; and disruptions in gas and water supplies and cell phone signals were reported, as were power cuts. Soichiro, Takashima, the city’s mayor, called the sinkhole “unprecedented.”
Within a few days, the hole was filled in with a mixture of cement and sand. According to CNN, it then took some two days to restore damaged utility lines and resurface the affected area of the road.
Takashima was quoted as saying the section of road was 30 times stronger than it had been before the collapse.
On Tuesday, pedestrians and vehicles again made use of the busy throughway.

Hillary Clinton admits she wanted to 'curl up' after election loss

Hillary Clinton has opened up about her election defeat to Donald Trump and admitted she wanted to "curl up".

She told a children's charity in Washington that the last seven days have not been easy. 
"There have been a few times this past week when all I wanted to do was just to curl up with a good book or our dogs and never leave the house again," the Democrat said.
In a speech at the annual gala of the Children's Defence Fund, she also addressed the difficulty of the loss for her supporters.
She urged them to persevere and encouraged her backers to "never, ever give up". 
"I know this isn't easy," Mrs Clinton told the audience.
"I know that over the past week a lot of people have asked themselves whether America is the country we thought it was.
"But please listen to me when I say this: America is worth it.
"It's up to each and every one of us to keep working to make America better and stronger and fairer.
"We need you. America needs your energy."
It was Mrs Clinton's first public appearance since her emotional concession speech in New York last Wednesday.
Mrs Clinton led in almost every poll before America voted Donald Trump as president. 

Police shoot 'serial killer' in chance encounter over unpaid taxi fare

Police may have unwittingly solved the mystery of a suspected serial killer after shooting dead a man who opened fire at officers in a chance encounter over an unpaid taxi fare.
 James Dale Ritchie's weapon, recovered from the scene of the shooting in Anchorage, Alaska, has been linked to at least five murders in the city this year.
The drama reportedly unfolded in the early hours on Saturday, when officers approached the 40-year-old in the street after responding to a report that a man in the area had refused to pay a taxi fare and walked away from the vehicle.
When they asked him to stop, Ritchie is said to have "unloaded" his gun multiple times on Anchorage police officer Arn Salao, who returned fire along with colleague Sergeant Marc Patzke.
Once the situation was under control the officers made attempts to save him, but he died at the scene.
It was only when ballistics tests were run on the weapon that the police department linked it to the series of murders.
Anchorage police press conference - Police Chief Chris Tolley on incident in which officer was shot multiple times. Shooter James Dale Ritchie's gun has since been linked to several unsolved murders.
Image Caption:Police Chief Chris Tolley addresses the media at a news conference
In a news conference, police chief Chris Tolley described both officers as heroes.
He said Mr Salao remained in hospital after two emergency operations, but is out of intensive care and "recovering".
Mr Tolley praised the officers, saying they had "made sure that this individual will not hurt any one of you or any one of the citizens in Anchorage".
Ritchie's gun, a Colt Python .357 revolver, was used in two double murders and in a fifth killing in the city this year, Mr Tolley said.
The bodies of the four victims of the double murders were reportedly all found along bike trails, while the fifth victim's bicycle was stolen by his killer.
At least four other people are said to have been killed under similar circumstances this year - bringing the number of related murders in the city to nine.
Anchorage is said to average about 12 murders a year, but has already seen 25 so far in 2016.
Prior to the discovery of Ritchie's gun, authorities had remained tight-lipped about the high number of unsolved murders, according to the Alaska Dispatch News.
This was despite the involvement of the FBI, a warning to residents to steer clear of isolated area and widespread rumours a serial killer was on the loose, it added.
Police have stressed the investigation is still in its early stages and that they have not definitively linked Ritchie to any of the deaths, NBC reported.
However, they said his driving licence picture closely resembled a composite sketch of the suspect in at least one of the earlier murders.

Kids are switching off the telly and heading online, report says

British children are now spending longer online than they do watching TV for the first time, according to official figures.
On average, schoolkids aged between five and 15 are online for about 15 hours each week - an hour and 18 minutes more than last year.
That is bad news for the old-fashioned telly, with viewing times tumbling to 13 hours and 36 minutes a week - a decrease of an hour and 14 minutes.
Stay-at-home father and author of Dad Rules, Andrew Clover, said of the data: "I don't think it is a wholly positive thing.
"I certainly would much rather they were out climbing trees, flying kites, riding horses and being children," he told Sky News.

Carrie Fisher says she had affair with Harrison Ford on Star Wars set

Carrie Fisher has claimed she had a secret three-month affair with Harrison Ford while filming the original Star Wars.
The actress - who plays Princess Leia - goes public on the whirlwind romance in a new book based on journals she kept while on set in London in 1976.
Fisher was 19 at the time of the fling, while Ford - Han Solo in the films - was a 33-year-old married father of two.
She told People magazine: "It was so intense. It was Han and Leia during the week and Carrie and Harrison during the weekend."