Israel successfully launched into space Wednesday a new nanosatellite, the first for Israeli academia, that will conduct scientific missions for Ben Gurion University of the Negev.
BGUSAT is the result of a five-year joint project between BGU, Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) and Israel’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Space.
The satellite, 10x10x30 centimeters (4x4x12 inches) — a little larger than a milk carton — and weighing just five kilograms (11 lbs), is outfitted with innovative cameras that can photograph a large array of weather phenomena and a guidance system that allows operators to choose the areas to research through a dedicated ground station at BGU. Researchers will be able to position the satellite to take a variety of pictures from different angles.
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Installing the satellite dish that will receive the data transmitted from BGUSAT and send it to the ground station at Ben-Gurion University’s Earth and Planetary Image Facility, March 2016. (Dani Machlis/BGU)
The sudden death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s half-brother was murder, South Korean officials announced Wednesday.
Kim Jong Nam died Monday soon after becoming ill at Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) before an outbound flight to Macau.
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Lee Cheol Woo, chairman of South Korea’s National Assembly Intelligence Committee, told a press briefing Wednesday that Kim had been poisoned, and the suspects were “presumed to be two Asian females.”
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It’s not clear how he obtained that information or how Kim was poisoned.
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South Korea’s Unification Ministry told CNN they were working with Malaysian authorities to get additional information.
The Defense Department might propose that the US send conventional ground combat forces into northern Syria for the first time to speed up the fight against ISIS, CNN has learned.
“It’s possible that you may see conventional forces hit the ground in Syria for some period of time,” one defense official told CNN.
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But the official emphasized that any decision is ultimately up to President Donald Trump, who has ordered his defense secretary to come up with a proposal to combat ISIS before the end of the month.
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The move would significantly alter US military operations in Syria if approved and could put troops on the ground within weeks.
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Until now, only small teams made up largely of Special Operations forces have operated in Syria, providing training and assistance to anti-ISIS opposition groups on the ground.
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Conventional units operate in larger numbers and would require a more significant footprint of security protection both on the ground and in the air.
This is Devin again and I have a lot of juicy stuff for you all out there.
The NBA is getting even more interesting because the Cavaliers are dominating. The Cavs and the Warriors have the best records in the NBA and everything is working out the way I want. LeBron James versus Kevin Durant in the 2017 NBA Finals was always meant to be and it looks like it’s going to happen. No teams are a match for these unstoppable forces except for maybe the Spurs, Rockets, or the Clippers. Otherwise, they’re unbeatable because these teams are dominant offensively and defensively. The one difference between the Cavs and the Warriors is that if the Cavs win, then they’re champions. However, if the Warriors win, it doesn’t mean anything because Kevin Durant is a team member. Kevin Durant joined a team that had the best shooters in the NBA, so it’s not as much of a milestone for the Warriors who have a huge advantage right now.
Overall, this is exciting because the two best players will be on opposing teams in the NBA Finals.
For the last few months, Alec Baldwin has been putting in a ton of work as “Saturday Night Live’s” designated Donald Trump impersonator. In this digital short, though, Leslie Jones wonders if Baldwin can really stick around to caricature Trump for the next four years; he’s a busy guy after all. “SNL” has to have someone to play the president in their sketches, so if Baldwin isn’t available, Jones decides that she’s best suited to take up the mantle (and the hair).
Jones puts in the time to master her impression, and then the “SNL” makeup wizards go to work. Seeing Jones with Trump hair is a riot, though “SNL” producer Lorne Michaels is less than impressed. Jones also has to compete for the Trump spot with Vanessa Bayer; it seems that once Melissa McCarthy started crossdressing as Sean Spicer, other “SNL” players saw new opportunities on the horizon.
Embattled White House national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned Monday night, an abrupt end to a brief tenure.
His departure came just after reports surfaced that the Justice Department warned the Trump administration last month that Flynn misled administration officials regarding his communications with the Russian ambassador to the United States and was potentially vulnerable to blackmail by the Russians.
“I inadvertently briefed the Vice President-elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian ambassador. I have sincerely apologized to the President and the Vice President, and they have accepted my apology,” Flynn wrote, according to a copy of his resignation letter obtained by CNN.
Adele swept the top honors at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, but the night was shared with Beyoncé.
Adele went home with five total awards, including album of the year for “25.”
Beyoncé won two, including best music video for “Formation” and best urban contemporary album for “Lemonade.”
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The two superstars each provided stellar performances.
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Beyoncé, who recently announced she’s expecting twins, reminded everyone why her nickname is Queen Bey with a powerful medley of “Love Drought” and “Sandcastles.” The nine-minute set was a celebration of women and motherhood.
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Adele opened the show with her hit “Hello.” She later performed a slowed arrangement of George Michael’s “Fastlove” in tribute to the singer, who died on Christmas Day.
Al Jarreau, the jazz-pop musician best known for the hits “Breakin’ Away,” “We’re in This Love Together” and the theme song to the popular 1980’s TV show, “Moonlighting,” died Sunday, according to posts on his verified social media accounts. He was 76.
Jarreau died about 9 a.m. ET in Los Angeles surrounded by his wife, son and a few friends, according to posts on his Facebook page and Twitter account.
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Nicknamed the “Acrobat of Scat” for his innovative vocal stylings, Jarreau was one of the few performers of his day who successfully bridged pop, jazz and R&B. He released more than 20 albums over his storied career, won seven Grammy Awards and remained a tireless performer right up until his death.
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He had only retired from touring last week. A February 8 statement on Jarreau’s Twitter account announced his retirement from touring after being hospitalized in Los Angeles for exhaustion.
A son of Jerry Sandusky, the former Pennsylvania State University football coach convicted of sexually assaulting young boys, was himself arrested on Monday on child sex abuse charges.
The son, Jeffrey S. Sandusky, 41, faces 14 criminal counts in Centre County, Pa., including criminal solicitation, sexual abuse, child pornography and corruption of minors for alleged crimes in 2013 and 2016, court records show. Prosecutors said at least one of his victims — reportedly two teenage girls — was younger than 16 at the time of the abuse.
According to an affidavit posted online by USA Today, investigators found that Mr. Sandusky exchanged sexually charged text messages with one of his victims. The affidavit said that Mr. Sandusky said that what he had done was “not weird” because he studied medicine. Some details of alleged encounters were redacted, though the allegations include statutory sexual assault and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.
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Jeffrey S. Sandusky, above, supported his father, Jerry, when he was on trial for child sexual abuse.Credit Centre County Correctional Facility, via Associated Press
In the world, human beings are facing various problems. People who are full of greed, anger, and ignorance are seen to be fighting with each other in words and deeds. As the fighting continues, various problems such as civil wars, wars of aggression, and wars of aggression are occurring. As world peace is being destroyed, humans are facing unbearable problems. Innocent children and women are not getting the rights they deserve and deserve. I can't think of one thing every time. What is it? The United Nations. If we look at the responsibilities and duties of the United Nations, I think it is not suitable for solving the problems that are happening in the world today. In fact, the United Nations and the World Security Council, such an organization must rule the world, must be able to give orders, and must have various ways to obey orders. There must be no organization that can influence more than that organization. There should be experts from each country. They can even dominate the superpowers like the US, China, and Britain. Only then will global peace be achieved quickly. Now, if a country with power develops more militarily, economically, or socially than its own country, then powerful countries will jealously seek out enemies and wage war. Or they will attack with fighter jets. In this, innocent people are losing their lives. No one understands the value of a life. You should think about how to achieve global peace by controlling these. If the US continues to be the permanent president of the UN, world peace will never be achieved. If you think carefully, no one sees that they are working for the common good, but for their own benefit, for the benefit of their own country. The permanent president of the UN and the Security Council has rejected this, As a young Rohingya, I have come to realize that only by electing the president and secretary from among the countries in the world through a secret ballot system and governing the world fairly can we achieve global peace. The United Nations and the Security Council are organizations in which any country must govern, give orders, and make them obey their orders. For example, only when a defendant is tried in court can we hold the leaders of the countries in check and control them, can we achieve global peace smoothly. Otherwise, it will not be easy for powerful countries to use various excuses to end this war every year, every year, for the benefit of themselves and their countries. No country's leaders pay any attention to the words of the United Nations and the Security Council. If we look at it in practice, look at the Rohingya issue. Myanmar is a small country. Even that country has been under siege for 8 years. What action can be taken? Why is the UN and the Security Council Powerless? Without such Power, how can the organization bring about global peace? Everyone should think about it. Whether there is a veto or a strong one, all countries in the world can only achieve global peace if they are subject to the UN and the Security Council. Seek peace in the quiet embrace of nature. Peace is an indispensable need of the human race. It is not as if one person can kill another person, and it is as if one country can attack another country, but instead of trying to build peace, we must try to destroy the peace now, and the world is getting hotter and is on the verge of collapse. I especially appeal to all the world experts to urgently try to bring about peace in all parts of the world. Mr, Noor Muhamed Arkhan Rohingya Youth Myanmar
Film and Writing Festival for Comedy. Showcasing best of comedy short films at the FEEDBACK Film Festival. Plus, showcasing best of comedy novels, short stories, poems, screenplays (TV, short, feature) at the festival performed by professional actors.
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