Van Allen Probe A, a 1,300-pound (600 kg) NASA satellite launched in 2012 to study Earth's radiation belts, is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere this week. While most of it is expected to burn up during descent, "some components may survive," reports the BBC. "The space agency said there is a one in 4,200 chance of being harmed by a piece of the probe, which it characterized as 'low' risk." From the report: The spacecraft is projected to re-enter around 19:45 EST (00:45 GMT) on Tuesday the U.S. Space Force predicted, according to Nasa, though there is a 24-hour margin of "uncertainty" in the timing. [...] The spacecraft and its twin, Van Allen Probe B, were on a mission to gather unprecedented data on Earth's two permanent radiation belts. It was not immediately clear where in Earth's atmosphere the satellite is projected to re-enter. NASA and the U.S. Space Force has said it will monitor the re-entry and update any predictions. [...] Van Allen Probe B is not expected to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere before 2030.
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BRUSSEL (ANP) - Een aantal Belgische organisaties houdt op dinsdag 12 mei in eigen land een alternatief songfestival als reactie op de deelname van Israël aan het Eurovisie Songfestival. Het evenement heet United for Palestine en heeft enkele oud-songfestivaldeelnemers op het affiche staan, melden Belgische media.
Onder anderen voormalig songfestivalkandidaat Gustaph, die in 2023 meedeed namens België, en Hooverphonic-zangeres Geike Arnaert (songfestivaldeelnemer in 2021) doen mee. Ook treden andere Belgische artiesten als Daan en Zap Mama op tijdens het alternatieve songfestival.
"Als het officiële festival geen rode lijn trekt, bouwen wij zelf een ander podium", zegt actrice Katrien De Ruysscher namens de organisatoren. Op de dag van het alternatieve songfestival strijden België en Israël in Wenen in de eerste halve finale om een plek in de eindstrijd.
TOKIO (ANP/BLOOMBERG) - Nintendo was woensdag een grote winnaar op de beurs in Japan dankzij het succes van de nieuwste game van Pokémon. Dat spel, genaamd Pokémon Pokopia, zou de verkoop van Nintendo's nieuwste console, de Switch 2, ook kunnen aanjagen, denken kenners.
De beurswaarde van Nintendo ging bijna 9 procent omhoog. De koersstijging komt doordat fysieke exemplaren van Pokémon Pokopia, dat op 5 maart werd uitgebracht, bij verschillende grote retailers in de Verenigde Staten al zijn uitverkocht.
Volgens een analist van de firma Jefferies neemt de populariteit van spelcomputer Switch 2 ook toe. Dat kan Nintendo helpen om de stijgende kosten van geheugenchips te compenseren. Door zorgen daarover daalde de beurswaarde eerder flink.
Volgens een deskundige bij Toyo Securities lijkt Pokémon Pokopia op Animal Crossing. Dat spel, waarin de gamers ook een eigen wereldje opbouwen, werd tijdens de coronapandemie een wereldwijde hit en was een belangrijke aanjager van de verkopen van de voorganger van Nintendo's eerste Switch-console.
It may not be in pole position, but Brad Pitt and director Joseph Kosinski’s sleek, technically inventive ode to motor racing definitely qualifies for the Academy podium
Could, should, would F1 the Movie win the best picture Oscar? Well, we have to be realistic here: F1 is currently a massive outsider, at 200-1 along with The Secret Agent, which has no chance either but for very different reasons. It’s not hard to see why: this is a swaggeringly mainstream film, where tech and branding dwarf the human input, with the film itself acting as a front-end battering ram for a sports organisation desperate to break into the promised land of the US auto racing circuit. (I mean it’s right there in the title.) So even the most reactionary, conservative Academy voter is going to find it hard to mark F1 with their tick. So no, I don’t think it could win.
That’s not to say F1 doesn’t have quite a bit going for it. The Oscars, as we know, have historically had a problem with so-called “popular” films; Oppenheimer, in 2024, was the first best picture winner in two decades to finish in the Top 10 box office of the year. Whether or not that is a reflection of Hollywood itself, which since the mid-00s has concentrated its money and marketing into increasingly elaborate FX films to the detriment of drama and performance, is a question expanded on endlessly elsewhere. Suffice to say, F1 is definitely in that league, though not actually Top 10 (14th in the North American list for 2025); its ownership by Apple TV+ may have complicated things, denting its impact as a movie theatre spectacle.
Continue reading...The Tehran regime has weaponised geography in retaliation for the attacks by the US and Israel
Global oil markets have recorded some of the biggest price swings in history this week after the US-Israeli war with Iran throttled the flow of Middle Eastern crude through the strait of Hormuz.
The narrow waterway south of Iran is one of the world’s most important trade arteries, through which a fifth of global oil and seaborne gas is shipped from production facilities and refineries in the Gulf to buyers around the world.
Continue reading...Plus: privately-educated players, surviving despite away-day woes; and the trophy-less 1909 Scottish Cup
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“Are the 23 red cards shown in the game between Brazilian clubs Cruzeiro and Atlético Mineiro in the Campeonato Mineiro final a record?” asks Tom Reed.
In case you missed it, the Campeonato Mineiro final descended/ascended into a festival of hand-throwing. Cruzeiro won the football match 1-0 and the red card contest 12-11. We had a similar question back in 2002, when the world record was 20 in a Paraguayan league match between Sportivo Ameliano and General Caballero. But modern life is febrile, and that record was obliterated by events in Claypole, Argentina, in February 2011. Don’t take our word for it, read this excerpt from Guinness World Records:
The highest reported number of players sent off in a single football match is 36 in the Argentine Primera D game between Club Atlético Claypole and Victoriano Arenas refereed by Damián Rubino (Argentina) at the Estadio Rodolfo Capocasa, Claypole, Argentina, on 27 February 2011. All 18 players on each side (11 on-field players and seven substitutes) were sent off following what the referee described in his post-match report as a ‘Generalised Brawl’ that seemed to have been the result of a series of confrontations and heavy tackles that had taken place throughout the feisty encounter. The game was the 23rd round of matches in the Primera D, the fifth tier of Argentine football, in what was in theory a regulation league match, there was no historic rivalry between the sides.
Over the course of a 20-year playing career from 1995 to 2015, Gerardo ‘the Beast’ Bedoya (Colombia) was sent off 46 times. The tough-tackling defender/defensive midfielder earned 49 caps for his national team. On 24 March 2016, Bedoya made his debut as a coach of Colombian side Independiente Santa Fe during their match against Atlético Junior, and was sent off after 21 minutes for berating the officials.
Continue reading...US tour holds upper hand as deal with European counterpart is up for renegotiation, though LIV and its backers will be watching with interest
What price a strategic alliance? The golf world might just be about to find out as the PGA Tour considers its partnership with the DP World Tour.
A little-known element of the updated deal between the PGA and DP World Tours from 2022 – at a time when LIV disruption was in full flow – relates to a break clause. While the contract in theory runs until 2035, the strategic alliance can end in 2027. There is no present, strong sense of the agreement being curtailed but it is clear the PGA Tour wants at least a renegotiation before taking up their extension option.
Continue reading...Coach says his club are always favourites as he prepares to cross swords with Manchester City in the Champions League knockout stages for fifth year in a row
This is Real Madrid. We know this because Álvaro Arbeloa keeps saying so. At the start of another press conference, his 25th since being promoted from the B team two months ago and the last before facing Manchester City, the club man who became the club manager was reminded of something he had said after beating Monaco. That night, he was told, you claimed that Madrid are always favourites. So, came the inevitable follow-up, the “even” left unsaid but hanging heavy: “Now are you favourites?”
There was a familiar look, the hint of a smirk, and a familiar answer too. “If I said Madrid are always favourites, that’s what I think,” Arbeloa replied. “We are Real Madrid. We never feel less than anyone, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of who we have in front of us. We’re Real Madrid, we shouldn’t feel inferior. We know our opponents, how good City are – champions two years ago – and how difficult it will be, but we go into it with enthusiasm, looking them in the eyes.”
Continue reading...The new president won office by promising to clean up crime, but his background is red rag to a bull for many
Just south of Santiago, the tiny rural town of Paine is a quiet grid of painted abode facades, shaded squares and shuttered shop fronts as the summer holidays draw to a close.
But the white-knuckle fear of crime that propelled its most famous son, José Antonio Kast, to a resounding victory in December’s presidential election is as present in sleepy Paine as it is the length of Chile.
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