The World’s Largest Airlines

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The world’s largest airlines can be defined in several ways. American Airlines Group is the largest by its fleet size, revenue, profit, passengers carried and revenue passenger mile. Delta Air Lines is the largest by assets value and market capitalization. Lufthansa Group is the largest by number of employees, FedEx Express by freight tonne-kilometers, Ryanair by number of international passengers carried and Turkish Airlines by number of countries served.

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By Passengers carried (thousands)

Rank Airline 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
1 United States American Airlines 146,530 87,830 86,823 86,335 86,042
2 United States Southwest Airlines 144,575 129,087 115,323 112,234 110,587
3 United States Delta Air Lines 138,842 129,433 120,636 116,726 113,731
4 China China Southern Airlines 109,301 100,683 91,504 86,277 80,545
5 Republic of Ireland Ryanair 101,401 86,370 81,395 79,649 76,422
6 United States United Airlines 95,384 90,439 90,161 92,619 50,473
7 China China Eastern Airlines 75,139 66,174 62,653 79,611
8 United Kingdom Easyjet 70,232 62,309 58,410
9 Turkey Turkish Airlines 60 198
10 China Air China 58,661 54,674
Germany Lufthansa 59,850 63,273 64,393 63,012

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By scheduled passenger-kilometres flown (millions)

Rank Airline 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
1 United States American Airlines 320,813 208,046 206,551 203,336 203,485
2 United States Delta Air Lines 302,512 290,862 277,560 271,567 269,724
3 United States United Airlines 294,970 287,547 286,802 288,282 160,270
4 United Arab Emirates Emirates 251,190 230,855 209,377 180,880 153,264
5 China China Southern Airlines 189,186 166,074 147,841 135,021 121,944
6 United States Southwest Airlines 189,097 162,445 145,124 137,708 134,918
7 Germany Lufthansa 145,904 143,403 144,236 142,512 140,972
8 United Kingdom British Airways 140,780 137,204 130,129 124,318 116,864
9 France Air France 139,217 134,528 136,405 135,821 133,035
10 Republic of Ireland Ryanair 125,194

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By scheduled freight tonne-kilometres (millions)

Rank Airline 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
1 United States FedEx Express 15,799 16,020 16,127 16,108 15,939
2 United Arab Emirates Emirates SkyCargo 12,157 11,240 10,459 9,319 8,132
3 United States UPS Airlines 10,807 10,936 10,584 10,416 10,566
4 Hong Kong Cathay Pacific Cargo 9,935 9,464 8,241 8,433 9,109
5 South Korea Korean Air Cargo 7,761 8,079 7,666 8,144 8,974
6 Qatar Qatar Airways Cargo 7,660 5,997 4,972
7 Germany Lufthansa Cargo 6,888 7,054 7,218 7,175 7,674
8 Luxembourg Cargolux 6,309 5,753 5,225
9 Singapore Singapore Airlines Cargo 6,083 6,019 6,240 6,694 7,118
10 China Air China Cargo 5,718
Taiwan China Airlines Cargo 5,266 4,813 4,538 5,411

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By fleet size

Rank Airline Fleet (June 2016)
1 United States American Airlines 1,789
2 United States Delta Air Lines 1,330
3 United States United Airlines 1,229
4 United States Southwest Airlines 720
5 United States FedEx Express 688
6 China China Southern Airlines 515
7 China China Eastern Airlines 429
8 Canada Air Canada 404
9 China Air China 384
10 Republic of Ireland Ryanair 349

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World War II Photos Then and Now

June 1944: Boats full of US troops wait to leave Weymouth to take part in Operation Overlord. 5 April 2014: A view of the harbour of the English town today. This location was used as a launching place for Allied troops participating in the invasion of Nazi-occupied France on D-day.

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May 1944: Ammunition stored in the town square of Moreton-in-Marsh shortly before D-day. 12 May 2014: A view of the high street in the English town today.

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June 1944: American craft of all styles pictured at Omaha Beach, Normandy, during the first stages of the Allied invasion. 7 May 2014: A view of the beach near Colleville-sur-Mer, France.

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6 June 1944: Royal Marine Commandos of Headquarters, 4th Special Service Brigade, make their way from LCI(S) (Landing Craft Infantry Small) onto ‘Nan Red’ Beach at Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer. 6 May 2014: A view of the sea in the Juno beach area today.

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6 June 1944: Troops of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division land at Juno Beach on the outskirts of Bernières-sur-Mer on D-day. 5 May 2014: A view of the seafront and beach in Normandy today. 340 Canadian soldiers lost their lives in the battle for the beachhead.

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1944: A French armoured column passing through Sainte-Mère-Église receives a warm welcome from its inhabitants. 7 May 2014: A view of the high street today.

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12 June 1944: A group of American soldiers stand in the village of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, which was liberated by paratroopers of the 501st and 506th Regiments of the 101st Airborne Division. 7 May 2014: A view of the old village fountain today.

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6 June 1944: A Canadian soldier directs traffic in Bernières-sur-Mer. 14,000 Canadian soldiers had landed at nearby Juno Beach. 5 May 2014: A view of Notre-Dame Nativity church today.

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July 1944: United States Army trucks and jeeps drive through the ruins of Saint-Lo. 7 May 2014: A view of the roadway in the town today. Saint-Lo was almost totally destroyed by 2,000 Allied bombers when they attacked German troops stationed there during Operation Overlord.

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6 June 1944: A Canadian soldier stands at the head of a group of German prisoners of war, including two officers, on Juno Beach, Normandy. 8 May 2014: A view of the beach in Bernières-sur-Mer in Normandy today.

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Five Secret Military Accidents

Among the incidents on the list is the 1994 crash of a secret American aircraft near a British Air Force base.
Although some locals managed to catch tantalizing glimpses of the downed craft, special forces were called in to guard the wreckage until it could be spirited away by American officials.
Although that event did not cause any injuries, the same cannot be said for another troubling accident detailed in the video: the ‘biological Chernobyl’ that erupted from a Russian chemical weapons facility in 1979.
While developing a deadly bacteria, the plant inadvertently released anthrax dust into the local atmosphere, killing 75 workers at a nearby ceramics factory.
Of course, the KGB made sure that all evidence of the malfeasance was quickly destroyed and the true nature of the event only came to light many years later.
A similar incident occurred in 1992 when a plane carrying Israeli military equipment crashed into an apartment building in Amsterdam.
When residents of the complex started becoming sick with mysterious illnesses, authorities attempted to determine what on the plane may have cause the odd outbreak and turned to the Israeli government for answers.
However, their role in the flight remained shrouded in secrecy until six years later when they conceded that the plane had been transporting chemicals used for making Sarin nerve gas.

Record radiation level detected inside damaged Fukushima reactor

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Japan Today

TOKYO —A record radiation level has been detected inside the No. 2 reactor at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, with the estimated reading of up to 530 sieverts per hour, the plant operator said Thursday.

The reading means a person could die from even brief exposure, highlighting the difficulties ahead as the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. grope their way toward dismantling all three reactors that melted down in the March 2011 nuclear disaster.

The plant operator also announced that based on an image analysis, a 1-square-meter hole has been found on a metal grating beneath the reactor pressure vessel, likely caused by melted nuclear fuel that fell through the vessel.

The new radiation level, described by some experts as “unimaginable,” far exceeds 73 sieverts per hour, the previously highest radiation reading monitored in the interior of the reactor.

An official of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences said medical professionals have never considered dealing with this level of radiation in their work.

According to TEPCO, the extremely high radiation level was detected inside the containment vessel, in the space around 2.3 meters away from the base of the reactor pressure vessel.

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According to the institute, 4 sieverts of radiation exposure would kill one in two people.

Experts say 1,000 millisieverts, which equals 1 sievert, could lead to infertility, loss of hair and cataracts, while exposure to radiation doses above 100 millisieverts increases the risk of cancer.

The latest discovery spells difficulty in removing the fuel debris as part of decommissioning work at the plant. The government and TEPCO hope to locate the fuel and start removing it from a first reactor in 2021.

The debris is believed to have been created as nuclear fuel inside the reactor pressure vessel overheated and melted due to the loss of reactor cooling functions.

In the coming weeks, the plant operator plans to deploy a remote-controlled robot to check conditions inside the containment vessel, but the utility is likely to have to change its plan.

For one thing, it will have to reconsider the route the robot is to take to probe the interior because of the hole found on the grating.

Also, given the extraordinary level of radiation inside the containment vessel, the robot would only be able to operate for less than two hours before it is destroyed.

That is because the robot is designed to withstand exposure to a total of up to 1,000 sieverts of radiation. Based on the calculation of 73 sieverts per hour, the robot could have operated for more than 10 hours, but 530 sieverts per hour means the robot would be rendered inoperable in less than two hours.

The latest analysis follows TEPCO’s discovery Monday of a black mass deposited on the grating directly beneath the pressure vessel, possibly melted fuel after the unit suffered a meltdown along with two other reactors at the six-reactor plant.

Images captured using a camera attached to a telescopic arm on Monday also showed part of the grating has gone.

If the deposits are confirmed as fuel debris, it would be the first time the utility has found any at the three units that suffered meltdowns.

Following the world’s worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe, the plant’s No. 1 to 3 reactors suffered fuel meltdowns.

Portions of the fuel in the reactors are believed to have accumulated at the bottom of the containment vessels. But the actual condition of the melted fuel remains unknown due to high radiation levels.

Abandoned store near Fukushima

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John Hurt and the Alien Legacy

Sir John Vincent Hurt, CBE (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned six decades. He initially came to prominence for his supporting role as Richard Rich in the film A Man for All Seasons (1966). After this, he played leading roles as John Merrick in David Lynch’s biopic The Elephant Man (1980), Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), Mr. Braddock in the Stephen Frears drama The Hit (1984) and Stephen Ward in the drama depicting the Profumo affair, Scandal (1989). He is also known for his television roles such as Quentin Crisp in the television film The Naked Civil Servant (1975), Caligula in I, Claudius (1976) and the War Doctor in Doctor Who.

Hurt’s other films include the prison drama Midnight Express (1978), the science-fiction horror film Alien (1979), the adventure film Rob Roy (1995), the political thriller V for Vendetta (2006), the supernatural thriller The Skeleton Key (2005), the sci-fi adventure film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), the Harry Potter film series (2001–11), the Hellboy films (2004 and 2008) and the Cold War espionage film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011). His character’s final scene in Alien has been named by a number of publications as one of the most memorable in cinematic history.

And it didn’t end there!

Eerie Demon Hotel Reverberations

For many decades the apartment building at 44 Hargrave Street in Winnipeg stood; the last decade, as an abandoned husk. Only local legends and street gossip hinted at strange occurrences that may have happened behind the eerie brick facade. However, after it was no longer a place for “human” tenants, some say the old abandoned brick edifice became a haunt for other types of tenants. Besides scurrying rats, cockroaches and crazed derelict squatters, downtown residents have reported tales of stranger occupants in the macabre location. From ghostly faces, demonic entities, hair-raising screams and other paranormal monstrosities, the Demon Hotel was a place to avoid, only to be approached by the bravest and most audacious souls.

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Devilish apparitions were photographed

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Then on April 6, 2015 the haunted hotel of downtown Winnipeg went up in flames. Blamed on teenage vandals, many have wondered whether paranormal forces were involved in any way. Some secretly welcomed the incident, hoping the cleansing flames may have at last exorcised the supernatural evil possessing the haunted halls. Others however, openly speculated that the destruction of the building by fire merely dispersed angry spirits into the neighbourhood, or perhaps even locked the unearthly forces into the ruins of the site, creating a zone of evil.

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Hellish entity spotted during the raging fire

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Now the site is an empty lot. Some people park cars there, at their own risk. No plans so far to rebuild on the cursed site.

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However, just in the last little while, reports have surfaced of strange and ghastly manifestations occurring on the site.  Onto the case comes intrepid paranormal investigator Dean Grimchuck.

Dean has been investigating the weird and terrifying most of his adult life. His premature grey hair is testament to that. He has crawled through haunted sewer holes, searched spider web infested attics and maneuvered inside demon possessed bedrooms. He is the preeminent paranormal investigator in Manitoba. His ghostly books are read by the likes of George Noory and Alex Jones.

That being said, Mr. Grimchuck took notice of the new activity at the Demon Hotel site. Reports were that phantasms were appearing. It was also purported that nightmarish nonhuman screams were waking up residents near the site. Grimchuck set up a motion camera across the street. He recently provided the anomalous photos to MarkoZen.

The photos.

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Then the camera picked up major strangeness:

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It gets crazier…

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The camera was checked for malfunctions, it was in perfect working order.

What the …

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It seems to be trying to regurgitate something!

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God help us all!!

To be continued…

Crazy Things You can Bet on before Super Bowl LI

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CBS Sports

Entertainment props

What will Luke Bryan be wearing when he starts singing the U.S. national anthem? (Bovada)

  • Blue Jeans 1/2
  • Any other pants or shorts 3/2

 

How many times will Trump be said on TV during broadcast?

  • Over/Under 1½

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Will “Houston, we have a problem” be said on TV during live broadcast? (Bovada)

  • Yes 5/2
  • No 1/4

 

What color will Lady Gaga’s hair be when she comes on stage for the halftime show? (Bovada)

  • Blonde 1/4
  • Any other Color 5/2

FAMEFLYNET - Lady Gaga Heads To The Box In London Wearing A Chainmail See Through Dress

Which song will Lady Gaga play first during the halftime show? (Bovada)

  • “Born this Way 9/4
  • “Bad Romance” 5/2
  • “Edge of Glory” 6/1
  • “Poker Face” 10/1
  • “Just Dance” 10/1
  • “Any other song” 11/10

 

Will either team make a field goal in the first quarter? (Westgate)

  • Yes -120
  • No Even

Will either team score three straight times? (Westgate)

  • Yes -190
  • No +170

 

Will the opening kickoff result in a touchback? (Bovada)

  • Yes -200 (1/2)
  • No +160 (8/5)

 

Will there be a penalty for excessive celebration? (Bovada)

  • Yes 5/2
  • No 1/4

 

Bill Belichick’s hoodie color

  • Blue
  • Grey
  • Red
  • Any other colour

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Victory Gatorade colour

  • Orange
  • Blue
  • Water
  • None

For all you betters out there, don’t get carried away, we know how a betting addiction can take off:

Battle of Mosul continues

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The Battle of Mosul is a joint offensive by Iraqi government forces with allied militias, Iraqi Kurdistan, and international forces to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The offensive, dubbed Operation “We Are Coming, Nineveh” (قادمون يا نينوى; Qadimun Ya Naynawa), began on 16 October 2016, with forces besieging ISIL-controlled areas in the Nineveh Governorate surrounding Mosul. The battle for Mosul is considered key in the military intervention against ISIL, which seized the city in June 2014. Outnumbering ISIL forces 10 to 1, it is the largest deployment of Iraqi troops since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The operation follows the Mosul offensives in 2015 and 2016. The offensive began with Iraqi troops and Peshmerga fighters engaging ISIL on three fronts outside Mosul, going from village to village in the surrounding area. More than 120 towns and villages were liberated from ISIL control in the first two weeks of fighting. At dawn on 1 November, Iraqi Special Operations Forces entered the city on the eastern front. Meeting with fierce fighting, the Iraqi advance into the city was slowed by elaborate defenses – including road blocks, booby traps, suicide bombers and snipers – and by the presence of civilians.
The Battle of Mosul is concurrent with the Battle of al-Bab by the Turkish-led FSA forces, and the Raqqa offensive by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on ISIL’s capital city and stronghold in Syria.

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Red: Iraqi government control

Gray: ISIS control

Yellow: Kurdish control

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Iraqi army liberators

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Christian areas liberated

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Tough fight continues…

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Coalition airstrikes major component of the battle.

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