| Buckle up -- the year's best meteor shower peaks on Friday
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 The Geminid meteor shower is slated to be even more impressive than this Perseid shower. (Credit: NASA/JPL) It's time to break out the blankets and troop outside of city lights -- the annual Geminid meteor shower will arrive toward the end of this week and promises to be a spectacular show. Geminid meteor showers are the most vivid of all showers -- full of fireballs and between 100 to 120 meteors per hour. They're also viewable from any point on Earth. So, remember the Perseids shower in August? This one could be even better. Most astronomers believe that the Geminid light show originates from the remnants and dust of a rocky object known as 3200 Phaethon -- rather than from comets, like most meteor showers. Every year around mid-December the Earth passes this object's debris, giving Earthlings the opportunity to witness the stunning showers. The 3200 Phaethon, which is 3.2 miles in diameter, is still a bit of a mystery to scientists. "The Geminids are my favorite because they defy explanation," NASA's ...
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| Coalition in 'little black book' row
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 The Liberal Democrats defend their record in government after PM David Cameron said he maintains a "little black book" of policy ideas they had blocked.
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| VIDEO: How is fog formed?
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 You may have noticed some foggy mornings recently but what exactly is fog and how is it formed? Phil Avery explains.
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| Steyn, Morkel rested as SA elect to bat
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 South Africa skipper AB de Villiers won the toss and decided to bat against India in the final one-day international of the three-match series on Wednesday.
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| Lloyds mis-selling scandal: Q&A
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 What were the staff incentivised to do, and who was affected? Lloyds Banking Group has been fined £28m for putting branch staff under such pressure to sell products in order to claim bonuses or avoid being demoted that they may have mis-sold them to customers. What kind of pressure were they under? Staff earned points for each policy or investment they sold, and could be automatically promoted or demoted based on their sales performance, getting a pay rise or pay cut at the same time. An adviser who didn't hit 90% of his or her target over a nine-month period could see their base annual salary drop from £33,706 to £25,927, and if they were demoted again it could drop to £18,189. Sales of insurance policies earned around double the points of sales of investments. The pressure was such that in one case an adviser sold insurance to himself, his wife and a colleague in order to hit his target and prevent himself from being demoted. What products were they selling? The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fine is ...
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| Matt Prior says that 'brutally honest' England will come out fighting at the Waca
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 The concept of "taking the positives" has become one of the most tired clichés of a defeated sportsman's interview. Today Matt Prior was honest enough to reject that phrase and admit that if England are going to redeem themselves in this Ashes series they need to be honest about their failings. The wicket-keeper also voiced his support for his captain, Alastair Cook, before the third Test, ...
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(sources)
