CaaC (John)

Bury FC: Anger and tears at League One club before EFL decision Fan protests stepped up on Wednesday at Bury's Gigg Lane stadium A coffin with 'RIP Bury FC 1885-?' painted on it leans against a wall. Just a few metres away, a woman stands handcuffed to a drainpipe. Bury Football Club is 134 years old. In less than 134 hours, it could be no more. With the club in financial turmoil, and six successive fixtures cancelled so far this season, the Shakers could be expelled from the English Football League. It is the nightmare scenario for the club's fans and the town. FULL REPORT

Loch Ness Monster: 'Plausible theory' for Nessie An international team of scientists say they have identified a plausible theory for sightings of the Loch Ness Monster. The team took 250 water samples at various depths throughout the loch last year, collecting all forms of environmental DNA for further analysis. While they did not come face to face with Nessie, the scientists say they have a biological explanation for her. The team will announce the results of their studies next month. Warning over 'Storm Loch Ness' monster hunt Nessie 'not encountered' by a research team What happens if Nessie is found? Monster of a loch New Zealand's University of Otago has led the work aimed at cataloguing all current life in Loch Ness, including plants, insects, fish and mammals. The DNA from the water samples was extracted and sequenced, resulting in about 500 million sequences that have now been analysed against existing databases. Geneticist Prof Neil Gemmell said: "There have been over a thousand reported sightings of something in Loch Ness which have driven this notion of a monster being in the water. "From those sightings, there are around four main explanations about what has been seen. "Our research essentially discounts most of those theories, however, one theory remains plausible." This theory along with the full results of the investigation will be revealed at an event in Drumnadrochit. The Loch Ness Monster is one of Scotland's oldest and most enduring myths. It inspires books, TV shows and films, and sustains a major tourism industry around its home. The story of the monster can be traced back 1,500 years when Irish missionary St Columba is said to have encountered a beast in the River Ness in 565AD. Later, in the 1930s, The Inverness Courier reported the first modern sighting of Nessie. In 1933, the newspaper's Fort Augustus correspondent, Alec Campbell, reported a sighting by Aldie Mackay of what she believed to be Nessie. Mr Campbell's report described a whale-like creature and the loch's water "cascading and churning". The editor at the time, Evan Barron, suggested the beast be described as a "monster", kick-starting the modern myth of the Loch Ness Monster. Gary Campbell, the keeper of a register of Nessie sightings, receives, on average, 10 reports a year of something unexplained being spotted in the loch's waters. Given that more than 400,000 people visit Loch Ness every year, Mr Campbell said seeing something was "pretty rare". But he has long believed that eventually, science will reveal a cause for the sightings. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-49419989

Titanic sub dive reveals parts are being lost to the sea BBC VIDEO The first people to dive down to the Titanic in nearly 15 years say some of the wreck is deteriorating rapidly. Over the course of five submersible dives, an international team of deep-sea explorers surveyed the sunken ship, which lies 3,800m down in the Atlantic. While parts of the wreck were in surprisingly good condition, other features had been lost to the sea. The worst decay was seen on the starboard side of the officers' quarters. Titanic historian Parks Stephenson said some of what he saw during the dive was "shocking". "The captain's bathtub is a favourite image among Titanic enthusiasts - and that's now gone," he said. "That whole deckhouse on that side is collapsing, taking with it the staterooms. And that deterioration is going to continue advancing." He said the sloping lounge roof of the bow section would probably be the next part to be lost, obscuring views of the ship's interior. "Titanic is returning to nature," he added. Strong ocean currents, salt corrosion and metal-eating bacteria are attacking the ship. The RMS Titanic has been underwater for more than 100 years, lying about 600km (370 miles) off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The passenger liner, which was the largest ship of its time, hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1912. Of the 2,200 passengers and crew on board, more than 1,500 died. The Titanic expedition was carried out by the same team that recently made the deepest-ever plunge to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, which lies nearly 12km down the Pacific Ocean. The dives took place in a 4.6m-long, 3.7m-high submersible - called the DSV Limiting Factor - which was built by the US-based company Triton Submarines. Navigating the sub around the wreck, which lies in two main pieces about 600m apart, was challenging. Bad weather in the Atlantic and strong underwater currents made the dives difficult. Getting entangled with the wreck was also a significant risk for the team. A history of Titanic exploration 1985 - Titanic site discovered by American-French team 1986 - Submersible Alvin explores the wreck 1987 - First salvage expedition collects 1,800 Titanic artefacts 1995 - James Cameron visits the wreck - the footage is used in his film Titanic 1998 - First tourists dive there 1998 - Section of the Titanic hull is raised 2005 - Two crewed submersibles dive to the wreck 2010 - Autonomous robots map the site 2012 - Wreck now protected by Unesco 2019 - DSV Limiting Factor sub makes five dives The dives have been filmed by Atlantic Productions for a forthcoming documentary. As well as capturing footage, scientists on the expedition have also been studying the creatures living on the wreck. Despite the near-freezing conditions, pitch-black waters and immense pressure, life is thriving there. This though, said expedition scientist Clare Fitzsimmons, from Newcastle University, was a factor in the Titanic's decay. "There are microbes on the shipwreck that are eating away the iron of the wreck itself, creating 'rusticle' structures, which is a much weaker form of the metal," she said. These rusticles - stalactites of rust hanging off the wreck - are so fragile that they can crumble into a cloud of dust if disturbed. The scientists are studying how different types of metal erode in the deep Atlantic waters, to assess how much longer the Titanic has left. Commenting on the expedition, Robert Blyth from the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich said it was important to go down and document the wreck in its current state. "The wreck itself is the only witness we've now got of the Titanic disaster," he said. "All of the survivors have now passed away, so I think it's important to use the wreck whilst the wreck still has something to say." https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49420935

I have seen a lot of that in Australia many moons ago but not so drastic as that photo plus it was summertime, I was sitting at a train station and looking towards the Dandenong Ranges and Upper Ferntree Gully area in the distance, smoke and red glows lighting up the sky from bush fires, I shuddered a bit then as when we emigrated to Australia in the early 60s we had a house in Upper Ferntree Gully (a lot of bush in them days) before we moved to Port Melbourne.

I am a handsome fucker, will this do

Just me this morning, I normally can find threads ok but this morning my brain was functioning in outer space syndrome...to much red wine last night

Cheers, I went through 7 bloody pages looking for it, must be the after-effects of Machado's Mafia Game just finished that made me go cock-eyed

Couldn't find a Portugal League Thread?

NOT IN-VIN-CIBLE Vincent Kompany accused of ‘thinking he is God’ after a horror start to life as Anderlecht manager Vincent Kompany’s triumphant homecoming to Anderlecht as player/manager has turned sour already. The Manchester City legend did not sign a new contract at the Etihad in the summer in order to pursue a return to his native Belgium. Despite his glistening trophy haul for his 11-year stay in Manchester, the 33-year-old has led the biggest club in the Jupiler Pro League to just two points from the opening four games of the season. The Brussels side lost 4-2 at lowly Kortrijk on Saturday, with Kompany accepting blame for all four goals. And the centre-half has also come under intense scrutiny from pundits in his home country. Ex-Anderlecht, Belgium and Sheffield Wednesday striker Marc Degryse snapped: “Kompany is only human, besides being a good footballer – but I feel he thinks he is God. “In the coming international break, a coach would normally have two weeks to work intensively with his squad. “But Kompany will be off with Belgium to play San Marino and Scotland – before having his testimonial game in Manchester. “Some people like to be busy, but they can become too preoccupied. “Kompany should think about this. There are limits to everything. “If another centre-back had made the mistakes he made he’d have been criticised – and Kompany would have dropped him for the next game. “Of course Kompany shouldn’t retire from playing – but he has to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again. “If he is honest as a manager he can’t be happy with himself as a player.” https://talksport.com/football/590157/vincent-kompany-god-anderlecht-manager-record-table/

Islam Slimani: Monaco sign Leicester City striker on loan Leicester City striker Islam Slimani has joined French side Monaco on loan until the end of the season. The Algerian, 31, joined the Foxes from Sporting Lisbon on a five-year deal in 2016 for £29m, a then club record. He has also had loan spells with Fenerbahce in Turkey and at Premier League rivals Newcastle United. Slimani, who has scored 13 goals in 46 Leicester appearances, could make his Monaco debut at home to Nimes in Ligue 1 on Sunday. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49418438

Nice one, that's fuck off to the likes of PSG with all their dosh. Borussia Dortmund's England winger Jadon Sancho has agreed to a new contract with the Bundesliga club worth about £190,000 a week, including bonuses. The 19-year-old, who was the subject of summer interest from Manchester United, scored 13 goals last season as Dortmund finished second behind Bayern Munich. Sancho also scored in their opening league game this term - Saturday's 5-1 win over Augsburg. Signed from Manchester City in 2017, his previous deal ran until 2022. Sancho, who was part of Watford's academy before joining City, made his England debut against Croatia in October 2018 and has six caps. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49420133

The Mystery of ‘Skeleton Lake’ Gets Deeper In a kinder world, archaeologists would study only formal cemeteries, carefully planned and undisturbed. No landslides would have scattered the remains. No passersby would have taken them home as souvenirs, or stacked them into cairns, or made off with the best of the artefacts. And all this certainly wouldn’t be happening far from any evidence of human habitation, under the surface of a frozen glacial lake. But such an ideal burial ground wouldn’t have the eerie appeal of Skeleton Lake in Uttarakhand, India, where researchers suspect the bones of as many as 500 people lie. The lake, which is formally known as Roopkund, is miles above sea level in the Himalayas and sits along the route of the Nanda Devi Raj Jat, a famous festival and pilgrimage. Bones are scattered throughout the site: Not a single skeleton found so far is intact. Video: Roopkund Skeleton Lake: A Himalayan Mystery (The Weather News) Since a forest ranger stumbled across the ghostly scene during World War II, explanations for why hundreds of people died there have abounded. These unfortunates were invading Japanese soldiers; they were an Indian army returning from war; they were a king and his party of dancers, struck down by a righteous deity. A few years ago, a group of archaeologists suggested, after inspecting the bones and dating the carbon within them, that the dead were travellers caught in a lethal hailstorm around the ninth century. In a new study published today in Nature Communications, an international team of more than two dozen archaeologists, geneticists, and other specialists dated and analyzed the DNA from the bones of 37 individuals found at Roopkund. They were able to suss out new details about these people, but if anything, their findings make the story of this place even more complex. The team determined that the majority of the deceased indeed died 1,000 or so years ago, but not simultaneously. And a few died much more recently, likely in the early 1800s. Stranger still, the skeletons’ genetic makeup is more typical of Mediterranean heritage than South Asian. Gallery: DNA study deepens the mystery of lake full of skeletons (National Geographic) SLIDES - 1/4 “It may be even more of a mystery than before,” says David Reich, a geneticist at Harvard and one of the senior authors of the new paper. “It was unbelievable because the type of ancestry we find in about a third of the individuals is so unusual for this part of the world.” Roopkund is the sort of place archaeologists call “problematic” and “extremely disturbed.” Mountaineers have moved and removed the bones and, researchers suspect, most of the valuable artefacts. Landslides probably scattered the skeletons, too. Miriam Stark, an archaeologist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa who was not involved in the research, pointed out that, unlike most archaeological sites, Roopkund is “not within a cultural context,” like a religious site or even a battlefield. That makes the new study “a really useful case study of how much information you can milk” from an imperfect data set, she says. From a scientific standpoint, the only convenient thing about Roopkund is its frigid environment, which preserved not only the bones, but the DNA inside them, and even, in some cases, bits of clothing and flesh. That same environment can make the site difficult to study. Veena Mushrif-Tripathy, an archaeologist at Deccan College in Pune, India, was part of an expedition to Roopkund in 2003. She says that even at base camp, which was about 2,300 feet below the lake, the weather was dangerous and turned quickly. To reach Roopkund, the party had to climb to a ridge above the lake and then slide down to it, because the slopes surrounding the lake are so steep. Mushrif-Tripathy never actually reached the lake; she was stuck at base camp with altitude sickness. “That was one of my biggest … regrets,” she says. “Still today, I am not over that.” As Fernando Racimo, a geneticist at the University of Copenhagen points out, ancient-DNA studies commonly focus on the global movements of human populations over thousands of years. The new study, in contrast, is “a nice example of how ancient-DNA studies could not only inform us about major migration events,” Racimo says, “but it can also tell smaller stories that would have not been possible to elucidate otherwise.” Stark says that seeing geneticists and archaeologists collaborating to ask nuanced questions is refreshing. “A lot of the time it seems like the geneticists are just performing a service,” she says, to prove the hunches of anthropologists or historical linguists about where a specimen really came from. “And that’s not what we should be asking.” To Kathleen Morrison, the chair of the anthropology department at the University of Pennsylvania, the least interesting thing about the specimens at Roopkund is where in the world their DNA says they came from. She points out that a Hellenic kingdom existed in the Indian subcontinent for about 200 years, beginning in 180 B.C. “The fact that there’s some unknown group of Mediterranean European people is not really a big revelation,” she says. She also cautions that radiocarbon dating gets less and less accurate the closer specimens get to the present day, so the early-1800s date assigned to the Roopkund specimens with Mediterranean heritage might not be perfectly accurate. Roopkund is a high altitude lake situated in Uttarakhand, India at 5029 metres. It also a major trek in the Himalayas. Besides, knowing that some of the bones at Roopkund came from a slightly unusual population still doesn’t shake the fundamental mystery: how hundreds of people’s remains ended up at one remote mountain lake. Reich and Mushrif-Tripathy are both confident that the skeletons were not moved to the site. Mushrif-Tripathy believes that the people whose bones she helped study simply “lost their way” and “got stuck” near the lake during bad weather. As Reich points out, it’s possible that remains scattered around the area gradually fell into the lake during landslides. Morrison, though, doesn’t fully buy this explanation. “I suspect that they’re aggregated there, that local people put them in the lake,” she says. “When you see a lot of human skeletons, usually it’s a graveyard.” https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/the-mystery-of-skeleton-lake-gets-deeper/ar-AAG5bFL?li=BBoPWjQ

Birmingham City has been linked with a move for 22-year-old Spanish left-back Alberto Redondo, who was released by Getafe at the end of last season. (Footmercato, via Birmingham Mail)

Juventus are ready to include Germany international and former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can, 25, as part of a deal to help them sign Barcelona's Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic, 31. (Tuttosport, via Mail)