News Headlines - 03 December 2014

▽“Asteroid Explorer” Hayabusa 2 successfully launches - SpaceFlight Insider

Late last night (Wednesday afternoon in Japan) at 11:22 p.m. EST (1:22 p.m. JST), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched their “Asteroid Explorer” spacecraft, Hayabusa 2. It was launched aboard their H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 26 out of the Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima Island. The spacecraft is now headed to collect samples from the near-Earth asteroid dubbed “1999 JU3.”

▽Video: Watch: Barack Obama sits down for realistic 3D printed portrait - Telegraph

Barack Obama has become the first head of state to be photographed in a special 3D life mask portrait... The process involved the use of a high-speed system consisting of eight cameras and 50 LED lights, which allowed the team to capture detailed shape and facial properties in just six seconds.

▽BBC News - Government to pay off WW1 debt

The government will repay the outstanding ￡1.9bn of debt from a 3.5% War Loan on 9 March 2015... More than 120,000 investors hold War Loan bonds.

▽2014 on track to be England's hottest year in over three centuries | The Guardian

Unless December turns unusually cold, 2014 will beat 1995, 2006, 1990 and 2011 as the warmest year on record. The average temperature in 2014 so far is almost 11.5C, about 1.5C higher than the long-term average.

▽Oil companies BP and Shell in the takeover spotlight - The Independent

Shares in Britain’s two oil champions – Shell and BP – have jumped as market rumours swept the City claiming the pair were planning a merger, highlighting jittery times for the industry at a time of five-year lows in the oil price.