‘Planet-killer’ asteroid will cross Earth’s orbit

Astronomers have discovered the largest planet killer-sized asteroid in eight years, reported The Guardian. “Any asteroid over 1km in size is considered a planet killer,” wrote Scott Sheppard in the Astronomical Journal, adding that should the asteroid strike Earth, “it would be a mass extinction event like hasn’t been seen on Earth in millions of years”. The asteroid, named 2022 AP7, will cross our planet’s orbit but “has no chance to hit the Earth, currently”, added Sheppard.

Compromise reached in Orkney bin wars

Scottish islanders have been told to stop weighing down their bins with heavy rocks during windy spells as it is too tiring for binmen to lift them off. Orkney Islands Council told its 22,000 residents to stop using bungee cords and breeze blocks to clamp down the lids during heavy wind. With tensions running high over the issue, the council had originally banned any weight at all being strapped down before a “very angry” response from locals forced them to agree compromise, said The Telegraph.

The National Trust is pleading with fans of Harry Potter to stop leaving socks and painted rocks on a beach where the death of Dobby, the house elf, was filmed. A makeshift grave at the “resting place” of Dobby was created by fans in the dunes of Freshwater West, Pembrokeshire, said The Times. “The trust is asking visitors to only take photos,” said a spokesman. “Items like socks, trinkets, and paint chips from painted pebbles could enter the marine environment and food chain and put wildlife at risk.”

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Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i news site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.