Needles found in strawberries in New Zealand
EPA There have been over 100 reports of needles being found in supermarket fruit in Australia The Australian scare over needles found in strawberries has spread to New Zealand after needles were found in a punnet of the fruit on sale in an Auckland supermarket. The Countdown supermarket chain said it had taken a brand […]
Couple married for 70 years in FaceTime celebration
Robinson family Alf and Betty met at the Astoria Ballroom in Leeds in 1949 and married a year later A couple will mark 70 years of marriage through a video celebration with family who cannot visit because of the coronavirus outbreak. Relatives were due to travel from New York for a party to celebrate Alf […]
The ice cream truck defying Instagram freebies
CVT Soft Serve CVT Soft Serve owner Joe Nicchi holding his “influencers pay double” sign Los Angeles-based ice cream van owner Joe Nicchi is giving social media influencers the cold shoulder. Every week, bloggers, Instagrammers, and content curators with supposedly large social media followings make offers to promote his business on one condition: he gives […]
Holographic patients train doctors in world first in Cambridge
Medical students have been using holographic patients to learn new skills in a world first. They are able to interact and treat realistic-looking, virtual people using augmented reality headsets with no fear of making a mistake. It is hoped the technology – developed by the University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital and American firm GigXR – […]
Curry and pizza among failed Scottish meat tests
Oli Scarff Food Standards Scotland said most of the problems were in Indian-style lamb dishes About 8% of meat tested in Scotland in 2017 was found to contain the DNA of an animal not listed on the labelling, figures obtained by the BBC suggest. The National Farmers’ Union Scotland said that in some cases the […]
What is it and are Amazon and Facebook included?
PA Media A group of the world’s richest nations has agreed to make multinational businesses such as Amazon and Facebook pay more tax. The plan, by the G7 (Group of Seven), also aims to stop the world’s largest companies avoiding tax by moving their operations between countries. How would the deal work? There are two […]
nationalisation is not the way forward says new chairman
PA Media Thames Water’s new chair has said nationalisation is not the right way forward despite the regulator warning the company has “deep-rooted” problems. Sir Adrian Montague said he understood customer “frustration” over the UK’s largest water firm’s poor performance. But he said the best way to resolve it was keeping the company under private […]
Scottish Power retail profits hit as customer numbers fall
BBC Scottish Power has reported losing about 200,000 customer accounts during last year, as it faced tougher competition. The energy firm said customer numbers fell from 5.3 million to 5.1 million. The reduction contributed to a 51% drop in earnings from its retail supply division, to £98m. Electricity generation earnings fell by 36%, to £23m, […]
Musicians take to stage to tackle Sunderland child poverty
Musicians across the North East are coming together for a “Live Aid” style concert to combat child poverty. Performers, including the Futureheads and Paul Smith of Maximo Park, are taking to the stage for a sell-out performance at the Fire Station in Sunderland. Organiser Sunderland Music City has promised a “number of surprises” during the […]
Honour of Kings uses facial recognition to check ages
Getty Images Honour of Kings has more than 200 million registered users One of China’s most popular video games is testing the use of facial recognition to check users’ ages. Honour of Kings’ publisher Tencent announced the move at the weekend. The mobile app resembles League of Legends and pits players against each other in […]