Musk’s Tesla probed by US over safety of self-driving software
The US agency in charge of regulating road safety revealed Friday that they are probing Tesla’s self-driving software systems. The evaluation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) covers 2.4 million Tesla vehicles across multiple models manufactured between 2016 and 2024. NHTSA’s action is the first step toward any potential recall that the agency […]
Dracula author Bram Stoker’s lost story unearthed after 134 years
An amateur historian has discovered a long-lost short story by Bram Stoker, published just seven years before his legendary gothic novel Dracula. Brian Cleary stumbled upon the 134-year-old ghostly tale while browsing the archives of the National Library of Ireland. Gibbet Hill was originally published in a Dublin newspaper in 1890 – when the Irishman […]
Beirut rocked by fresh Israeli air strikes
Israel has carried out at least a dozen air strikes on Beirut on Saturday in the heaviest attack the Lebanese capital witnessed in more than a week. Huge plumes of smoke were seen rising over the city’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah’s main base is located. In some cases the Israeli military gave warnings to residents […]
New lawsuit against Sean Combs alleges abuse and exploitation
American rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is facing a new lawsuit alleging abuse and exploitation from a former contestant of his MTV show, Making the Band. Singer Dawn Richard filed a complaint on Tuesday in the Southern District of New York against Combs and others associated with him. The complaint alleges Combs mistreated women, was physically […]
How social media algorithms shape speech
BBC Social media algorithms, in their commonly known form, are now 15 years old. They were born with Facebook’s introduction of ranked, personalised news feeds in 2009 and have transformed how we interact online. And like many teenagers, they pose a challenge to grown-ups who hope to curb their excesses. It’s not for want of […]
Zayn Malik postpones US tour after ‘heartbreaking’ loss of Liam Payne
Zayn Malik has postponed the US leg of his upcoming tour after the “heart-breaking loss” of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne. Payne died, aged 31, after falling from the third floor of hotel balcony in Argentina on Wednesday. Malik was about to start the US leg of his tour next week – starting […]
Woman grateful to have own voice for first time
A Kent woman says she is “so happy” to have her own voice for the first time. Lauren Courtney, from Sevenoaks, previously used a communication aid with computerised voices which her family likened to a sat-nav. But now, the 48-year-old can speak with a synthesised voice made up of recordings from two of her female […]
can it be safe and ethical?
BBC There’s nothing new about genetic engineering. By cross-breeding plants and animals, our Stone Age ancestors realised they could boost the amount of food they produced. Modern genetics has enabled scientists to do much more: to make precise, targeted changes to the DNA of organisms in a lab. And that, they claim, will lead to […]
ICE South West STEM Ambassador of the Year 2024 is named
A civil engineer from Jersey has won an award for helping to encourage young people to consider a career in civil engineering. Rachel Hayden has been named Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) South West STEM Ambassador of the Year 2024. She became an ICE ambassador in 2017 and since then Ms Hayden has promoted science, […]
One Direction star Liam Payne’s battles with fame
Shutterstock Liam Payne was 14 when he first appeared in an X Factor audition in 2008 “Get Ready, it’s about to get a little bumpy.” That was the first sentence of a letter Liam Payne wrote to his 10-year-old self, which he read out on BBC radio in 2020. “You’ll have the most amazing time […]