Even on a Monday morning, the beaches would usually be bustling in the place that calls itself “Surf City USA”. But the sands in Huntington Beach in California are deserted. So too, the beaches that stretch for miles south. The closures are part of a massive response to the spill of thousands of gallons of
Month: October 2021
New car sales plunged by 35% in September as chip shortages inflicted a major setback on what is normally a key month for the sector, according to industry data. Just 214,000 new vehicles were registered, the weakest for the month since the “two-plate” system for new cars was introduced in 1999, said the Society of
With Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram all down for hours on Monday night, it was only a matter of time before memes emerged to poke fun at the situation. Unfortunately though, they couldn’t be viewed in any of these places… meaning Twitter was the ultimate destination for tongue-in-cheek posts as people around the world tried to
Heading north along Ethiopia’s A2 highway, we quickly noticed that the road had turned into an elongated car park for the country’s military – the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF). Near the city of Dessie in the region of Amhara, we saw dozens of trucks, tanks and armoured personnel carriers parked by the side of
Scientists have successfully treated a person with severe depression using a surgically implanted device, a new study has suggested. The device, which has been described as “the equivalent of a pacemaker for the brain”, is able to tap into the specific brain circuit involved in depressive brain patterns and reset them. Researchers believe the proof-of-concept
Facebook has apologised after global reports of people having problems accessing its platforms, including Instagram and WhatsApp. Those two services and Facebook itself have all reportedly crashed, with users saying they are unable to send or receive messages, and their feeds are not refreshing. Andy Stone, from Facebook’s communications department, tweeted: “We’re aware that some
A Conservative Party member has been suspended after a woman said she was “violently assaulted” at the party’s conference. Clementine Cowton, director of external affairs at Octopus Energy Group, told a fringe event at the annual conference in Manchester that a “very intoxicated” man came and sat next to her at the Midland Hotel bar
Two more earthquakes have rattled the Spanish island of La Palma amid a fresh surge of lava from an erupting volcano. Part of the volcano’s crater has also collapsed – two weeks after the eruption on what is one of the Canary Islands situated off northwest Africa. Spain’s National Geographical Institute said it recorded two
Nearly half of the toys purchased from third-party sellers via online marketplaces were unsafe for children to play with, a new study has found. The report commissioned by the British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA) found many of the potential gifts could choke, strangle, burn, poison and electrocute children. Out of the 255 toys that were
A short story will be omitted from a reprint of David Walliams’ The World’s Worst Children book next year, after it was criticised for its racial stereotyping. The story in question, Brian Wong, Who Was Never, Ever Wrong, is about a Chinese boy who was the “swottiest swot who ever swotted”, was good at maths
A high performance electric car has gone into production in the US with a certified range of 520 miles – the longest currently on the open market. The Air Dream model by Tesla rival Lucid received good reviews from American media over the weekend, after it went into mass manufacture at its Arizona factory last
A nurse has denied murdering eight babies and the attempted murder of 10 others over the period of a year. Lucy Letby, who worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit, entered her plea at Manchester Crown Court earlier today. The 31-year-old pleaded “not guilty” 18 times as the charges were put to her
Two US-based scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize for discovering receptors for temperature and touch. David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian were awarded the prize in the field of physiology or medicine. Their discoveries “have allowed us to understand how heat, cold and mechanical force can initiate the nerve impulses that allow us to perceive
A whistleblower who leaked a stash of internal Facebook documents alleging the company knew its products were fuelling hate and harming children’s mental health has accused the social media giant of choosing “profit over safety”. Frances Haugen, a former product manager at Facebook, revealed her identity in an interview that aired on Sunday on CBS’
North and South Korea have reopened their hotlines, around two months after they were cut by the North. At least 49 hotlines have been set up between the two countries since the 1970s and they are crucial in preventing misunderstanding resulting from unexpected military developments. They were also intended to arrange diplomatic meetings, economic and
Barbie is partnering with the European Space Agency and it’s only European female astronaut in an effort to inspire young girls to pursue careers in space and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). As part of an initiative called This World Space Week, a special one-of-a-kind Barbie doll modelled on Samantha Cristoforetti will go on