Science

A drone pilot in Spain has received permission to try to rescue three emaciated dogs trapped by the volcanic eruption on the island of La Palma. Jaime Pereira plans to catch the dogs using a remote-controlled wide net and then fly them 450 metres across the streams of lava as the month-long eruption continues with

Video games giant Activision Blizzard has fired a number of employees following sexual harassment and discrimination allegations. The company, which owns the Candy Crush and Call Of Duty franchises, said it has sacked more than 20 members of staff following the claims and 20 more individuals are facing other forms of disciplinary action. In a

A mysterious group of hackers has been quietly breaking into the computer networks of telecommunications companies on a global scale, according to new security research. Buried deep inside mobile infrastructure across the globe the hackers are able to spy on anyone whose device is connecting to those networks, according to cyber security company Crowdstrike. But

Astronomers have discovered a new cosmic phenomenon in which a white dwarf star has been switching “off and on”, with its brightness dipping and strengthening in just 30 minutes. The discovery was based on observations from a NASA satellite searching for alien planets, and described as “extraordinary” by a team of astronomers at Durham University

Facebook plans to hire 10,000 people in the European Union over the next five years to help build its metaverse, the social media giant has announced. The social network announced in July that it was creating a product team to work on the metaverse, which would sit within Facebook Reality Labs, its augmented reality and

The contactless card payment limit has increased from £45 to £100 from today, a move which has raised concerns about the risk of fraud. Age UK warned that raising the limit could increase the potential for fraud, putting some older people off using bank cards to pay for goods and services. “As the banks and

The NHS app and website experienced an outage on Wednesday afternoon, with users unable to access their digital COVID vaccine passes, NHS Digital said. One traveller told Sky News she had missed her flight to France as a result of the app crashing. An NHS COVID Pass shows proof of a coronavirus vaccination as well

The first trips from the UK to space are a step closer following an agreement between an Edinburgh-based rocket company and a Shetland spaceport. Missions are set to start from 2022, with aims for 16 launches a year at the height of the decade-long project in 2030. Skyrora, the rocket company, wants to blast off

Nintendo has officially rolled out its new model of Nintendo Switch, the handheld games console that doubles up as a traditional TV plug in. The Switch OLED, as the name suggests, features a whole new OLED screen, brighter, bigger, and clearer than the original model that launched in 2017. Since 2017, sales of the Switch

Captain Kirk’s real-life trip into space has been delayed. William Shatner – best known for playing the Star Trek stalwart – was due to be beamed up on Tuesday in Jeff Bezos‘s NS-18 spacecraft. But the Amazon founder’s space company – Blue Origin – has delayed for 24 hours because of “forecasted winds”. Image: Shatner

Facebook and Instagram users have been unable to access services for the second time in a week. The social media giants have apologised to users who are unable to refresh their home pages, though the outage appears to be less widespread than on Monday. Around 2,000 people reported being unable to access Facebook at around

Google is tackling climate change denial across its advertising platforms and YouTube, with bans and new demonetisation policies from next month. The company’s move will explicitly prohibit all advertisements that contradict the “well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change”. It will also prevent YouTube videos from earning money if they refer

Electric carmaker Tesla is to move its headquarters from California to Texas, chief executive Elon Musk has said. The announcement comes after the billionaire tycoon was embroiled in a row with West Coast politicians over their handling of the coronavirus crisis. Tesla will be the latest in a number of firms, including Hewlett Packard and

A species of stink bug could become “problematic” for crops and gardens after it was discovered in Surrey, experts have warned. The brown marmorated stink bug is native to Asia, can grow up to 1.7cm and gets its name from the foul smell it exudes when threatened. A pheromone trap caught the bug at the

Nestle is expanding its menu of vegan products by launching plant-based substitutes for egg and shrimp. The substitutes closely mirror the taste, nutrition and performance of the originals, the food group said. Branded Garden Gourmet vEGGie in Europe, the vegan-friendly egg contains soy protein and omega-3 fatty acids and can be scrambled, used in a

A skin condition known as COVID toes – which results in inflammation and redness on the hands and feet – could be a side effect of the immune system’s response to the virus, a new study has found. The symptom usually develops within one to four weeks of being infected and can result in fingers