Bloodhound is about to become the new fastest car in the world – and it comes from Bristol March 3, 2015 A new car called Bloodhound is about to become the fastest car in the world. Built by British engineers, it is designed to beat the world land speed record of 763mph, which was set by the twin-jet Thrust Super Sonic Car in 1997. Initial low-speed tests will be carried out at an airport in [...]
The UK’s female workforce is at its strongest since 2000, but it’s still behind many of its European neighbours March 2, 2015 Women in the UK are faring better in work than at any time since 2000, but they are still outperformed by women in many neighbouring European countries. According to PwC's Women in Work Index, in 2013 the UK came 14th out of 27 OECD countries with a score of 59.1, which was four places higher [...]
Google researchers propose a new method for ranking search results, prioritising facts rather than reputation March 2, 2015 A team at Google has suggested a new model for search, which is based on measuring the accuracy of facts in a web page, rather than its reputation. At the moment, the position of a website partly depends on the number of other websites linking to it, so that the more times a page is [...]
The government plans to build a series of tidal lagoon power plants in the UK – here’s everything you need to know March 2, 2015 The government is considering building the world's first tidal lagoon power plants in the UK. There would be six of them – four in Wales and two in England, and the energy generated would be used to power as many as eight per cent of the UK's homes. The company behind the idea is [...]
UK becomes net importer of drugs for the first time this century as patents expire and R&D spend falls March 2, 2015 In 2013, the UK imported more drugs than it exported for the first time since the turn of century. This was driven by a significant drop in drug manufacturing – in fact, output has gone down by a quarter since the coalition government came to power in 2010. According to the Office for National [...]
Aviva takes its client to court over an insurance contract capable of making him wealthier than the company itself March 2, 2015 Aviva France is fighting one of its clients in court over a life insurance contract that could make him a billionaire by the end of the decade. Called a Fixed Price Abitrage Life Insurance Contract, it was given to the now 25-year-old Max-Hervé George by his father when he was seven. It was the brainchild [...]
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras accuses Spain and Portugal of leading a conspiracy against his government February 28, 2015 Alexis Tspiras, Prime Minister of Greece, has accused other southern European countries of trying to topple his ant-austerity government. According to Reuters, he said Spain and Portugal took a particularly hard line during Greece’s bailout negotiations, which ended this week. The two countries are also being subjected to tough austerity measures by the Eurozone's [...]
Apple chief executive Tim Cook says invading people’s privacy won’t stop terrorism February 28, 2015 Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, has described invading people's privacy as ineffectual when it comes to tackling terrorism. In an interview with The Telegraph, he said privacy was a “basic human right”, and that terrorists could escape being spied on anyway, since they are able to use encryption to avoid detection. He said [...]
UK house prices: 20pc discount offered to first-time house buyers in England February 28, 2015 From today, first-time house-buyers under the age of 40 can register for a 20 per cent discount on certain properties in England. The offer is taking place under a new government scheme called “starter homes”, which aims to make more affordable housing for young people on disused brownfield sites. “With average house prices for [...]
Government wants price comparison sites to return money to customers who weren’t shown the best energy tariffs February 28, 2015 The government's energy and climate change committee has called on price comparison sites to return money to some customers. In a report, it claims certain sites “duped” people into not taking the best energy tariffs, either by intentionally hiding them or using misleading language. It said customers who have lost out as a result of [...]
