Christmas Eve fly-by: An asteroid will travel past the Earth this afternoon, while the International Space Station will look just like Santa and his sleigh December 24, 2015 Today, an asteroid is going to fly past the Earth as it zooms through space. Called asteroid 2003 SD220, it was spotted by scientists at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who noticed that it moved considerably closer to us between 17 and 22 December. Thankfully, it's going to pass at a distance that poses no threat – [...]
David Cameron uses Christmas speech to thank armed forces, doctors, nurses, carers and volunteers working over festive period December 24, 2015 David Cameron has used his Christmas message to praise the UK's armed forces engaged in airstrikes against Islamic State (Isis). The Prime Minister thanked "our brave armed forces [who] are doing their duty" both "in the skies of Iraq and Syria" and "on the ground, helping to bring stability to countries from Afghanistan to South Sudan". [...]
Tweet controlled drones? Twitter just patented that (watch out Marcel Hirscher) December 23, 2015 Drones raise enough questions as it is – where can they fly, who can fly them, how do you avoid accidents, to name just a few – but imagine if they were controlled simply with a tweet? Sounds a a little crazy, yes, but not too crazy for Twitter. The social network has filed a [...]
SpaceX won’t be using its reusable rocket again – here’s why December 22, 2015 Early this morning, SpaceX managed to re-land a rocket for the first time ever, paving the way for a new generation of reusable rockets. The Falcon 9 rocket was launched from Cape Carnaveral in Florida, and after shooting up into the sky to deliver a series of commercial satellites to the International Space Station, it [...]
Winter Solstice 2015: What you need to know about the shortest day of the year December 22, 2015 Today is officially the shortest day of the year, meaning we will see less sunlight than on any other day in 2015. By the time the sun goes down this afternoon, we will have experienced a total of seven hours, 49 minutes and 41 seconds of sunlight in the UK. So, what is the winter [...]
ITV share price falls as Comcast pours cold water on NBCUniversal takeover talks December 22, 2015 US cable company Comcast has poured cold water on speculation it's in talks for its entertainment arm NBCUniversal to takeover the UK's biggest broadcaster, ITV. ITV's share price closed nearly three per cent down on Monday, after a news report suggested the two companies had discussed a potential deal. It lost most of those gains, opening as [...]
BBC axes Formula 1 broadcasting and new deal for Channel 4 to air next season with no adverts during live races revealed December 21, 2015 The BBC has axed Formula 1 from its TV line-up to save much needed cash as part of widespread cuts across the corporation, with Channel 4 picking up the broadcast rights instead. The BBC said it would "reluctantly" end its TV contract three years early in order to make the savings. BBC Sport must make £35m of budget [...]
Record number of tourists flock to the UK and spend more than ever thanks to the 2015 Rugby World Cup December 19, 2015 The tourism boom to the UK shows no signs of letting up, with a record number of international visits to the country recorded in October. The Rugby World Cup drove tourism figures sky high, with fresh figures from VisitBritain showing that a new record was set in October, not just for the number of visits [...]
It’s time for radical solutions to address London’s housing crisis December 17, 2015 As MP since 2001 for the most central London constituency, I cannot recall a time when housing issues have not dominated my postbag. No surprise, perhaps, when UK buyers compete for a limited supply of homes with a global citizenry seeking its own slice of prime London. But I have also witnessed how the polarisation [...]
Tech predictions for 2016, including apps for everything, a space trip for everyone and drones blotting out the sun December 17, 2015 What an incredible year it’s been for science and technology. No frontier has been left unexplored. No bar unraised. No envelope unpushed. Not only did we invent a new type of motorised skateboard that spontaneously bursts into flames, but Apple made a really big iPad and now our watches shout at us for being unhealthy. [...]