Author: News Desk

London: Record-breaking extreme weather has become the new normal in the UK, scientists have said, confirming that the country is now firmly in the grip of the climate crisis. An in-depth analysis by UK climate experts highlights a dramatic rise in both the frequency and severity of heatwaves and periods of intense rainfall, posing serious threats to public health, infrastructure, and the overall functioning of society. Mike Kendon from the Met Office, who led the assessment, emphasized that, “The extremes have the greatest impact on our society, if we think about our infrastructure, our public health, and how we function.…

Erith, London: A huge fire broke out late on July 11 at an industrial estate on Maypole Crescent in Erith, Southeast London, prompting a large-scale response by the London Fire Brigade (LFB). The fire, which began shortly before 11 pm, sent thick plumes of smoke billowing into the night sky and continued to burn until around 4 am. According to an LFB spokesperson, “Twenty-five fire engines and around 150 firefighters are tackling a fire at an industrial estate on Maypole Crescent in Erith.” The blaze engulfed a single-storey warehouse located within a scrap yard, along with three diggers and multiple…

London: Luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton has confirmed that it suffered a cyberattack targeting its UK operations, resulting in the unauthorised access of customer data, including names, contact information, and purchase history. The brand clarified that no financial or banking data was compromised in the breach. The incident marks the latest in a series of cyber-attacks affecting LVMH, the French luxury group that owns Louis Vuitton. According to an email sent to affected customers, the company stated that, “While we have no evidence that your data has been misused to date, phishing attempts, fraud attempts, or unauthorised use of your…

Toronto: Canadian pop sensation Justin Bieber has taken fans by surprise with the unexpected release of his latest album, titled Swag. Featuring 20 new tracks, the album includes songs such as Dadz Love, Devotion, Therapy Session, and Daisies, touching on deeply personal themes including fatherhood, faith, relationships, and mental health. The drop comes amidst heightened public concern about Bieber’s emotional well-being, following recent social media posts and confrontations with paparazzi. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Justin Bieber (@lilbieber) Promotional photos shared by the singer depict Bieber with his wife, Hailey Bieber, and their baby,…

Helsinki / London: They may look like a regular pair of glasses, but Finnish tech firm IXI is reimagining eyewear with its autofocus smart glasses, which pack advanced liquid crystal lens technology into a familiar frame. Niko Eiden, Chief Executive and Co-founder of IXI, demonstrates the innovation by holding up the glasses, whose lenses contain liquid crystals that can adjust their vision-correcting power on demand. “This one pair could correct the vision of someone who normally uses different pairs of glasses for seeing near or far.” The technology hinges on an electric field that rotates the liquid crystals. “These liquid…

Sheffield, UK: Researchers at Sheffield Hallam University have announced a significant breakthrough in reducing hair loss caused by chemotherapy, unveiling a dual-approach method combining scalp cooling with an antioxidant-based lotion. Described as a ‘powerful double weapon,’ this new technique may greatly improve the ability of cancer patients to retain their hair during treatment. Scalp cooling, already in use by some chemotherapy patients, works by reducing blood flow to the scalp, thereby limiting the amount of cancer medication that reaches hair follicles. However, the research team at Sheffield Hallam has now identified the optimal temperature for this technique to be most…

Washington DC: The Trump administration is reportedly planning to dismiss at least 2,145 senior-level NASA employees, including those with specialized skills and leadership responsibilities, in a sweeping move to reduce the size of the federal government. Documents indicate that the majority of the impacted individuals, around 1,818, are currently involved in core mission areas such as science and human space flight, while the rest work in mission support roles, including information technology. The reduction will be carried out through early retirements, buyout packages, and deferred resignations, aligning with the administration’s broader goal of downsizing federal agencies. This large-scale downsizing effort threatens…

London: A new rapid analysis reveals that climate-driven pollution tripled the death toll during the severe heatwave that swept across Europe from 23 June to 2 July, claiming an estimated 2,300 lives in just 12 major cities. According to researchers from the World Weather Attribution group, about 1,500 of these deaths were directly linked to climate breakdown caused by human-induced global warming. Cities such as Milan, Paris, Barcelona, and London recorded the highest numbers, with Milan alone accounting for 317 of 499 heat-related deaths linked to climate change. In London, 171 of the 273 heat deaths were attributed to global…

San Francisco: Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI is facing backlash after its chatbot, Grok, posted a series of offensive, antisemitic, and politically charged comments on X, prompting the company to delete the content and restrict Grok’s functionality. Among the now-deleted posts, Grok referred to Adolf Hitler in a positive light, described itself as ‘MechaHitler,’ and made antisemitic remarks about a person with a common Jewish surname, accusing them of ‘celebrating the tragic deaths of white kids’ during the Texas floods and labeling the victims as ‘future fascists.’ The chatbot added that, “Classic case of hate dressed as activism, and…

Washington DC: US President Donald Trump has officially delayed the imposition of higher tariffs on American imports, extending the timeline for implementation. At the same time, he has issued fresh warnings to 14 countries, including Japan, South Korea, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Serbia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, South Africa, Malaysia, and Tunisia, about new trade levies scheduled to begin on 1 August. This move follows the expiration of a 90-day pause on aggressive US import taxes, which was initially introduced to allow room for trade negotiations. Initially, the increased tariffs were scheduled to take effect on 9 July, but the White House…