Novak Djokovic has won all nine of his previous Australian Open finals so confidence is sky-high as he bids to equal Rafael Nadal's Grand Slam record and return to world number one.While Djokovic is into a record 33rd Grand Slam final and bidding to equal Nadal's 22 major crowns, the Greek third seed will play only his second.
The company now make bespoke guns for all purposes but say most orders are from people who enjoy shooting as a sport. One of the most famous orders they produced was a set of 20-gauge guns given to the late Queen Mother on her 21st birthday, which remain at Sandringham today. Despite the long history of his family-run trade, Steve says people fail to see guns as anything more than a weapon used by the criminal underworld. Steve, from Rednal, Birmingham, added: “There are many people who do not understand shooting as a sport. “Back in the day before gun licensing came into effect, it was like the Wild West. “We are talking a few centuries back, but everyone would walk round and carry guns and pistols for protection. “A gunmaker back then was like any other profession and was looked at the same way as someone being a butcher or a tradesman. “Now it is very different. “It does depend on who you speak to as people in the industry understand that a gun is not a weapon and used for sport and shooting. “But if someone asks about my job in a pub, most don’t understand. “I get asked all the time if what I do is legal and of course it is. "When there's been a shooting in the city, people somehow think I'm linked to it. I even had a camera crew outside my shop one time. "But I can assure you we are well-to-do businessmen. "The trade has got so many negative connotations around it today which didn't exist back years ago." Hortons and Sons make around two bespoke guns a month selling anywhere in the region of £23,000 to £98,000. Over the last decade, Steve has created firearms for clients across the globe including Scotland, America, South Africa and Australia. An order can take between nine to 18 months to complete, and each gun is engraved by hand with the company’s name on it. Before creating the one of a kind guns, Steve carries out thorough consultations with his clients, advising them on the wood, engraving style and finishes. They are are then made in the shop by two gunsmiths and one engraver. Steve is confident the business can carry on for centuries to come despite the once- thriving trade declining He added: “We make all the guns in-house with the help from a local engineering firm. “The only thing we buy in is the barrel tubes as the machinery to make these in the shop is so expensive. “My father worked for me for a short time, but he is now fully retired so at the moment, it is just me carrying on the family name. “I’ve got five boys though so hopefully one of them will carry on the profession. “People don’t realise that what we do is a craft. “The people that work for me and make the guns, most of them have never fired a gun in their life and never want to. “They enjoy the trade and see it as an art and no two guns we make are the same. “What we do is completely different to those making military weapons. “Everything is bespoke, and has to be perfect down to the finest details. “Shooting as a sport is never going to disappear and I hope this business is successful for generations to come.” * Birmingham's Gun Quarter was for 250 years the centre of the world's gun-manufacturing industry. Situated slightly north of the city centre, the area specialised in the production of sporting guns and military firearms. The first recorded gun maker in Birmingham was in 1630, and locally made muskets were used in the English Civil War. Weapons were later made for armies on both sides of the American Civil War and for British forces in both world wars.
The use of contraception is soaring around the world, but international funding to meet demand for family planning in the developing world has been hit by sharp UK aid cuts, research has found.
Africa's Lake Victoria is a source of joy and livelihood for those living along its shores, but the waterway is being overrun by pollution. Kenya's Rahmina Paullete is not just tackling the scourge, but transforming waste particles into furniture, coasters and bags. She's the founder of the "Let Lake Victoria Breathe Again" campaign. The young activist joined us for Perspective.Read more on FRANCE 24 EnglishRead also:Tackling climate change: 'African leaders are talking and not acting'Kenyan climate activist Abigael Kima on raising awareness in AfricaCOP27 summit: What's at stake for the African continent?
Memphis police officers appear to laugh and one can be seen smoking a cigarette in body cam footage released after the death of Tyre Nichols. Mr Nichols was beaten by police following a traffic stop and died three days later in hospital.
On January 24, the United States Justice Department, along with eight states, filed an antitrust suit against Google. 'Time' reports that the suit aims to smash the tech giant's alleged monopoly on the online advertising ecosystem.
Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered a Pharaonic tomb near the capital Cairo containing a gold leaf-covered mummy that had remained closed for 4,300 years. It's believed to be one of the oldest and most complete mummies ever discovered in Egypt. The remains were discovered at the bottom of a 15-metre shaft in a recently uncovered group of tombs at the Saqqara necropolis, south of Cairo."This mummy may be the oldest and most complete mummy found in Egypt to date," Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s former an
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