You Probably Didn’t Know These Things Were Invented by Women

In the United States, only about 10 percent of patent holders are women

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  • London Covid cases by borough revealed as capital hits 4 million vaccine doses

    Infections have fallen so far in one borough that the rate was equivalent to less than one confirmed case a day per 100,000 people

  • Prince Philip funeral: Duke's respect for Navy fliers to feature in adapted hymn

    The hymn Eternal Father, Strong To Save will feature in the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral on Saturday, with the possible addition of a little-known extra verse at his request. Better known as "For Those in Peril on the Sea" after the last line, the usually four-verse hymn is considered especially poignant by military sailors. Rarely heard outside military circles, however, are two verses written specifically for aviators. They are inserted between the second and third verses. The additional words are understood to feature occasionally at Fleet Air Arm funerals, the aviation branch of the Royal Navy. One such was sung at the funeral of the man who taught the Duke to fly, while he was a Royal Navy officer. Unexpectedly turning up to the funeral many years ago, the Duke further surprised the congregation by singing, along with just a couple of other attendees, the unfamiliar words, which are not included in standard hymn books.

  • Boeing 737: History and safety record of the aeroplane

    The world’s biggest and most successful budget airlines, Ryanair and Southwest, fly 737s exclusively

  • Nicola Sturgeon 'should thank Boris Johnson for refusing to sign up to EU vaccine scheme'

    Nicola Sturgeon should thank Boris Johnson for ignoring SNP demands to sign up to the EU's disastrous vaccine programme when she gets her first Covid jab on Thursday, the Scottish Tory leader has said. Douglas Ross said the First Minister would have faced a much longer wait to be vaccinated if Mr Johnson had heeded her party's demands for the UK to join the European scheme last year. The SNP confirmed that Ms Sturgeon, 50, is scheduled to receive her first jab after she launches her party's election manifesto on Thursday morning. A spokesman said: "These remarks from Douglas Ross are utterly pathetic but entirely in keeping with his petulant, puerile tone." A series of Ms Sturgeon's ministers demanded that the UK sign up to the EU's vaccine procurement plan last year and expressed outrage when Mr Johnson refused. Mike Russell, the Constitution Secretary, warned at the time: "This idiotic refusal is all about Brexit and nothing to do with the pandemic. It will cost lives." The decision was publicly opposed by a series of SNP MPs.

  • Car dangles several metres off raised curb after driver reverses through guardrails in China

    A car dangled off a curb several metres off the ground after reversing through the guardrails in southern China. The CCTV video, captured in the city of Guiping in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on April 14, shows a woman suddenly reversing through the guardrails on the side of a road due. The car was then seen hanging off the road curb and the motorist became trapped inside. Several passersby were seen holding the car hood in case the vehicle fell off the curb, while a female passerby went to help the motorist walk out of the car back to safety. After the forklift arrived, it lifted the car up from its bottom and sent it back onto the road surface. The case is under further investigation. The video was provided by local media with permission.

  • EU backs Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, will not renew AstraZeneca, J&J contracts

    The European Union has announced plans for a massive contract extension for Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine, saying the bloc had chosen to stick with companies that had shown their value during the pandemic. The EU will not renew vaccine contracts with AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson after their expiry, according to reports. “We need to focus on technologies that have proven their worth,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She also announced that America's Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech would provide the EU with an extra 50 million doses in the 2nd quarter of this year, making up for faltering deliveries of AstraZeneca.Von der Leyen said Pfizer-BioNTech “has proven to be a reliable partner. It has delivered on its commitments, and it is responsive to our needs. This is to the immediate benefit of EU citizens.”In a stinging rebuke to AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, the EU Commission will not renew its Covid vaccine contracts with the Anglo-Swedish and US pharma giants, Italian daily La Stampa reported, citing a source from the Italian health ministry.“The European Commission, in agreement with the leaders of many (EU) countries, has decided that the contracts with the companies that produce (viral vector) vaccines that are valid for the current year will not be renewed at their expiry,” the newspaper reported, adding that Brussels would rather focus on RNA (mRNA) technology used by Pfizer and Moderna.A spokesman for the EU Commission said the block was keeping all options open to be prepared for the next stages of the pandemic. "We cannot, however, comment on contractual issues," he added.Denmark terminates AstraZenecaExacerbating problems for AstraZeneca, Denmark decided Wednesday not to renew its use of the jab – an EU first – after putting it on hold last month following reports of rare blood clots in some recipients. The bulk of the shots given in the Scandinavian country so far have been the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.AstraZeneca was supposed to be the workhorse of the EU's vaccine drive this year – a cheap and easy-to-transport shot to break the pandemic's back. Yet, the EU said that out of 120 million doses promised for the 1st quarter, only 30 million were delivered, and, of the 180 million expected, now there are only 70 million set for delivery in the 2nd quarter. The J&J jab, which uses the same base technology as AstraZeneca, hit a snag this week when US regulators recommended a “pause” in administering the single-dose vaccine. Deliveries in the EU have been suspended. 'Very serious side effects'Commenting on the AstraZeneca and J&J concerns, Member of European Parliament Peter Liese said: "The side effects are very serious and I support the decision of many member states not to vaccinate AstraZeneca to younger people for the time being."I hope that the side effects of Johnson & Johnson will be clarified quickly by the American FDA and that targeted recommendations can then be made for whom this vaccine can and cannot be used."In France, Pfizer currently supplies most of the vaccines. According to the website Covidtracker.fr, which monitors the latest developments regarding the pandemic, 11 million French (of a total 67 million) have received their first vaccine, while 3.8 million have had their second jab.Over two-thirds of the 20 million doses obtained by French health services were supplied by Pfizer/BioNTech, less than a third by AstraZeneca and a small part by Moderna.(with AP, Reuters)

  • ‘The fear is much worse is coming’: Loyalist leaders call for political action as Northern Ireland violence returns

    ‘The young people feel that violence has paid off for the republicans, so why shouldn’t it pay off for them?’ hears Kim Sengupta in Belfast

  • Royal family release unseen pictures of Duke of Edinburgh surrounded by great-grandchildren

    Until now it had remained a cherished family photograph unseen by the rest of the world. Showing the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh surrounded by seven of their great-grandchildren at Balmoral Castle, the precious image had been kept under wraps for four years. Yet Prince Philip’s death on Friday last night prompted the 94-year-old monarch to open the treasured royal family album in loving memory of a beloved patriarch. The image, taken by the Duchess of Cambridge in 2018, shows the Queen holding baby Prince Louis in her arms as she sits between his brother Prince George, now seven, and sister Princess Charlotte, five. Peter Phillips’s daughter Savannah, 10, their eldest great-grandchild, stands behind the couple as her younger sister Isla, nine, cradles their cousin Lena, two, the daughter of Zara and Mike Tindall, whose eldest Mia, seven, flanks them, seemingly stifling a giggle. Telling a thousand words about the Queen and the Duke’s close bond with the youngest members of the House of Windsor, the image captures the relaxed mood as the children visited Great Granny and Grandpa in Scotland that summer.

  • Covid-19 rates drop below 100 per 100,000 in all local areas of UK

    The last time the entire country recorded rates below 100 was at the start of September.

  • Rate of people with Covid antibodies ‘levels off’ across most of UK

    ‘Clear pattern’ between Covid vaccinations and antibody positivity across UK, says Office for National Statistics

  • A gold nose pin, boxes of eggs, or a tax rebate: Covid vaccine incentives around the world

    A gold nose pin, boxes of eggs, or a tax rebate: Covid vaccine incentives around the worldMembers of the public are being offered gifts and discounts to encourage vaccine take-upSee all our coronavirus coverage A man receives a dose of Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine in Dhaka Photograph: Suvra Kanti Das/ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock

  • English universities despair as in-person teaching ruled out before 17 May

    English universities despair as in-person teaching ruled out before 17 MayMove likely to fuel demands for compensation with students saying they have already missed outCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage Students walk past Coventry University library. University leaders had hoped to persuade ministers to ease Covid restrictions in line with the lifting of other lockdown measures in England. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images

  • Biden’s White House communications strategy is driving Republicans insane

    In the words of one House Republican campaign operative, ‘It’s a nightmare’

  • NHS trusts preparing to make Covid vaccinations compulsory, leak reveals

    Leaked letter reveals trust aims to to unilaterally change NHS staff contracts to require vaccinations

  • Covid crisis leads to ‘sharp rise’ in black youth unemployment

    The UK jobless rate for young black people rose by more than a third to 35 per cent during the pandemic

  • Truck driver jailed for 22 years for killing four police officers in Melbourne crash

    A truck driver who was under the influence of drugs and sleep deprived when he drove into four police officers has been sentenced to 22 years in prison. The traffic officers - three policemen and a policewoman - had pulled over a speeding car when Mohinder Singh ploughed into them. Officers Lynette Taylor, Kevin King, Glen Humphris and Joshua Prestney all died at the scene.

  • Ex-Hollyoaks star Danny Mac "so excited" to welcome first child with Carley Stenson

    "We're just getting on with it the best we can."

  • UK asks for more time to respond to EU Brexit legal action - RTE TV

    DUBLIN (Reuters) -Britain has asked for more time to respond to legal action taken by the European Union over its unilateral decision to ease requirements of the Northern Ireland Protocol, Ireland's RTE television reported on Wednesday. The European Union launched legal action against Britain last month for unilaterally changing trading arrangements for Northern Ireland that Brussels says breach the Brexit divorce deal agreed with London last year. Brussels gave London, which has said it has not violated the agreement, a month to respond to the legal action, but the British government has requested an extension of one month, RTE reported.

  • Countdown's Rachel Riley announces second pregnancy with cryptic clue

    The 35-year-old TV presenter used a 'Countdown' conundrum to reveal her happy news.

  • J&J vaccine news: Pfizer can deliver 10% more shots amid concern ‘blood clot’ pause could impact rollout

    Follow the latest updates