Saturday, October 17

ENGLISH

Chinese Billionaire Plots Rescue of a Great British Carmaker
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Chinese Billionaire Plots Rescue of a Great British Carmaker

    An assembly hall sits rusting on a 55-acre factory complex in eastern England, surrounded by a vast expanse of green, productive farmlands. The forlorn structure is a reminder of the latest failed attempt to revive Lotus Cars, a specialist sportscar maker and engineering powerhouse. In its heyday, Lotus was revered for lightweight racers favored by James Bond and Mario Andretti. The company’s engineering talent alone was so well respected it developed a successful consulting firm with clients that included General Motors, Aston Martin, and Tesla. But consumer tastes changed. When sports cars gave way to SUVs, Lotus suffered. Under an ambitious plan hatched in 2009, Lotus started building the new hall in anticipation of producing an expanded lineup of five new models. But t...
Theresa May will not lead us into next election say top Tories
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Theresa May will not lead us into next election say top Tories

    Senior Tories today crushed Theresa May’s claim that she will lead them into the next election. MPs and grandees shot down her surprise assertion that she is “here for the long term” and will remain Prime Minister into the next parliament. Even loyal supporters, who said Mrs May was right to assert her authority as premier, admitted there could be no second chance for her to run a general election campaign after throwing away David Cameron’s 2015 majority. Related: Theresa May: I'm not a quitter (Sky News) Former Cabinet minister Nicky Morgan said it would be “difficult” for Mrs May to stay on until 2022, when the next election is due. Lord Heseltine, the former deputy prime minister, said Mrs May had no long-term future. Privately, two executive members of the 1922 Commit...
US flies bombers, fighters in show of force against North Korea
America, ENGLISH

US flies bombers, fighters in show of force against North Korea

    The United States flew some of its most advanced warplanes in bombing drills with ally South Korea on Thursday, a clear warning after North Korea launched a midrange ballistic missile designed to carry nuclear bombs over Japan earlier this week, the U.S. and South Korean militaries said. North Korea hates such displays of U.S. military might at close range and will likely respond with fury. Two U.S. B-1B supersonic bombers and four F-35B stealth fighter jets joined four South Korean F-15 fighters in live-fire exercises at a military field in eastern South Korea that simulated precision strikes against the North's "core facilities," according to the U.S. Pacific Command and South Korea's Defense Ministry. The B-1Bs were flown in from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam while th...
Texas faces long recovery from Harvey, rising financial toll
America, ENGLISH

Texas faces long recovery from Harvey, rising financial toll

    As floodwaters receded and rescuers searched waterlogged neighborhoods for more potential victims, Houston officials began turning their attention to finding temporary housing for those in shelters and getting enough gasoline for people to fill up cars but also to the city's long-term recovery, which will take years and billions of dollars. Authorities raised the death toll from the storm to 39 late Thursday. And the latest statewide damage surveys revealed the staggering extent of the destruction. The Texas Department of Public Safety said more than 37,000 homes were heavily damaged and nearly 7,000 were destroyed, figures that did not include the tens of thousands of homes with minor damage. About 325,000 people have already sought federal emergency aid in the wake of Ha...
Ivanka Trump’s secret nickname Princess Royal in White House
America, ENGLISH

Ivanka Trump’s secret nickname Princess Royal in White House

    First daughter and senior adviser to the president Ivanka Trump has earned a petty nickname among fellow West Wing aides: princess royal. That's according to a revealing Vanity Fair story out this week. After the first daughter briefly took President Trump's place at a conference table with world leaders at the G-20 summit last month, many were aghast, pointing out that no one elected her. (Though, as German chancellor Angela Merkel pointed out, it's not unusual for a delegate to take the place of a president at these events.) Excuse me, one former Trump adviser told Vanity Fair. This is not a royal family, and she's not the princess royal. But that's exactly what White House aides have taken to calling the first daughter - behind her back, of course. The story focused on ...
Ryanair’s Boss Michael O’Leary criticised Theresa May during Japan visit
ENGLISH, United Kingdom

Ryanair’s Boss Michael O’Leary criticised Theresa May during Japan visit

    Ryanair's Michael O'Leary has criticised British Prime Minister Theresa May for swanning around Japan eating cakes and drinking sake. Despite being on a visit to the Asian economic powerhouse, May has struggled to shrug off questions about her leadership of the Conservative party and O’Leary has said that he believes her days are numbered. There have been reports that May was considering stepping down after the UK leaves the EU in 2019 but she denied this in a series of interviews in Japan, insisting that she is staying for the long term. There is absolutely no basis for those reports whatsoever, I am in this for the long term, because this is a long-term challenge for the United Kingdom,  May said. We need to get the Brexit deal right, deliver the right deal for the peopl...
Donald Trump mocked after failing to meet a single victim of Hurricane Harvey floods
America, ENGLISH

Donald Trump mocked after failing to meet a single victim of Hurricane Harvey floods

    Donald Trump has been criticised after saying that his heart goes out to the victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, despite failing to meet a single victim as he visited the disaster stricken state. After witnessing first hand the horror & devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey, my heart goes out even more so to the great people of Texas!, the President posted on Twitter yesterday. But his message is a direct contrast to his actual visit where he delivered a rally-like speech and reportedly boasted of the amount of people who had turned out to hear his message. I will tell you, this is historic, it’s epic, he told a crowd during his visit. During the brief trip, he also failed to honour the memory of the 19 lives claimed by the disaster, and instead opted to deliver a b...
Two Grenfell Tower victims identified from remains by dental records and DNA
ENGLISH, London

Two Grenfell Tower victims identified from remains by dental records and DNA

    Two men who died in the Grenfell Tower fire were identified by dental records and DNA from human remains found on the 23rd floor. The remains of Hesham Rahman, 57, and Ernie Vital, 50, were discovered on the second-highest floor of the high-rise, Westminster Coroner’s Court heard. Mr Rahman, who lived alone on the floor where his remains were found, was identified following dental examination, Coroner’s Officer Eric Sword said. Where the Grenfell Tower victims were found He was said to have last made contact with his family at around 3am when he told them he could smell smoke. Mr Rahman, whose post-mortem examination took place on August 9, was reported to have had diabetes, making it difficult for him to walk down stairs. Westminster Coroner Fiona Wilcox said: I understan...
Tower Hamlets youngsters ready to build their futures
ENGLISH, London

Tower Hamlets youngsters ready to build their futures

Eleven Tower Hamlets trainee apprentices looking to forge a career in construction met Tower Hamlets Mayor John Biggs, who celebrated with them and their host company Ballymore as they completed their pre- apprenticeship work placements. They had found their placements via WorkPath – the council's revolutionary new employment service for all Tower Hamlets residents that provides employment support tailored to individual need whatever the experience level. For most it was their first work experience, and they did it in the growing construction sector – an area key to the development of the borough providing highly skilled jobs for thousands of people. Their placement was with Ballymore, who are responsible for some of the most exciting building projects in the UK - including the City Island...
Firefighter who gave Princess Diana CPR after Paris crash
ENGLISH, Europe

Firefighter who gave Princess Diana CPR after Paris crash

    A firefighter who gave CPR to Princess Diana after pulling her from the wreckage of the car crash that killed her has said that night will stay with me forever. Sergeant Xavier Gourmelon, 50, said he was certain the Princess of Wales would survive the crash after he resuscitated her when she went into cardiac arrest in the Paris tunnel on August 31, 1997. He was in charge of a medically trained fire crew at the scene and said she uttered the words “My God, what’s happened?” moments before she lost consciousness. In his first interview since the crash ahead of the 20th anniversary of her death on Thursday, Mr Gourmelon told how he pulled the 36-year-old princess from the wrecked Mercedes. He said after giving her CPR, he was convinced she would survive. Father-of-two Mr Gou...