Commercial space trips are a step closer to becoming reality after Virgin Galactic's spaceship took a glide and landed safely in the New Mexico desert.

The United States has authorised the emergency use of the Ebola drug remdesivir for treating coronavirus, clearing the way for the potential treatment of 140,000 patients around the country.

Gay and bisexual men have reportedly been told they cannot donate their plasma to coronavirus trials at a London hospital.

The NHS coronavirus contact tracing app will be trialled in the Isle of Wight this week before being rolled out more widely later this month, the Transport Secretary said.

Cumbria Police have apologised for an "ill-judged" tweet that suggested people should not buy plants or compost during the coronavirus lockdown.

Trials are beginning on a new coronavirus contact-tracing app which ministers have said will save lives and help lift Britain out of lockdown.

The number of new Covid-19 cases "needs to come down further", an expert has warned, as the UK death toll recorded its lowest daily rise since the end of March.

China has launched a newly designed spacecraft as part of its ambitious plan to build an orbiting space station.

A police officer accused of murdering former Aston Villa star Dalian Atkinson is set to go ahead in September, despite the current uncertainty about court timetables due to coronavirus.

A London war memorial has been vandalised in what police described as a "senseless" act.

Influential keyboardist and electronic music pioneer dies following short battle with cancer

The post Kraftwerk Co-Founder Florian Schneider Dead at 73 appeared first on My Site.

The British vocalist and singer-songwriter suffered a cardiac arrest on May 6th in Florida

The post Bad Company Singer Brian Howe Dead at 66 appeared first on My Site.

A solar-driven hydrogen-producing machine that makes more copies of itself.

On a 9,288km journey inspired by the centennial anniversary of the railway’s completion in 1916, photographer Annie Ling captures life onboard the Trans-Siberian Railway, and beyond the carriage window

Smartphones can be used to digitally trace Covid-19. But not if the public don’t download an app over privacy fears – or find it won’t work on their device

The idea of the NHS tracing app is to enable smartphones to track users and tell them whether they interacted with someone who had Covid-19. Yet this will work only if large proportions of the population download the app. No matter how smart a solution may appear, mass consent is required. That will not be easy. Ministers and officials have failed to address the trade-offs between health and privacy by being ambiguous about the app’s safeguards.

Instead of offering cast-iron guarantees about the length of time for which data would be held; who can access it; and the level of anonymity afforded, we have had opacity and obfuscation. It is true that we are dealing with uncertainties. But without absolute clarity about privacy the public is unlikely to take up the app with the appropriate gusto.

The chance to put biodiversity and the environment at the heart of recovery from the pandemic should not be squandered

One night in April, birdwatchers from around Britain stepped outside their doors and listened intently to something most of them had never experienced before: the fluting, mysterious, melancholy cry of the common scoter on the wing.

Flocks of these dusky sea ducks were beating their way over Britain on their long migratory journey towards their Arctic breeding grounds, easily audible to the naked ear. The first great wave was heard on the Wirral before being picked up in the Peak District, and at last by the Humber. A second wave was made out as flocks made their way along the line of Hadrian’s wall, from the Solway Firth in the west to Northumberland in the east. A third wave flew above listeners from the Severn estuary to the Wash. The birds were heard in urban Blackburn, Stalybridge, Bristol and London. It was thanks to social media that so many listeners were alert to the birds’ progress – and thanks to the silence of lockdown that they could be heard.

‘Challenge’ studies would deliberately give coronavirus to healthy volunteers

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

Controversial trials in which volunteers are intentionally infected with Covid-19 could accelerate vaccine development, according to the World Health Organization, which has released new guidance on how the approach could be ethically justified despite the potential dangers for participants.

So-called challenge trials are a mainstream approach in vaccine development and have been used in malaria, typhoid and flu, but there are treatments available for these diseases if a volunteer becomes severely ill. For Covid-19, a safe dose of the virus has not been established and there are no failsafe treatments if things go wrong.

The US believes Russia is working with Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, to send militia fighters and equipment to Libya, according to senior officials. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, US special envoy for Syria, Jim Jeffrey, said Libya’s increasingly shadowy battlefield could get even more complicated. “We know that, certainly, the Russians are working with Assad to transfer militia fighters, possibly third country, possibly Syrian, to Libya, as well as equipment,” he said. His comments came a day after a leaked UN report confirmed the presence of Russian and Syrian mercenaries operating in Libya in support of renegade military commander, Khalifa Haftar. The report revealed that Russian private military contractor, Wagner Group, has up to 1,200 mercenaries operating in Libya in support of General Haftar’s forces, which are already backed by the UAE, Russia and Egypt. The report, seen by Reuters, is one of the first indications of the scale of Wagner’s military operation in Libya’s messy battlefield, as well as the first time the UN has confirmed the presence of the shadowy Russian mercenaries. Since 2014, the oil-rich North African country has been split between areas controlled by the internationally recognised Government of National Accord in Tripoli and the northwest, and territory held by Gen Haftar’s eastern-based forces in Benghazi. For almost six years Gen Haftar’s forces have been at war with a coalition of militias from the west of the country who support the government in Tripoli. Turkey is the only military backer of the Tripoli government that is currently trying to stave off Haftar’s year-long offensive on the capital. The UAE and Egypt have long strengthened Haftar’s forces with military equipment, including aircraft and helicopters, while Moscow provided private contractor forces. As the conflict has drawn on and involvement has increasingly become the stage for a struggle for power in the region, diplomats say both Turkey and the UAE have deployed drones and the use of mercenaries has increased, now seemingly including forces from Russia and Syria. Libya has been mired in chaos since a 2011 NATO intervention helped topple Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, and its battlefields increasingly populated with foreign fighters in a shadow-war. Russian mercenaries were first reported fighting alongside General Haftar’s forces in Libya in 2018. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, however, insisted that those mercenaries do not represent the Russian government. Yet when General Haftar visited Moscow in 2018, Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman with long-standing ties to Mr Putin and suspected owner of Wagner, was seen in the footage of the meeting, sitting near the Russian defence minister. Russia, which also backs Assad’s government in Syria, has maintained a delicate balancing act in Libya, forging ties with both the UN-recognised government and with the rebel commander. But Moscow’s patience with General Haftar began to run out earlier this year when he and his entourage in January abruptly left the much-anticipated cease-fire talks in Moscow mediated by Russia and Turkey without signing the deal. Henry Wooster, deputy assistant secretary at State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs also expressed increasing concern over the ties between the Libyan commander and Syria’s president, who are both bitter enemies of Turkey and fighting Turkish-backed militant groups on their soil. “Haftar’s establishment of so-called diplomatic relations with the Assad regime...is very much a part of the piece of the question of Syrian mercenaries, at least on his side of the equation,” he said. While the leaked report also confirmed the presence of Syrian mercenaries in Libya fighting alongside Haftar’s forces, Pro-Turkish Syrians are also known to be fighting with the Tripoli government, against General Haftar.

Australian scientists also working to evaluate extent of immunity to virus among public

More than 500 people enrol to test jab following trials in animals

Uncooked pet food could be source of pathogens dangerous to humans, research suggests

Exclusive: The key evidence for his high status is the unusually fine material buried with him for his journey to the next life, writes David Keys

Researchers suggest unusual rapid shift is due to competing patches of magnetic field

Victoria Beckham can’t seem to catch a break these days from social media critics. Posh shared a photo of her homeschooling Harper during the lockdown, only to be immediately criticized because the 7-year old is wearing a school uniform at home. Some trolls took an opportunity to blast Victoria again for using taxpayer’s money to […]

The post Victoria Beckham Is Making Harper Wearing School Uniform At Home appeared first on Chart Attack.

Ariana Grande (26) released her new song with Justin Bieber in which the music video features home videos from countless fans and celebs, including her own clip with her new beau. It seems as though the brunette bombshell decided to finally confirm her budding romance with 27-year old Dalton Gomez. The singer wore an oversized […]

The post Ariana Grande Shows Off Her New Beau In “Stuck With U” Video appeared first on Chart Attack.

Out this weekend: Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber's new duet, Michelle Obama's documentary on Netflix and the season finale of "Saturday Night Live."

Workaround tricked Steam to get past Denuvo's DRM protection.

Who wants to make sequels forever?

Another 'Star Wars' actor has added their voice to the criticism of Rian Johnson's movie.

The procedural move gives attorneys for House Democrats until May 18 to respond. They say they're owed access to confidential evidence and other materials. No, argues the Trump administration.

After a decade of marriage, one Hollywood couple has decided to call it quits. E! News can confirm Grey's Anatomy star Caterina Scorsone and her husband Rob Giles have decided to go...

Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande’s new video for “Stuck With U” features a variety of celebs and their significant others – and also confirms a few rumoured relationships.

Washington Capitals forward Brendan Leipsic suddenly finds himself in hot water. A private group chat featuring Leipsic was leaked on Wednesday, including misogynistic comments made by the NHLer.

And let's move beyond the tiresome ideological battle lines of “private bad, public good.” It's not that simple.

Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande team up

The government must be cautious in both the decisions it takes and the messages it sends

• Coronavirus – latest updates
• See all our coronavirus coverage

The end is not in sight. With an estimated 20,000 new infections a day, and with experts warning that the reproduction rate of coronavirus may be rising again, any premature loosening of the lockdown will only prolong the crisis. When the prime minister speaks on Sunday evening, it is essential that he makes it clear that people should still be staying at home, not relaxing their guard.

Though so many other countries had been hit, the government did not act soon enough to either contain the threat or prepare for it. Those failures have made a longer and tougher lockdown necessary. It was slow to take the pandemic seriously, slow to impose stringent social distancing, and slow to pursue equipment, testing and tracing, as the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, noted this week.

- With its season cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, one of Austria's most popular glacial ski resorts covered its glacier in protective fabric earlier than usual this year to help preserve it for a still uncertain reopening.

The series will give a first behind-the-scenes look at the making of 'The Mandalorian'

Esteemed actor of stage and screen died on Wednesday of natural causes

Good Morning Britain co-hosts disagreed over the former Spice Girls singer's fashion label using the government's job retention scheme

Comedian was sat on a stool at the other side of the studio to his hosts

Smollett was re-indicted in February after being charged with fabricating a racially motivated assault

'I'm kind of worried about what's going to happen because a lot of us are eating quite a lot'

The blunder was worth $800

Announcement followed a day of newly revealed Star Wars projects

Actor is famous for making her opinions known during interviews

Singer who also worked with Ted Nugent and Megadeth dies at Florida home of a heart attack

Brian Howe, the singer who fronted the British rock supergroup Bad Company for eight years, has died aged 66. He had a heart attack at his Florida home.

Howe’s manager Paul Easton said: “It is with deep and profound sadness that we announce the untimely passing of a loving father, friend and musical icon.”

The Kraftwerk co-founder remained a mystery even after death, but there is no doubting the impact he made with his group’s sublime, visionary music

• News: Florian Schneider, Kraftwerk co-founder, dies aged 73

Florian Schneider’s death came shrouded in a degree of secrecy. Gossip among fans about his health was first provoked at the end of April, when his fellow former Kraftwerk member Wolfgang Flür posted a sweet photo on social media of him and Schneider together in a bar, without explanation.

It had apparently been taken in 2016 – a decade and a half after Schneider and fellow founder member Ralf Hütter had served Flür with a lawsuit provoked by his autobiography I Was a Robot – and was subsequently deleted from Flür’s Facebook page. Then, a week later, another electronic musician based in Germany, the Manchester-born Mark Reeder, posted a brief eulogy; one commenter claimed that Schneider had died “several days ago”.