Sep 24, 2018
Tiger Woods wins Tour Championship as Justin Rose secures FedEx Cup
England's Justin Rose lost his world number one ranking as a result of finishing tied fourth but secured the overall FedEx Cup which determines the season-long PGA Tour champion - the first Englishman to do so. Back on the PGA Tour in 2018, Woods missed the cut in his second event but crucially felt fit enough to add tournaments to his schedule and the results soon followed, most notably when he led the Open Championship at Carnoustie with eight holes to play and then finished runner-up in...
Sep 23, 2018
#WhyIDidntReport: The hashtag supporting Christine Blasey Ford
President Trump inadvertently spawned a new and trending hashtag after questioning why Professor Christine Blasey Ford did not report her alleged sexual assault by his Supreme Court nominee when it happened 36 years ago. In one of a series of tweets on Friday, he said: "I have no doubt. that, if the attack on Dr Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed...". Under the hashtag #WhyIDidntReport, thousands of women began recounting why it took them many years to talk...
Sep 22, 2018
Maniac: The new James Bond director's experimental Netflix drama
Boasting a Hollywood A-list cast led by Emma Stone, Jonah Hill and Justin Theroux, the experimental Netflix series dropped on Friday. It's directed by none other than Cary Fukunaga, the new James Bond director who is taking charge following the departure of Danny Boyle last month. Here's all you need to know about the ambitious new drama. Hill's character Owen is from a successful, wealthy New York family but with a history of mental illness, he's the archetypal black sheep. "Fukunaga, who...
Sep 22, 2018
Brett Kavanaugh: Judge accuser given more time for hearing
The woman who accuses US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault has been given an extra day to decide whether she will testify against him at a confirmation hearing. Judge Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied the allegations. The feelings are strong on both sides - with both Prof Ford and Brett Kavanaugh and his wife both receiving threats and rallies of support over the matter. As Mr Trump's pick, Brett Kavanaugh has to first approved in the Senate before he can take his seat -...
Sep 22, 2018
Sky: Comcast outbids Fox with £30bn bid for broadcaster
US cable giant Comcast has submitted the winning bid in the auction for broadcaster Sky, valuing the company at more than £30bn. Comcast beat Rupert Murdoch's Fox in a rare blind auction process set by the UK's Takeover Panel. Sky's board are now expected to recommend the bid to shareholders before offer documents are sent out. Comcast's bid equated to £17.28 per share, beating Fox's £15.67 per share. Fox had looked set to take over the 61% of Sky it does not already own until Comcast topped...
Sep 22, 2018
Brett Kavanaugh: Judge accuser agrees to testify on Thursday
The woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault has agreed to testify against him next week. Judge Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied the allegations. The allegation against Judge Kavanaugh became public last week, after it emerged Prof Ford had detailed the alleged assault in a confidential letter to the top Democratic senator on the judiciary committee, Dianne Feinstein, in July. The feelings are strong on both sides - with both Prof Ford and Brett Kavanaugh and his...
Sep 21, 2018
Brett Kavanaugh accuser offers to testify to Senate
A woman who accuses Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh of trying to rape her in 1982 has offered to testify to the Senate if it can "Ensure her safety". Republicans had vowed to press ahead with the confirmation amid uncertainty over whether the accuser would testify. Judge Kavanaugh, 53, has agreed to testify to the judiciary committee, which vets Supreme Court nominees, on Monday. "Judge Kavanaugh has not asked to have the FBI investigate these claims. Is that the reaction of an innocent...
Sep 21, 2018
Facebook stops sending staff to help political campaigns
Facebook will no longer send employees to work at the offices of political campaigns during elections, the company has announced. The social network used to offer dedicated staff to political campaigns to help them develop their online advertising campaigns. Google and Twitter also offer specialised advice to political campaigns. Campaigns will still be able to get support online and the company did not rule out holding meetings with politicians. According to internal documents seen by...
Sep 20, 2018
James Bond: Cary Joji Fukunaga to direct next Bond film
Maniac director Cary Fukunaga has been named as the director of the next James Bond film. David Mackenzie, Yann Demange and Joe Wright were among the film-makers tipped to take over the director's chair, so Fukunaga is something of a surprise choice. Filming will begin at Pinewood Studios on 4 March and the film will be released on 14 February, 2020. Before Boyle's departure was announced, the film was set for a UK release on 25 October 2019, opening in US cinemas two weeks later. The film...
Sep 20, 2018
Facebook told to speed up changes or face 'sanctions'
Facebook has been given a deadline to provide more information about what is done with users' data, or it will face sanctions from the European Commission. Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova said the firm had not acted quickly enough after being told to update its terms of service in February. Facebook, which has to act by 31 December, said it had made some changes and would continue to co-operate. "If we don't see progress, the sanctions will come," Ms Jourova told a news conference. In...
Sep 19, 2018
Facebook accused of job ad gender discrimination
At least, that's what a cluster of job ads placed on Facebook seemed to suggest. The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday submitted a complaint to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that Facebook's advertising system allows employers to target job ads based on gender - a practice the ACLU says is illegal. The complaint highlights 10 different employers who posted job adverts on Facebook - for roles such as mechanic, roofer and security engineer - but used the social...
Sep 19, 2018
Christine Blasey Ford: Kavanaugh accuser 'faces death threats'
The woman who accuses US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of attempting to rape her will not testify to the Senate next week, says her lawyer. Christine Blasey Ford's attorney told CNN her client has been "Deflecting death threats and harassment". Lawyer Lisa Banks said before her client goes to Congress, she wants an FBI investigation into Judge Kavanaugh. Prof Ford, a psychology lecturer in California, has accused Judge Kavanaugh of drunkenly trying to remove her clothing in 1982 when...
Sep 19, 2018
Sony unveils mini PlayStation Classic console
Sony has announced a miniature version of the first PlayStation console, which originally launched in 1994. The console is the first of Sony's video game machines to be given a compact makeover. Nintendo has previously made mini versions of its NES and SNES consoles, which also included a set of pre-loaded classic games. "It was the first console I owned. Sony did an incredible marketing campaign, tapping into club culture to make games cool. It became a lifestyle thing for people in their...
Sep 18, 2018
Australia strawberry needle scare: Apple and banana fuel 'copycat' fears
Australian police say sewing needles have been found hidden in an apple and a banana, amid a nationwide scare that has tormented the strawberry industry. In the most serious case, a man was taken to hospital last week after eating a strawberry that contained a needle. Several strawberry brands have been withdrawn, while New Zealand's biggest grocers have stopped selling Australian strawberries as a precaution. Strawberry prices have already dropped around the country, with prices in Western...
Sep 18, 2018
BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen face EU diesel emissions probe
German carmakers BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen are to face an EU inquiry for allegedly conspiring to restrict diesel emissions treatment systems. The European Commission said it was investigating whether they agreed to limit the development of systems to reduce harmful emissions. The Commission said its in-depth investigation was intended to assess whether the carmakers colluded, in breach of EU anti-trust rules, to avoid competing on technology to clean up petrol and diesel car emissions....
Sep 17, 2018
Cardi B denies posting transphobic meme on Facebook
Cardi B has denied posting a transphobic meme on Facebook, suggesting it was a "Former team member". She later tweeted: "It's come to my attention there have been offensive posts made on what used to be my Facebook page." The Facebook post, which has now been deleted, was still live when Cardi B made the claims on Twitter. Cardi B apologised for using the same slur earlier this year, claiming she didn't know it was offensive. "He apologised for the lyrics, and Cardi B defended him:"I'm not...
Sep 16, 2018
Brett Kavanaugh 'sexual assault victim' speaks out
The woman alleging she was was sexually assaulted by US President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, has identified herself, the Washington Post reports. Christine Blasey Ford alleges he pinned her to a bed and tried to remove her clothing when they were both teenagers. Mr Kavanaugh denied the allegations when they first surfaced last week. Top Democrat Diane Feinstein has called for his nomination to be put on hold.
Sep 15, 2018
Spanish-speaking Taco Bell worker fired for refusing English-speaker
A Spanish-speaking Taco Bell employee in the US was fired after video emerged of her refusing to serve an English-speaking woman in Florida. Taco Bell told US media that the staff member "No longer works for the brand". "Luisa", as she was identified in the video, repeatedly claimed in Spanish none of the staff at the Taco Bell branch spoke English, at one point adding, "This is Hialeah, I'm sorry." The Taco Bell worker also threatened to call the police, after Ms Montgomery refused to leave...
Sep 14, 2018
North Korea claims NHS and Sony hack suspect 'doesn't exist'
North Korea has said that a man charged with hacking Sony Pictures in 2014 is a "Non-existent" individual and warned the US that its accusation could have a negative effect on relations between the two countries. A commentary from North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, published by state news agency KCNA, called the sanctioning of Mr Park a "Vicious slander and another smear campaign full of falsehood and fabrication designed to undermine" North Korea. Despite the North Korean claims that...
Sep 13, 2018
Amazon chief Jeff Bezos gives $2bn to help the homeless
Amazon chief Jeff Bezos is putting $2bn into a charitable fund he has established to help the homeless and set up a new network of schools. He said on Thursday that the "Bezos Day One Fund" will contribute to "Existing nonprofits that help homeless families" and also fund "a network of new, nonprofit, tier-one preschools in low-income communities". The fund will be split between Day 1 Families Fund and Day 1 Academies Fund. "The Day 1 Families Fund will issue annual leadership awards to...
Sep 12, 2018
Catalonia 'National Day' rally draws million
About a million people have taken to the streets of Barcelona to mark Catalonia's "National Day" and show continued support for independence. Catalan regional president Quim Torra and his predecessor Carles Puigdemont, who fled into exile in Belgium after the failed independence bid, had urged people to demonstrate. Tuesday's Diada holiday marks the day Barcelona fell to the soldiers of King Philip V in 1714 and for the past eight years has been used as a rallying point for independence. It...
Sep 12, 2018
The country where Facebook posts whipped up hate
Out of a population of about 50 million, around 18 million in Myanmar are regular Facebook users. Following the explosion in Facebook use in Myanmar, the company did receive multiple warnings from individuals about how the platform was being used to spread anti-Rohingya hate speech. In 2015, tech entrepreneur David Madden travelled to Facebook's headquarters in California to give managers a presentation on how he had seen the platform used to stir up hate in Myanmar. In a statement, Facebook...
Sep 12, 2018
Google, Facebook, Twitter face EU fines over extremist posts
Google, Facebook and Twitter must remove extremist content within an hour or face hefty fines, the European Commission's president has said. Net firms had been given three months in March to show they were acting faster to take down radical posts. If authorities flag content that incites and advocates extremism, the content must be removed from the web within an hour, the proposal from the EU's lead civil servant state. Net firms that fail to comply would face fines of up to four percent of...
Sep 12, 2018
Apple iPhone XS unveiled alongside fall-detecting Watch
Apple overtook Xiaomi and Fitbit to become the world's bestselling wearable tech company in the second half of 2017 thanks to strong demand for the last generation of its smartwatch. That helped propel Apple to become the world's first company with a market capitalisation above $1tn. However, China's Huawei still managed to overtake it in terms of overall smartphone market share in the April-to-June quarter, putting Apple into third place. "Huawei was able to overtake it because Apple is not...
Sep 11, 2018
Hurricane Florence seen from space
More than a million people in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia have been ordered to leave their homes as Florence is predicted to make landfall near Wilmington, North Carolina, late on Thursday. The National Hurricane Center said: "Some strengthening is expected during the next day or so, and Florence is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane through Thursday night."
Sep 11, 2018
Russia's Navalny challenged to a duel by Zolotov
The head of Russia's National Guard says he will "make a beefsteak" out of Russia's opposition leader.
Sep 10, 2018
Libya violence: Gunmen storm oil corporation building
An armed group is said to have stormed the building of the National Oil Corporation in Tripoli.
Sep 10, 2018
Nike sales defy Kaepernick ad campaign backlash
Nike sales appear to have increased in the wake of its controversial advertising campaign, using Colin Kaepernick as the face of the brand. Online sales grew by 31% in the bank holiday weekend after the ad launched, according to researcher Edison Trends. The rise will confound critics, who encouraged people to destroy Nike goods in protest at the use of Mr Kaepernick. When the company announced the ad campaign featuring the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, pictures emerged on social...
Sep 10, 2018
Volkswagen investors start €9bn emissions court case
Volkswagen has gone on trial in Germany in what is the first court case against the carmaker over the diesel scandal. Investors are pursuing VW for about €9.2bn in damages, claiming the company should have come clean sooner about falsifying emissions data. "VW should have told the market that they cheated," Andreas Tilp, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the court. The case involves about 50 lawyers, and interest in the hearing is so great that it had to be moved from the court house to a...
Sep 10, 2018
Facebook animal trade exposed in Thailand
More than 1,500 listings of live animals for sale have been found on Facebook in Thailand by a wildlife trafficking watchdog. Facebook said it did not allow the trade of endangered species. Among the 200 different species listed for sale were two non-native species banned from international commercial trade - the Eurasian otter and the black spotted turtle. "Growing online wildlife trade will only pile further pressure on threatened non-native species that currently have no legal protection...