Author: SKYNEWS

A Bitcoin tycoon has blasted off on a SpaceX rocket in what is the first manned spacecraft to circle Earth over the North and South poles.The fully automated Dragon capsule will take about 46 minutes to fly its pole-to-pole trajectory and roughly 90 minutes to go around the Earth completely. It launched from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Monday night on SpaceX’s sixth private mission – and is now orbiting 272 miles above Earth at 17,000mph.China-born Chun Wang, who made his fortune mining Bitcoin, paid an undisclosed amount for the bespoke mission.However, a spot in the reusable Dragon spacecraft…

Heathrow Airport bosses had been warned of potential substation failures less than a week before a major power outage closed the airport for a day, a committee of MPs has heard.The chief executive of Heathrow Airline Operators’ Committee Nigel Wicking told MPs of the Transport Committee he raised issues about resilience on 15 March after cable and wiring took out lights on a runway. A fire at an electricity substation in west London meant the power supply was disrupted to Europe’s largest airport for a day – causing travel chaos for nearly 300,000 passengers, the committee heard.”I’d actually warned Heathrow…

Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan will play Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in the upcoming Beatles films – with a Stranger Things star also portraying one of the Fab Four.The two Irish stars will be joined by London-born actors Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison. The cast for the Sam Mendes project was revealed at the CinemaCon event in Las Vegas, with all four actors appearing on stage and taking a bow together in Beatles style. Image: (L-R) Mescal, Quinn, Keoghan and Dickinson appeared together at the announcement. Pic: Reuters Mendes is making four interconnected…

One of the astronauts who was stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) has said some of the blame for what went wrong lies with him. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams splashed down off the coast of Florida earlier this month after more than nine months onboard the ISS. The two astronauts docked at the ISS on 5 June last year, expecting to be there for just eight days.Instead, issues with Boeing’s long-awaited Starliner meant NASA decided to leave them waiting in orbit for months. Image: Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore. Pics: NASA Please use Chrome browser for a more…

For those who’re on modest means, the cost of the licence fee going up by £5 on 1 April of all days is a bit of a bad joke.Certainly, for residents at St Crispin Retirement Village, it’s hard to see the funny side. Among them is 83-year-old Stan Fritton who, since last November, has been embroiled in a battle over how much he and his neighbours should be paying for the BBC.Their accommodation coming under one roof, they previously paid £7.50 each, qualifying for an accommodation for residential care (ARC) licence.They then turned a former storage room into one of…

Richard Chamberlain, who starred in the TV medical drama “Dr Kildare” and the 1980s mini-series “Shogun”, has died at the age of 90, his publicist said.Chamberlain became a heartthrob as the handsome Dr James Kildare in the medical drama that ran from 1961 to 1966. Photoplay magazine named him “most popular male star” three years in a row from 1963 to 1965.His breakout role in Dr Kildare marked the start of a six-decade career that spanned theatre, films and television.The California-born actor was dubbed the “king of the mini-series” after appearing in several TV dramas in the 1980s. This included…

The first orbital rocket launched from mainland Europe took off from Norway on Sunday – but crashed into the sea and exploded 40 seconds later.The unmanned Spectrum rocket blasted off from the Arctic Andoeya Spaceport, on Sunday at 12.30pm local time before it was terminated less than a minute later. Isar Aerospace, the German company that built the rocket, had warned that the launch could end prematurely. It maintained that despite being short, the flight had produced extensive data that its team could learn from.”Our first test flight met all our expectations, achieving a great success,” Daniel Metzler, Isar’s chief…

Stock markets have plummeted as the 2 April implementation day of US tariffs ticks closer.Benchmark stocks in Asia were rattled at the lack of progress in halting US President Donald Trump’s taxes which are due to come into force on US imports from Wednesday. After delays, 25% tariffs are to be levied on all cars entering the US on what Mr Trump has called “liberation day”.Trade barriers are also expected to be announced on countries deemed to be giving the US a bad deal on trade.In Japan, the Nikkei stock index lost nearly 4% at points before closing 3.86% down,…

The “bowcaster” used by Chewbacca in the original Star Wars trilogy has sold for more than $750,000 at auction – while the medal given to Luke Skywalker at the end of “A New Hope” has fetched over $370,000.”Chewie’s” weapon, which featured in all of the first three Star Wars films between 1977 and 1983, sold for far more than its estimate of between $250,000 and $500,000 (£193,203 to £386,407). The item sold for $768,600 (£593,985) and is a real Horton crossbow, which was modified to give it a futuristic look so it could serve as a laser weapon.Some of the…

A rapid test harnessing the power of AI is set to transform the diagnosis of a lung condition that affects 3 million people in the UK.Two thirds of those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) don’t even know they’ve got it, but it’s the second most common cause of emergency hospital admissions. Until now, confirmation has required a spirometry test involving forced exhalation. It can take half an hour or more, and that’s once you’ve managed to get an appointment.Dr Simon Rudland, a GP in Suffolk, is excited about the potential to provide quick, accessible diagnosis.”Spirometry is delivered out of…