World News

Beyond the Red Carpet: How the Breakthrough Prize Creates Cultural Impact

While the glamorous scenes from the Breakthrough Prize ceremony capture immediate attention—celebrities in formal wear, scientists on the red carpet, $3 million awards—the event's true significance lies in its lasting cultural impact. The 11th annual ceremony, held at Santa Monica's Barker...

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Earliest known portrait of Francis Drake on display

Visitors to Sir Francis Drake’s former home Buckland Abbey in Devon can now see a newly identified portrait of the Elizabethan seafarer on public display for the first time.

The painting, believed to be the earliest likeness of Drake, will be on loan from a private collector, Dirk T. Griffin, for the next 12 months and will be hanging in the Drake Chamber at the National Trust’s...

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Plymouth

Sea turtles face plastic pollution peril

A new global review led by the University of Exeter that set out to investigate the hazards of marine plastic pollution has warned that all seven species of marine turtles can ingest or become entangled in the discarded debris that currently litters the oceans.

The research, which was carried out in collaboration with Plymouth Marine Laboratory, North Carolina Wildlife Resources...

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Plymouth University agrees to play enhanced role in ESRC Festival of Social Science

Plymouth University has forged a partnership with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) which will see it expanding its role in a major national festival taking place this autumn.

The ESRC stages the Festival of Social Science every November, with the aim of enhancing public engagement with academics and social science research.

Plymouth was among the universities to...

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DEC rallies further support from British public

On Saturday 25 April a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal. It severely shook the lives of at least 8m people and left many homeless. Nepal’s major cities, including the capital Kathmandu, have been badly damaged and rural areas near the epicentre have been completely cut off by avalanches.

The UK public has donated £45 million to the DEC Nepal Earthquake Appeal since it...

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Flatulent cows cause methane blast

An explosion in a cow shed in the German town of Rasdorf yesterday afternoon (Monday 27 Jan) was caused by a build-up of flatulent gas, German police have said.

The blast caused damage to the shed’s roof and left one of the cows with injuries.

Police believe that the shed became filled flammable methane gas released by the flatulence and belches from the 90 cows.

It is...

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Increasing risk of “Extreme El Niños”, research shows

The risk of extreme versions of the El Niño weather phenomenon will double over the coming decades due to global warming, new research has shown.

The frequency of ‘extreme El Niños’ could see a twofold increase as the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean warms faster than the surrounding regions.

The last major events in 1982-3 and 1997-98, when sea surface temperatures exceeding...

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Mourners pay tribute to Nelson Mandela

Crowds have gathered in South Africa to mourn the death of Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa.

Mr Mandela 95 was a world-wide hero whose struggle for freedom against Apartheid and later leading the nation to re-build and reconcile after decades of injustice was an inspiration to millions.

In a statement on South African national TV last night, South...

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Plymouth

First UK aid delivery flight arrives in Philippines

The UK's first flight delivering urgently needed humanitarian aid has landed in the Philippines.

A chartered Boeing 777 carrying 8,836 shelter kits from UK Government stores in Dubai landed in the city of Cebu in the middle of the night local time and was met by Department for International Development (DFID) humanitarian workers.

It comes ahead of DFID-funded food, water,...

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Rock legend Lou Reed dies aged 71

Lou Reed, the singer, guitarist and songwriter and a key figure in the history of rock music through his work both solo and with The Velvet Underground, has died at the age of 71.

Reed had a liver transplant earlier this year, and his literary agent said he died of a "liver-related ailment".

Born in New York in 1942, Lewis Allen 'Lou' Reed attended Syracuse University where...

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Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Syria chemical weapons monitors

The organisation responsible for monitoring the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2013 Prize to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons.

The Nobel Committee said: "During World War One, chemical weapons were...

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