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Menampilkan postingan dari September, 2017

Brexit: David Davis to update MPs returning after summer break

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Brexit Secretary David Davis is to update MPs on last week's negotiations with the European Union later. Mr Davis will make a statement in the House of Commons about the progress of the third round of Brexit talks. It comes after the prime minister said the UK is ready to "intensify" talks rather than stick to its one-week-a-month schedule. EU officials have warned over the progress of negotiations and said the UK must "start negotiating seriously". As the Commons returns after the summer recess, MPs will also hear about plans for science and innovation in the UK post-Brexit and debate the government's EU withdrawal bill. Brexit: All you need to know What is the repeal bill? What is at stake in EU-UK talks? The bill, to be debated on Thursday and seen as a key part of the government's Brexit strategy, will transfer existing EU legislation into domestic UK law. It has been suggested that some pro-EU Conservative MPs co...

Why is India threatening to deport its Rohingya population?

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India's announcement that it plans to deport its Rohingya population is an attempt to curry favour with Buddhist-majority Myanmar ahead of an official visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, writes Subir Bhaumik in Yangon. Three days before Rohingya militants attacked police posts in Myanmar's Rakhine state, killing 12 members of the security forces and triggering an apparent military crackdown that has led to an ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis, Indian junior home minister, Kiren Rijiju, announced that India would deport its entire Rohingya population, thought to number about 40,000. This number, he said, would include some 16,000 Rohingya who have been registered as refugees by the UN. "The UNHCR registration means nothing. For us, all of them remain illegal migrants," he said. After the police-post attack on 25 August, India's foreign ministry issued a strongly worded statement promising to stand firmly with Myanmar in its "fight against t...

India baby deaths: Second hospital probed

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Indian police are investigating the deaths of dozens of newborns at a hospital in Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh. Forty-nine children died at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital in a month, including at least 30 who are said to have died from "perinatal asphyxia". The condition is caused by reduced oxygen levels during childbirth. In August at least 160 minors died at a Gorakhpur hospital, in the same state. Some of the deaths there were also allegedly caused by lack of oxygen. But senior government officials have denied that this was the case in either hospital. In the most recent investigation, a government report blamed medical staff for 30 deaths, prompting the launch of a police investigation. The Press Trust of India reports that those 30 died from an apparent lack of oxygen while in intensive care at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital. Another 19 infants, who did not survive childbirth, were not part of the government report, the news agency said. All 49 ...

SMMT blames algorithm for blunder over used car data

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Car industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has said used car sales figures released last week were not correct. It blamed the mix up on an incorrect algorithm when it crunched official raw data. In figures released on 16 August, the SMMT said used car sales had fallen sharply - 13.5% in the second quarter of this year. But the revised figures now show the fall was actually a more gentle 0.7%. When the figures came out last week, it added to speculation that consumers were nervous about the UK economy and reining back spending. But a SMMT spokeswoman said on Thursday: "[Our] data team discovered there was an issue with an algorithm they used to process the data." The car industry body gets its raw used car sales data from the DVLA, the UK's vehicle licensing agency. The error occurred at some point in crunching those numbers, the spokeswoman said. Rather than a fall from 2.12 million to 1.83 million secondhand car sales in th...

Ford eyes deal with Chinese electric carmaker

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Ford has said it is in discussions with a Chinese company to create a new line of electric vehicles for the world's biggest market. Ford said it was exploring a joint venture with electric car maker Anhui Zotye Automobile Co. The firm is a major manufacturer of small, zero-emissions electric cars. The move comes as carmakers in China face new rules designed to boost electric car sales, part of the government's effort to fight pollution. China already has more electric cars on the road than any other country and Ford said it expects sales of all-electric cars in China to reach four million by 2025. Officials are also working on new rules that would require 8% of car sales to be electric next year and 12% by 2020. "Electric vehicles will be a big part of the future in China and Ford wants to lead in delivering great solutions to customers," said Peter Fleet, vice president and president for Ford Asia Pacific. Can China's electric c...

Hyundai vows to produce longer-range electric car

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Korean carmaker Hyundai is wading further into the electric vehicle market, promising a car that can go 500km (311 miles) on each charge. Hyundai already has an electric model on the market, but its range lags behind its competitors' models. Along with its affiliate Kia, Hyundai is planning 31 eco-friendly models by 2020. The latest move comes amid increasing competition in the market for ecologically-friendly cars. Hyundai's environmentally-conscious new additions will include three plug-in hybrid vehicles, eight battery-powered cars and two fuel-cell vehicles. The company also has plans to develop its first dedicated facility for pure electric vehicles, which will allow it to produce a variety of cars with longer driving ranges. Its current electric model, the Ioniq, has a range of 280km, less than GM's Bolt or Tesla's Model 3, which both have ranges in excess of 350km. Automotive analyst Robin Zhu from Bernstein Research says Hyunda...

Aston Martin announces £500m UK-Japan deal

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Aston Martin has announced a £500m trade and investment deal between the United Kingdom and Japan. The luxury car brand said on Wednesday it would step up its exports to Japan, open a number of new offices next year and expand its dealer network. The five-year deal will benefit its plants in St Athan in Vale of Glamorgan and Gaydon in Warwickshire. Prime Minister Theresa May said the investment was "vital" as Britain prepares to leave the EU. The announcement was made by the company's president and chief executive officer, Dr Andy Palmer, during his visit to Japan as part of the UK delegation accompanying Mrs May. The prime minister is aiming to allay Japan's concerns over Brexit and drum up trade during the visit. "As we prepare to leave the European Union, it is vital that we build on our existing ties with friends and allies," Mrs May said. "Aston Martin is a prime example of the innovative and world leading firms t...

Mini electric car design revealed by BMW

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German carmaker BMW has unveiled the basic design for the full-production electric version of the next Mini car. In July, the carmaker confirmed the fully electric version of the three-door Mini would go into production at its Cowley plant in Oxford in 2019. A Mini E electric car was launched in 2008 for extensive field trials. The new Mini Electric will be unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show next month. BMW says it will have "a powerful electric motor". However, no other technical details are available. Similarly, the concept does not contain an interior. About 360,000 Minis are made each year, with more than 60% of them built at Oxford. 'Recognisable' The car's drivetrain - which includes the motor, gearbox and battery pack - will be assembled in Germany and fixed to the rest of the car in the UK factory. "The new Mini Electric concept is instantly recognisable from the front by its hexagonal radiator grille and circula...

Boeing declares victory in Airbus subsidies dispute

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US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has won a victory in a long-running dispute with European rival Airbus. The World Trade Organization has reversed on appeal a ruling that Boeing received some state aid to help build its newest aircraft, the 777X. "The WTO has rejected yet another of the baseless claims the European Union has made," Boeing said in a statement. However, Airbus said ‎"the 'game' is far from over" as other complaints over alleged aid are still to be resolved. The two aviation giants have been locked for years in a sprawling set of disputes at the Geneva-based WTO. Last year, the WTO backed a European Union complaint that Boeing got tax breaks to site a production facility in Washington state. The US, acting on behalf of Boeing, appealed the decision and secured an outright victory that is not subject to further appeal, the WTO ruling said. According to Airbus, Washington state has given Boeing tax breaks worth a...

'Sharp rise' in student mental illness tests universities

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Almost five times as many students as 10 years ago have disclosed a mental health condition to their university, say researchers. In 2015-16, more than 15,000 UK-based first-year students disclosed mental health issues, Institute of Public Policy Research analysis suggests. The 2006 figure was about 3,000 and the rise risks overwhelming university services, the IPPR says. Universities UK said student mental health was "a strategic priority". UUK says a new framework, published on Monday, will boost the mental health and wellbeing of students and staff and help embed good mental health across all university activities. The IPPR study analyses figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, which show a larger rise in disclosure of mental health conditions among female students. Until 2009-10, the rate of male and female students reporting mental health issues was about the same, at about 0.5%. By 2015, however, it had risen to 2.5% of fema...

What happens in the brain to make us 'catch' yawns

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You may well be yawning just reading this - it's contagious. Now researchers have looked at what happens in our brains to trigger that response. A University of Nottingham team found it occurs in a part of the brain responsible for motor function. The primary motor cortex also plays a part in conditions such as Tourette's syndrome. So the scientists say understanding contagious yawning could also help understand those disorders too. Contagious yawning is a common form of echophenomena - the automatic imitation of someone else's words or actions. Echophenomena is also seen in Tourette's, as well as in other conditions, including epilepsy and autism. To test what's happening in the brain during the phenomenon, scientists monitored 36 volunteers while they watched others yawning. 'Excitability' In the study, published in the journal Current Biology, some were told it was fine to yawn while others were told to stifle the urge. ...

Birth trauma: Women urged to 'raise your voices'

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"I had an awful birth experience. But I didn't die. My baby didn't die... So why does that tale even need to be told?" A blog about the trauma of childbirth is being widely shared on social media - and it is prompting others to share their experiences. The Every Mum Should Know post has been viewed over 90,000 times. It's written by Sarah, a mum from Yorkshire, who began blogging to help cope with her feelings after the birth of her daughter, who is now almost two years old. In the blog, she says: "Birth is not always a positive experience. And being honest about that should not be something that women are made to feel shame or guilt over. "Expressing natural feelings of sadness or anger about a difficult birth doesn't mean that a new mother is ungrateful for a healthy baby, the opportunity for motherhood, or anything else." Speaking at the beginning of Birth Trauma Awareness Week, Sarah told BBC News: "It isn...