Germanwings plane crash: Black box 'has usable data'

 
French investigators say usable data has been extracted from the cockpit voice recorder of Germanwings 4U 9525 but it has so far yielded no clues as to the cause of the plane's crash.

They said the plane hit the ground in the French Alps at great velocity, suggesting no explosion in flight.
Flight 4U 9525 from Barcelona to Duesseldorf crashed after an eight-minute rapid descent on Tuesday.
The French, German and Spanish leaders visited the crash site on Wednesday.

Remi Jouty, the director of the French aviation investigative agency, said there were sounds and voices on the cockpit voice recorder but that it was too early to draw any conclusions.

He said he hoped investigators would have the "first rough ideas in a matter of days" but that the full analysis could take weeks or even months.
There had been earlier reports that the second black box - the flight data recorder - had been found. But Mr Jouty said this was not the case.

'Flying to the end'

Mr Jouty said the plane's last communication was a routine one with air traffic control.
The plane confirmed instructions to continue on its planned flight path but then began its descent a minute later.

Analysis by Richard Westcott, BBC Transport Correspondent
The "black box" cockpit voice recorder is pretty battered but the devices are bomb-proof, literally, so investigators should still be able to listen to what happened on board.
The large, orange cylindrical part in the middle holds the memory boards that record the pilots' voices, and that looks intact to me.

The critical question now is, were the pilots speaking during those lost eight minutes when the aircraft dropped from 38,000ft to the ground?
If they're quiet, investigators will know they were unconscious, and that suggests a major decompression took place on board. That's when a hole in the fuselage lets all the air out. It's not necessarily fatal, if the pilots can get their oxygen masks on in time, something they train for, but if they were knocked out, it would explain the lack of a mayday call or any obvious attempt to steer the stricken aircraft to the nearest runway.

Mr Jouty said controllers observed the plane beginning to descend and tried to get back in contact with the pilots but without success.
He ruled out an explosion, saying: "The plane was flying right to the end."

 

Mr Jouty said: "At this stage, clearly, we are not in a position to have the slightest explanation or interpretation of the reasons that could have led this plane to descend... or the reasons why it did not respond to attempts to contact it by air traffic controllers."

'Shoulder to shoulder'

Germanwings chief Thomas Winkelmann said 72 of the 144 passengers were German citizens. The victims included 16 pupils returning from an exchange trip. Spain's government now says 51 of the dead were Spanish.
UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed that three Britons were on board. Other victims were from Australia, Argentina, Iran, Venezuela, the US, the Netherlands, Colombia, Mexico, Japan, Denmark and Israel.
However, there may be some duplication because of dual citizenship.

Earlier, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy gave a press conference after visiting the site of the crash.
Mr Hollande told his counterparts: The French people are here shoulder to shoulder with you during this ordeal. Everything will be done to find, identify and hand back to the families the bodies of their loved ones."
Both he and Mrs Merkel said they would do everything they could to find the cause of the crash.
Mrs Merkel added: "Francois, I would like to thank you on behalf of millions of Germans for this example of German-French friendship."

At the scene: James Reynolds, BBC News, Seyne les Alpes
French gendarmes here have taken over a large part of this valley on the outskirts of town. One van with sirens escorted in a white trailer bearing the words "Mobile Criminal Investigation Laboratory".
Emergency workers in fluorescent jackets say that they want to work as quickly as they can.
"We cannot leave the victims a week in the mountains," said Roy Xavier from Civil Security.
But victims' families will have a long wait for the bodies to be returned to them. The Prosecutor of Marseille told reporters that it may be several weeks before all the victims are identified.

Three coffees a day cuts the risk of heart disease and strokes

 According to a new major study, those who drink three to five cups a day are less likely to suffer potential heart attacks or strokes 

Caffeine: A major new study says coffee could be key to a healthy heart

Drinking three cups of coffee a day can slash your risk of a heart attack, new research reveals.

There has previously been much debate on the effect of the beverage on cardiovascular health.
But a major study published in respected journal Heart has found those who drink three to five cups a day are less likely to develop clogged arteries which could lead to heart attacks or strokes.
People who have between three and five cups a day had the least amount of coronary calcium in their arteries.
Having too much of this can be an early indicator of coronary atherosclerosis - a potentially deadly condition where arteries become clogged up by fatty substances known as plaques or atheroma.
 This causes arteries to harden and narrow, leading to blood clots which can trigger a heart attack or a stroke.


 Lifesaver? Starbucks reportedly sells approximately 4 billion cups of coffee a year

The researchers studied more than 25,000 men and women with an average age of 41.
Their coffee consumption was categorised as less than one cup a day, one to three cups, three to five cups and five or more per day.

Their findings showed the calcium ratios were 0.77 for people who had less than one cup per day, 0.66 for those having one to three cups every day, 0.59 for those consuming three to five cups per day, and 0.81 for people having at least five cups or more every day compared with non-coffee drinkers.
The findings suggest that those having at least five cups a day face a higher risk of a heart attack or stroke than those having one to three cups or less than one cup a day.

The U-shaped findings meant those who drink one to three coffees a day had the second least prevalence of arteries that had clogged up.
The research, led by the Kangbuk Samsung Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, was published online in Heart.
The authors concluded: “Our study adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that coffee consumption might be inversely associated with CVD (cardiovascular disease) risk.
“Further research is warranted to confirm our findings and establish the biological basis of coffee’s potential preventive effects on coronary artery disease.”

Rolls-Royce's ultra-luxurious £1m 'Serenity' limousine has mother-of-pearl paint job and silk interiors

The one-off car will appear the Geneva Motor Show to highlight the company's commitment to customisation.

 The car has a mother-of-pearl paint job that shimmers in different colours

  

 The car has a mother-of-pearl paint job that shimmers in different colours

 Rolls-Royce has created a one-off Phantom limousine called Serenity, complete with a mother-of-pearl paint job and silk interiors.The ultra-luxurious car will be appear at the Geneva Motor Show to illustrate the company’s commitment to customisation - perfect for footballers wanting to flash their cash.The basic Rolls-Royce Phantom costs up to £350,000, but bespoke versions can top £1 million.A crack team of designers, engineers and craftspeople worked on the Phantom Serenity, following a royal Japanese motif.

Rolls Royce - Serenity exterior

The mother of pearl paint is one of the most expensive ever developed by the car company, and offers a pearl-like three-stage shimmer effect. The paint job was polished for 12 full hours.The car's interior has been kitted out with hand-painted silk with a blossom motif - which took more than 600 hours to apply.

 The interior features hand-painted silk with a blossom motif 
 The front seats are clothed in white leather, and there's cherry-wood and bamboo panelling.
Mother of pearl has been laser cut and hand applied as inlays in the wood and on the driver instrument dials.

 Mother of pearl has been laser cut and inlaid into the wood panelling 
 Even the luggage compartment has been adorned with white leather and has two parasols held in place by leather loops on the lid of the boot.
One-off and bespoke commissions like the Phantom Serenity are forming an increasingly large part of Rolls-Royce’s business.
More than 85% of Rolls-Royce cars sold around the world have some degree of bespoke content, and one-off commissions grew globally by 31% last year.
The Celestial Phantom features diamonds and LEDs
 In 2013, the company created a vehicle dubbed Celestial, which featured glimmering LED lights and diamonds embedded in the interior to make it look like the night's sky.

Android Pay: Why Google thinks we’ll soon pay for everything on our smartphones  

Leading smartphone firms are battling it out to win over your wallet - how you pay for things, that is. Here's the lowdown on what is coming your way  Google boss Sundar Pichai has laid out plans for Android Pay

 If you’re an Android smartphone user, you could soon be able to walk into a shop and pay for items with your phone.

Senior Google boss Sundar Pichai told a conference in Barcelona the internet giant is working on Android Pay. Unlike Google Wallet, it’s not an app - it’ll come as part of the Android package.
iPhone users in the US can already pay for their shopping using Apple Pay, but the service is only likely to arrive in the UK this year.
Samsung has also launched a rival payment system which is likely to be the most seamless of the lot.
It comes after a UK savings lobby group predicted we will soon be using mobile phones to switch bank accounts.

Apple Watch will replace car keys and remind you to be less lazy, says CEO Tim Cook

 The smartwatch is scheduled for launch on March 9

 Apple Watch will replace car keys and credit cards, and will remind you to go for a walk if you've been sitting down too long, according to the company's chief executive Tim Cook.

The smart watch, which is due to be unveiled at an event on Monday March 9 will come in three different variants, a regular version, the fitness-focussed Watch Sport and the premium Watch Edition.
In an interview with the Telegraph, Cook said that the watch will replace car keys and large fobs used on many vehicles. This will add fuel to the rumours that Apple is entering the driver less car market.
The smart watch will also monitor your heart rate and activity, alerting you when you've been sedentary for too long with a tap to the wrist - this will remind you to get off your bum and do go for a walk.
Likewise you'll be able to use the watch to buy things - using the Apple Pay contactless payment system.
The battery will only last for a day, but there’ll be a what Cook describes as an "incredible" wireless charger.
If you aren't already bought into the Apple ecosystem, you might be better off looking at one of these 5 alternative smart watches.

Bizarre Japanese toilet alert gadget will tell you when it's time to use the loo 

   Do you dream of a world where no-one soils themselves?

Well fantasise no longer because a Japanese firm called Triple W is preparing to roll out an system called D Free designed to banish embarrassing "accidents" to the history books.
Anyone wanting to predict their toilet-times needs to strap a sensor on their tummy and connect it to an iPhone app.
"We have detected activity in your intestines," the app says when it detects some action inside its owner.
The user then has 10 minutes or so to find a toilet

Danger: time to get to the toilet

Danger: time to get to the toilet 

"We've all experienced that urgency, rushing into a bathroom and barely making it," Triple W said in a promotional video.

"We want to solve this problem with a simple device, which lets you know when you need to go the bathoom. It lets you know before you even realise it."
Whilst most people have their own built-in wee-wee warning systems, the app is aimed at elderly people who need a bit of a heads-up before toilet time comes around.
The app also logs a person's loo visits, using the data to better predict the rhythms of their innards.
Triple W has moved its business to Silicon Valley to pursue the dream of creating an accident-free world.

 Rumblings: This device senses what's going on inside your body
The firm will seek crowdfunding support later this year and expects to release the D Free at a price of about $50 in December 2015.

Naked woman strolls around museum leaving visitors open-mouthed 

An artist left visitors red-faced after she was filmed walking around a museum carrying a baby - while completely starkers.Controversial Milo Moire, 32, was slated by critics last year when she pushed paint-filled eggs out of her vagina.Now, she's making headlines again after stunned visitors, including many children, spotted her wandering around the LWL Museum for Art and Culture in the city of Muenster in north-western Germany with no clothes on.    Shocked: Visitors spotted Swiss artist Milo Moire walking around a museum starkers while carrying a baby

Controversial: Moire was slammed by critics last year for pushing paint-filled eggs out of her vagina

  But visitor Tobias Meyer, 45, said: "I must admit it was more interesting than the average art exhibition."Moire said she wanted to show "a naked infant safe in the arms of a naked woman" at the exhibition which features works from British artists Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and David Hockney.She added: "This direct confrontation with live nude art challenges others to reflect on familiar forms of perception."How close may a form of representation in art approach real life?"Her Plop-Egg exhibition last year was slammed by critics for being "absurd, gratuitous, trite and desperate" but her website described her work as "volcanic explosions of colour from her vagina".

World's first camera vibrator dubbed the sex 'selfie stick' lets lovers film a woman's orgasm - from the inside

 Wham cam thank you mam: The camera-equipped sex toy 

 The world's first camera vibrator has been launched allowing users to film a woman's orgasm...from the inside.The Svakom Gaga Camera Vibrator has been dubbed the 'X-rated Selfie Stick' because it captures what happens inside the female body during an orgasm.It means users can make the ultimate DIY home movies where every second of the action is caught on film.

Its popularity has been likened to the new craze for selfie sticks, which enable mobile phone users to take self-portraits from beyond the normal range of the arm.
The vibrator has an HD camera on its tip and all recordings can be uploaded straight to a PC or smart phone via FaceTime.
 It is available from Britain's biggest online sex toy retailer Lovehoney.
One reviewer said: "Wow is all I can say. The camera is such good quality and the light around the tip picks up everything - be warned! The toy is so much fun."
Another reviewer said: "Home-made movies on a new level! It is simple to use and vibrations are good. Uploading the video was easy."
The camera vibrator has a powerful motor with six vibration speeds and retails at £119.99.

Japanese cat island ruled by army of feral felines and has just 22 human inhabitants

Japanese cat island ruled by army of feral felines and has just 22 human inhabitants   

An army of feral cats rules a remote island in southern Japan outnumbering humans six to one. 

The island is overrun with more than 120 cats that were originally brought in to deal with mice - but now they outnumber people six to one. More than 120 cats swarm the island with only a handful of humans for company, mostly pensioners who didn't join the waves of migrants seeking work in the cities after World War Two.The cats were originally introduced to the mile-long island of Aoshima to deal with mice that plagued fishermen's boats, but have taken over the area since multiplying in the last fifty years.

Aoshima, a 30-minute ferry ride off the coast of Ehime prefecture, had been home to 900 people in 1945.
 The only sign of human activity now is the boatload of day-trippers from the mainland, visiting what is locally known as Cat Island.
With no restaurants, cars, shops or kiosks selling snacks, Aoshima is no tourist haven. But cat lovers are not complaining.
"There is a ton of cats here, then there was this sort of cat witch who came out to feed the cats which was quite fun," said 27-year-old Makiko Yamasaki. "So I'd want to come again."
The allure of cats is not surprising in a country that gave the world Hello Kitty, a cartoon character considered the epitome of cuteness

  Six to one: There are 120 cats and just 22 humans living on the island
Cat cafes have long been popular in Tokyo, catering to fans who can't keep the animals at home because of strict housing regulations that often forbid pets.
The cats of Aoshima are not too picky, surviving on the rice balls, energy bars or potatoes they cadge off tourists. In the absence of natural predators, they roam the island without fear.
Not all the residents are admirers, though.
One elderly woman shooed the animals away with a stick when they dug up her back garden.

 Feeding time: The cats are happy to take food from tourists who come to the island to see the mass of furry felines.
 Locals are trying to keep the feline population in check - at least 10 cats have been neutered. Residents haven't taken too kindly to the tourists either.
They don't mind them coming, but want to be left in peace.
"If people coming to the island find the cats healing, then I think it's a good thing," said 65-year-old Hidenori Kamimoto, who ekes out a living as a fisherman. "I just hope that it's done in a way that doesn't become a burden on the people who live here.

Body of giant 14-foot python discovered in Lancashire by shocked walkers on countryside stroll

Body of giant 14-foot python discovered in Lancashire by shocked walkers on countryside stroll  
The giant creature is thought to have been abandoned by its owner, with the RSPCA now appealing for information Shock: Walkers could not believe it when they found the creature.The lifeless body of a huge 14-foot snake was discovered by shocked walkers who were enjoying a countryside stroll.The reticulated python was spotted near a canal bridge in Rishton, Lancashire.And the mysterious discovery has locals in shock.Ken Moss, a local councillor, said: "The general consensus is it has gotten too big for somebody and they have dumped it in the canal.  
Giant discovery: The fourteen-foot snake being dragged away"If that's the case it's heartless because we have a reptile shop in Rishton and they would have taken it."People need to be aware of just how big these animals can get."Of course, there could be a completely innocent explanation but someone somewhere knows who that snake belongs to, and we are hoping to find out who."The snake could not have lasted long in this weather."The RSPCA is now appealing for information to track down the owner.David McGlynn, owner of Reptile Wonderland, said: "The snake is a reticulated python, which is one of the biggest snakes in the world. Abandoned: The RSPCA are asking for help in tracing the owner"I would not advise anybody to buy a a snake as big as that. I know how much it would cost people."When somebody found it, they came in the shop and asked if we had lost a snake."People automatically presume it's something to do with us, but it wasn't.