RBS annual profit doubles to £1.6bn
Image copyright Getty Images Royal Bank of Scotland has reported profits of £1.62bn for 2018, more than double the £752m it made in 2017. The bank, which is 62%-owned by the government, said it would pay £977m to the Treasury through dividend payments. RBS chief executive Ross McEwan said: “This is a good performance in …
Russia considers ‘unplugging’ from internet
Image copyright Reuters Image caption The net independence plan is seen as a way for Russia’s government to get more control over online life Russia is considering whether to disconnect from the global internet briefly, as part of a test of its cyber-defences. The test will mean data passing between Russian citizens and organisations stays …
Ligue du LOL: Secret group of French journalists targeted women
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The group targeted people with rape jokes and photoshopped pornography. Several senior French journalists have been suspended or fired for allegedly co-ordinating online harassment through a private Facebook group. The largely-male Ligue du LOL (League of LOL) mocked women, including other journalists, with rape jokes and photoshopped pornographic images. …
Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering: GPS pioneers lauded
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media captionBrad Parkinson and Lord Browne explain the importance of GPS This year’s £1m QE Engineering Prize has been won by four individuals who played key roles in developing GPS. The Americans Brad Parkinson, James Spilker Jr, Hugo Fruehauf, and Richard Schwartz were all present at the London …
Nasa calls time on silent Opportunity Mars rover
Image copyright NASA/JPL/Doug Ellison Image caption Oppy used one of its cameras to take this selfie on Mars The US space agency (Nasa) has called time on its Opportunity Mars rover. The six-wheeled robot last contacted Earth in June last year, just before it was enveloped in the darkness of a global dust storm. Engineers …
Ford puts bed hoggers in their place and other news
BBC Click’s Jen Copestake looks at some of the best technology stories of the week including: Drone manufacturer DJI says it will expand the technology that prevents them being flown near airports and other sensitive sites Some Premier League football teams work with Intel to create an immersive 360 degree video experience for fans Ford …
How the chocolate bar became a million dollar idea
Nowadays, the world spends close to $100bn a year on chocolate bars, making them one of the most popular snacks in history. But for centuries, chocolate had only been a drink. No one knew a way of making it into a solid food. That is until a 19th Century Englishman – Joseph Fry – worked …
Sexual harassment: ‘I was terrified to report it’
Image copyright Shai Dolev Image caption Vault founders Neta Meidav (l) and Rotem Hayoun-Meidav believe there’s “strength in numbers” When Neta Meidav was sexually harassed at work aged 22, she felt it was easier to quit her job than report it to human resources. But more than a decade later, the #MeToo movement came along, …
YouTube’s copyright claim system abused by extorters
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Google bought YouTube for $1.65bn (£1.28bn) in 2006 Google has removed a YouTube channel after it was found to be abusing copyright claims to extort money from users. Kenzo and ObbyRaidz, whose channels predominantly feature them playing Minecraft, reported receiving messages demanding money in exchange for dropping two claims …