The race to be first in self-driving cars has shifted up a gear after Volvo and Uber announced they were joining forces to develop autonomous vehicles. The Swedish manufacturer and app-based ride-sharing company are together investing $300m in a project to develop “base vehicles” that will be built by Volvo and then purchased by Uber. Each company will then […]

A distillery in Oldbury has been fined after an employee was engulfed in flames in a fire that destroyed the warehouse and its contents. Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how ethyl acetate, a highly flammable liquid, was being transferred from a bulk storage tank into an intermediate bulk container when an employee was engulfed in flames […]

A School in Canterbury, has been fined for safety failings at a summer activity camp after a seven-year-old boy had to be given CPR after coming into difficulty during a swimming lesson. Canterbury Crown Court heard how the boy was at a summer activity camp run by St Edmunds School and was taking part in a […]

One crew member has died and four others have been injured in an accident on the Harmony of the Seas, the world’s biggest cruise ship. The 42-year-old Filipino crew member died when a lifeboat, with five crew, became detached from the fifth deck during a safety exercise. It fell 10m (33ft) into the water. Two […]

A company in Pembrokeshire has been fined £400,000 after a serious accident took place at its refinery. Valero Energy UK Limited was fined after a worker was trapped by a slack wire rope when an access tower walkway that provided gangway access to a stationary tanker vessel dropped 3.5 metres. Operator David Thomas suffered fractures […]

Official Guidance Issued On Robot Ethics Isaac Asimov gave us the basic rules of good robot behaviour: don’t harm humans, obey orders and protect yourself. Now the British Standards Institute has issued a more official version aimed at helping designers create ethically sound robots. The document, BS8611 Robots and robotic devices, is written in the dry language of a […]

A string of aviation associations has called for all small drones in Europe to be registered. The ability to trace nuisance drones back to their owner or pilot would improve compliance with regulations, the groups said in a joint statement. Near-misses involving drones and aircraft are on the rise – 10 UK cases risked collision this […]

A rescue operation has resumed to free tourists who spent the night trapped in cable cars suspended above the French Alps. Efforts to save the group were halted last night when conditions became too dangerous for rescue helicopters. 110 tourists became stuck on the 35-minute 5km cable car trip over the Vallée Blanche at 5.25pm yesterday. […]

British phone retailer Tuffphones has unveiled a new range of hard-wearing handsets aimed at construction workers and outdoors enthusiasts. It’s the latest addition to a range of extra-durable Android devices in the growing market for rugged phones. The BBC took them to a building site to try them out. Construction giants De Walt and Cat […]

The HSE has begun a joint investigation with police after a man died in hospital  from burns injuries after a fire at a nightclub in south-east London. The fire broke out at Studio 338 on Boord Street, Greenwich, at about midday on Monday 8th September and spread to a nearby industrial warehouse and a scrap […]