Got the tennis bug? How to play sport without paying
As fans queue up at Wimbledon in the hope of securing a ticket to watch some of the biggest names in sport, many tennis lovers face another challenge. Trying to book a court to play at this time of year can be as hard as returning a professonal tennis player’s serve. And families trying to […]
How much should we be prepared to pay for our food?
Image source, Reece BuchananImage caption, Jules Bal (right) set up Wee Knob of Butter five years ago with his business partner Kieran Woods By Scotland environment, energy and rural affairs correspondent Jules Bal says he has noticed a change in the way Scots regard their relationship with food and thinks people are increasingly prepared to […]
Could you handle a 20-plus hour flight? This airline is banking on it
Could you handle a 20-plus hour flight? This airline is banking on it Image source, QantasImage caption, The non-stop London to Sydney flight would enter new frontiers in aviation ByRachel ClunOsmond ChiaBusiness reporters and Kris Bramwell On a stage at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, the chief executive of Australian airline Qantas declares: “The tyranny of distance […]
Is Germany looking again at coal-powered electricity?
They have a word for it in German – kohleausstieg, which means “coal phase out”. Germany is the biggest user of coal for power generation in Europe, and the fourth largest in the world after China, India and the US. But it has pledged to stop using it altogether by 2038. For lignite, the low-quality […]
The artificial ice pyramids saving India’s mountain villages
At an altitude of almost 4,000m (13,000ft) and receiving almost no rainfall, the Himalayan village of Sakti is a hostile place to be a farmer. “Ladakh has a brutal, single-cultivation season,” says Gelak Gutme, who has been growing wheat, peas and potatoes there for most of his 65 years. “It is a desert with an […]
‘We had to get out of the way’: The backlash over delivery robots
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Delivery robots are now a common sight in some cities around the world ByEmma Woollacott Technology reporter The first time Chicago resident Josh Robertson saw a delivery robot trundling down the sidewalk on his street he was impressed. “I actually thought they were kind of neat – it felt futuristic,” […]
What is Helium-3 and could we get it from the moon?
One of the most valuable assets owned by Lancaster University is stored in beer kegs. But it’s not in one of the student bars. In a carefully locked laboratory rows of metal kegs are arranged on shelves and linked together with spindly copper pipework. The containers aren’t loaded with prize beer but rather a gas […]
Why I sold my business to my staff
Staff at Softstar Shoes in Oregon have discovered a newfound enthusiasm for eking out resources and growing profits. It started in January when the shoemaker became owned by its 30-strong workforce. Former sole owner and chief executive Tricia Salcido had decided to sell the business to the employees, because at age 56 she is starting […]
India’s ‘blue gold’ starts a new drinks industry
A desert plant changed the life of Masapalli Venkatesh. His 10-acre farm in Kandukur is on the Deccan Plateau, which covers a large part of southern and central India. There he grows tomatoes, peanuts and corn. But in 2010 he was approached by traders looking for a very different crop – the cactus agave americana. […]
The furious dispute over what caused Air India flight 171 to crash
By International Business Correspondent It was a hot and dry afternoon on 12 June last year, when Air India Flight 171 left the terminal at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport in Ahmedabad in the western Indian state of Gujarat. Settling into their seats for the nine-and-a-half-hour journey to London were 230 passengers – including 169 Indian […]