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Unveiling a car with a top speed of 25mph, two seats and no pedals or steering wheel might not make much of an impression at a motor show. But Google, late on Tuesday, in the US, sent a minor earthquake through the car and taxi industry as it unveiled the latest version of its driverless car. The electrically-powered vehicle, which Google has begun testing around its headquarters in Mountain View, California, dispenses with all the normal controls, including foot pedals. Instead it has a smartphone app that summons it and tells it the destination, and a single STOP button mounted between the two front-facing seats in case the occupants need to override the computer. The car, in fact, takes over all the tasks of navigation, steering, acceleration and braking. The company is building about 100 prototypes for a two-year test. The company's co-founder, Sergey Brin, told a conference in California that the vehicle was "still in the prototype stage" but that the pr...

Heavy rain forecast to persist for several days with Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire and the Humber among areas most at risk Heavy rain across the east of England could cause flooding over the coming days, forecasters have warned.  The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning of rain for the region, predicting localised flooding that could cause disruption to travel.  The wet weather would persist until Wednesday night, the Met said, with up to 70mm (2.76in) of rain expected in worst-hit areas including parts of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire and the Humber.  The Environment Agency (EA) warned of a flood risk in the east, mainly from surface water and low-lying rivers.  It said: "There may be some flooding of low-lying land and roads, some disruption to travel and possibly flooding to individual properties."  Meteo Group forecaster Gareth Harvey said: "An area of prolonged rain is moving up over the eastern region and it's not going to sh...

EFFECTIVE from June 1, some electricity consumers will pay far lesser than what they are currently paying for fixed charges and energy consumption.   A few others, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), will pay ‘slightly higher’.   For instance, residents of Abuja and environs, whose fixed charge was projected to increase to N1,500 from the N750 currently being paid, will from June 1 pay N702.   This is coming as NERC released the reviewed Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO), which according to the commission, would take effect from this Sunday.   Poor electricity consumers will have their electricity consumption subsidised by the Federal Government, courtesy of a Power Assistance Fund being finalised by NERC and the Ministry of Power.   The Chairman of the NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, who briefed reporters in Abuja yesterday, said the full details of the reviewed charges would be released soon.   Amadi, who announc...

The Federal Government said on Monday that it had concluded necessary arrangements to build Africa’s first multi-billion dollar dedicated gas industrial park in Delta State as part of a comprehensive strategy for gas processing. The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, stated this at the opening session of a three-day national conference/exhibition on gas resources organised by the Senate Committee on Gas in Abuja. The minister, who was represented by the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, explained that the proposed park would consist of industries, which would produce fertilizers, petrochemicals, methanol and other related products. She said, “As part of our infrastructure blueprint, we have entrenched the concept of gas processing facilities with a view to extracting the various constituents of natural gas such as the Liquefied Petroleum Gas and ethanol, among others. “These will help to grow...

More than 4,000 households in England are at risk of losing their home every week amid high housing costs and a shortage of affordable homes, according to the charity Shelter. Its analysis of possession notices issued over the last year suggests 215,000 homes in England are at risk of eviction or repossession and it warned rising interest rates would bring more households under threat. The research revealed hotspots where people are most likely to face losing their home with Newham in London at the top of the list and Salford the "eviction and repossession risk capital of the north". London boroughs dominate the repossession risk list, but Nottingham and Peterborough also feature in the top 20, according to the research based on Ministry of Justice data on homeowners and private or social renters receiving a possession notice for their home – the first stage in a process which can end with the loss of a home. "These staggering figures show just how many ...

A NEW, curious twist was last week added to the raging Lekki-Ikoyi Link bridge controversy in Lagos, when the state House of Assembly suddenly backpedalled, and gave the Governor Babatunde Fashola-led executive the nod to collect tolls on the infrastructure.       The state government claims it had spent a whooping sum of N29 billion on the 1.358-kilometre suspension bridge, built by Julius Berger.      Initially, the lawmakers, like most Lagosians, had questioned the rationale behind tolling the bridge that was funded with taxpayers’ money.  Heated debates had also ensued in May 2013, when the concession document was first submitted to the House for ratification, a few days before its commissioning and tolling (May 29, 2013). The concession plan, at that time, appeared dead on arrival due to the lawmakers’ arguments against it, with the general public understandably delighted by their resolve.        Notwithstanding a Federa...

This Thursday, Las Vegas welcomes a new superclub to its glittering lineup of aspiration hubs: Drai's, a 65,000 square foot beast 11 storeys up in the air, featuring swimming pools, private cabanas and presumably a lot of generic EDM. But its ostentation reaches new heights according to the newly leaked menus - reportedly obtained by Vegas Seven - which feature deals a little different from your average BOGOF on cherry VK. The most ridiculous of all is a package costing $737,000, which gets you a private 737 jet for you and 50 friends, a 210-second firework display, accommodation, and a lot of champagne. For $250,000 you can get the same jet treatment for eight friends – but unfortunately the firework display is only 150 seconds long. Elsewhere on the menus are champagne bottles purely for spraying on each other at $2,000 for 10, jet-free firework displays that start at $9,000 for 30 seconds, and a $10,000 package of seven bottles of Dom Perignon which comes with its own ...

The Nigerian Institute of Architects on Tuesday urged the Lagos State Government to adequately fund its new Mortgage Scheme. This is contained in a Communiqué issued at the end of the Lagos Architects Forum 5.0, signed by Mr. Ladipo Lewis, Chairman, NIA, Lagos Chapter, and its Secretary, Mr. Bayo Ogunmefun. The forum with the theme “Architecture and Real Estate Development,” noted that funding the new mortgage scheme would enable the government take care of the housing deficit in the State. “There is a massive housing shortage in Lagos State for the low and medium Income classes. “This situation is caused by lack of an effective mortgage system, inadequate provision of finance and difficult access to land. “We believe that funding the new scheme will help the low and medium income earners in both the formal and the informal sectors of the economy,” the communiqué said. It also urged the State Government to make procurement of Certificates of Occupancy and Gover...

CONTRARY to stakeholders’ position, the Federal Government has not entirely offloaded all its shares in some of the recently privatised Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) successor firms.   In fact, going by latest statistics sourced by The Guardian, government retained shares in some of the newer thermal (gas) plants, while it sold off all its shares in the very old plants, and indeed, only concessioned the hydro-electric power plants for a period of 20-25 years.   And for states which had previously made some level of investments in the firms situated within their region, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) will soon start the allocation of shares to them from the remaining government stakes in such plants.   But this move is being delayed by the governors themselves, as they have allegedly not given the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) full collaboration in an ongoing verification exercise to determine the extent of such investment...

It is misleading, erroneous and fallacious to say that cement grade is a prime causative factor for the incessant collapse of buildings in the country, the Nigerian Society of Engineers has said. According to the NSE, the misappropriation or inappropriate application of cement in the production of concrete can be a plausible cause of building collapse, but not the grade of the product. The President, NSE, Mr. Ademola Olorunfemi, outlined the generally causes of building collapse to include design flaws, ageing, materials’ fatigue, extreme operational and environmental conditions, accidents, terrorist attacks and natural hazards. He said, “A cursory look at the array of causes of building collapse peculiar to Nigeria will reveal that only two of the 15 causes are overtly or covertly related to the usage of construction materials. “Now, a visit to the scene of any collapsed building will reveal rubbles of concrete structural elements and not cement of whatever grade. ...

The Ogun State Government has said it has commenced giving online information on land matters and related issues through the deployment of a Geographic Information System. The Director-General, Bureau of Lands and Survey, Mr. Adewale Oshinowo, made this known during the 2014 ministerial press briefing on the achievement of the agency in the last one year. Oshinowo, according to a statement made available on Sunday, said the GIS had been programmed in a way that each application received by the bureau and other land related information by applicants could be viewed online through the help of a Land Information System. He was quoted as saying, “As part of the Geographical Information System being embarked upon by the bureau, the Land Information System has been tailored in such a way that information on land can be easily accessed online by all stakeholders. “In effect, the development of GIS has provided a platform for clients of the bureau, the good people of Ogun Stat...

Let’s face it: Starting a company and growing it into something awesome takes a lot of work. And a lot of work usually requires a lot of time. And when you work really hard all the time, well, there’s a point where you’re most likely going to break down. If this sounds anything like your current situation, now might be the perfect time to consider a serious summer vacation. Leave your company and other duties in the hands of someone you trust and get away. Relax. Recharge. Come back with renewed passion, energy and perspective. Turns out, U.S. and international leisure travel are both expected to be up this year compared to 2013, according to a recent survey from popular travel website TripAdvisor and research firm Ipsos. Seventy-seven percent of people said they planned to travel internationally for pleasure this year, up 12 percent from 2013's 65 percent. Meanwhile, 90 percent said they plan to travel within the U.S., compared to 87 percent last year. For those con...

Asabe Kwambura is getting tired of waiting. Sitting under a young mango tree alongside the charred remains of her school, the headteacher looks around nervously. It's not safe to be out here in one of the most dangerous parts of north-eastern Nigeria, but the government has promised to send a team to investigate the kidnapping of more than 200 pupils from her school and she wants to greet them in person. "These are our girls," she says. "They are from Chibok." She punctuates her words by pointing to the ground. "They are from here." Around her are abandoned desks and burnt out classrooms destroyed when Boko Haram militants stormed the Chibok government girls secondary school a month ago, loading the girls into lorries and driving them away. Kwambura's face is drawn and tired. The kidnapping has left its mark on everyone in this remote settlement, which has been living under a state of emergency since Boko Haram stepped up its attacks more tha...

Hundreds of people including an ex-politician seeking re-election, a paedophile and a doctor have applied to have details about them wiped from Google's search index since a landmark ruling in Europe on Tuesday. The deluge of claims trying to exercise the "right to be forgotten" follows a decision by Europe's highest court, which said that in some cases the right to privacy of individuals outweighs the freedom of search engines to link to information about them although the information itself can remain on web pages. The Guardian understands that the applications have been made to remove links to information that the complainants say is outdated or irrelevant including, in the UK, a former politician who is now seeking office and wishes information about their behaviour while in office to be removed. A man convicted of possessing child abuse images has demanded links to pages about his conviction are taken out of the index, while a doctor has said that negati...