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Bus giant Stagecoach said it has “firmly returned to growth” following recovering customer demand after the pandemic as revenues rose to £1.2 billion. The group saw underlying pre-tax profits more than double to £44.1 million for the year to April 30, up from £17 million the previous financial year, with revenues up 27%. The transport firm added that passenger journeys and commercial sales were at roughly 81% and 91% of pre-Covid levels, respectively, for the week ended June 18. The figures come just days after German asset manager DWS completed its takeover of Stagecoach in a deal worth £595 million. Recommended Trump ordered armed supporters to Capitol, lunged for steering wheel Metropolitan Police placed under special measures by watchdog Martin Griffiths, Stagecoach Group chief executive, said: “I am pleased to report that we have firmly returned to growth in the full year. “We are in a good financial position, supported by … [Read more...] about Stagecoach notches up revenues of £1.2 billion as bus demand recovers

The majority of Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions now come from transport, according to new government figures. Emissions fell by 5 per cent overall between 2015 and 2016, largely due to a decrease in the use of coal for electricity generation. The figures suggest the UK is on track to meet the second carbon budget, which restricts the amount of greenhouse gas the UK can legally emit in a five-year period that ends in 2017. Recommended Most new cars should be electric by 2030, say climate advisers However, critics have accused the transport sector of “failing to play its part” in curbing emissions after they rose by 2 per cent, according to 2016 figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) – the most recent year for which they are available. Transport now accounts for 26 per cent of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, compared to 25 per cent coming from energy supplies. The main sources were petrol and diesel … [Read more...] about Transport becomes most polluting UK sector as greenhouse gas emissions drop overall

Scientists now possess the most detailed image yet of a dying giant:  VY Canis Majoris, quite possibly the largest star in our galaxy . VY Canis Majoris is a red hypergiant, a class of star so massive they can stretch 10,000 times the distance between the Earth and Sun in diameter, and little is known about their final stages of life. Rather than puffing up into a big red sphere like most red giant stars, hypergiants swell into irregular tumults of arcs and protrusions, going through phases where they expel large amounts of mass. Now an international team led by researchers from the University of Arizona traced the arcs and mass expulsions of VY Canis Majoris, providing the clearest image yet of the death throes of a hypergiant star. The team’s results were presented on 13 June at the 240 th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Pasadena, California. "We are particularly interested in what hypergiant stars do at the end of their lives," Ambesh Singh, a … [Read more...] about Scientists watch as galaxy’s largest star dies

Historic British-era Patna District Magistrate's office building, part of the centuries-old Collectorate campus, which was featured in key scenes in Oscar-winning film 'Gandhi' has been demolished, sending a wave of grief among heritage lovers and Gandhians. Bulldozers gnawed at the elegant two-storey main Patna Collectorate building, situated on the banks of the river Ganga, a couple of days ago, reducing it to a skeletal state. The building was felled as part of the redevelopment project of the Bihar government. On Wednesday, labourers carried away bricks from the mountains of rubble that lay deposited next to what remained of the old building, which once was the seat of the district administration and was said to have been constructed in the early 20th century. The building was also adorned with an ornate iron-made spiral staircase mounted on its western facade. Heritage lovers of the city had earlier appealed to the authorities to rescue its historical artefacts, such as … [Read more...] about British-era Patna DM office building shown in ‘Gandhi’ razed

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to further cooperate in the areas of digital and green economy following a meeting between ministers from both countries on Thursday (June 30). Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong met with Malaysia's Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry Mohamed Azmin Ali in Kuala Lumpur. Both ministers agreed to begin discussions on frameworks of cooperation in the two areas, with a view of concluding both frameworks this year, said Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in a statement. MTI said the ministers recognised that the digital and green economies are key to sustainable and inclusive growth for both countries. The frameworks of cooperation aim to strengthen dialogue and cooperation, and serve as the basis for future bilateral cooperation initiatives related to these two areas. They will also provide a wider range of benefits to businesses in both countries in … [Read more...] about Malaysia, Singapore agree to further ties in digital and green economy

Indian Railways is taking innovative and effective steps to keep the coaches properly maintained and in clean conditions. As part of it, the Railway Board Chairman, GM, and DRM of Indian Railways have now been tasked to ensure the cleanliness of the coach and public amenities in the general and sleeper classes. Following this, the senior railway officials recently rolled out surprise inspections of facilities in 544 trains. The railway officials travelled on the train as common men to check the proper facilitation of cleanliness, catering, or lighting of trains and toilets. This was the first time that Railway Board officials have travelled as normal passengers. As part of Swachh Bharat, Swachh Rail campaign, railways decided to run a cleanliness campaign from June 24 in all zones. According to a senior Railway Board official, facilities and cleanliness in the trains are being reviewed during the inspection. During the inspection, based on the complaints of the passengers, … [Read more...] about Indian Railways Officials Travel as Passengers To Check Cleanliness in Toilets, Other Facilities in Trains

Disha Patani is currently tapping into one of the most interesting phases of her career. The actress is all set to amaze the audience with her latest undertaking as a negative character in Ek Villain Returns. This is for the first time Disha will be seen playing a grey character in a film and the fans can’t wait to see her on-screen. When asked about her experience preparing a negative character, the actress said “I just followed my director’s advice, I also remember watching a lot of these negative movies and there was a point I was like sir I can’t watch it anymore because it’s making me into a different human but I just followed what he told me, Mohit sir really knows what he wants and he just makes everybody’s life easier” Disha Patani has previously charmed her way into the hearts of the audience with her performance in Mohit Suri’s Malang. This is the second time she has been roped in for a project by him. Talking about the same, she says “I got really lucky to work with … [Read more...] about Disha Patani Says She Watched a Lot of ‘Negative Movies’ For Her Character in Ek Villain Returns

Britain’s socialised healthcare system has reportedly removed the word ‘woman’ from an online advice page for those suffering from the effects of menopause. Despite demands from the government’s health secretary to avoid the use of woke gendered language, the National Health Service (NHS) apparently saw fit to remove references to women on its online health advice page for women going experiencing the often painful effects of the conclusion of female menstrual cycles, known as menopause. While the webpage previously contained several mentions of women, it was updated on May 17th with references to females scrubbed in lieu of gender-neutral language, according to a report from the Daily Mail . For example, the initial entry for menopause described it as the time “when a woman stops having periods and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally,” while the woke updated version states: “Menopause is when your periods stop due to lower hormone levels.” The previous advice … [Read more...] about UK Health Service Removes Word ‘Women’ From Menopause Advice Doc

Earth could be peppered with deadly wayward comets in just over a million years' time when a wandering star enters the outer reaches of the Solar System. Popular culture is full of cosmic doomsday scenarios, many of which involve scientists detecting a large asteroid hurtling towards Earth. Comets, huge chunks of ice and dirt that encompass the entire solar system in a huge sphere known as the Oort Cloud , are perhaps less prominent in fictional disasters. This could be set to change in the far future. Currently, Earth's closest star apart from the sun is called Proxima Centauri, located about 4.25 light-years away. But our galaxy is a dynamic, ever-changing place, and in about a million years Earth will have a new, much closer stellar neighbor. Gliese 710 is a small star that is currently located around 62 light-years from Earth in the constellation Serpens Cauda. Scientists have known for around two decades that Gliese 710 is headed straight towards the Solar System, and … [Read more...] about Roaming star could rain millions of comets down on Earth in future doomsday

A power disruption at the Anna Salai exchange of BSNL caused network issues for hundreds of mobile customers, rendering them unable to make any calls on Tuesday. The network issue was rectified by the evening. Several users faced increased call dropping and were unable to make any outgoing calls or receive any incoming ones. Even those using mobile data to make WhatsApp calls faced the same issues. Naresh, a resident of Madipakkam, who uses a BSNL mobile connection, complained of not being able to make any calls either to any BSNL numbers or mobiles registered with other telecommunication operators throughout the day. He said connection to some mobile operators was not restored even by the evening. With most officials of the State government and essential services provided with Closed User Group (CUG) numbers of BSNL, the technical snag caused severe hardships to them. A senior official of BSNL Chennai Telephones said a power failure at the exchange caused a technical snag in … [Read more...] about Technical snag at Anna Salai exchange leaves BSNL mobile users high and dry