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Chance For Uk With Amazon Drone Delivery

US regulators’ sluggishness over drone testing could be an opportunity for the UK, a leading academic has said.

The comments came after Amazon told a US Senate committee that the country’s reticence was holding it back.

The firm said that, by the time it had been given permission to test one prototype, the drone had already been rendered obsolete.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the congestion of America’s airspace justified its slow approach.

Paul Misener, Amazon’s vice president for global public policy, told the committee earlier this week that permission to conduct outdoor tests on a home delivery drone prototype had taken more than six months to be granted, and came through about a week ago.

«We don’t test it anymore. We’ve moved on to more advanced designs that we are already testing abroad,» he said.

Mr Misener told the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety and Security: «Nowhere outside of the United States have we been required to wait more than one or two months to begin testing.»

Amazon has previously said it wanted to use drones to deliver packages to people’s homes. The flights would cover distances of 10 miles (16 km) or more and would require drones to travel autonomously while equipped with technology to avoid collisions with other aircraft.

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Speed Control Technology To Be Sold By Ford

Ford is to sell a car that can read road signs and adjust its speed accordingly to ensure the vehicle is not driving too fast.

The speed-limiting tech can be activated via the steering wheel and briefly overridden by pressing firmly on the accelerator.

The car company suggests the facility will help drivers avoid fines and could reduce the number of accidents.

However, one expert said the innovation might only serve as a «stopgap».

«There’s a plan for speed restrictions to be beamed to your car’s computer systems and controlled from there, rather than requiring street sign visual recognition systems,» said Paul Newton, an automotive industry analyst at the IHS consultancy.

«This would be part an extension of the networks that will connect vehicles, allowing cars to warn those behind them if they are slowing down, which is all part of a move toward autonomous vehicles that drive themselves.»

Such a system, however, is some way off.

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Understanding Vladimir Putin

Anyone who wants to understand Vladimir Putin today needs to know the story of what happened to him on a dramatic night in East Germany a quarter of a century ago.

It is 5 December 1989 in Dresden, a few weeks after the Berlin Wall has fallen. East German communism is dying on its feet, people power seems irresistible.

Crowds storm the Dresden headquarters of the Stasi, the East German secret police, who suddenly seem helpless.

Then a small group of demonstrators decides to head across the road, to a large house that is the local headquarters of the Soviet secret service, the KGB.

«The guard on the gate immediately rushed back into the house,» recalls one of the group, Siegfried Dannath. But shortly afterwards «an officer emerged — quite small, agitated».

«He said to our group, ‘Don’t try to force your way into this property. My comrades are armed, and they’re authorised to use their weapons in an emergency.'»

That persuaded the group to withdraw.

But the KGB officer knew how dangerous the situation remained. He described later how he rang the headquarters of a Red Army tank unit to ask for protection.

The answer he received was a devastating, life-changing shock.

«We cannot do anything without orders from Moscow,» the voice at the other end replied. «And Moscow is silent.»

That phrase, «Moscow is silent» has haunted this man ever since. Defiant yet helpless as the 1989 revolution swept over him, he has now himself become «Moscow» — the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin.

«I think it’s the key to understanding Putin,» says his German biographer, Boris Reitschuster. «We would have another Putin and another Russia without his time in East Germany.»

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Under The Spotlight: How Pilots Are Screened

Crash investigators say that the Germanwings Airbus was probably crashed deliberately by co-pilot Andreas Lubitz. The way pilots are screened is now under intense scrutiny.

Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, has said that there had previously been nothing to suggest that Lubitz was mentally unstable.

The pilot’s training in 2009 had been briefly interrupted, but was resumed after «his suitability as a candidate was re-established». Carsten Spohr, the chief executive, said he was not allowed to reveal the reason for the interruption. When Lubitz returned, «his performance was without criticism» and «nothing was striking» about his behaviour.

The inexplicable nature of the pilot’s actions has put the focus on to how pilots are psychologically assessed. Most passengers probably assume that the person flying their plane has gone through rigorous mental assessments to check they have the right character and temperament to be responsible for hundreds of lives. But is that true?

Spohr seemed to admit that no special psychological test was mandatory across Europe.

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Convictions In Meredith Kercher Case Quashed By Italian Court

The convictions of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito for the murder of UK student Meredith Kercher have been quashed by Italy’s top appeals court.

It is the final ruling in the case, following three previous court decisions over the 2007 murder.

Ms Kercher, 21, was stabbed to death in a Perugia flat she shared with Ms Knox.

American Ms Knox, 27, said she was «full of joy» after being acquitted, but the mother of Ms Kercher, who was from London, said she was «shocked».

Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito, her Italian ex-boyfriend, were initially found guilty of the murder in 2009.

They were freed in 2011 after the convictions were overturned, but they were reinstated by another court last year.

Despite being cleared of the murder charge, the guilty verdict against Ms Knox for the slander of Patrick Lumumba — a bar owner she falsely accused of the crime — has been upheld.

The presiding judge confirmed a three-year sentence would remain. That time has been served.

Ms Knox had spent four years in prison during the trial, and could seek compensation for the extra year served, BBC Europe correspondent Gavin Lee said.

Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito had always maintained their innocence and the decision by the Court of Cassation puts an end to their long legal battle.

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