Luxury car company Rolls-Royce is to enter the South American market for the first time.
The company, which makes cars at Goodwood in West Sussex, hopes to open dealerships in Brazil and Chile in March.
Rolls chief executive officer Torsten Muller-Otvos said: “I am delighted to announce our plans for entry into the South American market. Brazil and Chile have seen impressive economic growth, with an increasing demand from discerning customers for pinnacle luxury products.”
Rolls’ worldwide sales between January and September increased 41 per cent on the same period last year. The company said there had been strong demand for both its Phantom and Ghost models. (AP)
Statue makeover
New York’s Statue of Liberty is getting high-tech gifts for her 125th birthday: webcams on her torch that will let viewers gaze out at New York Harbour.
Visitors will also be able to read the tablet in her hands or see visitors on the grounds of the island below in real time. The five torch cams are to be switched on Friday during a ceremony to commemorate the dedication of the Statue of Liberty on October 28, 1886. (PA)
U2 ‘greatest act’
Irish rock band U2 were honoured yesterday as the greatest act of the past quarter of a century. The band were chosen by readers of music magazine Q as the top artistes of the past 25 years at its annual awards. U2 frontman Bono stole a line from the Queen song We Are The Champions as he explained the secret of his band’s longevity, saying: “We’ll keep on fighting to the end. That’s what being in a band is all about.”
Chart-topping act Adele was a double winner at the event, landing the prizes for best female and best track for her hit Rolling In The Deep. Other big winners included Coldplay, who were named the best act in the world today. (PA)
Bogus doctor
A bogus doctor who was caught out because he submitted a fake DNA test to avoid paying child support was yesterday jailed in the UK.
Conrad Luis De Souza was sentenced to two years and three months imprisonment for falsifying a parental test to avoid paying child maintenance and for dishonestly purporting to be a GP to gain a senior managerial role in the NHS.
Croydon Crown Court heard how Mr De Souza faked the DNA test by using a swab taken from his father, to avoid being found out about an extramarital affair.
The court heard how his curriculum vitae was a “work of fiction” and that he managed to work his way up the system by pretending he was another doctor. (PA)
WWII submarine
Sport divers off the northern coast of Borneo have discovered the wreck of a Dutch World War II submarine, missing for the past 70 years. The Hr. Ms. KXVI had been missing with a crew of 36 since 1941 but It was discovered in the waters “above” the island of Borneo after a tip-off from a local fisherman.
The 1,000-tonne KXVI was part of the Allied fleet tasked with stopping the Japanese invasion of the then Dutch East Indies. It torpedoed the Japanese submarine hunter Sagiri on Christmas Eve 1941, only to be sunk itself the following day by a Japanese submarine. (AFP)
French cuisine
A “talking kitchen” that delivers cooking instructions in French has been developed to aid language learning.
The kitchen tracks a user’s actions with Wii-like motion sensor technology, and speaks in a similar way to a car’s satnav. Designed for schools, universities and people’s homes, it could be available by the end of next year. (PA)
Perks of playing
Playing outdoors may help prevent nearsightedness in children, a study has shown.
Scientists found that children with myopia spent on average 3.7 fewer hours per week outdoors than those who either had normal vision or were farsighted. Key factors involved may be exposure to natural light and focusing on distant objects, the experts believe. (PA)
Honda’s accord
A driver has been given a new car by Honda after amassing a million miles in his old Accord. Joe LoCicero, from Maine in the US, bought the car in 1996 with 74,000 miles on the clock. The former mechanic did much of his own work and says the secret of long-life is following maintenance schedules, using quality parts and driving safely. (PA)