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Published 1 day ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Olivia Newton-John, who has died aged 73, began her career as the sweetheart of country-flavoured pop. It all changed when she donned black spandex for Grease, one of the most successful film musicals of all time. Her new raunchy image found its peak in her 1981 album, Physical. But a diagnosis of breast cancer saw her move to an introspective style and she devoted more time to humanitarian causes. Actress and singer Olivia Newton-John dies aged 73 Olivia Newton-John was born in Cambridge on 26 September 1948. Her Welsh father had been an MI5 agent during World War II attached to the Enigma project at Bletchley Park. Her mother was the daughter of the German Nobel laureate, Max Born, and had fled with her family when the Nazis came to power in 1933. In 1954 her father took up a post as a … [Read more...] about Obituary: Olivia Newton-John

By Paul Pigott Published 16 April Share close Share page Copy link About sharing A lifeboat volunteer said he spent days in hospital after contracting a parasitic infection linked to sewage after a river training exercise. David Deveney suffered giardiasis after spending two hours in the River Severn and said an investigation found an 80% chance it came from human sewage. Sewage was spilt into Welsh rivers more than 95,000 times and for more than 791,000 hours last year, figures show. The illness has not been categorically linked to sewage or spills in Wales. Both the River Severn and River Wye, which end in the Severn Estuary, run through Wales and England. Welsh Water, which provides water and wastewater services to most households in Wales, said the spills had "a limited impact" on Welsh rivers. Mr Deveney, a lifeboat training manager with the Severn Area Rescue … [Read more...] about River pollution: Rescuer infected with sewage-linked parasite

By Shaimaa Khalil Published 1 day ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Olivia Newton-John was a UK-born, Australian-raised recording artist who shot to superstardom in the US. It's no wonder that Hollywood is mourning her and that tributes have come from her star friends from Britain as well. But Australia has and will always claim her as its "darling" and "sweetheart". Obituary: Olivia Newton-John This is where she started her musical career, even though she grew up wanting to be a vet and then a policewoman. Newton-John formed a girl group with three other school friends at 14 and started performing in a café run by her sister's boyfriend. Australians grew up with a young Olivia Newton-John on their screens. She appeared on many talent shows. She sang Summertime aged 15 on a televised talent competition and landed a role on the TV … [Read more...] about Olivia Newton-John: Australia mourns a national sweetheart

Published 22 October 2012 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Researchers in the US have been shocked to discover a beluga whale whose vocalisations were remarkably close to human speech. While dolphins have been taught to mimic the pattern and durations of sounds in human speech, no animal has spontaneously tried such mimicry. But researchers heard a nine-year-old whale named NOC make sounds octaves below normal, in clipped bursts. The researchers outline in Current Biology just how NOC did it. The first mystery, though, was figuring out where the sound was coming from. When a diver at the National Marine Mammal Foundation in California surfaced saying, "Who told me to get out?" the researchers there knew they had another example on their hands. The whales are known as "canaries of the sea" for their high-pitched chirps, but while a number of anecdotal … [Read more...] about Beluga whale ‘makes human-like sounds’

Early morning temperatures were well below zero across South Canterbury on Wednesday. MetService meteorologist John Law said the temperature at Aoraki/Mt Cook was -2.5 Celsius at midnight and within an hour fell to -4.6C and reached -5.8C between 8.30-9.30am. Lake Takapō/Tekapo recorded its lowest temperature of -5.4C at midnight while at Timaru’s airport the low was -2.8 at 9am and Fairlie recorded -3.8C at 4am. Law said there will be a little more cloud patch towards the coast (Timaru) and Wednesday will be a dry day with a decent amount of sunshine and the night is forecast to be cold and frosty. For inland Canterbury, temperatures are expected to drop to as low as -6 with cold and frosty nights. On Thursday, some isolated showers are possible in Timaru. Law said the isolated showers might turn sleety. Law said South Canterbury can expect dry days over the weekend as a high pressure system is expected on Friday, Saturday and Sunday bringing sunny days and cold and … [Read more...] about Cold, frosty nights and sunny days forecast for South Canterbury

Justin Bieber made headlines when he postponed his Justice World tour dates after the singer was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. However, recently, the Baby hit-maker has resumed the tour with high spirits. During Norway concert on Sunday, the Peaches crooner took a moment to share his thoughts about the purpose of his new album Justice with his fans. Justin also shared a snippet of his speech he made at the concert on Instagram where he addressed racism issue. “So when we created the Justice album, we wanted to make an intentional moment. A moment of unity, a moment of acceptance, a moment of belonging. In this world, there’s a lot of division, and what justice is, is for us to all come together,” said the 28-year-old. He went to add, “We know that racism is evil. It’s wrong. But you and I, we get to be the difference-makers.” “We get to be the ones to stand with our brothers and sisters and make a change,” noted the Yummy singer. Justin also thanked … [Read more...] about Justin Bieber addresses racism issue during Norway concert