YOUR WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE

YOUR WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE

1. The Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle II, known as Nuri, took off from Goheung, 500km south of Seoul. President Moon Jae-in said the vehicle completed its full flight sequence but failed in its goal of putting a dummy satellite in orbit. Such launches are essential for a space programme but could potentially also have military applications. South Korea is locked in an arms race with North Korea, with both recently test-firing new weapons. The North put a satellite in orbit in 2012.
2. Scientists say a new dating technique analysing tree rings has provided evidence that Vikings occupied a site in Newfoundland, Canada, in 1021AD. It has long been known that Europeans reached the Americas before Columbus’s arrival in the New World in 1492. But this is the first time researchers have suggested an exact date. Writing in the journal Nature, scientists said they had analysed the tree rings of three pieces of wood cut for the Norse establishment at L’Anse aux Meadows.
3. On Wednesday, the Orion spacecraft was attached to the powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. For its upcoming flight, Orion will fly around the Moon without astronauts. But it will eventually carry people as part of a US plan to return people to the lunar surface this decade. This programme is called Artemis – after the sister of Apollo – and could help establish a long-term human presence on Earth’s only natural satellite.
4. Keith Anderson, chief executive of Scottish Power, said the recent energy crisis had exposed deep flaws in the way the energy market was structured. He added there had been serious failures on the part of Ofgem. The regulator said the price cap had helped to keep down costs for millions of households. Mr Anderson said that the price cap was a popular idea politically but it has caused dozens of companies to go bust. As wholesale prices soared six-fold this year, companies had to buy gas at a price miles more than the rate they were allowed to sell it.
5. An amateur diver exploring shallow waters off northern Israel has found a sword thought to have belonged to a crusader knight 900 years ago. The one-metre (3.3ft) blade was discovered in shallow waters off Haifa. It is thought the sword, heavily encrusted with marine organisms, resurfaced after the shifting of sands. The Israel Antiques Authority (IAA) said that once cleaned and analysed it would be put on public display.
6. The Pixel 6 contains Google’s “Tensor” processor, which it says enables new phone features powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning. It is also the first phone in the series with a “Pro” model, designed to compete at the high end of the market. Google owns and operates the Android platform, used by almost every mobile phone maker apart from Apple. But the top end of the Android market has been dominated by other smartphone brands such as Samsung, whose phones can cost more than £1,000.

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