List of All Articles with Tag 'd'

A Russian pilot fired two missiles towards an RAF surveillance plane after mistakenly believing he had permission to fire. Following the incident last September, Russia claimed it had been caused by a “technical malfunction” with the UK’s Ministry of Defence publicly accepting their explanation. However, intercepted communications reveal that one of the Russian pilots believed he had been given permission to target the aircraft following an ambiguous command from a Russian ground station. The two Russian SU-27 fighter jets had encountered the RAF plane, which was carrying a crew of up to 30 people, as it was flying a surveillance mission over the Black Sea in international airspace on 29 September. Three Western defence sources with knowledge of the incident have told the BBC that the two Russian pilots received words to the effect of “you have the target”. This prompted one of the pilots to release an air-to-air missile, which successfully launched but failed to strike its target. A row then broke out between the two Russian pilots, as the second did not believe they had been given permission to fire. However, a second missile was released but simply fell from the wing - suggesting the launch was aborted or the weapon malfunctioned. As the Rivet Joint is loaded with sensors to intercept communications, the RAF crew would have been able to listen in to the incident which could have resulted in their own deaths. After the Russian Ministry of Defence called it a “technical malfunction”, the UK government confirmed the incident had taken place. In a statement to MPs on 20 October, the former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace described it as a “potentially dangerous engagement”. However, he added: "We do not consider this incident to constitute a deliberate escalation on the part of the Russians, and our analysis concurs that it was due to a malfunction." An intelligence leak, published online by US airman Jack Teixera, revealed that the US miliary spoke of the incident as a “near shoot-down”. “The incident was far more serious than originally portrayed and could have amounted to an act of war,” the New York Times reported. The MoD has now told the BBC that “this incident is a stark reminder of the potential consequences of Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine.” Read More South Korea expresses 'concern and regret' over military cooperation talks between Kim and Putin What is a Storm Shadow cruise missile? Weapons, spy satellites and nuclear ambitions: what we learned from Putin’s summit with Kim Jong-un in Russia The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Taylor Swift won nine VMAs of the 11 categories she was nominated for, bringing her total to 23

A Seattle police officer is under investigation after his body-worn camera captured a phone conversation following the death of a woman who was fatally struck by a police car in which the officer is laughing and says the victim "had limited value," according to the footage and a statement from the Seattle Police Department.

Can President Joe Biden bring the mercurial North Korean leader to the table?

Tea enthusiasts are up in arms about a new teabag in the works from PG Tips, which promises to brew in just 60 seconds. While most tea fanatics reccommend brewing a cup of English breakfast tea for three to five minutes, the majority of people are too time-poor or impatient to let their teabag infuse for more than one minute. PG Tips hopes it has come up with a solution by investing £50m on a new a new blend and bag that infuses in just 60 seconds, a venture that has taken the company two years to develop. In its research, the PG Tips found that 85 per cent of tea drinkers leave the bag in to brew for under a minute, while a staggering 45 per cent bin their teabag after less than 30 seconds. Tea experts at the company have developed a new design that features a square bag with room for the leaves to infuse. It is designed to not fold over on itself, which is said to improve the overall taste of the tea. If the bag folds, the leaves don’t have room to expand and can leave the tea lacking flavour. The company claims its new blend has the “perfect particle size” for a quick cuppa. The new blend is grown at high altitudes in Kenya and Rwanda, which the brand claims provides a better taste. However, some tea fanatics are not convinced. Jane Pettigrew, course director at the UK Tea Academy toldThe Times that the time taken for brewing is a key part of a tea break ritual, and rapid teabags, like PG Tips’s new creation, are an abhorrence. “We relish the three or four minutes it takes to brew a real cup of tea and benefit from the zen-like spirit of tea – the slow brewing of tea creates a magical few minutes in a busy, sometimes frantic day,” Pettigrew told the publication. “I really abhor this kind of ‘innovation’. It is not progress but a massive retrograde step backwards in what tea should be.” More than 100 million cups of tea are made every day in Britain, and 97.5 per cent of those are brewed from a bag, rather than made from loose-leaf variety, according to the UK Tea and Infusions Association. PG Tips has also announced that its 60-second teabag will be using more sustainable packaging and designed to have no plastic wrapping. It is said to be fully recyclable, and 33 per cent more compact than the current box. Liam McNamara, PG Tips General Manager, UK and Ireland told MailOnline: “We are immensely proud of the fact that British tea drinkers already enjoy five billion cups of PG Tips every year. “However, our tea-drinking habits and tastes are evolving. “With that in mind, our expert tea blenders have spent two years developing a new and better blend that delivers high quality taste to tea lovers. Our new PG Tips blend means consumers can expect a quicker infusion and a brighter, smoother, more consistent cup of tea that is full of flavour every single time, even for the nation’s impatient tea drinkers.” Read More Cats given vegan diets ‘have better health outcomes’, study claims We tested Jamie Oliver’s new cookbook and here’s our honest review Three ways to pimp up university student classics London’s best new restaurants from the past 12 months ‘Fried rice syndrome’: Dietitians warn against eating food left at room temperature The dish that defines me: Michele Pascarella’s Neapolitan ragu

Presidential bet Terry Gou, the Foxconn founder, has selected Tammy Lai as his running mate.

The BBC Global Disinformation Team analysed three new websites in Nigeria and found many false stories.

Sweden’s core inflation rate declined more than expected in August, providing some relief to the country’s central bank

John Lewis Partnership Plc has pushed back its plan to be profitable by two years as stubbornly high

STOCKHOLM The pace of headline Swedish inflation slowed more than expected in August, official data showed on Thursday,

'Mamma Mia' star Amanda Seyfried believes the likelihood of a third film in the franchise could "come down to something stupid like whether or not Universal wants to pay the money", and the actress isn't sure the company could "afford" to give the stars what would be "fair".

NSYNC, who are made up of Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone, have returned with their first song in 20 years, 'Better Place', a snippet of which appears in a trailer for forthcoming DreamWorks Animation film 'Trolls Band Together'.