Louder than a jumbo-jet: the World’s ultimate portable sound system - The Sun
Nissan have teamed up with the Ministry of Sound to crank up the volume, producing a super sound system capable of a deafening 150db.
Nicknamed the Juke Box, the custom built speakers are tailored to fit into the back of a Nissan Juke, and are loud enough to silence a 747 jet.
Martin Audio, the company behind the famous Box Room at London’s Ministry of Sound nightclub, provided the know-how to blast sound from two 18-inch sub-woofers and the same mid-high speakers that are used in the club.
The Juke Box also transforms into a fully functioning PA system with a DJ box and lighting, so party-loving petrol-heads can hit the decks.
Drivers could even become the next David Guetta through an integrated radio feature which allows anything played on the system to be broadcast on the Ministry of Sound’s digital radio app.
The Juke Box made its debut at Le Mans, in the driver’s parade at the start of the 24-hour endurance race, and touring the three-day event with pop-up parties featuring headline DJs.
Nissan Europe marketing communications spokesman Gareth Dunsmore said: “We have made a great product we believe creates excitement through our innovative approach to the small car market.
“Ministry of Sound is the industry leader in creating the moments people live for through their bespoke sound systems.
“Together with Nissan Design Europe, RML and Ministry of Sound we wanted to challenge the establishment and make something truly unique.”
London's Shard skyscraper rises above its critics - BBC News
It has been turning heads all over London. Walking down streets, in parks, even stuck in traffic jams on the M25, people have been watching the steady ascent of a towering landmark on the capital's skyline.
Its 310m (1,016ft) tapering steel structure was topped out in March, with the last few of its 11,000 shimmering window panes fitted in recent weeks.
On Thursday, the Shard's inauguration will be followed by a dazzling light show, during which the skyscraper will fire laser beams at other iconic buildings, marking its new dominance of the London skyline.
Its restaurants and viewing galleries, where - weather permitting - people will be able to see as far as Southend, are not expected to open until February 2013.
But Italian architect Renzo Piano is already keen to convince locals the London Bridge skyscraper is not just another monolithic office tower.
'Vertical town'"For me, the most important thing is, is it going to be loved in London or not?
"Skyscrapers have to give back to the city more than they get from the city."
He hopes the Shard will be a building Londoners can take possession of, rather than just gazing in awe at its exterior.
The EU's tallest building will have office space at its base, but higher there will be apartments, restaurants and a hotel - though it is perhaps unlikely the average Londoner will be able to afford to sleep there.
A viewing gallery at the summit, however, should prove more accessible and is expected to draw more than a million people each year.
Not everyone is full of praise. Local campaigners Bermondsey Village Action Group co-ordinator Russell Gray said: "It's just a great big pyramid of glass and steel.
"There's nothing intrinsically endearing about it."
But the veteran property developer behind the skyscraper, Irvine Sellar, believes what he calls "the first vertical town in Europe" will have a positive impact.
He said: "People commuting in London Bridge are now seeing a pleasurable experience opposed to the kingdom of darkness that Renzo described was there before."
Facing local critics is just one of many obstacles Mr Sellar has overcome to get the Shard built.
He has also battled through gales, a world financial crisis and a public inquiry.
When he bought Southwark Towers, a rather uninspiring 25-storey office block, in 1998, Mr Sellar says he "had no intention of developing the site".
'Phallic fortresses'A few months later, a government white paper emerged encouraging development of high-density buildings close to transport hubs.
"That white paper was the first thing that made us change our mind," said Mr Sellar.
His first challenge was to get a world-class architect involved.
Mr Piano may not have been the most likely choice, given he had previously described tall buildings as "aggressive phallic fortresses".
SHARD IN NUMBERS
• The skyscraper will have the UK's highest public viewing gallery at 244m
• It will have 306 flights of stairs
• There were 1,200 workers on site in spring 2011
• Europe's tallest crane - at 180m -was used during construction
• 5,500 cubic metres was poured over 36 hours, enough concrete to fill clock tower of Big Ben
But when Mr Sellar and Mr Piano met in a Berlin restaurant in 2000, the architect flipped the menu over and began to sketch.
Mr Piano said: "I do like the river. I do like the energy from the rail lines.
"I see it as like a giant sail emerging from the river, and so the shape of the Shard was conceived."
Mr Sellar admitted: "If it wasn't through Renzo, I don't think we would have got planning consent."
Southwark Council granted planning permission in March 2002, but shortly afterwards, the building was called in for a public inquiry, with Royal Parks Foundation and English Heritage among those objecting.
A key concern raised was over the view from Hampstead Heath, from where it was feared the Shard would be seen lurking over St Paul's.
'Military operation'But following six months of deliberations, the skyscraper was declared to be "of the highest architectural quality" and approved.
By 2008, construction had not even started, when the banking crisis stopped the development in its tracks.
"The worst financial crisis in living memory didn't exactly help with the funding," said Mr Sellar.
However, Qatari investors stepped in at the last minute to buy 80% of the equity.
"If it wasn't for the state of Qatar, I don't think we'd have a building like this in London," said Mr Sellar.
With funding secured, the next challenge began - constructing 87 storeys on London clay next to a tidal river in a densely populated area.
"The logistics were like a military operation," the developer said.
"We had to deal with one of the country's busiest rail stations, busy bus routes, two Underground lines, and Guy's Hospital sitting right next door."
With the Shard's shell complete, perhaps its biggest test still lies ahead - finding tenants to fill it, although Mr Sellar remains confident.
"We are being selective - it's a very special building," he said.
London 2012 Olympic Torch flown by jet pack from National Space Centre in Leicester - Daily Telegraph
After carrying the torch over the space centre, Mr Macomber, who travelled from his home in the US to take part in the celebrations, said: "I just really wanted to be part of the Olympic Torch ceremony.
Michael Phelps to go for seven medals at London 2012 Olympics - Metro.co.uk
The American swimmer, who has won a record 14 gold medals over the last two Games in Athens and Beijing, competed for and won eight gold medals at the 2008 Games.
At the US trials the 27-yaer-old qualified for eight events at London 2012, but coach Bob Bowman says he will not go for them all.
'No-one should be expected to do that twice. Once was enough,' he said.
‘This change will allow him to focus more energy on relays for USA.’
Since winning the 200m freestyle in Athens, Phelps has been beaten over the distance at the last two world championships.
Phelps won the trial ahead of fierce rival Ryan Lochte, and the place he has vacated in the team will go to Ricky Berens, who finished third in the trials.
Phelps referred to his rivalry with Lochte as 'cat and mouse', adding 'they're fun, exciting races and Ryan has proved he's been the best over the past couple of years.'
But Lochte has warned Phelps he will not have everything his own way in what will be his last major competition before retirement.
Speaking at the US trials, he said 'I'm used to racing against him, I've been doing it for eight years now.
'In the past four years, I've gone a lot faster and I know what my body can handle. This meet was just stepping stones for what I really want to do in London.'
London 2012 Olympics: 24 days to go - live blog - The Guardian
Hello and welcome to today’s Olympics live blog.
Coming up today:
• The Team GB athletics squad will be announced – we’ll have live coverage from about 1pm. Dwain Chambers is expected to make a return to the Olympic arena after an absence of 12 years, joining teenager Adam Gemili in the 100m. It will be interesting to see whether head coach Charles van Commenee picks for the 800m team Jenny Meadows, who won a bronze medal at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin but has had an achilles injury for the last six months. Meanwhile Lynsey Sharp has been in great form lately but has not run the necessary qualifying time, although she has beaten all her three British rivals. A quirk in the rules means that Van Commenee and his fellow selectors could select Sharp, but only if they left out everyone else and decided to send her alone in the 800m. The alternative would be that Sharp is left out, but three of the runners she has beaten go instead.
• Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, has given some Olympic tips to the capital's about-to-be long-suffering commuters. More details as I get them.
In Olympic news so far this morning:
• Gary Lineker carried the Olympic torch in his home city of Leicester, where he played from 1976 to 1985, this morning. I'll put a picture up as soon as I get one. The torch is travelling from Leicester to Peterborough today. If you are out taking a look send me a photo at paul.owen@guardian.co.uk.
• Sun Yang, the 1,500m freestyle swimming world-record holder, has given a modest and downbeat speech to China’s national swimming team. He told his team-mates:
I feel like a tough warrior, with shield in hand. I am about to go all out. I am ready, London. We are coming. Chinese men are coming!
• The Olympics will deliver a £16.5bn boost to the UK economy by 2017 and help create the equivalent of 62,200 jobs, a new report has claimed. The estimated benefits are from 2005, when the Games were awarded, to the five years after the Games finish, and will come mainly as a result of building Olympic sites and the boost to tourism, according to the study by Lloyds Banking Group. Lloyds, whose Lloyds TSB is a London 2012 sponsor, said nearly a third of the gains - worth £5bn - will come over the five years following the event, when Olympic sites are converted to other uses and tourism continues to see a boost.
• Michael Phelps is dropping out of the 200m freestyle at the London Olympics, leaving the American swimmer with seven events for his Games swansong.
• Gold is my target, says our Olympic diarist Nicola Adams.
• I thought my Olympic dream was over, Beth Tweddle tells Donald McRae.
• And here’s Owen Gibson’s full story on Stuart Pearce’s decision not to choose David Beckham for his Team GB football squad.
Stay tuned for all this and more throughout the day.
London 2012: Dwain Chambers picked for GB athletics squad - BBC News
Sprinter Dwain Chambers has been included in Team GB's athletics squad for the Olympic Games in London.
The 34-year-old, who won the 100m Games trials, can compete after the British Olympic Association policy of lifetime bans for drug cheats was overturned.
Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah, Phillips Idowu, Dai Greene and Christine Ohuruogu are among GB gold medal hopes.
Only one woman, Lynsey Sharp, is picked for the 800m with 2009 world bronze medallist Jenny Meadows missing out.
Meadows, who had indicated before the team announcement she would appeal if not selected, has decided not to fight the decision.
The 2010 European bronze medallist suffered a setback when she pulled out of this year's Euros before her 800m race in Helsinki on Saturday after aggravating an Achilles injury.
Marilyn Okoro, Emma Jackson and Jemma Simpson were other 800m contenders hoping to run in the women's event.
A total of 71 athletes were added on Tuesday to the six previously-named marathon runners to complete the GB athletics squad, which has been set a target of eight medals, including at least one gold.
Defending 400m title holder Ohuruogu, Ennis (heptathlon and 100m hurdles), Farah (5,000m and 10,000m), Idowu (triple jump) and Greene (400m hurdles) lead the gold medal prospects.
Adam Gemilli, 18, is the youngest member of the squad and one of three athletes picked for the men's 100m alongside James Dasaolu, 24, and Chambers.
Chambers was banned for two years after testing positive for the designer drug THG in 2003.
Chambers records 100 metre trials win
He won the 100m trials in Birmingham in 10.25 seconds - seven hundredths of a second outside the 'A' qualification time required - and did not run in the 100m at the European Championships . However, he ran 'A' times last summer, which the selectors could take into account.
"For me representing my country in an Olympics is a privilege that should never be taken for granted," said Chambers.
"To be given the opportunity to do so in my home town has been a dream that at times has seemed very distant and is now a reality."
One of the toughest choices facing UK Athletics was which of five contenders to pick for the women's 800m.
Three runners could have been chosen and head coach Charles van Commenee said a third of the six-hour selection meeting was taken up by discussing the event before plumping for Sharp, the only one of the five without an A standard time.
"We decided she was the one with best current form. It was difficult because not one of the athletes took control of their own destiny," he said.
Analysis
"Team selections are always going to have people missing and the women's 800m is the most contentious. Charles van Commenee is basically saying the four girls that got the A standard aren't going to be able to produce at the Games, whereas there are probably other people in other events that you could say the same thing about. It's a lack of consistency."
"The athletes made it difficult by not doing what they're supposed to do. Once the selection panel has to spend two hours it's already a bad sign.
"The panel and I are convinced that the athlete selected is the one who has the best chance of performing well at the Games."
Okoro and Jackson have run the 'A' standard this year but finished fifth and seventh respectively at the Olympic trials - won by Sharp, who also claimed a European silver medal.
Meadows, who has not raced this year because of injury, and Simpson achieved the A standard in 2011. Simpson was second in the trials but finished seventh in Helsinki.
A Team GB statement read: "International rules of sport mean an athlete who has achieved the 'B' standard can only be selected if there are no 'A' standard athletes in that event selected to the team."
Shortly before the team announcement, Okoro, who is in the 4x400m team, said on Twitter: "I'm quitting". She later deleted the tweet.
Van Commenee said: "Hearing the news that you are not part, that you can't compete in your favourite event in the Olympics is not easy to digest and it's not easy to give that news.
"When I spoke to her on the phone, she indicated that she would quit. I want to see how that goes in the next few days."
The Dutchman, who has admitted he is braced for a "heap of appeals" from athletes, said it was not easy to leave out Meadows.
"It was very difficult because she has a proven track record. She's absolutely a world-class athlete. However, she has not raced since the [2011] World Championships in Daegu," he said.
Sprinter Richard Kilty said his own exclusion was "an absolute disgrace" after posting two A standard times in the 200m and he planned to appeal.
He said on Twitter: "I am 100% fit, with two A standards, three spots available and they say no, and there's five slower athletes than me in the relay - they have a personal problem with me."
Three athletes are the head coach's own discretionary picks - Nigel Levine (men's 400m), Lee McConnell (women's 400m) and Julia Bleasdale (women's 5,000m).
European high jump champion Robbie Grabarz will make his Olympic debut, while Greg Rutherford has a genuine medal chance in the long jump.
Eilish McColgan, 21, the daughter of former 10,000m world champion Liz, will represent Britain in the women's 3,000m steeplechase.
World bronze medallist Andy Turner has been selected for the 110m hurdles.
Chambers was joined in the squad by another athlete previously barred due to a drugs ban, with Carl Myerscough selected in the shot put.
Myerscough achieved a second B standard in the shot just hours before the deadline by seeking out a minor meeting in Estonia and catching a ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn late on Saturday night.
The athletes selected for Team GB are:
Men
Adam Gemili - 100m and 4 x 100m (age: 18, born: London, lives: Dartford)
Dwain Chambers - 100m and 4 x 100m (age: 34, born: London, lives: London)
James Dasaolu - 100 and 4x100m (age: 24, born: Croydon, lives: Loughborough)
Christian Malcolm - 200m and 4x100m (age: 33, born: Cardiff, lives: Newport)
James Ellington - 200m and 4x100m (age: 26, born: Lewisham, lives: London
Martyn Rooney - 400m and 4x400m (age: 25, born: Croydon, lives: Loughborough)
Conrad Williams - 400m and 4x400m (age: 30, born: Kingston, Jamaica, lives: Hither Green)
Nigel Levine - 400m and 4x400m (age: 23, born: Bedford, lives: Bedford)
Andrew Osagie - 800m (age: 24, born: Harlow, lives: Twickenham)
Michael Rimmer - 800m (age: 26, born: Southport, lives: Manchester)
Ross Murray - 1500m (age: 22, born: Gateshead, lives: Twickenham
Andrew Baddeley - 1500m (age: 30, born: Merseyside lives: London)
Nick McCormick - 5,000m (age: 30, born: Newcastle, lives: Loughborough)
Mo Farah - 5,000m and 10,000m (age: 28, born: Somalia, lives: Portland, USA)
Chris Thompson - 10,000m (age: 31, born: Barrow-in-Furness, lives Oregon USA)
Stuart Stokes - 3,000m steeplechase (age: 35, born: Bolton, lives: Bolton)
Lawrence Clarke - 110m hurdles (age: 22, born: London, lives: Bath)
Andrew Pozzi - 110m hurdles (age: 19, born: Leamington Spa, lives: Bristol)
Andy Turner - 110m hurdles (age: 31, born: Nottingham, lives: Sutton)
Dai Greene - 400m hurdles and 4x400m (age: 26, born: Llanelli, lives: Trowbridge)
Jack Green - 400m hurdles and 4x400m (age: 20, born: Maidstone, lives: Bath)
Rhys Williams - 400m hurdles (age: 28, born: Cardiff, lives: London)
Robbie Grabarz - high jump (age: 24, born: Enfield, lives: Birmingham)
Steve Lewis - pole vault (age: 26, born: Stoke on Trent, lives:London)
Greg Rutherford - long jump (age: 24, born: Milton Keynes, lives: Milton Keynes)
Chris Tomlinson - long jump (age: 30, born: Middlesbrough, lives: London)
Philips Idowu - triple jump (age: 33, born: Hackney, lives: Birmingham)
Mervyn Luckwell - javelin (age: 27, born: Milton Keynes, lives: Loughborough)
Lawrence Okoye - discus (age: 20, born: Croydon, lives Croydon)
Brett Morse - discus (age: 23, born:Cardiff, lives: Penarth)
Abdul Buhari - discus (age: 30, born: Nigeria, lives: London)
Carl Myerscough - shot put (age: 32, born: Blackpool, lives: USA)
Alex Smith - hammer (age:24, born: Hull, lives Hull)
Daniel Awde - decathlon (age: 24, born: Essex, lives Essex)
Dominic King - 50k walk (age: 29. Born: Colchester. Lives: Colchester)
Danny Talbot - 4x100m (age 21, born: Sailisbury, lives: Trowbridge)
Simeon Williamson - 4x100m (age: 26, born: London, lives: Enfield)
Mark Lewis-Francis - 4x100m (age: 29, born: Birmingham, lives: London)
Richard Buck - 4x400m (age: 25, born: York, lives: Loughborough)
Luke Lennon-Ford - 4x400m (age: 23, born: Sutton Coldfield, lives: London)
Rob Tobin - 4x400m (age: 28, born: Lincoln, lives: Basingstoke)
Previously selected for marathon: Scott Overall - (age: 29, born: Hammersmith, lives: Sutton), Dave Webb - (age: 30, born: Leeds, lives: Leeds), Lee Merrien - (age: 34, born: Guernsey, lives: Guernsey)
Women
Abi Oyepitan - 100m and 200m (age: 32, born: London , lives: London)
Anyika Onuora - 100m and 200m (age: 27, born: Liverpool, lives: London)
Margaret Adeoye - 200m (age: 27, born: London, lives: London)
Christine Ohuruogu - 400m and 4x400m (age: 28, born: London, lives: London)
Shana Cox - 400m and 4x400m (age: 27, born: Brooklyn, USA, lives: London)
Lee McConnell - 400m and 4x400m (age: 33, born: Glasgow, lives: Glasgow)
Lynsey Sharp - 800m (age: 21, born: Edinburgh, lives: Edinburgh)
Laura Weightman - 1500m (age: 21, born: Alnwick, lives: Leeds)
Lisa Dobriskey - 1500m (age:28, born: Ashford, lives: Loughborough)
Hannah England - 1500m (age: 25, born: Oxford, lives: Birmingham)
Jo Pavey - 5,000m and 10,000m (age: 38, born: Exeter, lives: Exeter)
Julia Bleasdale - 5,000m and 10,000m (age: 30, born: Surry, lives: Surrey)
Barbara Parker- 5,000m and 3,000m steeplechase (age:29, born: King's Lynn, lives: California, USA)
Eilish McColgan- 3,000m steeplechase (age: 21, born: Dundee, lives: Carnousie )
Johanna Jackson - 20km walk (age: 27, born: Middlesbrough, lives: Leeds )
Tiffany Porter - 100m hurdles (age: 24, born: Michigan, USA, lives: London)
Perri Shakes-Drayton - 400m hurdles (age: 23, born: London, lives: London)
Eilidh Child - 400m hurdles (age: 25, born: Perth, lives: Kinross/Bath)
Holly Bleasdale - pole vault (age: 20, born: Preston, lives: Chorley)
Kate Dennison- pole vault (age: 28, born: Durban, SA, lives: Loughborough)
Shara Proctor- long jump (age: 23, born: Anguilla, lives: Atlanta, USA)
Yamile Aldama - triple jump (age: 39, born: Havana, Cuba,lives: London)
Sophie Hitchon - hammer (age: 20, born: Burnley, lives: Loughborough)
Goldie Sayers - javelin (age: 29, born: Newmarket, lives: London)
Jessica Ennis - heptathlon and 100m hurdles (age: 26, born: Sheffield, lives: Sheffield)
Katarina Johnson-Thompson - heptathlon (age: 18, born: Liverpool, lives: Liverpool)
Louise Hazel - heptathlon (age: 26, born: Southwark, lives: Birmingham)
Marilyn Okoro - 4x400m (age: 27, born: London, lives: London)
Nicola Sanders - 4x400m (age: 30, born: High Wycombe, lives: Bourne End)
Emily Diamond - 4x400m (age: 21, born: Bristol, lives: Bristol)
Previously selected for marathon: Paula Radcliffe (age: 38, born: Northwich, Cheshire, lives: Salisbury), Mara Yamauchi (age: 38, born: Oxford, lives: Teddington) Claire Hallissey (age: 29, born: Watford, lives: Virginia, USA)
Design competition is new vehicle from Vauxhall - Biggleswade Chronicle
CAR designers and marketing gurus of the future took part in a business competition.
Students at Samuel Whitbread Academy in Clifton were asked to come up with ideas for new cars when a delegation from Vauxhall visited on Monday (July 2).
Undergraduates who are doing work placements at Vauxhall organised the ‘Griffin’s Den’ contest.
Students were split up into groups and each was asked to draw up plans for a different kind of vehicle.
They were also tasked with budgets and marketing campaigns.
Rachael Hayman from Vauxhall, who helped to organise the event said: “There were various categories so some of the students were working on a possible family car while others would be thinking about a particularly environmentally-friendly vehicle.
“The eventual winners produced a design and plans for a new sports car.”
The undergraduates travelled from Vauxhall’s Griffin House headquarters in Luton and the firm’s parts warehouse in Toddington.
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