Bionic John strides into a bright mobile future
The lower-limb bionic exoskeleton brace helps people living with partial paralysis, spinal injury, post-stroke and post-polio syndrome to walk naturally again.
John Simpson, 63, from London, is the first patient in the UK to wear the device and he said: “It’s going to change my life.”
A dog has become the latest member of staff at a hotel and has been described as “a wonderful furry asset to the team”.
Waggers, a three-month-old miniature labradoodle, has had training to ensure he adapts to his role as part of the reception team.
The Staybridge Suites in Vauxhall, south London, said it is the first hotel to appoint a dog as a staff member. While Waggers will not be able to take guests’ bags on arrival, the hotel said he is guaranteed to offer a heart-warming gaze.
A skiing and snowboarding event in the Austrian Alps has been cancelled after a competitor set off an avalanche — from which he escaped with bruised ribs and legs.
Organisers said French free skier Julien Lopez set off the 4,000sq m snow slab on the 2,800m Quellspitze as he hiked up the hill to collect a ski he lost during a crash.
The 33-year-old, the 2009 world free ski champion, was carrying an airbag system which prevented him from getting buried, and he skied to the finish area after being helped by a rescue crew.
The French version of Monopoly is celebrating its 80th year by slipping cash into 80 boxes.
One box will have the full complement of real cash — €20,580 — as well as the Monopoly money needed to play the game. Another 79 boxes will have smaller amounts, according to the game’s manufacturer, Hasbro.
Two US casinos have been fined — one for failing to shuffle its cards and the other for losing track of how many slot machines it is operating.
The Golden Nugget in Atlantic City was fined $4,000 (€3,500) by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement for using unshuffled cards in four blackjack games in August, then realising its mistake and handing a gambler who lost $1,600 in the tainted games a stack of chips to cover his losses.
And Caesars, also in Atlantic City, was fined $5,000 for losing two slot machines and filing monthly reports indicating that all machines were accounted for. The state said the missing machines have not been located.
Yanis Varoufakis has attracted as much attention for his style as for his policies as he tours European capitals to drum up support for the new leftist-led Greek government’s bid to renegotiate its debts and scrap austerity measures prescribed by Germany.
“The German government has never judged its interlocutors by whether they are wearing a tie, a leather jacket or a classic jacket,” Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said when asked by reporters about the “new style” in Athens.
“It makes no difference to us. What we expect from the new Greek government is to present us their economic and financial strategy.”
A spokesman for finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who is to meet Varoufakis today, said there was no dress code for visitors.
Varoufakis wore an open-necked shirt and a billowing black leather coat to visit the dapper, suited British finance minister George Osborne on Monday. His prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, also eschews a tie.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
