Ofcom has revoked Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT’s UK licence with immediate effect
He had initially vowed to stay put in Kyiv despite the constant blaring of air raid sirens and attacks on residential buildings, but decided to leave after hearing reports of Russian soldiers ‘raping’ Ukrainian women.
The V12 Vantage also gets some extra goodies for its last go around the carousel. It will be the most powerful Aston Martin Vantage ever with 690 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque. Those figures, plus new aerodynamic body tweaks mean that this Vantage is good for 200 mph and will make the sprint to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. An eight-speed ZF automatic transmission is the only gearbox on offer, though Aston claims it’s been recalibrated to be more sporty.
One of the last holdouts of V12 engine production has been Aston Martin with its twin-turbocharged 5.2-liter unit in the DB11 and, now, as a farewell, in the V12 Vantage, after a 15-year run, according to an announcement made by the company on Wednesday. The 2023 V12 Vantage will be strictly limited to 333 units, and it’s already sold out.
The V12 Astons have been since the DB11 came out, but we are genuinely looking forward to this leaner, meaner swan song of a car, and while we wish it could be had with a different gearbox, we expect it will still be a real experience to drive.
The TV watchdog said RT’s licensee, ANO TV Novosti, is ‘not fit and proper’ to hold a licence amid 29 ongoing investigations into the ‘due impartiality of the news and current affairs coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine’.
Those aero tweaks include a wider body, a big wing at the back and a new, vented hood. The overall look is pretty aggressive, befitting a car wearing the Vantage name, and Aston claims it produces 450 pounds of downforce at 200 mph, which is pretty good for a road car. The majority of the new body bits are made of carbon fiber to help cut weight. Aston also made the exhaust out of 1mm-thick stainless steel tubing to shave nearly 16 pounds off the car compared to the exhaust in the V8 Vantage.
Aston has made handling a priority for the V12 car and, as such, has increased its body stiffness by using added bracing for things like the fuel tank, the strut towers and more. Spring stiffness was also increased, so don’t expect this thing to ride like a DB11. Carbon-ceramic brakes are standard on the V12 Vantage, which, in addition to resisting brake fade in repeated high-speed stops, also shave around 51 pounds of unsprung weight from the car.
The world used to be filled with magic and mystery and V12 engines. There’s still plenty of the former two, but the latter is rapidly going the way of the thylacine, and while we get it — it’s hard to justify the cost and complexity of a big V12 engine in a world where going electric makes a lot more sense — we’re still sad to see them go.
The network, which has been described as Vladimir Putin’s ‘personal propaganda tool’, was previously fined £200,000 for ‘serious and repeated’ breaches of impartiality rules over a string of 2018 broadcasts on the Salisbury poisonings and the Syrian war.
A statement released by the regulator on Friday said: ‘We consider the volume and potentially serious nature of the issues raised within such a short period to be of great concern – especially given RT’s compliance history, which has seen the channel fined £200,000 for previous due impartiality breaches.
San Francisco-based photographer Michael Shainblum, 31 was inspired to visit New Zealand after watching Lord of the Rings as a child, with the trilogy filmed on both the North and South islands. Pictured, Milford Sound
He mused: ‘The people are so friendly. I don’t think I met a single rude person in my entire time being in New Zealand. Everyone was so nice, so friendly, just wanted to see what I was doing and even just if I was going to order some coffee I’d end up in some conversation.
‘The range of things you can see in a day in New Zealand is pretty interesting, from the lush rainforest to the high ridge peaks to the lone oak trees just kind of sitting out on the fields, and to the seascapes. Just beautiful, dramatic, striking seascapes.’
The capital is lining up four days of pomp and pageantry for… Where to go for late late snow: Several resorts are staying… Now THAT’S off-piste: Stunning photographs capture extreme… A spring break in Miami without the mayhem: Enjoying the… Image of Ronaldo the horse frolicking in the snow is among… ‘Amazon parcels arrive by ferry and there was the time a…
The visuals are the work of San Francisco-based photographer , 31, who was inspired to visit the remote country after watching Lord of the Rings as a child, with the trilogy filmed on both the North and South islands.
Did he have a favourite location? Shainblum said it was tough to pick one, but that Milford Sound – a fiord in the southwest of the South Island – made a big impression with its ‘striking cliffs’ and ‘pouring’ 1,000ft waterfalls.
When it came to his favourite location in New Zealand, Shainblum said it was tough to pick one but Milford Sound – a fiord in the southwest of the South Island – made a big impression with its ‘striking cliffs’ and ‘pouring’ 1,000ft waterfalls
