Month: January 2025

Black cabs are almost as recognisable as red buses when it comes to the iconic vehicles spotted on the streets of the UK’s capital city. Admittedly less popular in recent years due to the rising availability of companies such as Uber and Bolt, the familiar hackney carriage never fails to crop up in films and TV shows which depict our nation’s biggest city.

But how much can you make ferrying people around the many streets of London?

Explaining how he makes money in a recent YouTube video is driver and content creator Tom the Taxi Driver, who has managed to build a following by busting myths on how many streets of the city you need to know and how to deal with customers who bolt before paying.

How much can cab drivers earn?

In a recent video titled ‘How Much Money COULD a London Taxi Driver Earn?’, Tom answered the internet’s burning questions on all things taxi driving and money.

Naturally the first question on anyone’s mind when it comes to jobs is how much money you can make and the answer is… a little more complicated then you’d expect.

Tom said it’s hard to gauge how much a cabbie in London earns every year as it varies from person to person. Explaining why the figures differ so dramatically, he said that ‘circumstances differ greatly’ between drivers, including the number of days worked as well as whether or not you own the cab.

However there are several ways to work out how much a driver could earn – as well as the ideal earnings ceiling.

Crunching the numbers

Using the hypothetical example of two drivers – one who owns their cab and one who doesn’t – Tom explained how the former could make up to £272 a week through owning his car (before tax).

Drivers can also top up their earnings if they offer their services as a tour guide as well as a taxi driver, with around £250 on offer for a four-hour tour.

Should a driver be able to do two of these tours per day across five days, they could earn around £2,500 a week, which is a pretty nice sum of money.

“But it does give you a good idea of what a London cab driver could earn,” he added.

So while it may be difficult to estimate how much your average taxi driver does earn, it would appear that close to but not over £85,000 is the ideal figure.

Called C/2024 G3 Atlas, the sub-zero icy space rock is set to be visible from planet Earth in the next week.

First spotted back in April 2014 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Chile.

At the time of its first sighting, the comet had been a staggering 400 million miles away from humanity.

G3 Atlas comet’s journey through space

Now, G3 Atlas is set to reach something called its peak perihelion. This is the moment on its journey through space when it is closest to the Sun.

Dr Shyam Balaji, a researcher in astroparticle physics and cosmology at King’s College London, said: “As with all comets, its visibility and brightness can be unpredictable.

“Observers may have opportunities to spot it in the days around perihelion, depending on local conditions and the comet’s behaviour.

“The comet’s brightness will be influenced by its proximity to the Sun, which causes ice and frozen gases to sublimate, creating a coma and potentially a tail. While some predictions suggest it could become quite bright, comet brightness predictions are notoriously uncertain.”

The comet’s peak perihelion will be today (13 January), meaning it could be visible once darkness falls.

Seeing the G3 Atlas comet

If timed correctly, the G3 Atlas comet could be the brightest comet we have been able to see in the United Kingdom in the last 20 years.

As always with the UK, visibility is the big factor.

With recent weather being grim, and fog settling in across many parts of the country after recent snow and ice showers, hope is lower than it might have otherwise been.

Dr Balaji said if you want to see the comet you should find a location away from bright city lights, with binoculars or a small telescope your best shout, The Telegraph reported.

It won’t be a blink and you’ll miss it event, thankfully, with the journey taking amount of time equivalent to days on Earth.

According to mobile stargazing app Star Walk, it’ll be visible up until 18 January.

Those in the Southern Hemisphere will get the best view of the comet due to its position in relation to the Earth.

Yesterday, French news channel TF1 broke the story that a 53-year-old woman named Anne had been been conned out of €830,000 (£697,000) by a fraudster claiming to be Hollywood actor Brad Pitt.

The scammer had used AI generated images of Pitt lying in a hospital bed and claimed that he was unable to afford cancer treatment due to his high-profile divorce from Angelina Jolie.

After showering Anne with love declarations, a marriage proposal and promises of luxurious gifts she was smitten.

However there was only problem… this wasn’t the real Brad Pitt.

The story has since gone viral as people around the world were left scratching their heads and wondering if their new glasses prescription was too good after seeing the photos – prompting the Fight Club actor to even issue a statement via his representatives condemning the actions of the fraudster.

Unfortunately for Anne, the heartbreaking misery didn’t end there either, with The Sun reporting that an opportunist attempted to capitalise on her misery by posing as an FBI agent offering to ‘rescue’ her from the scam for another £4,200.

The BBC has since added that Anne had contacted the police after being approached by the second fraudster, who introduced themselves as ‘Special FBI Agent John Smith’.

According to The Guardian, Anne was previously married to a wealthy entrepreneur and had joined social media to share snaps of their lifestyle. An account claiming to be Pitt’s mother then reached out to her in February 2023, with messagings from ‘Brad’ following.

The interior designer would go on to exchange messages with the fraudster until she spotted images of him with his new girlfriend Ines de Ramon and realised something wasn’t right about the situation.

“I ask myself why they chose me to do such harm like this,” she said of the scammer (via TF1).

“I’ve never harmed anyone. These people deserve hell. We need to find those scammers, I beg you – please help me find them.”

The interview has since been widely mocked online (largely due to the AI images of Pitt shown) leading to TF1 making the decision to pull the interview from their website altogether .

“For the protection of victims, we have decided to withdraw [the segment] from our platforms,” French journalist Harry Roselmack said of the decision on his social media.

The 53-year-old woman, who has been named as Anne, believed she was talking to the Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood actor after being approached by his ‘mother’ on social media.

Anne would then receive a message from ‘Brad’ himself and the account soon began asking her for money for ‘cancer treatment’ and claiming the actor’s divorce from Angelina Jolie had left him short of funds.

The fraudster then created a series of questionable AI-generated images of Pitt in hospital to add, erm, legitimacy to scam. Take a look at them below:

Unfortunately Anne ended up sending the account €830,000 (£697,000).

The viral story has now taken another bizarre turn, after news of the scam reached Mr Pitt himself. And he’s not impressed by the grifter using his image for financial gain.

“It’s awful that scammers take advantage of the strong bond between fans and celebrities,” a spokesperson said on behalf of Pitt, before sharing a general reminder about internet safety.

“This is an important reminder not to respond to unsolicited online messages, especially from actors who are not present on social networks.”

Unfortunately this message has come a little too late for Anne, who is now not only hundreds of thousands of Euros down but not about to marry a Hollywood actor.

According to an interview Anne gave with French channel TF1 (via BFM TV) ‘Brad’ had lovebombed her with promises of luxury gifts and a marriage proposal.

“In fact, we’re talking about Brad Pitt, I’m falling from the clouds. At first, I tell myself it’s fake, but I don’t really understand what’s happening to me. After that, we will contact each other every day and we become friends,” she said via translated text.

“There are so few men who write you this kind of thing. I liked the man I was talking to. He knew how to talk to women, it was always very well done.”

Anne also explained that she’d been going through a difficult time following the divorce of her husband but became suspicious after spotting the actor out with his new girlfriend Ines de Ramon.

It’s understood that she is now receiving inpatient treatment for severe depression while an investigation into the fraud case is reportedly underway. TF1 has since removed the interview from their channel following the response online.

But if captains are in short supply in your area, luckily for you, this bloke who flies planes for Emirates has lifted the lid on what it’s really like in the cockpit.

Richard Vellinga has spent the last six years working for the world’s fourth-largest airline, safely shuttling passengers through the skies from one destination to another.

His job is obviously a lot different from your standard nine-to-five, mainly due to the fact that he has the lives of hundreds of people onboard the plane in his hands.

But apart from the fact he’s got that weighty responsibility resting on his shoulders, Vellinga loves his profession – especially due to the perks and his pay cheques.

The pilot, who flies a Boeing 777, revealed how much people who fly planes for a living can earn each year.

He explained that the exact amount varies between airlines and depending on what role you play in the cockpit, but with Emirates, you can rake in a decent amount of dough.

According to Vellinga, first officers, also known as co-pilots, can pocket between $7,000 (£5,710) and $9,000 (£7,340) per month, tax-free.

Speaking from his own experience, the pilot told Business Insider that this tots up to around $84,000 (£68,530) a year, at minimum.

Vellinga claimed that captains can take home between $11,000 (£8,970) and $13,000 (£10,610) a month, meaning they are taking home at least $132,000 (£107,700) annually.

The more years of flight experience you have, the more you can earn, the pilot said.

Vellinga explained that you can also bank some extra cash if you meet certain targets, as he claimed Emirates pilots earn a bonus for every ‘block hour’ they get above their monthly minimum flying target.

This term refers to the time it takes from the moment the door of an aircraft closes at the departure gate to opening at the arrival gate after the journey.

Co-pilots can secure around $145 (£118), while pilots can pocket $200 (£163) for achieving this, according to Vellinga.

So essentially, if a captain has fulfilled their monthly minimum but then picks up an eight-hour ‘block’ trip, then they can earn another $1,600. Not bad, eh?

There are also a few perks which come with being a pilot which make the role even more rewarding, Vellinga said.

Emirates employees are offered ‘other allowances to complement pilot basic salaries’, such as medical coverage, a housing allowance, profit-sharing and an education allowance for dependents.

Vellinga explained that the UAE-based airline also sends its flying staff off in style.

“We also enjoy chauffeur-driven transport to and from work, and laundry services,” Vellinga grinned, before revealing they also get some travel freebies too.

He said pilots can get discounted flight tickets or upgrades for themselves, their friends and family, or sometimes even a free plane ticket.

“Our most recent vacation with benefits was to Tenerife in the Canary Islands,” Vellinga said. “We spent a week exploring the islands and had a wonderful time.”

However, the pilot did admit that people in his profession can struggle with the ‘frequent time-zone changes and being away from family’.

He explained that Emirates pilots have to be adaptable to cope with this, although they do get 42 days of annual leave to recuperate, while they also enjoy at least eight days off a month.

Well, most of us did anyway.

And while you might have been hooked on Henry VIII or Greek mythology, this child went for the sinking of the Titanic. Except his fascination was taken to a whole other level.

It’s led to people pointing out a key detail after he drew images of the ship and claimed he ‘died on there’.

A Wisconsin college student, Jamey was apparently ‘always very happy and joyful’ as a kid but became terrified of their swimming pool at home.

His mum opened up about his supposed reincarnation during an episode of LMN’s Ghost Inside My Child, claiming he was the Titanic’s architect Thomas Andrews in a past life.

It’s said he started having night ‘terrors’ and, after watching the second half of the 1997 film, started drawing pictures of the Titanic.

“Within the first two weeks, he had probably painted 50 pictures,” his mum claimed. “He knew the ship by heart. You can’t learn that by watching the movie. The movie was actually more about the love story.”

“He would even cry about it,” his mum added.

Having created a pile of ‘creepy’ and detailed pictures of the ship, the grown up, 19-year-old Jamey said: “I would like to think that I was probably Thomas Andrews, just because of the personality traits and what he did is what I would’ve done.

“He gave himself up to let others get off the ship. It was a horrible tragedy in history and I’m just very at peace with it knowing I died on the Titanic.”

Andrews, who was onboard the ship during its maiden voyage to look out for any issues with his design, alerted the captain to the damage from the iceberg, convinced people to get into lifeboats, and according to a telegram from the ship, was last seen ‘throwing deck chairs, other objects, to people in water’ before he died in the disaster.

But online, people were quick to point out: “You can 100% figure what the Titanic looked like inside by watching the movie… I do believe people remember their past life. But sometimes watching something so traumatic at a young age can really make an impression on you.”

Others echoed that the film ‘is rated 12 for a reason’ as they said he ‘sounds like a normal Titanic kid’, sharing their own similar experiences of the fascination.

Arguably one of the most mysterious and perplexing missing person’s cases of the 20th century, 23-year-old Michael Rockefeller was the son of former vice-president Nelson Rockefeller and had a passion for exploring distant corners of the globe.

After working as a sound recordist for an ethnographic film Dead Birds, Rockefeller returned to Dutch New Guinea in November 1961, now West Papua, to learn more about the culture of the local Asmat people and collect pieces of their artwork.

It was during the expedition where Rockefeller and companion René Wassing would run into trouble after their canoe capsized.

Believing he could swim to safety, Rockefeller told Wassing: “I think I can make it,” before setting out to shore. He was never seen or heard from again.

Following extensive searches of the region by the powerful Rockefeller family, Michael was declared legally dead in 1964 and presumed to have drowned.

However, Hoffman thinks there is more to the story. In his 2014 book Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, And Michael Rockefeller’s Tragic Quest, he argues that Rockefeller was killed and consumed by the Asmat people as a form of ritual headhunting.

Michael Rockefeller: wrong place, wrong time?

Hoffman spent around three years researching the book – including several months spent living alongside the Asmat people – and believes that Rockefeller’s death was a consequence of both colonialism and local cosmology.

“The Asmat did not kill Michael Rockefeller because they felt murderous. And they didn’t kill him because they were hungry, and they needed a bite to eat,” Hoffman explained during an interview with LADbible.

“They killed him for these complex historical and cultural reasons.”

In the years prior to Rockefeller’s disappearance, Max Lapré, Dutch government controller in Southern Asmat, was involved in an incident which led to the deaths of five prominent members of the Otsjanep village.

Hoffman explained that the deaths caused by Lapré and his men had left an ‘unbalance’ in the village, which in Asmat cosmology was something that had to be fixed otherwise their village would be haunted by ‘spirits’.

It is through this understanding of the Asmat worldview which Hoffman believes led to the killing and consuming Rockefeller after he happened to make it ashore on 1961.

“[In Asmat cosmology] the world needs needed to be balanced and righted, and that balance came from the killing of Michael Rockefeller, yeah, it wasn’t some blood thirsty thing for them,” Hoffman explained. “It was just making the world whole, and that was going to reclaim their culture and their power.”

He continued: “I mean, these were people who had been living separate from the world on their own for, you know, 1000s of years, and they had a whole three-dimensional complex civilisation, so much so that, you know, that’s why Michael was there to collect their spectacular art, which today stands in the greatest museums of the world.

“This was a culture in which, you know, some in which head hunting was incredibly important, and cannibalism itself was just an is sort of an outgrowth of head hunting. And those things took place in a very sacred, ritualised context.”

The spike in infections, particularly in China, has left a lot of people worrying that we might be in for another pandemic – but that isn’t the case.

The good news is, this illness has actually been around for decades and it doesn’t pose the same global-threat as Covid-19, so we’re in the clear in that respect.

Virologist Dr Andrew Catchpole explained why experts don’t reckon that HMPV has ‘pandemic potential’.

The Chief Scientific Officer at hVIVO told The Vaccine Alliance: “Whilst HMPV does mutate and change over time with new strains emerging, it is not a virus that we consider to have pandemic potential.

“This is because the changes in HMPV are gradual and based on previously circulating strains.

“Pandemics occur when a totally new virus enters the human population, like for Covid-19 when a totally new variant of the virus enters the human population by combination of a human and animal version of the virus.”

Explaining this is known as an ‘animal reservoir’, Dr Catchpole added: “There is no such animal reservoir of related viruses known for HMPV.”

Phew – so we’re not doomed to another 12 months of social distancing and face masks.

But still, medics in the UK want to nip it in the bud before it wreaks any more havoc – so we all need to do our bit to stop HMPV spreading and reduce the strain on the NHS.

Dr Conall Watson, a consultant epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), encouraged people to avoid socialising if they notice any symptoms of the virus.

HMPV – which can often be mistaken for the common cold or flu – spreads via human contact and touching objects or surfaces which have been contaminated.

It is a seasonal virus, similar to RSV, which pops back up during the winter months each year and unfortunately, there is no specific treatment for it.

Although most of us will be fine after a few days or so, it can be severe for people who have lung conditions, immune compromised, are elderly or are children.

It can also develop into pneumonia and even exacerbate asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as per The Telegraph.

Symptoms are similar to those of a cold or flu and include a cough, fever, sore throat, runny nose, body aches and a headache.

But if you experience wheezing, difficulty breathing, chest pain, dizziness, severe fatigue, dehydration, or a persistent fever that does not improve, you should get checked out.

“HMPV is a common respiratory infection in winter, and we typically see activity reaching a peak at this time of year,” Dr Watson previously told Sky News.

“Most people have had HMPV by the time they are five years old and catch it again throughout their lives. Infections are usually mild, causing symptoms of a common cold.”

The latest figures from the UKHSA – from the period between 23 and 29 December – show a slight uptick in HMPV cases in the UK, but the expert said it isn’t anything to panic about.

“Our surveillance systems in GP surgeries and hospitals indicate that levels are in line with what we would expect to see,” Dr Watson continued.

“As with all respiratory viruses, you can help reduce infections being passed on through regular hand washing and catching coughs and sneezes in tissues and throwing them away.

“If you have symptoms such as a high temperature, cough and feeling tired and achy, try to limit your contact with others, especially those who are vulnerable.

“There are many viruses in circulation at the moment, including flu – if you have symptoms of a respiratory illness and you need to go out, our advice continues to be that you should consider wearing a face mask.”

The latest data suggests that in England, 4.5 percent of people who visited their GP with respiratory issues tested positive for HMPV, according to Surrey Live.

There’s been a bigger spike in cases in children under five, with 7.2 percent of patients testing positive.

James Clarkson, 20, woke up as the luckiest man in the UK after realising that he hit the Lotto jackpot.

The trainee gas engineer from Carlisle, Cumbria, became the first National Lottery winner of 2025, picking the winning numbers for the first draw of the year on 4 January.

The winning total? Just £7,533,329.

His numbers, chosen randomly on that fateful day, were 16, 19, 22, 24, 27 and 35.

Clarkson bought the lucky ticket after already winning £120 in the Lotto Christmas Day draw, going with two Lucky Dip lines and three lines of randomly selected numbers.

You can imagine that his loved ones were over the moon for the young lad when he received the news – well, except one it seems.

It turns out that the tradesman woke up on 5 January while staying over at his girlfriend’s house to look at the snow outside, but got a message from the lottery that trumped the UK’s arctic weather.

Clarkson said he woke his girlfriend from her slumber to tell her the good news – only for her to not believe him and turn over to go back to sleep.

Talk about an anti-climax. Still a jackpot winner though.

Clarkson then called his dad, who was awake, and went home to check the legitimacy of the win.

Recalling the morning, he said: “I was at my girlfriend’s house and got up early to check on the snowfall when I saw a message saying I’d won on the National Lottery app.

“I opened it straight away but couldn’t see anything to begin with; then I scrolled down and saw I’d matched all six main Lotto numbers to hit the jackpot and that my prize amount was £7,533,329! I just didn’t believe it! I thought I was dreaming!”

When back at home with his parents and 24-year-old brother, Clarkson waited eagerly for the National Lottery Line to open so he could claim his winnings.

Spending the rest of his day visiting family and friends, it all culminated in a celebratory dinner at his grandparents’ with champagne.

But Clarkson’s winnings didn’t mean that his life would change overnight, as he was back at work with his dad on Monday morning, doing some property maintenance.

“I was out in the cold fixing blocked drains the day after I found out I had won. It was a bit grim but that’s reality,” he revealed.

“I’m not going to stop working, I’m too young. I want to qualify as a heating engineer and then go from there. I need to have a purpose in life, plus dad wouldn’t let me not work anyway!”

The young winner aims to work towards getting his gas engineer certificate, deciding on his next steps from there.

“I know people might think I’m mad to still work but I want to and, of course, there’ll be some nice holidays in between,” he said.

So far, Clarkson’s got an all-inclusive trip to Cape Verde booked, while splashing out on some designer items for himself and his girlfriend.

The 20-year-old admitted: “I’m not really a fan of shopping, it’s not my idea of fun but a new car, that would be massive! If you drive a cold work van all day, going from job to job, you’d understand.”

A Manchester City fan, he also aims to get himself and his family a season ticket as he currently goes to games when he can.

Clarkson also wants to share the winnings with family, with intentions to pay his parents’ mortgage off.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot, it’s what I want to do. I told them last night and they seemed really overwhelmed,” he shared.

“We are close and they have always been there for me. This win isn’t just for me, I want to make sure we all benefit.”

The story first broke yesterday on French news channel TF1 about the 53-year-old woman, named Anne, who fell for the scam.

Anne explained that the scammer first sent her a message on social media from an account pretending to be Pitt’s mother.

Then, someone impersonating the American actor messaged her, reportedly saying: “Hello Anne, my mother told me a lot about you. I would like to know more.”

The scammers even used AI-generated photos of the actor in hospital to back up the claim that ‘Pitt’ needed money for his ‘cancer treatment’, having been left skint off the back of his divorce from Angelina Jolie.

Some of the AI-generated snaps show Pitt lying in a hospital bed, with one of him getting operated on in real time, and another of the Fight Club star holding up a message reading ‘Anne I love you’.

Anne was conned out of €830,000 (£697,000), but did later admit she became ‘suspicious’ at one point.

She was sceptical after Pitt was spotted in public with his girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, resulting in Anne hiring her own investigators, revealing the painful truth.

In an interview with TF1 via BFM TV, Anne said that she was in the midst of a difficult period with her husband, and trusted the person that was claiming to be Pitt.

But ultimately, she was distraught over what happened to her: “I ask myself why they chose me to do such harm like this.

“I’ve never harmed anyone. These people deserve hell. We need to find those scammers, I beg you – please help me find them,” she pleaded.

As per translated text, Anne explained: “We’re talking about Brad Pitt, I’m falling from the clouds. At first, I tell myself it’s fake, but I don’t really understand what’s happening to me. After that, we will contact each other every day and we become friends.

“There are so few men who write you this kind of thing. I liked the man I was talking to. He knew how to talk to women, it was always very well done.”

The fraudster never spoke with her over the phone, claiming to be too ‘busy’, though Anne eventually agreed to marry ‘Pitt’ after receiving €775,000 (£652,310) from divorcing her husband.

This was all sent to the account, with the scammer promising to buy her luxurious items, though Anne needed to pay a €9,000 (£7,575) customs fee.

You can probably guess that she didn’t get this back either.

According to The Guardian, Anne had been married to a wealthy entrepreneur and had joined social media to share snaps of their lifestyle together.

The viral story garnered attention for the absurdity of the AI photos, which looked a bit far-fetched, to say the least.

This story became so popular in fact, that Pitt himself had to issue a statement via his representatives, slamming the scammer for what they did.

“It’s awful that scammers take advantage of the strong bond between fans and celebrities,” a spokesperson of Pitt’s stated, before sharing a general reminder about internet safety.

“This is an important reminder not to respond to unsolicited online messages, especially from actors who are not present on social networks.”

BFM TV reports that Anne is now in a hospital clinic suffering from severe depression.