Shay Given close to completing Liverpool switch

Liverpool are closing in on signing their second goalkeeper of the summer as a deal for Aston Villa’s Shay Given nears completion.

The Irish stopper has been overtaken as the Villans’ no.1 by Brad Guzan over the past year and is now set to act as back-up for Simon Mignolet, who moved to Anfield earlier this summer.

The former Newcastle goalkeeper still has three years remaining on his Aston Villa contact and remains one of the highest earners in Paul Lambert’s young side, meaning Villans owner Randy Lerner would be keen to let Given depart.

He has also been linked with a host of loan moves this summer, with the likes of Doncaster Rovers – who have since signed Ross Turnbull – interested in his signature.

Panda Parents peer at newest addition "Yuan Zai"

High Five? Anybody?

Proud panda father Tuan Tuan and mother Yuan Yuan have been keeping a watch over their newborn cub ‘Yuan Zai’ at Taipei Zoo in Taiwan.

They could see the youngster, who was given her nickname because she resembles a rice ball, has inherited its father’s narrow black ring on its back and, like its mother, the new arrival’s middle and third finger are merged together.

The eager parents have been kept away from their new daughter so far because she is currently being kept in isolation.

Tuan Tuan & Yuan Yuan eagerly awaiting their daughter

But the adult pandas are allowed to view Yuan Zai periodically from a window on the side of her room.

She won’t be allowed to be viewed by the public for another six months and is still currently in an incubator.

Zoo keepers said the panda cub, which weighs 243.4 grams, was doing well and growing every day.

The cub was born on July 6 after Yuan Yuan was artificially inseminated.

Yuan Zai will receive an official name in the upcoming months.

Any ideas? Leave your comment in the box below!

Blur to release brand new album 2013.

Blur are raring to get back in the studio to work on new material, with front man Damon Albarn saying the new material will be released, but only once he's released his solo album.

The Wall Street Journal claims he confirmed the album in an interview, but that it will not be released just yet.

The news appeared after Albarn hinted earlier this year that the band were cooking up some brand new material. Amazing news for all your die-hard Blur fans!

Albarn has most recently been working on his own album with XL Records boss Richard Russell. He recently said ‘We worked together on the Bobby Womack record, and really enjoyed working together. He’s done spectacularly well as a music mogul, but I think he wants to focus his energy on producing records.

‘Making a solo record can be such a disaster, so I thought if we’re going to make a record with my name on it, I should get someone to really produce it – take that responsibility away from myself.’

Albarn is currently in New York promoting his musical 'Monkey: Journey To The West'. Speaking of the show and his various other musical projects, he also spoke more of his new solo album. He said: "You can hear a lot, what's going on. It's quite intimate."

Check out a recent clip from his set in Coachella here...

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa premiere to be held in Norwich and London

The premiere of Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa will be held in Norwich before heading to London, it has been announced.

The red carpet bash will take place on Wednesday, July 24 in the character’s home town.

The hapless radio DJ, played by Steve Coogan, will greet fans at Anglia Square before boarding a helicopter to get to London in time for the evening premiere in Leicester Square.

Coogan speaking as Partridge said: ‘You can imagine how hurt and litigious I felt when people said I was planning to debut my movie in London instead of Norwich, or that I’d allowed my head to be turned by the prospect of big city fame.

‘Any suggestion I’ve hastily cobbled together the lunchtime Norwich screening in response to a local Twitter campaign will be met with the full force of the law.’

The news comes after a Facebook campaign attracted 7,100 followers to the cause of returning Alan to his rightful town.

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa is set for release in UK cinemas on August 7. 

Asimo - Honda's latest creation!

Say Hello, or Konichiwa, to Asimo, the impressive Robot created by Honda.

The walking, talking android works at the Miraikan Science Museum, Japan, as a guide. Unfortunately his first day on the job didn't quite go to plan…

The robust little fella is unable, at present, to detect any human body language and will only answer to questions if you raise your hand.

Unfortunately, as visitors were constantly taking pictures with their smartphones, this only confused Asimo who, rather than posing for the crowd, repeatedly asked: ‘Who wants to ask Asimo a question?’

As you can imagine, this glitch was quite embarrassing for Honda and poor Asimo, who has no voice recognition software and can only respond to pre-set questions selected from a touch-panel device.

So, although very impressive, Satoshi Shigemi, Honda’s robotics technology chief is still working to expand Asimo’s features and develop him into a truly masterful machine, rather than a paranoid android.


See his full features to date on our video below, plus, more inspiring tech videos on our YouTube channel.

Enjoyed our post? See more Gadget related posts here.

Magician Dynamo takes the bus – on a gravity-defying ride

Clearly, walking on water isn’t enough of a challenge for mind-blowing magician Dynamo.

The master of levitation has done the seemingly impossible again… this time by walking on air while holding the side of the upper deck of a bus.

Dynamo pulled off his latest stunt today as the number 543 bus, seemingly with open-mouthed passengers on the top deck, travelled through London.

The 30-year-old TV illusionist looked utterly at ease with only his hand placed on the bus roof to stop him falling into the traffic below.

Shoppers and tourists could barely believe their eyes as he passed alongside the Houses of Parliament before crossing Westminster Bridge.

‘The reaction of the public as I was travelling was incredible. It was great to see so many people taking in the excitement,’ said the Yorkshire-born conjurer.

His act was part of a promotional launch for soft drinks giant Pepsi Max.

The company’s British marketing director Sebastian Micozzi said: ‘I think you could see from the reaction of people on the route what an incredible piece of magic this was.’

The illusionist is probably best known for his documentary show Dynamo: Magician Impossible and for walking on the River Thames in 2011.

Other tricks in his repertoire include transporting a mobile phone into a glass beer bottle and bringing paper butterflies to life.

A new series of Dynamo’s Pepsi Max-sponsored magic show starts on July 11 on Watch with an online premiere airing on July 4.

Eating chocolate could stop you getting sunburn?

First it had health benefits, now it's got skin benefits too! How can we avoid temptation now?

There we were, all proud of ourselves for avoiding chocolate for the last few days (that bag of Galaxy bubbles doesn't count) and then we hear this latest news...that chocolate not only improves your mood, it also acts like a mild sunscreen. It's basically a health food then, right?

German researchers set up a trial where 24 women had to add cocoa to their breakfasts every day for three months. Half of the women drank hot cocoa that was rich in flavonoids, a natural plant-based antioxidant, and the other half drank cocoa that had little or no flavonoid. The volunteers skin was tested against UV light before and after the trial.

The results were striking. The skin of the women who had drunk the antioxidant-rich cocoa did not redden as much as the women who had drunk the alternative. They also reported smoother and moister skin than the others.