British engineer smashes world land speed record for wind-powered vehicles

September 11th, 2009 LONDON - An 8-year-old cheetah has set a new world record for land mammals by running 100 metres in just 6.13 seconds. Named Sarah, she broke the previous record by 0.06 of a second.

August 26th, 2009 LONDON - A British-built car has broken the land speed record for steam-powered cars for the first time in more than 100 years, after it achieved an average speed of 225 kilometres per hour. According to a report in New Scientist, Charles Burnett III has reached speeds of 219 km/hr (136 mph) and 243 km/hr (151 mph) during two drives at California's Edwards Air Force Base.

August 19th, 2009 LONDON - A British-built steam supercar is to challenge a century-old world land speed record for steam-powered vehicles. The longest officially-recognised land speed record is of 127mph reached by American Fred Marriott in a Stanley steam car in 1906 at the Daytona Beach Road Course.

August 12th, 2009 LONDON - A British family who spent their summer holiday flying around the Mediterranean have set a new world record for the longest solar-powered flight by paramotor. According to a report in the Telegraph, the Cardozo family, from Mere, Wilts, and a group of friends, traveled 1,242 miles from Monte Carlo to Morocco in an electric paramotor powered by the sun.

July 30th, 2009 LONDON - A British schoolgirl aged 13 has set a new water-skiing world record after leaping almost 100 ft. Charlotte Wharton, from Wrestlingworth, Northants, broke the previous 20-year-old for under-14s of 88 ft by 10 ft, soaring the equivalent of three double-decker buses.

July 29th, 2009 LONDON - A British explorer has broken his second world record after completing the longest unsupported Arctic journey in history, by making the 2,200-mile trek in just 67 days. According to a report in the Telegraph, Adrian Hayes, a former Gurkha officer, used wind to power his kite-skis as he made the 2,200-mile trek in just 67 days, beating the previous record of 1,400 miles held by British explorer Alex Hibbert.

July 5th, 2009 LONDON - A man from California wolfed down 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes to smash the previous world record of 66 and to win America's Coney Island annual hot dog eating contest. Joey Chestnut defeated Takeru Kobayashi- six-time titleholder from Japan- in the food competition to retain the title at Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating for three consecutive years now, Sky News reports.

June 19th, 2009 LONDON - Brit man Hilaire Purbrick, who has been living in a homemade cave, is under threat of being evicted by health and safety officials after it was discovered the place did not have a fire escape. Purbrick, a 46-year-old dad-of-four, had carved the cave out of chalky rock himself with a pick and a spade, and ever since officials blocked the entrance to the cave, he has been living in a nearby shed.

June 17th, 2009 LONDON - A new hydrogen-powered city car has been launched in the UK, which attempts to sidestep the three main hurdles to the dream of hydrogen-fuelled highways. According to a report in New Scientist, like other hydrogen cars, the Riversimple Urban Car (RUC) is powered by a fuel cell that combines hydrogen with oxygen from the air to release energy and nothing more toxic than water.

May 5th, 2009 Scientists unveil chocolate-fueled race carLONDON — Scientists unveiled on Tuesday what they hope will be one of the world's fastest biofuel vehicles, powered by waste from chocolate factories and made partly from plant fibers. Its makers hope the racer will go 145 mph and give manufacturers ideas about how to build more ecologically friendly vehicles.

April 14th, 2009 LONDON - Rickshaws powered by solar energy could be your next mode of transport, courtesy of a Commonwealth initiative. The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) has set up an incubation hub in partnership with the Indian government to develop cutting edge energy-saving technologies, it announced Tuesday.

April 13th, 2009 LONDON - The British Steam Car Challenge team is all set to attempt a new world steam-powered land speed record, following successful tests last week. According to a report in New Scientist, the project, which is designed to raise awareness of clean-burning fuels, is aiming to reach 270 kilometers per hour with its steam car later this year.

April 2nd, 2009 LONDON - British tennis star Andy Murray insists that he has rediscovered the habit of winning as he prepares for a Masters quarterfinal in Miami today. The British No 1 will take on Fernando Verdasco - who beat him in the fourth round of the Australian Open in January - at the Sony Ericsson Open.

March 26th, 2009 LONDON - A 106-year-old woman, who was one of the test drivers for the British army during the Second World War, has become the oldest person to complete a lap at the Brands Hatch Racing Circuit in Kent, England. Dulcibella King-Hall was driven in a new BMW M3 at a top speed of 108mph.

March 25th, 2009 LONDON - British tennis star Andy Murray is hoping to capture the world number one spot with his recent stupendous form. Murray has been performing well on grass court as well as on synthetic courts' as he powered his way through to the final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells last weekend, but was outclassed by the world number one Rafal Nadal.