By flying car from London to Timbuktu

A voyage to fabled Timbuktu in a flying car may sound like a magical childhood fantasy.But this week a British adventurer will set off from London on an incredible journey through Europe and Africa in a souped-up sand buggy, travelling by road - and air.With the help of a parachute and a giant fan-motor, Neil Laughton plans to soar over the Pyrenees near Andorra, before taking to the skies again to hop across the 14-km (nine-mile) Straits of Gibraltar.



Designed by a young British inventor, the Skycar enables its driver to pilot the vehicle at the mere touch of a button as though it were a microlite.The team behind it calls the Skycar the world's first road legal biofuelled flying car.Mr Laughton's destination is the west African country of Mali and its city of Timbuktu, a place which has had a mystical, "middle of nowhere" reputation since the heyday of Victorian exploration.

Winslet and Slumdog sweep Globes

Kate Winslet has won two awards at the Golden Globes in Los Angeles, winning best actress for Revolutionary Road and best supporting actress for The Reader.
"Is this really happening?" she asked as she collected her second prize.
Slumdog Millionaire was named best film drama, one of four awards Danny Boyle's Mumbai-set movie received.



The Globes - which recognise both film and television - are often regarded as an indicator of the movies and actors who will go on to win honours at the Academy Awards.

Winslet had been expected to be named best supporting actress for The Reader, in which she plays a former Nazi prison guard who has an affair with a teenager.

Do-it-yourself 3D movies at home

3D films may soon no longer be the sole province of movie studios with big budgets.
At CES, two firms have been showing off ways for home users to make and share their own 3D films.One is a webcam with two lenses that mimics human sight and turns the images it captures into 3D footage.



Another firm is producing software that it hopes will make it far easier for home users to show 3D movies on many different types of screen.Manchester-based PDT has created the Minoru webcam that has two lenses set roughly the same distance apart as human eyes. Software included with the webcam turns the two images into what is known as an anaglyph.To see the resultant footage in 3D, viewers must wear the familiar spectacles with red and blue lenses. This ensures that only one of the two images being shown is seen by each eye and forces the brain to turn them into a moving 3D image. DIY 3D movies shot with the Minoru can be shared on YouTube

Eurovision acts set for showdown

The six acts hoping to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest are facing their biggest test yet. Under the glaring lights of the BBC's main studio at Television Centre in London, the singers are tackling rehearsals for the first live show on Saturday night. The floor is crawling with production staff, the set is lit with the colours of the Union Jack, and the band strikes up with Abba's Eurovision classic Waterloo. The acts run through their group performance of the song with great success, the opener for Your Country Needs You. They may be just getting to grips with working on television, but for one act, the dream will come to an end on Saturday



A constant presence on set is Andrew Lloyd Webber, who is spearheading the UK's campaign to improve its Eurovision fortunes. So keen to showcase the six acts he has chosen for the finals, he has invited the press to hear them sing unplugged and at close With nothing more than the barest piano accompaniment in a corner of the studio, Welshman Mark Evans powers through his song first. "Keep your voice open," says Lloyd Webber, who gives musical guidance to each of his charges."He's a very talented boy and has a very good presence," he remarks, while the 23-year-old dashes across town to appear in panto. Five-piece vocal harmony group Emperors of Soul are a different prospect altogether. "I'm a fat lot of use with them!" Lloyd Webber says of his mentoring skills with the slick quintet.

Apple to ditch Macworld gathering

In a surprise move, Apple said it is to abandon its annual tech gathering Macworld after this January's event.

Meanwhile news that the keynote address will not be given by ceo Steve Jobs has reignited speculation about his health following cancer four years ago.

Concern was raised earlier in the year when Mr Jobs appeared at the firm's developer conference looking gaunt.



Apple spokesman Steve Dowling refused to discuss the issue and said shows like Macworld were no longer relevant.

"Apple is steadily scaling back on trade shows and in recent years is reaching more people in more ways than ever before," Mr Dowling told BBC News.

"Every week 3.5 million people visit our retail stores. And like many companies, trade shows are a minor part of how Apple reaches its customers."

Mr Dowling also said that as the company had scaled back on such shows, it had ramped up "stand-alone launch events like the September iPod launch seen by millions of people on the internet".

IDG which runs the show put a brave face on things.

"We are on track for a terrific show with strong attendance numbers and nearly 500 exhibitors showcasing their products," Paul Kent, general manager of Macworld Expo told the BBC.

"The conference and expo has thrived for 25 years due to the strong support of tens of thousands of members of the Mac community worldwide. We are committed to serving their interests," he said.

Hallelujah set for chart trinity

Jeff Buckley's version of the song Hallelujah is set to shoot up the singles chart after X Factor winner Alexandra Burke released her own cover.

According to midweek sales Buckley's version, from the 1994 album Grace, is set to be number three, but Burke's single will debut at number one.

Burke, 20, has already broken the record for the fastest-selling download single in Europe.



The original Leonard Cohen version of the song is currently at number 34.

If Buckley's cover climbs any higher, this could mean two versions of the same song sitting at number one and number two in the Christmas charts.

"I don't think this has ever happened in UK charts history, and certainly not for Christmas," HMV's Gennaro Castaldo said.

However, there has been one occasion when four versions of the same song have entered the UK top 40 - but you have to go back to 1955.

On 20 June, 1955 Al Hibbler, The Les Baxter Orchestra, Jimmy Young and Liberace all scored a hit with Unchained Melody, with Young's version topping the chart.

Actor Hugh Jackman to host Oscars

Australian actor Hugh Jackman will be the host of the 2009 Academy Awards, organisers have announced.

The 40-year-old star has not hosted the event before, although he presented the award for best original score in 2007.

Best known for playing Wolverine in the X-Men films, the actor can currently be seen in Baz Luhrmann's epic Australia.

Jackman

Jackman, whose other film credits include Van Helsing and The Prestige, was recently named People magazine's "sexiest man alive".

His presenter experience includes three years as host of the Tony Awards between 2003 and 2005.

He also took home an award in 2004 for his role in Broadway musical The Boy from Oz.

He has also trod the boards in London, playing the lead role in a National Theatre revival of Oklahoma! in the late 1990s.

Early reports had linked British comedian Ricky Gervais to the post, filled in previous years by Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg and the late Bob Hope.

Gervais, though, subsequently distanced himself from the role, saying he feared he might not get the "freedom" he would need.