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sports | UFC: Joanna Jedrzejczyk considers 'one more fight' despite retirement | Former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk has refused to rule out a return to mixed martial arts despite retiring in June.
Pole called time on her illustrious career after she was knocked out by Zhang Weili at UFC 275.
"I was not prepared, and they were not prepared to say goodbye," said 35-year-old Jedrzejczyk.
"Sometimes I feel that I should give one more fight; I should give the last dance for fans because we had no time."
Following her last loss, Jedrzejczyk said in the octagon: "It's been 20 years. I want to be a mum. I want to be a businesswoman. I've been training more than half of my life. I love you guys."
She defended the strawweight title five times between 2015 to 2017, has notable wins in her MMA career over Carla Esparza, Tecia Torres and Jessica Andrade, and is considered as one of the greatest champions in UFC history.
However, Jedrzejczyk was on the receiving end of two knockouts during her 21-fight career.
first Polish champion in UFC history, she says her health will be the decisive factor behind a return.
"I'm not scared of losing. I'm scared of losing by knockout," she said.
"I want to stay healthy, and there's a thin line I don't want to cross." | /sport/mixed-martial-arts/63975519 |
politics | Teddy kept by Holocaust survivor's side visits Parliament | In December 1942, the government made the shocking announcement that what we now know as the Holocaust was taking place in Nazi-occupied Europe. This prompted MPs to rise to their feet, for a spontaneous moment of silence.
Eight decades later, seven Holocaust survivors - and an important teddy - were invited to meet the Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle. They then witnessed a fresh silence in the Commons chamber done by the MPs of today.
Video journalist: Thomas Mason | /news/uk-politics-64007699 |
entertainment | Award launched to honour actress Phoebe Frances Brown | 'I made sense of my cancer by creating some art'
wo theatres are launching a writing award to celebrate the memory of an actress who died at the age of 29.
Phoebe Frances Brown, from Nottingham, who wrote and performed in a play inspired by her incurable brain tumour diagnosis, died in April.
Nottingham Playhouse and London's Hampstead Theatre said they wanted to celebrate her talent.
ward will offer up-and-coming playwrights a paid commission and a £1,000 bursary.
In a joint statement, the venues said: "The award is for writers who identify as female and who are at the start of their career."
would be offered a paid commission from Hampstead Theatre, together with a £1,000 bursary and support for project development from both theatres.
Miss Frances Brown's one-woman show, The Glad Game, was acclaimed as a "mesmerising portrait of hope in the face of horror".
She died at home surrounded by family and her partner Jake.
Walker, associate director at Hampstead Theatre and director of The Glad Game said: "Phoebe had an extraordinary talent both as a performer and writer as well as an incredible passion for theatre.
"I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate her memory than with a new writing award that will support more brilliant women."
Adam Penford, artistic director at Nottingham Playhouse said: "Phoebe... was much loved at the Playhouse and by the artistic community in Nottingham.
"The Glad Game showed off both Phoebe's performing and writing talents, and we're so proud to be supporting this new award in her memory."
Gail Brown, Phoebe's mother, said: "Phoebe was the most inspirational and determined person I know. She never let her illness stop her doing anything.
"Her positivity shone out of her and will continue to do so throughout this award. I am beyond proud."
When interviewed by the BBC in 2021, Miss Frances Brown said she had started writing the play while in hospital.
"I was writing more for myself because I was just making sense of it all," she said.
She was born in Nottingham and trained at the city's Television Workshop, a charity known for developing stars including Vicky McClure and Jack O'Connell.
She then studied at the University of Birmingham, where she received a first class degree.
Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk. | /news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-63386519 |
sports | World Taekwondo Grand Prix III: BBC coverage times | The World Taekwondo Grand Prix III takes place from 20-23 October - and BBC Sport has live coverage.
More than 400 fighters from across the globe have headed to Manchester to compete in the third of four global Grand Prix events this year.
World number one Bradly Sinden and two-time Olympic champion Jade Jones are among the Britons taking part at the Manchester Regional Arena.
Olympic medallists Bianca Walkden and Lauren Williams - ranked number one and number two in the world respectively - and Paralympic medallists Amy Truesdale and Beth Munro will also compete.
ursday, 20 October
17:00-18:45, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app
Friday, 21 October
17:00-18:30, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app
Saturday, 22 October
18:00-20:00, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app
Sunday, 23 October
18:00-20:00, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app
All times are BST. Coverage times are subject to late changes. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. | /sport/taekwondo/63303160 |
business | Fraud victims face call waiting lottery from banks | Victims of fraud have no idea how long they will be stuck on the phone trying to report the crime to their bank, an investigation has found.
Average waiting times can range from 16 seconds to more than 30 minutes - depending on the bank, according to tests by the consumer group Which?.
More priority should be given to distressed victims, it said.
Co-operative Bank, which recorded the worst times in the exercise, said it had faced staff recruitment issues.
It added that retention of workers had also been a problem, as had sickness levels as a result of the pandemic.
Which? tested 11 banks and building societies by calling each of them 12 times at different times of the day over the course of a week in March.
It dialled the phone numbers listed on each bank's website for reporting current account fraud - only some of which are dedicated hotlines. Monzo was excluded as it told people to use an in-app chat function. Six of 11 banks' helplines charged a fee, Which? said.
wered fastest lasted only 10 seconds. That was made to First Direct - a bank designed to communicate with customers primarily over the phone. First Direct also had the shortest average call waiting time of 16 seconds.
One call to the Co-operative Bank went on for more than an hour before being answered. Its average waiting time was the longest, at 31 minutes and 40 seconds.
, across all the calls to all the banks, the testers from Which? had to wait for 10 minutes and 51 seconds before speaking to someone.
Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: "The feeling of being scammed is already stressful enough for victims, without having to wait long periods just to get through to your bank.
"Victims are told to contact their bank immediately because every second counts. Some firms taking longer than half an hour to answer victims' calls shows the lack of support with which certain banks have treated fraud victims for far too long."
Hutt is among those to have faced a long wait trying to deal with a potential fraud on his account.
71-year-old had spotted a suspicious transaction on his balance and called his bank to stop what looked like a fraudulent subscription.
After three or four attempts, including waiting for over an hour, he eventually got through. The web-chat system he tried directed him to the same phone number.
"I'm sure I wouldn't have had to wait for more than an hour if I was in a branch," he said.
A spokeswoman for UK Finance, which represents the banking industry, said: "We know the devastating impact that fraud can have on victims and so firms always strive to respond to calls in good time.
"Given fraud cases are often complex an appropriate amount of time needs to be spent on each call so customers get the right support, which can have an impact on call times."
Hundreds of millions of pounds a year are stolen in so-called authorised push payment fraud - when victims transfer money to a business or organisation they believe to be genuine but is actually a con-artist.
Some victims have got their money back from banks, while others have lost out.
Proposed legislation in the Queen's Speech should mean there is a consistent approach to refunds in the future. It will be up to the Payment Systems Regulator to frame those rules, after banks were unable to do so between themselves.
At present, some banks have signed up to the 159 pilot scheme. It encourages customers to hang up from a phone call that might be a scam, for example one that asks for personal information or money, and to dial 159 to speak to their bank.
Citizens Advice urges anyone who believes they are the victim of a scam to protect from further loss by resetting passwords, reporting the issue to their bank immediately - and possibly to the police on the 101 number - and checking if they are entitled to the money back. | /news/business-61550686 |
technology | Mercedes-Benz to introduce acceleration subscription fee | Mercedes-Benz is to offer an online subscription service in the US to make its electric cars speed up quicker.
For an annual cost of $1,200 (£991) excluding tax, the company will enable some of its vehicles to accelerate from 0-60mph a second faster.
It comes after rival manufacturer BMW offered a subscription feature earlier this year - for heated seats.
Mercedes has confirmed to BBC News it currently does not plan to introduce "Acceleration Increase" in the UK.
It will be available for purchase in the US on the Mercedes-EQ EQE 350 and EQS 450 vehicles, as well as their SUV counterparts.
According to the Mercedes US online store, the feature "electronically increases" the output of the car's motor, as well as the torque.
All told, it estimates this amounts to a 20-24% increase in output, allowing a Mercedes-EQ 350 SUV to accelerate from 0-60mph in about 5.2 seconds, as opposed to 6.2 seconds without the subscription.
Jack McKeown, Association of Scottish Motoring Writers president and motoring editor of the Courier newspaper, in Dundee, said Mercedes's new feature was "unsurprising but dispiriting".
"When you pay a monthly subscription for a phone or for broadband, you're paying for the company to supply and maintain a data network," he said.
"Mercedes is asking you to pay for hardware it has already installed in the car - and which it presumably already made a profit margin on when you bought the car.
"Trying to leverage even more profit out of subscription services is a worrying trend and I hope there is a consumer backlash against it."
In July, BMW faced a backlash when it announced customers could pay £25 per month to unlock heated seats and steering wheels in their cars.
And in December 2021, Toyota announced it would charge some drivers $8 per month to remotely start their cars using a key fob.
In 2019, Tesla introduced "Acceleration Boost", which makes its Model 3 vehicles accelerate from 0-60mph half a second faster for a one-time fee of $2,000.
Acceleration Increase subscription is listed as "coming soon" on the US Mercedes storefront, with no exact date given for its release. | /news/technology-63743597 |
business | From Maruti to Amul: Five brands that shaped India after independence | Some things just stick, like an iconic ad jingle or the taste of the butter you've grown up eating.
It's what makes consumers fall in love with a brand and stay loyal to it. India has a host of homegrown brands that have found their way into the homes and hearts of millions over the decades.
rands helped India become self-sufficient after the country gained independence in 1947 and, over the years, they have shaped consumer behaviour and transformed their sectors.
Seventy-five years later, they continue to bolster India's marketplace, making it viable for global investors. Here's a look at some of the most illustrious brands and how they shaped India and its people.
Amul's milk products are ubiquitous in India, making the brand a leader in the dairy category and one of India's top 10 fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies.
It started off in the western state of Gujarat as a co-operative movement, by bringing together thousands of farmers to create a thriving dairy business.
Under the leadership of Dr Verghese Kurien - a social entrepreneur credited with kickstarting "India's milk revolution" - the brand perfected the grassroots cooperative business model and today offers employment to millions.
Despite facing competition from multinational giants, Amul has managed to hold fort in the dairy space in India - a testament to the brand's ability to adapt and survive.
Amul also made it cool to hold up a mirror to society long before it became fashionable for brands to do so. Their ads featuring the 'Amul girl' have offered a tongue-in-cheek take on almost every significant event in India - be it a political scam or an actor's demise.
rm of Amul - it is India's original social enterprise, and one that has always had the larger collective good at the heart of its design.
A glucose biscuit brand from Parle Products, Parle-G is among the world's largest-selling brands of biscuits in terms of volume and one of the most widely distributed products in India.
It is also the biscuit that has united India, one bite at a time.
Born out of the Swadeshi movement - a self-sufficiency movement that was part of India's freedom struggle in the early 1900s - the brand was created as a counterpoint to the expensive biscuits sold by the dominant international players at the time.
Parle-G quickly became an integral part of the Indian palate, cementing its place as the inevitable partner to a cup of tea. Apart from its popularity as a product, culturally it is part of one's collective identity. The experience of enjoying a Parle-G biscuit dipped in tea is one that people across class, caste and region can relate to within India.
For a very long time, it was only the privileged few who could afford a car in India and for the middle class, it was a distant dream. Then, Maruti came along and began offering cars at a magical price point of just about 50,000 rupees ($625; £530).
800CC cars were cute, zippy and far more reliable than bulky Ambassadors - India's only luxury car from the 1960s to the mid 1990s.
Maruti whet the appetite of India's consumption-hungry middle class and transformed consumer behaviour in the country. It democratised travel and aspirations, and represented mobility in every sense.
Families discovered that the radius of their reach - geographically and socially - had dramatically increased with the owning of a car. And so Indian society, notorious for being steeped in caution and restraint, found itself gleefully seeking out the next frontier of consumption - and then the next.
Up until the 1980s in India, it was legacy brands that held sway over the marketplace. But Nirma, a detergent brand with its origins in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city, took on established players in the space and humbled them.
At a time when businessmen were hesitant to invest money up-front in advertising, Nirma spent huge sums on TV ads.
Nirma jingle, which drives home the brand's name by repetition, is an earworm that refuses to die even today. In recent years, it has taken on a new life with millennials remixing it and making it part of quirky acapella renditions.
rand's foresight and ambition helped it dominate and leverage the most powerful media vehicle of the time to drive up consumption.
Another admirable strategy of the brand was that it kept a razor-sharp focus on elements that truly mattered - it offered an adequately good product at a great price and relied on a simple, but efficient, distribution model to sell its products.
In this way, Nirma made itself indispensable to millions of Indians who wanted good-quality products at an affordable price.
rand has now become a symbol of an entrepreneurial spirit that is hungry for success and has the confidence to rely on new ways to chart a path in the Indian marketplace.
An offering of Reliance Industries, Jio is among India's biggest telecoms brands.
At the time of its launch in 2016 by Mukesh Ambani, one of Asia's richest men, India's telecoms space was already dominated by other multinational brands.
But Jio turned the tables in its favour by adapting a clever marketing strategy. It offered free data and calls for the first six months, luring millions of customers and transforming India's digital landscape.
ks to Jio, what would have been a gradual process of digital adoption became an accelerated phenomenon.
, India's digital-savvy populace has become a crucial market for global technology players. It has also helped India build a robust digital payment system, which is counted among the finest in the world. The cultural impact of the exposure digital access provides is far too sweeping in nature to be measured.
If there is one drawback, it is that this very digital revolution in India has also contributed to the polarised environment the country finds itself trapped in today.
India, the world's largest democracy, is celebrating 75 years of independence from British rule. This is the tenth story in the BBC's special series on this milestone.
Read more from the series here: | /news/world-asia-india-62645795 |
politics | Boris Johnson: Former PM announces plans to stand at next election | Boris Johnson has told his local Conservative Party he will stand again as an MP at the next general election, the BBC has been told.
Conservatives have given their MPs until 5 December to confirm whether they wish to contest the next election - which must be held by early 2025.
So far, 11 Tory MPs have announced they will not stand for re-election.
re had been suggestions Mr Johnson would stand down from Parliament after he was ousted as prime minister.
MPs can still stand down before the next election without letting the party know ahead of time.
In October, Mr Johnson ran to replace Liz Truss as prime minister and passed the threshold of 100 nominations from his parliamentary colleagues, only to withdraw from the race hours before the deadline.
Mr Johnson has been the MP for Uxbridge and Ruislip in west London since 2015. He was elected to the seat while still serving as mayor of London.
xt election will be the fourth time he has run to represent the constituency.
Mr Johnson has a 7,210 vote majority after securing a 1.8% swing to the Conservatives at the 2019 election.
On 5 December, the Boundary Commission will end its consultation on new constituency boundaries for the next election. Conservative campaign headquarters has asked Tory MPs to confirm if they plan to stand for re-election before then.
Under current proposals, Mr Johnson could gain support when his constituency is redrawn to absorb some new Tory leaning areas.
Levelling Up minister Dehenna Davison, Chloe Smith, the former work and pensions secretary, and Will Wragg, the chair of the public administration select committee, have all said they will stand down.
Uxbridge and South Ruislip Conservative association said it "fully supported Boris Johnson as our local MP and candidate at any future election".
Association chairman Richard Mills added: "We look forward to continuing to work alongside him to deliver for the residents and communities within the constituency, where he has strong connections and involvement." | /news/uk-politics-63824268 |
entertainment | Peter Kay: 'I should only be on the news if I'm dead' | Peter Kay has revealed on BBC Radio 2's Breakfast Show that he will perform a monthly residency at London's O2 arena, starting on 16 December until 18 November 2023. It follows this week's announcement of his first UK tour in 12 years, which was lacking any dates in the capital. | /news/entertainment-arts-63571644 |
politics | Rishi Sunak: Leaders react to next Conservative PM | Politicians and other leaders have been reacting to news that Rishi Sunak is to be the new prime minister.
He faces a number of challenges including a cost-of-living crisis, a war in Europe as well as pressure to get Stormont working again.
In May, Sinn Féin was returned as the assembly's largest party, however, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) blocked the forming of an executive.
DUP withdrew in protest over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
As it stands, unless an executive is formed by 00:01 BST on Friday 28 October, people in Northern Ireland could, once again, be heading to the polls.
Mr Sunak has received a mixed reaction from the Stormont party leaders and senior politicians in the Republic of Ireland.
Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O'Neill has said Rishi Sunak must "prioritise the restoration of the executive" and "respect democracy".
"In May, people voted for change. To make politics work," she said, referencing her party's success in the assembly election when it was returned with the most number of seats.
"I've been ready to form an executive with others to help workers and families under real pressure with the cost of living crisis."
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson congratulated Mr Sunak on his victory in the Conservative leadership contest and said the challenge for the new PM remains to deal with the Northern Ireland Protocol.
DUP leader said Mr Sunak must "restore Northern Ireland's place within the United Kingdom".
"There may be a focus on the unity of the Conservative Party, but the unity of our United Kingdom must be protected," Sir Jeffrey said.
"If the prime minister wants to see a fully-functioning Stormont, then he must deal with it once and for all.
"Delivering that solution would be a very powerful signal that that he is focused on building a better future for everyone."
Alliance leader Naomi Long said Mr Sunak "must prioritise reform of the institutions to end ransom politics" and called on him to "take the opportunity to have a fresh approach to Northern Ireland".
"The lack of an executive is compounding the cost-of-living crisis and the unprecedented pressures on our public services and finances," Ms Long said.
"Rishi Sunak needs to recognise, even if a solution to the protocol can be agreed with the EU, there remains an inherent instability at the heart of our institutions."
Ms Long described the protocol as "only the latest in a long line of grievances to have collapsed Stormont" and called for reform of the power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland.
Alliance leader said the prospect of fresh Stormont elections, with or without a deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol, "solves nothing".
Doug Beattie said that one of the new prime minister's priorities "must be resolving the political impasse" and "dealing with the issues caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol".
Ulster Unionist leader said: "Northern Ireland cannot continue to be used as political football between the United Kingdom and the EU.
"The Protocol must be replaced with a deal that works for everyone."
Mr Beattie said that "everyone knows what needs to be done and now is the time to be getting on with it".
Colum Eastwood branded the process in which Rishi Sunak succeeds Liz Truss as prime minister as a "farce".
Mr Eastwood said Mr Sunak had no mandate to serve as prime minister and urged him to call a general election.
"It is completely illegitimate and an affront to democracy for the Tories to elevate Rishi Sunak to the position of prime minister with no mandate whatsoever," the SDLP leader said.
"Mr Sunak's predecessors have completely destroyed the public's confidence in politics and public service and wrecked the economy.
"He should not be allowed another two years to desperately attempt to clean up their mess."
Jim Allister said the new prime minister's actions on the Northern Ireland Protocol will determine "how we will judge him".
UV leader said the protocol is a "core constitutional issue which he must deal with" and said this "sovereignty issue" will determine the future of Stormont.
(Irish PM) congratulated Mr Sunak on becoming Tory leader, saying: "I look forward to working with you, as British PM, on the important issues we face on these islands, and globally."
ánaiste [Irish deputy prime minister] Leo Varadkar said he looked forward to working with Mr Sunak.
In a tweet, Mr Vardakar said: "These are challenging times of war, inflation, global uncertainty. I look forward to the UK working with Ireland and the EU as friends and allies in the years ahead."
European Council President Charles Michel offered his congratulations to Rishi Sunak.
With UK-EU talks ongoing over the Northern Ireland Protocol, Mr Michel said in a tweet: "Working together is the only way to face common challenges... and bringing stability is key to overcoming them."
Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has said the Irish government would work "in partnership" with Rishi Sunak's administration in response to the collapse of power sharing in Northern Ireland, Irish broadcaster RTÉ reports.
Speaking in Galway on Monday, Mr Coveney hoped both governments would work with the DUP to see if an executive could be formed to avoid an "unnecessary election". | /news/uk-northern-ireland-63376833 |
health | Cost of living: Cancer treatment trip costs a worry, says mum | rising cost of living is taking its toll on families coping with serious illness, with one mum saying the cost of trips to hospital is a constant worry.
Gemma Jones from Builth Wells, Powys, said a seven-day stay in Cardiff, where her daughter Tilly is being treated for Leukaemia, cost her £300 in food and fuel.
Six-year-old Tilly was diagnosed when she was four years old, and the family won't know if she is clear of the disease before 2027.
"I have epileptic fits most days from stress," Ms Jones says, adding she was struggling with gas and electricity prices. | /news/uk-wales-63797702 |
health | Patients have to leave Dumfries and Galloway to find NHS dentist | A health board has said thousands of people will have to leave its area to try to find an NHS dentist.
It comes after a dental practice in Dumfries confirmed plans to deregister more than 5,000 patients.
No other dentists in Dumfries and Galloway are accepting new NHS registrations, meaning they will have to go private or go elsewhere.
Director of public health Valerie White said the situation was one of "significant concern".
Blue Door dental practice is the latest in a string of similar issues across south-west Scotland.
Last month, a practice in Thornhill wrote to patients telling them it no longer intended to provide NHS services.
Similar steps were announced in Castle Douglas in October.
rd confirmed that the alternatives facing patients without an NHS dentist were now to "secure registration outwith the region or access dental care privately".
Paul Davies is among those affected by the decision of the Blue Door practice in Dumfries to deregister thousands of patients in March next year.
He has been trying to get an appointment since the summer - one was cancelled due to the Queen's funeral and another a week before he was due to be seen.
"In frustration I emailed the practice manager and was told that all NHS appointments were being cancelled as the practice was leaving the NHS for most treatments," he said.
"I have been unable to find a NHS dentist in Dumfries.
"Amazingly the pain I have been experiencing has reduced but I do have a broken tooth and some discomfort."
He said he hoped not to wait until March to be deregistered.
"I intend to speak to Blue Door about leaving and then find a dentist outside of Dumfries and Galloway," he said.
Ms White said: "We continue work to encourage and support dentists to provide NHS general dental services and are working closely with Scottish government colleagues on these matters.
"However, lack of dentists coming to work in the region is a key issue, and challenges in dental workforce are being seen across the UK."
Anyone who is not registered with a dentist and requires emergency dental care can access it by contacting the dental helpline on 0845 602 6417.
A Scottish government statement said: "We understand that in certain remote and rural areas, NHS dental access is challenging - a historical position exacerbated by Brexit controls, as well as the unique difficulties following the pandemic.
"We have put in place additional recruitment and retention incentives to maximise the opportunities for newly qualified dentists to work in areas such as Dumfries and Galloway."
Have you been affected by the lack of dentists in Dumfries and Galloway? If you are happy to share your story contact us on dumfries@bbc.co.uk. | /news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-63824209 |
business | HMRC closes phone lines due to technical fault | HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has closed most of its phone lines due to a fault as many people seek advice ahead of filing their tax returns.
x authority apologised for the outage and urged people to use their online services.
It is not known when the lines will be working again, but HMRC said it would "reopen them as soon as possible".
More than 12 million people are required to complete self-assessment tax returns before 31 January.
umber is made up of people who are self-employed and those with more than one source of income.
If people do not file their tax return, either online or via post, then they face being hit with a fine, which is usually £100.
A statement from HMRC said: "Our online services are working well and we encourage people to continue using them.
"We are working to urgently resolve a technical problem that has seen us temporarily close most of our phone lines. We apologise to people affected and will reopen them as soon as possible."
HMRC gave people up to a month after the normal deadline of 31 January this year because the pandemic had put pressure on individuals and tax advisers to complete submissions.
r there will be no extended deadline. | /news/business-63838362 |
business | HSBC climate change adverts banned by UK watchdog | UK's advertising regulator has banned two HSBC advertisements for being "misleading" about the company's work to tackle climate change.
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the banking giant can no longer run the ads which promoted its plans to reduce harmful emissions.
watchdog said that the posters "omitted material information" about HSBC's activities.
It marks the ASA's first action against a bank for so-called "greenwashing".
An HSBC spokesperson told the BBC that "The financial sector has a responsibility to communicate its role in the low carbon transition to raise public awareness and engage its customers."
"We will consider how best to do this as we deliver our ambitious net zero commitments," they added.
Greenwashing - branding something as eco-friendly, green or sustainable when this is not the case - misleads consumers into thinking they are helping the planet by choosing those goods or services.
rts were seen at bus stops in London and Bristol last October, in the lead up to the highly-anticipated United Nations COP26 climate change summit.
rs outlined HSBC's efforts to plant trees and help its customers achieve "net zero" emissions. Net zero means not adding to greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere by cutting and trying to balance out emissions.
One poster showed an image of waves crashing on a shore with text that said "Climate change doesn't do borders. Neither do rising sea levels. That's why HSBC is aiming to provide up to $1 trillion in financing and investment globally to help our clients transition to net zero".
r advert was of tree growth rings and text which read "Climate changes doesn't do borders. So in the UK, we're helping to plant 2 million trees which will lock in 1.25 million tonnes of carbon over their lifetime".
ASA upheld complaints that the ads "omitted significant information about HSBC's contribution to carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions."
"Customers... would not expect that HSBC, in making unqualified claims about its environmentally beneficial work, would also be simultaneously involved in the financing of businesses which made significant contributions to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions," the regulator added.
HSBC's efforts to address climate change have come under scrutiny in recent months.
In February, campaigners accused big banks, including HSBC, of pumping billions of dollars into new oil and gas production despite being part of a green banking group.
London-based ShareAction called on the banks to demand green plans from fossil fuel firms before funding them.
ShareAction said that 24 big banks, which joined the Net Zero Banking Alliance last year, had since provided $33bn (£29.1bn) for new oil and gas project.
At the time, a HSBC spokesman said the bank was "committed to working with our customers to achieve a transition towards a thriving low carbon economy".
Meanwhile, a senior HSBC executive drew controversy in May when he accused central bankers and other officials of exaggerating the risks of climate change.
Stuart Kirk, who was the global head of responsible investing at the bank's asset management division, said: "There's always some nut job telling me about the end of the world."
His role, which was based in London, involved considering the impact of investments on environmental, social and governance issues.
In July, Mr Kirk resigned from the bank and said that his comments had made his position "unsustainable".
How can I deal with my eco-anxiety? | /news/business-63309878 |
business | BBC NI job cuts: BBC Northern Ireland to lose 36 posts | BBC Northern Ireland (BBC NI) is planning to close 36 posts in an attempt to make £2.3m of savings and invest more money in online services.
According to the most recent BBC annual report, BBC NI has a workforce of about 600.
BBC said it hopes "the majority" of post closures will be achieved through voluntary redundancy.
rporation also said that some programmes on Radio Ulster and Radio Foyle would be "impacted" by the plans.
udes the daily breakfast news programme on Radio Foyle and the weekly Inside Business programme on Radio Ulster.
However, more money is set to be spent on BBC Northern Ireland's online and digital services, including the BBC iPlayer.
Staff and trade unions will now be consulted on the savings plans.
As a whole, the BBC announced proposals to make £500m in annual savings and to become a "digital-led" organisation in May 2022.
uded plans to employ up to 1,000 fewer people in the publicly-funded part of the BBC over the next few years.
Channels like CBBC and BBC Four are to be moved online and a single news will replace separate UK and world channels.
In January 2022, the then Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries confirmed the BBC licence fee is to be frozen at £159 for two years.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the cuts were "an absolute disgrace"
According to the BBC's most recent annual report for 2021/22 the number of adults who watch BBC TV each week has fallen, whereas use of digital services like the iPlayer, BBC online and BBC Sounds has risen.
BBC Northern Ireland spends about £55m a year on local programmes and services across TV, radio and online.
Radio Foyle, based in Londonderry, will also lose its hourly bulletins.
Foyle MP Colum Eastwood said people in Derry and the north west have been "badly served by the BBC today" and the cuts were an "absolute disgrace".
"This is an attempt to close BBC Radio Foyle down by stealth," the SDLP leader added.
"Over half of the newsroom staff in Foyle are going and that will make it totally unsustainable.
"The flagship programme, The Breakfast Show, is going and anybody knows that once you remove the flagship programme, you're basically removing the station.
"We all pay our licence fee, there is nobody in Radio Foyle on massive wages, they are all ordinary working people who are either losing their job or losing their station, it's being gutted and it's shameful."
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP for East Londonderry, Gregory Campbell, said the news came as "a bolt from the blue".
"I don't think people saw the Radio Foyle announcement coming as it did," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme.
He added: "What they [the BBC] do well is local news and they do that very well.
"I think what will happen here is that it will become quite Belfast-centric.
"My fear and the fear of many will be that Radio Ulster will become effectively BBC Radio Greater Belfast. That's the fear.
"There is a regional localised radio station in the north west and if we lose that, what will the BBC put in its place?"
mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, cllr Sandra Duffy, has written to the BBC to express her deep concern.
She said the news was causing "huge anxiety" for the workers who are learning that they will lose their jobs.
"It will also have a hugely detrimental impact on the people of Derry who rely on this institution for local news and coverage," she said.
NUJ said the decision to end Radio Foyle's breakfast programme and news bulletins was a betrayal of the people of Northern Ireland.
"This is an attack on the very essence of public service broadcasting," said Seamus Dooley, NUJ assistant general secretary.
"Radio Foyle is part of the cultural landscape of the north west with a wide listenership on both sides of the border. The diminution of services in Radio Foyle is of particular concern and will be strongly resisted by the NUJ.
"If redundancies are implemented, they should be on a voluntary basis."
In a statement BBC Northern Ireland said that its plans "reflect a BBC-wide strategy to prioritise digital content, announced earlier this year, and the need to manage inflationary and other cost pressures".
"BBC Northern Ireland is proposing to close approximately 35-40 posts to contribute to its £2.3m savings and reinvestment plans," the statement continued.
"Efforts have been made to limit the effect of proposed changes on the scope and benefits of BBC services in Northern Ireland and local staff teams."
rim director of BBC Northern Ireland, Adam Smyth, added that the corporation faced "some difficult choices, none of which are easy".
"We have to find monies to maintain and develop our local presence on BBC iPlayer and to absorb cost pressures across different aspects of our work," he said.
"Our concern in all of this will be to safeguard audience value and benefit and to remain mindful of the impact that this announcement will have on BBC staff in Northern Ireland."
BBC NI had previously scaled back plans for a £77m redevelopment of Broadcasting House in Belfast.
BBC NI also said that other ongoing UK-wide operational and staffing reviews may also "impact other locally-based teams and roles next year", but gave no further details about what that might mean. | /news/uk-northern-ireland-63793557 |
health | NHS trust apologises as man kept in hospital for more than a year | A man with physical and mental health problems is "living" in a hospital despite being fit to leave, a court has heard.
man, who is in his 30s, has been in hospital for more than a year.
A barrister leading the man's legal team told how he had tried to "escape" and broke an arm during the attempt.
Court of Protection heard that he remained in hospital because no "available alternative accommodation" had been found.
Manchester City Council has responsibility for his care, but the NHS trust involved has apologised for "not yet" identifying a "suitable community placement".
A lawyer representing another health authority told the judge that professionals involved were under pressure because of the "state" of the health and social care services.
Mr Justice Hayden, who is overseeing the case, asked why no plan for the man's discharge had been formulated and indicated that he would review the case in the near future.
"This is a case about a young man who has been in [hospital] for over a year," barrister Ben McCormack, who is leading the man's legal team, said in a written case outline.
"He is medically fit to be discharged."
Mr McCormack said the man was "living" in hospital and added: "The real problem is that no available alternative accommodation has yet been sourced."
He said despite the "wide range" of public authorities involved, each of which supported discharge, the man remained in hospital without any "alternative options actually yet on the table".
"[He] dislikes being required to live in hospital," Mr McCormack told the judge.
"He feels imprisoned. He has tried to escape through the ceiling of the bathroom attached to his ward.
"He hurt himself, he broke his arm."
Mr McCormack said the man had "extensive health needs" which would need to be met outside hospital.
But he added: "We are not attempting to land a person on the Moon here."
Mr McCormack said the man had a computer, and a television, and had watched the World Cup Final on Sunday.
"We will deploy any and every resource to try and get this man out of hospital," Vikram Sachdeva KC, who represented one of the health authorities involved, told the judge.
"We know the state that the health service and social care services are in.
"It is cold comfort to the individual, but the professionals do have that pressure."
Barrister Alexis Hearnden, who represented the NHS trust involved, told the judge in a written case outline: "The trust offers an apology to the court and [the man] that it has not yet identified a suitable community placement."
She said "progress" had been made recently.
"[His] physical health has at times been extremely precarious," she said.
"During the currency of this hospital admission, his health has also fluctuated and a stroke in July 2022 set back plans to discharge [him] from hospital."
Manchester City Council has been approached for comment.
Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk | /news/uk-england-manchester-64029162 |
entertainment | Bradford's Kala Sangam arts venue to undergo £295k revamp | An arts venue will undergo a £295,000 transformation ahead of Bradford's City of Culture year in 2025.
Kala Sangam Arts Centre plans to create a new 200-seat theatre and four studio spaces in its city centre building as part of the project.
An archive celebrating the centre's 30-year history will also be developed.
Creative director Alex Croft said it was the first step to creating a bigger space "for all communities in Bradford to visit and enjoy."
roject aims to make the centre more accessible, with a new entrance and lift access to all floors.
Work is expected to begin in January 2024, with the centre reopening in 2025, according to a spokesperson for the organisation.
National Lottery Heritage Fund has put £295,758 toward the work.
funding will also be used to employ a head of community engagement, who will work with communities in Bradford to explore their own heritage.
Kala Sangam has also received an increase in its regular funding from Arts Council England and will be granted £362,000 a year for the next three years.
A spokesperson said the extra funding will allow the centre to "programme more dance, theatre, music and poetry".
Mr Croft said: "The increase in our regular funding from Arts Council England will enable us to support more artists in Bradford, have a greater role in developing South Asian art forms locally and nationally, welcome larger audiences and play a bigger role in Bradford's City of Culture celebrations."
Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk. | /news/uk-england-leeds-63575444 |
sports | Pele: Brazil legend's extraordinary career in pictures | He has been described as a genius, the best of the best, a player who gifted his skills to the whole world. Brazil legend Pele is the iconic sporting figure for a country that regards itself as the game's spiritual home.
From Santos to three World Cup wins and New York Cosmos, here's a look at his life in pictures. | /sport/football/64125974 |
sports | Eve Muirhead wants to be 'role model' like fellow Olympian gold medallist Rhona Howie | Eve Muirhead wants to be role model for girls like fellow Olympic gold medallist curler Rhona Howie. | /sport/av/winter-sports/60667502 |
health | Mothers go to Stormont to call for better maternity care | 'We need perinatal services to improve'
A group of mothers are in Stormont to share their experiences of childbirth as part of a campaign for better maternity support services.
will recount problems with the care they received and call for urgent improvements to services for mothers who develop mental-health issues.
rganised by the Mas (Maternal Advocacy and Support) project.
It provides mental-health support to new mothers in eight women's centres.
Jannine Barnes takes part in the Mas project in the Ballybeen Women's Centre in Dundonald, on the outskirts of east Belfast.
She said that poor communication between health workers during postnatal home visits had a negative effect on her mental health as she tried to look after her vulnerable newborn child.
"When my youngest daughter was born, she spent some time in neonatal. She had breathing difficulties and it was suggested that she had some holes in her heart," Ms Barnes told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.
"After some time we were released from hospital back home, but we had to have health visitors and midwives coming every other day to check her weight, to make sure that she didn't have to be readmitted to hospital.
"We never got the same health visitor twice. We never got the same midwife" she recalled.
"I was having to continually explain why they were coming out to do weight checks; what was wrong with her breathing; why she was breathing so fast.
"Sometimes we had students coming out and they hadn't been told why there were coming out to check her weight, so it just had a real impact on my mental health."
Women like Ms Barnes will share their stories with assembly members at Stormont on Monday in a bid to give patients a greater voice in the delivery of maternity and perinatal services.
Mas Project is also calling for better training for health workers on post-partum psychosis, a serious mental health illness that affects about one in 500 women after giving birth.
In Northern Ireland the condition affects about 35 women every year, according to Professor Siobhan O'Neill, the region's Mental Health Champion.
She added that postnatal depression was a "significant mental-health problem" in Northern Ireland which resulted in about 70 mothers being admitted to mental health units annually.
Both Prof O'Neill and the Mas Project are supporting the ongoing campaign for establishment a dedicated mother and baby perinatal mental health unit.
Northern Ireland is the only place in the UK which has no dedicated in-patient service for women with serious post-partum mental-health issues.
Prof O'Neill, who was appointed as Mental Health Champion for Northern Ireland last year, said the unit might be expensive in the short-term, but in the long-term it would make "good economic sense".
"The mother-and-baby unit will carry a significant cost and the Department of Health are now looking at that and the strategical outline case will be available in March 2023, so there should be progress then and we'll know exactly how much that will cost and where it will be," she said.
"The work that this group of women have done is just so important in bringing this to the top of the agenda.
"There's clear evidence that intervening at this stage, in those early weeks and months, can make a real difference to women's lives, to babies' lives, and it can reduce the cost of mental-health services that they'll need later on," Prof O'Neill added.
Clare Anderson, co-ordinator of the Mas project, said the mothers involved in the initiative "highlighted key areas that would make a difference to their experience such as compassion, non-judgement, better communication, signposting to services and earlier identification of a perinatal mental health problem".
"We understand how stretched the health service is and how hard they are working but we want health leaders to see the care from the perspective of the women they treat," she added. | /news/uk-northern-ireland-63778981 |
entertainment | Essex film office: Council wants county 'top of the list' | A dedicated movie office is being set up to ensure Essex is "at the top of the list of great places to film".
Essex County Council has appointed a film officer who will promote the county to location managers and liaise with Creative UK.
Councils in Kent and Suffolk have already established similar offices.
Apple TV's The Essex Serpent and Mission: Impossible - Fallout were both filmed in the county in recent years.
"Essex has some of the most diverse and beautiful landscapes in the UK and currently our coast is of particular interest to directors and location managers," said Erica Gilson, the council's marketing and business development manager.
"We need to ensure that we're getting Essex out there and that we're at the top of the list of great places to film."
Ms Gilson, speaking at a council committee meeting earlier in October, also said the office would help minimise disruption to local residents and businesses during filming.
British Film Institute estimated that film and TV producers spent a record £5.64bn in the UK in 2021.
Shots for the 2013 Hollywood movie, World War Z, starring Brad Pitt, were filmed at Hanningfield Reservoir near Chelmsford, while Thorndon Country Park in Brentwood was used for a scene in the 2018 Mission Impossible film.
As well as in The Essex Serpent, an adaptation of the Sarah Perry novel starring Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes, the county's coastline was also featured in shots for the 2017 ITV drama, Liar.
A scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which was set in Venice, included shots from Tilbury Docks.
Most recently, Colchester Utd's football stadium was used in the filming of an Indian movie production.
Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk | /news/uk-england-essex-63406449 |
business | North of England faces rail chaos, warns business lobby | Business leaders in the north of England are warning rail services could "collapse into utter chaos" by January unless the government takes action.
Members of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership have written to ask the transport secretary to address a crisis they say is "wreaking havoc".
Rail travel in northern England has been severely disrupted in recent months by strikes and cancellations.
government agreed the current situation was "unacceptable".
It said it was "investing billions" in northern transport and was "working closely with train operators" to resolve problems around the recruitment of new drivers.
But Juergen Maier, former chief executive of Siemens UK and a vice chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said the government had failed to "use the levers only it can pull, to sort out or train services".
Although train travel has been disrupted across the whole of the UK this year, northern operators, including Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express have come under particular scrutiny.
Passengers to, from and across the region have faced reduced timetables, crowded services, last-minute cancellations and delays.
Northern Powerhouse Partnership said recruitment of new train drivers, one source of the disruption, was held back by the failure to agree new overtime working arrangements at some rail operators, including at TransPennine.
government to open the way for new "rest day working" arrangements. Drivers at most operators can choose to work on their days off - or "rest days" - when they are expected to give training and be on standby to cover drivers who call off sick.
ransPennine had a rest day working agreement in place until last autumn, but it has not been able to agree on new terms with its drivers since then. That leaves the operator more at risk of last-minute cancellations.
"We are not able to continue as we are," said Mr Maier. "If we do not get approval for a rest day working agreement to be negotiated this week it will be too late."
Without a new agreement the system would collapse into "utter chaos", he said.
Cancellations have already cut off the Humber for "days at a time" and reduced access to Manchester Airport, forcing people into their cars instead, the Northern Powerhouse Partnership said.
ransport Secretary Mark Harper, who is due to meet city mayors from across the region later this week, said services would be improved by having "a proper seven-day railway".
"We have days in the week when train services are completely dependent on the goodwill of people coming in to work on their days off. That isn't how you run a modern railway that people depend on for running their daily lives," he said.
In their letter to Mr Harper, the vice chairs of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, Mr Maier, and crossbench peer Lord Jim O'Neill, said the situation was already "wreaking havoc on the northern economy".
ransPennine apologised for the disruption and said work was continuing to address the impact of sickness and a shortage of drivers, which would normally have been significantly mitigated by rest day working arrangements.
"We are sorry to anyone who has been affected by this ongoing disruption," a spokesperson said. "This has been caused by high levels of traincrew sickness, an intensive crew training programme (which includes a training backlog as a direct result of Covid), and infrastructure issues outside of our control."
rator said it had invested in a fleet of new trains and now had 70 more drivers than the 500 it had in 2019. | /news/business-63776464 |
politics | Watch as Sunak declared Tory contest winner | Rishi Sunak will be the next prime minister after no other rivals came forward to challenge him.
He was the only candidate after Penny Mordaunt pulled out just ahead of the 1400 deadline. Boris Johnson was expected to stand, but decided not to stand on Sunday.
Sir Graham Brady announced the result four days after Liz Truss resigned from the office.
Mr Sunak immediately became leader of the Conservative Party and should be PM later after meeting King Charles.
Live: Sunak is next PM as Mordaunt drops out of leadership race | /news/uk-politics-63373382 |
sports | Uber Cup: World champion Akane Yamaguchi suffers shock loss to teenager Bilqis Prasista | Badminton's world number one Akane Yamaguchi suffered a shock defeat at the Uber Cup to a teenager ranked 333 in the world.
Indonesia's Bilqis Prasista, 18, beat Japan's 24-year-old world champion 21-19, 21-19 in 35 minutes in Bangkok.
Japan still beat Indonesia to top their group but both teams qualified for the quarter-finals of the women's event.
England cannot qualify in the men's Thomas Cup, also held in Bangkok, after losing their first two group games. | /sport/badminton/61404473 |
sports | Johan Cruyff: Total Football and the World Cup that changed everything | It was a summer that played out in an orange haze. One of floppy-haired Dutchmen letting their revolutionary brand of football loose on the world and cavorting their way into the hearts and minds of the adoring public. It was Johan Cruyff's summer. At least, it almost was.
In the fourth of our World Cup icons series, BBC Sport tells the story of how Johan Cruyff and the Netherlands' Total Football captured the world's imagination in 1974.
As he ground-hopped through West Germany in 1974, Cruyff embraced each game with more of a dance than a duel, his every stroke of leather compelling and each balletic movement steeped in vision and expectation.
Just the mention of his name transports you to Dortmund's Westfalenstadion, 19 June, the 24th minute - the moment Cruyff conjured up an unmistakable turn that bamboozled Sweden's Jan Olsson and was cast in football folklore.
"The turn wasn't something I'd ever done in training or practised," wrote Cruyff in his autobiography, My Turn. "The idea came to me in a flash, because at that particular moment it was the best solution for the situation I was in."
Yet that piece of skill, the inventive, individual moment of brilliance he is remembered most vividly for, was a beautiful contradiction.
Cruyff was the face of Total Football - a style of play where success blossoms with a collective, almost telepathic understanding of space and movement among all 11 players - but he was also the one star that could break the mould.
Cruyff was the essence of a team who captured the imagination with football as vivid and resplendent as their orange shirts, including leaving their mark on a mesmerised future Arsenal manager.
"I discovered completely new football," recalled Arsene Wenger at the Cruyff Legacy Summit. "When you speak today about pressing, transition and winning the ball back quickly, in 1974 Holland did that already.
"They were miles ahead tactically. They believed in the way they think about the game and they were not ready to compromise with their ideas: 'That's the way we see the game and that is the way football has to be played.'"
It was a concept that began with Ajax, the club based just five minutes from Cruyff's childhood home in Amsterdam. 'Jopie' joined as a 10-year-old, his mother later got a job there as a cleaner following his father's death, and it was Ajax that helped supplement him leaving school at 15 by faking his age to offer him a "special" youth contract.
Under the guidance of the great Rinus Michels, Cruyff became an integral part of a side that would go on to dominate European football during a boom for Dutch clubs.
Michels, himself influenced by Hungary's Magical Magyars in the 1950s, developed a style of football that would see Ajax win their first European Cup in 1971 and - after he left for Barcelona later that year - watched as the side he built collected three successive continental crowns.
"Michels made us run less and take over each other's positions, which was revolutionary," Ruud Krol, former Ajax and the Netherlands defender, told Uefa.
"It was the first time there was a totally different vision of football. Total Football spread all over the world. It was the only real change for almost 40 years. He stunned the world."
By 1973 Cruyff, about to claim his second Ballon d'Or, was an Ajax star and an idol for youngsters in the Netherlands at a time of social and cultural change.
Young people related to his practical approach and admired his exceptional talent. He was unwittingly cool - as a teenager he would stub out cigarettes on his boot soles - but he could also be confrontational, demanding and rebellious.
"He said you must do this in a game or you must do that," team-mate Johnny Rep remembered in David Winner's book Brilliant Orange. "It was not easy for me to shut my mouth."
Cruyff wore the Ajax armband, but during a summer training camp the squad voted Piet Keizer in as captain. Furious and feeling undermined, it spelled the end in Amsterdam for Cruyff, who called it a "form of jealousy I had never before experienced".
He left Ajax to join Michels in Barcelona for a then world-record £922,000 and helped the Catalan side to a first La Liga title in 14 years.
Cruyff experienced problems with some of his former colleagues during the international camps that followed, believing they were complaining about him arriving late from Spain or for not travelling with the team. But those feelings had softened by the time they regrouped to prepare for a tournament that would change many of their lives.
Netherlands' record of qualifying for major tournaments was, frankly, rubbish - they had not reached a World Cup finals since before World War Two and had never appeared at the European Championships.
Even for the 1974 tournament they almost made a hash of qualifying, relying on a controversial offside decision in the final game against Belgium to see them through; Jan Verheyen's 89th-minute winner was chalked off, despite replays showing the Belgian was being played on by a number of Dutch defenders.
Czech manager Frantisek Fadrhonc was replaced by Barcelona boss Michels for the finals. It turned out to be a masterstroke.
Michels' squad was largely comprised of players with an Ajax connection and those from Feyenoord, who won the European Cup in 1970. But there was a surprise call up for FC Amsterdam goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed - the cigar shop owner who won his only previous cap 12 years earlier and was selected predominantly for his ability on the ball.
Ajax contingent were well versed in the coach's pressing style and switching of positions, while the rest of the squad had the system drilled into them during a pre-tournament camp at the leafy KNVB headquarters in Zeist. Michels wanted Ajax 2.0, the ultra-attacking remodel.
It took time to click and they lost a friendly to a second division German team while trying to familiarise themselves with the tactics, but just one week before the World Cup started they enjoyed a morale-boosting 4-1 victory over Argentina.
"Total Football requires talented individuals acting in a disciplined group," said Cruyff, who had a huge influence on team selection. "Someone who whines or doesn't pay attention is a hindrance to the rest, and you need a boss like Michels to nip that in the bud.
"Total Football is, aside from the quality of the players, mostly a question of distance and positioning. When you've got the distances and formation right, everything falls into place."
Netherlands opened their first World Cup campaign in 36 years against Uruguay at the Niedersachsenstadion in Hannover, stepping out in orange shirts trimmed with the iconic three stripes of Adidas along the sleeve. All bar Cruyff's, that is.
He was contracted to Puma and had already refused to wear Adidas boots when playing for the national team, despite a KNVB deal with the manufacturer. At the World Cup - after a standoff between the brands, Cruyff and Dutch football bosses - it was decided his kit would have one of the stripes removed.
"The KNVB had signed a contract with Adidas without telling the players," Cruyff wrote in his autobiography. "They thought they didn't need to because the shirt was theirs. 'But the head sticking out of it is mine,' I told them."
"Those two stripes belong to me," he later wrote in a column for Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, when the row reignited 40 years later after Cruyff's clothing company released a replica of his 1974 jersey.
In Hannover, Cruyff was the target of some rough Uruguayan treatment but glided over tackles and carried the Netherlands forward in a move that resulted with Rep giving them the lead after seven minutes, later adding his second to complete an opening victory that provided a glimpse of the side's potent mix of a smothering press and effortlessly fluid attack.
Four days later the Dutch played out a goalless draw with Sweden - a match remembered for one of the most iconic flashes of brilliance the game has ever witnessed.
Cruyff received a diagonal ball on the left of the Swedish box. His first touch almost let him down but a seemingly elasticated right leg wound it back in again and, once under control, the game of cat and mouse was on.
ggy-haired Dutch skipper exaggeratedly shaped to knock the ball back down field with his right foot, luring Olsson to take the bait, and with the Sweden full-back already moving in the direction of the anticipated pass Cruyff wrapped his boot around the ball, dragged it through his legs and was off towards the byline in an orange blur, leaving Olsson floundering in no man's land.
"There are impulses that arise because your technical and tactical knowledge has become so great that your legs are able to respond immediately to what your head wants them to do," wrote Cruyff. "Even if that's nothing more than a flash in the brain.
"I've always used feints like that. I've never used them to make the opponent look foolish, only as the best solution to a problem."
Olsson was convinced he was going to take the ball, and then it was gone.
"I do not understand how he did it," he said in 2016. "Now when I see the video, every time I think I have got the ball. I am sure I am going to take it, but every time he surprises me."
move ultimately came to nothing and the Netherlands were unable to find a breakthrough, but Cruyff's moment of wizardry became the most recognisable image of that - arguably, of any - World Cup.
By the time the final group game against Bulgaria came round, the Netherlands were confident and won 4-1 against a side that included several of the CSKA Sofia team who ended Ajax's three-year unbeaten run in the European Cup earlier that season.
Cruyff, picked as the focal point in attack but dribbling into the box from the left, won a penalty from which Johan Neeskens put the Dutch ahead, adding another before the break while the captain toyed with and riled the Bulgarians and almost scored following a run from his own half.
Rep made it three after Cruyff sent the black and white tournament ball spinning into the area from a free-kick, before a floated cross from the Barcelona playmaker found a diving Theo de Jong arriving to cap a resounding win.
Dutch were hitting their stride. Their football was captivating fans on the terraces and those watching from home, and their choir of orange-clad supporters was getting more vociferous with every scintillating performance.
urnament format saw teams progress into a second group stage, with the Netherlands ripping through Argentina in their first game - the opening goal a perfect snapshot of their breathtaking style.
Dutch recovered possession in the Argentina half and Cruyff plucked Wim van Hanegem's deft chip out of the air before rounding goalkeeper Daniel Carnevali and sliding the ball into an empty net.
Krol added a second and Rep then headed in a third from Cruyff's deep cross as boss Michels, raincoat covering his knees, observed from the bench with a flicker of a smile during a downpour in Gelsenkirchen.
-half weather could not dampen a display so dominant from the Dutch that goalkeeper Jongbloed touched the ball only once in the entire game. Cruyff added a late fourth with an instinctive volley from a tight angle to further whip up the hype around this team and their seemingly unstoppable captain.
"They said he would have made a good ballet dancer," Michels once reflected. "Honestly, I think Johan could have become anything he wanted to."
Jorge Valdano would go on to become a World Cup winner himself - and Argentina would get their revenge four years later in the final in Buenos Aires - but he watched in awe as a teenager as the Netherlands' number 14 tormented his compatriots.
"Never in my life have I seen a player rule matches like Cruyff," he said. "He was the owner of the show, much more than his team, the referee or the fans. His grip on what was happening on the field was amazing. He was a player, coach and referee at the same time."
Cruyff admitted to being tense in the early stages of the tournament but was now wowing the press with his manner off the pitch as well as on it - apart from one Dutch critic who was tossed, fully clothed, into the hotel swimming pool by the squad.
"Cruyff himself was a rapid and remarkable learner," said esteemed English football writer Brian Glanville. "Surrounded by a polyglot of journalists he dealt effortlessly with them in Dutch, English, German, Spanish and Italian."
As June rolled into July the Netherlands were continuing to gather momentum and a 2-0 win over East Germany teed up what was essentially a semi-final against reigning champions Brazil.
was a Selecao without Pele, who had left the national team in 1971 and revealed years later he refused to play in the 1974 World Cup in protest against torture by Brazil's military regime - instead he spent the tournament working for Pepsi.
Brazil still boasted the likes of Roberto Rivelino and Jairzinho, who missed a golden chance as the South Americans looked to take the initiative in the opening 20 minutes. But with the holders in blue and the Dutch in white, it was more than just their kits that were unrecognisable - it was a hot-tempered, physical battle.
"That was the best game, the hardest game - it had everything," explained Krol in Brilliant Orange. "There was nice football, nice combinations, dirty football. It was a game on the limits and I like that. Do everything to win."
Brazil collected three bookings in the first half, the Dutch one. But after the break Cruyff sprinkled some stardust on the skirmish with a pass from the right threaded between a pair of backtracking Brazilians for Neeskens to loop over goalkeeper Emerson Leao with a first-time effort.
r superior goal difference meant the Dutch only needed a draw to progress, but they made sure of their place in the final with 25 minutes remaining when Cruyff finished off a flowing move down the left by leaping on to a side-footed volley in mid-air. Luis Pereira was sent off for a hack on Neeskens late on as Brazil relinquished their grip on the trophy.
"It all came together in that game against Brazil," wrote Cruyff. "Until then, no one really knew how good we were, and the game against Brazil was probably the moment you could point to and say that was Total Football.
"When we walked on the pitch we were nervous, because we thought that we were still playing the team of 1970. It took us 30 minutes to realise that we were actually more skilful than them.
"Winning was the consequence of the process we had concentrated on. The first step was to bring enjoyment to the crowd, the next was the win."
Netherlands had been so good, so compelling, their confidence was straddling arrogance. In an unusual calendar quirk, boss Michels even jetted back to Barcelona to oversee his club side play the Spanish Cup final mid-tournament.
But before the final there was unease in the Dutch camp as news reached home about a story in German newspaper Bild.
As Auke Kok explained in Johan Cruyff: Always on the Attack, Cruyff found being away from wife Danny and their three children "inhuman" and life at the Waldhotel Krautkramer in Hiltrup was becoming a bit of a drag.
In need of some entertainment, a group of players decided to host a now infamous party following the win over East Germany.
Volendam band The Cats performed, sparkling wine and cigars were enjoyed, and by 2am Cruyff and several others fancied a swim - naked - in the hotel pool, where they were joined by a group of local females.
"Little happened, other than a bit of flirting," wrote Kok. But unbeknown to the Dutch, there was also an undercover journalist present and the story appeared in Bild under the headline: Cruyff, champagne, naked girls and a refreshing dip. The captain was furious and spent hours on the hotel phone trying to placate his wife.
Cruyff always denied the incident and head coach Michels insisted it was an attempted smear campaign by the German press to unsettle the Dutch should they meet the hosts in the final.
And so they did, on 7 July at the Olympic Stadium in Munich.
For many in the Netherlands, the German occupation during the war still carried huge cultural significance - midfielder Van Hanegem lost his father, sister and two brothers in the conflict.
It was, however, the bohemian Dutch who went into the final as favourites and there was huge optimism around the prospect of lifting a first World Cup.
"You could see it in their eyes," said German forward Bernd Holzenbein in Brilliant Orange. "Their attitude to us was, 'how many goals do you want to lose by today, boys?'. While we waited to go on the pitch, I tried to look them in the eye, but I couldn't do it. They made us feel small."
Dutch preparation was not ideal, compounded by losing their The Cats cassette tape and, the story goes, instead having to listen to David Bowie's Sorrow.
Cruyff did not sleep well the night before the final and instead sat up smoking in his room. He chewed gum as he stared into the crowd while the teams lined up before kick-off. For the first time, the Netherlands' huge following was massively outnumbered by home spectators.
uring an unconvincing start to the tournament that featured a defeat by neighbours East Germany, and they were immediately left stunned by the Dutch as Cruyff went on a surging run, dummying and shimmying his way into the penalty area where he was brought down by Uli Hoeness - all before any German player had even touched the ball.
Neeskens converted from the spot to give Michels' men the perfect start and, as several players have since conceded, they set about trying to humiliate their hosts with the kind of football that won them so many suitors throughout the tournament - but, crucially, this time without adding to their lead.
"It was a classic case of pride coming before a fall," wrote Cruyff. "As soon as you're past that point of over-confidence, it becomes incredibly difficult to turn it around.
"Throughout the match everyone was either a bit too early or a bit too late - never on time. It just wasn't quite 100%. Sometimes you can lose a game in your head."
Despite their slow start to the competition, West Germany were also a very good side and moments after a glorious chance for Rep at one end, created by Cruyff, Holzenbein went down inside the box at the other. Paul Breitner levelled from the spot, and suddenly it was Germany's final.
Cruyff was a false nine long before the term was coined. He was everywhere during the World Cup: dropping deep as a playmaker, arriving late into the box, drifting on to the flanks. He created more chances and completed more dribbles than any other player in the tournament.
But as the Netherlands struggled to wrestle back control, the captain was dragged further away from goal, swamped by white shirts and unable to find space where he was so usually dangerous.
He came in for rough treatment from Berti Vogts, who was eventually booked, but then so was Cruyff for arguing with referee Jack Taylor at half-time after Gerd Muller had given the hosts the lead. There was some internal sniping between the Dutch, too.
A mentally and physically drained Cruyff could not rediscover his spark. He created several chances when restored to a forward position after the break, but nothing would go in for Michels' team.
"When it was all over, of course, there was a great feeling of disappointment," wrote Cruyff. "You know you're the best in the world, but you haven't won the prize."
Back in the Netherlands, the squad were greeted like heroes with a reception at the Royal Palace and celebration on the Stadsschouwburg balcony in Amsterdam. Cruyff later wrote that he got over the disappointment of losing the final quickly.
"Much more important was the vast amount of positivity and admiration for our play that our performances had generated all over the world," he said.
"We had set an example for billions of people. We had also given hope to all the players who, like me, weren't big or strong. The whole philosophy of how football should be played was adjusted during that tournament."
It also changed his individual status. Cruyff had already been twice crowned the world's best but admitted he did not feel famous until that tournament. When it was over, he was a global superstar and later that year won his third Ballon d'Or in four seasons.
"Cruyff was an optimal player," said Wenger. "In every situation he found the optimal solution. He had the tools to realise it. The point of his decision making was exceptional.
"You always felt he was a class above everyone on the pitch. There are few players like that. He had that elegance, you wanted to look like him on the football pitch."
But 1974 would be his one and only World Cup. Cruyff helped the Netherlands qualify for the 1978 tournament in Argentina but made a decision not to play and would not go back on that, later suggesting it was because of a kidnap attempt at the family home in Barcelona.
In many ways, it added to his legend.
Cruyff, in his four weeks on the global stage, was a playmaker-come-coach who gifted the sport a new philosophy. He left a legacy that transcends a flick, a touch, a goal, even a turn - one that has survived long beyond the last tying of his boot laces and donning of the lucky number 14 shirt.
Bibliography
BBC World Cup icons series | /sport/football/63177677 |
health | Bodmin diagnostic scanning centre opens | A new medical diagnostic centre has been officially opened and is welcoming its first patients.
Bodmin Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) has a range of services including CT and MRI scans.
It is hoped it will reduce patient-wait times for scans, after it was revealed in May that there were more than 58,000 people on waiting lists in Cornwall.
Emma Spouse, of the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, said: "It will make a real difference for patients".
When fully operational, the centre will deliver an additional 120,000 diagnostic tests each year.
It has been set up by Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, the hospitals trust and the NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board.
re forms part of a strategy to locate community diagnostic centres away from acute hospital sites.
Ms Spouse, diagnostic imaging lead, said: "The Bodmin CDC provides a calm, outpatient scanning environment that also alleviates our hard-pressed acute and emergency diagnostic imaging services on the Royal Cornwall Hospital site at Treliske in Truro.
"Digital technology and connectivity ensures that expert advice and opinion is immediately available to the Bodmin CDC clinical staff, supporting our services on this site to meet exemplary standards."
CDC should also reduce travel time and costs for patients, as well as creating some local jobs.
Margaret Schwarz, Chair of Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Not only am I delighted to see this facility open, I am delighted as a resident of north Cornwall that my fellow residents will not have to travel down the A30 to Truro for their diagnostics.
"It is fantastic to have this facility available closer to where people live".
Follow BBC News South West on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk. | /news/uk-england-cornwall-63920715 |
business | Sizewell C nuclear plant: Truss and Macron agree cooperation | UK prime minister and France's president have agreed joint support for the new Sizewell C nuclear power plant.
Liz Truss and Emmanuel Macron issued a joint statement in which they said they were keen to advance cooperation, on energy in particular.
ged "full support" for the station set for Suffolk's coast, to be developed by French energy company EDF.
Critics have argued Sizewell C will be hugely expensive and take years to build.
rs said they expected the "relevant bodies to finalise arrangements in the coming month".
Ms Truss and Mr Macron were meeting at the first summit of the European Political Community in Prague where they discussed matters for further cooperation.
ment issued by the prime minister's office reiterated how "energy transition and decoupling from Russian hydro-carbons are common challenges".
It stated: "They reaffirmed their belief that both renewable and nuclear energies are part of consistent strategies to achieve energy transition and strategic autonomy."
Ms Truss also tweeted that both countries were keen to end dependence on Russian energy.
Before leaving office, former prime minister Boris Johnson pledged £700m for a new power plant, with a call to "go nuclear and go large and go with Sizewell C".
Campaign group Stop Sizewell C said it had concerns about a relationship with France on nuclear energy, and questioned whether "relying on the French state for UK energy security" was a good idea.
group's thoughts were echoed by Together Against Sizewell C (TASC), which has instigated a judicial review process into the decision to approve the nuclear power station.
"If they see Sizewell C as the answer, then they are asking the wrong question," it said.
government gave the go-ahead for the plant in July, against the advice of the Planning Inspectorate.
Negotiations on raising funds are continuing.
Sizewell C project is expected to generate about 7% of the UK's electricity needs and operate for 60 years.
It is not expected to begin generating electricity until the 2030s.
It would be built next to the existing Sizewell B, which is still generating electricity, and Sizewell A, which has been decommissioned.
EDF has said the plant could generate 3.2 gigawatts of electricity, enough for about six million homes.
Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk | /news/uk-england-suffolk-63166558 |
sports | Bellator v Rizin: AJ McKee on his father, being a 'teddy bear' and the Pitbull trilogy | AJ McKee Jr was about 12 years old when he asked his father what would turn out to be a lifechanging question.
Growing up in California, McKee spent a lot of time with MMA legend Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson and found himself captivated by the former UFC light-heavyweight champion's lifestyle.
"He was a big jokester, a lot like my father - very laid back and a good heart - but you don't wanna see him mad," McKee tells BBC Sport.
"We'd sit in a car he'd made into a limo and during camps he'd go into the gym to train while I'd be sat playing video games.
"We'd go to his house and have barbeques, pool parties, and I was like 'Dad, why don't you have this? We need this life. We deserve this.'"
McKee's father Antonio was a successful fighter who ended his career in 2019 with a fine record of 30 wins and six defeats.
Despite his sporting success, he never reached the same level of stardom as Jackson, and this is what confused McKee.
Looking back, McKee points to the difference in fighting style between the athletes.
"Rampage is a knockout artist. It was such a new, fast-growing sport and everyone wants to see the knockouts and the finishes," he says.
"My father was a brute - a very high-evel wrestler - and nobody could stop his takedowns, but at the time that wasn't what people wanted to see."
McKee says it used to bother his father when he asked why he did not have the same recognition as Jackson, and this is what initially drove him to pursue his own career in the sport.
On Saturday McKee, 27, will headline a cross-promotional event in Japan between Bellator and Rizin, when he faces Roberto de Souza at lightweight.
Former Bellator featherweight champion McKee is arguably the biggest star in the promotion and will be looking to improve his record of 19 wins and one defeat.
"That's where it became kind of personal with me, like 'I'm going to be your revenge in this sport where they have no choice but to recognise our last name in the industry'," says McKee.
"My dad is my training partner to this day at 52 years old. He's in the gym with me every day so we came up with a style that was entertaining.
"We know I have the wrestling background, so I can get someone to the ground, but it was trying to implement the striking and give fans the entertainment they needed - the knockouts, the submissions."
Away from the cage, McKee describes himself as an "adrenaline junkie" with a passion for fast cars, shooting and snowboarding, but also a "big teddy bear, loving and softly spoken".
His success enables him to embrace aspects of Jackson's life he admired as a youngster, but he takes a more reserved approach, being conscious of the example he sets for his friends and family.
"When you're a provider you take care of your family and everyone around you and you have to be cognitive of your expenses - that's something my dad kind of made me realise early on," says McKee.
"He said you can dress a certain way, you can show people with the work you put in this is what they can expect, but if they don't put in the work they can't expect it."
Following the sole defeat of McKee's career in a rematch with Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire in April when he lost his title, McKee went through a bout of depression.
"When I heard 'unanimous decision', it was like my whole world crumbled in front of me," says McKee.
"I wasn't really open to anyone about it, you know? My 16-year-old brother has lived with me for around four years now. I wasn't talking to him about anything but he could tell I was hurt.
"I was walking through the house and not saying anything, sleeping all day, and I wasn't able to really verbalise it."
After some self-reflection, McKee opened up to his loved ones and now uses the experience to help others.
"Depression is big right now, post-Covid, and our younger generation took a big impact on their social lives," he says.
"My younger cousin and brother have been through it a bit, so going through something like that myself opened my mind up, and being able to express that to other people and let them know you have people there for you, to verbalise it and reach out...
"I know the first step is hard because you feel vulnerable, but I feel that's the key."
McKee's Bellator rival Freire is fighting in the co-main event on Saturday against Rizin's featherweight champion Kleber Koike.
McKee and Freire have one win each against each other, with McKee winning their first encounter in July last year, and he is targeting a trilogy bout.
"It's only right for his legacy and for my legacy. It's what the fans want and hopefully it's what he wants," says McKee.
"I don't know how he feels about the last fight but I feel the game needs to be settled and see who the best of the best is.
"It's not about the money or the belt any more - it's for the legacy. We can't leave an open door like that." | /sport/mixed-martial-arts/64110403 |
health | Coventry to host British Transplant Games | Next year's British Transplant Games will be hosted by Coventry.
multi-sport festival, which aims to raise awareness of the benefits of organ donation, will take place in a number of venues across the city.
More than 1,000 athletes and spectators are expected to flock to the area for the competition running from 27 July to 30 July 2023.
ual contest sees both transplant recipients and donors compete in a range of sports disciplines.
A launch event is being held at Coventry University's 'The Hub' on 29 November.
"We are all really looking forward to a wonderful event hosted in Coventry as we know the facilities will be first class," said Dr Paul Harden, Chair of Transplant Sport.
He added: "I have no doubt this year's games will be bigger and better than ever through our ongoing support network from the stakeholder board, talented athletes and volunteers making it their mission to leave a lasting legacy behind in Coventry."
r's Games were held in Leeds.
Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk | /news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-63626110 |
politics | Stephen Flynn: Who is the new SNP Westminster leader? | Aberdeen South MP Stephen Flynn is set to face his first Prime Minister's Questions less than 24 hours after being elected the SNP's new Westminster leader.
Here is what we know about the 34-year-old and what colleagues expect of him.
Mr Flynn was born in Dundee and raised in the city and in nearby Brechin.
He studied politics at Dundee University before moving to Aberdeen - although he still travels back down the A90 to support Dundee United.
His hip gave way when he was a teenager, and he spent 17 years in "constant pain" and facing a "daily physical and mental battle" until eventually having replacement surgery in September 2020.
After marrying his wife in 2014, he was elected to Aberdeen City Council in a by-election the following year, and served as the SNP's group leader from 2016 until he became an MP in 2019.
He took Aberdeen South from the Conservatives - a seat which has bounced between Labour, the SNP and Tories at the last four elections.
Following his election as Westminster leader, Nicola Sturgeon congratulated both Flynn and Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP Mhairi Black, who was elected deputy leader, calling them a "truly formidable team".
SNP MP Stewart Hosie echoed that sentiment, telling the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "One thing you will see from Stephen is a different tone - perhaps more pointed, snappier, more vibrant.
"I think he will bring a great deal to the table and a great deal to the independence cause as he holds the government to account.
"Stephen has rare gift of being able to communicate difficult things in a really effective way and I'm looking forward to seeing him deploy that particularly in PMQs today."
Stephen Flynn says he will push the impact of the cost of living and Scotland's right to choose its future
Mr Flynn's maiden speech in the Commons underlines why colleagues hope he will be a punchy presence as leader.
He warned Conservative members that "we will not forget, and we will not forgive this government".
He added: "Scotland rejects your austerity and Scotland rejects your Brexit, just as Scotland rejected your prime minister."
Mr Flynn became a prominent member of the so-called Tuesday Club of male SNP MPs who regularly meet for five-a-side football, beer and curry nights.
gas industry is at the heart of his patch, and he initially argued against the idea of a windfall tax on the profits of big energy firms - something later embraced enthusiastically by the SNP.
In February, he told MPs: "The last time the UK government implemented a windfall tax, investment in the North Sea oil and gas sector plummeted.
"It fell off a cliff - in fact it has never got back to where it was. If that happens again, my constituents will lose their jobs."
Mr Flynn has been linked to the leadership role for some time, with newspaper reports claiming he was set to oust Ian Blackford surfacing weeks before the Skye MP decided not to stand again.
However, SNP leader and first minister Nicola Sturgeon has insisted that the change is "not a coup". | /news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-63886702 |
politics | Ukraine round-up: Kyiv strikes and German spy chief fired | At least three people have been killed by Russian strikes in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, as Moscow continues to target key infrastructure across the country.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said that the victims of the latest Russian attacks were employees of "critical infrastructure", adding that two facilities in the city had been hit.
Meanwhile, thousands of towns and cities across the country have been left without power and President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian strikes had destroyed about 30% of Ukraine's power stations over the past eight days.
ks came 24 hours after "kamikaze" drones - believed to have been supplied by Iran - killed at least nine people in Kyiv and Sumy, in the north-east.
Ukraine has identified the drones used in deadly attacks on Kyiv and the eastern city of Sumy as Shahed-136 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). They are known as Geran-2 in Russia.
Earlier, the US said it agreed with its French and UK allies that the supply of drones by Iran violated a UN Security Council resolution linked to a nuclear agreement, barring the transfer of certain military technology.
Read more about the latest developments in Ukraine here.
Russian attacks prompted Ukraine's energy minister to call for international help to "close the sky" over his country to protect its energy infrastructure.
Herman Halushchenko told the BBC Hardtalk programme that the strikes, including from missiles, had caused vast amounts of damage to his country.
Ukraine Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko: "We need to close the sky"
At least 50 metres (164ft) of an underwater pipeline bringing Russian gas to Germany is thought to have been destroyed by a blast last month.
Video shot by a Norwegian robotics company and published by Swedish newspaper Expressen appears to show the massive tear in the Nord Stream 1 pipe. Danish police believe "powerful explosions" blew four holes in the pipe and its newer twin, Nord Stream 2.
Watch: Swedish newspaper's undersea video of 'blown-up Nord Stream 1 pipeline'
It is still unknown who or what caused the blasts amid suspicions of sabotage. Western leaders have stopped short of directly accusing Russia but the EU has previously accused Moscow of using its gas supplies as a weapon against Ukraine's allies.
Kremlin has accused Western investigators of seeking to blame Russia for the damage. "Elementary logic" shows damaging the pipeline was not in Moscow's interest, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
Germany's cybersecurity chief, Arne Schönbohm, has been fired after allegations of being excessively close to Russia through an association he helped set up.
Mr Schönbohm has led the Federal Cyber Security Authority (BSI) - charged with protecting government communications - since 2016, but was accused by German media of having had links with people involved with Russian intelligence services.
His former employer, a private company called the Cyber Security Council Germany, is accused of having a subsidiary of a Russian firm set up by an ex-KGB officer as a member. The company denies any wrongdoing.
A spokesperson for Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said public trust in Mr Schönbohm's "neutrality and impartiality" had been damaged, but emphasised that the security chief would be "presumed innocent" while an investigation into the allegations was conducted.
r of the Republican Party in the US House of Representatives has hinted that he could seek to slash aid to Ukraine if the party wins November's midterm elections.
Kevin McCarthy told the US media outlet Punchbowl News that President Joe Biden's huge financial support for Ukraine meant that other areas, including border control - a massive priority for Republican legislators - had been ignored.
"I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they're not going to write a blank cheque to Ukraine," he said. "Ukraine is important, but at the same time it can't be the only thing they do and it can't be a blank cheque."
US has so far provided billions of dollars of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and in a call with President Volodymyr Zelensky last week Mr Biden vowed to continue that support. | /news/world-europe-63301865 |
sports | Sky Brown inspiring London skateboarding girls to 'push boundaries' | "You don’t see many girls competing, but when we see more girls locally, that means we are making progress which is exciting to be a part of."
Fifteen-year-old Tilly, from Tooting, said the Olympics had inspired her to push herself in the sport.
umber of women and girls taking up skateboarding has seen an eightfold increase over the past five years, according to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme.
rt got a big boost after Britain's youngest-ever Olympian, Sky Brown, won a bronze medal in the Tokyo Games.
“Skating is so fun – like riding a bike, but with more risk," Tilly said.
"It is such a male-dominated sport and I want to be part of the change. I want to try and learn tricks and push boundaries." | /news/uk-england-london-62480028 |
business | Musk to hold first meeting with Twitter staff this week | Elon Musk will speak to Twitter employees on Thursday for the first time since launching his $44bn (£36.2bn) bid for the company in April.
multi-billionaire Tesla boss is expected to take questions from Twitter's workers at the meeting.
Mr Musk has warned he may quit the deal if the firm fails to provide data about fake accounts on the platform.
was announced by Twitter's chief executive Parag Agrawal in an email to staff on Monday.
Mr Agrawal told employees they could submit questions to Mr Musk in advance of the meeting.
ws, which was first reported by Business Insider, was confirmed to the BBC by a spokesperson for Twitter.
-hands meeting will be the first time Mr Musk will have spoken directly with the company's workforce since launching his takeover bid.
Earlier this month, he threatened to walk away from the deal, accusing the social media company of "thwarting" his requests to learn more about its user base.
In a letter filed with regulators, Mr Musk said he was entitled to do his own measurement of spam accounts.
r formalised a dispute that had simmered for weeks after he declared the deal "on hold" pending further information.
Analysts have said that Mr Musk might be using the issue to try to renegotiate the price or even walk away from the deal. They said his decision to raise the matter on social media was unconventional, making it difficult to establish how serious he was.
When Mr Agrawal defended the company's process for identifying fake accounts in a series of tweets, Mr Musk responded with a poo emoji.
mpany's shares stood at $37.03 each at the end of New York trading on Monday, well below Mr Musk's offer price of $54.20.
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Who is Elon Musk? Meet the meme-loving magnate behind SpaceX and Tesla...published in 2021 | /news/business-61793188 |
politics | Speaker Hoyle tells Michael Gove: Not how we do things | g-up secretary was criticised for giving a different speech in Parliament to the written version he had supplied to the opposition in advance.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle suspended Parliament and said Michael Gove and the government had not followed conventions of the House, and told him it was “not acceptable” to give a longer statement in the Commons, adding it must not happen again.
My Gove apologised and said “no discourtesy was intended” when he spoke about the approval of the Woodhouse Colliery scheme in Cumbria - the first new UK deep mine in decades.
Whitehaven: West Cumbria coal mine opponents consider legal challenge | /news/uk-politics-63905240 |
technology | Dutch town Bodegraven-Reeuwijk loses Twitter paedophilia rumour case | A Dutch town has lost a court case seeking action by Twitter to stop the spread of a conspiracy theory saying it once hosted a satanic paedophile ring.
unfounded reports that Bodegraven-Reeuwijk was the site of the crimes in the 1980s first circulated in 2020.
Local authorities had wanted all posts relating to the alleged events removed by the social media site.
But a Dutch judge said Twitter had done enough to remove unlawful content about the story.
One of three men behind the rumours said he had been the victim of abuse and witnessed murders as a child.
ries have subsequently made the town, of around 35,000 people, the focus for conspiracy theorists who visit the local graveyard to lay flowers and write messages at the graves of dead children.
Local officials have said these visits cause "great unrest and anger" among residents, especially the parents of children buried at the cemetery.
In giving its judgement, The Hague district court said it would not order Twitter to remove other tweets relating to the stories from other accounts, but did tell the company to respond immediately to specific removal requests from the town.
witter had argued it was impossible to create a good filter to find Bodegraven stories that would not affect legal content.
ree men accused of instigating the Bodegraven story are currently in jail after being convicted in other court cases for incitement and making death threats to people including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and former health minister Hugo de Jonge. | /news/world-europe-63138324 |
entertainment | Tory Lanez trial over Megan Thee Stallion shooting begins | ry Lanez told Megan Thee Stallion to "dance" as he shot at her feet during an argument, a jury has been told.
Prosecutors said the rappers got into a row as they drove away from a pool party at Kylie Jenner's house.
Jurors in Los Angeles heard Megan, 27, insulted Mr Lanez and demanded to be let out of their luxury car before he fired five rounds at her.
Lanez, 30, real name Daystar Peterson, denies multiple charges relating to a 2020 dispute with the Savage artist.
Megan - real name Megan Pete - left a trail of blood at the scene, before getting back into the vehicle, which was subsequently stopped by police.
A gun that was still warm to the touch was found on the floor near where Lanez had been sitting, prosecutor Alexander Bott said.
Minutes after the shooting, a female friend texted Megan Thee Stallion's security detail, saying: "Help... Tory shot meg."
In a later phone call, Lanez "profusely apologised for his actions" and claimed he was "just too drunk," jurors were told.
ry Lanez's lawyer George Mgdesyan said the jury needed to keep an open mind and this was a "case about jealousy".
He told the court he would prove the accusations were lies.
Earlier hearings have been told that Megan Thee Stallion initially told doctors her injured feet had been cut on broken glass.
She initially denied Lanez had shot at her, but later said she had done so for fear he would get into trouble.
Several bullet fragments were removed from her feet, but some remain and she told investigating officers that she had difficulty walking in certain shoes.
Megan Thee Stallion then posted a video to Instagram Live in which she said "Tory shot me. You shot me and you got your publicist and your people... lying... Stop lying."
rial continues.
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Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here. | /news/newsbeat-63955189 |
health | Group set up to help patients with 'frightening' ICU dreams | A peer support group has been set up for survivors of intensive care at a south-west London hospital.
me to terms with their experiences - both of being close to death and with the flashbacks and vivid dreams they experienced while in drug-induced comas.
group at St Helier Hospital in Sutton encourages patients to talk about the dreams they had with those who had a similar experience. | /news/uk-england-london-63703924 |
sports | World Boccia Championships: Great Britain lose team final | Northern Ireland's Claire Taggart says she is "delighted" to be coming home as a boccia world champion, but admits missing out on a second gold medal in Rio was "gutting".
ggart and Great Britain team-mates David Smith and Will Hipwell lost to South Korea in Tuesday's team final.
Larne's Taggart had already won the singles title in the BC2 category.
"I didn't expect it (winning a world title) at all. It's been an amazing championship," said Taggart.
After defeating Argentina 10-1 in their semi-final, Taggart, Smith and Hipwell raced into a 4-0 lead in the decider.
However, South Korea picked up four points in the fourth end to level the match and they moved clear with two points in the fifth end.
GB team pulled one back in a tense final end but fell short by one point.
"We should be really pleased with how we have played," added Taggart.
"I guess in a sense of reality it is gutting that we were so close but yet so far, but it will give us fight for another day."
ggart made history by becoming the first person from Northern Ireland to compete at the Paralympics in boccia at Rio in 2016, and went to participate again at the delayed Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.
"It's exciting going into the 2024 Paralympics in Paris as world champion but it's not the time to get complacent or look beyond next year," said Taggart.
"I think next year we focus on the events that are coming around; there's Europeans and aiming to qualify as well through the team, but Paris looks great and I can't wait to fight the journey to get there."
In July, Taggart secured her first World Cup titles in Portugal, winning individual gold before helping Great Britain clinch BC1/2 team gold.
Englishman Smith, who is now based in Swansea, is Britain's most successful boccia player with three Paralympic gold medals. | /sport/disability-sport/63950338 |
health | Malta moves to ease EU's last total ban on abortion | Malta's government is to propose a change in the law to allow doctors to terminate a pregnancy if a mother's life or health is at risk.
mall Mediterranean state has the only total abortion ban in the EU.
Ministers promised to review the law when a US tourist was denied an abortion after she began to miscarry.
Andrea Prudente, who was 16 weeks pregnant, was told doctors could do nothing while the baby's heart was still beating.
Facing a potentially deadly infection she asked for an abortion and after days of waiting she was eventually allowed to fly to Spain.
Maltese Health Minister Chris Fearne said a legal amendment would go before parliament in the coming days to ensure doctors were now legally protected in cases of medical complication that left a mother's life at risk or her health in grave jeopardy due to the pregnancy.
Malta's criminal code currently says any doctor who knowingly provides a woman with the means for a termination faces a jail term of 18 months to four years and a permanent professional ban. Any woman who arranges her own termination is also liable to face jail, although no woman is thought to have faced criminal charges in years.
Last July Ms Prudente told the BBC that a midwife at Mater Dei hospital in Malta had told her that doctors might intervene "when I would be on the 'brink of death'". However, the head of the Malta College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said they would have never allowed her condition to deteriorate to that extent.
Pro-choice gynaecologist Isabel Stabile, one of 135 doctors in Malta who challenged the law, said the government had confirmed that the last blanket ban on abortion in the EU would end.
She said the change was a "step in the right direction" but did not go far enough: "There will still not be any provision to terminate pregnancies in cases of rape or incest, or in cases of fatal, fetal anomaly."
minister said the spirit of the law and medical ethics was to save lives, so the change ensured that the principle was enshrined in law.
Prime Minister Robert Abela told The Times of Malta earlier this month that women had told him that he had to recognise the reality that women were unable to seek medical help if they suffered complications for fear of being sent to jail.
"These past months I've met tens of women who aborted using a tablet. Conservatively, around 300 or 350 women abort this way every year," he said. "All these women told me the same thing: that they had been stigmatised and that none of them had found any sort of support."
Malta is a predominantly Catholic country and a recent survey indicated 61.8% of people were completely opposed to abortion.
Some Maltese have argued that the law has acted as a deterrent. "When mothers are faced with life-threatening conditions then doctors can intervene," Christian Briffa of anti-abortion youth group, I See Life, told the BBC during the summer.
But Justice Minister Jonathan Attard said the reform would remove any form of doubt and ensure patients received the best healthcare. | /news/world-europe-63650476 |
health | Antrim Area Hospital: Hospital 'unsafe' on Saturday night | A major incident was declared in the Northern Health Trust at the weekend because the situation was "unsafe," the chief executive of the trust has said.
Jennifer Welsh was speaking after people were told not to come to Antrim Area Hospital on Saturday night "in any circumstances".
A major incident means there are too many patients for staff to deal with safely.
was taken after the emergency department reached capacity.
"At the time we called the incident there were 131 patients and about 66 had a decision to admit and no bed available," Ms Welsh told BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.
"It's not just a numbers game but is about the acuity of the patients and how sick they are," she said.
"Our resuscitation unit was over full," she added.
"We simply could not cope. It was safest thing to do to close the door and convey people to next nearest ED [emergency department] to make sure they begin the urgent treatment they need.
"It was the right call to say it was unsafe - it was at the time."
A social media post from the hospital said the hospital was still under "extreme pressure" on Sunday.
On Monday night, the Department of Health said it remained deeply concerned about the situation in hospitals and across the health and social care system.
"The fundamental reality is that we have a serious mismatch between demand for care and the capacity of the system to provide it," the department said.
"Hospitals do not have unlimited capacity and it is imperative that when patients have been deemed medically fit, they leave the hospital setting."
It's a very brave decision, particularly in Northern Ireland, to declare a major incident.
Over the years we have had a culture where it's been seen as a failure when a chief executive comes out and says they can no longer cope - but when you think about it, being unsafe in a hospital is a contradiction.
I have been told that the emergency department at the Royal Belfast Hospital was in a similar position.
I spoke to a number of staff at the weekend and was told there was serious overcrowding in Belfast and in one person's words "alarming levels of patient congestion".
Staff said it felt like a very unsafe environment for both patients and staff.
felt compromised in being able to deliver care in an emergency environment.
On Sunday morning there were 116 people waiting in the ED, figures similar to Antrim, and 61 people waiting to be admitted.
Staff in Belfast were saying they felt they had to keep their doors open because Antrim got in first.
We heard there was a third trust also experiencing a lot of pressure so it's not an isolated incident and the question is, what happens next?
On Monday evening, the South Eastern Trust warned its emergency department at the Ulster Hospital was under "extreme pressure".
rust said 164 patients were in the emergency department, 53 awaiting admission.
It issued an appeal for nursing staff to help across critical areas on Monday night.
Ms Welsh said the situation at Antrim Area Hospital would have been "unthinkable" five years ago but now it was "normal business - and not acceptable".
"The situation is pressured and not just in Antrim but across many of Northern Ireland's emergency departments," she said.
She said new beds were coming in February.
Ms Welsh said Antrim Area Hospital had its highest number of attendances last month.
She added that the Northern Trust was Northern Ireland's largest health trust area geographically and had the highest number of people over 75 - two things that drive hospital admission.
Rita Devlin, from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), told Good Morning Ulster her members were at maximum capacity.
She said the threshold for a major incident was when when a hospital could no longer cope with the amount of patients in its emergency department and there was no possibility of getting patients out of the department.
"We have had times before where the trusts have asked for ambulance diverts but never in my time have I ever heard a hospital tell patients not to come under any circumstances," Ms Devlin said.
"I have been contacted by members from three different trusts about overcrowding and unsafe issues for patients, and nurses telling me they can't go on."
She said the situation should be ringing "alarm bells for everyone in Northern Ireland".
She added that health needed "fundamental transformation," which was impossible without "political leadership".
Dr Paul Kerr, vice-president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Northern Ireland, warned that one hospital closing its doors put pressure on other hospitals.
"The domino effect occurs in the situation where one hospital says it has to close its doors and the next hospital is going to get more patients and they're going to face a critical incident," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme.
"It's a very small system and we have to try and avoid this situation happening because that is going to put us all at risk of being in the same situation."
Declaring a major incident is rare and under such circumstances, there is a call-out for staff to come into work.
A potential major incident was declared at Antrim Area Hospital in February but was stood down after several hours.
On Sunday the Belfast Trust appealed to any available nursing staff for help during the nightshift. | /news/uk-northern-ireland-63620959 |
entertainment | Alec Baldwin reaches settlement over Halyna Hutchins shooting on Rust set | Alec Baldwin has reached a settlement with the family of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, after she was killed on a film set when he fired a prop gun.
Filming of Rust will continue in January, with Ms Hutchins' widower Matthew on board as the movie's executive producer.
All parties believe Ms Hutchins' death was an accident, her husband said.
A lawsuit filed against Mr Baldwin, producers and others, had alleged violations of industry standards.
xact terms of the settlement, which is subject to court approval, have not been disclosed.
In a statement, Mr Hutchins said that "all the original principal players" would be involved when filming resumes, which he said would be a way to "pay tribute" to his late wife's final work.
"I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame," he added.
"All of us believe Halyna's death was a terrible accident."
Mr Baldwin posted his reaction in a statement on Instagram: "We are pleased to announce today the settlement of the civil case filed on behalf of the family of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
"Throughout this difficult process, everyone has maintained the specific desire to do what is best for Halyna's son.
"We are grateful to everyone who contributed to the resolution of this tragic and painful situation."
Rust director Joel Souza, who was also injured in the shooting on the Bonanza Creek Ranch set near Santa Fe in New Mexico, said in a statement on Wednesday that he would now devote himself "to honouring Halyna's legacy and making her proud".
"Though certainly bittersweet, I am pleased that together, we will now complete what Halyna and I started," he said.
urred in October last year when Baldwin was practicing drawing a prop gun.
film's producers were fined and strongly criticised by authorities for failing to follow safety guidelines.
makers of Rust showed "plain indifference to recognised hazards associated with use of firearms on set", according to the New Mexico Environment Department.
gency issued the maximum $136,793 (£105,000) fine to Rust Movie Productions.
roducers of the film later disputed the official report saying the company had "enforced all applicable safety protocols".
Police also released footage from the set, including of the aftermath of the fatal shooting.
Almost a year on from the tragedy, the criminal investigation still hasn't concluded.
Heather Brewer, spokesperson for the Office of the First Judicial District Attorney for New Mexico said in a statement: "The proposed settlement announced today in Matthew Hutchins' wrongful death case against Rust movie producers, including Alec Baldwin, in the death of Halyna Hutchins will have no impact on District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altweis' ongoing investigation or her ultimate decision whether to file criminal charges in the case.
"While civil suits are settled privately and often involve financial awards, criminal cases deal only in facts. If the facts and evidence warrant criminal charges under New Mexico law then charges will be brought. No one is above the law." | /news/entertainment-arts-63149155 |
politics | Police are solving only 1% of catalytic converter thefts, data suggests | f thousands of catalytic converter thefts are going unsolved, with only 1% of cases resulting in someone being charged, figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats suggest.
Data from 20 police forces in England and Wales for 2017-2021 indicate a suspect was charged in only 548 cases.
Catalytic converters fitted in car exhaust systems reduce their emission of toxic gases and pollutants.
re attracted by the valuable metals the devices contain.
Police say converters can often be removed in under a minute, and are most frequently stolen in car parks, before being sold to scrapyards, online or shipped out of the country.
Hybrid vehicles are most commonly targeted as their metals are more valuable, but any vehicle can be at risk of catalytic converter theft.
Home Office says it has national programmes to target metal theft, including catalytic converters.
figures were disclosed in response to a Freedom of Information request.
In the 20 police areas where full information was provided, a total of 50,223 thefts of catalytic converters were reported in the five-year period.
Full figures from some of the biggest forces - including West Midlands Police and Greater Manchester Police - were not available.
In the 20 force areas surveyed, the number of thefts surged from 742 reported in 2017 to 19,451 in 2020, before falling in 2021 - the first full year of the Covid pandemic - to 15,780.
By far the highest number of thefts from 2017-2021 - 36,586 - occurred in London. Just 544 were solved.
In Hertfordshire, in 2020, 915 cases were recorded; in South Yorkshire, the figure was 669. No one was charged in either police area in that year.
Liberal Democrats have called for more to be done to crack down on the problem, including more visible community policing to deter thieves.
rty said the Conservatives' 2019 manifesto promise to recruit 20,000 more police officers by March 2023 had stalled.
Home Office figures show that by 30 September, 15,343 extra officers had been recruited.
Richmond Park MP, and Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson, Sarah Olney said: "There is a catalytic converter theft epidemic across many parts of the country, but far too often the gangs responsible are getting away with it.
"At the very least, people should be able to expect that if something is stolen from their vehicle it will be properly investigated."
Victims were "not just massively inconvenienced but often left out of pocket and hit by higher insurance costs", she added.
f replacing a catalytic converter is put at between £150 and £800, depending on the type of car and the complexity of the job.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We recognise the impact that theft can have on victims and we want offenders charged and brought to justice in the courts.
"Since the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership was set up in 2020, there has been significant success in tackling metal theft through co-ordinated national action against scrap metal dealers - including a marked increase in enforcement action from police and partner agencies."
During two weeks of national action to tackle catalytic converter and other metal theft, 64 arrests were made and more than 1,000 converters and other stolen items were recovered, the spokesperson added.
Police say that although catalytic converter thefts are increasing, there are steps that can be taken to protect a vehicle.
uggest asking a car dealer for advice on approved locks or guards, registering the converter and marking it with a forensic marker.
Alternatively, they say, try to make sure the vehicle is parked in a garage overnight, or in a secure compound if it is a commercial vehicle.
Otherwise, police add, park in an area that is well-lit and overlooked, and try to park so the converter can not be easily reached by potential thieves. Vehicles that sit high above the road are said to be particularly vulnerable. | /news/uk-politics-64057742 |
health | Strep A: Surge in parents at Broomfield A&E over child health concerns | An emergency ward doctor said hospitals were seeing increased numbers of worried parents after a rise in cases of strep A infections nationally.
fection has led to nine deaths of children in the UK in recent months.
Dr Stephen Hughes, of Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, said hospitals in Essex had seen "very, very high attendances from parents who are very worried".
NHS advised people to familiarise themselves with the symptoms.
Dr Hughes, a consultant and a senior lecturer in medicine at Anglia Ruskin University, said the rise in children being presented was "putting particular pressure on hospitals around the county and nationally".
He said he had been "briefing his team to make sure they know what they're looking out for" when presented with poorly children.
Strep A: Broomfield Hospital doctor gives advice to worried parents
mptoms of a strep A infection can include a sore throat, sandpaper-like skin rash, high temperature, swollen glands and muscle aches.
Medical experts said symptoms were usually mild and could be treated with antibiotics.
ria could cause scarlet fever, which mostly affects young children, and could also be treated with antibiotics.
Very rarely, strep A can cause invasive group-A streptococcal infection (iGAS), which can be deadly.
Dr Hughes, who has worked in emergency services for 12 years, said: "The main message is, most sore throats, mercifully, are self-limiting viral infections."
He said parents should also look out for the tongue being coated with a red rash and children not wanting to eat which meant "medical treatment should be sought".
Dr Hughes said: "If a child is complaining of a little bit of a sore throat, but is still managing breakfast, is still managing to eat and drink, it probably isn't invasive group A strep."
Dr Krishna Ramkhelawon, Southend's director of public health, said strep A cases had presented themselves earlier than normal this winter.
me there was a similar outbreak was in 1718, he said.
"The level of immunity in the system is very low, there's a lot of challenges there, a lot of people getting concerned and turning up to hospital because they are concerned," said Dr Ramkhelawon.
He added that at this time of year there were a lot of respiratory illnesses and it was important to observe good hygiene, such as washing children's hands and using tissues.
Worried parents should contact their GP and the NHS 111 service in the first instance before going to hospital, he said.
Dr Ramkhelawon said there was no reason at present to introduce preventative antibiotics in schools.
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business | Energy companies' customer service hits record low | Customer service standards at energy companies have fallen to a record low as households are being hit by soaring bills, Citizens Advice has said.
Standards have "plummeted" since June 2021 when several suppliers went bust due to high global gas prices, it said.
rage waiting time on the phone to speak to a firm is now about six and a half minutes, compared to just under four minutes the year before.
Citizens Advice called for improvements before bills rise again in the autumn.
rgy price cap, which limits how much suppliers can raise the cost of household bills, went up by an unprecedented £700 a year to £1,971 in April for the typical household. Bills are expected to rise by a further £800 a year in October.
rise in bills is down to wholesale gas prices soaring in recent months. Demand increased as economies reopened following Covid restrictions, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine has fuelled fears over supplies, pushing prices up further.
rease in the wholesale cost of gas - the price at which energy companies buy it - caught many suppliers out and meant they were losing money on price promises to customers. This led to several, mostly smaller, firms going bust and millions of customers being shifted to new suppliers.
Between January and March 2022, Citizens Advice said its consumer service helpline saw more than 70,000 cases related to energy issues - a 63% increase on the same period the previous year.
rity said it was "particularly worried" about people on prepayment meters, who it said are at risk of having no gas or electricity if they can't afford to top up.
It warned that "without swift action" to tackle poor customer service, standards "will only worsen when bills are expected to hike again this winter".
Energy suppliers are obliged to help people who cannot afford their bills.
"At a time when customers need all the support they can get, it's worrying to see service performance is the worst on record," said Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice.
"This leaves people frustrated and in the dark at the end of the phone.
"We recognise call centre staff are working incredibly hard to answer as many calls as possible, but energy companies must do better."
Citizens Advice said companies were also getting slightly slower to respond to emails. On average, suppliers responded to 62% of emails within two working days, compared with 66% during the same period in 2021.
rity ranked energy suppliers through its "star rating" after looking at information from a number of sources, including its complaints to its consumer service and the energy ombudsman.
It ranked Utilita, Ovo Energy, Ecotricity and E.On Energy as the four worst performing suppliers for customer service.
Utilita, which was rated the worst of all, said it had "issues" with Citizens Advice's approach to recording complaints, "regardless of whether we are at fault".
"Yet again, the Citizens Advice Star Rating fails to reflect neither the unique nature of our business nor the service our customers receive," a spokesman said.
It accused Citizens Advice of not adjusting its records to reflect "where the supplier has done nothing wrong, and we have had no contact with the customer".
"We acknowledge that we can do better, but we strongly believe Citizens Advice employs a methodology that is unfairly weighted against us as a smart prepay specialist."
E.On said it had seen an "unprecedented spike" in contact from customers during the months ahead of the April price change and apologised to "any customer who feels our service fell short around this time".
Ecotricity founder Dale Vince said Citizens Advice's numbers "do not represent our current performance".
He said since the statistics were recorded, the company had recruited more staff to cope with higher demand.
Ofgem, the UK's energy regulator, said it was working with suppliers to improve service, adding that "now is the time for them to up their game".
"Our top priority is to protect consumers, and as these stats from Citizens Advice show, there are areas where customers are simply not getting the service they desperately need and rightly expect in these very difficult times," it said.
"We are clear with suppliers - they must not use the current gas crisis as an excuse for poor performance or sharp practices." | /news/business-62008383 |
business | Cost of living: Walmart issues profit warning as price rises hit | US retail giant Walmart has warned over its profits for the second time since May, as the soaring cost of food and fuel hits customer spending.
mpany says it now expects profits to fall by as much as 13% this year.
One expert told the BBC that Walmart's unscheduled announcement "signals a warning bell for the retail sector".
firm's stock market value slumped almost 10% in after-hours trade in New York, while shares in rival retailers Amazon and Target also fell sharply.
Walmart had previously said that it expected its full-year profit to fall by just 1% this year.
"The increasing levels of food and fuel inflation are affecting how customers spend," its chief executive Doug McMillon said in a statement on Monday after US markets closed.
He added that the retailer planned to cut the prices of clothing as it was "anticipating more pressure on general merchandise in the back half" of this year.
As food and fuel prices rise, shoppers are having to spend more of their income on essentials and have cut back on other spending, Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at data analytics firm GlobalData, told the BBC.
Mr Saunders said Walmart's warning suggests that many other retailers were also feeling the squeeze.
"Walmart has buying power like few others. That helps it mitigate against some inflation, but as today's announcement shows, even the mightiest are not immune to rising costs," he said.
Also on Monday, online retail giant Amazon raised the price of its Prime service for UK customers for the first time since 2014 because of "increased inflation and operating costs". Prime offers unlimited delivery of products, and entertainment streaming services.
Prices in the US and UK are rising at their fastest rate in four decades, driven by higher petrol and food costs.
Ukraine war and supply chain issues caused by the pandemic have driven up everyday costs for households and businesses.
In its last earnings announcement in May, Walmart said it had more than $60bn (£49.7bn) worth of stock and pledged "aggressive" price cuts on some items.
mpany also trimmed its profit outlook for the first time. That led to its shares suffering their biggest one-day drop since 1987.
Walmart is scheduled to publish its second quarter earnings on 16 August.
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‘Lunchflation’: Why is lunch costing more in Asia-Pacific’s big cities? | /news/business-62301316 |
business | Australia to lift electricity market suspension as prices ease | Australia's energy market operator says it will lift its suspension of the country's main wholesale electricity market as its power crisis eases.
restrictions will be temporarily lifted on Thursday before a final decision is made.
In an unprecedented move last week it suspended trading on the platform following a surge in prices.
Officials also urged people in the state of New South Wales to conserve power over concerns about shortages.
- which has a population of around 8 million - includes the country's biggest city Sydney.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) said it had "seen a clear improvement in market conditions" and that it would resume trading from 04:00 in Sydney on Thursday (19:00 BST Wednesday).
It added that it would monitor the market for at least 24 hours before making a decision to formally lift the suspension.
"We have seen nearly 4,000 megawatts of generation return to service since this time last week, and that means the risk of any shortfall has reduced markedly," Aemo chief executive Daniel Westerman said in a televised media conference.
Australia is one of the world's biggest exporters of coal and liquefied natural gas but it has been struggling with a power crisis since last month.
ree quarters of its electricity is still generated using coal, and it has long been accused of not doing enough to cut its emissions by investing in renewables.
In recent weeks, the country has felt the impact of disruptions to coal supplies, outages at several coal-fired power plants and soaring global energy prices.
Meanwhile, the demand for energy has jumped amid a cold snap and as Australia's economy opens up after Covid-19 restrictions were eased.
All of this helped drive up electricity prices on the wholesale market to above the A$300 (£170; $208) per megawatt hour price cap set by Aemo.
However, that cap was below the cost of production for several generators, who decided to withhold capacity.
Last Wednesday, Aemo took the unprecedented step of suspending the market and said it would set prices directly and compensate generators for the shortfall.
It also asked consumers in New South Wales to "temporarily reduce their energy usage".
At the time Mr Westerman said Aemo had "put the security of the grid, and keeping the lights on above everything else".
"We asked generators to bid their plant back into the system - and that is happening more - giving us greater visibility of generation in real time," he added.
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Why are UK energy prices so high? | /news/business-61890617 |
politics | Do not reduce UK's modern slavery protections, Theresa May warns | resa May has warned government efforts to tighten modern slavery laws must not mistakenly make it easier for criminal gangs to hold onto victims.
former Tory prime minister told BBC Radio 4's PM programme Rishi Sunak needed to avoid unintended consequences as he explores changes to legislation.
Mr Sunak has promised to make it harder to be considered a modern slave in a bid to cut illegitimate asylum claims.
Mrs May also said Mr Sunak could revive the Tories and win the next election.
Speaking about the Modern Slavery Act introduced in 2015 in her time as home secretary, Mrs May said the legislation offers "world-leading protections" for victims.
But she said efforts to raise thresholds at which a person can be considered a victim of modern slavery needed to consider the potential to create further loopholes.
Raising the example of a sex trafficking victim who may come forward to authorities in the UK, Mrs May said "there's talk of requiring more evidence from individuals".
But she said victims were unlikely to have such evidence.
"If you are somebody who is being brought by a criminal gang who are abusing the system, and they know there needs to be a piece of paper, they probably will provide a piece of paper," she said.
Mrs May, who has previously spoken in the Commons about her concerns, added: "So it's making sure that, in dealing with problems that are identified, we don't create other problems."
Mr Sunak has denied he would water down the definition of modern slavery and said he wanted to stop the system "being clogged up by people making spurious claims".
But Labour has criticised the government's plans to deal with a mounting asylum backlog, which stands at about 117,000 outstanding claims, as "unworkable gimmicks". And refugee and migration charities have hit out at what they say are "cruel" and "ineffective" proposals.
More than 40,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year - the highest number since figures began to be collected in 2018. Some 90 people arrived in two small boats on Christmas Day, the Ministry of Defence confirmed on Monday.
Elsewhere in a wide-ranging interview with presenter Carolyn Quinn on PM, Mrs May backed Mr Sunak to succeed at the next general election.
Conservatives are currently trailing Labour in the opinion polls.
Mrs May - who left Downing Street in 2019 - said there was "no doubt" the so-called mini budget under Prime Minister Liz Truss had an impact on the Conservative Party's reputation for economic integrity,
But she said "we've seen already... the new chancellor and a new prime minister... taking the process of re-establishing that reputation", adding Mr Sunak can "turn it round and we can win that election". | /news/uk-politics-64098701 |
sports | Climbing World Championships: GB's Hamish McArthur takes bronze in men's lead final | Great Britain's Hamish McArthur settled for a bronze medal after a nail-biting men's lead final at the Climbing World Championships in Moscow.
19-year-old finished behind Austria's Jakob Schubert and Slovenia's Luka Potocar with a score of 46+.
McArthur narrowly missed out on topping out the route, which would have been good enough to clinch gold.
It is a third world lead title for Olympic bronze medallist Schubert after his wins in 2012 and 2018.
McArthur's fellow Britons William Bosi and Billy Ridal finished 11th and 26th respectively. | /sport/sport-climbing/58644405 |
health | Cleidocranial dysplasia: The mum and son with a one-in-a-million condition | "I don't have collarbones, so I can touch my shoulders together under my chin," says Karen Hunt.
"It's a party trick. There have to be some perks to my condition."
Karen, 40, and her four-year-old son Jaiden have cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD), a rare genetic condition that can affect teeth and bones.
People with CCD might have bones that form differently or are more fragile than normal, and certain ones like collarbones may be absent altogether.
After decades of obscurity, CCD is now gaining more public recognition, thanks to the Stranger Things star, Gaten Matarazzo, who has the condition.
It can be passed from a parent to a child, or can appear at random.
In Karen's case, her baby teeth were removed because they would not fall out naturally.
Her second teeth then struggled to come through and further surgery was needed to make that happen.
use people to look different, and Karen says she was bullied at secondary school because of this.
"It was awful," she said.
"People would ask 'what's wrong with your face? Why don't you have any teeth?'
"As an adult, I can answer those questions, and I want people to ask them. Knowledge is key to understanding difference," she added.
"That's what I want for my son. I want him to see me be confident about it and to embrace our unique look."
Orthodontic surgery to bring her adult teeth through was so painful, Karen says, that she stopped midway, and now has gaps in her top teeth.
"I remember saying to the orthodontist, will I still look different if I have the work done?
"He told me I would, so I felt at the time it wasn't worth going through the pain."
For her son Jaiden, CCD has had an even more serious effect. The enamel on his teeth is very thin, and all but four of his baby teeth have worn away or have had to be removed.
But Karen is hopeful that Jaiden's experience of life with the condition will be better than her own.
"I didn't have anyone to reach out to and I didn't know anyone else with the condition.
"My son has me, and I have experienced most of what he'll go through.
"We have this incredible nationwide network of people with CCD in the UK and we all support each other.
"The procedures Jaiden will have to go through are different these days, and hopefully he'll end up with a good set of teeth at the end of it."
Around one in a million people has CCD, meaning it has received little attention historically. This is now starting to change.
Gaten Matarazzo, who stars as Dustin in the Netflix series Stranger Things, has been vocal in raising the profile of the condition.
He sent a message to a recent conference in the UK for people with CCD.
"Loving yourself isn't showing the parts of yourself you're confident in. It's showing off the parts of yourself that you're least confident in, in spite of your fear."
w Karen views it, too.
She teaches her son to be happy and confident.
"He just gets on with it," she said.
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technology | How solar farms in space might beam electricity to Earth | It sounds too good to be true: a plan to harvest solar energy from space and beam it down to Earth using microwaves.
But it's something that could be happening as soon as 2035, according to Martin Soltau, the co-chairman at Space Energy Initiative (SEI) - a collaboration of industry and academics.
SEI is working on a project called Cassiopeia, which plans to place a constellation of very large satellites in a high Earth orbit.
Once deployed the satellites would harvest solar energy and beam it back down to Earth.
He says the potential is almost unlimited.
"In theory it could supply all of the world's energy in 2050," he says.
"There's sufficient room in orbit for the solar power satellites, and the Sun's supply of energy is vast. A narrow strip around geostationary Earth orbit receives more than 100 times the amount of energy per year than all of humanity is forecast to use in 2050," Mr Soltau says.
Earlier this year, the UK government announced £3m in funding for space-based solar power (SBSP) projects, following an engineering study conducted by consultancy Frazer-Nash that concluded the technology was viable.
SEI is hoping to get a big chunk of that money.
Its satellites would be made up of hundreds of thousands of small, identical modules produced in factories on Earth, and assembled in space by autonomous robots, who would also carry out servicing and maintenance.
r energy collected by the satellites would be converted into high frequency radio waves and beamed to a rectifying antenna on Earth, which would convert the radio waves into electricity.
Each satellite could deliver around 2GW of power into the grid, making each satellite comparable in power output to a nuclear power station.
Here on Earth, sunlight is diffused by the atmosphere, but in space it comes directly from the sun without interference.
So a space-based solar panel can collect a lot more energy than a similar sized one on Earth.
Similar projects are under development elsewhere.
In the US, for example, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is working on some of the critical technologies needed for such a system, in a project known as Space Solar Power Incremental Demonstrations and Research (SSPIDR).
ude improving solar cell efficiencies, solar-to-radio frequency conversion and beam forming, as well as reducing the large temperature fluctuations on spacecraft components and creating designs for deployable structures.
Late last year, the team successfully demonstrated new components for a so-called sandwich tile, which is used to convert solar energy into radio waves.
So is it safe to beam energy back to earth?
In a 2009 reportNasa scientist James Logan looked at the safety issues. In his report, he said the intensity of a typical space-based microwave beam would reach 30mW/cm2 at the centre - around 3% as strong as a typical counter-top microwave oven.
At its perimeter, the energy from the beam would be around the same as the amount of radiation that current standards allow to leak up to 5cm away from a microwave oven.
Although birds might be able to detect the microwave beams, the beams could "never even come close to 'cooking' birds in flight", the report said.
More technology of business:
While many of the biggest hurdles have already been cleared, there are still potential problems.
"My personal take on this is that we like to think the technology is there, but it's not quite ready yet for us to embark on a project of such complexity," says Dr Jovana Radulovic, a thermodynamics lecturer at the University of Portsmouth, who specialises in renewable energy systems.
She makes the point that launching a large number of solar panels into space will be expensive and, given that any project could require hundreds of launches, it would generate a lot of carbon dioxide.
But there is cause for optimism. An environmental analysis of the Cassiopeia project by the University of Strathclyde has concluded that overall, including launch, the carbon footprint could be as little as half that of terrestrial solar, at about 24g of CO2 per kilowatt-hour.
Meanwhile, says Mr Soltau, the economic case is improving all the time.
"The cost of launch has fallen by 90% and is continuing to fall, and this has been game-changing for the economics," he says.
"Secondly, there have been some real advances in the design of solar power satellites, so that they're much more modular, which provides resilience and reduced production costs. Thirdly, we've got real advances in robotics and autonomous systems."
With only limited funding from the UK government, SEI is hoping to attract private investment for some of the technologies involved. However, warns Dr Radulovic, the proposed timeline may be over-optimistic.
"I think with significant investment and focused effort into this area, there's no reason why we couldn't have the system up and running as smaller pilot projects in the foreseeable future," she says.
"But something on a large scale - we are talking about kilometres of solar arrays - would take a substantially longer time." | /news/business-62636746 |
business | Luton Airport: Passenger numbers top 1.2m in April | New jobs are expected at Luton Airport where managers are expecting the "busiest summer since 2019".
Bedfordshire airport had 1.2m passengers pass through its gates in April compared with 106,000 in April 2021.
Alberto Martin, chief executive at Luton London Airport (LLA), said the figures demonstrated its "continued recovery".
rport is owned by Luton Rising, a company owned by Luton Borough Council.
Mr Martin, said: "The launch of new destinations and the opening of new shops and restaurants, along with a great customer experience are a clear signal that LLA is truly back in business and positions us as the airport of choice for people travelling this summer."
rport, which is the UK's fifth busiest, said in "preparation for its busiest summer since 2019" it was looking to recruit staff in a number of jobs including security, retail customer service and hospitality, and positions to work on the Direct Air-Rail Transit (DART) system, that will link the airport terminal with Luton Airport Parkway railway station.
Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk | /news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-61426148 |
sports | NBA Warriors coach on Texas school shooting: 'When are we going to do something?' | for the NBA's Golden State Warriors, a team based in San Francisco, refused to talk about basketball during a news conference and instead delivered an emotional speech condemning gun violence in the United States.
On Tuesday, 19 young children and two adults died in a shooting in south Texas, after a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary school in the city of Uvalde.
Steve Kerr, said "basketball questions don't matter" before talking about recent shootings in the US and asking when something would be done. | /news/world-us-canada-61576574 |
politics | PMQs: Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer's exchange in full | Prime Minister Rishi and Labour leader Keir Starmer discuss, housing, Baroness Mone and strike action. | /news/uk-politics-63890493 |
politics | What are Rishi Sunak's instincts as a world leader? | Beneath the garishly illuminated palm trees and totally clear skies of this Red Sea resort, there is a multilingual, multinational babble.
In the corridors, under the parasols, in the meeting rooms, at the exhibition stands: climate, diplomacy, fairness, funding and timetables for action are all being discussed.
re are Conference of the Parties (COP) veterans and novices among the delegations - and there are long established leaders and newbies.
Newbies like Rishi Sunak; this summit providing the forum for his first set of in person talks with fellow prime ministers and presidents.
He seeks to restore an impression of reliability and stability after the turbulence in British politics throughout much of this year.
Yet, one of his acts was to add to the very unpredictability he is attempting to be the antidote to.
It means a certain Boris Johnson, the prime minister before last, confirmed he was coming here before Mr Sunak did.
Mr Sunak was compelled to publicly welcome the attendance of the man whose government he had resigned from.
rime minister regrets giving the impression he did not want to come here.
Here's why it happened, I'm told: in his first days in Downing Street he was reluctant to immediately guarantee he would make it to avoid subsequently having to give back word and cancel if domestic economic troubles prevailed.
He ended up performing the opposite about turn; perhaps only marginally less awkward.
His team concluded that jump starting the UK's reputation made attendance here near obligatory; for its own sake given the primacy of climate in international relations - and building his own personal relationships at their heart.
re'll be more opportunity for this at the G20 Summit in Indonesia next week.
Climate Basics: CO2 explained
He now leaves the climate negotiations to others.
's not atypical - national leaders come and go from this gathering, which lasts, in total, for a fortnight.
As the prime minister leaves, the chancellor of Germany arrives. Then later in the week, US President Joe Biden drops in.
Back home, attention remains focused on the Autumn Statement, the budget, coming up a week on Thursday.
Some here have an eye on it too: is there any backsliding on previous promises to help poorer countries develop more cleanly?
rime minister was asked repeatedly about this today. His answer wasn't entirely clear.
As chancellor during the pandemic, we got a sense of Rishi Sunak's priorities.
But, now he is on the world stage as a leader, we wait to see what his instincts are as prime minister, particularly in foreign affairs.
ge here in Egypt: fulfilling expensive promises at a time of budget squeezes at home.
COP27 global climate summit in Egypt is seen as crucial if climate change is to be brought under control. More than 200 countries are attending the summit to discuss further measures to cut emissions and prepare for climate change, and it could lead to major changes to our everyday lives. | /news/uk-politics-63550741 |
politics | Ian Blackford to stand down as SNP leader at Westminster | Ian Blackford is to stand down as leader of the SNP group at Westminster, it has been confirmed.
Mr Blackford said he believed it was time for "fresh leadership" after five years in the role.
He said he would formally stand down at the group's annual general meeting next week.
re has been speculation in recent weeks that some SNP MPs were plotting to replace Mr Blackford as group leader.
Mr Blackford said he would continue in his role as the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber and had also accepted a new role at the centre of the SNP's independence campaign.
And he insisted he had not been pressured into resigning, telling BBC Scotland: "No, not at all. I've taken the decision".
He added: "The first minister has asked me to take on a role as her business ambassador. I'm absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to take on the engagement with the business community.
"In order to do that, it's right that I stand down as the SNP Westminster leader.
"I've done it for five and a half years so it's time for others to come forward and take the Westminster group through on the next part of its journey and helping the party towards independence."
Mr Blackford has become as well-known figure in the House of Commons through his weekly appearance at Prime Minister's Questions and is seen as being a close ally of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader.
He faced calls to resign from political opponents after the Daily Mail reported in June that it had obtained a recording of Mr Blackford urging fellow MPs to give "absolute full support" to SNP MP Patrick Grady, who was suspended for sexual misconduct.
Mr Grady, a former SNP chief whip, was suspended from Parliament for two days over a sexual advance towards a colleague in 2016, and also suspended from the SNP's Westminster group for a week.
Ms Sturgeon subsequently said that the support expressed for Mr Grady had been "unacceptable".
re have been reports that some SNP MPs were also unhappy at Mr Blackford's handling of the case, with Aberdeen South MP Stephen Flynn recently dismissing suggestions that he was "on manoeuvres" with a view to replacing him as group leader.
After announcing he was stepping down, Mr Blackford told BBC Scotland: "I'll always speak up to make sure that we speak out against any kind of intimidation, any kind of bad behaviour, sexual exploitation. And in my new role I'll continue to do that when it's right to do so."
At the time, Mr Blackford made clear that he intended to stand for re-election to the post at the upcoming AGM.
He also denied rumours in March that he was considering resigning amid further reports of party infighting.
SNP sources have told BBC Scotland that they expect Mr Flynn to stand for the leadership, and that he has ''broad support'' among their MPs and may be the only candidate to succeed Mr Blackford.
Westminster group's AGM will be held next Tuesday, with the leader being selected by the 44 MPs who currently hold the SNP whip.
It means the new leader will be in place to face Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister's Questions the next day,
Mr Blackford defeated former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy to become the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber in 2015, with his campaign being mired in controversy over online abuse aimed at Mr Kennedy and his long-running battle with alcoholism.
Brian Smith, who was convenor of the SNP's Skye and Lochalsh branch, later resigned after it was reported that he had called Mr Kennedy a "drunken slob" and "quisling-in-chief" in a series of more than 130 tweets.
Mr Kennedy died of a major haemorrhage linked to his alcoholism just three weeks after the election.
It is only a fortnight since Ian Blackford made clear he would stand again for the leadership of the SNP group at Westminster at their annual meeting next week.
At that point, his MP colleague Stephen Flynn insisted he did not intend to put his name forward, despite reports suggesting he was preparing to challenge for the job.
Mr Flynn is now expected to stand and may be the only candidate. So what's changed?
It seems a majority of SNP MPs made clear they favoured a leadership change and that Mr Blackford decided to stand down, avoiding a potential challenge he might not win or being stuck leading a disgruntled group.
re have been rumblings about his position for a while, not least since the controversy over his handling of a harassment complaint against the MP Patrick Grady.
Others say his leadership has not been inclusive enough with high profile MP Joanna Cherry - who has criticised the leadership over women's rights and its independence strategy - sacked from the party's front bench team.
Ms Sturgeon said Mr Blackford had led the party's Westminster group at a time of "huge electoral success".
She added: "I would like to place on record my thanks for Ian's diligence, tenacity, friendship and loyalty in his time as group leader.
"I look forward to working with Ian's successor as group leader at Westminster, as we continue to make the case for the people of Scotland to have a democratic choice on the country's future."
SNP MP Joanna Cherry, who has been an outspoken critic of Ms Sturgeon's leadership, tweeted that she was "pleased to hear" that Mr Blackford was standing down as it was "time for fresh leadership and tolerance of debate and diverse viewpoints."
She added: "I hope the SNP Westminster group will be now be left to choose our new leader without outside interference and in accordance with our standing orders."
Labour's shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray said Mr Blackford's decision to stand down showed that the SNP was in "total disarray".
He added: "Nationalist MPs know Nicola Sturgeon's plan for a de facto referendum is finished before it is even started and are worried about Labour gaining seats."
Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said Mr Blackford should have been "sacked immediately" by Ms Sturgeon over his support for Mr Grady, and accused the first minister of showing a "total lack of judgement".
He added: "It is clear that, unlike Nicola Sturgeon, SNP MPs were not prepared to forgive how Ian Blackford put the needs of the perpetrator above the victim who had bravely come forward in this case.
"The SNP Westminster group are clearly in a state of disarray and Nicola Sturgeon is rapidly losing her grip over her party." | /news/uk-scotland-63821836 |
health | Reading: Smell training workshop to help Covid sufferers | A smell training workshop to help people who lost their sense of smell after getting Covid is being held this weekend.
AbScent, a charity which works to increase understanding and raise awareness of the condition, is holding the session in Reading.
It said about 58,000 people in the town suffered smell loss during the pandemic.
Some are still experiencing problems, the charity said.
AbScent said more than four million people in the UK have experienced smell and taste loss and that research suggests 46% also suffer from smell distortions.
Parosmia is a distorted odour with a known source, for example onions smelling like rotten meat. Phantosmia is having a smell sensation without a source, such as random cigarette smoke.
Smell training is one of the only treatments evidenced to improve smell.
AbScent said smell training "is the process of actively sniffing the same four scents every day, spending around 20 seconds on each scent with intense concentration".
rity said it is easy, safe, and recommended by doctors. "Anyone can do smell training if they would like to improve their sense of smell," it added.
AbScent founder Chrissi Kelly said: "Our work with researchers and scientists around the world to better understand the function of the olfactory sense is crucial for the future.
"But it is the work that we do with people who are suffering with little support and understanding that really encapsulates our values. We know that people struggle to get help."
Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk. | /news/uk-england-berkshire-63683028 |
sports | Six Nations 2022: Who is the tournament's greatest try-scorer? | The Six Nations has featured some of the most prolific try-scorers in the history of the modern game - but who is the most deadly in the tournament's history?
Former British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton and ex-England scrum-half Danny Care ask and answer that question on the latest episode of Six Nations Greatest.
r top six try-scorers are ranked in reverse order below. Agree? Disagree? You can reorder their selection in our vote at the bottom of the page.
Who? Standing 6ft 2in and weighing more than 16st, wing Cohen was a key member of England's World Cup-winning team of 2003. He scored 31 tries in 57 Tests, 13 of them in the Six Nations, before retiring in 2011.
Warburton: "Ben Cohen was a new breed of winger when he arrived on the scene. He was big, physical, powerful, but really fast, with great acceleration.
"I used to love his boots as well. I saw his boots and went out and bought the same when I was a teenager."
Who? The current Scotland captain, Hogg has made long-distance solo scores something of a speciality. He scored his first Test try as a teenager in a Six Nations defeat by France in 2012 and has crossed in every tournament since up to this year.
Warburton: "He's got that individual brilliance. If I was a young kid watching the Six Nations, I'd love watching Stuart Hogg."
Care: "He doesn't just score you an easy try. He'll score you an absolute worldie."
Who? Robinson switched to union after a stellar rugby league career and took to the 15-man code instantly. His searing pace and vicious side-step made him a constant menace to opposition defences. He scored 28 tries in 51 games for England.
Warburton: "He was just so muscle-bound and explosive. If you could get near him you probably wouldn't be able to hang on to him."
Care: "He would just skin you alive. I actually feel privileged that I got to experience his little stutter step on me, even if it made me look like an absolute idiot.
"He had unbelievable feet - next level. The type of player you would pay your money just to go and watch him play. He was one of a kind."
Who? North burst on to the Test scene by scoring two debut tries against South Africa as an 18-year-old. Plenty more have followed since, including 22 in the Six Nations, with his size, pace and bravery making him a formidable finishing force.
Warburton: "It's been hard for him to manage the level of expectation because he set the bar so high, so young.
"Biomechanically, he's very gifted. All of those things in the mix make him a very gifted athlete and player.
"He could really take this list and put it to the sword. Considering he's second in the list for tries scored and he's 29, that's pretty impressive."
Care: "I remember the first time I saw him play, I thought 'I don't want to try and tackle him'. It's almost not fair. When Wales were on he was on the end of everything.
"I've always been a massive fan."
Who? The leading try-scorer, not just in Six Nations history, but in the entire, pre-Italy history of the tournament too. 'Bod' could do it all. Wrecking-ball bravery, a classy line-break, a jink worthy of Nijinsky.
Care: "He was the go-to guy. You give him the ball when you need something happening.
"In magic moments you look for your big players, and on the final day of the 2009 Championship Brian O'Driscoll stepped up.
"Ireland were chasing a first Grand Slam in 61 years, but a strong Wales side in Cardiff stood between them and the clean sweep.
"O'Driscoll scored a canny pick-and-go try to put his side ahead for the first time in the match and then potted a 78th-minute drop goal to snatch the lead for the second and final time after the hosts had fought back."
Who? Williams was a bundle of fast-twitch fibres, darting through holes with blurring speed as he changed direction in an instant. The Welsh wizard scored 58 tries in 91 internationals for his country.
Care: "He was the smallest on the pitch but the hardest to tackle. He scored the big tries, the tries where you need a hero. He is the guy you give the ball to when you need to win."
Warburton: "There was a massive hole when he retired from international rugby in 2011." | /sport/rugby-union/60581511 |
entertainment | Vloggers rekindling the joys of India train journeys | gins with the chugging sound of a train in motion.
A yellow board with Rameswaram written in black lets you know you're departing the island town in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu.
u see bucolic landscapes, and then the sea, streaking past the train's window. Vendors selling hot samosas (a popular Indian snack) file past you. You see families chatting; people dozing. You take a trip to the train's washroom and watch an argument break out between two passengers over more luggage room.
Before you know it, you've reached your destination - Chennai in Tamil Nadu - a 10-hour-long journey condensed to a 13 minute video.
f the many videos made by Himanshu Yadav, a 22-year-old who makes vlogs - or video blogs - on Indian trains.
Carrying more than 13 million passengers every day the Indian railways - Asia's largest railway network and the world's fourth largest - is one of the most popular and affordable modes of transport.
rain vloggers the BBC spoke to say that they are on a mission to generate more interest in railways. Their videos capture what makes train journeys enjoyable, while some are trying to make a difference by highlighting problems commuters face.
Akshay Malhotra's minute-long vlogs on Instagram show a more luxurious side of the trains.
25-year-old software engineer shoots his reels inside some of India's premium long-distance trains. He uploads these videos on his Instagram account @JourneyswithAK, which has racked up about 135,000 followers in the six months since he started it. A longer version of these vlogs goes up on his YouTube channel.
In his videos, one gets to experience the new glass-sided railway carriages, plush dining cars and private air-conditioned coupes. He reviews the food, bathing and washroom facilities, seating and sleeping arrangements and offers tips for those travelling with pets.
Mr Malhotra says he travels on his own money, and that a one-way luxury train ticket to a destination in India can cost up to 8,000 rupees ($100; £87). But he doesn't mind the expense.
"The thing about a train journey is that it gives you enough time to explore - whether that's a person, a route or a place," says Mr Malhotra.
Vishwajeet Singh, 25, on the other hand, likes to document what train travel is like for the lower middle-class.
On his YouTube channel - V S Monu vlogs - which has about 885,000 subscribers, Mr Singh uploads videos shot in compartments where ticket fares are cheaper, but there are fewer facilities and a lot more passengers.
Hailing from a small town in Bihar, Mr Singh began making vlogs five years ago. Since then, he has earned a reputation among his subscribers for "showing reality" and for highlighting "scams taking place on trains".
In his videos, he finds out whether the train is running on time; and whether the washrooms, berths and waiting rooms are clean. He checks out the quality and price of food and strikes up conversations with fellow passengers and railway staff.
Viewers thank him for highlighting the "appalling conditions" in some trains, while others ask him questions related to ticket prices or food or share details about bad experiences they've had during their journeys. He says he also gets requests from people asking him to visit and review trains they've had terrible experiences in.
ularity of his videos has earned him several brand sponsorships and a YouTube silver play button - an award given to the most watched channels. But the vlogger says that this popularity is a double-edged sword. "Many railway staff recognise me now, so they're extra careful when I'm in the train," he says.
Mr Yadav, who runs the YouTube channel Train Lovers HY and has about 165,000 subscribers, enjoys taking train journeys that are likely to result in "captivating" content.
Earlier this year, he went on a three-hour-long journey from Banihal to Baramulla in Kashmir in -5C (23F) cold. His 11-minute video - shot from inside the train - has been viewed over a million times and captures snow-covered landscapes and blue-grey skies.
Along with filming scenic vistas, Mr Yadav also shares information about the history of trains and other trivia - like which is India's oldest sea bridge or longest train tunnel.
"I've started including drone shots of scenic locations trains pass through in my videos," says Mr Yadav. "They give the videos a cinematic quality and viewers love it."
He quit his job a year ago, and now earns up to 100,000 rupees a month through brand deals and YouTube ads.
"I have loved trains since I was a child," says Mr Yadav.
"Train journeys are full of possibilities and I try to capture the wonder and excitement I feel about train journeys in my videos." | /news/world-asia-india-62978056 |
business | UK house prices forecast to fall for the next two years | UK house prices will fall for the next two years before starting to rise again, according to the government's official forecaster.
A drop of 9% is expected between now and autumn 2024, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has said.
will be a relief to some potential first-time buyers following a period of sharp rises in property prices.
But a squeeze on their own finances will limit their ability to save for a deposit.
f a mortgage is also likely to stay much higher than homeowners have become accustomed to during the last decade. A typical two- or five-year fixed-rate deal currently has an interest rate of just over 6%.
Higher mortgage rates and the wider impact of a slowdown in the economy, such as rising unemployment, will unite to push down house prices, the OBR said.
It forecast that there will still be an average increase in property prices this year of 10.7% despite the recent slowdown.
will be followed by two years of falls, with house prices down by 1.2% next year, and 5.7% in 2024.
OBR suggests that property prices will start to rise again at a rate slightly faster than people's incomes - up by 1.2% in 2025, 3% in 2026 and 3.5% in 2027.
However, it pointed out there was "significant uncertainty over this forecast" given the sensitivity of house prices to mortgage rates and general borrowing costs.
UK housing market, in reality, is a series of local markets, so house price falls could have more impact in some areas than others.
For example, despite the rebound after the 2008 financial crisis, house prices in the north-east of England only returned to their pre-crash levels at the end of 2020. Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, house prices still remain below their pre-crisis peak.
Squeezed incomes mean that first-time buyers may still be asking for the help of parents and grandparents to get enough for a deposit, even if house prices fall.
Richard Fearon, chief executive of Leeds Building Society, said: "Our research shows that 81% of aspiring first-time buyers say that the cost of living crisis has made it harder for them to save for a deposit and almost half of them now doubt they will ever get onto the housing ladder."
He said a lack of homes was still the key long-term issue in the market.
A new deadline will see a reversal of the cuts in stamp duty at the end of March 2025. This may also affect potential buyers' long-term plans in London and the south-east of England, where the vast majority of stamp duty is paid.
Other measures announced in the Autumn Statement could have a notable impact for other parts of the housing sector.
renting social housing in England will still face higher rental bills - but not as high as might have been the case.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the government would cap the increase in social rents in England at a maximum of 7% in 2023-24, rather than the 11% potential rise under previous rules. This cap does not apply to shared ownership rents or private sector rents.
Meanwhile, buy-to-let landlords - who may include so-called accidental landlords who find themselves with two homes after moving in together - face a higher capital gains tax bill if they sell up.
ual allowance before capital gains tax is paid will be reduced from £12,300 to £6,000 in April and then to £3,000 a year later. The tax is paid when you sell an asset, such as company shares, a second home, or a buy-to-let property. | /news/business-63676119 |
entertainment | Maxine Peake stages Betty Boothroyd's life in comedy musical: 'This is me letting rip' | first female Speaker of the House of Commons is having her life story told on stage - but rather than being a dry political drama, it sees actor Maxine Peake sing in her first musical and return to her comedy roots.
Betty Boothroyd never fulfilled her youthful dreams of high-kicking her way to showbiz stardom.
She discovered she wasn't cut out to be a chorus-line showgirl at the London Palladium, so her stint as a member of the Tiller Girls dance troupe after World War Two was short-lived.
But her flair for performing wasn't wasted.
She moved onto a different public stage when she pursued her other passion, politics, and ended up with a starring role in the House of Commons as the first Madam Speaker from 1992 to 2000.
Betty Boothroyd's pitch to become the first woman Speaker in 1992
"Politicians, like Tiller Girls, are public performers," she wrote in her autobiography. "They forget it at their peril."
Maxine Peake agrees. "The worlds of politics and theatre, I think, do collide," she says. "My granddad always used to say to me, 'Politicians, Maxine, are frustrated actors.' And she really has that charisma and presence."
Betty (now Baroness) Boothroyd is admired for the way she worked the crowd in the Commons. That has inspired Peake and co-writer and co-star Seiriol Davies to tell her life story on stage.
"We just felt she was someone to celebrate," Peake says. "You look at her achievements. It's what she stands for, and her work ethic, what she achieved, what her beliefs were.
"And then when you start with somebody who used to be a Tiller Girl, you think, well, this could be fun, especially for a musical."
As well as deciding against the predictable idea of a straight and serious biographical play, the title of Peake and Davies's show suggests it isn't quite a regular musical either.
Betty! A Sort of Musical opened at Manchester's Royal Exchange theatre on Saturday. The "sort of" in the name refers to the fact it's a show within a show - following an amateur dramatic group in Lady Boothroyd's home town of Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, who are themselves attempting to stage a musical about their local heroine.
Each member of the fictional Dewsbury Players takes turns to portray Lady Boothroyd and perform a song about a different stage of her life. Each tune goes on a different flight of fantasy, with Grease and James Bond-themed numbers and a Queen-inspired Boothroydian Rhapsody.
"If we're in a Bond film or a kitchen sink drama, they all then get elevated to the level of absurdity," Davies explains.
He adds: "We make no promises that things are biographically factually correct, although we think there is some truth in all of the moments. But it is not a bio-musical. It is a musical about people making myths about a woman they love."
Davies says he was inspired by Lady Boothroyd's general "fabulousness" as well as her "explicit glamour and showmanship".
On top of that: "I think she's a unifying figure. If someone has heard of Betty, the chances are they'll at least admire her, or if not, be slightly obsessed with her.
"But if someone hasn't heard of her, I just have to tell them she used to be kick-line chorus girl and the KGB tried to honeytrap her, and then she rose to the second-highest commoner rank in the land or whatever.
"That is a story, whatever side your bread is buttered politically."
racters in the Dewsbury am-dram group have their bread buttered on various sides, but they agree Lady Boothroyd is, as Peake believes too, a symbol of democratic respectability and stability compared with today's politicians.
"She unified the House of Commons with her skill and wit and intelligence. I felt very much I've missed that."
Peake plays Meredith Ankle, matriarch of the am-dram group and owner of Ankle Carpets. It's hard not to detect the influence of Victoria Wood - who gave Peake her first break in Dinnerladies - in the way she is mining humour from the most mundane situations.
"She's such a big inspiration, even before I worked with her, growing up," Peake says of her late mentor.
Betty! is a return to comedy for Peake, who has gone on to forge her career mainly in serious (and often harrowing) dramas like Three Girls, about the Rotherham child sex grooming scandal; Anne, playing Hillsborough campaigner Anne Williams; and Mike Leigh's historical tub-thumper Peterloo.
"Initially, I wasn't Meredith when we first started writing," Peake says. "And then the more I wrote, the more I really wanted to play Meredith, because it's something I've been crying out to do for a long time.
"I started in comedy, and I thought that's where I'd continue. And then I sort of went, 'Oh I'd like to try some straight, serious drama.' And then I couldn't quite get back. So this is me letting rip.
"As a youngster, that's what I thought my career would be, as I got into middle age. But there's not as many of those parts written now for women - those larger-than-life funny women. We've lost Victoria Wood."
w show also requires Peake to sing. Has she been in a musical before? "Have I heck. I'm not a singer."
She is, it must be noted, in a band called The Eccocentric Research Council, although her vocal delivery with them is more like spoken word. "Sort of" musical again.
"What is nice, at the grand old age of 48, is going, OK, I'm going to do something where I sing, and there's ways around it, and I've learned so much."
Lady Boothroyd isn't the first politician to get the musical treatment. Evita and Hamilton haven't done badly, but recent shows about British political figures have had mixed results.
Like with Betty!, an exclamation mark was deployed for Tony! (The Tony Blair Rock Opera), co-written by comedian Harry Hill. Blair is more divisive, and the show was less affectionate and less subtle. "The show struggles to shift out of a cartoon register," The Telegraph said.
Veteran Labour MP Dennis Skinner was the subject of The Palace of Varieties, and setting his "colourful Commons battles" to a soundtrack of music hall and Broadway songs "makes surprising sense", The Guardian said.
Skinner makes an appearance in Betty! too. This time, the Beast of Bolsover and Madam Speaker perform a verbal joust in the form of a rap battle.
Betty! also completes something of a trilogy for Peake, who has previously written plays about two other pioneering real-life women - champion cyclist Beryl Burton and Hull fishwife Lillian Bilocca. Like Lady Boothroyd, both are from Yorkshire.
"I feel slightly traitorous to my Lancashire roots," jokes Peake, from Bolton. "There's been a theme of writing things about inspirational women from working class backgrounds in the north."
Both Burton and Bilocca were dead by the time Peake came to pay homage. Lady Boothroyd, now 93, is very much with us. What does she think about her life being given this fantastical treatment?
Peake says she says has been "very supportive".
"Because you worry, don't you? You think, what would she think? But she seemed really pleased about it. We've assured her it's a celebration."
Betty! A Sort of Musical is at the Royal Exchange theatre in Manchester until 14 January. | /news/entertainment-arts-63775575 |
entertainment | Her Loss: Drake and 21 Savage sued by Vogue publisher | Drake and 21 Savage are being sued by Vogue's publisher over claims they used the brand name to promote their new album, Her Loss, without permission.
Condé Nast claims the rappers' promo campaign was built "entirely" on the unauthorised use of Vogue trademarks and false representations.
It said the musicians created a counterfeit issue of the magazine which they distributed.
In a complaint, the publisher said it's seeking at least $4m (£3.49m).
Larry Stein, the lawyer representing Drake and 21 Savage, has not yet responded to BBC Newsbeat's request for comment.
Condé Nast claims the rappers falsely suggested having the "love and support" of Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
r complaint says it resulted in "unmistakable" confusion, with Drake and 21 Savage being wrongly touted as "new cover stars".
"All of this is false. And none of it has been authorised by Condé Nast," the legal paperwork says.
It added the rappers' "flippant disregard" for the publisher's rights "have left it with no choice but to commence this action".
mas Walters, who founded advertising agency Billion Dollar Boy, said the publisher will need to defend itself because the Vogue brand is "everything" to the outlet.
"In an era where journalism is consistently being used for free, people aren't buying magazines anymore, that is their value," says Thom.
"From their perspective, 21 Savage and Drake have used that brand without compensating for that investment."
And if they don't defend it in this instance, Thom says there's a risk "anyone could start using the Vogue brand".
Since its release on 4 November, Her Loss has had mixed reviews and has also caused a stir after one track, Circo Loco, appeared to suggest singer Megan Thee Stallion had lied about being shot.
Music publication NME gave the album three stars, saying it was an "exciting prospect marred by lazy song writing" and packed with "cheap misogyny".
Rolling Stone went a step further, branding the album "a misfire".
Condé Nast is seeking at least $4m in damages - or triple Drake and 21 Savage's profits from their album and "counterfeit" magazine.
But could this actually work out well for Drake and 21 Savage? Thom thinks so.
"I think Drake and 21 Savage are certainly going to benefit from doing this," he says. "Probably more so than the amount than the lawsuit is claiming.
"When you're a star of the calibre of Drake, you know that you're willing to take the risk. They obviously would have seen a bigger upside here than downside."
Follow Newsbeat on Twitter and YouTube.
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here. | /news/newsbeat-63568013 |
technology | Robot boat maps Pacific underwater volcano | Watch USV Maxlimer as it moves through waters around Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha’apai
A robot boat, controlled from the UK, has returned from an initial survey of the underwater Tongan volcano that erupted explosively back in January.
Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) Maxlimer is part-way through mapping the opening, or caldera, of the underwater Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai (HTHH) volcano.
, developed by the British company Sea-Kit International, is surveying the volcano as part of the second phase of the Tonga Eruption Seabed Mapping Project (TESMaP), led by New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) and funded by the Nippon Foundation of Japan.
far has confirmed earlier reports of continuing volcanic activity from HTHH. A winch on the boat allows instruments to be deployed at depths, reaching 300m, in order to collect data from the entire water column.
12m-long Maxlimer may be in Tonga, but it is being remotely controlled from 16,000km away in the small coastal village of Tollesbury in Essex. Everything is done over satellite link.
In a dark control room in Sea-Kit's HQ, several large screens display live feed images from the 10 cameras on board Maxlimer. Operators, who work in shifts around the clock, watch on as real-time data gets beamed in from the South Pacific.
"We can communicate with nearby vessels via radio as if we were on board"
Ashley Skett, director of operations at Sea-Kit, told BBC Radio 4's Inside Science programme that the operators can even communicate via radio with other vessels in the area, so much so that other boats wouldn't know that nobody was on board Maxlimer.
"The boat has been designed from the ground up to be remotely controlled and remotely operated. So every switch, every function on the boat, every light, we can control from here."
Robotic, remotely controlled boats are likely to be the future of maritime operations. When surveying a dangerous area such as the active HTHH volcano, remote control ensures no crew are put in harm's way.
re are also environmental benefits to USVs. As there is no onboard crew to support, the vessel can be much smaller, leading to reduced carbon dioxide emissions.
"We use 5% of the fuel that an equivalent manned vessel doing the same job that we're doing now would use," Ashley said.
ruption of HTHH in January caused extensive damage far beyond Tonga, triggering a massive tsunami that spread across the Pacific Ocean. The atmospheric shockwave caused by the eruption was felt as far away as the UK.
Weather satellites captured the climactic eruption. Video looped three times. (Himawari-8/JMA/NCEO/@simon_sat)
Maxlimer is currently taking a short break while some rough weather passes through the region. Once conditions improve, the boat will head back out to the underwater volcano to fill in remaining gaps in its map of the caldera.
will help us understand why the eruption had such a huge and violent impact, as well as help predict the nature of future eruptions. | /news/science-environment-62606589 |
business | Nike latest brand to leave Russia permanently | Nike has announced plans to leave Russia, becoming the latest Western brand to quit the country since the invasion of Ukraine in February.
US sportswear giant halted online orders and closed the stores it owned in the country in March.
Shops run by local partners continued to operate, but the firm is winding down those agreements.
Networking giant Cisco also said it would start to fully shut down operations in Russia and Belarus.
Other companies that have finalised plans to leave in recent weeks include McDonald's and Starbucks.
"Nike has made the decision to leave the Russian marketplace," the company said in a statement. "Our priority is to ensure we are fully supporting our employees while we responsibly scale down our operations over the coming months."
Russia has grown increasingly economically isolated since the invasion, as the West and allies impose sanctions and international companies head for the exits.
untry is now working on legislation that would punish foreign companies seeking to leave, allowing the government to seize their assets and impose criminal penalties, according to Reuters.
Nike has more than 50 stores in Russia, about a third of which are closed, according to its website.
In May, Russian media reported that the company was ending its agreement with its largest franchisee in Russia, responsible for 37 stores.
Nike had previously disclosed that Russia and Ukraine together accounted for less than 1% of the company's revenue.
Cisco said on Thursday that it had "made the decision to begin an orderly wind-down of our business in Russia and Belarus".
will affect a few hundred employees, the US company said, adding that it wanted to ensure they are "treated with respect".
"Cisco remains committed to using all its resources to help our employees, the institutions and people of Ukraine, and our customers and partners during this challenging time," a spokesperson for the firm said.
working giant had already stopped business operations, including sales and services, in the region in March, taking a $200m (£160m) hit to third quarter revenues. | /news/business-61914165 |
sports | Nations Cup: Ireland lose to India in shootout drama after semi-final ends 1-1 | Ireland lost 2-1 to India in a shootout after their Nations Cup semi-final in Valencia ended 1-1.
Naomi Carroll scored from play to put Ireland in front just before the end of the first quarter.
India drew level in the third quarter from a penalty corner, with Udita Duhan converting after 44 minutes, and the scores remained that way.
India scored two of their five efforts in the shootout and Ireland just one, allowing India to advance to the final.
Sonika Tandi and Lalremsiami Hmarzote were the scorers for India in the shootout, beating Irish goalkeeper Lizzy Murphy, with just Hannah McLoughlin converting for Ireland.
India will play Spain in Saturday's final (14:45 GMT) with a place in the hockey Professional League the prize for the winners, after Ireland face Japan in the third-place play-off on the same day (13:30).
Indians are ranked eighth in the world, five spots above the Irish, who beat them twice on their way to reaching the World Cup final in London in 2018. | /sport/hockey/64003488 |
technology | Elon Musk: Billionaire's daughter cuts ties with her father | Elon Musk's transgender daughter has applied to legally change her name and gender, saying she no longer wants to "be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form".
18-year-old has asked to be recognised as female and have the name Vivian Jenna Wilson.
She was known as Xavier Alexander Musk.
for both a name change and a new birth certificate was filed with the Los Angeles County Superior Court in Santa Monica.
Her request is set out in court documents filed in April, which have only recently come to light.
re was no further detail of the apparent rift between Mr Musk's daughter and her father.
SpaceX entrepreneur has yet to comment.
Mr Musk was married to Vivian's mother, Canadian author Justine Wilson, from 2000 until they divorced in 2008.
r first son, Nevada, was born in 2002, and died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) at 10 weeks.
r went on to have twin sons called Xavier and Griffin and triplet boys - Damian, Kai and Saxon.
He has two other children, X Æ A-Xii and Exa Dark Sideræl - who goes by Y - with singer Grimes, with whom he has had an on-off relationship.
His children have kept a relatively low profile despite their father's fame.
On Father's Day, the entrepreneur tweeted that he loves all his children.
re has been no comment from Mr Musk about his daughter's decision to distance herself from him.
He has been vocal on various transgender issues, and has been branded anti-gay in several rows. Last year he complained about people using their own pronouns.
urt document for his daughter's name and gender change was filed a month before he publicly declared his support for the Republican Party, having previously voted Democrat.
He has also said he is a fan of Ron DeSantis, the Republican Florida governor who introduced the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill. This controversial piece of legislation restricts schools from teaching students about sexual orientation and gender issues, with teachers opening themselves up to lawsuits should they fail to comply.
In 2020 Elon Musk wrote on Twitter "Pronouns suck" before deleting it. He then said: "I absolutely support trans, but all these pronouns are an aesthetic nightmare." | /news/technology-61880709 |
business | China congress: Beijing delays key economic figures as leaders meet | China has delayed the release of its latest economic growth figures, which were due to be published as the Communist Party's leadership gathers.
President Xi Jinping is expected to be confirmed for a historic third-term at this week's party congress in Beijing.
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) did not give a reason for the delay.
ribed as "very rare" by experts and is seen by some as a sign of further weakness in the world's second largest economy.
However, Zhao Chenxin, deputy head of China's National Development and Reform Commission, said on Monday that the country's economy had "picked up significantly in the third quarter".
"Globally China's economic performance also remains outstanding. Consumer prices have risen modestly, in sharp contrast to the high global inflation, and employment remained generally stable," he told a news conference.
According to an updated NBS calendar, publication of several key economic indictors on Tuesday, including third quarter gross domestic product (GDP), had been "postponed".
A new date for the release of the figures has yet to be scheduled.
NBS did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.
Pushan Dutt, an economics professor at INSEAD, told the BBC the delay was a "very rare event" as the Chinese government had released data as scheduled through the pandemic.
"My only guess is that those numbers were not very good and would not lead to the objective of doubling the Chinese economy in the timespan that President Xi announced," he said.
Meanwhile, Dan Wang, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank China, believes "the delay may not necessarily be because of disappointing economic data".
"The normal procedure of signing off those data might have been disrupted as all top leadership are occupied with the congress," she said.
Mr Xi signalled on Sunday that there would be no immediate loosening of his controversial zero-Covid strategy, which has weighed on China's economic growth.
GDP measures the size of an economy. Gauging its expansion or contraction is one of the most important ways of measuring how well or badly an economy is performing and is closely watched by economists and central banks.
China previously indicated that it may miss its annual economic growth target of 5.5%.
Politburo - the ruling Communist Party's top policy-making body - did not mention the official growth target in a statement after its quarterly policy meeting in July. Instead it said it aimed to keep growth within "a reasonable range".
Iris Pang, Greater China chief economist at ING Bank, said she expects that China's third-quarter GDP data would "not paint an optimistic picture".
"This data delay shows that the government thinks that 20th Party Congress is the most important thing happening in China, and would like to avoid other information that could create mixed messages to the market," she told the BBC.
Watch: The 'miraculous' potatoes claimed to alleviate poverty in northern China | /news/business-63295495 |
politics | Eton College boys 'booed' visiting state schoolgirls | Eton College has apologised after it was claimed girls visiting from a nearby state school were subjected to misogynistic language and racial slurs.
BBC a number of its pupils had been "sanctioned" after an investigation following an incident during a speech by Nigel Farage.
former politician told the BBC the atmosphere was "riotous".
ge said it had apologised "unreservedly" for the "totally unacceptable" behaviour.
Claims made anonymously on social media, by a person who said they were a parent of one of the girls who attended the speech last week, said the students were also booed at the boys' public school near Windsor, Berkshire.
Prince William and his brother, the Duke of Sussex, both attended Eton, as did the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
rges in excess of £40,000 a year for boarders.
Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk. | /news/uk-england-berkshire-63683667 |
business | Deliveroo: UK-based food delivery firm quits Australia | UK-based food delivery app Deliveroo says it is quitting Australia, citing tough economic conditions.
mpany's Australian operation, which launched in 2015, is being placed into voluntary administration.
Deliveroo has come under increasing pressure to treat its 15,000 riders as employees, with the country's new government pledging to improve gig workers' conditions.
It has also faced competition from rivals such as Uber Eats and Menulog.
Deliveroo said it had stopped accepting orders through its app, with customers receiving an error message if they tried to place an order.
"This was a difficult decision and not one we have taken lightly. We want to thank all our employees, consumers, riders and restaurant and grocery partners who have been involved with the Australian operations over the past seven years," Deliveroo's chief operating officer Eric French said in a statement to investors.
"Our focus is now on making sure our employees, riders and partners are supported throughout this process," he added.
In the statement the company pledged "guaranteed enhanced severance payments for employees as well as compensation for riders and for certain restaurant partners."
Food delivery apps saw demand surge during the pandemic but have since faced challenges including customers reining in their spending and the tightening of regulations in several countries.
During Australia's election campaign this year Anthony Albanese, who is now the country's prime minister, said he would work to improve the rights of workers if his party came to power.
Members of his government have called gig work a "cancer" on the economy with accusations that it drives down the wages of a million workers.
Last month, Deliveroo also announced that it planned to quit the Netherlands market at the end of November.
Deliveroo's London-listed shares have lost around half of their value since the start of this year.
Zomato, Swiggy riders risking their lives to deliver food | /news/business-63645765 |
health | William Harvey Hospital withdraws gas and air for women in labour | A maternity department has suspended its provision of gas and air, the most common method of pain relief, to women in labour.
William Harvey Hospital in Ashford withdrew the painkiller because of ventilation issues in its labour rooms.
East Kent Hospitals Maternity said the current levels of gas in the air "could affect the health of staff" who work for long periods.
It expects to use gas and air (Entonox) again within two weeks.
ws comes only weeks after a damning inquiry into maternity services at East Kent Hospitals Trust.
It found as many as 45 babies might have survived with better care.
A statement posted on Facebook on Friday said "mums and babies are not at risk of harm" and that "every other method of pain relief" will be offered.
Checks to make sure maternity staff were working safely showed that some staff may have been exposed to high levels of Nitrous Oxide (a gas present in Entonox).
w ventilation systems for the maternity unit had been ordered and it expects to be using Entonox again within two weeks.
Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk. | /news/uk-england-kent-63766811 |
business | Switching to green fuel needs same urgency as Covid jab, says energy boss | UK would be paying "billions" of pounds less for its energy, if it had stuck with plans to reduce fossil fuel use, an energy boss has said.
Greg Jackson, chief executive of Octopus energy, told the BBC there should be a concerted push now.
me "sense of urgency" should be applied to the switch to green energy, as there was for finding a Covid vaccine, he said.
government said it had delivered a 500% increase in renewables since 2010.
"Without the clean energy we have deployed over the past decade, bills would be even higher today," a spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said.
re were already plans to invest further in renewables, BEIS said.
In 2013, the coalition government led by David Cameron made a series of changes, including cutting back support for energy efficiency and later ended subsidies for onshore wind.
"If we hadn't done that, energy bills this year would be billions of pounds lower than they are," Mr Jackson told the Big Green Money Show on BBC Radio 5 Live.
"It's short term behaviour that has left us even more exposed than we need to be."
Octopus Energy generates electricity from renewable sources, including wind and solar and supplies energy to three million UK customers.
A report earlier this year by energy analysis site Carbon Brief said bills in the UK were nearly £2.5bn higher than they would have been if climate policies had not been scrapped over the past decade.
"We now need to get on with it, and going green will not only help prevent the catastrophic climate change we see already changing weather patterns, but will also drive energy costs down," Mr Jackson said.
Mr Jackson said he believed the process of creating new renewables could be speeded up significantly.
use it was the planning, consent and connection to the grid that took several years, while the engineering of a new wind turbine could be done in a year.
"In the pandemic we took that normal fifteen year process for producing and licensing a vaccine and we did it in a year.
"If we were to act with the same sense of urgency, we could let communities who want it have access to cheap energy quickly enough to make a difference," he said.
Some customers who have signed up to green energy suppliers have questioned why their bills aren't already lower than the typical bill, when the cost of generating electricity through renewables is lower than using fossil fuels.
But the price of electricity is currently determined for the whole market by the cost of gas because it is the most expensive form of generation.
Mr Jackson said if the UK moved towards a situation where renewables provided the bulk of energy needs and gas was "a gap filler", then the link between the gas and electricity prices could be addressed.
However, it would take several years, before increased renewable generation had an impact on prices for consumers, according to energy analyst David Cox.
"It's a bit of a dream," he said. "To increase wind power, which is the only one you could build quickly, is five to 10 years away before you have a significant contribution.
"That's assuming you can get the parts and the steel, and the cost of that is going to go through the roof because of the cost of gas."
Subsidising energy efficiency measures, such as home insulation, would be a faster way to reduce gas use and bring down bills, Mr Cox said.
Energy prices have become an urgent political issue in the Conservative leadership race.
frontrunner, Liz Truss, has pledged to suspend the green levy on energy bills, which in the past funded investment in renewable energy. On Tuesday she hinted she would look at providing further support to businesses and households with soaring energy costs.
However, unlike her rival Rishi Sunak, she has ruled out energy rationing.
Mr Sunak has pledged to scrap VAT on household energy for one year and has promised more money to help with bills.
A BEIS spokesperson said: "Since 2010, we have delivered a 500% increase in the amount of renewable energy capacity connected to the grid - more than any other government in British history."
"To build on this progress, the government recent secured an additional 11GW of clean power in July's renewable auction, and we plan to go even further by driving £100billion of private sector investment in clean energy this decade." | /news/business-62753949 |
technology | Take a ride around San Francisco in a driverless taxi | In San Francisco a futuristic pilot is taking place - fully driverless robo-taxis are being allowed at night for paying members of the public.
mpany Cruise, says the cars will revolutionise transport.
But critics say putting fully autonomous taxis on urban streets is premature and dangerous. James Clayton took a ride in one of the cars to see how it felt. | /news/technology-63077437 |
sports | England's inaugural men's netball team prepare for first game | History will be made on Sunday when England's inaugural men's netball team play their first international match against Australia in Sydney.
James Thomson-Boston, captain of the recently formed England Thorns, says: "It's historic. It's a pinch-me moment."
men's match will be a curtain-raiser to England Roses' - the women's side - second game of a three-match series against Australia on Sunday.
mson-Boston tells BBC Sport about getting into a sport predominantly played by women and what it means to be part of a side that will go down in history.
mson-Boston, who turns 30 on Wednesday, started out as a basketball player but "fell in love" with netball after he was asked by friends to play mixed netball.
"It's a highly athletic sport that doesn't get the credit it deserves for how tough it is to play," he says.
"Most boys join and they're just running around all over, but once you really start to learn the game you realise how amazing it is."
re are currently about 10 men's netball clubs in the UK, including Knights, whom Thomson-Boston also captains.
Men have long been a part of the training process for Super League teams and the Roses, but now, through England Men's and Mixed Netball Association (EMMNA), they are starting to create their own identity in the sport.
"The men's game is a lot more aerial with more contests in the air. It's seen as an athletic style of netball, whereas the female side is very smart," says Thomson-Boston.
"That's why it's so amazing to play the Roses the way we do because there's only so much we can do in a game by being athletic.
"You watch the Roses play and you think 'OK, so that's what I can do to beat a player that means I'm not just sprinting at 100mph'.
rns squad was announced in Marchexternal-link but trials took place before Covid hit and Thomson-Boston says "people were working tirelessly behind the scenes" to ensure the infrastructure was in place to get the squad up and running after lockdown.
Once the team was announcedexternal-link Thomson-Boston says "it never felt like anything other than partners" between them and the Roses.
men even helped with England's preparations for this summer's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
"It just validates the fact that this isn't just a girls' sport, that boys should be allowed to play it and that the stigma will lift the more that we push ourselves out there."
mson-Boston was born in Australia, where netball is one of the dominant national sports and, he says, there is no stigma around men playing netball.
"Men's netball, women's netball, mixed netball - it's all under the same banner and it's respected as the same sport," he says.
"When I moved over to England about nine years ago I noticed it was non-existent. Even just trying to find a mixed team was really tough. I would say 'I'm just off to play netball' and people would say, 'you mean basketball?'"
mson-Boston says many of the Thorns players had to fight to play the sport they love.
"A few of the boys persevered through quite a tough couple of years where they've said 'I really want to play this sport' and they've been met with resistances at school or at other netball clubs who didn't want a boy playing with them," he says.
"Now they're here at the elite level and it just shows this sport should be available for boys to play,use why are we limiting anyone playing sport? You should be able to play whatever sport you want."
Who better to test themselves against at the elite level than the sport's dominant force, Australia.
"We know Australia are an elite team and they have been for a while, but we have the element of surprise," says Thomson-Boston. "We've watched their games and they have some athletic boys, but not compared to the boys we have.
"It could be false confidence, but you should never go into a game thinking you're going to lose and, as a captain, I could never say that. So we've got this.
"This is not just for people who are part of our England set-up. We all come from individual clubs where we've been allowed in to all-female clubs, and sometimes they've just let one of the boys in to train.
"No matter the outcome, we know we're going to do them all proud and the win will be a bonus."
mson-Boston says he and EMMNA hope that international fixtures can become more frequent, with a view to getting at least mixed netball into the Commonwealth Games.
"The sky is the limit," he says. "I would love to have a full men's team there, but if we're doing baby steps then mixed would be first."
Roses begin their series against Australia on Wednesday in Newcastle, near Sydney, and for many players it will be their first international netball since the disappointment of finishing fourth at the Commonwealth Games in August.
Defender Geva Mentor, who has 160 England caps, says it is an opportunity to show they have recovered from their "traumatic experience" in Birmingham and also a "monumental" moment to have the men playing on Sunday.
"It's really exciting. How great that the men are the curtain raiser when normally in most sports it's the other way around?" she says.
"Why not get excited about it? It brings a different dynamic. It's not trying to replace female netball - it's just trying to find it's own niche in the world.
"It's monumental to have them playing alongside us - it's where we want to take it. Netball is in a really healthy space with regards gender equality, and it's important for us to keep improving and pushing that.
"I've always been a big advocate for boys in netball. They're pumped to be here and that's the way it should be because they're leading the way on it.
"The more people are playing, the more we can capture a different audience and the greater it's going to be." | /sport/netball/63384826 |
health | Midwives in Scotland reject latest NHS pay offer | Members of the union representing midwives in Scotland have rejected the latest NHS pay offer.
Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said 65% of members voted against it. The union will now consider next steps including possible industrial action.
NHS offered an average pay increase of 7.5%. It was accepted by Unison and Unite members but rejected by the GMB.
Scottish government has said the proposal was unprecedented at a time of "extraordinary financial challenges".
Royal College of Nursing has also rejected the pay offer and said it would soon announce dates for strikes.
Jaki Lambert, RCM director for Scotland, said: "Our members have spoken loud and clear - the latest pay offer by the Scottish government is simply not good enough. It goes nowhere near addressing the rising cost of living and would see many midwives actually worse off in real terms.
"Our members have been consistent throughout this process - they want a decent deal, and they are prepared to take industrial action to get one.
"No midwife wants to do this and it is for the Scottish government to make sure that they do not feel that they are left with no other option.
"While we acknowledge that the Scottish government has listened to some of the concerns regarding career opportunities and development, it has failed to meet our members' needs on pay."
Last month, Holyrood ministers tabled an improved pay offer averaging 7.5% to health workers threatening industrial action.
Annual salary rises under the proposal would range from a flat rate payment of £2,205 for staff in Bands 1 to 4 and up to £2,660 for staff in Bands 5 to 7, backdated to April.
represents an increase of 11.3% for the lowest paid workers and delivers an average uplift of 7.5%.
Unite and Unison chose to accept the deal, however, the GMB union became the first to reject it last week.
Scottish government said previously that the pay offer was unprecedented for front-line employees and would ensure NHS workers in Scotland remain the best paid in the UK.
RCM is part of the Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee (STAC), which negotiates pay deals with the Scottish government. STAC staff will meet with ministers on Thursday to share the outcomes of their respective consultations, the RCM said. | /news/uk-scotland-64050826 |
politics | Akshata Murty: Who is Rishi Sunak's wife? | Rishi Sunak's wife Akshata Murty is heiress to a fortune worth billions and has lived a life divided between three continents. BBC News has spoken to some of those she has rubbed shoulders with along the way.
It is a Friday night in rural Yorkshire and local farmers and small business owners are waiting for the results of a Conservative party fundraising raffle.
At the front of the room, one of the richest women in the country and her husband are drawing paper tickets and presenting the relatively modest prizes - a bottle of Campari, a coffee shop voucher.
Akshata Murty had spent much of her life in the US and India, where her father founded one of the nation's biggest companies. But in recent years, she is just as likely to have been spotted at a local Tory social event, working the room alongside her husband Rishi Sunak in his North Yorkshire constituency.
"She mixes with everybody and everybody speaks highly of her," said Peter Walker, a local party member in Richmond. Despite her privileged background, "there is no ostentatiousness," said Mr Walker, who last saw Ms Murty joining in with a Christmas carol service.
Mr Walker, a retired deputy chief constable, said that for a long time he had been unaware of the scale of the couple's wealth. "I literally got my knowledge of their significant wealth from the news," he said.
Ms Murty's shares in Infosys, the company her father founded, are worth an estimated £700m.
Earlier this year, while her husband led the nation's financial affairs as chancellor of the exchequer, her business interests were the subject of newspaper headlines and political debate.
First, it emerged the company had continued operating in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. Then, days later, it was revealed she held non-domiciled status, meaning she did not have to pay tax on earnings from outside the UK. The company later pulled out of Russia, and Ms Murty pledged to pay UK tax on all her income, but said at the time: "India remains the country of my birth, citizenship, parents' home and place of domicile."
roversies have come as a surprise to some in India, where the family are known for promoting an austere lifestyle.
"There is so much simplicity in the way they behave and the way they live, this is in their DNA," said Suhel Seth, an Indian marketing expert who knows the family.
In 1981, a year after his only daughter's birth, software engineer NR Narayana Murthy (unlike his wife and children, he spells his name with an "h") started an IT company, using $250 dollars borrowed from his wife.
Over four decades, as personal computing and the internet changed the world, the firm morphed into an outsourcing giant. Today, more than 300,000 employees work in about 50 countries. It has won lucrative contracts to provide IT services for companies and governments around the world, including in the UK.
But it has faced controversies over its outsourcing practices. In 2013, the company paid $34m (£21m) to settle a civil lawsuit from the US government over allegations it misused visas. Infosys said at the time that claims of systemic visa fraud were "untrue and are assertions that remain unproven".
In 2019, it agreed to an $800,000 settlement with California's attorney general over allegations 500 employees had the wrong visas. Infosys denied any wrongdoing.
mpany's success has made Mr Murthy one of the richest people in a country where hundreds of millions live in poverty. But he has strived not to be part of a pampered elite, his supporters say.
"He is corporate India's Mahatma Gandhi," Mr Seth said. "He is unmoved by all these trappings."
76-year-old is now retired, but even while leading a multinational corporation, he has said he made a point of cleaning his own toilet. It was a habit learnt from his father, who was opposed to the Indian caste system, in which the "so-called lowest class... is a set of people who clean toilets," he told the BBC in 2011. He continued the practice to set an example for his offspring, he said.
It was one of a number of steps - including not having a TV in the house - that were intended to teach the children about the "importance of simplicity and austerity", Ms Murty's father wrote in an open letter to his daughter published in 2013.
But it was her mother who shouldered the "great responsibility" of instilling family values in Ms Murty and her brother Rohan, he said.
Sudha Murty worked as an engineer in the 1980s, but gave up to teach in a college and spend more time with her children. In 1996, she started the Infosys Foundation - a non-profit organisation that funds educational and anti-poverty projects. Her passion for engineering and education is shared by her daughter.
While living in California in 2007, Ms Murty joined the board of San Francisco's Exploratorium museum, which aims to engage young people in science and technology. The foundation's director at the time, Dennis Bartels, says she had a "fervent belief" in the power of Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) to change lives.
She had been "especially supportive of programmes that increased the number of female engineers", he says.
He describes Ms Murty as having a "gentle and generous spirit".
As an undergraduate, she moved to the US to study economics and French at the private liberal Claremont McKenna College, near Los Angeles in California. She then earned a diploma at a fashion college before working at Deloitte and Unilever and studying for an MBA at Stanford University.
Her relationship with Mr Sunak began at the university's grand campus near San Francisco. The couple graduated 16 years ago, but have maintained a connection to Stanford, funding a fellowship for social entrepreneurs and keeping in touch with university staff.
"They are the same two lovely people they were as students - open and kind and humble and remarkably self-effacing," said Derrick Bolton, who was assistant dean of admissions during their time at Stanford.
In 2009, they married in a ceremony in the bride's home city of Bangalore, later hosting a wedding party in New York.
"I remember Akshata just kind of gliding through the room and how incredibly beautiful she looked," said Mr Bolton, who joined the US celebration.
"There were a lot of really important people in the room, and I'm not one of those important people, and Akshata still made time to come by and say hello and to let me know how happy they were that I had made it."
In the years after graduation, the couple built a life in Santa Monica, California, where they still own a penthouse apartment with ocean views. For two years, she worked for venture capital company Tendris, but quit in 2009 to start a fashion label, named Akshata Designs.
It was the culmination of a life-long love of fashion, which had baffled her "no-nonsense engineer" mother, Ms Murty told Vogue India in 2011. The company's website said it aimed to provide a "sustainable source of income" for female artists and craftspeople in rural India. However, the Guardian reported that the business collapsed within three years.
Around this time, Ms Murty and Mr Sunak founded a London-based offshoot of her family's investment fund, Catamaran Ventures.
Within two years, Mr Sunak was elected as the MP for Richmond in North Yorkshire, having transferred his share of the company to his wife in the weeks before the vote in May 2015. It is a solid Tory seat that used to be held by ex-Tory leader William Hague.
ught a Grade II-listed manor house in the village of Kirby Sigston, near Northallerton, which sold for £1.5m in 2015. The couple have hosted Conservative party fundraising evenings with canapes served alongside the property's lake.
It is one of four properties they are believed to own, including a four-bedroom mews house in London, where the couple have lived with their two daughters. Now, the family are set to move into 10 Downing Street.
uple appeared on the Sunday Times' Rich List in 2022, with an estimated wealth of £730m.
It has led to questions about whether Mr Sunak is out of touch, particularly during a cost-of-living crisis, and the couple's lifestyle has regularly made headlines.
fter her husband resigned as chancellor in July, Ms Murty delivered tea and biscuits to journalists waiting outside their London home. But her hospitality was scrutinised after Twitter users suggested the designer mugs cost more than £30 each. One wrote: "The price of that mug could feed a family for 2 days."
Speaking from Goa in India this week, Mr Seth said the episode was symbolic of what he sees as the unfair treatment of Ms Murty. "People need to evaluate her value system, and not value her wealth," he said.
He said Ms Murty was "very charming, very simple and very bright", adding that she had a "sterling academic career" before launching a fashion business "far away from IT".
"If someone has done all of this and you just paper it over by saying 'you are just a rich kid', you are denigrating academia, you are denigrating values, you are denigrating a path of simplicity that the family has treaded on all their lives."
In the towns and villages of North Yorkshire, the couple's affluence seems to receive less of a focus, even from political opponents.
Labour councillor Gerald Ramsden said that while he "completely disagrees" with Mr Sunak's politics, he admits he is "fairly well liked by the community". He pointed to the fact that he had bumped into the family shopping for a barbecue in the local Tesco this summer. "If I could afford a chef, I wouldn't be going shopping," he said.
It is a sentiment shared by independent councillor Paul Atkin. He said Mr Sunak had been "extremely helpful" on local issues, adding: "It really doesn't bother me as to his wife's position".
By their supporters, like Mr Walker, the former deputy chief constable, the couple are described as "nice, ordinary folk".
"If you've got airs and graces, they won't last long in rural North Yorkshire in a farming community like this," he said.
With additional reporting by BBC business reporter Natalie Sherman in New York. | /news/uk-politics-63371276 |
sports | Bowler Lucy Beere lands back in Guernsey with silver medal | Guernsey's silver medal winner Lucy Beere has returned to the island.
wler won silver in the women's singles at the Commonwealth Games, bringing back the island's first medal since 1994.
Guernsey last won a bowls medal in 1986, with Beere winning the island's fourth-ever silver medal at a Commonwealth Games.
She said she felt "like a star" as islanders clapped and welcomed her at Guernsey Airport.
"It feels great, I'm knackered but it feels great... It was quite a welcoming. I feel like a star.
"I definitely achieved, still beyond all my expectations.
"I wanted to get to the quarterfinals and here I am with my silver medal round my neck."
Follow BBC Guernsey on Twitter and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. | /news/world-europe-guernsey-62442818 |
sports | Loughgiel 3-6 Drom and Inch 2-6: Shamrocks reach All-Ireland Club Camogie final | Loughgiel secured a place in the All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie Final by beating Tipperary side Drom and Inch 3-6 to 2-6 at Kinnegad.
Four goals came in the first half with Loughgiel's Annie Lynn and Caitrin Dobbin goaling and Miriam Campion and Eimear McGrath netting for Drom & Inch.
But after leading by two points at the break, Drom & Inch were held scoreless for 22 minutes of the second half.
riod included Roisin McCormick's high ball going all the way to the net.
Further points from McCormick, Lynn and Dobbin helped Loughgiel lead by four and while McGrath got Drom & Inch scoring again, a score by substitute Chloe Higgins helped the Ulster champions qualify for the senior decider for the first time.
re they will meet defending champions Sarsfields of Galway who edged out Dublin side St Vincent's 1-11 to 1-10 in Saturday's other semi-final.
Loughgiel earned their first Ulster title since 2015 three weeks ago as they ended Slaughtneil's hopes of a seventh successive provincial title by securing a 2-13 to 1-11 triumph.
During Slaughtneil's dominant reign in Ulster, they also earned three All-Ireland titles and Loughgiel will be hoping to make their breakthrough at national level in the decider. | /sport/gaelic-games/63930679 |
sports | Wasps Netball situation 'unprecedented' after holding company goes into administration | The Netball Players Association (NPA) says the situation at Super League side Wasps is "unprecedented" in the sport.
Wasps Holdings Limited, the holding company for Wasps men's and women's rugby teams, plus Wasps Netball, went into administration on Monday.
All members of the playing squads and staff have been made redundant and the NPA said the "impact" on the club is "yet to be fully understood".
Wasps won the Super League title in 2017, their debut season, and in 2018.
"This is unprecedented in our sport and we will learn and adapt to give the best support that we can," said the NPA, adding that it was "deeply saddened" by Monday's news.
In a statement, the organisation run and managed by current and retired netball players added: "We will continue conversations with England Netball and the wider netball community to try and find solutions for players where we can, and provide them with the individual support they may need in the coming weeks and months.
"All NPA members at Wasps have been contacted over the last few days and we will continue to offer them support."
Governing body England Netball said in a statement: "We had sincerely hoped that an appropriate solution could have been found to ensure the survival of Wasps Holdings Limited, and whilst we process exactly what this news means for the future of Wasps Netball, our thoughts are with the club, its players and their wider support team during this incredibly difficult time.
"We will continue to work together with all relevant parties including the Netball Players Association, and are committed to exploring solutions to protect netball opportunities at community, pathway and elite level." | /sport/netball/63292115 |
politics | Strikes Q&A: What are they and how are they called? | Wales and the rest of the UK are facing a wave of strikes in key services the like of which hasn't been seen for decades and many of us have never experienced.
Health workers (apart from Scotland), rail, postal staff and border force staff are amongst those demanding better working conditions and pay increases as prices keep rising.
But who calls a strike and what are the rules on workers refusing to do their jobs?
A strike is when workers formally agree among themselves to stop working because they believe they are not being treated fairly by their employer.
Strikes can take place for all sorts of reasons, but they tend to be over how much people are paid and/or their working conditions.
Yes, it is, provided the trade union representing the workers involved has followed strict rules set down in law for strikes (we'll come on to the role of trade unions in a bit).
A strike can only take place legally when a majority of trade unions members in a place of work agree to the action through a formal vote, or ballot.
means that if less than half of a union's members vote the strike is not legal.
why nurses at Aneurin Bevan health board are not striking alongside Royal College of Nursing members in the rest of Wales. The 50% turnout in the ballot was not reached in that health board area.
Members must vote on a piece of paper and return their ballot in a prepaid envelope.
Other rules include requiring unions to give employers are least 14 days notice that they are to begin strike action, unless it is agreed with the employer that seven days notice is enough.
urts can stop a strike from taking place if the rules have not been followed.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was working on "new tough laws" to protect people from strike disruption.
A bill has been introduced to the UK Parliament to ensure minimum service levels on transport networks during strikes but it is yet to be debated by MPs and peers.
Downing Street has said the legislation would be extended to other services but would not specify which services or when this might happen.
Asked by the BBC if he would consider banning strikes in emergency services, the prime minister said the "government is always going to be reasonable" but refused to rule it out.
No. Strike action is banned in a limited number of jobs. This includes the police, the armed forces and prison officers.
Workers who are not a member of a trade union are also allowed to strike, alongside union members, provided the strike is legal.
Pay is normally deducted from salaries for each day they are on strike, unless the strike takes place on a day in which they would not normally work.
Individual workers join trade union to negotiate on their behalf with employers with the aim of getting better pay or working conditions.
A union might ask its members if they want to strike, through a ballot, if union leaders feel the employer is not offering as much as they should.
Sometime deals can be reached during the process of consulting workers on strike action, meaning the action doesn't take place.
Unions can also, for example, act on behalf of a worker who is facing disciplinary action from their employer.
Unions are funded by workers through a deduction from their wages.
According to official figures published in May, 23.1% of UK employees were trade union members last year.
However, despite a decline in membership in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the proportion of members in Wales had risen by 3.7 percentage points to 35.6%, its highest since 2014. | /news/uk-wales-politics-64039394 |
health | Protests erupt after deadly China residential fire | Clips shared on social media in China appear to show fresh protests against Covid restrictions, after an apartment block fire killed 10 people.
Demonstrators were filmed confronting officials in the city of Urumqi, and shouting "end the Covid lockdown".
Beijing continues to pursue a zero-Covid policy, despite record infection numbers and growing public anger.
Authorities have denied claims that restrictions stopped people escaping Thursday's fire. | /news/world-asia-china-63767153 |
health | Hove secondary school pupil dies with suspected strep A | A secondary school pupil has died with suspected strep A in East Sussex, officials have said.
Hove Park School in Hove, a joint statement from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Brighton & Hove City Council said.
As of Thursday, 15 UK children had died after invasive strep A infections since September.
f the pupil in Brighton with suspected strep A brings that number to 16.
Most strep A infections are mild, but more severe invasive cases - while still rare - are rising.
Public health officials in Brighton and Hove said they were working with the school to raise awareness among parents about the signs of strep A infections and what to do if a child develops them.
ge and gender of the child have not been disclosed.
Dr Rachael Hornigold, consultant in health protection at UKHSA South East, said: "We are extremely saddened to hear about the death of a young child, and our thoughts are with their family, friends and the local community."
Alistair Hill, director of Public Health at Brighton & Hove City Council, said: "We are working with the UK Health Security Agency and Hove Park School following the death of a pupil who attended the school.
"We offer our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and the whole school community who will all be deeply affected by the very tragic loss of this young child, and we are providing our support to them at this incredibly sad time."
Normally, mild strep A infections cause symptoms like a sore throat or skin infections.
ug can also cause scarlet fever - with a sore throat, skin rash that feels like sandpaper, a high temperature and a so-called "strawberry tongue".
It is treated with antibiotics which may also help reduce the risk of complications and spread of the bug.
You can read more about Strep A here.
Data as of Thursday from the UKHSA showed 13 children aged under 15 had died in England since September.
wo other deaths of children had been recorded in Belfast and Wales, taking the UK total to 15 at that point.
Mr Hill said that contracting strep A from another person was "very rare" and most people who come into contact with strep A infections "remain well and symptom-free - and therefore there is no reason for children to be kept home if well".
Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk. | /news/uk-england-sussex-63922734 |
politics | COP27: Jailed activist Alaa Abdel Fattah stops drinking water | Jailed British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah has stopped drinking water as he steps up his hunger strike to coincide with the start of the COP27 summit, his sister has said.
Calls for his release escalated after the climate summit opened in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt on Sunday.
40 year old has consumed just 100 calories for more than 200 days to push Egypt to allow him UK consular access.
UK PM Rishi Sunak has said he will raise the issue at the COP summit.
Abdel Fattah, a key activist in the 2011 Arab Spring, is currently serving a five-year sentence for spreading false news.
His sister, Sanaa Seif, has warned that her brother's hunger and water strike may mean he could die before the end of the summit.
Speaking to Sky News, she urged the British government to be "responsible for getting us proof of life".
Mr Sunak wrote to Abdel Fattah's family and said he would raise his imprisonment with the Egyptian government and reply again by the end of the summit.
He said the activist's case is "a priority for the British government both as a human rights defender and as a British national".
Ms Seif, a 28-year-old human rights activist who has served three prison sentences in Egypt herself on charges that fellow activists condemned as bogus, has been protesting outside the Foreign Office in London along with family members for her brother's release.
She expressed concerns that Downing Street's engagement with the Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi would come too late.
Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard said Abdel Fattah "must be released" and warned that he may only have 72 hours to live.
"Let's be very clear, we're running out of time," she said in Cairo on Sunday. "So if the authorities do not want to end up with a death they should have and could have prevented, they must act now.
"If they don't, that death will be in every single discussion in this COP."
Abdel Fattah's aunt, Ahdaf Soueif, told the BBC that the summit could be his last chance to be saved and to be released.
She urged Mr Sunak to secure her nephew's release.
"It means we really only have a few days," she said. "None of us have any reason to believe that the regime will ever ever let him go."
"He has known for a while that he's had enough, that he cannot live like this. And this is now his opportunity and all of ours really to bring matters to a head.
"He's betting on us and on the community inside Egypt that wants him released and on the international community that's making a noise for him."
She said the UK government could use its influence to have him released.
"This is all in the hands of the British government to facilitate... it would be very difficult for the UK to do business as usual with Egypt unless this case is resolved.
"And I think if the British government is serious and if Rishi Sunak says this convincingly, Alaa will be on a plane to London."
Abdel Fattah played a key role in the protests that toppled the former Egyptian leader, Hosni Mubarak, from power in 2011.
He has been in jail for nine years and was sentenced to a further five years in 2021 on charges of "broadcasting false news" - a charge human rights groups condemned as spurious.
He received British citizenship in December 2021 through his London-born mother.
Human rights groups have said he is one of an estimated 60,000 Egyptian political prisoners and have accused the government in Cairo of trying to "greenwash" its repressive reputation through its hosting of the climate summit.
Egyptian government has insisted there are no political prisoners in the country. | /news/world-middle-east-63534578 |
technology | Elon Musk suspends Kanye West from Twitter for inciting violence | Kanye West has been suspended from Twitter and accused of "inciting violence" over offensive tweets - just two months after his last ban.
US rapper, who now goes by the name Ye, posted a series of erratic tweets - one of which appeared to show a symbol combining a swastika and a Jewish star.
witter's new boss Elon Musk was asked by one user to "fix Kanye".
West had "violated our rule against incitement to violence", Musk tweeted.
"Account will be suspended," Musk wrote in a Twitter post.
Also on Thursday, during an interview with US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and with his face covered in a mask, West praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and ranted about sin, pornography and the devil.
f the UK's Holocaust Educational Trust described West's comments as "repulsive and sickening".
"These comments mixed with his high profile and huge following have dangerous consequences," chief executive Karen Pollock said.
In recent months West has caused controversy with a series of antisemitic and racist remarks - leading to clothing giant Adidas cutting ties with the rapper.
West was initially locked out of his Twitter and Instagram accounts after posting antisemitic messages in October. Both platforms removed West's posts - which accused rapper Diddy of being controlled by Jewish people - saying the star had violated policies on hate speech.
me in response to a backlash against his show at Paris Fashion Week, where he wore a T-shirt carrying the slogan "White Lives Matter".
Anti-Defamation League in the US branded his phrase "hate speech" and attributed it to white supremacists, who began using it in 2015 in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Earlier this year, West was suspended from Instagram for 24 hours in March after using a racial slur in reference to comedian Trevor Noah.
In 2018, singer Will.i.am led a backlash against West after he claimed the enslavement of African-Americans over centuries may have been a "choice" - remarks he later tried to clarify.
His latest Twitter ban comes hours after the right-wing social media platform Parler - which styles itself as a "free speech" alternative to mainstream platforms - said West could no longer buy the firm.
In a statement, Parlement Technologies said: "The company has mutually agreed with Ye to terminate the intent of sale."
firm - which runs the much smaller platform, popular with conservatives and the far right - said the decision was made in mid-November.
"Parler will continue to pursue future opportunities for growth and the evolution of the platform for our vibrant community," the firm said in its statement.
Musk took control over Twitter in October and immediately embarked on a series of radical changes within the social media giant - including lifting the bans on controversial accounts.
He has clarified that he had no role in bringing West back on Twitter, saying the account was restored before he acquired the social media platform.
West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder years ago and has publicly spoken about his challenges with his mental health.
However, medical experts and people who share West's condition have warned that mental health problems do not go hand-in-hand with antisemitism. | /news/business-63826675 |
politics | Rishi Sunak speaks of safety fears for daughter | Rishi Sunak has spoken of his fears for his daughter's safety on her walk to school following a number of crimes against women and girls.
PM said "events of the last year showed us that so many women and girls have not felt as safe as they should."
He mentioned the case of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel shot in her home earlier this year in Liverpool.
"I want to make sure that my kids and everyone else can walk around safely," the PM said.
He said in the past he and "many of us men" had taken safety "for granted".
"So tackling that and making it safer for people is something that's just personally quite important to me."
rime minister said his eldest child had wanted to walk to her primary school by herself when she turned 11, adding this had been the reason why his family had previously moved out of their Downing Street flat and closer to her school before he resigned as chancellor.
He said: "It brings it home to you as a parent and again over the summer the awful things that we read about with the young girl Olivia [Pratt-Korbel], which we'll all remember.
"I want to make sure that my kids and everyone else can walk around safely.
"That's what any parent wants for their children."
On tackling crime, he said people in disadvantaged backgrounds were more likely to be affected by crime and he wanted to "deliver for those people" by putting more police officers on the street.
In 2019 the government pledged to recruit 20,000 additional police officers in England and Wales by March 2023, in an attempt to reverse cuts since 2010, which had seen the number fall by about 19,000.
Labour has accused the government of "taking an axe to the vital services that are there to protect us all".
Pushed on whether the number of people in prison should be higher, Mr Sunak said this was a "logical consequence of catching more criminals" and the government was building 10,000 more prison places over the next few years.
He said he was not particularly comfortable with prison numbers going up, but the funding was in place to have the capacity to do it.
Mr Sunak was speaking to reporters while flying to Bali last Sunday, for his first G20 summit since becoming prime minister.
Asked about life back in Downing Street, he said moving back into the flat the family lived in when he was chancellor above No 10 had made the transition "easier than it otherwise might have been". | /news/uk-politics-63676396 |
technology | Molly Russell inquest: Pinterest executive admits site was not safe | A senior executive at social media site Pinterest has said he is "sorry" for content viewed by a 14-year-old who took her own life after viewing it.
Judson Hoffman admitted at an inquest that when Molly Russell was viewing the content on the platform in 2017, the site was not safe.
Molly, from Harrow, north-west London, died in November 2017.
Her father, Ian, earlier told North London Coroner's Court that social media was instrumental in her death.
Mr Hoffman, Pinterest's global head of community operations, said he was "not able to answer" how children could agree to potentially being exposed to content inappropriate for a child.
In the platform's terms of service, displayed to the court, users were asked to report "bad stuff" if they saw it on the site. The terms of service, from November 2016, said users might be exposed to material that was "inappropriate to children".
Russell family's barrister, Oliver Sanders KC, asked: "Bearing in mind it might be children who are opening the account… when a user opens an account they have to agree there may be content that's inappropriate for a child. If the user is a child, how can they agree to that?"
"I'm sorry, I'm not able to answer that," Mr Hoffman said.
Mr Hoffman said he deeply regretted that Molly saw content relating to self-harm, suicide and depression on the platform.
He was taken through a number of images the company had sent to Molly via email before her death, with headings such as "10 depression pins you might like" and "depression recovery, depressed girl and more pins trending on Pinterest".
mails also contained images about which Mr Sanders asked Mr Hoffman if he believed they were "safe for children to see".
Mr Hoffman replied: "So, I want to be careful here because of the guidance that we have seen.
"I will say that this is the type of content that we wouldn't like anyone spending a lot of time with."
Mr Sanders said "particularly children" would find it "very difficult… to make sense" of the content, to which Mr Hoffman replied: "Yes."
urt heard how Pinterest used artificial intelligence and human moderators to hide or remove content related to self-harm and suicide, a system that was "largely successful" but users might still encounter such content.
Family barrister Mr Sanders suggested to Mr Hoffman the platform had "chosen to take a risk" when there was a "no-risk option" of not allowing children on Pinterest.
Mr Hoffman replied: "I would say 'chosen an option other than absolutely no risk', I would not say 'risky option'… obviously our intention is to reduce the risk."
ring was shown two streams of content Molly had seen on Pinterest, comparing the material she viewed earlier in her use of the platform and in the months closer to her death.
While the earlier stream of content included a wide variety of content, the latter focused on depression, self-harm and suicide.
Asked by Mr Sanders if he agreed that the type of content had changed, Mr Hoffman said: "I do and it's important to note, and I deeply regret that she was able to access some of the content shown."
Mr Hoffman agreed the platform was not safe when Molly used it - and admits harmful content still "likely exists" on the site.
Mr Sanders asked: "Pinterest accepts that its platform should be safe for children?"
Mr Hoffman replied: "It should be safe for everyone on the platform."
Mr Sanders continued: "And it accepts that in 2017, when Molly was on it, it wasn't safe?"
Mr Hoffman replied: "That's correct, there was content that should have been removed that was not removed.
"Content that violates our policies still likely exists on our platform. It's safe but imperfect and we strive every day to make it safer and safer."
Coroner Andrew Walker asked: "It's not as safe as it could be?"
Mr Hoffman replied: "Yes, because it could be perfect."
Earlier in the day, the inquest also heard how Molly tried to ask for help from celebrities.
Molly's father, Ian Russell, said his daughter had reached out for help on Twitter to personalities with thousands or even millions of followers, who would not even necessarily notice a tweet from someone like Molly.
He added: "She was calling out to an empty void."
One message, sent to US actress Lili Reinhart, which was read to the court, said: "I can't take it any more. I need to reach out to someone, I just can't take it."
Mr Russell, who previously told the inquest he was shocked that "dark, graphic, harmful material" was readily available to be seen by children online, questioned how Molly knew "how to get into this state" and he "found it hard to believe that some of the most powerful global brands in the world" could not find a way to help prevent such content reaching vulnerable people.
If you've been affected by self-harm or emotional distress, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line.
Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hellobbclondon@bbc.co.uk | /news/uk-england-london-62991510 |
technology | BeReal: Can my post get me in trouble at work? | When you read it's "Time to BeReal!" on your phone, the expectations are clear. You open the app, take a picture of yourself and whatever's in front of you.
It could be the meal you've just cooked, the TV show you're watching, or your computer screen at work.
But as the app grows in popularity, do we need to be more careful what we post when we're on shift?
Or is zooming in on your friend's work computer just innocent fun?
was released in 2020, but started to get much more popular in mid-2022. Some reports say BeReal has had more than 27 million downloads worldwide.
If you're not familiar with it, it's a social media platform that notifies all users simultaneously at a random time every day. It gives you just two minutes to stop and take a picture of your surroundings.
kes you off-guard, forcing you to be more "real" than you might be when curating, for example, an Instagram story.
Once you've posted, you can scroll through all of your friends' posts and see what they're up to.
Most users will admit they've enjoyed zooming in to their friends' screen to see the way they type on email, or what task they're up to.
But talk has since turned to whether that's allowed - with people flagging data protection and privacy concerns.
It's "definitely a bad idea" to take a BeReal of your work screen, says Emma Green, a data protection expert and managing partner at Cyber Data Law Solicitors.
She says there are a number of factors to consider.
"Firstly, you will more than likely be breaking data protection laws if there's any personal data on those screens."
's any information linked to a person that makes them identifiable.
So yes, even getting someone's email address in the shot would technically be a breach of the law.
More importantly, Emma stresses that taking any photo of your workplace screen is very likely to be a breach of company rules.
"Probably in your employment contract, there will be a duty of confidentiality as an employee not to disclose confidential information about the company that may well be on those screens and even in the office in the background," she says.
Even though you can choose who to be friends with on the BeReal app, Emma says once something is posted you can never be sure who will see it. Screenshots could be taken, or phones passed around among friends.
"Especially if people are zooming in and reading emails, you may well be in breach of contract," she says.
"It could lead to disciplinaries, and so you could find yourself in a lot of trouble with your employer."
You might be thinking this advice is dramatic, and be tempted to snap that photo next time your BeReal alert goes off.
But Emma's key advice is that the post isn't worth the hassle it might cause.
Even if it's meant to be an innocent picture, shared among friends, if it ends up further than that you could be in trouble.
"'I wasn't aware' or 'I didn't realise' is not a defence, unfortunately," Emma says.
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Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here. | /news/newsbeat-62795955 |
politics | Sturgeon breached ministerial code over ferry meeting, say Tories | Scottish Conservatives have called on Nicola Sturgeon to refer herself for "clear breaches" of the ministerial code during the ferries fiasco.
used the first minister of failing to properly record a meeting with the then Ferguson Marine shipyard owner Jim McColl in May 2017.
rty also alleges Ms Sturgeon failed to have a civil servant present.
A Scottish government spokesperson said the first minister had "complied in full" with the obligations of the code.
mplaint follows evidence given by Ms Sturgeon to Holyrood's public audit committee last month.
She told committee members at the time she would provide details of the meeting with Mr McColl.
But Scottish Tory chairman Craig Hoy insists files lodged with the committee "contain no substantive record of it".
He says an email sent by an unnamed special adviser who was at the meeting does not contain the "basic facts" required to be recorded under the ministerial code.
Mr Hoy said: "The email evidence which the first minister presents as the supposed minute of a meeting with Jim McColl is nothing of the sort because it reveals very little about what was actually discussed.
"This is made more worrying by the fact that Mr McColl has given a very different account of the discussion.
"Nicola Sturgeon also appears to have forgotten the clear distinction between special advisers and civil service officials."
Mr Hoy added: "Her evasiveness under questioning from the committee last month set alarm bells ringing, and the lack of detail in her subsequent correspondence adds to the suspicion that she has something to hide.
"The public deserves to know the truth. That's why, in addition to referring herself, Nicola Sturgeon must agree to hold a full, independent public inquiry into the whole ferries scandal."
Earlier this week, Mr McColl claimed ministers later wasted £200m by rejecting an offer to end the impasse over two CalMac ferries.
Mr McColl revealed details of a proposal he made in 2019 to split the cost of finishing the ships, and limit the government's contribution to £50m.
Instead, the shipyard in Port Glasgow was nationalised and the bill for completing the vessels has since risen by about £240m.
riginal contract was for £97m, and £83m had been handed over to FMEL by the time it went bust. It was agreed that CMAL would not have to pay any more money.
After the yard was nationalised in 2019, "turnaround director" Tim Hair estimated it would cost a further £110m-£114m to complete the ships.
By March this year that figure had risen to £119m-£123m but in September new Ferguson boss David Tydeman advised MSPs the figure would probably rise to nearly £210m.
rd's estimate is therefore £83m + £210m = £293m.
Many commentators, including the Auditor General of Scotland, believe that £45m of written down government loans to FMEL should also be included - taking the total to £338m. That is £240m above the original contract price.
re are also some additional costs that others believe could be added in. The process of nationalising the shipyard cost £8.3m. Troubleshooter Tim Hair was taken on at a daily rate of about £2,500. By the time he left earlier this year, he had billed the government nearly £2m for 595 days' work.
government said Mr McColl's proposal breached EU state aid rules.
Mr McColl gave details of the offer, including legal advice that it was compliant with EU rules, in his latest submission to the public audit committee inquiry.
ffer was made in the spring of 2019 when relations between Mr McColl's company Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd (FMEL) and government ferries agency CMAL had completely broken down.
Ms Sturgeon has previously told the MSPs that Mr McColl's last-ditch offer was "rigorously assessed" but could not be considered for "a range of state aid and legal procurement issues".
A Scottish government spokesperson said the May 2017 meeting between Ms Sturgeon and Mr McColl "was arranged through the civil service and so, by definition, officials were aware of the details".
kesperson added: "The meeting was recorded in the official record of ministerial engagements published by the government. An official - a special adviser - was present and a brief note of the outcome recorded. To claim otherwise is factually wrong.
"In evidence to the committee, the first minister gave a commitment to see whether information relating to actions resulting from the meeting could be made available. This has been done."
government regards special advisers as temporary civil servants, therefore it argues it complied with the ministerial code. | /news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-63841683 |
sports | 'I had to be there, it'll only get bigger' - Wales’ first Urban Games goes down a storm | Cardiff Bay was buzzing with excitement on the weekend with world class champions taking part in Wales’ first Urban Games.
, organised by Welsh youth organisation Urdd Gobaith Cymru, saw Roald Dahl Plass transformed to host BMX, skateboarding, scootering and 3x3 basketball competitions. | /sport/av/wales/61874823 |
politics | Suella Braverman back as home secretary after resigning | Suella Braverman has returned to the role of home secretary only six days after she dramatically resigned.
Ms Braverman was forced to step down on what became the final chaotic day of Liz Truss' premiership, after admitting two data breaches.
In her resignation letter, she said she had emailed cabinet papers from a private account, but also attacked Ms Truss's approach to immigration.
Rishi Sunak re-appointed Ms Braverman on his first day in office.
roles of Chancellor, home secretary and foreign secretary are now held by the same people they were seven days ago.
Jeremy Hunt was appointed Chancellor two weeks ago by Ms Truss and reversed much of her tax-cutting mini-budget. James Cleverly, made foreign secretary by Ms Truss, will also remain in post.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper accused Mr Sunak of "putting party before country" in appointing Ms Braverman.
Ms Braverman threw her support behind Mr Sunak in the contest to replace Ms Truss, in what was widely seen as a significant endorsement by an MP on the right-wing of the Tory party.
"He said he wants his government to have 'integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level'," Ms Cooper said.
"Yet he has just appointed Suella Braverman to be home secretary again a week after she resigned for breaches of the Ministerial Code, security lapses, sending sensitive government information through unauthorised personal channels, and following weeks of non-stop public disagreements with other cabinet ministers.
"Our national security and public safety are too important for this kind of chaos."
Ms Braverman quit on a chaotic day in parliament
Ms Braverman had been appointed as Attorney General by Boris Johnson in 2020, before becoming Ms Truss's first home secretary.
In her resignation letter last week, Ms Braverman said she had made a "technical infringement" of the rules by sending an official document from a personal email and was now taking responsibility.
"I have made a mistake; I accept responsibility; I resign," she told the PM in her letter, in a thinly-veiled dig at Ms Truss.
However, she also said she had "serious concerns about this government's commitment to honouring manifesto commitments, such as reducing overall migration numbers and stopping illegal migration, particularly the dangerous small boats crossings."
re have been reports that Ms Braverman had been at odds with Ms Truss over plans to relax immigration rules in a bid to boost economic growth.
She was replaced by Grant Shapps, who served in office for only six days. | /news/uk-politics-63393019 |
health | Disgraced surgeon's patients consider legal action | Patients of a disgraced former neurosurgeon are considering a class action against NHS Tayside.
ft in chronic pain after operations by Prof Sam Eljamel at Dundee's Ninewells Hospital
A damning Scottish government report last month accused NHS Tayside of letting patients down.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said he expected NHS Tayside to give the issue the highest priority - a police investigation is also ongoing.
Dozens of patients are also calling for an external and independent review of what happened to them.
ged a protest to highlight their cause outside Ninewells Hospital.
Scottish government has turned down calls for a public inquiry.
Prof Eljamel, the former head of neurosurgery at NHS Tayside in Dundee, harmed dozens of patients before he was suspended in 2013.
He was allowed to voluntarily remove himself from the General Medical Council's register and is now working as a surgeon in Libya.
Elizabeth Rose from L&M MediLaw said she had been approached by some of Eljamel's patients to look into any harm they experienced under his care, as well as the actions or omissions of Tayside Health Board.
wyer also backed the patients' calls for a public inquiry.
She said: "Although our investigations are at very early stages, a public inquiry would allow those affected to understand what happened to them and why."
Jules Rose was among those protesting outside Ninewells Hospital.
After her operation in 2013, Ms Rose discovered that Prof Eljamel had removed her tear gland instead of a tumour on her brain.
She still has not been told exactly when health bosses knew he was a risk to patients.
Ms Rose said that a class action, or group proceeding as it is known in Scotland, was being considered.
However, she said that a public inquiry was the patients' priority.
She said: "Patients have been complaining to NHS Tayside for years and they have got nowhere.
"They have got every door closed in their face.
"Why was Tayside allowing the surgeon to continue butchering people for so many years, what were they doing?
"Where were their systems and processes?
"All these questions need answered by external scrutiny."
An NHS Tayside spokeswoman said the health board was aware of the protest.
She added: "We continue to be in contact directly with Ms Rose and have offered her another meeting with the Chair, Chief Executive and Medical Director.
"Ms Rose has advised that she welcomes this further opportunity for discussion.
"We are also making arrangements for other patients who wish to discuss their circumstances to be invited to a meeting." | /news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-63877241 |
health | Fresh nurse strike dates announced in England | Nurses will go on strike again on 18 and 19 January in England unless pay talks are opened, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said.
Nurses at more hospital trusts than before will be involved in the strike action in the new year, the union said.
Meanwhile, the GMB union has called off a second day of ambulance strikes planned in England and Wales for 28 December.
But it announced a new co-ordinated walkout on 11 January.
wo days of nurses strikes were held in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on 15 and 20 December, which resulted in more than 40,000 patient appointments and procedures being rescheduled.
On two consecutive days in January, there will be 12-hour walkouts by nurses at 55 health trusts in England - around a quarter.
Pat Cullen, head of the RCN, said the union had been left "with no choice" but to arrange January strikes.
"The government had the opportunity to end this dispute before Christmas but instead they have chosen to push nursing staff out into the cold again in January," Ms Cullen said.
"The public support has been heart-warming and I am more convinced than ever that this is the right thing to do for patients and the future of the NHS."
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said he was "disappointed" by the decision to take further strike action. He said meeting unions' pay demands would mean money being taken away from frontline services, causing delays to patients' treatment.
"Strikes are in no one's best interest, least of all patients, and I urge unions to reconsider further strike action before walkouts have a worse impact on patients," he added.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was "really sad" about the disruption being caused "to so, so many people's lives, particularly at Christmas time."
But he insisted he had "acted fairly and reasonably" in accepting public sector pay recommendations and could not risk inflation rising any further.
Watch this video quiz to test your knowledge of nurses' pay
In Scotland, NHS workers are to be awarded an average pay increase of 7.5% - but nurses are still expected to announce strike dates in the new year. They rejected the pay deal, alongside midwives and staff belonging to the GMB union.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said the deal was "the biggest since devolution" and he had no more money for pay this year - but he said he was prepared to meet unions during the festive period to stop further strike action.
Royal College of Midwives says its members in Scotland may also take action in 2023.
Up to 10,000 ambulance members were expected to walk out on Wednesday 28 December.
union said it was scrapping the action next week so that "the public will be able to enjoy Christmas without additional anxiety".
f strike action on 11 January means GMB workers will again be striking on the same day as ambulance workers represented by Unison.
It means thousands of paramedics, call handlers and technicians will walk out in nine of England's 10 trusts, and across Wales in the new year.
Unison said yesterday it planned two more days of strikes on 11 and 23 January in London, Yorkshire, the North West, North East and South West.
unions say they want the government to come to the table and negotiate pay in order to help retain staff and improve patient care.
Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said they were suspending action on 28 December because they had been overwhelmed by "amazing public support".
But she said the new January strike date showed the union's commitment to getting higher pay for ambulance staff was "stronger than ever".
"The government can now do what ambulance workers and the public want - get round the table and talk pay now. We are here 24/7. Any time, any place," she said.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "We will continue to work to bring together trade unions, employers and government to deliver the best possible outcomes for workers, while continuing to call on the UK government to use the funding it has to provide a fair pay offer to NHS staff and enable us to do the same in Wales." | /news/health-64076956 |
business | Give details of 'banker bonus' talks, Labour tells government | Keir Starmer: Government increasing bankers' bonuses
Labour has urged the government to reveal whether the prime minister was "lobbied" by bankers for the cap on their bonuses to be lifted.
Financial Times reports that on 7 June, Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were asked to raise the limit, currently 200% of fixed pay.
Labour's Angela Rayner accused ministers of "hypocrisy" at a time when inflation is putting pressure on wages.
government has insisted it is not looking to change bonus rules.
In a recent statement the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the focus was instead on possibly changing the form in which bonuses were paid out - with potentially more of the awards coming in company shares rather than cash.
meant recipients would be more "fully invested in the success of the company they run", it added.
EU-wide cap on bankers' bonuses is normally set at 100% of salary but it can be extended to as much as 200% of fixed pay if there is explicit shareholder permission.
It was brought in after the 2008 financial crisis. Supporters say it ensures fairness, but opponents argue that removing it for UK-based bankers following Brexit would give the City of London a competitive advantage over its rivals.
Financial Times has reported that, at a virtual meeting featuring Mr Johnson, Mr Sunak, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and international bankers, the prospect of the post-Brexit UK lifting of "unnecessary" restrictions on bonuses was discussed.
And the i newspaper has reported that Cabinet Office minister Steve Barclay, who is also the prime minister's chief-of-staff, wrote to the chancellor calling for "deregulatory measures" to help businesses, including cutting restrictions on director and non-executive director remuneration.
In a letter to Mr Barclay, Labour's deputy leader Ms Rayner says the claims over the meeting on 7 June are of "huge concern" and show "hypocrisy" when inflation is running at 9.1%, the highest level in 40 years.
"It appears this government's 'new approach' is to prioritise increasing bankers' bonuses rather than helping working people," she adds.
Ms Rayner asks for the minutes of the meeting to be released, what "was promised" and whether there were further discussions after 7 June.
ubject also came up at Prime Minister's Questions, when Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Johnson had "rolled over" on bankers' bonuses.
rime minister replied: "What we're actually doing is, thanks to the decisions we've taken... putting money into the pockets of people up and down the country - £1,200 more for the eight million most vulnerable households."
He said the government was able to do this after taking the "tough decisions" linked to the pandemic. | /news/uk-politics-61898781 |
health | Rapid cancer diagnosis centres open in Northern Ireland | wo specialist clinics aimed at reducing the time it takes for a cancer diagnosis have been opened by the Department of Health.
Rapid Diagnosis Centres are being launched at Whiteabbey Hospital in County Antrim and South Tyrone Hospital in Dungannon.
will treat patients with concerning symptoms which doctors suspect could be cancer.
GPs in Armagh, Dungannon and east Antrim can now refer patients.
res are the first of their kind in Northern Ireland and are a key part of the Department of Health's 10 year Cancer Strategy published in March.
rtment said patients referred to the centres will receive co-ordinated examination and investigations based on their needs in a one-stop environment with rapid reporting of results.
With the patient's consent the Rapid Diagnosis Centre clinician will make an onward referral to the appropriate speciality for patients who require further investigation or treatment.
Department of Health Permanent Secretary Peter May said: "This is an important step forward in our ability to diagnosis those harder to identify cancers and is a key action set out in the Department's Cancer Strategy.
"Most importantly, there is the opportunity to diagnose more people sooner and to improve both patient experiences and outcomes."
Heather Monteverde, Department of Health professional advisor, said the centres will offer GPs access to a fast-track clinic for people who present with vague symptoms which a GP suspects could be cancer.
"They will not only provide a better diagnostic service for patients and GPs, but will also be more efficient," she added.
Kevin McMahon, director of surgical and clinical services in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, welcomed the opening of the centres.
"While this is initially for the local east Antrim population we look forward to expanding the service to a much wider population in the near future."
Chief Executive of the Southern Health and Social Care Trust, Dr Maria O'Kane, said she was delighted that South Tyrone Hospital was involved in the pilot.
"The hospital and our committed team will be involved in this new regional pilot, helping to improve waiting times, enhancing the patient experience and potentially achieving the best possible outcomes for more local people." | /news/uk-northern-ireland-64048845 |
health | Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust declares critical incident | A record number of patients going to A&E has led Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust to declare a critical incident.
rust said the problems were being made worse through an increase in staff sickness.
One doctor from Brighton, who has worked in A&E for 22 years, said he has seen "nothing like this".
Medway Maritime Hospital and the South East Coast Ambulance Service both declared critical incidents this month.
A Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust spokesperson said it faced challenges in discharging patients who were well enough to leave hospital, to create capacity for patients coming in.
rust took the decision to declare a critical incident in order to be able to take additional steps to maintain safe services for patients and cope with the growing pressures.
A spokesman said: "Due to the significant ongoing pressure on local NHS services, alongside the need to act swiftly to ensure patients continue to receive safe, high quality care, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust has declared a critical incident."
In a further statement released on Thursday, deputy chief executive Paul Simpson said the trust had seen "some improvement" following a significant number of discharges.
"Preparations are being made to deal with the expected pressures over the weekend," he added.
Dr Robert Galloway, Consultant in Emergency Medicine at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, said hospitals were facing deep pressures.
rust said essential services remain fully open for anyone who needs them and those requiring urgent medical help should continue to come forward. All time critical and cancer surgery continue unaffected.
People should continue to attend planned appointments unless contacted.
Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk. | /news/uk-england-sussex-64114594 |
politics | MPs reject Christmas parties on expenses | Parliament's expenses watchdog is facing a backlash from MPs after it told them they can claim for the cost of an office Christmas party.
Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) announced MPs can this year claim for food, decorations and non-alcoholic drinks.
But MPs on all sides have rejected the guidance, with one calling it "bonkers" amid a cost of living crisis.
Ipsa said holding a "modest gathering" for staff was "entirely appropriate".
But a spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he wouldn't be claiming for a party, and that MPs would have to "justify all spending to their constituents".
Labour MPs have been told it would "clearly be inappropriate" for them to claim for Christmas parties at a time of rising living costs.
John Cryer, chair of the parliamentary Labour Party, said he would be writing to Ipsa to ask them to reconsider their guidance.
Labour frontbencher Jess Phillips said: "The guidance wasn't made by MPs and yet we will be pilloried for it.
"I think it's really irresponsible to issue this guidance as if MPs have been clamouring for it when I've literally never heard anyone do that."
Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain said none of her party's MPs would be claiming, adding "in the middle of a cost of living crisis this is tone deaf from Ipsa".
Conservative Former Brexit secretary David Davis called the rules "bonkers" and said Ipsa had "missed the mood of the age".
In a statement, Ipsa defended its approach, saying MPs' staff worked in a "challenging" environment and often had to deal with "distressing" casework from constituents.
"As employers, it is entirely appropriate that MPs should, if they see fit, reward their staff with a modest gathering at Christmas," the statement added.
"We are clear that alcohol is not included, that any event must represent value for money, is subject to publication for transparency and must not be party political in nature. It must be funded within existing budgets."
"To suggest that there is anything inappropriate in this is simply incorrect."
rganisation added that it had produced the guidance in response to requests from MPs for clarification on its expenses policy.
uthority - which was set up in the wake of the 2009 MPs' expenses scandal - is funded by the Treasury, which in turn raises most of its funds through taxes.
In its update, the body said MPs would be able to claim for "festive office events" for staff - but "value for money should be considered and all claims will be published in the usual manner".
Ipsa added that all claims "should represent value for money, especially in the current economic climate". Claims have to be parliamentary in nature and should not be party-political.
uthority said it would also approve claims of money spent on sending cards to local residents.
But MPs were explicitly told they cannot use their expenses for a festive or new year calendar, decorations outside their constituency offices, or spend taxpayers' money on alcohol.
Any Christmas cards claimed for must not be sent to "large groups or all constituents as there is a risk this may not represent value for money and could be considered self-promotional". | /news/uk-politics-63714892 |
politics | Plaid Cymru: Adam Price concerned over claims of 'awful culture' in party | Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price has said he is "concerned" over claims of an "awful culture" in his party.
Mr Price promised to ask all party staff to share their experiences and said he would learn from them.
But he declined to comment on claims he knew of allegations against a party Senedd member a year ago.
Several sources have said there is substantial unease within the party about the way allegations have been dealt with.
Welsh Parliament's Standards Commissioner is investigating serious allegations made against Rhys ab Owen, MS for South Wales central.
Mr ab Owen is suspended in the meantime. Sources have claimed the allegations were in raised in Plaid a year ago.
BBC Wales also learned earlier this week the party has also commissioned a HR firm to look into misconduct allegations in Plaid Cymru, unrelated to Rhys ab Owen.
One source spoke of an "awful culture" in the party and a "lack of leadership".
Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Drive with Gareth Lewis, Mr Price said: "I've made it very clear that Plaid Cymru, like all parties, has to work to improve its culture and ensure that it has a safe and inclusive environment for everyone.
"I'm concerned to read this and we're committed to ensuring that we do practice those values of inclusivity and creating a safe space.
"As a result of these comments, we will be reaching out to all our staff, giving them a space to share their experiences confidentially.
"And we are committed, absolutely, to taking any necessary action as a consequence of learning from them."
Asked if he knew about the Rhys ab Owen allegations a year ago, he said: "It's not possible for us to comment on a case which is being investigated at the moment."
He said he also could not comment on the HR firm's probe. | /news/uk-wales-politics-63669944 |
entertainment | Taylor Swift: Midnights praised by critics despite lack of radio hits | r Swift's new album has been met with rave reviews from critics, although some said its subdued tone means it lacks potential hit singles.
Midnights, the singer's 10th original studio album, was awarded five stars by both the Guardian and the Independent.
Guardian said Midnights is a "cool, collected and mature" record which is "packed with fantastic songs".
But some criticised the lack of radio hits, with the Evening Standard noting there is "not a smash hit in sight".
Swift is currently re-recording her early records due to a dispute with music mogul Scooter Braun, but has paused that process to release a new album of original material.
Midnights is the 32-year-old's first original album in two years and sees her return to a more mainstream sound than the somewhat muted, acoustic tone of her previous two albums.
Her new record retains some of the folksy charm of sister albums Folklore and Evermore, both released in 2020 during the pandemic. But it also sees her re-engage her pop sensibilities, with lyrics that explore more personal subject matters.
Some songs offer fans further insight into the star's normally low-key relationship with her boyfriend, English actor Joe Alwyn.
Swift previously described the album as "stories of 13 sleepless nights, scattered throughout my life".
In a five-star review, the Guardian's Alexis Petridis said Midnights "delivers her firmly from what she called the 'folklorian woods' of her last two albums back to electronic pop".
"There are filtered synth tones, swoops of dubstep-influenced bass, trap and house-inspired beats and effects that warp her voice to a point of androgyny," he noted.
"Confidence is the thing that binds Midnights together. There's a sure-footedness about Swift's songwriting, filled with subtle, brilliant touches."
Independent's Helen Brown also awarded five stars, writing: "Over a series of murky electronic grooves (mostly co-written with Jack Antonoff), the pop star unpacks her darkest dreams, deepest doubts and cruellest thoughts. All the while she keeps things just cryptic enough to keep the tension crackling and the speculation buzzing.
"The subtle melodies of Midnights take time to sink their claws in," she added. "But Swift's feline vocal stealth and assured lyrical control ensure she keeps your attention. Turn the lights off and let these songs prowl around you. Just don't expect their meanings to settle too biddably into your lap. Swift's always as elusive as she is allusive."
However, the Evening Standard's David Smyth was significantly less enthusiastic, awarding the album just two stars.
"It's hard to spot anything that sounds like a smash hit on Swift's third muted collection in a row," he wrote.
"While the style is a change from Folklore and Evermore, Swift is never at the ball when the clock strikes 12. On the twinkly Bejeweled she announces that she's 'going out tonight', but the beats remain sleepy and sluggish.
"The brighter Karma, presumably another dig at Braun, is the only song that feels like it could be a highlight when she eventually returns to the stage. Otherwise Midnights sounds ready for bed."
But Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos argued that a subtle return to form has resulted in an improved quality of songwriting from the star.
"As Swift has returned to her archive for to undertake the project of re-recording her previous albums, it's clear slipping back into her past self has unlocked something brilliant and fresh in her songwriting," she wrote.
"Midnights may come as a surprise to the most newly turned fans of her music, those who only learned to like her songwriting when it came in the traditionally respectable Folklore/Evermore package."
Swift is gearing up for a busy few months. She is hoping to be nominated for an Oscar in January, either for her short film All Too Well, or in the best original song category for her track Carolina, taken from Where The Crawdads Sing
But Midnights will be her main focus for the next few months, with fans anticipating the announcement of a world tour in support of its release.
In a four-star review, the Times' Will Hodgkinson wrote: "Swift has said she intended Midnights as a concept piece based on 13 nights of troubled sleep, and these variously minimal, eerie, heartfelt and intense songs do have a crepuscular quality that is out of keeping with her usual cheery brightness.
"Sometimes, as on Labyrinth, the modish vocal treatments are off-putting, but in the main Midnights appeals because, for all its modern touches, it is essentially an old-fashioned singer-songwriter album about human weakness."
NME's Hannah Mylrea wrote: "After a foray into a different sonic world, on Swift's return to pure pop she still shimmers.
"She spins these new stories through sleek synth-pop, in common with [previous albums] 1989 or Lover, but the razor-sharp production of these albums is more subtle this time around."
graph's Neil McCormick praised the album's "sensuous electro-digital sound" in his four-star review for the Telegraph, but also highlighted the lack of radio hits.
"Yet despite the Prince-like falsetto funkiness of opening love song Lavender Haze and glib strut of Bejeweled ("When I walk in a room, I can still make the whole place shimmer") there are no obvious chart-smashing bangers.
"It is almost as if she has become too mature for the brand of meme-friendly, earworm pop with which she made her name." | /news/entertainment-arts-63341633 |
business | Thai transgender tycoon buys Miss Universe contest | A Thai celebrity media tycoon - who is a transgender woman - has bought the company that runs the Miss Universe beauty pageants for $20m (£17.1m).
Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip is the boss of JKN Global Group, which makes television shows in Thailand.
She has starred in the Thai versions of popular reality shows Project Runway and Shark Tank.
Her purchase of the company, which was once co-owned by Donald Trump, comes as the pageant becomes more inclusive.
Ms Jakrajutatip has been outspoken about her experiences as a transgender woman.
She said in a statement that the Miss Universe Organization was a "strong, strategic addition" to her company's portfolio.
"We seek not only to continue its legacy of providing a platform to passionate individuals from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and traditions, but also to evolve the brand for the next generation," she added.
"Our relationships with global partners and brands have never been stronger, and our progressive approach continues to position us at the forefront of our industry," Miss Universe Organization chief executive Amy Emmerich and president Paula Shugart said.
Miss Universe Organization was co-owned by Mr Trump from 1996 to 2015.
former US president sold the company after two television partners said they would not broadcast the pageant, over comments Mr Trump made about illegal immigrants on his 2016 presidential campaign.
He was also criticised when former Miss Universe Alicia Machado claimed Mr Trump called her "Miss Piggy".
remarks were made when she put on weight after winning contest in 1996, the Venezuela-born model said.
"When I purchased the pageants many years ago, they were in serious trouble," Mr Trump said in a statement following the company's sale to US talent agency WME-IMG in 2015.
"It has been a great honour making them so successful. The pageants are now in the hands of a great company that will shepherd them to even greater levels of success."
Ms Jakrajutatip's purchase came as the Miss Universe pageant has moved towards being more inclusive.
From next year, organisers have said that married women and mothers will be allowed to compete for the title.
mpetition was previously only open to women who had never been married, and had no children.
geant has been held annually for 71 years and is broadcast in more than 160 countries.
Miss International joins Mrs Galaxy and Ms Great Britain in pageant diversity debate | /news/business-63408879 |
sports | Commonwealth Games: Badminton - Men's Singles results | Results from preliminary rounds can be found on the official Commonwealth Games website.external-link | /sport/commonwealth-games/62409162 |
business | Martin Lewis says energy bills at 'desperate' point | ring cost of energy has hit crisis point and more help is needed for struggling households, Martin Lewis has told the BBC.
Analysts have forecast the price of bills will rise even further to nearly £4,000 a year for a typical home.
It comes as energy firms Shell and British Gas owner Centrica reported big increases in profits after price hikes.
Money expert Mr Lewis said people were panicking, warning "it will be desperate" when bills rise this winter.
"It's going to throw many households into a terribly difficult financial situation," he told the BBC's Today programme.
In recent months, Russia has reduced supplies to Europe and fears are growing it may switch off the taps altogether.
In the face of potential gas supply problems, the wholesale price has soared, which has led to energy firms passing those costs onto customers - pushing up household energy bills by an unprecedented amount.
Mr Lewis said he had "never seen anything like this", and that people were going to be pushed into making "some awful choices".
"Year-on-year from last October to this October a typical house will be paying £2,300 a year more on their energy bills alone. Forget the rises in mobile and broadband and tax and everything else and petrol and food," he said.
"People will be panicking, it will be desperate."
government has said that every household in the UK will get an energy bill discount of £400 this autumn as part of a package of new measures to tackle soaring prices.
But Mr Lewis said that more needed to be done now to help the poorest households.
"Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, if you're listening, please, go and sit in a room together, make a collective decision now of what help you can give and make an announcement now to forestall the mental damage that is coming across the country," he said.
"There needs to be action now."
UK energy bills increased by an unprecedented £700 in April and are likely to keep rising.
One management consultancy, BFY, warned that a typical energy bill could hit £3,850 a year by January, much higher than forecasts earlier this month.
BFY said its forecast reflected the increase in wholesale prices over the past few weeks with the ongoing tensions with Russia sparking concerns over winter supplies.
Faye Dearnaley, a student who lives with her three-year-old daughter in Fife, is one of many scared about soaring bills and said she was "always checking the meters".
"It's becoming more and more stressful as the prices are going up.
"I mean the only thing I keep on constantly is my fridge freezer, but I will go eight plus hours a day without having anything else on the house.
Ms Dearnaley, who is studying to be a teacher, said she had been running her laptop down until it was about to go flat and turning her internet off at times "just to try to save a bit of electric".
"It's getting ridiculous," she said. "My standing charge for gas has doubled. My standing charge for my electric has trebled.
"You really are watching every single penny just tick away on your smart meter.
"Food banks are a regular occurrence anyway so to frequent them more than I already am is a daunting thought." | /news/business-62334566 |
technology | TikTok may be fined £27m for failing to protect children | kTok could face a £27m fine for failing to protect children's privacy when they're using the platform.
UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) found the video-sharing platform may have processed the data of under-13s without appropriate consent.
watchdog said the breach happened over more than two years - until July 2020 - but that it had not yet drawn final conclusions.
kTok says it disputes the findings, noting that they are "provisional".
ICO has issued TikTok Inc and TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited with a "notice of intent" - a legal document which precedes a potential fine.
ut the ICO's provisional view that TikTok breached UK data protection law between May 2018 and July 2020.
ICO investigation found the social platform may have:
According to Ofcom, 44% of eight to 12-year-olds in the UK use TikTok, despite its policies forbidding under-13s on the platform.
Information Commissioner John Edwards said: "We all want children to be able to learn and experience the digital world, but with proper data privacy protections.
"Companies providing digital services have a legal duty to put those protections in place, but our provisional view is that TikTok fell short of meeting that requirement."
kTok has rolled out a number of features to strengthen the privacy and safety on the site - including allowing parents to link their accounts to their children's, and disabling direct messaging for under-16s.
But Mr Edwards continued: "I've been clear that our work to better protect children online involves working with organisations, but will also involve enforcement action where necessary.
"In addition to this, we are currently looking into how over 50 different online services are conforming with the Children's Code, and have six ongoing investigations looking into companies providing digital services who haven't, in our initial view, taken their responsibilities around child safety seriously enough."
Rolled out in September last year, the Children's Code put in place new data protection codes of practice for online services likely to be accessed by children, built on existing data protection laws, with financial penalties a possibility for serious breaches.
ICO said its findings in the notice were provisional, with no conclusion to be drawn at this stage that there had been any breach of data protection law.
It added: "We will carefully consider any representations from TikTok before taking a final decision."
A TikTok spokesperson said: "This notice of intent, covering the period May 2018-July 2020, is provisional and as the ICO itself has stated, no final conclusions can be drawn at this time.
"While we respect the ICO's role in safeguarding privacy in the UK, we disagree with the preliminary views expressed and intend to formally respond to the ICO in due course."
In 2019, the firm was given a record $5.7m fine by the Federal Trade Commission, for mishandling children's data.
It has also been fined in South Korea for similar reasons.
In July, the US Senate Commerce Committee voted to approve a measure that would raise the age that children were given special online privacy protections to 16, and prohibit targeted advertising to children without consent.
Follow Shiona McCallum on Twitter @shionamc | /news/technology-63033263 |