Author: BBC

Yasmin Rufo and Noor NanjiBBC NewsAlamyYour 20s are a whirlwind of bad dates, career crises, and wondering if you’ll ever really get your life together. Enter Bridget Jones, the queen of chaotic charm, who has been stumbling through life lessons since before many of us can remember.Despite the original Bridget Jones’s Diary book being released in 1996 and the film in 2001, it seems the floundering and flawed heroine has captivated the hearts of Gen Z, who weren’t born when Helen Fielding’s novel was first published. Fielding says she finds it “comforting” that women in their 20s have a real…

The UK government has demanded to be able to access encrypted data stored by Apple users worldwide in its cloud service.Currently only the Apple account holder can access data stored in this way – the tech giant itself cannot view it.The demand has been served by the Home Office under the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), which compels firms to provide information to law enforcement agencies.Apple declined to comment, but says on its website that it views privacy as a “fundamental human right”.Under the law, the demand cannot be made public. The news was first reported by the Washington Post quoting…

Miya ChahalBBC News, NottinghamReporting fromQueen’s Medical CentreBBCA corridor leading to the pain clinic, which has flooded due to a pump failureInside one of Nottingham’s busiest hospitals stands an abandoned clinic where plaster is peeling off the walls, ceilings have caved in and standing water floods the corridor.”This is what can happen when infrastructure issues are left untreated,” said head of estates Michael Soroka during a visit by the BBC.Other hospital employees said they were concerned other wards could “follow the same fate” as plans to rebuild and improve Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) and City Hospital were delayed until 2037…

Bereaved relatives have been asked to repay state pensions that were wrongly sent to people who have died by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).The DWP has confirmed it has no legal right to reclaim the money but argues that it does so to protect public funds.Former Pensions Minister Sir Steve Webb says the letter the department sends out to families does not make it clear the repayments are voluntary.Over the past five years, the DWP mistakenly paid more than £500m in state pensions and pension credits to the deceased, recovering about half from bereaved relatives.This situation can arise…

Steven McIntoshEntertainment reporterGetty ImagesGascón (pictured at the Cannes Film Festival last year) has said she “sincerely apologised to those who have been hurt”Tweets posted by best actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón, mostly between 2019 and 2024, have caused significant fallout and left the film’s awards campaign in disarray.Gascón has released several statements and given interviews since the controversy began, but in a new Instagram post she said she now wanted to step back and “let the work talk for itself”.She added she hoped her silence would “allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to…

Brian WheelerSenior political reporterReutersKeir Starmer is pinning his growth hopes on cutting edge tools powered by AISir Keir Starmer’s plan to make the UK a “world leader” in Artificial Intelligence (AI) could put already stretched supplies of drinking water under strain, industry sources have told the BBC.The giant data centres needed to power AI can require large quantities of water to prevent them from overheating.The tech industry says it is developing more efficient cooling systems that use less water.But the department for science, innovation and technology said in a statement it recognised the plants “face sustainability challenges”.The government has committed…

Michelle RobertsDigital health editor, BBC NewsBBCMore than 100,000 women are believed to have had mesh implants fitted between 2007 and 2015Women harmed by pelvic mesh implants are still waiting for government compensation a year after a major report called for urgent action. Patient safety commissioner Dr Henrietta Hughes, who made that recommendation, called it “an injustice” for the thousands of lives destroyed. Some women were left in permanent pain, unable to walk, work or have sex, after the surgery to treat incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.The government says it remains “fully focused” on how best to support patients and prevent…

UK house prices have hit another record high with the average property price reaching £299,138, Halifax has said.The UK’s largest mortgage lender, part of Lloyds Banking Group, said property values recovered in January after seeing a slight dip in December.The annual growth in prices slowed to 3.0%, which is the weakest rate since July 2023, but Halifax said the market was showing “noteworthy” resilience.Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said there was “strong demand for new mortgages and growth in lending”, which might be being driven by first-time buyers trying to complete deals before an increase in stamp duty…

Mark SavageMusic CorrespondentGetty ImagesIrv Gotti was part of a wave of hip-hop producers like Dr Dre and Timbaland, whose name carried as much clout as the stars they worked withIrv Gotti, the music producer who created hits for Ja Rule, Ashanti, DMX and Jennifer Lopez, has died at the age of 54.Best known as the founder of the record label Murder Inc., his signature style of blending hip-hop beats with smooth R&B melodies shaped the sound of the charts in the late 90s and early 2000s.As a writer and producer, his multi-platinum hits included the J-Lo and Ja Rule duets…

Google has become the latest big US firm to scrap its goals to recruit more workers from underrepresented groups, BBC News understands.The decision to abandon the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) recruitment targets comes after the company carried out an annual review of its corporate policies.The technology giant is also reviewing some of its other DEI programmes.US President Donald Trump and his allies have regularly attacked DEI policies. Since his return to the White House just over two weeks ago, Trump has ordered government agencies to eliminate such initiatives.”We’re committed to creating a workplace where all our employees can succeed…