Author: BBC

Stock markets fell sharply in the US on Monday as investors raised concerns about the negative economic impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.It followed the president saying in a TV interview that the world’s biggest economy was in a “period of transition”, when asked about suggestions of a potential recession.Since those remarks were broadcast on Sunday, top Trump officials and advisers have sought to calm investor fears.”The previous notion of Trump being a stock market president is being re-evaluated,” Charu Chanana, an investment strategist at investment bank Saxo, told the BBC.In a Fox News interview broadcast at the weekend but…

Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, experienced massive outages throughout Monday morning that impacted thousands of users in the US and UK.The outage came as platform monitor Downdetector said it had seen tens of thousands of reports from US users of technical issues affecting the platform.There were more than 8,000 outage reports from UK users shortly before 14:00 GMT, following a brief but notable surge of reports on Monday morning.Connection issues lasted for some users into the afternoon.Many users trying to access the platform and refresh feeds on its app and desktop site during Monday’s outages…

Anna Foster is to join BBC Radio 4’s Today programme as one of the programme’s main presenters, following the departure of Mishal Husain in December.Foster is a former Middle East correspondent and has also previously presented BBC Radio 5 Live Drive and Radio 1’s Newsbeat, as well as the corporation’s flagship TV news bulletins.She will present many editions of Today from Salford, as part of the BBC’s efforts to better represent more areas of the UK beyond London.In a statement, Foster said: “There are few more exciting opportunities for a journalist than presenting Today, and I’m thrilled to be joining…

BBCThis lab-grown Wagyu steak is ready to eat, but can’t be sold in the UK because it has not yet been approved Meat, dairy and sugar grown in a lab could be on sale in the UK for human consumption for the first time within two years, sooner than expected. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is looking at how it can speed up the approval process for lab-grown foods.Such products are grown from cells in small chemical plants.UK firms have led the way in the field scientifically but feel they have been held back by the current regulations.Dog food made…

Mark Carney’s elevation to the top job in Canada is of particular significance at this moment when his country is at the frontline of a North American trade war. He becomes the “anti-Trump” on the US president’s doorstep.The former Bank of England governor chose to lean strongly into resisting Donald Trump’s policies at his acceptance speech. He said the US president had brought “dark days” from “a country we can no longer trust” and that he was “proud” of Canadians resisting the US “with their wallets”.While on trade specifically Mr Carney vowed to keep the retaliatory tariffs “until Americans show…

Ben MorrisEditor, Technology of BusinessGetty ImagesMedefer handles around 1,500 referrals a monthThe NHS is “looking into” allegations that patient data was left vulnerable to hacking due to a software flaw at a private medical services company. The flaw was found last November at Medefer, which handles 1,500 NHS patient referrals a month.The software engineer who discovered the flaw believes the problem had existed for at least six years. Medefer says there is no evidence the flaw had been in place that long and stressed that patient data has not been compromised.The flaw was fixed a few days after being discovered.In…

Actor Pierce Brosnan has said it is a “given” that the next James Bond should be British.In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, the former Bond also said he thought it was the “right decision” for the franchise’s long-standing producers to hand creative control to Amazon.”It takes great courage for them to let go,” said Brosnan, who is Irish. “I hope that [Amazon] handles the work and the character with dignity and imagination and respect.”The choice of Daniel Craig’s successor will be a decision for Amazon MGM Studios.James Norton, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Theo James – who are all English -…

BBCChris, not his real name, started missing work because of his involvement in chemsexA man drawn into the world of having sex while high on illegal drugs has described how he became a “zombie” whose life was slowly deteriorating.Chris – whose name has been changed – told the BBC he started to take part in chemsex, short for chemical sex, which helped mask the “the shame and guilt” he said he felt growing up gay.The Londoner said after becoming addicted to chemsex – which typically involves men who have sex with men using the drugs crystal meth, methedrone and GHB/GBL…

Graham FraserTechnology ReporterSuppliedLouise Littlejohn saw the funny side after realising the technology had got it wrongA woman from Dunfermline has spoken of her shock after an Apple voice-to-text service mistakenly inserted a reference to sex – and an apparent insult – into a message left by a garage.Louise Littlejohn, 66, received a voicemail message on Wednesday from a Lookers Land Rover garage in Motherwell inviting her to an event.An artificial intelligence (AI) powered service offered by Apple turned it into a text message which – to her surprise – asked if she been “able to have sex” before calling her…

Samantha GranvilleBBC News, Los AngelesWatch: Officials reveal causes of death for Gene Hackman and Betsy ArakawaOscar-winning actor Gene Hackman died of natural causes about a week after his wife Betsy Arakawa, who died after contracting a rare virus, a New Mexico medical investigator has said.Hackman, 95, died at his Santa Fe home from coronary artery disease, with advanced Alzheimer’s disease a contributing factor.Ms Arakawa, 65, died in the same house from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a respiratory illness caused by exposure to infected rodents. Her cause of death was listed as natural. Authorities believe she passed away about seven days…