Author: BBC

Chloe AslettBBC News, YorkshireAnna CieslikBeatrice, 5, was diagnosed with Batten disease at the age of 3The mum of a five-year-old girl with a terminal genetic disorder has said her daughter’s health is likely to deteriorate quickly if the NHS removes provision of the vital drug which is “keeping her doing”.Two years ago, Beatrice Cieslik was diagnosed with CLN2 type Batten disease – a rare degenerative condition which causes seizures, blindness, dementia, and difficulty with mobility and speech. She is currently treated with the drug Brineura, allowing her to attend school and live “a better quality of life”.NHS access to the…

Michael RaceBusiness reporter, BBC NewsGetty ImagesGovernment finances showed a large surplus last month after a surge in tax receipts but the figure missed official forecasts, increasing pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to meet her own fiscal rules. The surplus – the difference between what the government spends and the tax it takes in – was £15.4bn in January, which is the highest level for the month since records began more than three decades ago.However, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which monitors the government’s spending plans and performance, had predicted that the surplus would be higher at £20.5bn.The smaller figure…

Manslaughter charges against a friend of Liam Payne and two members of staff at the hotel where the singer died have been dropped.Rogelio “Roger” Nores and two workers from the hotel in Buenos Aires were charged in December, two months after the One Direction star’s death.On Wednesday, appeal court judges reversed the earlier decision to charge all three.However, two other men accused of selling Payne cocaine before his death remain in prison and have been told they still face prosecution and a probable trial.Payne died last October after falling from a balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in the Argentine…

Apple has announced a new iPhone which brings artificial intelligence (AI) features at a lower cost than its flagship handsets.The iPhone 16e has the same processor as the larger iPhone 16, Apple said, with similar storage options, though a lower spec elsewhere, including fewer cameras.Apple has been struggling to find a new product that excites consumers – sales of iPhones dropped at the end of last year.It will be hoping that bringing enhanced AI functionality to a less expensive phone will address that – however analysts have been cautious about the sales boost such tools bring.Its name is clearly a…

James CookScotland editorBBCJames McMillan and Lisa McCuish grew up next to each other and now they lie side by side in Pennyfuir CemeteryJames McMillan grew up next door to Lisa McCuish in a neat cul-de-sac on a hillside above Oban Bay. Now they lie side by side in Pennyfuir Cemetery.The newest headstones on the freshly-dug fringes of the graveyard tell an alarming story of a lost generation in this pretty tourist town on Scotland’s west coast.Oban is home to just 8,000 people and at least eight recent confirmed or suspected victims of drug misuse were buried here. The youngest was…

The US President Donald Trump has said he is not happy with Boeing over a contract to build two new Air Force One planes that is running behind schedule.Speaking on board one of the 35-year-old presidential planes that are currently in use, Trump also said he is looking for alternatives because it is taking Boeing too long to build the planes.The contract for two updated versions of the presidential plane based on the modern Boeing 747-8 were negotiated during Trump’s first term in office.Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BBC News. “No, I’m not happy…

Rapper A$AP Rocky has been found not guilty of firing a gun at a former friend.A jury in Los Angeles acquitted the musician, whose legal name is Rakim Mayers, on two felony assault charges that carried up to 24 years in prison.Terell Ephron claimed the Grammy-nominated hip-hop star opened fire at him during an argument on a Hollywood street on 6 November 2021, grazing his knuckles with one of the shots.Mr Mayers, who is also a fashion mogul and the longtime partner of pop star Rihanna, denied the charges, arguing that the weapon was a prop gun and that his…

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools have got significantly better at answering legal questions but still can not replicate the competence of even a junior lawyer, new research suggests.The major British law firm, Linklaters, put chatbots to the test by setting them 50 “relatively hard” questions about English law.It concluded OpenAI’s GPT 2, released in 2019, was “hopeless” but its o1 model, which came out in December 2024, did considerably better.Linklaters said it showed the tools were “getting to the stage where they could be useful” for real world legal work – but only with expert human supervision.Law – like many other…

BBCEmma Griffiths was about 11 when she developed symptoms for lipoedema For years, Emma Griffiths was self-conscious about the fact her legs had grown out of proportion with the rest of her body.But it wasn’t until she was watching Love Island one night that the nurse noticed contestant Shaughna Phillips had the same shape legs – and started doing some research.Experts online suggested Shaughna had lipoedema and amateur triathlete Emma then knew “this is what I had, I’m not just obese”.The 35-year-old mother has now joined calls for more support to be available on the NHS for people with lipoedema.Lipoedema…

KFC, the fast-food restaurant chain formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is moving its corporate headquarters in the US from Louisville in Kentucky to Plano in Texas, according to a statement from its parent company, Yum Brands.About 100 corporate employees and dozens more remote workers will be required to move and will receive relocation support.The decision by Yum Brands is part of a plan to have two headquarters for its main brands — KFC and Pizza Hut will be headquartered in Plano, while Taco Bell and Habit Burger & Grill will remain in Irvine, California.In recent years, many companies have…