Author: BBC

Ariana Grande has spread some festive cheer by donating Christmas presents to children in hospitals across Manchester.The American pop star has supported Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital since May 2017, when a suicide bomber targeted fans as they left her concert in the city.Grande previously made donations to neo-natal intensive care units at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, North Manchester General Hospital, Wythenshawe Hospital and Saint Mary’s Hospital.Following her latest donations, the Manchester Foundation Trust Charity posted on X: “Thank you Ariana Grande. We are so grateful to Ariana for thinking of our young patients this Christmas.”The charity said the gifts were…

NHS website information on drinking while breastfeeding saw the highest increase in visits at Christmas last year, new figures show. Among the most visited pages on Christmas and Boxing Day in 2023 were advice coughs, colds and chest infections.But some people also wanted to know about drinking and breastfeeding, alcohol poisoning and rabies, NHS England said. Page views on burns and scalds and how to treat them also increased.In terms of health conditions, the most commonly viewed page after Covid-19 was for the winter vomiting norovirus with 19,170 visits over the 48-hour festive period in 2023.Some 17,398 other visits -…

A consultation has been launched on the phasing-out of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.The ban on UK sales of these vehicles had been extended to 2035 under the previous Conservative government but Labour said it would restore the 2030 deadline in its election manifesto.Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is now seeking views from automotive and charging experts to “restore clarity” on how to deliver the ban.The consultation follows a row between the government and the industry over the future move to electric vehicles.Last month, Ford said the UK government’s mandate to produce and sell more electric vehicles (EVs) “just…

Brazilian authorities have halted the construction of a factory for Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD, saying workers lived in conditions comparable to “slavery”.More than 160 workers have been rescued in Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia, according to a statement from the Public Labour Prosecutor’s Office (MPT).They were allegedly put in a “degrading” environment and had their passports and salaries withheld by a building company.BYD said in a statement that it had cut ties with the firm involved and remained committed to a “full compliance with Brazilian legislation”.The factory was scheduled to be operational by March 2025, and was set…

NetflixFans are waiting to find out whether the second season of Netflix’s Squid Game can live up to the firstThe out-of-office is on, the mulled wine is mulling, and the highlighter pen is out as families look ahead to the best of this year’s Christmas TV. Four names in particular have been dominating the headlines as people gear up for the festive break – Gavin, Stacey, Wallace and Gromit. But there are plenty of other programmes to look forward to over Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.Here are just a few of the shows scheduled for the coming days.Christmas…

Royal Papworth HospitalThe machine, nicknamed “lungs in a box”, is designed to mimic the human bodyA new machine which keeps lungs alive outside of the body could “transform” the number of people receiving transplants, surgeons hope.The breakthrough has come at Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire after it became the first in the UK to pilot the use of the XPS system.The machine, nicknamed “lungs in a box”, mimics the human body and surgeon Marius Burman said it could increase the number of transplants by 30%.Daniel Evans-Smith, a 49-year-old event manager from Northampton, was the first to receive a double lung…

Getty ImagesThe UK economy was weaker than initially estimated between July and September, revised official figures show.The economy had zero growth in the three months, revised down from an earlier estimate of 0.1%.Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the challenge to fix the economy “after 15 years of neglect is huge” and October’s Budget would “deliver sustainable long-term growth, putting more money in people’s pockets”.Shadow chancellor Mel Stride said Monday’s figures showed “growth has tanked on Labour’s watch”. Meanwhile, one of the UK’s leading business groups, the CBI said its latest company survey suggested “the economy is headed for the worst of…

Getty ImagesCraig Wright attending the London High Court in February 2024A computer scientist has been found to have committed contempt of court for falsely and persistently claiming to be the mysterious inventor of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto.In March, the High Court ruled Craig Wright was not Satoshi, and ordered him to stop claiming he was. However, he continued to launch legal cases asserting he had intellectual property rights to Bitcoin, including a claim he was owed $1.2 trillion (£911 billion).A judge said that amounted to a “flagrant breach” of the original court order and sentenced him to 12 months in prison,…

Getty ImagesBianca Guaccero and Giovanni Pernice were partners on Ballando Con Le Stelle – Italian’s answer to StrictlyGiovanni Pernice, a former professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, has won an Italian dance show months after he left the UK following complaints about his behaviour on the show.Pernice said his Ballando Con Le Stelle win with partner Bianca Guaccero, who is also his girlfriend, was a dream, adding: “after a difficult year I’m back”.The show is Italy’s version of Strictly Come Dancing and its US spin-off Dancing With The Stars.It comes after the BBC upheld “some, but not all” of the…

Hospices in England are to receive £100m of government funding over two years to improve end-of-life care, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has announced.Another £26m is going to hospices for children and young people, which is a continuation of money previously given through a grant.It comes after hospice leaders warned they were forced to close beds due to increasing financial pressures.Only about a third of hospice funding comes from the NHS – the rest has to be raised from donations, fundraising and charity shops.Around 170 hospices provide end-of-life care for adults and around 40 provide hospice care for children and young…