Author: BBC

Emma StanleyBBC News, LancashireHandoutMel Tottoh was diagnosed with myeloma after months of rib and back painA former footballer has told how he was in “complete shock” after being diagnosed with blood cancer – after first believing the pain was from a pulled muscle.Mel Tottoh was diagnosed with myeloma after months of rib and back pain.The father-of-three, from Freckleton in Lancashire, went to the GP after feeling a “searing pain” that made him feel like he had broken a rib when taking a swing on the golf course in 2021.”When I was diagnosed, I had holey bones in my ribs, thighs,…

Yasmin Rufo & Alex TaylorCulture reporterGetty ImagesSir David Beckham and wife Lady Beckham with son Brooklyn and his wife Nicola PeltzThe anointment of Sir David Beckham is a moment of establishment recognition three decades in the making. But as the former footballer was conferred his knighthood on Friday, reports of family drama threatened to overshadow the milestone.Known for his precision on and off the pitch, Sir David has spent decades carefully curating his family’s public image.This year is one of celebration for the former England captain – turning 50 at the helm of an estimated £500m empire.But for the past…

Fardowsa HanshiBBC News, MogadishuAnthony Irungu / BBCFathi Mohamed Abdi (L) and Saadia Ahmed Omar (R) have overseen more than 30 multimillion-dollar projectsConstruction is booming in Somalia’s capital city and as Mogadishu literally rises from the ashes of its violent past it is also giving unexpected opportunities to women like Fathi Mohamed Abdi and Saadia Ahmed Omar.The two young female engineers have been overseeing the construction of a 10-floor apartment complex in Taleh in the city’s Hodan District.Wearing hard hats they navigate their way through construction material, issuing instructions to a team of workers – all of whom are men.”When I…

Tom GerkenTechnology reporterGetty ImagesMeta has taken legal action against a company which runs ads on its platforms promoting so-called “nudify” apps, which typically using artificial intelligence (AI) to create fake nude images of people without their consent.It has sued the firm behind CrushAI apps to stop it posting ads altogether, following a cat-and-mouse battle to remove them over a series of months.”This legal action underscores both the seriousness with which we take this abuse and our commitment to doing all we can to protect our community from it,” Meta said in a blog post.Alexios Mantzarlis, who authors the Faked Up…

Angie BrownBBC Scotland, Edinburgh and East reporterKieran InnesBrian and his son Kieran say they now have a strong bond following the transplantKieran Innes was just 25 when he was diagnosed with kidney failure and told he would need dialysis three times a week. He was devastated and worried that he would have to curtail plans of a dream wedding and honeymoon with fiancée Lara Russell. Two years later his future has been transformed thanks to his kidney donor – his 63-year-old dad Brian. “This has 100% made our bond stronger, I feel forever like I owe him,” said Kieran. “Everything…

Peter GillibrandBBC NewsbeatBBCSleep Token slid into Lani Hernandez-David’s DMsLike thousands of other music fans, Lani Hernandez-David will be watching Sleep Token at Download Festival this weekend.But unlike the rest, the 22-year-old can lay a claim to playing a role in the headline act’s meteoric rise.The rockers have recently had their first number one album and have developed a huge following with breakout viral hits – all while remaining anonymous behind custom-designed masks.And Lani is the one who’s created some of them.He works out of a small studio in south London and has been into making masks and costumes since he…

Jack SilverBBC News, GuernseyEPAGuernsey’s electricity prices are to rise from next monthThe BBC used information from Guernsey Electricity Ltd’s (GEL) tariff calculator and data from Uswitch to estimate annual costs for low-usage and high-usage households in different regions of England, Scotland and Wales.Using the analysis, a typical low-usage household in Guernsey would spend £637 a year on electricity from July. Depending on the region, in Britain they could expect to save between £7 and £123 a year – between 1% and 19% less than Guernsey.However, heavy electricity users are better off in Guernsey, with a high-usage household to spend on…

How would you feel if your internet search history was put online for others to see?That may be happening to some users of Meta AI without them realising, as people’s prompts to the artificial intelligence tool – and the results – are posted on a public feed.One internet safety expert said it was “a huge user experience and security problem” as some posts are easily traceable to social media accounts.This means some people may be unwittingly telling the world about their searches – such as asking the AI to generate scantily-clad characters or help them cheat on tests.Meta says chats…

Kate MorganCommunities correspondent, BBC Wales NewsPA MediaAbortion care provider the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said there was “limited provision” of surgical abortions in Wales after 14 weeksWales is the worst part of the UK for providing surgical abortions with many women treated in England, according to a leading healthcare charity.The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) said it was “astonishing” Wales was behind Northern Ireland, where abortion was only decriminalised in 2019.One south Wales woman said she felt extra trauma and guilt at the thought of being sent away for the procedure – which involves an operation to remove the pregnancy…

British rapper Yung Filly is facing two more charges related to the sexual assault of a woman while on tour in Australia.The YouTuber, whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, appeared before Perth District Court.In March he pleaded not guilty to three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, one of strangulation and four counts of sexual penetration without consent.According to court documents filed on Friday he faces two new counts of sexual penetration without consent, and no plea has been entered for them.The attack is alleged to have taken place on 28 September.Barrientos had been touring Australia at the…