Author: BBC

EPAA leading health think tank says urgent and emergency care in England is performing “far worse” than before the pandemic.The Health Foundation argues that the NHS was “in distress” this winter with A&E waiting times reaching a record high.The group says it would be wrong just to blame relatively high levels of flu.The government is due to publish an urgent and emergency care plan soon. The Department for Health and Social Care said that hospitals were “feeling the strain” but that it was taking “decisive action” to prevent winter crises.The Health Foundation report on the recent winter says that the…

BBCLaw student Kardo Mina says sometimes he swaps meals for coffeeUniversity students have described struggling to afford to eat meals due to rising living costs.Kardo Mina, a final year law student at Swansea University who also works part time, said he sometimes swapped meals for cups of coffee because doing so was “more financially viable”.A recent survey of students in Wales by the National Union of Students (NUS) Cymru found that 58% said they had skipped meals due to difficulties paying rent and housing costs.Swansea University said it recognised the financial and academic pressures faced by students and was committed…

Rayhan DemytrieBBC South Caucasus correspondentBBCYoung Armenians, such as nine-year-old Slavik, are attending technology classesIn Armenia tech education starts early.In a typical three-storey state school in the suburbs of Yerevan, the Armenian capital, nine-year old Slavik is demonstrating his invention – a box with three LED lights.”He has learned how to control it, and the programming language. You can see the code is written by him,” says Maria, the 21-year-old tech coach leading the class.Next to them, 14-year-old Eric and Narek are showing their smart greenhouse model that monitors temperature and controls fans automatically through a mobile app.Other children are enthusiastically…

Thomas MackintoshBBC News, LondonActor Jack Lowden has said he likes the idea of “breaking down barriers” by being a ginger Mr Darcy in a new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.The 34-year-old joked on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that “it is one of the great last barriers to break down”.In a wide-ranging interview alongside fellow British actor Martin Freeman, 53, he discussed being trained by an ex-MI6 officer and their upcoming West End play.On his role in Netflix’s six-part adaptation of Austen’s classic novel, Lowden said he might draw on inspiration from some actors who have previously…

That Time of the Month with Naga Munchetty, Dr Nighat Arif & Dr Christine Ekechi

Kevin PeacheyCost of living correspondentGetty ImagesAll major UK lenders are now offering fixed mortgage deals with an interest rate of less than 4%, but brokers say further cuts are not guaranteed.A mini price war has broken out between mortgage providers, although many of the lowest-rate deals still require borrowers to provide a hefty deposit and a substantial fee.More frequent cuts in interest rates by the Bank of England are expected this year, amid global economic turmoil.However, lenders are already reflecting those predicted cuts in their latest deals, suggesting borrowers could be taking a risk by relying on ongoing drops in…

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are also calling for stronger protection from the dangers of social media, saying “enough is not being done”.They unveiled a temporary memorial in New York City dedicated to children who have died due to the harms of the internet. “We want to make sure that things are changed so that… no more kids are lost to social media,” Prince Harry told BBC Breakfast. The NSPCC children’s charity argues that the law still doesn’t provide enough protection for private messaging apps. It says that the end-to-end encrypted services which they offer “continue to pose an…

BBCGregg Wallace has said he needs “space to heal” after stating in an interview that allegations against him of inappropriate sexual comments were “not all true”.A BBC News investigation revealed allegations of inappropriate sexual comments by 13 people who had worked with Wallace across a range of shows, over a 17-year-period.He told the Daily Mail “they’re not all true”, and said he had felt “under attack” and had contemplated suicide.In an Instagram post after the interview was published, the former MasterChef presenter said he knew there would be “a lot of noise” following the Mail interview but he “won’t be…

A taxi driver from Farnborough has undertaken mental health training with the Samaritans.

Ione WellsSouth America correspondentGetty ImagesBrazil hopes to see countries such as Japan buy its beef instead of AmericanWhen Donald Trump revealed the level of trade tariffs that countries around the world would face from the US, nations in South America breathed a sigh of relief.Ten of the 12 states on the continent received the lowest level of 10%.Only Guyana and Venezuela were initially hit with higher rates of 38% and 15% respectively, before these were subsequently reduced to 10%. This came as Trump decided to pause elevated rates on almost all countries for 90 days.The exceptions are China, which has…