Author: BBC

Getty ImagesOnline platforms must begin assessing whether their services expose users to illegal material by 16 March 2025 or face financial punishments as the Online Safety Act (OSA) begins taking effect.Ofcom, the regulator enforcing the UK’s internet safety law, published its final codes of practice for how firms should deal with illegal online content on Monday.Platforms have three months to carry out risk assessments identifying potential harms on their services or they could be fined up to 10% of their global turnover.Ofcom head Dame Melanie Dawes told BBC News this was the “last chance” for industry to make changes.”If they…

BBCJamie Lonsdale was delighted when Lauren Lane answered his plea on FacebookA man who made a desperate online plea for a kidney donor is now recuperating from a successful transplant after a former work colleague answered the call.Jamie Lonsdale, 36, put the appeal out on Facebook and it was spotted by Lauren Lane, 30.Mr Lonsdale, from Monton, Greater Manchester, spent more than two years on the transplant list after his previously donated kidney started failing in 2022. “I was just expecting people to wish me well but to have Lauren come forward was just a dream come true,” he saidJamie…

Richard DonaldsonRichard Donaldson is recovering from treatmentA man who has been fighting prostate cancer has described how group fitness sessions have helped recovery and offered a “sense of belonging”.Richard Donaldson, 55, is among a group of 16 men who have completed the varied health programme at Aberdeen FC’s Pittodrie Stadium in recent weeks.Prostate FFIT (Football Fans in Training) has been provided by the Prostate Scotland and SPFL (Scottish Professional Football League) Trust charities.Mr Donaldson, from Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, said the group members had formed a close lasting bond.Richard Donaldson has been taking part in events at Pittodrie StadiumFollowing a biopsy, cancer…

Getty ImagesAllu Arjun(in white) is a popular actor in the Telugu film industry A popular Indian actor was arrested and later released on bail in connection with a crush that killed a person at the premiere of his film. Allu Arjun, one of the biggest stars of the Telugu film industry, had made a surprise appearance at the screening last week in Hyderabad city.A 39-year-old woman was killed and her son critically injured in the crush.A court initially sentenced the actor to 14 days in police custody but hours later, the high court granted him bail.Police had filed a case…

Getty ImagesHair twiddling can be distressing to watch if you have misokinesia”If I see someone tapping their fingers on a desk, my immediate thought is to chop their fingers off with a knife,” an anonymous patient confides to a researcher.Another shares: “When I see someone making really small repetitive movements, such as my husband bending his toes, I feel physically ill. I hold it back but I want to vomit.”Sound familiar? If so, perhaps you too have a condition called misokinesia – a diagnosible hatred of fidgeting. Scientists are striving to understand more about the phenomenon that has no known…

Getty ImagesPlanned strike action by Avanti West Coast train managers over the Christmas period has been suspended, the RMT rail union has said.The walkouts had been planned for 22, 23, and 29 December, but the union said a new offer had been made that will now be put to train managers.It includes higher rest day working payments and other changes to working arrangements.The RMT said train managers will vote on the offer in a referendum that finishes on 17 December.

A federal court in St Louis has indicted 14 North Koreans for allegedly being part of a long-running conspiracy aimed at extorting funds from US companies and funneling money to Pyongyang’s weapons programmes.The wider scheme allegedly involves thousands of North Korean IT workers who use false, stolen, and borrowed identities from people in the US and other countries to get hired and work remotely for US firms.The indictement says the defendants and others working with them generated at least $88m (£51.5m) for the North Korean regime over a six-year period.North Korea’s mission to the UN did not immediately reply to…

YouTuber Yung Filly is facing new charges of reckless driving, according to reports in Australia, where he is accused of raping a woman. The 29-year-old, whose real name is Andrés Felipe Valencia Barrientos, is accused by police of driving past a speed camera at 158km/h (98mph) on a Perth highway last month. It is alleged to have occurred whilst Barrientos was on bail over an alleged attack on a woman in a Perth hotel in September. The BBC has contacted Barrientos’s representatives and the police for comment. Police say the speeding incident happened on 17 November, in the High Wycombe…

SWNSThomas Plimmer was struck off after having sex with multiple women at his GP surgeryWarning: This article contains text of a sexual natureA woman says a GP who was struck off for having sex with multiple women at his surgery attempted to choke her during sex.The woman, who does not want to be named, met Thomas Plimmer on a dating app in 2017.She claimed that when they were having sex at her home on a second date, he “started squeezing my throat” without her consent. Mr Plimmer said that under legal advice he was unable to comment due to his…

Getty ImagesEnergy firms will be forced to offer customers tariffs with no standing charges, under a proposed shake-up of bills by regulator Ofgem.All households pay the fixed daily charges covering the costs of connecting to a supply, but there have been widespread calls for these fees to be scrapped.Ofgem is proposing suppliers offer one price-capped tariff that includes the standing charge, and another that loads these costs on energy usage charges instead. Customers could choose which suits them best.The planned overhaul, for next winter, also raises the possibility of some unpaid bills that built up during a recent high-price crisis…