Author: BBC

Getty ImagesAn impression – or possibly a fear – that 20-somethings are still hanging about in the family home is based on fact, an influential think-tank has concluded.The proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds still living with their parents has increased by more than a third in nearly two decades, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).The living at home trend has been driven by men, and those in their late 20s, researchers found. High renting costs and rising house prices were the most significant reasons for the change.Still filling the nestIn 2006, some 13% of people in the UK…

Getty ImagesTikTok users gathered outside the Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court appears poised to uphold a law that bans TikTok in the US over national security concerns unless its China-based parent company sells the platform ahead of a 19 January deadline.The Court’s nine justices heard from lawyers representing TikTok, and content creators that the ban would be a violation of free speech protections for the platform’s more than 170 million users in the US.The US government argued that without a sale, TikTok could be used by China as a tool for spying and political manipulation. A decision by the top court…

Atlanta McintyreAtlanta McIntyre was placed in an induced coma due to complications caused by hyperemesis gravidarumA woman who was placed in an induced coma after experiencing severe pregnancy sickness has described waking to find her baby had been born.Atlanta McIntyre, 29, from Llantrisant in Rhondda Cynon Taf, had excessive nausea and vomiting during her pregnancy, known as hyperemesis gravidarum (HG).During one episode of vomiting, Ms McIntyre choked and had to be put into an induced coma by doctors.When she regained consciousness, she discovered that her daughter had been delivered by caesarean section.”I was very shocked and in disbelief,” said Ms…

Katie Piper has decided to get an “artificial eye” more than 16 years after an acid attack which left her with serious injuries and permanent scarring.The TV presenter shared the news on Instagram, saying it follows “many years of battling” with her health.”I’ve reached the end of [the] road somewhat, and the decision has been made to try a prosthetic eye shell,” she wrote.The former model has had hundreds of surgeries to repair damage to her face and eyesight following an attack on the orders of her ex-boyfriend, which took place when she was 24 years old.According to the NHS’s…

ReutersChancellor Rachel Reeves has defended her decision to travel to China to improve economic ties at a time when soaring government borrowing costs threaten to squeeze UK public finances.She says she wants a long-term relationship with China that is “squarely in our national interest” in order to deliver “growth that makes working people in every corner of Britain better off”. Her trip has been overshadowed by UK borrowing costs hitting a 16-year high and a fall in the value of the pound, with the Conservatives accusing Reeves of having “fled to China”.Speaking during a visit to UK bike maker Brompton’s…

Getty ImagesMeta and Amazon are axing their diversity programmes, joining firms across corporate America that are rolling back hiring and training initiatives criticised by conservatives, citing legal and political risks.The move comes just days after Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said it was ending a fact-checking programme criticised by President-elect Donald Trump and Republicans. In a memo to staff about its decision, which affects, hiring, supplier and training efforts, Meta cited a “shifting legal and policy landscape”.Walmart and McDonalds are among the other companies to have made similar decisions regarding diversity efforts since Trump won re-election.In…

A new tablet being developed to cure intestinal worms has shown promising results in trials and could help eradicate the parasitic infection, which affects about 1.5 billion people globally, researchers say.The mango-flavoured pill is a combination of two existing anti-parasitic drugs that, used together, appear more effective in getting rid of worms.These worms are caught through contact with food or water that has been infected by soil contaminated with worm eggs and infections cause severe gastrointestinal symptoms, malnutrition and anaemia. Researchers say the pill could help overcome any future drug resistance problems and better manage the disease on a large…

PA MediaBradford 2025 is set to kick off on Friday eveningAdditional tickets for the opening ceremony of City of Culture have been released due to “high demand”, organisers have said.Despite minus temperatures being forecast for Rise, the curtain-raiser for Bradford 2025, the event is expected to be popular.The open-air performance in City Park later has Bradford-born magician Steven Frayne, formerly known as Dynamo, as its creative lead.Extra tickets went on sale on Thursday, with many attendees eligible for free entry.What is ‘Rise’?The Rise event has a cast of 200 performers and will take over City Park, in front of the…

PA MediaIt is “absolutely right” that Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ trip to China go ahead as planned, a cabinet colleague has said.Opposition parties had called for Reeves to cancel the three-day visit, aimed to boost trade and economic ties, after the pound fell to its lowest level in over a year, while UK borrowing costs hit their highest for 16 years. But Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the chancellor should take seriously the UK’s relationship with China, the world’s second largest economy.Nandy said the rise in borrowing costs was “a global trend that we’ve seen affecting economies all over the world”.”We…

Pharmaceutical firms are turning to AI to find new molecules that might be able to tackle disease.