Author: BBC

Getty ImagesSydney Sweeney’s rom-com Anyone But You made $220m at the box officeAnyone But You star Sydney Sweeney has said the idea of women supporting each other in the film and TV industry is “fake”.In an interview with Vanity Fair, the actress, who’s also known for Euphoria and White Lotus, said: “This entire industry, all people say is ‘women empowering other women’.”None of it’s happening. All of it is fake and a front for all the other [stuff] that they say behind everyone’s back.”Earlier this year, the star hit back at “shameful” comments made about her by a female Hollywood…

MARK MARLOW/EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockThis is the first time pharmacists have voted to take action in their historyPharmacy owners in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have voted in favour of cutting opening hours and stopping home deliveries for the first time, in a protest over government funding.The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), which ran the ballot, is calling for an annual £1.7bn funding increase to plug the “financial hole”.The NPA represents 6,500 of the UK’s community pharmacies – that’s around half of them. It says 99% of those that responded to the vote said they were willing to limit their services unless funding was…

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is planning what she calls the “biggest pension reform in decades” in an attempt to boost economic growth.The government wants to merge the UK’s 86 council pension schemes into a handful of “pension megafunds”.It is hoped the changes will lead to billions of pounds being invested in the UK in areas such as energy infrastructure, tech start-ups and public services.Reeves told the BBC that UK public sector pension funds in their current form were not big enough to generate good returns for British savers, but critics say the measures could put savers’ money at risk.The chancellor told…

Getty ImagesiCloud is the online storage service from AppleApple is facing a legal claim accusing it of effectively locking 40 million British customers into its iCloud service and charging them “rip off prices”.Consumer group Which? says the legal action – which it has launched – could result in a £3bn payout if it is successful, equivalent to £70 per customer.Apple has rejected the suggestion its practices are anti-competitive, saying users are not required to use iCloud, many rely on third-party alternatives and insisting it “works hard to make data transfer as easy as possible”.It is another example of the “growing…

Getty ImagesTrump chose Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who has been critical of China in the past, to be US ambassador to the United Nations. A week after Donald Trump won a second-term in the White House, the contours of his new presidency have started taking shape.The president-elect has announced nearly a dozen appointees, the first steps toward filling out his White House staff and key government departments. He also made comments to the media and on social media that highlight what his priorities will be upon taking office in January, with a special focus on immigration and foreign policy.After a sometimes…

Actor Timothy West, one of Britain’s most acclaimed and versatile actors, has died at the age of 90, his family have announced.He was known for roles in TV series like comedy-drama Brass, sitcom Not Going Out and soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders, and had a distinguished career on stage.A statement released by his children said the actor died “peacefully in his sleep” and was “with his friends and family at the end”.The actor is also survived by his wife, Fawlty Towers star Prunella Scales, to whom he was married for 61 years. In their statement, Juliet, Samuel and Joseph West…

BBC/Brijesh PatelRoy Pollitt thought his late wife was being treated by a doctor rather than a physician associateA man whose wife died after a drain was mistakenly left in her abdomen for 21 hours has condemned the increased use of physician associates (PAs) within the National Health Service.Susan Pollitt’s inquest concluded her death at Royal Oldham Hospital in July 2023 had been caused by an “unnecessary medical procedure contributed to by neglect”.Roy Pollitt did not know his 77-year-old wife was being treated by a PA – who are only required to have two years’ medical training – and believes “she…

More than 100 Post Office branches and hundreds of head office jobs are at risk as part of a radical shake-up of the business, the BBC understands.Under the plan, 115 loss-making branches wholly owned by the Post Office could be closed.The Post Office is looking at options including alternative franchise arrangements where another operator or third party could take on the branches, which currently employ about 1,000 workers.The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said that for the company to propose such plans as the public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal continues was “immoral” and “tone deaf”.”We call on the Post…

EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockValencia is still recovering from the first “Dana” weather system at the end of OctoberTwo weeks after flash floods caused devastation in eastern Spain, several areas of the country are on alert, with a new weather front expected to bring torrential rain and low temperatures.Eastern and southern Mediterranean areas are again the most vulnerable, with Spain’s meteorological agency Aemet placing parts of the Valencia, Catalonia and Andalusia regions, as well as the Balearic Islands, on orange alert from now until Thursday.Aemet warns of rainfall and storms that could be “very strong to torrential”.That orange alert is the second highest and…

Getty ImagesMegan Fox has announced she and US rapper Machine Gun Kelly are expecting their first child together. The Transformers actress tagged the musician in a photo which showed her kneeling, covered in a black substance and cradling a baby bump.Fox, who last year revealed that a previous pregnancy had ended in a miscarriage, also posted a picture of a positive pregnancy test alongside the portrait.The actress, who has been dating Kelly since 2020, captioned the images with: “Nothing is ever really lost. welcome back”.Getty ImagesFox previously spoke about her miscarriage on ABC’s Good Morning America.She said: “I’ve never been…