Author: BBC

The final version of rules the regulator says will offer children in the UK “transformational new protections” online have been published.Sites will have to change the algorithms that recommend content to young people and introduce beefed up age checks by 25 July or face big fines.Platforms which host pornography, or offer content which encourages self-harm, suicide or eating disorders are among those which must take more robust action to prevent children accessing their content.Ofcom boss Dame Melanie Dawes said it was a “gamechanger” but critics say the restrictions do not go far enough and were “a bitter pill to swallow”.…

Getty ImagesDJ Próvai from Kneecap performing onstage at Coachella on 11 AprilThe west Belfast rap group Kneecap have hit back at a call for their US visas to be revoked after their performance at Coachella where they ended their set with pro-Palestinian messages.Writing on social media, TV personality and music manager Sharon Osbourne said the hip-hop trio “took their performance to a different level by incorporating aggressive political statements”.When asked by BBC News NI for a response, the band replied: “Statements aren’t aggressive, murdering 20,000 children is though.”The festival’s organisers have also been approached for comment.Kneecap have been vocal supporters…

Sarah HawleyBBC News, East MidlandsSuppliedVanellope Hope Wilkins, now aged seven, was born with her heart outside of her bodyVanellope Hope Wilkins made medical history when she was born with her heart outside of her body in 2017. Described by experts as “one of a kind”, Vanellope had three operations to place her heart back in her chest due to an extremely rare condition called ectopia cordis.The hospital where she was born – Glenfield Hospital in Leicester – says it knows of no other case in the UK where the baby has survived.Now seven years old, Vanellope has undergone groundbreaking surgery…

Charlotte EdwardsBusiness reporter, BBC NewsGetty ImagesThe transport secretary has pledged to reduce the number of learner drivers in England waiting more than five months to sit practical tests.Heidi Alexander said the government would aim to clear the backlog by next summer, providing at least 10,000 extra driving tests a month to help tackle the issue.Current driving test wait times are “totally unacceptable”, she told parliament’s transport committee on Wednesday.There is a minimum six-month wait to book a driving test in several areas of the UK, according to data from the AA.Alexander also revealed plans to double training capacity so more…

Lily JamaliReporting fromSan FranciscoReutersElon Musk (left) with Donald Trump outside the White House (file photo)Tesla boss Elon Musk has pledged to “significantly” cut back his role in the US government after the electric car firm reported a huge drop in profit and sales for the start of this year.Musk has led the newly created advisory body – the Department for Government Efficiency (Doge) – since last year, putting the world’s richest man at the heart of cutting US spending and jobs.But Musk said his “time allocation to Doge” would “drop significantly” from next month, adding he would spend only one…

Jodie HalfordBBC News, EssexLewis Adams/BBCFather-of-two Dean Franklin said he was unaware of any ongoing Environment Agency investigationThe winner of The Apprentice 2025 said he was “not aware of any ongoing investigation” after reports his air conditioning firm had been operating without the correct licence.Dean Franklin, 35, from Hornchurch, east London, was crowned the latest winner of the long-running BBC reality show on 17 April by Lord Alan Sugar.The Sun newspaper reported he was at “the centre of a rogue trader probe” for failing to provide an F-gas certificate for his business for 17 months, which is required by the Environment…

Josh ParryLGBT & identity reporterGetty ImagesJames’s career went from Drag Race star and into the mainstream, appearing in the West End and on various TV programmes.The sister of James Lee Williams, better known as The Vivienne, says her family only learned of the drag performer’s battle with ketamine addiction after watching Drag Race UK.In an interview with BBC Newsnight, Chanel Williams, 35, says James had kept the struggle – including being hospitalised because of the drug – a secret from the family “to protect them”.The 32-year-old died in January, with the family later announcing the cause of death as a…

Natalie ShermanBusiness reporter, BBC NewsGetty ImagesUS stocks and the dollar plunged again as President Donald Trump intensified his attacks on the US central bank boss calling him “a major loser” for not lowering interest rates.In a social media post, Trump called on Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates “pre-emptively” to help boost the economy, saying Powell had been consistently too slow to respond to economic developments. “There can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW,” he wrote.Trump’s criticism of Powell’s handling of the US economy comes as…

The US Commerce Department has announced plans to impose tariffs of up to 3,521% on imports of solar panels from four South East Asian countries.It comes after an investigation that began a year ago when several major solar equipment producers asked the administration of then-President Joe Biden to protect their US operations. The proposed levies – targeting companies in Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam – are in response to allegations of subsidies from China and the dumping of unfairly cheap products in the US market.A separate US government agency, the International Trade Commission, is due to reach a final decision…

Comedian and pantomime star Andy Ford is reflecting on his 56th year in showbusiness. He spoke to BBC Radio Bristol about his memories of Sir David Suchet and the late Dame Barbara Windsor. The family entertainer and comedian will be embarking on his new show, Flippin’ World Tour of the West Country, later this month.