Author: BBC

Thousands of Airbus planes had to be grounded for a software update after it was discovered that intense solar radiation could interfere with onboard flight control computers.Around 6,000 A320 planes were thought to be affected – half the European firm’s global fleet – but many were able to fly again within hours after undergoing the update.The UK’s aviation regulator said there would be “some disruption and cancellations to flights” though the impact at airports appears to be limited.Airbus said it discovered the issue after an investigation into an incident in which a plane flying between the US and Mexico suddenly…

Matthew KenyonTechnology Reporter, Delft, NetherlandsThe sledgehammer testThe final test was a blunt one. Maarten Logtenberg wielded a sledgehammer, which simply bounced off the sample, barely leaving a scratch.After two years of experimentation, the material was finally right: a particular mix of thermoplastics and fibreglass that is strong, has no need of extra coating to protect it from sunlight, and is resistant to fouling and marine growth.The perfect base, says Mr Logtenberg, from which to 3D print a boat.Boats need to withstand the unforgiving nature of the marine environment. It’s one of the reasons why boatbuilding is a notoriously labour-intensive business.But…

Joanne WrittleWest Midlands health correspondent, in ShropshireBBCKayleigh Griffiths lost her one-day-old daughter, Pippa due to maternity failingsWhen Kayleigh Griffiths lost her baby daughter, Pippa, in 2016 through maternity failings in Shropshire, she had no idea how many times she would have to retell her traumatic story at future medical appointments. She has worked to get a so-called “Ockenden alert” on her medical notes – an idea which came out of meetings with other traumatised families. Donna Ockenden is the senior midwife who led the 2022 review which found more than 200 babies and nine mothers in Shropshire could have survived…

Ticket prices for the Louvre museum in Paris will rise by 45% for most non-European Union visitors, the museum’s board decided on Thursday.From early next year, tourists from countries like the US, UK and China will have to pay €32 ($37; £28) to enter the museum, a price hike which is expected to raise millions of euros annually to fund an overhaul of the famous gallery.The museum’s security and management have faced criticism since a brazen heist in October, when a four-person gang stole jewellery worth $102m (£76m) and fled within minutes.An official audit of the museum published shortly after…

Nvidia has claimed it is “a generation ahead” of rivals in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry amid growing suggestions a rival may emerge to threaten to its market dominance – and multi-trillion dollar valuation.Shares in the chip giant fell on Tuesday, following a report Meta planned to spend billions on AI chips developed by Google to power its data centres.In a statement on X, Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, said it was the only platform which “runs every AI model and does it everywhere computing is done”.In response, Google said it was committed to “supporting both” its own and…

A series of events are to be held at Wolverhampton’s libraries in a bid to bring communities together during the colder months.The Winter Warmth and Wellness sessions will take place at venues across the city between 4 December and 27 January.Councillor Bhupinder Ghakal, of City of Wolverhampton Council, said they would give people “a chance to come together” and take part in activities that support their wellbeing.The sessions will include hot drinks, mindfulness activities, board games, crafts and puzzles, the local authority said.

The BBC’s Tyler Edwards asks under 25s in Cardiff if they think the minimum wage increase is enough.

Laura CressTechnology reporterGetty ImagesA firm considered one of the leading global voices in encryption has cancelled the announcement of its leadership election results after an official lost the encrypted key needed to unlock them. The International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) uses an electronic voting system which needs three members, each with part of an encrypted key, to access the results. In a statement, the scientific organisation said one of the trustees had lost their key in “an honest but unfortunate human mistake”, making it impossible for them to decrypt – and uncover – the final results.The IACR said it…

Sue Kinnear,BBC Radio WiltshireandKirsten Robertson,BBC WiltshireClare BrixeyClare Brixey and Tim Swimburn are recovering well following their four-hour operationTwo people who met through tragic circumstances have united for a life-saving kidney transplant.Tim Swinburn, from Melksham in Wiltshire, met Clare Brixey, from Standerwick in Somerset, in 2004, when he had to knock on her door to explain her 20-year-old son, Ashley, had died in a car crash.At the time, Ms Brixey was already suffering from kidney failure and reliant on dialysis. The pair kept in touch and when Mr Swinburn found out her previous transplant was failing, he offered her his kidney.”Giving…

Plans to relax restrictions on new oil and gas licences in the North Sea will be unveiled on Wednesday under the government’s North Sea Strategy.Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce the publication of the strategy in the Budget, the BBC understands. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will issue a document on it shortly after.The strategy is expected to contain a more liberal interpretation of manifesto pledge to ban new oil and gas exploration licences to allow new exploration in generous extensions of existing fields. This idea for allowing new drilling in a way that can be “tied back”…