Author: BBC

Getty ImagesBarbara Taylor Bradford wrote 40 novels over more than 40 yearsAuthor Barbara Taylor Bradford, known for best-selling novels including A Woman of Substance, has died at the age of 91.Published in 1979, A Woman of Substance sold 30 million copies and spawned seven sequels and a TV adaptation, which is still the most-watched programme in Channel 4’s history.It was the first of 40 novels by Taylor Bradford; others includ the Ravenscar, Cavendon and the House of Falconer series.Paying tribute, her publisher and editor Lynne Drew said: “Dominating the bestseller lists, she broke new ground with her sweeping epic novels…

Tax rises in the Budget have made it more difficult for firms to “take a chance” on hiring people, according to one of Britain’s most prominent business groups.In a speech at its annual conference on Monday, the boss of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) will say the changes are undermining investment.Rain Newton-Smith will suggest businesses across many sectors are “being hit by a tough trading environment that just got tougher” due to changes in National Insurance contributions (NICs) and inheritance tax.The government said “difficult choices” had been made in a bid to “repair the public finances”, but that it…

Payment app PayPal experienced a brief outage worldwide on Thursday, it confirmed.It said in a post on its service status page it was experiencing “a system issue” that affecting multiple PayPal Products – including account withdrawal and express checkout.The company said the technical issue was swiftly resolved.However, even a brief outage was enough to cause problems for customers, who reported being unable to log in to their accounts or said they were having problems making payments.Platform outage monitor Downdetector had received more than seven thousand reports from users as of 12:12 GMT.According to the company’s service status dashboard, the incident…

Daniel Taylor-Sweet / BBCBBC journalist Hazel Martin was told to cut out drinking alcohol altogetherAt 31 years old, I was told by doctors that if I didn’t stop drinking alcohol, I could die.I was shocked because I didn’t drink every day, I never drank alone and I drank because I enjoyed it as a social activity, not because I felt alcohol-dependent.But by definition, my alcohol consumption from my late teens to late 20s would be considered binge drinking. It felt normal because people around me were doing the same – and now it was catching up with me.I’d recently become…

Getty ImagesThe written tribute to Liam Payne appeared onscreen during Zayn Malik’s concertZayn Malik has paid tribute to his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne at his show in Leeds on Saturday night, with a sign which read: “Love you bro”.The message, which has been widely shared on social media, also had Payne’s name and the year he was born and died.Malik’s tour was meant to begin in Edinburgh earlier this week. However, he rescheduled two of his shows in the city, citing “unforeseen circumstances”.The singer also previously postponed his US tour, after what he called the “heartbreaking loss” of…

The UK government is hiring a new negotiator to help deliver a “reset” of relations with Europe.The job posting says the role will lead the government’s relationship with the European Union and negotiations with the EU “on key UK interests”, with mentions of trade, security and border policy.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has committed to a “reset” of relations between the UK and EU, and previously said he would seek a better deal on trade than the one negotiated by Boris Johnson in late 2020.However, the prime minister has said that resetting does not mean reversing Brexit.The new negotiator role…

Getty ImagesJet engines wouldn’t run without high-performance coatingsJet engines are one of the most jaw-dropping feats of engineering humans have ever come up with.But jet engines shouldn’t be possible, says Ben Beake, director of materials research at Micro Materials, an equipment testing company in Wales.“The air coming in is hotter than the melting point of the metal underneath – which is obviously not a good thing,” he explains, pointing out that this air reaches temperatures well above 1,000C.Designers of jet engines have got around this problem by applying heat-resistant ceramic coatings to the engine blades. And now, researchers are developing…

Getty ImagesThe UK Foreign Office advises travellers: “Take care if offered, particularly for free, or when buying spirit-based drinks. If labels, smell or taste seem wrong then do not drink.”Travellers are being warned of the dangers of methanol poisoning after six tourists to Laos have died. Methanol is an industrial chemical found in antifreeze and windshield washer fluid. It’s not meant for human consumption and is highly toxic.Drinking even small amounts can be damaging. A few shots of bootleg spirit containing it can be lethal. What does methanol do to you?It looks and tastes like alcohol, and the first effects…

US rapper Kendrick Lamar has released a surprise new album called GNX.The 12-track album, which is the performer’s sixth studio release, dropped on his social media pages at around 17:00 GMT on Friday.It features contributions from American R&B star SZA as well as saxophonist Kamasi Washington, among others.GNX is Lamar’s first album since 2022’s Mr Morale & The Big Steppers, and comes ahead of his headlining performance at the Super Bowl halftime show in February.There had been rumours for months that Lamar, who has won multiple Grammys and the Pulitzer Prize for Music, was working on a new project.Early reviews…

Watch: The moment Jenny handed over £4,000 on her doorstepA victim of fraud, Jenny, has told the BBC how she used a fraud helpline to help ward off scammers.But not before fraudsters had stolen £4,000 by sending a courier round to her house to collect her money.Scammers are under increased pressure from the 159 fraud helpline which received 800,000 calls in its first three years of operation.The helpline was set up by Stop Scams UK as a safe, secure way for victims to contact their banks.’Help’, intimidation then threatsJenny was the victim of a courier fraud by “pretty brazen” scammers,…