Author: BBC

Epic Games has accused Samsung of making it too difficult to download its massively popular video game Fortnite on certain mobile devices.In a legal complaint it said it would file on Monday, it says people have to go through “21 steps” before they can play the game on a new Samsung product, including viewing security warning screens and changing settings.Epic claims this means 50% of people who try to install the game on these devices give up before they complete the process.Samsung said it would “vigorously contest” the “baseless claims”.According to Epic, the process takes 12 steps, rather than 21,…

Fewer people came forward for their flu vaccine last year and if the same happens again the UK could be in for a worse winter, health officials are warning. There were at least 18,000 flu-related deaths over the last couple of years, despite being relatively mild flu seasons, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Free flu vaccinations are offered each year by the NHS to people most at risk from getting very sick with flu, also known as influenza. While uptake among older people in England remained high last year, only one in every three pregnant women got…

The UK’s economy grew by less than previously estimated between April and June, according to official figures.It expanded by 0.5%, down from an initial reading of 0.6%, after output in the manufacturing and construction sectors fell by more than first thought. The data has emerged as the Labour government, which has made economic growth one of its key policies, prepares to announce its first Budget in four weeks’ time.Labour has been criticised for its gloomy outlook with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer having warned that the Budget will be “painful”, but Chancellor Rachel Reeves recently attempted to strike a more…

Eighteen people have been killed in a mass shooting in a remote South African town with a manhunt under way to find the perpetrators, police say.Two homesteads on the same street in the town of Lusikisiki, in the Eastern Cape, were targeted, police said, with 12 women and one man killed in one location, and three women and one man at a second location.The 18th victim died in hospital on Sunday, the South Africa Police Service said.Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said the motive for the shootings was unknown.In a statement on Sunday, police said that apart from the death of…

ReutersMichael Fortin was at the heart of Hollywood’s golden age of streaming.The actor and aerial cinematographer turned his hobby of flying drones into a profitable business in 2012 just as the streaming wars were taking off. For a decade, he was flying high above film sets, creating sleek aerial shots for movies and TV shows on Netflix, Amazon and Disney.Now he’s on the verge of becoming homeless – again. He was evicted from the Huntington Beach home he shared with his wife and two young children and now is being booted from the Las Vegas apartment they moved to because…

EAThis year’s game will be the first to feature an in-depth women’s career mode, including players like Barcelona star Aitana Bonmatí “Most musicians, one of our dreams, one our goals – it’s not the Grammys, it’s not the Oscars – it’s to get a song on Fifa, man.”That’s Femi Koleoso, from Ezra Collective, on why getting on Fifa – now known as EA FC – is such a big deal.Each year, around a hundred songs get selected for the soundtrack of the world’s favourite football video game.But how do they get chosen from the countless acts desperate to make their…

Getty ImagesThe doctors’ union, the BMA, says it will take “a neutral position” on the recommendations of a landmark review into care for children and young people with gender identity issues.The British Medical Association (BMA) had previously called for a pause in implementing its recommendations – including a move away from drugs to delay the start of puberty – and wanted a ban for under-18s to be lifted.But around 1,000 senior doctors wrote an open letter to the BMA expressing extreme disappointment with its stance.The Cass Review, commissioned by NHS England and published in April, also advocated better mental health…

Getty ImagesIn 2010 the Gulf state of Qatar bought luxury department store Harrods for £1.5bn, via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority.It should have been the jewel in the Qatari crown. However, Harrods now faces serious sexual abuse allegations over the actions of its former boss, Mohamed Al Fayed.Many of these claims were uncovered in a recent BBC investigation, but multiple legal experts have said Qatar either missed or dismissed much of what was already known about Al Fayed at the time of the purchase.This includes a 2008 police investigation into the alleged assault of a 15-year-old girl…

Getty ImagesThe annual United Nations General Assembly week is always frenetic. It may be called the Super Bowl of diplomacy, but this year perhaps a more appropriate analogy is a marathon. Not since World War Two have there been so many global conflicts piling up, with Lebanon on the brink just as leaders arrived in New York City.Given the current state of uncertainty, the forthcoming US election was in the back of everyone’s minds here.One senior Western diplomat told me no-one expects things to move on the Israel-Gaza war until after a winner is declared in the White House race.“We…

Getty ImagesShe was a national treasure with multiple awards under her belt. But somewhat surprisingly, Dame Maggie Smith never loved the limelight.“I’m never shy on stage, always shy off it,” is how she once described herself to the critic Nancy Banks Smith.She never watched herself in Downton Abbey. She famously didn’t even turn up to accept her first Oscar.And in a rare interview for the British Film Institute in 2017, she lamented no longer being able to walk down the street without being stopped by admiring fans.Although she had been an acclaimed stage actress since the 1960s, and had a…