Author: BBC

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…

The struggling genetic testing company 23andMe says it will cut 40% of its workforce, or 200 jobs, as it fights for survival.The once-popular DNA-testing site will also halt work on therapies it was developing.Last year, the company said hackers had managed to gain access to personal information of millions of its users.23andMe’s share price has fallen by more than 70% this year, as its co-founder and chief executive Anne Wojcicki tries to turn the business around.The company said it expected to incur one-off costs of $12m (£9.3m), including severance pay, for the plan that will result in savings of $35m.”We…

The NHS will start offering an “improved” stop smoking pill to tens of thousands of people in England who want to quit cigarettes. Varenicline, a daily tablet given over a few months, is as effective as vapes and more effective than nicotine replacement gum or patches, NHS England says. The drug, which fights cravings, was available a few years ago on the NHS under the brand name Champix but was withdrawn due to some impurities. The new version has been approved as safe. E-cigarettes, meanwhile, will “sometimes” be offered, often as a starter kit of about two weeks’ worth of…

The Kremlin has denied media reports that US President-elect Donald Trump held a call with Vladimir Putin, in which he is said to have warned the Russian president against escalating the war in Ukraine.The call, which was first reported by the Washington Post on Sunday, is said to have happened on Thursday. Trump is also reported to have mentioned America’s extensive military presence in Europe to Putin.A Kremlin spokesperson said the reports were “pure fiction”, while Trump’s team told the BBC that it would not comment on the president-elect’s “private calls”.Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung told the BBC: “We do…