Author: BBC

Tom GerkenTechnology reporterKonamiEVA, one of the main characters in the remade game (image brightened from source)Metal Gear is one of the best-selling video game series in history, shifting more than 60 million copies.The series pioneered cinematics in gaming by blending cutting-edge cutscenes, voice acting and dynamic camera angles to create something that would have looked more at home on the big screen at the time.Metal Gear tackled themes not commonly seen in games, such as nuclear disarmament and child soldiers, and posed philosophical questions while also leveraging offbeat humour.The games would often break the fourth wall and ask players to…

Stethoscopes powered by artificial intelligence (AI) could help detect three different heart conditions in seconds, researchers say.The original stethoscope, invented in 1816, allows doctors to listen to the internal sounds of a patient’s body.A British team conducted a study using a modern version and say they found it can spot heart failure, heart valve disease and abnormal heart rhythms almost instantly.The tool could be a “real game-changer” resulting in patients being treated sooner, the researchers say – with plans to roll the device out across the UK following a study involving 205 GP surgeries in west and north-west London.The device…

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said her party will remove all net zero requirements on oil and gas companies drilling in the North Sea if elected.Badenoch is to formally announce the plan to focus solely on “maximising extraction” and to get “all our oil and gas out of the North Sea” in a speech in Aberdeen on Tuesday.Reform UK has said it wants more fossil fuels extracted from the North Sea.The Labour government has committed to banning new exploration licences. A spokesperson said a “fair and orderly transition” away from oil and gas would “drive growth”. Exploring new fields would…

Coldplay has announced that the final two London dates on its Music of the Spheres World Tour will be rescheduled due to a planned Tube strike.In a statement on their website, the band said “impossible” to get 82,000 fans to and from Wembley Stadium without London Underground services.They added: “Therefore no event licence can be granted for the nights of 7th and 8th September.”The band said to avoid cancelling the gigs altogether the Sunday 7 September show will move to Saturday 6 and the Monday 8th September show will move to Friday 12.Coldplay said all tickets will remain valid for…

Graham FraserTechnology ReporterGetty ImagesThe UK government may have wanted to force Apple to provide it with access to more customer data than previously thought, a court document has indicated.A row erupted between the two after it emerged the Home Office asked the tech giant for the right access to highly encrypted user data stored via a service called Advanced Data Protection (ADP).Now a court document suggests the request – made under legislation called the Investigatory Powers Act – could have also enabled the government to seek access to a wider range of Apple customer data.It also suggests the government may…

Angie Smith said she has asked brides if they are using slimming jabs after a trend emerged this year.

Andy GiddingsBBC News, West MidlandsTelford Crisis SupportCharities like Telford Crisis Support have been asking for donations of unwanted school uniformsSchemes offering help to families struggling with the cost of school uniforms have reported a growth in demand this summer.It comes after the average cost of a school uniform was just over £340 for primary school children and around £454 for those in secondary education, government figures indicated earlier this year.The charity Parentkind produced research this month which suggests 30% of parents go without food or heating to afford uniform and 45% rely on credit cards.Erin Aston, from Telford Crisis Support,…

Yasmin RufoCulture reporter Getty ImagesColman and Cumberbatch have been friends for many yearsOlivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch have spent the best part of the last year swearing, shouting and sneering at each other.Their latest roles see them play Ivy and Theo Rose – a wealthy couple once blissfully in love, who now find themselves in a marriage breakdown and bitter divorce battle.Ironically, the relationship between the two actors couldn’t be further from their warring characters – they’re actually close friends, having met decades ago in a radio recording studio.As I sit down with them the morning after the film’s premiere,…

Suzanne BearneTechnology Reporter, Querétaro, MexicoArterra/Getty ImagesQuerétaro is known for its impressive stone aqueductLocated in the middle of Mexico, Querétaro is a charming and colourful colonial-style city known for its dazzling stone aqueduct.But the city, and state of the same name, is also recognised for a very different reason – as Mexico’s data centre capital.Across the state companies including Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and ODATA own these warehouse-like buildings, full of computer servers. No one could supply an exact number, but there are scores of them, with more being built. Ascenty, which claims to be the largest data centre company in…

Michelle RobertsDigital health editor, BBC News andAoife WalshBBC NewsGetty ImagesChickenpox can start with flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature and headache.All young children in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be offered a free chickenpox vaccine by the NHS from January next year.It will be given as two doses, at 12 and 18 months of age, combined with the existing MMR jab which protects against measles, mumps and rubella.A catch up campaign is planned for slightly older children so they don’t miss out. Until now, parents who wanted to protect their child against the chickenpox varicella virus, which causes…