Author: BBC

Getty ImagesThe government’s plan to tackle the hospital backlog in England will fail without a fundamental reform in how services work, health leaders say.Labour aims to increase the number of appointments and operations done each week by 40,000, to help hit the 18-week waiting time target.But NHS Confederation research found that would only deliver about 15% of the extra capacity needed to get back to reaching the target, which has not been hit since 2006.It called for a wider transformation of hospital care, including greater use of digital technologies to improve productivity.The warning comes ahead of the release of a…

CheryChery has set up brands, including the Omoda, focused entirely on international marketsChinese car giant Chery is weighing up the possibility of building cars in the UK, according to a senior executive.Its UK head Victor Zhang told the BBC it was a “matter of time” before the company made a final decision.He said Chery, which is already preparing to build cars in Spain, was determined to take a “localised” approach to the European market.Mr Zhang denied the company’s exports had benefitted from unfair subsidies.Chery, which was set up in 1997, is one of China’s largest car companies. It is already…

EPAIn Hanoi, people are seen battling strong windsSuper Typhoon Yagi, the most powerful storm in Asia this year, has killed at least four people after making landfall in northern Vietnam.The storm hit Hai Phong and Quang Ninh provinces with winds of up to 203 km/h (126 mph) on Saturday morning, the Indo-Pacific Tropical Cyclone Warning Center said.Strong winds and flying debris have caused damage to buildings and vehicles, with falling trees leading to power outages in the capital, Hanoi.State media said three people died in the northern Quang Ninh province on Saturday, with another killed in Hai Duong, near Hanoi.…

Knock Off NessaKaz Barrett, who goes by Knock Off Ness, said her life has been “absolutely mental” since the final Gavin and Stacey episode was announcedA carer has said her life has been turned upside after embracing a striking resemblance to one of the UK’s best-loved TV characters. Kaz Barrett, from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, said her hairdresser believes Gavin and Stacey co-creator Ruth Jones must have based the character of Nessa on her. After beginning work as a professional impersonator in 2019, she said demand has exploded in recent months as Gavin and Stacey mania sweeps the nation ahead…

Akara EttehAkara Etteh had his phone stolen as he walked out of a Tube station.Early on a Saturday morning in April, Akara Etteh was checking his phone as he came out of Holborn tube station, in central London.A moment later, it was in the hand of a thief on the back of an electric bike – Akara gave chase, but they got away.He is just one victim of an estimated 78,000 “snatch thefts” in England and Wales in the year to March, a big increase on the previous 12 months.The prosecution rate for this offence is very low – the…

Getty ImagesScientists have studied more than 2,000 samples of poo from babies in the UK to get a clearer idea of which types of bacteria first colonise a newborn’s gut.Researchers say they were surprised to find baby poo fell into three distinct microbiological profiles, with different “pioneer bacteria” being abundant in each.One in particular, called B. breve, could help babies make the most of nutrients in breast milk and ward off bugs, preliminary tests suggest. Another type could be harmful and put babies at greater risk of infection, the early work, published in Nature Microbiology, shows. There is growing evidence…

Getty ImagesA political storm is swirling following the government’s decision to withdraw help with energy bills from millions of pensioners.But what is the winter fuel payment and how can hundreds of thousands of eligible pensioners ensure they still receive it?What is the winter fuel payment and who will receive it?Winter fuel payments, until now, have been paid to all pensioners to help with energy bills. The payment was based on the principle that older people would be left exposed and at increased risk if they could not pay their bill.But in July, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the payment would now…

A 26-year-old American woman has been shot dead in the occupied West Bank during a protest.Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was born in Turkey, is reported to have been taking part in a protest against Jewish settlement expansion in the town of Beita near Nablus.Ms Ezgi Eygi was allegedly shot by Israeli troops, according to local media reports. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say they “responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them” in the Beita area.US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington is “urgently gathering…

SonyBot the difference: Astro Bot features dozens of cameos from well-known PlayStation charactersIt’s just a few hours before reviews of one of the year’s biggest PlayStation 5 releases arrive, and its director is talking about food.Buffets, to be precise.You might get a lot for your money, but how do you feel afterwards?”Bloated, you’ve eaten too much and you just want to go and sleep,” says Nicolas Doucet, head of Sony-owned studio Team Asobi.Gamers are fond of food metaphors. Developers don’t just make games, they “cook”. If you’re spoilt for choice with high quality new releases, you’re “eatin’ good”.But Nicolas is…

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has hit out at French authorities, calling his arrest last week in relation to allegations of insufficient moderation on the messaging app “misguided”.In his first public statement since he was detained, he denied claims that Telegram is “some sort of anarchic paradise” as “absolutely untrue”.Mr Durov was arrested on 25 August at an airport north of Paris.He has since been placed under formal investigation over suspected complicity in allowing illicit transactions, drug trafficking, fraud and the spread of child sex abuse images to flourish on his site.In France, being put under formal investigation does…