Author: BBC

Faarea MasudBusiness reporter, BBC NewsGetty ImagesTough choices are “unavoidable” as the government finalises spending plans for areas ranging from the NHS and defence, to schools and the criminal justice system, a think tank has warned.The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the level of spending on health would dictate whether cuts were made to “unprotected” areas – those outside the NHS, defence and schools.While funding increased sharply in 2024 for transport, net zero, hospitals, schools and prisons, it would no longer increase year on year, given the government’s commitments, the IFS said.The government said the Spending Review on 11 June…

Zoe CorbynTechnology ReporterReporting fromSan FranciscoGetty ImagesPresident Trump has described windfarms as “disgusting” and “ugly”US green fuel company HIF Global has a big vision for Texas’s Matagorda County: a $7bn (£5.2bn) commercial scale e-methanol factory to supply the world market.The plant, which it claims would be the largest to date anywhere, would make e-methanol from captured carbon dioxide and green hydrogen produced on site using renewable energy.Its construction would create thousands of jobs and the product would power ships and planes in a far cleaner way.But the company has yet to make its final investment decision. It is waiting to see…

Getty ImagesEmmy winning actress Valerie Mahaffey has died at age 71, her family has confirmed.Mahaffey’s publicist confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the star died in California on Friday after being diagnosed with cancer.The star was known for her work on television series including Desperate Housewives, Young Sheldon and Big Sky.In a statement provided to Variety, Mahaffey’s husband Joseph Kell said that he had “lost the love of my life, and America has lost one of its most endearing actresses”.”She will be missed,” he said.On Facebook, the couple’s daughter Alice wrote: “I don’t really have the words to say right…

Philippa RoxbyHeath ReporterLaura MarstonLaura now feels good six years after her diagnosis of advanced tongue cancerHundreds of thousands of people with advanced head and neck cancer could live longer without their cancer returning thanks to an immunotherapy drug, a clinical trial suggests.This is the first sign of a breakthrough for patients with this difficult-to-treat cancer for 20 years, say scientists behind the research.Laura Marston, 45, from Derbyshire, says she is “amazed she’s still here” after being given “dire” chances of survival following a diagnosis of advanced tongue cancer six years ago.She received the immunotherapy before and after surgery, which researchers…

BBCThe Treasury has announced the sale of its final shares in the NatWest Group. It means the bank will be under full private ownership, almost two decades after it was bailed out by the taxpayer amid the 2008 financial crisis. This marks a symbolic end to a dramatic chapter in British banking history.It was gone midnight – the early hours of Monday 13 October 2008 – when Chancellor Alistair Darling turned in for the night, leaving a team of officials, surrounded by curries and pizza boxes, finalising the detail of the biggest state intervention in the private sector since World…

Graham FraserTechnology ReporterGetty ImagesLiverpool won the English Premier League this season, and live football is the focus on many illegal streamsA lack of action by big tech firms is enabling the “industrial scale theft” of premium video services, especially live sport, a new report says.The research by Enders Analysis accuses Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft of “ambivalence and inertia” over a problem it says costs broadcasters revenue and puts users at an increased risk of cyber-crime.Gareth Sutcliffe and Ollie Meir, who authored the research, described the Amazon Fire Stick – which they argue is the device many people use to…

Mark SavageMusic CorrespondentGetty ImagesTaylor Swift has bought back the rights to her first six albums, ending a long-running battle over the ownership of her music.”All of the music I’ve ever made now belongs to me,” said the star, announcing the news on her official website. “I’ve been bursting into tears of joy… ever since I found out this is really happening.”The saga began in June 2019, when music manager Scooter Braun bought Swift’s former record label Big Machine and, with it, all of the songs from Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989 and Reputation.Swift had personal objections to the…

Former EastEnders actress Kara Tointon has revealed she has undergone a double mastectomy following a gene test.The 41-year-old, also known for her work in dramas including The Teacher and Mr Selfridge, revealed that tests showed she carried the BRCA gene – which can put her at very high risk of cancer. Tointon, from Basildon in Essex, posted an Instagram video on Wednesday to raise awareness of the preventative measure she had taken.She said: “You may have heard of the BRCA genes 1 and 2 and as a carrier it means I am at a greater risk of both breast and…

Peter HoskinsBusiness reporter, BBC NewsWatch: Trump slams “Taco” acronym given to tariff flip-flopsUS President Donald Trump has been allowed to keep collecting tariffs while the White House appeals against a ruling that dealt a major blow to a key part of his economic policies.A day earlier the Court of International Trade ruled that an emergency law invoked by Trump did not give the president unilateral authority to impose tariffs on nearly every one of the world’s countries.The New York-based court said the US Constitution gave Congress exclusive powers to regulate commerce with other nations, and that this was not superseded…

Bernd Debusmann JrBBC News, White HouseA chainsaw, two hats and Lil X: Musk’s eventful time at DogeElon Musk’s time in the Trump administration is coming to an end after a tempestuous 129 days in which the world’s richest man took an axe to government spending – stirring ample controversy along the way. Earlier this week, the South African-born billionaire, on his social media platform, X, thanked President Trump for his time at the Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge. Trump announced he will host a news conference in the Oval Office on Friday with Musk, writing: “This will be his…