Author: BBC

A veteran sports commentator has been sacked from his Olympics role after making a sexist remark about Australian female swimmers following their gold medal win. As the 4x100m freestyle relay team were making their way off the pool deck in Paris, Bob Ballard said they were “finishing up”, adding “you know what women are like… hanging around, doing their make up”. The clip quickly went viral and broadcaster Eurosport later said he had been removed from the commentary line-up. Ballard has yet to comment publicly on his remarks. Mollie O’Callaghan, Emma McKeon, Meg Harris and Shayna Jack had just beat…

Ninety-five Libyan nationals have been arrested on suspicion of receiving training at an “illegal” military camp in South Africa, police have said.Officers raided the farm in White River – a small town in the northern province of Mpumalanga – on Friday.They said they found military tents, licenced firearms and other military equipment.Cannabis and cocaine were also found at the camp, the police said.Officers conducted the raid after receiving intelligence on Wednesday.According to national police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe, the Libyans allegedly “misrepresented themselves” on their visa applications by saying they would be training as security guards.The camp was initially registered as…

Getty ImagesDrivers are still paying too much for fuel, the UK’s competition watchdog has warned, with high prices costing motorists £1.6bn last year alone.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that weakened competition in the fuel sector is impacting drivers’ wallets.It found that supermarkets’ profit margins – which is the difference between the price they buy fuel at and what they charge motorists – had doubled since 2019.The CMA is calling for more pressure on supermarkets so they “have to offer better prices because they know that they can’t rip consumers off”, chief executive, Sarah Cardell told the BBC’s Today…

A week after a faulty update caused a global IT outage that grounded flights and knocked TV stations off-air, the boss of CrowdStrike has revealed nearly all systems are back online.In a post on LinkedIn, George Kurtz said “over 97%” of systems running its software were back online as of 25 July. Microsoft previously estimated 8.5 million machines had been disabled by a bug in CrowdStrike’s software.That figure, and Mr Kurtz’s estimate of the percentage fixed, suggests approximately 250,000 devices remain offline. The CrowdStrike chief executive thanked the “tireless efforts” of customers and staff as he apologised again for the…

GettyThe body responsible for inspecting NHS hospitals, GP surgeries and care homes in England is not fit for purpose, the health secretary has said.An independent review found inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) lacked experience – some had never been into a hospital before, while some care home inspectors had never met a person with dementia.Wes Streeting said he was “stunned” by the scale of the problems as he announced a set of emergency measures.The CQC said it accepted the findings in full. The full interim report is due to be published on Friday.Lacking experienceThe CQC inspects everything from…

A host of scary monsters and super creeps have descended on Liverpool to revel in all things David Bowie for an annual convention celebrating the singer’s life and works.The event, which returned to the city for its third edition after taking place in New York in 2023, will welcome hundreds to St George’s Hall across its three days.Guest appearances include Woody Woodmansey, the last surviving member of the singer’s Spider From Mars backing band; Ken Scott, the producer of the 1971 smash hit Life on Mars?; and Bowie’s friends and collaborators Dana Gillespie and Ava Cherry.Organisers said it was a…

Several athletes have complained about a shortage of food at the Olympic Village in Paris, according to reports.Competitors have said the amount of food available, specifically eggs, which were rationed at breakfast on Wednesday, and grilled meats, is insufficient, according to the French newspaper L’Équipe.The official catering partner to the Olympic Village, Sodexo Live!, confirmed “a very high demand” for certain products and said that “volumes will be increased” to “satisfy the needs of the athletes”.The Olympic Village is set to serve approximately 13 million meals during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”It was requested to revise upwards the quantities initially…

Former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has said he was initially unaware the Post Office prosecuted its own sub-postmasters, despite leading the privatisation of the group.Sir Vince, who was business secretary between 2010 and 2015, was giving evidence on Wednesday to the inquiry into the Post Office IT scandal.Under questioning from Jason Beer KC, he also admitted a share of responsibility for the scandal as the Post Office came under his remit while in government.”This was an area of the department where clearly there was a policy failure,” he said.Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were blamed and…

Financial markets in the US and Asia have fallen sharply as investors sell off shares in technology companies, with artificial intelligence (AI) stocks hit particularly hard.In Wednesday’s trading in New York, the S&P 500 lost 2.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 3.6%, in their biggest one-day falls since 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 1.2%.The losses were driven by major firms including Nvidia, Alphabet, Microsoft, Apple and Tesla.On Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei index led declines in Asia as it fell by more than 3%.Shares in technology companies, especially those related to AI, have driven much of this year’s stock…

Getty ImagesThe NHS is appealing for people with O-type blood to urgently come forward and donate, after blood stocks dropped to “unprecedently low” levels in England. Officials said it follows a “perfect storm” of unfilled appointments at donor centres and increased demand following a cyber-attack which has affected services in London.O negative blood – known as the universal blood type – is safe for all patients. It is used in emergencies or when a patient’s blood type is unknown.Officials have also issued an amber alert asking hospitals to restrict use of O-type blood to essential cases or use an alternative…