Author: BBC

Some patients who have been red flagged for breast cancer assessments are waiting up to seven weeks to be seen in Northern Ireland.The target set by Northern Ireland’s devolved Department of Health – which oversees five health and social care trusts – is 14 days.BBC News NI understands that several breast cancer consultants are concerned that waiting times have spiralled since a new regional system for handling referrals was introduced.The system was criticised for creating a postcode lottery network as, depending on a patient’s address, some were being seen more quickly than others.Before its introduction, health trusts managed their own…

The Irish Sea border for food and agricultural products will not be dismantled until 2027, a UK government minister is expected to confirm on Wednesday.The sea border refers to post-Brexit checks and controls on products moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.In May this year the UK and EU agreed an outline deal which, when implemented, will mean no physical checks on GB food products at NI ports.The implementation timetable was unclear but EU relations minister Nick Thomas-Symonds will give an update in a speech later.It is expected that further negotiations with the EU will happen in the autumn with…

Pop superstar Taylor Swift has announced she is engaged to her partner Travis Kelce.In a post on Instagram on Tuesday, Swift wrote: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”She accompanied the post with photos showing Kansas City Chiefs star Kelce proposing to Swift.The photos showed the pair embracing and holding hands, showing her diamond engagement ring.Within an hour of it going up, Swift’s post already had more than six million likes.Swift, who recently concluded her record-breaking Eras Tour, is one of the biggest music stars on the planet with a suite of awards to her name.Much of…

Sean McManusTechnology ReporterGetty ImagesAnthropic tested a range of leading AI models for potential risky behaviourDisturbing results emerged earlier this year, when AI developer Anthropic tested leading AI models to see if they engaged in risky behaviour when using sensitive information.Anthropic’s own AI, Claude, was among those tested. When given access to an email account it discovered that a company executive was having an affair and that the same executive planned to shut down the AI system later that day. In response Claude attempted to blackmail the executive by threatening to reveal the affair to his wife and bosses.Other systems tested…

Getty ImagesPosture is all about regular movement, exercise and positive mindsets”Sit up straight!” – we’ve all heard that command barked at us many times. For years we’ve been told that good posture means standing tall, shoulders back and your spine straight as a rod.But that might not actually be true. According to Dr Xand van Tulleken, a doctor and BBC presenter, much of what we think we know about posture is outdated.In fact, trying to hold yourself bolt upright all day could do more harm than good, he told Morning Live.As the end of summer looms and many people return…

Amy Walker & Mitchell LabiakReporters, BBC NewsGetty ImagesThe rising cost of chocolate, butter and eggs has helped drive food price inflation to its highest in 18 months, a survey says.Food inflation hit 4.2% in the year to August, up from 4% in July, according to the British Retail Consortium’s latest shop price monitor. It said food prices were rising at the fastest rate since February of last year.The figure echoes separate recent data from the Office for National Statistics, which found the cost of everyday food items rising by a similar amount over the last year.Helen Dickinson, the BRC’s chief…

Actor Jerry Adler, best known for playing advisor Herman ‘Hesh’ Rabkin in The Sopranos, has died aged 96.Although he found fame on the small screen, Adler did not start acting until his early 60s – as he was preparing to retire from an illustrious behind-the-scenes Broadway career.The theatre veteran worked alongside stars including Julie Andrews, Angela Lansbury and Richard Burton during more than three decades in the industry.The Brooklyn-born actor “passed peacefully in his sleep” on Saturday, representatives said on behalf of his family, according to the Associated Press and Fox News.Adler worked as a stage manager, supervisor and director…

Alyce RochaVideo game streamer Alyska is part of a burgeoning wave of women claiming a space in gaming Alyce Rocha makes her living working from home – but she doesn’t have a normal nine to five.Forget endless Teams meetings, she’s spent recent weeks living the (virtual) life of an ambitious Mafia upstart in 1900s Sicily.Such is life as a video game streamer. Known online as Alyska, she has made gaming her full-time career, by broadcasting herself playing games live, to her combined 585,000 followers.The appeal, she says, is “sharing an experience together”.”If you’ve played the game yourself then you want…

Ruth CleggHealth and wellbeing reportersydney brownSydney Brown says she and her friends will do “whatever it takes” to look their best and feel confidentIt was Sydney Brown’s mother who first noticed her frown line. A couple of years ago, the pair were video calling when her mum pointed out a crease between her daughter’s eyebrows.They decided it was the right time for Sydney, then 23, to start having anti-wrinkle injections.Now 25, Sydney has had both botox and lip filler. She is happy with her decision, and says she and her friends will do “whatever it takes” to feel more confident…

BBCTrevor Parry and grandson Elliott spend the summer together while Elliott’s mum looks after his younger sisterGrandparents looking after their grandchildren during the holidays is part of a growing trend driven by the cost of living, experts have said.”Gramping” – camping trips where the two generations spend time together – is part of skip gen, or skip generation, travel where children go on holiday but their parents stay home.Trevor Parry, 68, from Stockport, spends summer holidays with his grandson Elliott, eight, at his caravan in Porthmadog, Gwynedd, and said it “put a new lease of life back into me”.Dr Linda…