Author: BBC

Ruth BradleyBBC Politics Reporter, SomersetBBCDani says the women she works with are often “scared” of the risks they face while sleeping rough”To go home and know you’ve left them – we’ve had to tuck women into foil blankets and just say ‘see you later’ – that can be heartbreaking sometimes.”Dani Brown has just spent hours of her Wednesday evening driving and walking around the streets of Bridgwater, Somerset.She’s an outreach worker with the town’s women’s centre run by a charity, The Nelson Trust.Every week she and a colleague go looking for homeless women who may need their help.They load up…

Tom EspinerBusiness reporterGetty ImagesRoyal Mail will start to deliver second-class letters on every other weekday and not on Saturdays to help cut costs, the industry regulator has said. Ofcom said a reform to postal service was needed as people are sending fewer letters each year, so stamp prices keep rising as the cost of delivering letters goes up. The changes mean second-class letters will be delivered either on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or on Tuesday and Thursday, in a two-week cycle.Royal Mail welcomed the changes, which will take effect on 28 July, but the move was criticised by some consumer…

Peter GillibrandBBC NewsbeatGetty ImagesMade in Chelsea star Miles Nazaire said he broke down realising he had to rehome his dogMade in Chelsea star Miles Nazaire has come under fire after revealing he rehomed his dog Rocky because he’s too busy to look after him. The 29-year-old says he’s “not a bad person” and that it was a “really, really tough decision”.Some fans criticised Miles for treating Rocky as “disposable” while others praised him as “selfless” for rehoming him. The Dogs Trust says the number of pets being rehomed is at a record high but that people shouldn’t be judged for…

‘One of my friends had a smartphone when they were three or four’Parents of thousands of children have been asked not to give them a smartphone until they’re at least 14 amid fears some were using devices for eight hours a day.Many schools have already banned smartphones on site but one part of the UK thinks it will be the first to have a countywide policy advising parents against giving children smartphones at home.Using mobiles is already banned in schools in Monmouthshire, south Wales, but due to a rise in cyber-bullying reports and fears phone use at home is affecting…

Recent years have seen incredible advances in eyesight restoration. But should we approach blindness as something that needs to be ‘cured’? Comedian Tom Skelton, who started losing his sight at 21, explores. Made in partnership with UKRI (UK Research and Innovation).

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence start-up xAI says it is working to remove “inappropriate” posts made by its chatbot, Grok, after users shared how it made positive references to Hitler.Screenshots published on social media show the chatbot saying the Nazi leader would be the best person to respond to alleged “anti-white hate.””Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X,” the company said in a post.ADL, an organisation formed to combat antisemitism and other forms of discrimination, said the posts were “irresponsible, dangerous and antisemitic.””This supercharging of extremist rhetoric will…

Noor Nanji & Felicity BakerCulture reportersBBC/Shine TVGregg Wallace has been one of the most high-profile presenters on British television for 20 yearsGregg Wallace has been sacked as MasterChef presenter as a result of an inquiry into alleged misconduct, BBC News understands.It comes as 50 more people have approached the BBC with fresh claims about the TV presenter – including allegations he groped one MasterChef worker and pulled his trousers down in front of another. Wallace denies the claims.The inquiry into allegations against him, conducted by an independent law firm on behalf of MasterChef’s production company Banijay, is expected back imminently.In…

MaryLou CostaTechnology ReporterReporting fromVilnius, LithuaniaAstrolightAstrolight is developing a laser-based communications systemI’m led through a series of concrete corridors at Vilnius University, Lithuania; the murals give a Soviet-era vibe, and it seems an unlikely location for a high-tech lab working on a laser communication system.But that’s where you’ll find the headquarters of Astrolight, a six-year-old Lithuanian space-tech start-up that has just raised €2.8m ($2.3m; £2.4m) to build what it calls an “optical data highway”.You could think of the tech as invisible internet cables, designed to link up satellites with Earth. With 70,000 satellites expected to launch in the next five years,…

Harriet HeywoodBBC News, CambridgeshireBBCPelvic mesh was used to give weak or damaged tissue extra support and treat incontinence in women for many yearsA woman has criticised the government for “dragging its feet” when it came to making reforms for women harmed by pelvic mesh implants.Five years ago, the Cumberlege First Do No Harm report found two drugs and the medical device had caused women or their babies harm.The report made recommendations to support victims, but most key proposals have been ignored, said Kath Sansom, a Sling The Mesh campaign founder from March, Cambridgeshire.A spokesperson for the Department of Health and…

Tuesday will mark a major milestone in the long road to justice for the victims of the Post Office IT scandal following a far-reaching inquiry. Part of a final report will be published focusing on compensation and the human impact of what is believed to be one of the biggest miscarriages of justices in UK history. Thousands of sub-postmasters were wrongly blamed for financial losses from the Post Office’s faulty Horizon computer system, which was developed by Fujitsu.More than 900 people were prosecuted and 236 were sent to prison.Sir Wyn Williams, chair of the long-running inquiry, has put victims at…