Author: BBC

Nick TriggleHealth correspondentPA MediaThousands of NHS staff redundancies in England will now go ahead after a deal was reached with the Treasury to allow the health service to overspend this year to cover the cost of pay-offs.The government said earlier this year 18,000 admin and managerial jobs would go with NHS England, the body that runs the NHS, being brought into the Department of Health and Social Care alongside cuts to local health boards.NHS bosses and health ministers had been in talks with the Treasury over how to pay for the £1bn one-off bill with the health service wanting extra…

Osmond ChiaBusiness reporterGetty ImagesApple has confirmed that it has removed two of China’s most popular gay dating apps – Blued and Finka – from its app store in the country following an order from authorities.”We follow the laws of the countries where we operate. Based on an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China, we have removed these two apps from the China storefront only,” an Apple spokesperson said.The move has raised concerns amongst the LGBT community in the country.The BBC has contacted the Chinese embassy in Washington and the companies behind both apps for comment.A “lite” version of the…

PA MediaNurses from Darlington Memorial Hospital have taken their NHS bosses to an employment tribunalNHS bosses “penalised” female nurses complaining about a transgender woman using their changing room, an employment tribunal has been told.Eight nurses are challenging a policy which allows the single-sex room at Darlington Memorial Hospital to be used by Rose Henderson, a biological male who identifies as a woman.In closing submissions, the nurses’ barrister said they had suffered indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation due to County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust’s Transitioning In The Workplace policy.The trust said the nurses had “demonised” Rose and the policy conformed…

The rate of UK unemployment has risen to 5% in the three months to September, showing signs the jobs market has weakened, according to new official figures. It is the highest rate since the period covering December 2020 to February 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).The increase in the unemployment rate was higher than expected, coming in above the 4.9% projected by many analysts ahead of the Budget on 26 November. Average wage growth was 4.6% in the third quarter, down from 4.7% over the three months to August.Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics for the ONS,…

Tony HanGlobal China UnitMetropolitan PoliceQian Zhimin enjoyed a lavish lifestyle of travel and shopping before UK police discovered her stash of crypto A woman, said by police to have bought cryptocurrency now worth billions of pounds using funds stolen from thousands of Chinese pensioners, is due to be sentenced this week for money laundering.After fleeing China, she moved to a mansion in Hampstead, north London. The Metropolitan Police raided it a year later and made one of the world’s single largest crypto seizures.More than 100,000 Chinese people invested their money in her company – which claimed to be developing high-tech…

Chloe Hayward, Nick Triggle & Daniel WainwrightBBC NewsBBCJust three trusts out of 121 in England are treating cancer patients quickly enoughAlmost every hospital trust in England is failing to meet the key NHS waiting time target for cancer care, BBC analysis shows.Just three trusts out of 121 in England are treating cancer patients quickly enough – within 62 days – with experts warning delays could be putting lives at risk.The government accepted waits were too long, but said it was investing in the NHS to improve performance.Research shows getting treatment quickly is crucial, with every four-week delay reducing patient survival…

Seb NobleCornwall political reporterBBCPatrick Langmaid viewed paying the real living wage as an investment in his businessMore employers in Cornwall have been urged to pay their staff the real living wage to help reduce in-work poverty.The Living Wage Foundation said about 300 businesses – employing about 15,000 people – currently paid the real living wage in Cornwall.Truro Foodbank said it had seen a drop in the number of people accessing it for support over the past two years since more employers began paying higher wages. However, the Federation of Small Businesses warned it could be difficult for some to commit…

China has lifted export controls on computer chips vital to car production, the country’s commerce ministry said on Sunday.Exemptions have been granted to exports made by Chinese-owned Nexperia for civilian use, it said, which should help carmakers who had feared production in Europe would be hit.At the same time, China has also paused an export ban to the US of some materials that are crucial in the semiconductor industry and suspended port fees for American ships.The moves mark an easing of trade tensions between Beijing and Washington after President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump agreed in October…

Graham FraserBBC ScotlandUniversity of DundeeProf Iris Grunwald demonstrates the technology which she says now shows that a specialist doesn’t need to be “in the same hospital, or even in the same country, to help you”Doctors from Scotland and the US have completed what is thought to be a world-first stroke procedure using a robot.Prof Iris Grunwald, of the University of Dundee, performed the remote thrombectomy – the removal of blood clots after a stroke – on a human cadaver that had been donated to medical science.The professor was at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, while the body she was operating on…

Getty ImagesTravellers wait in a long line at a security checkpoint at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport on 6 NovemberMore than 1,400 flights to, from, or within the US were cancelled on Saturday after airlines were told this week to cut traffic during the federal government shutdown.Nearly 6,000 flights were also delayed, down from over 7,000 delays on Friday, according to flight tracker FlightAware. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced earlier in the week that it would be reducing air travel capacity by up to10% at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports as air traffic controllers, who are working without…