Author: BBC

Liv McMahonTechnology reporterGetty ImagesThe UK government says it will ban so-called “nudification” apps as part of efforts to tackle misogyny online.New laws – announced on Thursday as part of a wider strategy to halve violence against women and girls – will make it illegal to create and supply AI tools letting users edit images to seemingly remove someone’s clothing.The new offences would build on existing rules around sexually explicit deepfakes and intimate image abuse, the government said.”Women and girls deserve to be safe online as well as offline,” said Technology Secretary Liz Kendall.”We will not stand by while technology is…

Elena BaileyHealth reporterLottie DoyleOver the years, Lottie says she has found ways to try to better manage her misophoniaLottie is looking forward to spending time with her family this Christmas, but says one of the only ways she’ll manage to get through it is by wearing her earplugs – especially during Christmas dinner.For the 23-year-old Christmas can be a particularly difficult time as the sounds of other people, chewing, slurping and sniffling make her feel extremely uncomfortable.”I get this feeling of sudden panic, my whole body will just tense up and it feels like I’m in danger, and I need…

Faarea MasudBusiness reporterGetty ImagesBoxing Day sales have seen a muted start as shoppers continued to shun bricks-and-mortar stores in favour of online.By 3pm, visits to UK high streets were down 1.5% on 2024, while shopping centres saw a 0.6% fall, according to data from MRI Software.MRI’s footfall data showed retail parks saw 6.7% more people visiting compared with last year, but the rise has so far not been big enough to see an overall or significant bump in visitors. Barclays expects shoppers to spend £3.6bn in the sales, down from the £4.6bn they forecast for the sales in 2024, with…

Chinese robotaxis could be set to hit UK roads in 2026 as ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft announce partnerships with Baidu to trial the tech.The two companies are hoping to obtain approval from regulators to test the autonomous vehicles in London.Baidu’s Apollo Go driverless taxi service already operates in dozens of cities, mostly in China, and has accrued millions of rides without a human behind the wheel.Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said the news was “another vote of confidence in our plans for self-driving vehicles” – but many remain sceptical about their safety.”We’re planning for self-driving cars to carry passengers for…

Hospitals across the UK have been seeing high levels of flu cases this winter.You can use our tool below to find out how many flu patients there are in hospitals near you.Produced by Christine Jeavans, Wesley Stephenson, Rob England, Aidan McNamee, Phil Leake and John Walton.Developed by Allison Shultes, Steven Connor and Grace Richardson.Figures relating to flu cases in hospitals are collected in different ways in each UK nation.In England it is the weekly number of beds occupied by patients with a laboratory confirmed flu case.This data is provided at NHS Trust level. Trusts are organisations which include hospitals, community…

A US judge has temporarily blocked the detention of British social media campaigner Imran Ahmed, who took legal action against the US government over having his visa removed.The Center for Countering Digital Hate founder was among five people denied US visas after the Trump administration accused them of seeking to “coerce” tech platforms into censoring free speech.The move brought a backlash from European leaders defending the work of organisations monitoring online content.Mr Ahmed, a US permanent resident, had warned that being detained and possibly deported would tear him away from his American wife and child. Praising the judge’s decision, he…

Chris BaraniukTechnology ReporterThe Washington Post via Getty ImagesData centres can’t function without cooling systemsThey work 24/7 at high speeds and get searingly hot – but data centre computer chips get plenty of pampering. Some of them basically live at the spa. “We’ll have fluid that comes up and [then] shower down, or trickle down, onto a component,” says Jonathan Ballon, chief executive at liquid cooling firm Iceotope. “Some things will get sprayed.”In other cases, the industrious gizmos recline in circulating baths of fluid, which ferries away the heat they generate, enabling them to function at very high speeds, known as…

Some of the lamps – which are often used for Seasonal Affective Disorder – are available to loan for up to three weeks.

Faarea Masud & Simon BrowningBBC NewsGetty ImagesThe number of passengers passing through UK airports will be the most ever seen on any Christmas Eve since records began in 1972, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said.It projects over 335,000 people will be flying in the UK on Wednesday, which is up 5% from Christmas Eve in 2024, though minimal disruption is expected.Britain’s roads are also expected to see one of the busiest Christmas Eves since records began said the RAC, though another motoring lobby says traffic peaks for the season have passed.The RAC said the worst time to travel on Wednesday…

Vince Zampella, who co-created the popular video game series Call of Duty, has died in a car crash in California, aged 55. Zampella’s death was confirmed by Electronic Arts, which owns Respawn Entertainment, a game studio he co-founded.The influential video game developer was travelling in a Ferrari with another person, when it crashed and caught fire on a highway in Los Angeles on Sunday. “This is an unimaginable loss, and our hearts are with Vince’s family, his loved ones, and all those touched by his work,” a spokesperson for Electronic Arts told the BBC.Officials said the person on the vehicle’s…