Author: BBC

Michael KeohanCraig Mackinlay said the limbs he paid for privately made him feel “whole again”Former MP Craig Mackinlay, who lost his hands and feet after a life-threatening episode of sepsis, has urged the government to end what he says is a “postcode lottery” for amputee care.Speaking as the Paralympics gets under way in Paris, Lord Mackinlay said he wanted to use the focus on the games to push the government to do more for people who lose limbs.The former MP for South Thanet warned that NHS prosthetics currently on offer could leave people “in a pit of despair” while the…

Getty ImagesThree people are still missing after a landslide in Aichi prefectureMore than five million people in Japan have been told to evacuate their homes after the country was hit by one of its strongest typhoons in decades.At least four people have been killed and more than 80 injured after Typhoon Shanshan made landfall in the country’s south-west. Hundreds of thousands of people have been left without power.The typhoon has now weakened to a severe tropical storm and is making its way north-east, bringing torrential rain and severe disruption to transport services.Most of the evacuation orders are in place for…

Simon EmmettThe scramble is set to begin for tickets for the long-awaited Oasis reunion, with the band adding three new tour dates due to “unprecedented demand”.The new shows are on 16 July in Manchester, 30 July in London and 12 August in Edinburgh.Yet more dates could be added when the pre-sale opens on Friday, and when the general sale starts on Saturday.A ballot for access to pre-sale tickets closed on Wednesday evening.Fans are now awaiting details of UK ticket prices. The band’s Irish promoter has said their two Dublin shows will start at €86.50 (£72.80), not including booking fees.Here’s everything…

PA MediaEnvironmental campaigners have welcomed the government’s decisionThe UK government will not fight a legal challenge against the decision to grant consent to drill in untapped oil fields off Shetland and Aberdeen. Greenpeace and Uplift jointly brought judicial reviews in an attempt to stop the development of the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields.It comes after the Supreme Court ruled that a UK council should have considered the climate impact of new oil wells – setting a precedent for all regulators.The government’s decision does not mean the licences for Jackdaw and Rosebank have been withdrawn.But if the judicial review backs the environmental…

Telegram boss and founder Pavel Durov has been placed under formal investigation in France as part of a probe into organised crime on the messaging app, Paris prosecutors say.Mr Durov, 39, has not been remanded in custody, but placed under judicial supervision, and has to pay a €5m (£4.2m; $5.6m) deposit.The Russian-born billionaire, who is also a French national, also has to show up at a French police station twice a week and is not allowed to leave French territory.Mr Durov was first detained upon arrival at Le Bourget airport north of Paris last Saturday under a warrant for offences…

Alessandro FUCARINI/AFPThe final body from the yacht was brought to the surface last FridayItalian authorities are expanding their investigation into the deaths of seven people on the yacht, the Bayesian, to include two crew members as well as the captain, according to Italian news agencies.British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and six others lost their lives when the 56m (184ft) yacht, flying a British flag, sank off the coast of northern Sicily on 19 August.The investigation is now said to include ship engineer Tim Parker Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffith.Being investigated does not equate to being charged and is a procedural…

NFL stars Travis and Jason Kelce have signed a lucrative podcast deal with Amazon, reportedly worth $100m (£75m).The three-year deal, announced on Tuesday, gives the company’s Wondery audio network exclusive multimedia rights to the brothers’ popular New Heights podcast.The pair said they “couldn’t be more excited” at the deal ahead of the show’s third series.The siblings launched the podcast in 2022 – interviewing celebrity guests and discussing their own lives – all with brotherly humour. Travis, 34, a three-time Super Bowl champion for the Kansas City Chiefs, has since found wider fame as the boyfriend of pop megastar Taylor Swift.…

The government must ban flavoured and disposable vapes, doctors say, to protect children against a growing epidemic of use in the UK. The British Medical Association says bold action is needed and vapes have no rightful place in young people’s lives. Children are being targeted with colours, branding and flavours such as bubble gum or candy floss, it says, to push a product that can lead to nicotine addiction. About 8% of 11-17-year-olds vape, according to estimates. Although it was already illegal to sell any vape to anyone under 18, Prof David Strain, who chairs the BMA’s Board of Science,…

Citizens’ Advice is bracing itself for a “really difficult” winter ahead of the scrapping of winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners, the charity’s boss says.From next month, those not on pension credit or other means-tested benefits will no longer get the annual payments, worth between £100 and £300.Dame Clare Moriarty, who will attend a government meeting with energy firms to discuss the issue on Wednesday, told the BBC there should be better targeted support for those with the highest needs and the lowest incomes.The prime minister has defended the decision to scrap winter fuel payments, saying it was needed…

Warning: This story contains details readers might find distressingA predator posing as a famous teenage YouTuber who blackmailed hundreds of girls around the globe into performing sex acts on camera has been jailed for 17 years in Australia.Muhammad Zain Ul Abideen Rasheed pleaded guilty to 119 charges, relating to 286 people from 20 countries, including the UK, the US, Japan and France. Two-thirds of his victims were aged under 16.A Perth court heard the 29-year-old coerced them into a cycle of increasingly extreme abuse by threatening to send explicit messages and images of them to their loved ones. Australian authorities…