Author: BBC

Getty ImagesScabies can lead to secondary skin infections, if not treated.People are being told not to ignore an itchy rash, with GPs in England reporting a spike in scabies – the highly infectious skin infestation.The condition is caused by a mite which burrows under the skin to lay eggs and is spread through close physical contact, bedding and clothes.It can spread quickly in places where people live closely together, such as universities and care homes, the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) said.However, “social stigma” prevented people coming forward, it said.Prof Kamila Hawthorne, RCGP chairwoman, said while incidences remained infrequent, the…

The chancellor is set to increase the National Insurance rate for employers to boost funding for public services including the NHS.Rachel Reeves is also expected to use Wednesday’s Budget to lower the threshold for when employers start paying the tax – with the two measures combined to raise about £20bn.The move is thought to be the single largest revenue raiser of next week’s Budget, with other tax rises expected, although Reeves is not likely to introduce the levy to employers’ pensions contributions.Employers currently pay National Insurance of 13.8% on a worker’s earnings above £175 a week.A government source said: “There…

Perthshire Picture AgencyTricia Fox’s small business in Scotland has been affected by the row between two major US companiesOne of the world’s biggest web publishing platforms – used by a large chunk of the internet – is locked in a spat which is affecting thousands of businesses worldwide.While most of the work WordPress does is not seen by internet users, it says its behind-the-scenes web-building tools power 40% of the world’s websites.That means its disagreement with a company called WP Engine is causing disruption to the huge number businesses that rely on the two organisations to keep their websites running.Tricia…

Grammy Award-winning US rapper Lil Durk has been arrested on a charge of murder-for-hire, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.Police records seen by US media show the star, real name Durk Devontay Banks, was arrested in Broward County, Florida, on Thursday night and is being held without bail.The arrest comes a day after five people with ties to Banks’ hip-hop group, Only The Family (OTF), were reported to have been charged in Chicago in connection with a 2022 shooting that killed the cousin of rival rapper Quando Rondo.Lil Durk has had six albums in the US Billboard chart’s…

BBCIt costs €15,000 (£12,500) for the whole “package”, we are told. For that we would be given an inflatable dinghy, with an outboard motor and 60 life jackets, to get across the English Channel.This is the “good price” offered by two small-boat smugglers to an undercover BBC journalist in Essen – a western German city where many migrants live or pass through.A five-month-long BBC investigation has exposed the significant German connection to the lethal human smuggling trade across the English Channel.As the new UK government promises to “smash the gangs”, Germany has become a central location for the storage of…

BBCDoreen Adams said she was grateful to have been able to receive the new surgeryPioneering surgery to remove large brain tumours through the eyebrows of patients has been successfully carried out in Scotland.In what has been described as a “world first”, NHS Grampian said tumours the size of large apples have been removed using the technique.Consultant neurosurgeon Anastasios Giamouriadis has adapted the already-existing eyebrow technique to enable him to now remove larger growths – a development which he described as a “game-changer”.The surgery is said to have fewer complications, a shorter operating and recovery time, and less scarring as a…

Thames Water has been thrown a cash lifeline that will tide the troubled utility giant over until October next year.The UK’s biggest water group has secured a loan of up to £3bn following fears that it would run out of funding by Christmas.People close to the deal said it was signed on Thursday evening and shows there is confidence that new and existing investors can reach an agreement to secure the company’s future.Thames Water’s huge debts have led to speculation it could be taken over by the government, although this would not affect any supplies.One in four people in the…

The FutureTECH Show/The Presenter StudioWaseem Mirza wanted his phone to run for longerActor and presenter Waseem Mirza was not happy when he realised he would have to change his phone – particularly as it was working just fine.Although the hardware was running smoothly, Samsung ended security updates for the phone in 2020. “I just wish there was a way to get more life out of this old bit of tech.”“I thought the lack of [security] updates was pretty stupid, really,” says Mr Mirza, who bought the phone in 2016.“Your battery and your screen are still working great. You feel as…

Getty ImagesThe presenter is in the UK filming the new series of Adam Richman Eats BritainActor and former Man v Food star Adam Richman has claimed he and his crew have had their possessions stolen at a motorway services in north London.The American presenter, 50, who is in the UK filming season two of Adam Richman Eats Britain, wrote on X their van full of filming equipment was “completely cleaned out” in less than five minutes.He said it happened when he stopped with production staff at the London Gateway Services on the M1 in Barnet on Wednesday afternoon.The Metropolitan Police…

Mozambique’s ruling party, Frelimo, has won the country’s divisive, violence-marred election, extending its 49-year grip on power in the southern African nation, the election commission has announced. Daniel Chapo, Frelimo’s relatively unknown presidential candidate who has been seen as an agent of change, will replace Filipe Nyusi, who has served two terms. At 47 years old, Chapo, who gained 71% of the vote, will be the first president born after Mozambique’s independence in 1975. His closest challenger, Venancio Mondlane got 20%.The election has been marred by allegations of rigging and the killing of opposition supporters, prompting protests across the country.…