Author: BBC

18 minutes agoBy Vanessa Clarke, Education reporter, BBC NewsBBCFamilies paying for holiday clubs this summer now face a bill of £1,045 for six weeks’ care for one child – a rise of 6%.A survey of councils across Great Britain, by charity Coram Family and Childcare, also suggests a shortage of places – particularly affecting children with special educational needs and disabilities.Providers say they are trying to keep costs down as they struggle with staff shortages.The government says it is providing support to families.’Low-paid job’In Birmingham, Harborne School’s Out owner Claire Johnson is expecting a busy summer – her club has been booked…

8 minutes agoBy Michael Dempsey, Technology ReporterUSAFThe US Air Force has developed an AI which can fly an F-16 combat jet (left)I’m flying a Typhoon fighter over the Irish Sea and I’ve got a big problem.There’s a hostile jet on my tail, and no matter how I push the joystick, or play with the throttle, this enemy is still there.The threat is represented by a black triangle on the computer screen ahead of me that also displays a Typhoon cockpit. I’m in a series of three dogfights on a simulator and the results are not good.That annoying little image won’t leave my…

As the second Covid winter wave built, messages appear to show Mr Johnson’s faith was faltering in the ability of lockdowns to control the virus.On 15 October 2020, Mr Johnson said he was “rocked” by analysis that the average age of those dying was over 80, adding: “That is above life expectancy. So get Covid and live longer.”The messages were sent one day after the three-tier system of restrictions was rolled out in England.Mr Johnson goes on to say “I no longer buy all this NHS overwhelmed stuff”. In other words, the PM seems to have been losing faith in…

American stand-up comedy legend Bob Newhart, whose deadpan delivery style earned him numerous awards, has died at the age of 94.The star of TV series The Bob Newhart Show, Newhart passed away at home after a series of short illnesses, his publicist said in a statement provided to the BBC on Thursday.Newhart became a stand-up comic after starting his career as an accountant in Chicago. He went on to guest-host Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show 87 times.More recently, he starred in classic Christmas film Elf and The Big Bang Theory.The son of a plumber in a suburb of Chicago, Newhart graduated…

6 hours agoBy Tom Espiner, BBC business reporterPost Office Horizon IT InquiryFormer Post Office minister Ed Davey has said that he was “lied to” about “serious flaws” in the Horizon IT system.The Liberal Democrat leader told an inquiry into the Horizon scandal that “someone senior must have known the truth at some stage” about those flaws.He stopped short of accusing Post Office executives of lying to him during his time as minister between 2010 and 2012.Between 1999 and 2015, hundreds of sub-postmasters were blamed and prosecuted for losses caused by bugs in Fujitsu’s faulty IT Horizon system.Mr Davey said that former chief…

Getty ImagesEven as Covid hit, the government and its health officials were bullish in their confidence about their ability to cope.Dr Jenny Harries, then the deputy chief medical officer for England, hailed the UK as an “international exemplar” in its preparedness at one of the early TV press conferences.She was not the only one who thought like this – after all, just a year before the pandemic a government review had praised our “world-leading capabilities”.But such a belief, said Baroness Hallett as she set out the first of her Covid reports, was “dangerously mistaken”.The UK had, in fact, prepared for…

26 minutes agoBy Sam Cabral, BBC News, WashingtonGetty ImagesDana White describes Donald Trump as ‘the ultimate American badass’The president of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will take the stage on Thursday night before Donald Trump – days after an assassination attempt – officially accepts the Republican presidential nomination.Trump has embraced Dana White, one of his most outspoken supporters outside of politics, and the hugely popular combat sports franchise he manages, gracing several of its live events over the past year while grappling with court battles.With an unfiltered and unorthodox style similar to Trump’s, the UFC boss will now act as frontman, introducing his…

4 hours agoBy Daniel Thomas and Victoria Park-Froud, BBC News business reportersGetty ImagesThe collapse of High Street plastic surgery chain SK:N on Wednesday has shocked its customers and staff, many of whom have contacted the BBC to say they are owed thousands of pounds for treatments they’ve not yet had or wages not received. The group, which has 70 branches across the UK under various brand names, has given little detail beyond a message on its website to say its clinics have “ceased trading” with immediate effect and that is doing “all” it can to address customer concerns. Jane, 33, from Essex,…

Getty ImagesA swarm of mosquitoes, the insects that spread malaria when they drink bloodMillions of lives are at risk unless urgent and radical action is taken to stop drug-resistant malaria spreading in Africa, scientists warn.Malaria parasites that can shrug off the effects of the critical drug artemisinin are now well-established in East Africa. Resistance levels have soared in some areas from fewer than 1% to more than 20% of cases in the space of three years. The last time resistance to an antimalarial spread in Africa it led to a tripling in the number of children dying. Twenty-eight leading malaria…

United Airlines has apologised to NFL Hall of Fame legend Terrell Davis after the two-time Super Bowl champion said he was “wrongly handcuffed” on a flight to California.Mr Davis said he was removed from a United Airlines aircraft last Saturday after a flight attendant accused the former Denver Broncos star of hitting him.The 51-year-old, who was flying with his family from Denver, spoke about his ordeal on social media, said the claim was false and described feeling “traumatised” by it.United Airlines says it has removed the flight attendant from duty while it investigates the matters and reviews its policies.Posting on…