Author: BBC

Harland and Wolff shipyard says it has “reworked” an application for government support as concerns grow for the future of the business.The Financial Times reported that the government intended to reject the firm’s application for a loan guarantee.The Belfast-based company had requested a 100% government guarantee to cover £200m of new borrowing.It says it has now proposed a deal for a standard 80% guarantee level that “has been awarded to hundreds of other companies”.The loan guarantee is seen as essential for the firm’s financial stability.It needs to refinance an £90m high interest loan and take on new borrowings as it…

Billionaire Elon Musk has said he will move the headquarters of two of his most high-profile companies, rocket firm SpaceX and social media platform X, out of California to Texas.He cited his opposition to a new Californian state law which bans schools from requiring staff to disclose information about a child’s gender identity – including to parents. “This is the last straw,” he wrote on social media. The businessman had already moved Tesla’s headquarters to Texas in 2021, a move he first threatened over Covid-era lockdowns. Since then, he has become increasingly involved in US politics. Over the weekend, he…

Protection for Donald Trump was boosted several weeks ago after US authorities learned of an Iranian plot to kill him, according to national security officials. Officials say there is no known connection between the Iranian plot and the assassination attempt on the former president on Saturday in Pennsylvania.However, the disclosure that security had been tightened raises further questions over how Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was able to climb a building and get close enough to fire at Trump. The US Secret Service and the Trump campaign were notified of the Iranian threat, and security was increased as a result, according…

The boss of train operating company Avanti West Coast was “summoned” to talks with the new transport secretary over the company’s “unacceptable performance”.Louise Haigh demanded “immediate action” in a meeting with its managing director, Andy Mellors on Tuesday after figures showed its passengers faced some of the worst travel disruption in the country.It was the first of a series of meetings with the worst performing train firms, with railway operator Network Rail also attending.A spokesperson for Avanti said the talks between Mr Mellors and Labour’s transport secretary were “constructive”.Calls have been made to strip Avanti West Coast of its operating…

1 hour agoBy Barbara Plett Usher, BBC NewsEPAPalestinian sources say the strike in al-Mawasi hit a car carrying four peopleAt least 50 Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded in a series of Israeli air strikes in south and central parts of Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry says.One of the deadliest attacks occurred in the designated humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi, west of the southern city of Khan Younis.Another strike hit a UN-run school housing displaced people in Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza.The Israeli military said both strikes had targeted members of Palestinian armed groups and that it was looking into reports…

Getty ImagesOil and gas operators have been warned the regulator is “getting tough” on those not meeting their decommissioning obligationsOil and gas operators have been warned by regulators to step up decommissioning in the North Sea.The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) wants companies to clean up their oil and gas legacy and said it was “getting tough” on operators not meeting their regulatory obligations.Repeated delays to well plugging and abandonment – where wells are plugged with concrete to protect groundwater resources and prevent surface pollution and methane emission – were pushing up the estimated bill for decommissioning on the UK…

14 hours agoBy Ethan Gudge, BBC NewsOxford IonicsOxford Ionics says its chip is the first of its kind that could be mass-producedA chip that experts have said could be “pivotal” to creating effective quantum computers has been unveiled.Oxford Ionics has said its chip can be mass-produced and means the world’s first useful quantum computer could be built in three years time.The new technology makes it possible to do very complex calculations extremely quickly and solve problems too difficult for regular computers.University of Oxford Associate Professor of Quantum Computing Aleks Kissinger said the new chip was “very promising”.Oxford Ionics said only one technology…

BBCAmanda Abbington, pictured with partner Giovanni Pernice, withdrew from Strictly last OctoberStrictly Come Dancing has been one of the BBC’s most iconic and beloved shows for the past 20 years.But recently, it has been hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons, amid allegations concerning two of its professional dancers.Both men – Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima – have now left the show. Both have denied any suggestions of abusive or threatening behaviour during rehearsals.The BBC, for its part, has insisted it has robust duty of care procedures, which it has bolstered with a series of new measures including…

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez has been found guilty on 16 counts tied to a scheme where he accepted bribes, including gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz, in exchange for helping foreign governments.Menendez – formerly the head of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee – now faces the prospect of decades in prison and possible expulsion from the Democratic party.He had maintained he was not guilty throughout the eight-week trial, with his lawyers arguing that the gifts he accepted did not qualify as bribes, because prosecutors had failed to prove that he took any specific action as a result of receiving…

Fujitsu IT security analyst Andy Dunks gave witness statements in dozens of cases against Post Office sub-postmasters despite saying he had “limited” knowledge of how the Horizon system worked, an inquiry has heard. His statements helped to secure the convictions of some of the highest-profile sub-postmasters, including Seema Misra, Jo Hamilton and Lee Castleton.They were among 700 convicted by the Post Office based on evidence from the flawed computer system Horizon, in what has been described as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British legal history.An inquiry into the scandal heard how other Fujitsu employees were reluctant to…