Author: BBC

It’s taken until 2024, but Japan has finally said goodbye to floppy disks.Up until last month, people were still asked to submit documents to the government using the outdated storage devices, with more than 1,000 regulations requiring its use.But these rules have now finally been scrapped, said Digital Minister Taro Kono.In 2021, Mr Kono had “declared war” on floppy disks. On Wednesday, almost three years later, he announced: “We have won the war on floppy disks!”Mr Kano has made it his goal to eliminate old technology since he was appointed to the job. He had earlier also said he would…

Millions of social media users in India are stranded after homegrown microblogging platform Koo, which had branded itself as an alternative to X, announced it was shutting services.The platform’s founders said a shortage of funding along with high costs for technology had led to the decision. Launched in 2020, Koo offered messaging in more than 10 Indian languages.It gained prominence in 2021 after several ministers endorsed it amid a row between the Indian government and X, which was then known as Twitter. The spat began after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government asked the US-based platform to block a list of…

57 minutes agoBy Shaun Peel, BBC News, NorfolkShaun WhitmoreCole Lam and other students have been helping inspire primary school pupilsA 17-year-old YouTuber whose piano covers of classic hit songs have won him a million followers has been inspiring primary school children to play a musical instrument.Cole Lam and a group of friends from The Purcell School for Young Musicians in Hertfordshire spent a week with four different primary schools to create the Norfolk Primary Orchestra.The initiative is part of an outreach project called Impulse led by the Bushey-based independent school.”Having a social media platform has given me the confidence to pass on…

3 hours agoBy Vanessa Buschschlüter and Jaroslav Lukiv, BBC NewsGetty ImagesJamaica’s capital Kingston under the stormA powerful hurricane has hit Jamaica with heavy winds and rain, damaging buildings and felling trees on the Caribbean island.Beryl – a category four storm with winds of up to 130mph (215km/h) – struck the island’s southern coast.Photos on social media show flooded streets and roofs being blown off. At least seven people have been killed so far as the storm sweeps through the Caribbean. “It’s terrible. Everything’s gone. I’m in my house and scared,” Amoy Wellington, resident of a rural farming community in the southern St…

1 hour agoBy Clodagh Stenson, BBC South Investigations • Alex Bish, BBC South East InvestigationsKim RenyardKim Renyard said she had not been fully reimbursed by the parking firm she usedHolidaymakers say they have been left hundreds of pounds out of pocket after using two meet-and-greet car parking firms at Gatwick, the UK’s second largest airport.One passenger said she had to get a taxi nearly 150 miles home to Norfolk after Drive Park and Fly told her they could not find her car key when she arrived at the West Sussex airport.Meanwhile, a Galaxy Parking Limited customer said he was charged six pounds each time his…

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says he will sell another 25 million shares in the technology giant, worth nearly $5bn (£3.9bn).It comes after the company’s stock market value hit a record high on Wednesday.In February, he announced that he would sell Amazon shares worth around $8.5bn.That marked the first time since 2021 that Mr Bezos had sold Amazon shares.The company’s shares have risen by more than 30% this year on expectations that growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technology will boost earnings at its cloud computing business.Last month, Amazon’s stock market valuation topped the $2tn for the first time.However, that is…

Australian police have found human remains while searching for a 12-year-old they believe was the victim of a crocodile attack.The child was last seen on Tuesday, swimming with family near the remote Aboriginal town of Nganmarriyanga – about a 7-hour drive southwest of Darwin in the Northern Territory (NT).“This is devastating news for the family, the community and everyone involved in the search,” said Senior Sgt Erica Gibson, adding that police would provide support to everyone impacted.Earlier Sgt Gibson had told ABC News that a black crocodile had been seen in the immediate area.As many as 40 members of the…

Europe’s tallest active volcano roared as it spewed lava from one of its largest craters.Lava fountains and flows were captured on video of the intensifying volcanic activity.Etna is located in Sicily and is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. Source link

Getty ImagesHello there election enthusiasts!I love the idea of a full night of election drama – sitting up in front of the television, the BBC News live page updating on my laptop, slowly converting a mountain of snacks into a wasteland of empty wrappers and mainlining unseemly quantities of tea. But we’re fighting biology here, fellow election-night crew.So I’ve been chatting to sleep experts to come up with the definitive guide to getting through the night and not becoming a sleep-deprived monster the next day. I’m going for the hardcore plan – we’ve got to be up all day Thursday…

47 minutes agoBy Ian Youngs, Culture reporterBlumhouse Prods/Kobal/ShutterstockThe original film showed a couple who were plagued by unexplained phenomena in their homeThe two men behind the world premiere stage adaptation of hit horror film Paranormal Activity currently know all about being woken by loud cries in the middle of the night.Director Felix Barrett and writer Levi Holloway’s nocturnal activity isn’t paranormal, though. It’s parental.”We both have six-month-old babies,” Holloway says to explain why the pair are even more bleary-eyed than they might usually be in the frantic final preparations for a major new show.”The only paranormal activity I know is at 03:30…