Author: BBC

Getty ImagesA political storm is swirling following the government’s decision to withdraw help with energy bills from millions of pensioners.But what is the winter fuel payment and how can hundreds of thousands of eligible pensioners ensure they still receive it?What is the winter fuel payment and who will receive it?Winter fuel payments, until now, have been paid to all pensioners to help with energy bills. The payment was based on the principle that older people would be left exposed and at increased risk if they could not pay their bill.But in July, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the payment would now…

A 26-year-old American woman has been shot dead in the occupied West Bank during a protest.Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was born in Turkey, is reported to have been taking part in a protest against Jewish settlement expansion in the town of Beita near Nablus.Ms Ezgi Eygi was allegedly shot by Israeli troops, according to local media reports. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say they “responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them” in the Beita area.US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington is “urgently gathering…

SonyBot the difference: Astro Bot features dozens of cameos from well-known PlayStation charactersIt’s just a few hours before reviews of one of the year’s biggest PlayStation 5 releases arrive, and its director is talking about food.Buffets, to be precise.You might get a lot for your money, but how do you feel afterwards?”Bloated, you’ve eaten too much and you just want to go and sleep,” says Nicolas Doucet, head of Sony-owned studio Team Asobi.Gamers are fond of food metaphors. Developers don’t just make games, they “cook”. If you’re spoilt for choice with high quality new releases, you’re “eatin’ good”.But Nicolas is…

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has hit out at French authorities, calling his arrest last week in relation to allegations of insufficient moderation on the messaging app “misguided”.In his first public statement since he was detained, he denied claims that Telegram is “some sort of anarchic paradise” as “absolutely untrue”.Mr Durov was arrested on 25 August at an airport north of Paris.He has since been placed under formal investigation over suspected complicity in allowing illicit transactions, drug trafficking, fraud and the spread of child sex abuse images to flourish on his site.In France, being put under formal investigation does…

Getty ImagesMen taking sodium valproate are being warned to use contraception while on the medicine, because of a “potential small increased risk” of autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions for any children conceived. They should continue to do so – and cannot donate sperm – until three months after they have stopped taking the drug.Sodium valproate, prescribed under brand names including Epilim, Belvo, Convulex and Depakote, is an effective treatment for epilepsy and bipolar disorder.The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which issued the warning, stressed patients must speak to their doctors before making any changes to their medicines. ‘Safety…

The Japanese owner of convenience store chain 7-Eleven has rejected a $38bn (£29.2bn) takeover bid from Canadian rival Alimentation Couche-Tard.In a letter addressed to the prospective buyer, Seven & i Holdings said the Circle K owner’s offer “grossly” undervalued the company and was fraught with regulatory risk.The 7-Eleven owner added, however, that it remains open to negotiations and ready to consider a better proposal.If successful the buyout would create a 100,000-strong global convenience store giant.Stephen Dacus, the chair of the Seven & i board considering the deal, said in a letter that the proposal was “opportunistically timed”.The proposal, Mr Dacus…

AlamyRebecca Cheptegei, pictured running last year, came 44th in the marathon at the Paris OlympicsOlympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei has died days after being doused in petrol and set on fire by a former boyfriend.The 33-year-old Ugandan marathon runner, who competed in the recent Paris Olympics, had suffered extensive burns after Sunday’s attack.The authorities in north-west Kenya, where Cheptegei lived and trained, said she was targeted after returning home from church with her two daughters.Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, said that he had lost a “very supportive” daughter. Fellow Ugandan athlete James Kirwa told the BBC about her generosity and how she…

Indecent assault charges in the UK against disgraced former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein have been discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).The CPS said it had made the decision after reviewing the evidence in the case and concluding “there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction”.Weinstein, 72, was charged in 2022 with two counts of indecent assault against a woman in London for alleged offences in 1996.The alleged victim is a woman who is now in her 50s, the Metropolitan Police said at the time.Frank Ferguson, head of the special crime and counter-terrorism division at the CPS, said it…

Getty ImagesIn groups people screen out chatter around them – and now technology can do the sameIt’s the perennial “cocktail party problem” – standing in a room full of people, drink in hand, trying to hear what your fellow guest is saying.In fact, human beings are remarkably adept at holding a conversation with one person while filtering out competing voices.However, perhaps surprisingly, it’s a skill that technology has until recently been unable to replicate.And that matters when it comes to using audio evidence in court cases. Voices in the background can make it hard to be certain who’s speaking and…

A hospice has announced it needs to save £1.5m and cut 40 jobs in order to secure its future.The chief executive of St Catherine’s Hospice, which operates in West Sussex and Surrey, said funding of the sector needed an urgent root and branch review. Giles Tomsett said the government’s contribution covered 23% of running costs and that over 10 years it had not kept up with inflation. The Department of Health said the new government had inherited huge challenges but ministers were “determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals” into the community.Mr Tomsett said increases in the cost of…