Author: BBC

10 hours agoBy Megan Lawton, Business reporterGetty ImagesK-pop band Seventeen are now using AI, admits member Woozi, who is standing third from the rightThere’s an issue dividing K-pop fans right now – artificial intelligence.Several of the genre’s biggest stars have now used the technology to create music videos and write lyrics, including boy band Seventeen.Last year the South Korean group sold around 16 million albums, making them one of the most successful K-pop acts in history. But it’s their most recent album and single, Maestro, that’s got people talking.The music video features an AI-generated scene, and the record might well include AI-generated…

An independent review of NHS performance in England has been ordered by the new health secretary.Wes Streeting said he wants the investigation to tell the “hard truths” about what he has called a broken service.Writing in the Sun newspaper, he said it will help inform his forthcoming 10-year plan for the NHS.Mr Streeting said the NHS could be turned around, but first it was important to diagnose the problem.“It’s clear to anyone who works in or uses the NHS that it is broken.“Patients are waiting more than a year for an operation. They can’t get through the front door for…

4 hours agoBy Stuart Maisner, BBC News, South EastKevin RalphDominic West stars in the new production of Doctor FaustusThe complete theatrical works of 16th Century playwright Christopher Marlowe have been filmed in what is being described as a “remarkable world first”.The eight films, which feature some of the UK’s top performers, will receive their premiere screenings at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, the city in Kent where the writer was born.The viewings, between 16-24 August, will mark the 460th anniversary of Marlowe’s birth. Dominic West, who stars in the adaptation of Doctor Faustus, said: “It was a great pleasure to be part…

Liverpool footballer Darwin Núñez was involved in an altercation with spectators after his national team Uruguay were beaten on Wednesday evening.The striker was seen physically confronting Colombia fans in the stands after the final whistle in the Copa America semi-final.According to Uruguayan outlet El Pais, disorder broke out close to where friends and family members of players were located.Núñez is yet to comment publicly on the incident.TV cameras and fans captured images of Núñez climbing up railings and making his way into the crowded stands of the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.He could then be seen confronting…

The UK economy grew faster than expected in May helped by a strong performance from retailers and the construction industry.The economy expanded by 0.4%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, rebounding from zero growth in April when wet weather put off shoppers and slowed down building projects.Construction expanded at the fastest rate in almost a year in May, with house building and infrastructure projects boosting the industry, the ONS said.The question of how to increase growth in the UK’s economy was one of the key battlegrounds in the recent general election.Liz McKeown, of the ONS, said that many retailers…

8 hours agoBy Mohamed Shalaby and Joe Tidy, BBC World ServiceGetty ImagesThe Israeli military campaign has badly affected internet and mobile connectivity in GazaPalestinians calling home to Gaza on Skype have had their digital lives destroyed, after Microsoft closed their email accounts without warning. BBC News has spoken to 20 Palestinians living abroad who say Microsoft, which owns the voice and video chat app, kicked them out of their accounts. The total number affected is thought to be much higher. In some cases, these email accounts are more than 15 years old and the users have no way to retrieve emails, contacts…

5 hours agoBy Natasa Andjelkovic, BBC News SerbianBy Grujica Andric, BBC News SerbianBBCSabrija Hajdarevic is one of thousands of Bosnians whose loved ones were killed in 1995Every July, Sabrija Hajdarevic returns to Srebrenica to visit the graves of her husband and father.They were among around 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys killed in 1995 by the Serb forces.The 67-year-old now lives thousands of miles away in Australia, but the annual trip means a lot to her.This year is even more poignant, as for the first time 11 July will be marked as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration, following a UN General Assembly…

Getty ImagesOn Thursday the water regulator Ofwat will announce how much it thinks average water bills should rise in England and Wales over the next five years. But how are bills set and what can you expect to pay?How are water bills calculated in England and Wales?Most people in England and Wales get their water from one of 17 companies and have their waste water taken away by one of 11 companies.Households cannot choose which supplier they use – it is down to here they live.The water regulator Ofwat determines the levels of service all customers can expect and how…

52 minutes agoBy Anthony Zurcher, @awzurcher, North America correspondentEPAThe most devastating argument against Joe Biden’s re-election bid may have come not from a politician or a pundit, but from a film star.But George Clooney, with his stinging New York Times opinion piece, isn’t the only one speaking out. A growing chorus from Democrats is sinking the president’s hopes of steadying his campaign this week – and perhaps ever.This all comes after it appeared that the president had turned a corner, with the influential Congressional Black Caucus and key liberal members of Congress just voicing their support for him. But now the ground has…

The Chinese government has said it is launching an investigation into allegations that fuel tankers have been used to transport cooking oil after carrying toxic chemicals without being cleaned properly between loads.The controversy has spread online as social media users express concerns about potential food contamination.Tankers used for transporting fuel were found to be carrying food products, like cooking oil and syrup, and were not decontaminated correctly, according to state-run Beijing News.Transporting cooking oil in contaminated fuel trucks was said to have been so widespread it was considered an “open secret” in the industry, according to one driver quoted by…