Author: BBC

Chip giants Nvidia and AMD have agreed to pay the US government 15% of Chinese revenues as part of an “unprecedented” deal to secure export licences to China, the BBC has been told.The US had previously banned the sale of powerful chips used in areas like artificial intelligence (AI) to China under export controls usually related to national security concerns.Security experts, including some who served during President Donald Trump’s first term, recently wrote to the administration expressing “deep concern” that Nvidia’s H20 chip was “a potent accelerator” of China’s AI capabilities.Nvidia told the BBC: “We follow rules the US government…

Getty ImagesTemperatures are set to be well above average in many parts of the UK, and UV levels are expected to be high. How can you protect your skin from the sun’s rays and what should you do if you get burned? What do the SPF numbers mean on sunscreen?The most prominent number on sunscreen bottles is the sun protection factor or SPF.The higher the number, the greater the protection it offers.SPF tells you how much protection your sunscreen provides from UVB radiation. The number refers to how much UVB it allows in, not how much it blocks.For example, a…

Maia Davies & John HandBBC NewsBBCBrooks’s sons said their dad ‘shunned the spotlight’ despite his dazzling TV careerTV actor Ray Brooks, who starred in some of the UK’s best-known programmes in a career spanning five decades, has died aged 86.Brooks narrated the classic 1970s children’s show Mr Benn and played the male lead in the ground-breaking 1960s BBC drama Cathy Come Home.He also starred in primetime 1980s programmes Big Deal, in which he played loveable rogue gambler Robbie Box, and Running Wild, as the comic lead Max Wild.Brooks also became one of few actors to appear in both Coronation Street…

A uniform swap proved so popular it had to move into a larger venue, organisers said. The Great Big Hornsea Uniform Swap was held on Saturday at East Riding Leisure Hornsea. The event provided an opportunity for parents and carers to pick up primary and secondary school uniforms for free.Parent Claire Potter described the event as “invaluable”.Natalie Wilson, a teaching assistant at Hornsea Community School, organised the event and said uniform left in lost property was often unnamed so could not be returned to its owner.”I’d rather it was getting reused because a lot of it’s got a lot of…

President Donald Trump has called on the head of US chipmaker Intel to resign “immediately”, accusing him of having problematic ties to China.In a social media post, Trump said Lip-Bu Tan was “highly conflicted”, apparently referring to his alleged investments in companies that the US says are tied to the Chinese military. It is unusual for a president to demand the resignation of a corporate executive.In a note to staff, Mr Tan pushed back against the criticism as “misinformation”.”I have always operated within the highest legal and ethical standards,” he said of his more than 40-year career in the US.…

Do noise-cancelling headphones protect our hearing?Other Side of the Story spoke to Claire Benton, president of the British Academy of Audiology, to find out more abut noise-cancelling headphones. Claire explained that they can help protect people’s hearing as focusing on one sound with all others cancelled out, means it doesn’t need to be listened to at a loud level.”You still have to follow good listening hygiene,” Claire said. “Give your ears breaks from listening, keep the level down at a safe listening level regardless, because the temptation is still to turn it up. Some people really enjoy loud music and…

Thousands have been soaking up the sunshine, music and surfing at the Boardmasters festival in Cornwall.Raye headlined the main stage overlooking Watergate Bay near Newquay on Friday, with Central Cee headlining on Saturday, before The Prodigy close the event on Sunday night.It was also a chance for local stars to shine on the BBC Introducing stage.At Fistral Beach in Newquay, top surfers from around the world put their skills to the test in the Boardmasters Open. Organisers say this year’s festival could hit a record attendance of 58,000 people.

Theo LeggettInternational Business CorrespondentBBCTheo Leggett at the wheel of the oldest Ford Transit still in existenceClimbing into a 1965 Ford Transit is like stepping into a time capsule on wheels. Forget your modern high-tech nicknacks like satnavs and touchscreens. All you get here is a steering wheel, a big chrome-lined speedometer dial and a chunky heater control. There isn’t even a radio.Out on the road, it rattles and bangs and occasionally jumps out of gear. Disconcertingly, there’s no seatbelt, the seat itself has an alarming tendency to move around, and the brakes don’t seem to do very much at all.…

Imran Rahman-JonesTechnology reporterGetty ImagesElon Musk’s AI video generator has been accused of making “a deliberate choice” to create sexually explicit clips of Taylor Swift without prompting, says an expert in online abuse.”This is not misogyny by accident, it is by design,” said Clare McGlynn, a law professor who has helped draft a law which would make pornographic deepfakes illegal.According to a report by The Verge, Grok Imagine’s new “spicy” mode “didn’t hesitate to spit out fully uncensored topless videos” of the pop star without being asked to make explicit content.The report also said proper age verification methods – which became…

BBC Weather presenter Alexandra Humphreys explains the benefits of getting some rays.