Author: BBC

17 minutes agoBy Andrew Rogers and Tom Richardson, BBC NewsbeatBBC/Getty/PAVoters are due to select their favoured party on 4 JulyYou’ve heard politicians talking about tax, immigration and the economy, but there’s one topic they don’t tend to mention.Video games.The UK’s games industry is globally respected, employs an estimated 76,000 people and is thought to bring £6bn a year to the UK economy.It’s also a sector in the middle of a crisis.Over the last 18 months thousands of workers worldwide have lost their jobs and studios have been shut down.Much of the focus has been on big names such as Microsoft and Sony,…

A high-tech prosthetic leg enables amputees to walk naturally and at normal speeds without consciously thinking about it, a study suggests.Developed by scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the bionic leg links the user’s brain activity to nerves in important muscles controlling movement.Study author Prof Hugh Herr said the results of a small trial were “quite miraculous” and could influence the way prosthetic limbs are constructed in future.But there are years of development work still to be carried out before it can be used by more patients.There are lots of limitations to the way current artificial limbs are able to…

Getty ImagesSir Tom Jones will kick off the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod on Tuesday eveningWelsh superstar Sir Tom Jones will kick off a week of live performances at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod on Tuesday.The six-day festival, which takes place every summer, runs until Sunday and is expected to draw in 50,000 fans to the Denbighshire town.Some big names have already performed at Llangollen in the days leading up to the eisteddfod, including Bryan Adams, Paloma Faith and the Manic Street Preachers.Treforest-born Sir Tom, who turned 84 last month, will make his first appearance at the event, which has been…

25 minutes agoBy Yolande Knell, BBC Middle East correspondentEPAUltra-Orthodox Jews in full time study have been exempt from conscription since the beginning of the stateWhen Israel’s ultra-Orthodox or Haredi Jewish community gathers in force you realise just how large it is.Thousands of men and boys dressed in black and white are crammed into the streets of Mea Shearim – which is the heart of the ultra-Orthodox community – in Jerusalem for an angry protest against the military draft.It is the latest demonstration since the Supreme Court’s historic ruling that young Haredi men must be conscripted into the Israeli military and are no…

Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corporation is entering the UK’s highly competitive free, ad-supported video streaming market.Tubi will compete with the likes of Netflix, Disney+, ITVX, Channel 4’s streaming platform as well as the BBC iPlayer.The platform has been quickly gaining market share in the US where, according to Fox, it has almost 80 million monthly active users.In the UK, Tubi says it will offer more than 20,000 films and TV series, including content from Disney, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal and Sony Pictures Entertainment.The platform will also include a selection of British, Indian and Nigerian content.UK viewers will be able to access content on…

A flight hit by “strong turbulence” has made an emergency landing in Brazil, with 30 people reported injured.The Air Europa Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was flying from Madrid to Montevideo when the mid-air incident happened, the airline said.Flight UX045 was diverted to the airport of Natal in north-eastern Brazil on its way to the Uruguayan capital, the Spanish company said on X, formerly Twitter.It added that passengers who suffered injuries were “receiving attention”.The plane, which had 325 passengers on board, ran into turbulence over the Atlantic when it had nearly reached the Brazilian coast, an Air Europa spokesperson said.The plane landed…

7 hours agoBy Sarah Smith, North America Editor, Washington’I’m a political prisoner’ – Bannon reports to prisonDonald Trump’s former top adviser Steve Bannon has told the BBC he does not fear going to prison or watching the former president’s 2024 campaign from behind bars.After being convicted of contempt of Congress, the man who was seen as the power behind the scenes in the White House at the start of Trump’s presidential term in 2017 reported to a federal prison in Connecticut just before noon on Monday.He is still appealing against his conviction for refusing to appear in front of the committee of…

The Belfast-based shipbuilder Harland and Wolff lost another £43m last year, its latest financial statement shows.It has temporarily suspended trading in its shares because it has not been able to publish independently audited accounts on time.It expects to publish those accounts next week.The company has reiterated its need for a £200m government loan guarantee to help stabilise its finances.It said the delay in its accounts was due to discussions with its auditors about the correct way to account for revenues from complex, multi-year contracts.It added that agreement had been reached and “the company will now progress to complete the audit…

Michael Mosley recorded his last interview How to Live a Good Life with psychologist Paul Bloom at the Hay Festival on the 25 May 2024. Dr Mosley died of natural causes on 5 June, four days after he went missing while on holiday on the Greek island of Symi. Paul Bloom is Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Cognitive Science at Yale and Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto and he shares with Dr Mosley his top five tips for living a good life. In this clip, Dr Mosley discusses the psychology of doing uncomfortable things, like taking cold showers, which we know are ultimately good for…

Donald Trump has hailed as a “big win” for democracy a Supreme Court ruling giving him partial immunity from criminal prosecution.The justices found that a president had immunity for “official acts” but was not immune for “unofficial acts”, and referred the matter back to a trial judge.Monday’s judgement will further delay the criminal case against Mr Trump for allegedly trying to subvert the 2020 election result that gave victory to Joe Biden. A spokesman for the Biden re-election campaign reacted angrily, saying: “They just handed Donald Trump keys to a dictatorship.”The trial judge must now determine which actions were carried…