Author: BBC

42 minutes agoBy Alex Smith, BBC NewsGetty ImagesA flash flood warning remains in place after heavy rains hit the islandPeople in Jamaica are assessing the damage after Hurricane Beryl hit the southern coast of the Caribbean island.The category four storm – one of the most powerful to ever hit the country – brought winds of up to 130mph (215km/h) to Jamaica’s south coast.Overnight Prime Minister Andrew Holness extended an island-wide curfew to 06:00 local time (11:00 GMT) on Thursday, with a flash flood warning also in effect.Beryl has now weakened to a category three storm, and is rolling towards the Yucatan Peninsula…

4 hours agoBy Huw Thomas, Business Correspondent, Huw ThomasConstruction Photography/AvalonThe last molten iron will be tapped from Blast Furnace 5 this weekLoud noises and large plumes of steam will be visible above the Port Talbot steelworks as one of its historic furnaces is closed down by Friday.Blast Furnace 5 (BF5) had been operating since 1959, but will shut as part of Tata Steel UK’s restructure.Port Talbot’s other furnace will end production of liquid iron in September ahead of the construction of a greener electric arc furnace next year.Nearby residents have been warned about the sights and sounds connected to the cooling of…

4 hours agoBy Frankie McCamley, BBC LondonHBOFans of shows such as House of the Dragon want the elaborate jewellery for themselvesBinge-worthy TV and Hollywood films are bringing extra sparkle to the tills of independent London jewellers.Fans of shows such as House of the Dragon, True Blood and Damsel have been lusting after replicas of jewellery worn by their favourite characters.Some designers are seeing big returns from their unique creations being featured on the big screen.The boost in sales and commissions has been welcome after what one designer described as a “gruelling” few years.The lucky charm is set to continue, after London and…

22 minutes agoBy Tiffanie Turnbull, BBC News, SydneyLone Pine Koala Sanctuary/Getty ImagesTaylor Swift and Pope John Paul II holding Lone Pine koalasFor what seems like time immemorial, giving a fluffy little koala a cuddle has been an Australian rite of passage for visiting celebrities, tourists and locals alike.And for many of them, a wildlife park in a leafy pocket of Queensland has been the place making dreams come true.The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary has entertained everyone from pop giant Taylor Swift to Russian President Vladimir Putin.But as of this month, the small zoo – a Brisbane icon which bills itself as the…

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…