Author: BBC

The baseball world has saluted the achievements of Willie Mays, widely considered one of the sport’s best ever players, after his death at age 93.Mays was twice declared the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and won the World Series with the New York Giants in 1954.His famous catch during the championship remains one of the most iconic plays ever seen in America’s so-called “national pastime”.In addition to his on-field achievements, Mays embodied an attitude of “just keep playing and having fun”, one former player told the BBC.Nicknamed the “Say Hey Kid”, the centre fielder had been baseball’s oldest living Hall…

Just nowBy Tom Espiner, BBC business reporter • Faisal Islam, Economics editor, @faisalislamGetty ImagesInflation has hit the Bank of England’s target for the first time in almost three years.Prices rose at 2% in the year to May, down from 2.3% the month before, official figures show.The economy is a key talking point in the run-up to the general election on 4 July, with all of the main parties battling over how they would keep the cost of living under control.The Conservatives said their “difficult decisions” were paying off, but Labour said pressures on family finances were “still acute”.It comes ahead of a Bank of England decision…

Chip-maker Nvidia became the world’s most valuable company after its share price climbed to an all-time high on Tuesday.It is now worth $3.34tn (£2.63tn), with the price having nearly doubled since the start of this year.The stock ended the trading day at nearly $136, up 3.5%, making it more valuable than fellow tech giant Microsoft. It overtook Apple earlier this month.The American company’s meteoric rise has been fuelled by its dominance of the market in the chips needed for artificial intelligence (AI), which is currently experiencing explosive growth.Many investors believe its earnings can grow even more, which has caused its…

1 day agoBy Alastair Fee, Health Correspondent, BBC SouthBBCDanielle Harding said the implant had been life changingA woman who suffered the debilitating effects of severe acid reflux has described a new implant as “amazing” and “life changing”. Danielle Harding, 30, could not eat without enduring severe coughing and pain because of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD).She was one of the first patients in the UK to receive the implant of a silicone ball into her upper stomach wall.University Hospital Southampton said there was “excitement” about the early results of the procedure.GORD occurs when contents from the stomach flow back into the oesophagus -…

7 hours agoBy Sophie van Brugen, Culture reporterV&ANaomi Campbell with some of the outfits from the V&A exhibition: Naomi in fashion, this year’s big summer show at the V&AWhen the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) dedicates an entire show to one person, particularly one whose career is still very much ongoing, it’s usually a sign that A-list stardust is incoming.This time it’s the turn of supermodel Naomi Campbell, a woman whose work and life has been in the headlines since she burst on to the fashion scene in the 80s at the tender age of 16.The south Londoner now follows in the…

South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa is due to be sworn in for a second term in office as president.Lawmakers re-elected him to stay on as president last week following a deal between his African National Congress (ANC) to form a coalition government with long-time rival Democratic Alliance (DA) and other parties.The ANC, which has governed since the end of apartheid in 1994, lost its majority for the first time after the 29 May election produced no outright winner.Many heads of states and dignitaries from around the world are expected to attend the inauguration ceremony being held in the capital, Pretoria.The presidency…

20 minutes agoBy Alex McIntyre, BBC News, West MidlandsPA MediaWorkers at Amazon in Coventry will be balloted over union recognitionA ballot process that could see Amazon recognise a trade union in the UK for the first time is to begin.GMB union officials were due to enter the trading giant’s Coventry fulfilment site for the first time on Wednesday, where they were set to hold meetings with the 3,000 workers to try and win their vote.Workers will ultimately vote on whether they want a union to represent them with GMB needing 40% of them to vote in their favour.Amazon said employees have always…

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has referred a complaint against TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance over potential violations of children’s privacy to the Department of Justice (DOJ).The FTC says its own investigation “uncovered reason to believe” that the firms “are violating or are about to violate the law”.In a statement to BBC News, a TikTok spokesperson said they were disappointed by the decision.The case is separate from legislation passed earlier this year to ban TikTok in the US if ByteDance does not sell the business.The regulator said its investigation focused on potential violations of the FTC Act…

1 day agoBy Jim Scott, BBC News, North East and CumbriaBBCChemie-Leigh Lewis says Grayson is generally a “happy” childThe mother of the “only person in the UK” living with the rare and fatal condition Arts Syndrome said she had to fight for “life-changing” medication for her baby son.Chemie-Leigh Lewis, from Houghton-le-Spring on the edge of Sunderland, said it had been a “hell of a year” after being told one-year-old Grayson may not live beyond the age of six.The disease affects how the body stores and uses energy and can cause hearing and sight loss along with repeated infections.Ms Lewis, also mother to…

9 hours agoBy Catriona Aitken, Nathan Bevan, BBC newsGetty ImagesTaylor Swift wowed the sold-out crowd at Cardiff’s Principality StadiumTaylor Swift made her fans’ Wildest Dreams come true in Cardiff on Tuesday night as she greeted them in Welsh. The 34-year-old kicked off her much anticipated show in Wales with a smattering of hit tracks such as Cruel Summer, before trying her hand at the language.”Shwmae,” Swift told the sell-out crowd at the Principality Stadium as she struggled to be heard above the screams.”Croeso i daith Eras,” she added, which means: “Welcome to the Eras Tour.” “This is my very first time getting to…