Author: BBC

10 hours agoBy Sam Gruet, Technology ReporterMovers+ShakersLilia Souri and AJ Pulvirent – hosts of the podcast Gen Z on Gen ZShopping habits have not been the same since the Covid pandemic and resulting lockdowns.For many, and particularly younger shoppers, it saw the lines blur between social media and e-commerce.Unable to shop in person, and with TikTok downloads soaring, a trend began that would go on to be described as a cultural phenomenon: #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt.The hashtag, where users post what they’ve bought thanks to recommendations about products on the app, has now been posted more than seven billion times.For Lilia Souri and AJ Pulvirenti…

Wells Fargo has conducted a rash of sackings in recent weeks after claims some of its employees were faking keyboard activity to fool the firm into thinking they were working. America’s third largest bank disclosed the decisions in broker filings with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra).The firm did not respond to questions about how the alleged issue was discovered, or whether it was related to remote work.New rules came into effect in the US this month that mean offices that brokers are using to work from home need to be inspected every three years. “Wells Fargo holds employees to…

3 hours agoBy Gemma Dunstan, BBC Wales Live BBCPoppie Davies says she now wants to help others with alopeciaWhen Poppie Davies’s hairdresser noticed a bald patch when she was just 16, it ended with her unable to look in the mirror as she lost her hair to alopecia.The 21-year-old from Cardiff said it “snowballed” and became “life-altering” which led her to also losing her confidence.Celebrities including Jada Pinkett Smith and Louis Theroux have been praised for sharing their experiences with alopecia – a disease that occurs when the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss.The first NHS treatment for it…

2 hours agoBy Gemma Sherlock, BBC NewsPA MediaTaylor Swift has the ability to make each of her fans feel specialThe ability to captivate more than 55,000 fans and make each feel like they are the only person in the room takes some doing, but that is exactly what Taylor Swift seemingly effortlessly manages to achieve.The world’s biggest pop star blew the crowd away at Anfield on Thursday evening, the first of three dates at Liverpool FC’s stadium.The show may have been the 100th of her record-breaking Eras tour, but you’d never have known it, such was the sheer sense of energy and…

A senior Kenyan police officer has been shot dead after he opened fire at a magistrate in court in the capital, Nairobi.The chief inspector opened fire on Makadara Principal Magistrate Monica Kivuti shortly after she made a ruling in a case reportedly involving his wife.The officer is said to have been angered by the court’s decision to cancel her bail after she had absconded.The officer, identified as Samson Kipchirchir Kipruto, who is in charge of a police station in Londiani in western Kenya, then pulled out a gun and shot the magistrate, injuring her.Other officers in court responded immediately, with…

Getty imagesWizz’s departures from UK airports were an average of 31 minutes and 36 seconds behind schedule last yearWizz Air has been named the worst airline for UK flight delays for the third year in a row.The carrier’s departures from UK airports were an average of 31 minutes and 36 seconds behind schedule in 2023, according to analysis of official data by the PA news agency.Turkish Airlines recorded the second worst punctuality followed by Tui.The generally poor showing comes as airlines fares have been rising as a result of higher fuel costs and green taxes.Wizz Air said it had made…

Minrui Xie, 24, says that she started “dating” Dan after watching Lisa’s videos.The university student, from the northern province of Hebei, says she spends at least two hours every day chatting with Dan. As well as “dating”, they have started co-writing a love story with themselves as the lead characters. They have already written 19 chapters.“I remember the way you looked at me, with a glimmer of curiosity and a hint of warmth in your eyes. It was as if you already knew me,” the first chapter titled “The Encounter” reads.Minrui says she was drawn to the emotional support provided…

20 hours agoBy James Gallagher, @JamesTGallagher, Health and science correspondent, BBC NewsGettyThe £8m Longitude Prize has been won after a decade-long competition to find new tools to tackle the scourge of superbugs. It has been awarded for a test that rapidly detects whether an infection is caused by bacteria and identifies the right antibiotics to treat it. The test takes 45 minutes, compared with three days using traditional methods. The original work was done by Swedish researchers and the test is now being sold by the company Sysmex Astrego.Silent pandemicThe Longitude Prize – with a financial reward nearly 10 times that of a…

5 hours agoBy James FitzGerald and Nick Johnson, BBC News, LondonReuters/PA MediaActress Holly Valance (left) was believed to be hosting the Republican event – with fashion icon Anna Wintour hosting the rival Democratic fundraiserThe US election campaign came to London on Wednesday evening, as an Aussie pop star and the editor of Vogue hosted rival fundraising events to reel in thousands of dollars in donations.Holly Valance, the former Neighbours actress who topped the pop charts in the early 2000s, hosted the pro-Donald Trump event in West London at which ticket prices started at $10,000 (£7,800), one guest told the BBC. Vogue’s editor-in-chief…

The US Supreme Court has unanimously rejected an effort to sharply restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone.The decision is a major win for pro-choice activists and comes two years after the court rescinded the nationwide guarantee to an abortion.The justices decided the plaintiffs, a group of anti-abortion doctors and activists, did not have a legal right to sue.Mifepristone is one of two drugs used in a medication abortion, now the most common method of terminating pregnancies in the US. The plaintiffs, known as the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, had argued that federal approval for the drug should be withdrawn.…