Author: BBC

2 hours agoBy Jared Evitts, BBC NewsbeatThe LoopDrug testing at festivals is part of an approach known as harm reductionA drug testing charity has warned festival-goers that potentially deadly super-strength MDMA pills are being sold in the UK.The Loop, based in Bristol, conducted tests in the city and at the recent Parklife festival in Manchester.CEO Katy Porter told BBC Newsbeat the charity checked more than 150 pills sold as MDMA, and found the average strength had increased since last year.She said some had effectively contained a “double dose” of the substance, and this posed a “much greater risk of overdose and potential…

6 minutes agoBy Bernd Debusmann Jr and Vicky Wong, BBC News, Washington DC and LondonWikileaks/XWikileaks founder Julian Assange is due to appear in a US court on Wednesday, where he will formalise a plea deal and leave a free man following a 14-year legal battle.Mr Assange is expected to arrive in the Northern Mariana Islands, an American territory in the Pacific. On Tuesday, he left a British prison and flew to the Thai capital Bangkok for refuelling.US officials were pursuing Mr Assange, 52, over charges related to a huge disclosure of secret files in 2010, which they said put lives in danger.Reacting…

A former sub-postmistress wrongly jailed while pregnant during the Post Office scandal has rejected an apology from an ex-Fujitsu engineer whose evidence helped convict her.Seema Misra told the BBC that a statement from Gareth Jenkins was “too little, too late”.At the inquiry on Tuesday, Mrs Misra said she wanted to know “why on earth he did what he did”.While at Fujitsu, Mr Jenkins was involved in the development of the Horizon accountancy software used by subpostmasters across the UK. Hundreds of them were wrongly prosecuted for theft and fraud on the basis of incorrect data from the system. At Mrs…

The gaming streamer Herschel “Guy” Beahm, known online as Dr Disrespect, has had his role at his gaming company “immediately terminated” after it said it “became aware of an allegation” against him. The decision by Midnight Society – which Beahm co-founded – comes four years after he was abruptly kicked off streaming platform Twitch, where he had a huge following.The reason for his removal then was never made clear – with the Amazon-owned platform only saying it acted whenever users broke the rules.Beahm has denied any wrongdoing, and had previously posted: “I didn’t do anything wrong, all this has been…

Getty ImagesA child receiving a vaccinationThe UK is at a “tipping point”, with low uptake of routine vaccinations putting children at risk of catching severe diseases, health officials say.Stalling vaccination rates against some diseases, such as whooping cough and measles, means population immunity is no longer high enough to stop outbreaks.Latest figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), for January-March, show a small increase in some vaccinations, including a 0.3% rise in pre-school booster jabs given to under-fives.But targets are still being missed. The World Health Organization (WHO) target is for 95% of under-fives to be vaccinated.And for the…

3 hours agoBy Tom Richardson, BBC NewsbeatDominique TipperDominique Tipper’s best known for her work on The ExpanseA videogame set in a divided America starring a cast of diverse characters was always likely to ruffle feathers.But Dominique Tipper likes a challenge.The actress is best known for her work on The Expanse, a hit sci-fi show that ran for six seasons.More recently she’s been in New York, performing in a production of Grenfell: A Survivor’s Story.Her next project is Dustborn, that comic-book inspired videogame that takes place in a dystopian USA run by an authoritarian force known as Justice.Dominique voices Pax, the leader of…

Kenyan police have fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters in the capital, Nairobi, amid ongoing anti-tax demonstrations across the country.Businesses have been shut and transport has been paralysed in the city, with the police engaging in running battles with demonstrators.The youth-led protests are calling on MPs to reject proposed tax increases. The government, which has rowed back on some of the most controversial measures, says new taxes are needed to fund spending programmes and lessen the debt burden.An AFP journalist was quoted as hearing a police officer tell his colleagues to ” get the rubber bullets from…

7 hours agoBy Katy Austin, Transport correspondentGetty ImagesPicture this. You’ve reached the end of a much-anticipated holiday in sunnier climes with your family in tow. It’s time to fly home to the UK.But when you reach the crowded airport, delays are starting to build. You wait and wait and then your flight is cancelled. Information is patchy. The airline should help, but it seems overwhelmed – nobody seems to know what’s going on. Alternative flights are getting booked up quickly. So too are hotels. You end up stuck for days.That nightmare scenario is what thousands faced at the end of August last…

The world’s biggest record labels are suing two artificial intelligence (AI) start-ups over alleged copyright violation in a potentially landmark case.Firms including Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Records say Suno and Udio have committed copyright infringement on an “almost unimaginable scale”.They claim the pair’s software steals music to “spit out” similar work and ask for compensation of $150,000 (£118,200) per work. Suno and Udio did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuits, announced on Monday by the Recording Industry Association of America, are part of a wave of lawsuits from authors, news organisations and other…

3 hours agoBy Jon Ironmonger, BBC Investigations, NorthamptonshireGetty ImagesA huge amount of Full Support Healthcare PPE was found in the New Forest last yearAbout £1.4bn worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) has been destroyed or written off in what is understood to be the most wasteful government deal of the pandemic.Figures obtained by the BBC reveal that at least 1.57 billion items of PPE provided by Full Support Healthcare, an NHS supplier based in Northamptonshire, will never be used, despite being manufactured to the proper standard. The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), which was responsible for purchasing and delivering Covid…