Author: BBC

1 hour agoBy Mark Savage, Music CorrespondentGetty imagesSophie performed at the 2019 Coachella Music FestivalA final, posthumous album by the experimental pop artist Sophie is to be released this year, her family have announced.The singer’s family revealed the news on Monday, saying it was drawn from material she had almost completed at the time of her death three years ago.The album was “lovingly finalised by those who hold her closest”, including Sophie’s brother and collaborator Ben Long, they added.The musician died at the age of 34 in an accidental fall after climbing to watch the full moon in Athens, Greece. Several months…

China’s lunar probe has returned to Earth with the first ever samples from the Moon’s unexplored far side.The Chang’e-6 landed in the Inner Mongolia desert on Tuesday, after a nearly two-month long mission that was fraught with risks.Scientists are eagerly awaiting the Chang’e-6 as the samples could answer key questions about how planets are formed.China is the only country to have landed on the far side of the Moon, having done so before in 2019.The far side – which faces away from Earth – is technically challenging to reach due to its distance, and its difficult terrain of giant craters…

36 minutes agoBy Nalini Sivathasan, Lorna Acquah and Emma Simpson, BBC NewsAlamyThe former Fujitsu engineer who helped design the faulty Horizon software at the centre of the Post Office scandal is under the spotlight this week.You might not have heard of Gareth Jenkins until now but he has become a key figure during the long-running Post Office Inquiry.He will be questioned at the inquiry over his involvement in the scandal, which saw more than 900 sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after Horizon made it look like money was missing from branch accounts.On Tuesday Mr Jenkins will begin giving evidence over…

9 hours agoBy Chris Baraniuk, Technology Reporter Linköping UniversityIt might look basic – but could this be the future of screens?At first glance, it looks like a relic from the 1980s. A tiny computer screen with flickering, low-resolution text scrolling across it. But this could be the future.The screen was made using perovskite light emitting diode (PeLED) technology. It is radically different to the LED technology used in your smartphone display today, and it could lead to devices that are thinner, cheaper and have longer battery life.Not only that, PeLEDs are very unusual in that they can absorb light as well as…

NHS England has confirmed its patient data managed by blood test management organisation Synnovis was stolen in a ransomware attack on 3 June.Qilin, a Russian cyber-criminal group, shared almost 400GB of private information on their darknet site on Thursday night, something they threatened to do in order to extort money from Synnovis. In a statement, NHS England said there is “no evidence” that test results have been published, but that “investigations are ongoing”. More than 3,000 hospital and GP appointments were disrupted by the attack.”Patients should continue to attend their appointments unless they have been told otherwise and should access…

4 hours agoBy Mark Savage, Music CorrespondentGetty ImagesAyra Starr’s videos have smashed YouTube records in her home country, NigeriaFor most musicians, releasing their debut album is the fulfilment of a lifelong dream. It’s a moment fraught with excitement, nerves, giddiness and pride. Afrobeats star Ayra Starr had all of those emotions, too. But her response to the momentous occasion was slightly different to most. She fell asleep.”When I woke up the next day, I had so many missed calls saying, ‘Oh, Ayra, I loved your album’,” she laughs.The Nigerian musician was still a teenager at the time, but that record, 19 And…

2 hours agoBy Tom McArthur, BBC NewsYonhapParasites from human waste and defaced Hello Kitty clothing have been found in bags of rubbish carried by North Korean balloons into South Korea, officials say.More than 1,500 waste-carrying balloons have been released by Pyongyang across the border since May, in retaliation for a leaflet campaign sent northwards by opponents of North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un.Analysis of some of the balloon packages detected “roundworms, whipworms and threadworms” in the soil. The chance of infection from the parasites in the packages is low, South Korea’s ministry of unification assured people.Other items carried by the balloons included…

15 hours agoBy Maria Sobolewska, Professor of Political Science, University of ManchesterGetty ImagesMargaret Thatcher had Essex Man and New Labour boasted Mondeo Man. David Cameron secured the Mumsnet Mums and for Boris Johnson it was Workington Man. They all symbolise voters who switched their votes in the election, effectively deciding who will lose and win.So what of 2024? When working out the key electoral blocs, it is possible that Renter Ruth could be key if Labour are to win, as the polls currently suggest. In the last decade the numbers of renters has increased while the Conservative party has seen its share…

15 hours agoBy Fergus Walsh, Medical editorBBCOran (R) with his mum, brother and sisterA boy with severe epilepsy has become the first patient in the world to trial a new device fitted in their skull to control seizures.The neurostimulator, which sends electrical signals deep into his brain, has reduced Oran Knowlson’s daytime seizures by 80%.His mother, Justine, told the BBC he was happier and had a “much better quality of life”.The surgery was carried out in October as part of a trial at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London when Oran – who is now 13 – was 12.Oran, from Somerset, has…

4 hours agoBy Riyah Collins, BBC NewsbeatGetty ImagesCharli XCX says she “won’t tolerate” the chants at her showsCharli XCX has urged fans to stop chanting “Taylor Swift is dead” at her gigs.There were reports of crowds at her Sunday show in São Paulo, Brazil, joining in with the attacks on the megastar.Posting on Instagram, the Brat singer said she “will not tolerate” it any more. “Can the people who do this please stop,” Charli wrote on Instagram. “Online or at my shows.”It is the opposite of what I want and it disturbs me that anyone would think there is room for this…