Author: BBC

Hundreds of British workers will be given greater choice over their hours as part of a new pilot by the official four-day week campaign.The three-month project will build on the original 2022 trial, with employers also trying flexible start and finish times, a nine-day fortnight, and compressed hours.Two businesses have already signed up and the campaign’s director told the BBC it is hoping to target around 3,000 employees and 50 companies.The UK’s biggest union Unison and several big firms support the experiment, but other companies have abandoned the four-day week after trying it.The campaign’s director Joe Ryle said “hundreds of…

Microsoft has announced big price rises for Game Pass, its Netflix-style subscription service for games.The gaming giant, which purchased studio Activision Blizzard for a record $69bn (then £56bn) in 2023, says monthly charges for PC Game Pass will rise by £2 to £9.99, while its premium service, Ultimate, will go up by £2 to £14.99 per month.It is also replacing its standard subscription tier on Xbox consoles in September, meaning Xbox gamers will now have to subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate if they want access to new games on the day they are released.It comes after Microsoft announced in May…

A national youth orchestra has become the latest performing arts organisation to announce plans to relocate from London to Sheffield.Orchestras for All (OFA) has said it will move from its headquarters in the capital to South Yorkshire and follow in the footsteps of the English Touring Opera.OFA will be based at Canada House, a Grade II-listed building in the city centre which has been vacant since 2011.Councillor Martin Smith from Sheffield City Council said the newcomers would “make brilliant additions to an already thriving cultural scene”.A council spokesperson said OFA’s decision to relocate to the city came after a “rigorous…

3 hours agoBy Hannah Ritchie, BBC News, Sydney BBCFilicide – when a parent intentionally kills their child – is the second most common form of domestic homicide in AustraliaThe night comes back in fragments: the sound of exploding glass, the frantic call made to police, the tiny shivering bodies emerging from the flames.Eve’s hand shakes as she pieces it together. She is sitting in her living room in Western Sydney, the burnt-out blackened shell of her neighbour’s house – now a crime scene splashed across Australia’s national news – visible through the blinds.What happened on this quiet street in the early hours…

Shrek’s long-awaited return has been confirmed, with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz all set to return for the lovable green ogre’s first film for 16 years.A plotline for the movie is yet to be revealed, but Myers will play the title character, Diaz will voice Shrek’s wife Princess Fiona and Murphy will return as sidekick Donkey.Announcing the news, DreamWorks Animation said on X: “Not too Far, Far Away… Shrek 5 is coming to theatres on July 1 2026 with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz.”The first film was released back in 2001, and won the first Oscar…

In 2007, a young Lionel Messi posed for photos with a baby in the dressing room of the Camp Nou in Barcelona for a charity calendar photoshoot.Messi, who was 20, was already making a name for himself and would go on the become arguably the greatest of all time.But little did the photographer know that the baby would also make waves in international football less than 17 years later.Messi was bathing Lamine Yamal – the 16-year-old who is taking the European Championships by storm. His goal against France in the semi-final on Tuesday is one that will be talked about…

Greener technologies will help drive down household bills by the end of the decade, former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has said.By 2030, the cost of renewable energy will be lower, homes will be better insulated, and the cost of running electric vehicles will be lower, after an “initial investment cost”, he said.Mr Carney said the new National Wealth Fund, recently announced by Labour, will attract investment in infrastructure and green industry.But households will need to put money into technologies including such as heat pumps and electric vehicles to get the UK on track to meeting climate targets.Under its…

A concert by Irish musician Hozier has been cancelled because of flooding. Scheduled for Tuesday evening at Chepstow Racecourse, Monmouthshire, organisers said they were left with “no other option” but to cancel the show.”This decision was extremely difficult for us, especially knowing that many of you planned your travels around the tour schedule,” they said.The Take Me To Church singer said he was “absolutely gutted” by the news and that refunds would be issued to fans. The gig, part of the venue’s Summer Sessions series, was set to follow shows from Shania Twain and Tom Jones in the past week.…

Members of an Australian religious group have gone on trial accused of killing an eight-year-old diabetic girl by denying her medical care.Elizabeth Struhs was found dead at a home in Toowoomba – about 125km (78 miles) west of Brisbane – in January 2022, after she had allegedly gone without insulin for almost a week.Prosecutors say members of a sect, known as The Saints, prayed that God would cure the child, rather than seeking help as her health deteriorated.The girl’s parents are among 14 defendants, all of whom have elected to represent themselves in the highly publicised and highly unusual case.Two…

Blackpink star Jennie has apologised after a video that showed her vaping indoors sparked a huge outcry in South Korea. The K-pop star exhaled a puff of smoke – and triggered a barrage of criticism because it blew into the face of her make-up artist. “Do you need to be educated for all the basic manners?” a popular comment on YouTube reads.Her label OA Entertainment has apologised to “everyone who felt uncomfortable with Jennie’s actions”, and to her “disappointed” fans. The star has also apologised to staff “who may have been affected”, the label said. “Jennie acknowledges and deeply regrets…