Author: BBC

Two 17-year-old boys have been arrested by police investigating a cyber-attack on a chain of nurseries in London.The Metropolitan Police say the pair were arrested at residential addresses in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, on suspicion of computer misuse and blackmail. Hackers were said to have stolen the photographs, names and addresses of about 8,000 children from the Kido chain.The force said it received a referral from the Action Fraud cyber crime reporting service on 25 September detailing a ransomware attack. Those arrested remain in custody for questioning.Will Lyne, Met’s Head of Economic and Cybercrime, said: “We understand reports of this nature…

Ministers and school representatives are set to meet later for the first School Council Network in Jersey of the new term. The meetings, which take place up to six times a year, allow primary and secondary school councils to shape policy directly with government. The Department for Children, Young People, Education and Skills (CYPES) said the opening event of the term would focus on safety and digital wellbeing. Education and Lifelong Learning Minister Rob Ward congratulated all the students elected to their school councils, calling it “a big responsibility but also a fantastic opportunity”.Ward, who is set to attend the…

Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed that output at some of its manufacturing sites will resume on Wednesday, as it continues to recover from a serious cyber-attack.Its production lines have been at a standstill since the start of September, following the attack.The phased return of staff will begin at some sites in the West Midlands and Merseyside.JLR has also announced a programme to fast-track payments to its direct suppliers, some of which had laid off workers after their revenues dried up following the hack.Initially the scheme will be confined to the most critical suppliers needed for restarting production, but…

Chinese car making giant BYD says the UK has become its biggest market outside China, after its sales there surged by 880% in September compared to a year earlier.The company says it sold 11,271 cars in the UK last month, with the plug-in hybrid version of its Seal U sports utility vehicle (SUV) accounting for the majority of those sales.It comes after figures from the car industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed that sales of electric vehicles (EVs) jumped to a record high in September.The UK is particularly attractive to firms like BYD as the…

Baroness Kathy Willis talks about the importance of green and blue spaces in cities.

Kate WhannelPolitical reporter andGeorgia RobertsPolitical correspondent, ManchesterGetty ImagesThe Conservatives have set out plans to “reward work” by giving young people a £5,000 tax rebate towards their first home when they get their first full-time job.In his speech to the party’s conference in Manchester, shadow chancellor Mel Stride announced proposals for a “first-job bonus” that would divert National Insurance payments into a long-term savings account.The party says the plans will be funded by cuts to public spending worth £47bn over five years in areas such as welfare, the civil service and the foreign aid budget.In a speech on Monday, Sir Mel…

Nearly 30 million people in the UK who bought an Apple or Samsung smartphone between 2015 and 2024 may be entitled to about £17 if the consumer campaign group Which? is successful in a case against US tech giant Qualcomm.The consumer group is taking the tech giant to the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London on Monday.The trial between Which? and Qualcomm is expected to last five weeks. The consumer group is accusing the chip company of anti-competitive practices.It claims the firm forced Apple and Samsung to pay inflated prices and licensing fees for essential handset components, which then pushed up…

Elite athletes are disproportionately affected by MND, with a study of Italian footballers suggesting the rate of the disease is up to six times higher than in the general population.It is thought that by limiting the oxygen available and causing damage to motor neurone cells, regular, strenuous exercise can trigger the disease in those already genetically susceptible.Moody, who won 71 England caps and toured with the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand in 2005, was nicknamed ‘Mad Dog’ during his playing career, in honour of his fearless, relentless approach to the game.He played through a stress fracture of his…

Getty ImagesYou could be forgiven for thinking that electric cars might finally be gaining momentum in the US. After all, sales of battery cars topped 1.2 million last year, more than five times the number just four years earlier. Hybrid sales have jumped by a factor of three.Battery-powered cars accounted for 10% of overall sales in August – a new high, according to S&P Global Mobility. And in updates to investors this week, General Motors, Ford, Tesla and other companies all reported record electric sales over the past three months.This marked a bright spot in an industry wrestling with the…

Angus CrawfordBBC News InvestigationsGetty ImagesTikTok’s algorithm recommends pornography and highly sexualised content to children’s accounts, according to a new report by a human rights campaign group.Researchers created fake child accounts and activated safety settings but still received sexually explicit search suggestions.The suggested search terms led to sexualised material including explicit videos of penetrative sex.The platform says it is committed to safe and age-appropriate experiences and took immediate action once it knew of the problem.In late July and early August this year, researchers from campaign group Global Witness set up four accounts on TikTok pretending to be 13-year-olds.They used false dates…