Author: BBC

11 hours agoBy Faisal Islam, Economics editor, @faisalislam • Mitchell Labiak, Business reporterGetty ImagesLabour has dropped a plan to reintroduce a cap on how much people are allowed to save into their pensions before paying tax.Under the pensions lifetime allowance, pension pots over £1.07m faced an annual tax of £40,000 on average. The cap was scrapped in April but Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves had vowed to bring it back, saying it could raise £800m a year. However, her party has now reversed the decision ahead of the release of its manifesto on Thursday, reportedly because the cap would add uncertainty for savers and be complex to…

Lionesses legend Ellen White became the first woman to ever score at Soccer Aid as more than £15m was raised for charity at the event on Sunday.Former football stars including Joe Cole, Eden Hazard and Alessandro del Piero all got on the scoresheet at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium.The annual charity match pits teams of former footballers and celebrities against each other for an England v World XI match. England won 6-3.After the game it was announced Soccer Aid has raised more than £106m for charity since its inception in 2006.Mauricio Pochettino was back in the dugout as manager of the…

A French police officer is being questioned after a 19-year-old man was allegedly shot dead as he attempted to flee a traffic stop for speeding, prosecutors said.The victim was among three people in the car when police tried to stop them near Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in Normandy, western France late on Sunday, the state prosecutor Pierre-Yves Marot said in a statement.The driver allegedly refused to stop and continued driving, before then being halted by a second police car, according to the statement. All three occupants of the vehicle then attempted to flee on foot, it added.One escaped, another was detained and another…

39 minutes agoBy Theo Leggett, BBC international business correspondentGetty ImagesChinese firms are said to be able to make electric cars for 25% less than their European and US rivalsWith China accused of selling electric cars at artificially low prices, the European Union is widely expected to hit them with tariffs this week.The BYD Seagull is a tiny, cheap, neatly styled electric vehicle (EV). An urban runabout that won’t break any speed records, but nor will it break the bank.In China, it has a starting price of 69,800 yuan ($9,600; £7,500). If it comes to Europe, it is expected to cost at least…

BBC ImagesMichael Mosley presented TV programmes and podcasts answering everyday health questionsTV and podcast presenter Michael Mosley was best known for offering tips on simple ways to improve our health and wellbeing, backed up by science – everything from when to exercise and what to eat to how to get more sleep.He was often the guinea pig – willing to try out anything before recommending it to others (swallowing tapeworms and trying psychedelic drugs, for example).”Michael wanted to look at whatever would help people live better, healthier lives,” says his former co-presenter on Trust me I’m a Doctor, Dr Saleyha…

21 hours agoBy Mark Savage, Music correspondentBBCEmily Eavis was speaking to Annie MacManus and Nick Grimshaw on the BBC’s Sidetracked podcastGlastonbury founder Sir Michael Eavis wanted to pull the plug on the festival in the 1990s, his daughter Emily has told the BBC.Sir Michael founded the festival on his Somerset farm in 1970, and saw it grow into one of the world’s most prestigious music events.By the 1990s, it was attracting world-class headliners like Oasis, Bob Dylan and Radiohead – but the plan was to call it a day when he reached retirement age.“My parents were always like, ‘This is the last…

An aircraft carrying Malawi’s Vice-President Saulos Chilima and nine others has gone missing, a statement from the president’s office has said.The Malawi Defence Force aircraft “went off the radar” after it left the capital, Lilongwe, on Monday morning, it added.The plane was supposed to land at Mzuzu International Airport, in the country’s north, just after 10:00 local time (09:00 BST).In a speech late on Monday, President Lazarus Chakwera said a search and rescue operation was continuing.”Soldiers are still on the ground carrying out the search and I have given strict orders that the operation should continue until the plane is…

Oil giant BP has tightened rules on workplace relationships after its former boss was dismissed for failing to disclose details about his personal relationships with colleagues.Senior managers must now report any intimate relationships that have taken place with colleagues in the last three years.Any employees who fail to adhere to the new rules may face disciplinary action.BP said the update to its conflict of interest policy was scheduled for review this year.About 4,500 staff at managerial level have been asked to submit any reports in the next three months “whether or not they feel they represent a conflict of interest”,…

18 hours agoBy David Sillito, Media correspondentA look back at Michael Mosley’s careerIt is not an exaggeration to say Dr Michael Mosley transformed people’s lives.For those who feared the growing waistline bulge over a straining belt was just an inevitable and depressing part of life, his cheerful, experimental approach to better health offered a solution that seemed to work for many.Tributes are now pouring in for the TV, radio presenter and author, who over two decades produced programmes and books that were watched, listened to and read by millions of people.And among them are many who have spoken about how he inspired…

15 minutes agoBy Zoe Kleinman, Technology editor • Liv McMahon, Technology reporterReutersApple boss Tim Cook pictured on-stage at WWDC 2024Apple is to boost its Siri voice assistant and operating systems with ChatGPT as it seeks to catch up in the AI race.The iPhone maker announced the Siri makeover along with a number of other new features at its annual developers show on Monday.It is part of a new personalised AI system – called “Apple Intelligence” – that aims to offer users a way to navigate Apple devices more easily.Updates to its iPhone and Mac operating systems will allow access to ChatGPT through a partnership with…