Author: BBC

20 minutes agoBy Alex McIntyre, BBC News, West MidlandsPA MediaWorkers at Amazon in Coventry will be balloted over union recognitionA ballot process that could see Amazon recognise a trade union in the UK for the first time is to begin.GMB union officials were due to enter the trading giant’s Coventry fulfilment site for the first time on Wednesday, where they were set to hold meetings with the 3,000 workers to try and win their vote.Workers will ultimately vote on whether they want a union to represent them with GMB needing 40% of them to vote in their favour.Amazon said employees have always…

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has referred a complaint against TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance over potential violations of children’s privacy to the Department of Justice (DOJ).The FTC says its own investigation “uncovered reason to believe” that the firms “are violating or are about to violate the law”.In a statement to BBC News, a TikTok spokesperson said they were disappointed by the decision.The case is separate from legislation passed earlier this year to ban TikTok in the US if ByteDance does not sell the business.The regulator said its investigation focused on potential violations of the FTC Act…

1 day agoBy Jim Scott, BBC News, North East and CumbriaBBCChemie-Leigh Lewis says Grayson is generally a “happy” childThe mother of the “only person in the UK” living with the rare and fatal condition Arts Syndrome said she had to fight for “life-changing” medication for her baby son.Chemie-Leigh Lewis, from Houghton-le-Spring on the edge of Sunderland, said it had been a “hell of a year” after being told one-year-old Grayson may not live beyond the age of six.The disease affects how the body stores and uses energy and can cause hearing and sight loss along with repeated infections.Ms Lewis, also mother to…

9 hours agoBy Catriona Aitken, Nathan Bevan, BBC newsGetty ImagesTaylor Swift wowed the sold-out crowd at Cardiff’s Principality StadiumTaylor Swift made her fans’ Wildest Dreams come true in Cardiff on Tuesday night as she greeted them in Welsh. The 34-year-old kicked off her much anticipated show in Wales with a smattering of hit tracks such as Cruel Summer, before trying her hand at the language.”Shwmae,” Swift told the sell-out crowd at the Principality Stadium as she struggled to be heard above the screams.”Croeso i daith Eras,” she added, which means: “Welcome to the Eras Tour.” “This is my very first time getting to…

1 hour agoBy Cherylann Mollan, BBC News, MumbaiGetty ImagesStudents in Delhi protesting against alleged question paper leaks in the NEET medical examA key medical exam in India has sparked anger, protests and allegations of cheating after thousands of candidates secured abnormally high marks in this year’s test.The National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG – conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) – is the gateway to studying medicine in the country, as its score is necessary for getting admission to a medical college. It is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), a government organisation which holds some of India’s…

Boeing’s chief executive Dave Calhoun faced a grilling from US senators about the company’s culture as family members of Boeing crash victims yelled at him throughout the hearing.Mr Calhoun testified on Tuesday to Congress that the company “learned” from past mistakes and that the process for employee whistleblowers “works” – but lawmakers still accused him of not doing enough to rectify a culture of retaliation.The US company most recently was put in the spotlight when a door panel fell off a new 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, leaving a gaping hole.As part of an ongoing…

23 hours agoBy Zoe Corbyn, Technology ReporterGetty ImagesElectricity demand from data centres is rising fastModern computing’s appetite for electricity is increasing at an alarming rate.By 2026 consumption by data centres, artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency could be as much as double 2022 levels, according to a recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).It estimates that in 2026 energy consumption by those three sectors could be roughly equivalent to Japan’s annual energy needs.Companies like Nvidia – whose computer chips underpin most AI applications today – are working on developing more energy efficient hardware.But could an alternative path be to build computers with…

Some senior doctors in England have accepted a pay offer from the government.It means speciality and associate specialist (SAS) doctors – medics who have finished junior doctor training but are not working as either consultants or GPs – have joined their consultant colleagues in ending their dispute.SAS doctors had not yet taken strike action, but had been threatening to do so.The pay deal is worth up to 19.4% and includes reform of the contract and changes to career progression.The announcement comes ahead of a planned five-day strike next week by junior doctors in the lead up to the general election.…

5 hours agoBy Jemma Crew, BBC News, LondonGetty ImagesFrench film star Anouk Aimée, who was a popular leading lady for several of Europe’s most influential directors, has died aged 92.Aimée appeared in dozens of films across her eight-decade career, including starring in Claude Lelouch’s A Man and a Woman, for which she was nominated for an Oscar.She died at her home in Paris on Tuesday, Sébastien Perrolat, of the TimeArt agency, told the AFP news agency.Her daughter, Manuela Papatakis, said she was “right by her side” when her mother died.Posting a black-and-white photograph of Aimée on Instagram, she wrote: “With my daughter,…

Kenya’s government has scrapped some proposed taxes in this year’s controversial finance bill, including a 16% levy on bread, after a public outcry.The announcement by MPs came as police fired tear gas and used water cannon to try to disperse angry protesters in the capital, Nairobi.Dozens of people have been arrested, and lawyers earlier joined chanting crowds at the city’s main police station to demand that detainees be freed.Since coming to office in 2022, President William Ruto has introduced several new and unpopular taxes with the aim of eliminating the country’s national debt of nearly $80bn (£63bn).But critics of the…