Author: BBC

1 hour agoBy Nick Edser, Charlotte Edwards, Business reporterGetty ImagesInvestment levels in the UK remain among the worst of the world’s richest nations and unless they improve it is hard to see how the economy will grow, a think tank has said.The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said total investment in the UK is “significantly” behind the nearest competitor in the G7 group of wealthy nations.However, the centre-left think tank said both the Conservatives and Labour plan to reduce government investment over the next parliamentary term.It is calling for the next government to commit to an industrial strategy and end the chopping…

Apple is ending its in-house buy now, pay later scheme in the US, which it launched just last year.The technology giant says it will now offer customers payment plans through third-party credit and debit card lenders.Existing borrowers will be able to continue managing payments using Apple’s Wallet app.The decision marks a retreat for Apple from plans to offer traditional financial services.Apple Pay Later users in the US could break up the cost of purchases worth up to $1,000 (£788) into four instalments over six weeks without having to pay interest or fees.The scheme represented a move into providing financial services,…

3 hours agoBy Angie Brown, BBC Scotland, Edinburgh and East reporterCarol McGachieCarol McGachie has been left with a permanent feeling that her finger tips are burntEvery night when Carol McGachie went to bed she felt like she was being hit by electric shocks.She would pace up and down while intense tingling pains went up her legs and down her arms.The mother-of-two from West Lothian couldn’t sleep a wink with the pain.When she went to the doctor she was given painkillers for her sore back – but Carol thought there must be something more seriously wrong. “I felt like I had been plugged…

8 hours agoBy Steven McIntosh, Entertainment reporterNetflixDirector Natalie Rae says the daddy-daughter dance has a “profound” impact on both sidesA new documentary follows a group of inmates in a US prison – and a rare opportunity for them to bond with the children they rarely get to see.The men who are filmed for Daughters, which has just screened at the Sheffield Documentary Festival, are serving sentences of several years, if not decades, in Washington DC. Viewers aren’t told why the men are in jail – their crimes are not the point. Instead, the film is built around a forthcoming father-daughter dance, an…

At least 11 people have died and more than 60 are missing as a result of two shipwrecks off the coast of southern Italy, rescuers say.German charity RESQSHIP said it picked up 51 people from a sinking, wooden boat and found 10 bodies trapped in the lower deck near the island of Lampedusa on Monday.In a separate incident on the same day, more than 60 people were reported missing, with 26 of them feared to be children, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said.The boats were carrying migrants who had set off from Libya and Turkey, UN agencies said.Survivors of the shipwreck…

Labour has ruled out changing council tax bands after continuing scrutiny about the party’s tax plans.Over the weekend, Conservatives seized on shadow health secretary Wes Streeting’s refusal to deny Labour government would copy council tax changes instituted by the Labour-run Welsh government.But pushed for clarification on Times Radio, Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth said: “We’re not changing council tax banding.”As we head into the second half of the election campaign Conservative tactics are becoming clear.A blizzard of policy announcements has not shifted the polls so now the Conservatives are relentlessly attacking Labour’s economic policy, trying to force them to rule out one…

Sir Ian McKellen has been taken to hospital after falling off stage during a performance of Player Kings at the Noël Coward theatre in London.The 85-year-old actor was in a fight scene when he lost his footing and fell. It is not clear whether he has sustained any injuries.The audience was evacuated from the theatre and informed that the evening show was cancelled.Player Kings is a production of Henry IV, Parts One and Two, and started its 12-week West End run in April.Sir Ian – who plays John Falstaff – was circling a battle scene involving the Prince of Wales…

36 minutes agoBy Sumi Somaskanda & Tiffany Wertheimer, BBC News, Washington & LondonChina should face “economic cost” for Russia support – Jens StoltenbergThe head of Nato has told the BBC that China should face consequences for supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine, if does not change its ways.Jens Stoltenberg said Beijing was “trying to get it both ways” by supporting Russia’s war effort, while also trying to maintain relationships with European allies.”This cannot work in the long run,” Mr Stoltenberg told BBC News during a visit to Washington.In the wide ranging interview, Mr Stoltenberg also addressed nuclear weapons and defence spending.His comments come…

Aer Lingus pilots have moved closer to a possible strike after voting overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action.Pilots who are members of the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (IALPA) voted 99% in support of action, up to and including a strike. The pilots are in dispute with the airline over pay.The IALPA president told BBC Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra programme that a strike this summer is “not inevitable”. The next step, Captain Mark Tighe added, was for Aer Lingus management to “understand the strength of feeling” and “see that the pilots will not back down”.The ballot was conducted in person over…

Music mogul Scooter Braun has announced his retirement from talent management after 23 years.The entrepreneur, 42, said he has stepped back to focus on his role as a father, as well as chief executive of entertainment company HYBE America. Last year, it was reported that a number of Braun’s high-profile clients, including Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, were parting ways with the manager.In a nearly 1,400-word statement posted to his Instagram account, Braun said he is now “a father first, a CEO second, and a manager no more”. New York-born Braun is one the world’s most successful music managers. His…