Author: BBC

Parents earning six-figure salaries could be able to keep some or all of their child benefit payments, under proposals put forward by the Conservatives. The party says that if re-elected on 4 July, it would increase the income threshold at which someone starts to lose their child benefits from £60,000 to £120,000.It has also re-committed itself to changing the rules so the threshold level takes into account a household’s income, rather than an individual’s.The previous system of calculating the threshold based on one earner has been criticised for unfairly penalising single parents and families with one high earner. The Conservatives…

6 hours agoBy Marcus White, BBC NewsBritish Heart FoundationThe Hulk-branded gaming device is in a vivid greenA rare Xbox console that was gifted to a charity shop could fetch thousands of pounds at auction.The green gaming device, created to promote the 2003 Hulk superhero film, is one of only 50 ever made, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) said.The charity said it was “generously donated” to one of its shops in Oxford and could be worth up to £9,000.The console, in working order, has so far attracted a bid of more than £400 in an online sale, which runs until 15 June.Paul Smith,…

Taylor Swift Eras Tour: Fans arrive in Edinburgh for first UK show – BBC News BreakingBreaking newsClose breaking news SummaryThousands of Taylor Swift fans have descended on Edinburgh for the first show in the UK leg of the Eras TourThe Cruel Summer singer will be performing the first of three shows at Murrayfield Stadium, in a concert spanning at least three hoursIt’s the first time she’s performed in Scotland since 2015, with the tour tipped to become the highest grossing run of concerts everPolice say a “proportionate and comprehensive” plan is in place to “minimise disruption”Live ReportingRelated Stories Source link

An Australian astronomer who appeared on the BBC’s Stargazing Live alongside Professor Brian Cox, has died aged 62.Greg Quicke from Broome, 2,000km (1,240 miles) north of Perth, was also known as “Space Gandalf” for his distinctive white beard.In the 2017 Stargazing Live Australia series he played the practical astronomer to Professor Cox’s theoretical particle physicist.The series featured a report from Mr Quicke on why the night sky looks different in Australia compared to the UK. His media career also included a 10-part series on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) called A Stargazers Guide to the Cosmos and books including Is…

Rents for new lets have increased by 6.6% in the year to April, but this is the slowest annual rise for two-and-a-half years, according to Zoopla.The property portal said the average rent on a new let had risen by £80 a month compared with a year earlier.Although demand had eased, there were still 15 people on average chasing every home for rent.Before the pandemic, the average was six people, Zoopla said.”Rents continue to grow faster than average earnings although the gap is much narrower than a year ago,” said Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla.The increase in rents is at…

Researchers from the University of Michigan are using artificial intelligence (AI) to better understand what a dog’s bark conveys about whether it is feeling playful or angry.They are also digging into whether AI could correctly identify a dog’s age, gender and breed based on what it woofs.The scientists were able to make progress towards decoding canine communication by repurposing existing computer models trained on human speech.”Advances in AI can be used to revolutionize our understanding of animal communication,” said University of Michigan AI Laboratory head Rada Mihalcea.”Our research opens a new window into how we can leverage what we built…

5 hours agoMark Savage,Music correspondentGetty ImagesTaylor Swift will play the 98th, 99th and 100th shows of the Eras Tour in Scotland this weekendThe most lucrative concert tour in music history lands in the UK on Friday, when Taylor Swift plays the first of three nights at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium.The star will take to the stage shortly after 19:00 BST, playing to almost 73,000 fans, who’ve come from all over the world to see her career-spanning, three-hour show.It will be the first of 17 UK dates, culminating in a record-breaking eight-night run at London’s Wembley Stadium.By then, she will have played…

A selection of the week’s best photos from across the African continent:Amanuel Sileshi/AFPAs the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games draw near, athletes warm up at training session in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, on Saturday, in the hopes of winning the gold.Sayed Hassan/Getty ImagesOn Thursday, a man carries a sheep in an Egyptian market in the city of Giza in preparation for Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice – a major Islamic holiday.Alaister Russell/ReutersOcean baptisms are performed at a beach in the South African city of Durban early on Sunday morning.Rajesh Jantilal/AFPThe next day tornado-like storms hit the country’s…

A Scottish woman who allegedly inspired the character Martha in the hit Netflix drama Baby Reindeer is suing the streamer for defamation, negligence and privacy violations.Fiona Harvey, who says Martha is based on her, argued in a lawsuit filed in a California court on Thursday that Netflix told “brutal lies” about her to over 50 million viewers around the world.The lawsuit seeks over $170m (£132m) in damages for Ms Harvey, who claims the Baby Reindeer series falsely depicted her as a convicted criminal who spent time in prison for stalking. Netflix did not immediately respond to BBC’s request for comment.Ms…

3 hours agoNicola K Smith,Technology ReporterCybrothelDolls are being equipped with artificial intelligenceLater this month, people in Berlin will be able to book an hour with an AI sex doll as the world’s first cyber brothel rolls out the service following a test phase.Customers will be able to interact verbally with the AI dolls as well as physically.“Many people feel more comfortable sharing private matters with a machine because it doesn’t judge,” says Philipp Fussenegger, founder and owner of Cybrothel.“Previously, there was significant interest in a doll with a voice actress, where users could only hear the voice and interact with…