Author: BBC

Shop price rises are back to “normal levels” as the cost of furniture, televisions and other non-food items have fallen, according to a UK retail industry body.Prices rose at an annual rate of 0.6% in May, down from 0.8% in the previous month, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and research firm NielsenIQ.The figures also showed that food inflation fell for the thirteenth month in a row to 3.2%.Household budgets have come under pressure as prices soared in the wake of the pandemic and the Ukraine war pushed up the cost of energy.The ease in shop price rises “was…

2 hours agoSusie Bearne,Technology ReporterUravuThe founders of Uravu (left to right) Govinda Balaji, Swapnil Shrivastav, Venkatesh RajaWhen a severe drought hit the Indian city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, in 2016, residents including student Swapnil Shrivastav had access to a limited amount of water each day. “We were rationed to two buckets of water a day, which we collected from water tanks,” he says.While he says it’s not uncommon for water supply issues to impact parts of India, it was a tough month for Mr Shrivastav and others in the region. “It was a very humid area; it was…

1 hour agoIan Youngs,Entertainment & arts reporterHot Water ComedyOnline videos of Paul Smith roasting his audience members have made him a stand-up comedy star. He’s now able to fill arenas and has just launched the UK’s biggest comedy club, on home turf in Liverpool.It can be a common sight at comedy gigs for the front seats to be conspicuously empty, avoided by punters who don’t want to get picked on.Paul Smith’s early stand-up shows were no different. “People used to come in and we used to have to really cajole them into the front row,” he says.About five years ago,…

35 minutes agoAleem Maqbool,BBC Religion EditorReutersPope Francis is reported to have used extremely derogatory language in an incident that could have a profound impact on the way his attitude towards gay people is perceived.When asked at the Italian Bishops’ Conference if gay men should now be allowed to train for the priesthood as long as they remained celibate, Pope Francis said they should not.He is then believed to have continued by saying in Italian that there was, in the Church, already too much of an air of frociaggine.Although it was a meeting that happened behind closed doors, the Pope’s reported…

Dozens of business leaders have signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party’s economic plans ahead of the 4 July general election saying it is “time for a change”.In a letter published in Tuesday’s Times newspaper, 121 founders, CEOs, and former leaders at a range of financial services, retail and manufacturing firms say Labour has changed and “wants to work with business” on long term growth.It comes as shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves is due to deliver her first major speech of the election campaign to business supporters, including some former Conservative backers in the East Midlands later.She is expected to say…

More than 120 million Americans woke to severe weather warnings on Monday, after huge storms killed at least 22 people and left a path of destruction across central US. Tornadoes and devastating thunderstorms left nearly 600,000 residents in 13 states without power, obliterated homes and injured hundreds. Forecasters said the greatest weather risk will now shift east, covering a broad sweep of the country, from Alabama to New York.More thunderstorms, damaging wind gusts, hail and flash flooding are expected.Heavy rain is expected to batter parts of the east coast, with more thunderstorms emerging Monday afternoon in the northeast and mid-Atlantic.…

Scores were killed in the camp for displaced Palestinians which Israel says targeted “senior Hamas terrorists”. Source link

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Western leaders to pressure Russia into peace using “all means” necessary. Speaking in Spain, Mr Zelensky said there needed to be “tangible coercion of Russia” , which was seeking to “destroy Ukraine and move on”. Mr Zelensky has long said he will not negotiate with Russia directly until Moscow’s forces leave all Ukrainian territory, including Crimea. His call, however, comes as Russia makes gains against Ukraine, with Kyiv suffering from a shortage of Western-supplied weapons.Russia, he said, was dropping some 3,200 aerial bombs on Ukraine each month. “How do you fight that?” Mr Zelensky…

A mayoral candidate who had been kidnapped at gunpoint in Mexico on Sunday has been found alive.It is not yet known who seized Albino Gómez or why. Mr Gómez is running for mayor for the governing Morena party in the municipality of Cochoapa el Grande, in southern Guerrero state.The campaign for Sunday’s election in Mexico has been wracked by violence and Guerrero is the most dangerous state for candidates. Mr Gómez was targeted shortly after he attended his closing campaign rally when gunmen stormed his home and opened fire.One man, identified by local media as Mr Gómez’s campaign manager, was…

A newly authenticated painting by celebrated 17th Century artist Caravaggio is going on show at the Prado museum in Madrid.Ecce Homo, which shows Roman governor Pontius Pilate presenting Christ to the people, is one of only about 60 known works by the Italian master – but it nearly escaped the attention of the wider art world, having initially been attributed to a lesser artist.It was withdrawn from sale on the orders of the Spanish government in 2021, hours before it was due to be sold at auction for an opening price of €1,500 (£1,280).Now, three years after that decisive intervention,…