Author: BBC

Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “This is more ‘copy and paste’ politics from Labour, who have no plan. The NHS has faced unprecedented challenges which it can only overcome if supported by a strong economy. “That is why the Conservatives have a clear plan and will take bold action to strengthen the economy and continue to deliver the technology and innovation the NHS needs to keep cutting waiting lists.”She pointed out that in Labour-run Wales, waiting lists had also gone up. Its waiting time target was last hit in 2010.Mr Sunak has also said more patients could have been treated…

The BBC has promised to handle any complaints with “care, fairness and sensitivity” to all sides, following reports about Giovanni Pernice’s teaching methods on Strictly Come Dancing.The BBC issued a statement on Wednesday addressing “media reports about a high profile show”, which is believed to concern Strictly Come Dancing.It came 11 days after Pernice put out a statement, saying he was surprised by allegations about his dance teaching methods, and rejecting “any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour”.Legal firm Carter Ruck has said it has contacted the BBC regarding “numerous serious complaints” about his alleged behaviour while filming Strictly.The broadcaster…

23 minutes agoFarouk Chothia,BBC News, JohannesburgAFPVoters of all generations were eager to cast their ballotsVotes are being counted after what is seen as South Africa’s most closely fought elections since the African National Congress (ANC) came to power 30 years ago.Long lines snaked outside polling stations across the country.One electoral official in Johannesburg told the BBC the queues were reminiscent of the historic 1994 election, when black people could vote for the first time, and which saw Nelson Mandela become president.Many people were still waiting to vote when polls officially closed at 2100 local time (1900 GMT) but the electoral…

2 hours agoHazel Shearing,Alice EvansPAThe prime minister visited apprentices in Liskeard, Cornwall, on WednesdayThe Conservatives have promised to scrap some university courses in England to help fund 100,000 apprenticeships per year if they win the July election.The party says it would replace the “worst-performing” degrees that it considers a “rip-off” because of high drop-out rates and “poor” job prospects.Labour criticised the government over a decline in the number of new apprentices.It said it would prioritise “gearing” apprenticeships towards young people.The Liberal Democrats said the government had treated apprentices like “second-class workers”.The Conservatives said former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair’s ambition…

7 hours agoTom Gerken,Technology reporterMicrosoft/ActivisionMicrosoft has torn up the rules of big video game launches by announcing its most eagerly awaited new title – Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 – will be available straight away to subscribers of its Game Pass service.Traditionally, gamers have had to hand over significant sums of money upfront to buy big new releases outright.With the latest edition of Call of Duty, they will now have the option to pay a much smaller monthly subscription instead.GamesIndustry.biz head Christopher Dring told the BBC it was a “significant move” for Microsoft and the industry.The tech giant has…

Health Secretary Victoria Atkins accused the BMA of a “highly cynical tactic” by calling the strike during the election campaign.”I am in politics to help patients not trade unions. The Conservative government has taken tough decisions to keep public spending down to bear down on inflation, which is now back to normal.”Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: “The next Labour government will negotiate with junior doctors to bring these strikes to an end.”Strike action by junior doctors has also been taking place in Northern Ireland with another walkout planned in early June. Walkouts in Wales are on hold as talks…

2 hours agoPaul Burnell,BBC News, SalfordGetty ImagesSeeger said she and MacColl performed the song together “for decades”A long-lost verse of one of folk music’s most famous songs is to be unveiled by the widow of its creator nearly 75 years after it was first sung.Dirty Old Town was written by Salford-born folk legend Ewan MacColl for Landscape With Chimneys, his 1949 play about his home city.Since then, the song has taken on a life of its own, being covered by everyone from rockers Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Frank Black to country stars Steve Earle and Townes Van Zandt and…

15 minutes agoThomas Mackintosh,Katy AustinWatch: How chaos onboard Singapore Airlines SQ321 unfoldedEarly investigations into severe turbulence that hit a Singapore Airlines flight last Tuesday reveal it dropped around 178ft (54m) over 4.6 seconds.One British passenger died and dozens more were injured when the London-Singapore flight encountered the turbulence over Myanmar and had to make an emergency landing in Thailand.Singaporean investigators have extracted data stored in the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder of the aircraft.Their preliminary report said rapid changes in gravitational force (G) caused the altitude drop which likely injured those who were not wearing seatbelts.Singapore Airlines said…

Mining giant BHP has urged its UK-based rival Anglo American to extend the looming deadline for a final offer on a proposed £39bn merger.In a statement this morning, the Australian BHP attempted to ease concerns about its plans for Anglo American’s business in South Africa, ahead of elections in the country on Thursday.It made commitments that included job security for employees there, but said it needed an extension on talks “to allow further engagement” on the plans.If the deal goes through, it would be one of the biggest ever for the mining sector and would create the world’s largest copper…

A union representing thousands of workers at Samsung Electronics has called the first strike at the South Korean technology giant since it was founded five and a half decades ago.The National Samsung Electronics Union says it will hold a one-day protest by asking all of its members to use their paid leave on 7 June and has not ruled out a full-scale strike in the future.The union says its has about 28,000 members, accounting for more than a fifth of the company’s total workforce.Samsung Electronics says it will continue to negotiate with the union.“We can’t stand persecution against labour unions…