Author: BBC

Vanessa PearceBBC News, West MidlandsGetty ImagesGeezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne formed Earth, later renamed Black Sabbath, in 1968With Black Sabbath’s final concert just days away, metal bands and musicians explain how the band influenced the course of their lives – and paved the way for a new generation of artists.”Sabbath gave us the blueprint, Sabbath gave us the recipe. They gave us the cookbook, man,” says Slipknot’s Corey Taylor.”The mystique was in the lyrics. It was in the sound. It was in the way that everything was just a little darker.”The song that shares the band’s name…

Tabby WilsonBBC News, SydneyReutersThe airline says there will be no impact to Qantas’ operationsQantas is contacting customers after a cyber attack targeted their third-party customer service platform.On 30 June, the Australian airline detected “unusual activity” on a platform used by its contact centre to store the data of six million people, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and frequent flyer numbers.Upon detection of the breach, Qantas took “immediate steps and contained the system”, according to a statement.The company is still investigating the full extent of the breach, but says it is expecting the proportion of data stolen to…

Catherine SnowdonHealth reporterGetty ImagesBabies born to fathers over the age of 60 went up by 14.2% in 2024 compared with the year before, official figures show. Of 594,677 live births in England and Wales last year, 1,076 babies had dads over 60, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).Total births in England in 2024 rose slightly for the first time since 2021. Births where one or both parents were born outside of the UK also increased in both England and Wales.The ONS said the increase in the number of babies born to older dads was “notable”.A number of celebrities…

Faarea MasudBusiness reporter, BBC NewsPA MediaIssues at an electrical substation which caused a fire that resulted in Heathrow Airport closing were first detected seven years ago but not fixed, a report has found.The investigation found that National Grid, which owns the substation, had been aware of a fault since 2018.The report details numerous opportunities to identify issues at the substation, but found maintenance was repeatedly deferred.Heathrow shut down as a result of the power cut, which led to thousands of cancelled flights and stranded passengers. Energy watchdog Ofgem has launched an investigation into National Grid following the report’s findings, which…

The wait is over, K-pop fans – BTS are back. The South Korean band confirmed their highly-anticipated comeback on Tuesday, scheduling a new album and tour for next year.Announcing the news during their first live stream since all band members completed their mandatory military service, the seven-strong group said they would head to the US later this month to begin working on new music. “Hey guys, we are back,” Jimin said, with the group adding that their album would be released in spring 2026.”We’re also planning a world tour alongside the album. We’ll be visiting fans all around the world,…

Tech platforms could be forced to prevent illegal content from going viral and limit the ability for people to send virtual gifts to or record a child’s livestream, under more online safety measures proposed by Ofcom.The UK regulator published a consultation on Monday seeking views on further protections to keep citizens, particularly children, safer online.These could also include making some larger platforms assess whether they need to proactively detect terrorist material under further online safety measures.Oliver Griffiths, online safety group director at Ofcom, said its proposed measures seek to build on existing UK online safety rules but keep up with…

Philippa RoxbyHealth reporterGetty ImagesParents are being prevented from vaccinating their children because of obstacles such as difficulty booking appointments and a lack of reminders on what jabs are needed and when, a report suggests.Child health experts say “practical or logistical reasons” are discouraging families more often than fears over the vaccines.Vaccine uptake in the UK has fallen over the last decade, leading to outbreaks of measles and whooping cough.UK health officials say they are committed to working with the NHS to improve vaccine uptake among children.’Easier access’Since 2022, no childhood vaccine in the UK has met the World Health Organisation…

The amount of time off and pay new parents can get after the birth of a child will be looked at in a “landmark” review, the government says.Ministers said they wanted to modernise the system across paternity, maternity and shared parental leave, which campaigners said had been “overlooked for years”.Campaign group The Dad Shift called the review the “best chance in a generation to improve the system and make sure it actually works for working families”.A committee of MPs recently called the UK’s parental leave system “one of the worst in the developed world” with “fundamental flaws”.Shadow business secretary Andrew…

Paul GlynnCulture reporterGetty ImagesBob Vylan describe themselves on social media as the “prettiest punk/rap/alt thing you’ll ever meet”Ipswich punk-rap duo Bob Vylan grabbed the headlines at Glastonbury Festival over the weekend, but for many readers, the name might be a new one.Organisers of the festival said they were “appalled” after frontman Bobby Vylan led a crowd in chants of “death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]”.The prime minister condemned them for using what he called “appalling hate speech”. And on Monday, Avon and Somerset Police said a criminal investigation has been launched over performances by the band and Irish…

President Donald Trump has said he has a buyer for TikTok, the video-sharing app that was banned in the US amid claims it posed a national security risk.In a Fox News interview, Trump said he had a group of “very wealthy people” willing to acquire the platform. “I’ll tell you in about two weeks,” he teased.A sale would need approval from the Chinese government, but Trump told Fox he thought President Xi Jinping “will probably do it”.This month Trump delayed for a third time the enforcement of a law mandating TikTok’s sale. The latest extension requires parent company ByteDance to…