Author: BBC

Actor Pierce Brosnan has said it is a “given” that the next James Bond should be British.In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, the former Bond also said he thought it was the “right decision” for the franchise’s long-standing producers to hand creative control to Amazon.”It takes great courage for them to let go,” said Brosnan, who is Irish. “I hope that [Amazon] handles the work and the character with dignity and imagination and respect.”The choice of Daniel Craig’s successor will be a decision for Amazon MGM Studios.James Norton, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Theo James – who are all English -…

BBCChris, not his real name, started missing work because of his involvement in chemsexA man drawn into the world of having sex while high on illegal drugs has described how he became a “zombie” whose life was slowly deteriorating.Chris – whose name has been changed – told the BBC he started to take part in chemsex, short for chemical sex, which helped mask the “the shame and guilt” he said he felt growing up gay.The Londoner said after becoming addicted to chemsex – which typically involves men who have sex with men using the drugs crystal meth, methedrone and GHB/GBL…

Graham FraserTechnology ReporterSuppliedLouise Littlejohn saw the funny side after realising the technology had got it wrongA woman from Dunfermline has spoken of her shock after an Apple voice-to-text service mistakenly inserted a reference to sex – and an apparent insult – into a message left by a garage.Louise Littlejohn, 66, received a voicemail message on Wednesday from a Lookers Land Rover garage in Motherwell inviting her to an event.An artificial intelligence (AI) powered service offered by Apple turned it into a text message which – to her surprise – asked if she been “able to have sex” before calling her…

Samantha GranvilleBBC News, Los AngelesWatch: Officials reveal causes of death for Gene Hackman and Betsy ArakawaOscar-winning actor Gene Hackman died of natural causes about a week after his wife Betsy Arakawa, who died after contracting a rare virus, a New Mexico medical investigator has said.Hackman, 95, died at his Santa Fe home from coronary artery disease, with advanced Alzheimer’s disease a contributing factor.Ms Arakawa, 65, died in the same house from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a respiratory illness caused by exposure to infected rodents. Her cause of death was listed as natural. Authorities believe she passed away about seven days…

Daniel De SimoneInvestigations correspondentJournalist Roman Dobrokhotov tells the BBC he is “lucky to be alive”.A journalist targeted by a Russian spy cell run from a former guest house in Norfolk has said he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered the operation against him.Roman Dobrokhotov, editor-in-chief of The Insider, was followed through Europe by Bulgarian spies who were working for Moscow – three of whom were convicted on Friday.Dobrokhotov told the BBC: “I’m very lucky to be alive”.The Russian national believes he and his fellow investigative journalist, the Bulgarian Christo Grozev, were targeted because of their exposés on Russia. They…

Annabel RackhamHealth and wellbeing reporterGetty ImagesLED face mask manufacturers claim their products can treat acne scars and fine linesLED technology has been used to address a number of skin issues, such as eczema, mild to moderate acne, psoriasis and sun damage in a medical setting.But the at-home LED market is on the verge of becoming a massive industry – with masks and other devices retailing for anything from £40 to £1,500.The technology harnesses the power of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which then stimulate skin cells when they are exposed to the skin repeatedly. Mask developers make big claims that at-home LED…

Wind and waves are set to be included in calculations of the size of countries’ economies for the first time, as part of changes approved at the United Nations.Assets like oilfields were already factored in under the rules – last updated in 2008.This update aims to capture areas that have grown since then, such as the cost of using up natural resources and the value of data. The changes come into force in 2030, and could mean an increase in estimates of the size of the UK economy making promises to spend a fixed share of the economy on defence…

President Donald Trump’s decision to establish official government cryptocurrency reserves in the US has drawn criticism from industry watchers.He has signed an executive order creating what he calls a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve as well as a Digital Asset Stockpile, which will consist of other forms of digital currency.The funds will be stocked with coins forfeited to the federal government as part of criminal or civil proceedings.White House AI and crypto tsar David Sacks likened them to a “a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency”, drawing comparison to the Kentucky military base that stores a significant portion of US gold assets.However,…

All-female country trio Remember Monday will represent the UK at Eurovision 2025 with their song What The Hell Just Happened?. When asked on BBC Radio 2 how excited the musicians felt about the announcement, group-member Holly-Anne Hull said: “We feel like we’re on another planet, nothing is sinking in.” The Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Basel, Switzerland, in May, after Switzerland’s Nemo won the competition in 2024. Olly Alexander – the UK’s entrant in 2024 – came 18th in the competition out of 25 countries with his song “Dizzy”.

A hospital trust is investigating reports staff may have “inappropriately” accessed the medical records of the three people killed in the Nottingham attacks. Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and Ian Coates, 65, were stabbed to death by Valdo Calocane in the city in June 2023.Dr Manjeet Shehmar, medical director at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said the trust was investigating “concerns that members of staff may have inappropriately accessed the medical records” of the three victims. She said the families had been informed of the investigation and would be updated.”The families of Ian, Grace, and Barnaby have already…