Author: BBC

PAThe takeover of Deliveroo by its US counterpart DoorDash is an illuminating example of the differing fortunes and attractions of US and UK stock markets.DoorDash’s offer for Deliveroo values the business at £2.9bn and will create a company with operations in more than 40 countries.While both are similar companies, their fortunes have dramatically diverged over the past few years.Both started out as food delivery services offering customers convenient and speedy access to their favourite restaurants and offering restaurants the ability to more fully utilise the capacity of their kitchens.Both extended their offerings to include other convenience shopping items – like…

Suzanne BearneTechnology ReporterTaran WilkhuSabine Zetteler is resisting the rise of AINothing has convinced Sabine Zetteler of the value of using AI.”I read a really great phrase recently that said something along the lines of ‘why would I bother to read something someone couldn’t be bothered to write’ and that is such a powerful statement and one that aligns absolutely with my views.”Ms Zetteler runs her own London-based communications agency, with around 10 staff, some full-time some part-time.”What’s the point of sending something we didn’t write, reading a newspaper written by bots, listening to a song created by AI, or me…

Funding is being given to around one in six GP practices in England to help them improve their buildings, the government says.Around £102m is being provided to expand and modernise surgeries, with work getting under way this summer. The government said it was the biggest public investment in facilities for five years.It comes as satisfaction levels with GP service have hit record-low levels and figures suggest two in five GPs are reporting their practices are not fit for purpose.Health Secretary Wes Streeting called it a “significant step”, but warned it would not solve all existing problems overnight.Under the plan, some…

Emma SaundersCulture reporterGetty ImagesMarvel’s Thunderbolts* is currently top of the US box officeUS President Donald Trump has said he will hit movies made in foreign countries with 100% tariffs, as he ramps up trade disputes with nations around the world.Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he was authorising the US Department of Commerce and Trade Representative to start the process to impose the levy because America’s movie industry was dying “a very fast death”.So what might this mean for both the US film industry and the global movie business, including the UK?Is Hollywood ‘dying’?Announcing the new tariffs,…

Peter HoskinsBusiness reporterGetty ImagesUS President Donald Trump says he will hit movies made in foreign countries with 100% tariffs, as he ramps up trade disputes with nations around the world.Trump said he was authorising the US Department of Commerce and Trade Representative to start the process to impose the levy because America’s movie industry was dying “a very fast death”.He blamed a “concerted effort” by other countries that offer incentives to attract filmmakers and studios, which he described as a “National Security threat”.His remarks could spell a “knock-out blow” to the industry, one union warned, where filmmakers have for years…

Liv McMahonTechnology reporterPeter in LancashirePeter says “nothing will be going to waste” from his hugely discounted Co-op purchase.A suspected glitch on Thursday evening saw some Co-op product prices reduced by as much as 100% on the delivery app Deliveroo.The pricing error allowed some shoppers to get products – including jars of Loyd Grossman pasta sauce, Costa ground coffee and Fox’s cookies – for free.Whether a retailer has to honour purchases of products advertising lower prices in error can depend on their terms and conditions.But the BBC spoke to several people who were able to take advantage of the Co-op’s reduced…

A failure to fix England’s social care system is costing the country in financial and human terms, cross-party MPs have warned.Doing nothing to reform social care for older and disabled adults is an “active” and “untenable” decision, according to a report from Health and Social Care Select Committee.It says successive governments have put too much emphasis on the cost of reforming the system, and future plans will be doomed to fail unless the government understands and measures the “cost of inaction”.The government, which has set up an independent commission which has just started work, said it had “hit the ground…

Aimee DexterBBC News, SuffolkReporting fromIpswich town centreMariam IssimdarBBC News, SuffolkHis intimate gig in a pub was watched by fans who got tickets by responding to a WhatsApp messageFans of Ed Sheeran have been treated to a “surprise” gig at a pub in his home county that he is taking over for a fortnight.The Thomas Wolsey in Ipswich town centre has been re-branded as The Old Phone – named after one of Sheeran’s latest songs. The pub will be known by that name for two weeks, before it reverts to its actual name again.Music-lovers have been speaking of their delight at…

Getty ImagesOn Mark Carney’s final day of a gruelling race to be elected PM of vast and sparsely populated Canada I was with him.It was his last push, not just to win, but also to get the majority he said he needed to stand up to the chaotic territorial and trade ambitions of his “neighbour to the south”.For someone who had got to see Carney as a cerebral technocrat, a crisis-managing central bank governor a decade ago, the transformation into public orator was quite something. I recall endless interviews trying to get the then governor to say something newsworthy, or…

Graham FraserTechnology reporterOwen and Weng WilliamsSkype would help change the lives of Owen and Weng WilliamsFrom blossoming long-distance love to helping families stay connected, for years Skype held a unique place in people’s hearts.In the days before Zoom, WhatsApp and Teams, the video call service was once one of the world’s most popular websites.It allowed people to make computer-to-computer calls free, and then became the way users could make low cost calls to landlines and mobiles to people in other parts of the world.In recent years though, Skype has been diminishing as its owner Microsoft focussed on Teams. Its services…