Author: BBC

Lauren Turner andOsmond ChiaReutersThe US government has seized more than $14bn (£10.5bn) in bitcoin and charged the founder of a Cambodian business empire, the Prince Group, with allegedly masterminding a massive cryptocurrency scam, which involved forced labour camps.UK and Cambodian national Chen Zhi was charged on Tuesday in New York for allegedly engaging in a wire-fraud conspiracy and money laundering scheme.Mr Chen’s businesses were also sanctioned by the US and the UK as part of a joint operation. The UK government says it has frozen assets owned by his network, including 19 properties in London – one of which is…

Sophie HutchinsonBBC health correspondent andStuart Woodwardat the Lampard InquiryBBCOxevision uses infrared sensors and cameras to monitor patients while they are in their bedroomsThe public inquiry into the deaths of at least 2,000 people under the care of mental health services heard “grave concerns” about the use of a digital patient monitoring system.The technology, called Oxevision, was used by half of England’s mental health trusts and uses infrared sensors and cameras to monitor patients alone in their rooms, sending alerts to staff when it detects signs of distress or abnormal activity.The Lampard Inquiry was told campaigners were concerned the technology had…

Liv McMahonTechnology reporterGetty ImagesThousands of Vodafone customers across the UK have reported its services are down.Downdetector, which monitors web outages, showed more than 130,000 people had flagged problems affecting their Vodafone broadband or mobile network on Monday afternoon.According to its website, the firm has more than 18 million customers in the UK, including nearly 700,000 home broadband customers.In an updated statement on Monday evening, Vodafone apologised to customers and said its network was “recovering”.”This afternoon the Vodafone network had an issue affecting broadband, 4G and 5G services,” a company spokesperson said.”2G voice calls and SMS messaging were unaffected and the…

Priti GuptaTechnology Reporter, MumbaiNextWealthIndia’s Virudhunagar is home to ancient templesVirudhunagar, a town in southeastern India, can boast temples that date back thousands of years.But not far from those ancient sites, people are working on the latest tech – artificial intelligence.One of those is Mohan Kumar. “My role is in AI annotation. I collect data from various sources, label it, and train AI models so they can recognize and predict objects. Over time, the models become semi-supervised and can make decisions on their own,” he says.India has long been a centre for outsourced IT support, with cities like Bangalore or Chennai…

Available for over a yearToday, more than half the world’s population live in cities – and as our numbers swell, so will our cities, especially those around the Pacific Rim, where it’s predicted our largest megacities of 10 million plus will be situated. And herein lies an opportunity: 60% of the buildings needed for 2050 are not yet built. Could we shape our cities into places that are good for the climate and also good for our mental health? Can we design buildings and infrastructure that make green decisions easier and also help us deal with stress or depression? In…

Lloyds Banking Group is setting aside an additional £800m for car finance compensation claims, bringing the total amount allocated by the bank for redress to nearly £2bn.The company said that the number of eligible claims is expected to be higher than previously thought.Millions of drivers who bought cars on finance with hidden commission payments between 2007 and 2024 may be eligible for redress.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published details of its proposed compensation scheme last week.The FCA said payouts could be due on around 14 million unfair deals, averaging at about £700 each.This could result in lenders paying out a…

The Dutch government said on Sunday that it had taken the “highly exceptional” decision to intervene at Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia over a potential “risk to Dutch and European economic security”.The Netherlands-based firm’s owner Wingtech said on Monday that it will take actions to protect its rights and will seek government support.The development threatens to raise tensions between the European Union and China, which have increased in recent months over trade and Beijing’s relationship with Russia.Nexperia was forced to sell its silicon chip plant in Newport, Wales, after MPs and ministers expressed national security concerns. It currently owns a UK facility…

Women across the West Midlands are being disproportionately affected by gaps in HIV prevention, according to a new report.Data released ahead of a meeting which will explore the issue shows that while women accounted for 42% of new HIV diagnoses in the region, only 3% of women in the West Midlands are using prevention measures such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP, available as a daily pill or an injection every eight weeks, significantly reduces the risk of contracting HIV.As health leaders and advocates gather to discuss what they describe as a “stark” gender gap, calls are growing for urgent action…

Katy AustinTransport correspondent BBCPeople wait to go through departures at Eurostar’s London St Pancras terminusThe next time you travel from the UK to Europe, you might notice some changes.The EU’s much-delayed new digital border system, the Entry/Exit System or EES, is now being gradually introduced.The system is meant to strengthen security and ultimately make travel smoother, but there have been concerns there will be queues when people first register.What is EES and where is it being introduced?EES is a digital system designed to keep track of when non-EU citizens enter and leave the Schengen Area.This covers 29 European countries -…

Imran Rahman-JonesTechnology reporter andLiv McMahonTechnology reporterGetty ImagesMicrosoft is encouraging users to update to Windows 11There is a big change coming for many people who use Windows computers. Microsoft is ending support for its Windows 10 operating system, which means from Wednesday 14 October, these computers may be at risk.This is because security updates will stop, making devices more vulnerable to attack.Microsoft is encouraging people to upgrade for free to Windows 11 – but not all computers will be able to do that. “The end of support for Windows 10 is shaping up to be a disaster for both consumers and…