Month: August 2023

Getty Images By Shiona McCallum Technology reporter Tens of thousands of online grooming crimes have been recorded during the wait for updated online safety laws. Campaigners are urging tech companies and MPs to back the Online Safety Bill and are calling for no more hold-ups. The bill, which aims to crack down on illegal content,

Reuters By Holly Honderich and Max Matza Reporting from Maui, Hawaii Warning: This story contains details that some readers may find distressing Lahaina, once Hawaii’s royal capital, is now a crematorium. “We pick up remains and they fall apart,” said Maui County police chief John Pelletier on Saturday, four days after a massive wildfire tore

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. By John Sudworth in Maui BBC News For those still living inside Hawaii’s disaster zone on the western side of the island of Maui, there’s one vital lifeline to the outside world; volunteer effort. Standing at the

At least 89 people have died in the wildfires that razed the historic town of Lahaina, making it the most deadly fire in the US for a century. When the wildfire tore through the town last week, many people jumped into the sea to escape the flames. One Maui resident told the BBC’s Sophie Long

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. By Kathryn Armstrong BBC News Additional expert support has been deployed to Hawaii, where forensic work is continuing to find victims of the devastating wildfires. At least 80 people are known to have died but there are

By Megan Fisher & Simon Jones BBC News, London and Dover Six people have died after a boat carrying migrants sank in the Channel. A spokeswoman from French coastal authority Premar said between five and 10 others are missing, AFP reports. British and French coastguards have rescued around 50 people from the vessel, authorities said.

EPA By Ione Wells & Joe Nimmo Political correspondent Migrants are being temporarily removed from the Bibby Stockholm barge after traces of Legionella bacteria were found in the on board water system. The BBC understands that routine testing was done before migrants moved on to the vessel, moored in Dorset. But test results showing traces

Getty Images By Michael Race Business reporter, BBC News Warm weather in June helped lift UK economic growth by more than expected, according to official figures. Higher temperatures boosted pubs, restaurants and the construction industry, lifting the economy by 0.5%. The stronger data meant that the economy expanded by 0.2% between April and June. However,

By Jim Reed Health reporter Junior doctors in England are starting their fifth round of strike action with no sign of a breakthrough in their bitter pay dispute with the government. The doctors’ union, the BMA, made headlines earlier this year when it said pay had fallen so far behind inflation that its members would

Shutterstock By Kevin Peachey & Lora Jones BBC News Halifax is set to sharply cut rates on some of its fixed mortgage deals, potentially easing pressure on some homeowners. The UK’s biggest mortgage lender will reduce rates by up to 0.71 percentage points from Friday, with a five-year fixed deal priced at 5.39% from 6.10%.

Getty Images By Hazel Shearing Education correspondent Students will need to be “quick off the mark” to get a place at a top university through clearing this year, according to the head of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas). Clare Marchant said “highly selective courses” would “go quite quickly”. But she said there would

Getty Images By Robert Plummer BBC News Forty-one migrants have died in a shipwreck off the Italian island of Lampedusa, survivors told local media. A group of four people who survived the disaster told rescuers that they were on a boat that had set off from Sfax in Tunisia and sank on its way to

PA Media By Julian O’Neill BBC News NI home affairs correspondent The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has apologised for mistakenly revealing details of all its 10,000 staff. NI’s Police Federation said the breach could cause “incalculable damage”. In response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request, the PSNI shared names of all police

Getty Images By Michael Race & Faarea Masud Business reporters, BBC News Retailers are ramping up promotions to try to persuade shoppers to spend more after July’s wet weather hit business. Sales of clothing and shoes declined last month, which is usually a busy month for fashion, as shoppers held back from updating their summer

PA Media By Marcus White & Mark Easton BBC News The first small group of asylum seekers has boarded the controversial Bibby Stockholm housing barge after a series of delays over safety concerns. Up to 500 men will eventually live on the vessel in Dorset while they await the outcome of asylum applications. Some human

Reuters By Jean Mackenzie in Seoul & James Gregory in London BBC News Thousands of scouts at an international event in South Korea are being evacuated from a campsite due to an incoming typhoon. Several countries including the UK had already left, blaming high temperatures and poor sanitary conditions at the camp. UK Scouts chief