Tag: bbc.com

Millions of people will be able to set their own contactless card payment limits or even have no limit at all, a regulator has confirmed. Banks and card providers will be given the power, from March, to set a maximum – or unlimited – single payment amount without the need to enter a four-digit PIN.…

Festive travellers have taken to Britain’s roads, railways and airports for the busiest day for Christmas trips. Some of Britain’s largest airports are expected to reach new passenger records for December, with about 460,000 journeys planned for Friday alone. Traffic on motorways around the country was expected to reach a peak on Friday afternoon, with…

When Shay O’Dowd was young, he dreamed of success on the football pitch. But the Glasgow native is now being tipped to score in Scotland’s music scene, with sold-out gigs and an award already to his name. That prize was for Breakthrough Artist at the Scottish Music Awards in November, an honour previously given to…

TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has signed binding agreements with American and global investors to operate its business in the US, the video platform’s boss told employees on Thursday. Half of the joint venture will be owned by a group of investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX, according to a memo…

The suspect ‍in ​last week’s ‌mass shooting at Brown University has been found dead in a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, following a six-day multi-state manhunt, police say. They identified the suspect as Claudio Neves Valente, 48, a Portuguese national who studied at the university in Providence, Rhode Island, about 25 years ago. Providence…

South Africa has accused the US of using Kenyan nationals withoutwork permits at a facility processing applications by white South Africans for refugee status. Seven Kenyans were arrested after intelligence reports revealed that people “had recently entered South Africa on tourist visas and had illegally taken up work” at the centre, said a statement from…

After 17 hours of at times heated debate, EU leaders agreed in the early hours of Friday morning to jointly raise €90bn (£79bn; $105bn) in zero-interest loans to keep Ukraine financially afloat for the next two years. Kyiv had been clear: the money wasn’t a nice-to-have; it was a must-have. With the US under Donald…

The Vatican has announced that Richard Moth will be the new Archbishop of Westminster, making him the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. He succeeds Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who has held the role since 2009 and has stepped down aged 80. For the past 10 years Richard Moth has been Bishop of…

A Uganda prison officer has been sacked for criticising the government on TikTok, in a rare move authorities said amounted to “gross indiscipline”. Lawrence Ampe had been under investigation over social media posts accusing senior government officials of corruption, human rights abuses and mistreatment of lower-ranking prison officers. “The standing orders don’t allow a public…

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government will crack down on hate speech following Sunday’s deadly shooting at Bondi Beach that targeted a Jewish festival. Fifteen people were killed when two gunmen opened fire at an event to mark the first day of Hanukkah. New laws will target “those who spread hate, division and…