Tag: bbc.com

It’s a chilly October evening in 2021 that Adam Becket remembers most sharply. He was 26, and had moved to Bristol a year earlier for work but had struggled to make friends. “I wasn’t alone all the time, but […] I was a bit of an outsider,” he remembers. As he headed home that night,…

Parents should lead by example this Christmas and turn their phones off during family time, the children’s commissioner for England has said. Dame Rachel de Souza told the Press Association children were “crying out” for engagement with their relatives over the festive break, and urged them to have “phone-free time”. Nearly half of parents with…

Volodymyr Zelensky has called on EU leaders at a crunch summit urgently to agree to a multi-billion euro loan in frozen Russian money to fund Ukraine’s military and economic needs. Ukraine is months from running out of cash and Zelensky said without an injection by spring Ukraine “will have to reduce production of drones”. Most…

BP has appointed a new chief executive, making Meg O’Neill the first woman to run a major global oil firm. The London-based energy giant said its current boss Murray Auchincloss would step down less than two years after he replaced Bernard Looney, who was found to have committed “serious misconduct” in failing to disclose relationships…

We’re driven blindfolded to a secret location where Ukraine is making one of its latest weapons. We’re told to turn off our phones – such is the secrecy around the production of Ukraine’s Flamingo cruise missile. For Ukraine, dispersing and hiding the production of weapons like this is key to survival. Two factories belonging to…

The phrase “ghost jobs” might sound like something from Halloween, but it refers to the practice of employers advertising vacancies that don’t exist. In some cases the positions may have already been filled, but in others the job might not have ever been available. It’s a real and continuing problem on both sides of the…

US President Donald Trump has announced a “warrior dividend” payment to US service members, in a speech in which he also defended his track record on the economy after 11 months back in office. In a televised address to the nation on Wednesday, Trump said cheques for $1,776 (£1,329) for 1.45 million US service members…

The family of the Bondi shooting’s youngest victim, Matilda, urged the community not to let her death fuel anger, as they said a final goodbye to the 10-year-old on Thursday. Matilda was among 15 people who were shot dead when two gunmen opened fire on an event marking the start of Hanukkah at Sydney’s Bondi…

Lying on his side on a dark summer night earlier this year, Sir David Attenborough is watching a hedgehog snuffling around an urban garden. “I think they’re lovely things,” he says softly, with a chuckle. His voice blends boyish wonder with the wisdom of his 99 years – each in equal measure. Considered by many…

Students from a college picked to work with a House of Lords committee say it is important for young people to have their say about the environment. Darlington College students will meet Environment and Climate Change committee members to discuss its current inquiry into drought preparedness. Minha Butt, a science student, said she was excited…