‘Sliver’ of growth in Scottish shop sales, SRC figures show
PA Media Shoppers are facing a “winter costs crunch”, retailers have warned Retail sales showed a “sliver” of growth in September with a real terms rise of 0.8%, according to new figures. The data, released by the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and KPMG, showed total sales were also up on the same period last year. […]
Bedford art show aims to bring ‘new technology to the masses’
Alex Pope BBC News, Bedfordshire Andy Willsher Four groups helped create a film by using new technology to create brush strokes, with the final work being edited by Dr Alison Goodyear The organisers of an art exhibition will draw on the influences of painters through the generations to “bring new technology and digital art to […]
Ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt fears for ‘Bin Laden’ AI scenario
The former chief executive of Google is worried artificial intelligence could be used in a “Bin Laden scenario” or “rogue states” to “harm innocent people.” Eric Schmidt told the BBC: “The real fears that I have are not the ones that most people talk about AI – I talk about extreme risk.” The tech billionaire, […]
What if we only ate food from local farms?
Mary McCool BBC Scotland news Getty Images Eating only local produce would involve having more vegetables in our diets, according to industry professionals In recent years there has been mounting pressure to rethink what we eat in order to reduce climate change. Many people have switched to veganism due to their concerns over the environmental […]
Medical trial helps paralysed Bedfordshire woman be a mum again
Nikki Fox Health correspondent, BBC East NIKKI FOX/BBC Sarra Wilson, from Bedfordshire, says the Pathfinder2 trial has been “life changing” A woman paralysed seven years ago said a medical trial involving spinal stimulation had helped her regain the use of her hands. Sarra Wilson, from Bedfordshire, said the Pathfinder2 study had increased her upper body […]
TfL trial new way to cut construction vehicle emissions
Transport for London TfL hopes this technology will help reach net zero carbon by 2030 Transport for London (TfL) is trialling zero emission construction vehicles for six weeks, involving what it calls a UK-first method of mobile recharging. In a first for TfL, an electric excavator and wheel loader replaced equipment traditionally powered by fossil […]
Hotpot chain Haidilao on fire ahead of Hong Kong listing
Sarah Porter BBC News, Singapore Getty Images It has a reputation for keeping customers waiting for more than two hours for a table, and has suffered a couple of very high profile food scandals in China and in Singapore. But the Beijing-based hotpot chain Haidilao, which has outlets from the US to Japan, has been […]
Quarantine rules for some countries set to be relaxed
Tom Burridge Transport correspondent, BBC News Getty Images The government is planning to relax its travel quarantine rules in early July for some countries. UK officials are talking to their counterparts in Portugal, France, Italy, Greece and Spain. However, the UK hopes to make an announcement on 29 June that it has secured a number […]
What might really be behind failed bid for OpenAI
Lily Jamali North America Technology Correspondent Reuters OpenAI’s board of directors has officially rejected Elon Musk’s nearly $100bn offer for the maker of what is the world’s best-known artificial intelligence (AI) tool, ChatGPT. But the unsolicited bid might not be a failure – at least as far as Musk is concerned, experts say. That’s because […]
Is Netflix’s Seaspiracy film right about fishing damaging oceans?
Reality Check team BBC News Lucy Tabrizi Ali Tabrizi, director of Seaspiracy, observing a shark fin A documentary about the fishing industry’s impact on sea life and the oceans has caused a lot of debate. Many viewers have been saying they will no longer eat fish after watching the film, and expressed shock at the […]