Latest news with #BenCarter
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
The Briefing Room Explainer: A history of US tariffs
Tariffs have dominated the first few months of President Trump?s second term. But where did he get the idea from? Ben Carter spoke to Douglas Irwin, professor of economics at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire in the US. This is part of a new mini-series called the The Briefing Room Explainers. They?re short versions of previous episodes of the Briefing Room. Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producer: Ben Carter Editor: Richard Vadon
Euronews
18-05-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Teens with high screen time more likely to be depressed, sleep poorly
Teenage girls who spend more time on their phones are more likely to sleep badly and have signs of depression, researchers in Sweden found. The study included 4,810 Swedish students aged 12 to 16. Researchers from the Karolinska Institute monitored their screen time habits, sleep patterns, and symptoms of depression over a one-year period. Both girls and boys spent three to four hours per day on their devices, above the two- or three-hour limit that Sweden's public health agency recommends for teenagers. But at the roughly same level of screen time, teen girls had an average depression score that was twice as high as among boys. The findings, published in the journal PLOS Global Public Health, confirmed that high screen time leads to sleep 'displacement,' meaning people fall asleep ater than they would on the body's natural schedule. Among teen girls, screen-driven displacement impacted their sleep quality, how long they slept and their chronotype, or the natural inclination of the body to sleep at a certain time. Teen girls were also more likely to report symptoms of depression – but this wasn't the case for boys. 'Our results do suggest that less… screen time seems healthier, in line with previous World Health Organization statements,' the authors said. If people lowered their screen time, 'the high burden of depressive states among young Swedish women, and maybe young men, would likely decrease,' they added. The findings are in line with previous research that followed 45,000 Norwegian university students, and found a strong relationship between screen time in bed, insomnia symptoms, and shorter sleep duration. But other researchers urged caution and for more studies to be done before jumping to any conclusions. Notably, the Swedish analysis doesn't establish that high screen time causes poor sleep and depression – just that they are correlated. The study has some other limitations. The teenagers reported their own screen time, 'a method known for its unreliability,' Chris Ferguson, a professor of psychology at Stetson University in the US who wasn't involved with the study, said in a statement. Even so, other scientists said the findings could help make the case for national guidelines on smartphone use on school nights. Ben Carter, a professor of medical statistics at King's College London who was not involved with the study, said such guidelines could 'empower parents and help adolescents improve their sleep and prevent daytime sleepiness'. That's especially important, he said in a statement, because 'sleep in the development of adolescents is essential'.
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Ukrainecast The Ukraine-Russia peace talks begin
Available for over a year Ukraine and Russia have agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war each after the first face-to-face talks in three years. Kyiv also requested direct talks with President Vladimir Putin, and Moscow says it "noted" this request. So is this a diplomatic breakthrough? Vitaly gauges the mood from a sunny Istanbul, explains why an interpreter was required, and talks about what the next steps might be. Today's episode is presented by Lucy Hockings and Jamie Coomarasamy. The producer was Ben Carter. The technical producer was Phil Bull. The series producer is Tim Walklate. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. Email Ukrainecast@ with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480 You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast's Discord server here:
Euronews
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Will the EU ban phones at school?
EU ministers gathered on Monday to discuss how to better protect young people online – from misinformation and addiction to digital harassment. While not all proposals are likely to make it into law, the message was clear: the EU wants to get tougher on tech when it comes to kids. One of the suggestions was a full ban on mobile phones in schools. Several EU countries have already gone down that path: France, the Netherlands, Italy, some Spanish regions, and more recently, Luxembourg, have introduced school-wide bans on phones during the day. Speaking to Euronews in December, Ben Carter, professor of medical statistics at King's College London, said: 'Nobody has the answer to whether banning them in schools is a good thing or a bad thing.' Some governments want to go further. France has proposed a Europe-wide ban on social media for under-15s. 'In the absence of a European agreement, France will have to take action,' said Clara Chappaz, France's minister for artificial intelligence. She added that she would try to 'rally a coalition, with Spain, Greece, and now Ireland, to convince the European Commission.' French President Emmanuel Macron has also backed tighter rules, calling last year for a ban on smartphones for children under the age of 11 and tougher age verification on social media platforms. Spain's Secretary of State for Youth and Children, Rubén Pérez Correa, stressed the need for more robust online age checks. He highlighted a new child protection law under discussion in the Spanish parliament, which would expand the use of the Cartera Digital – a national ID wallet app to access adult sites – to verify that users are over 18 before watching YouTube videos or creating an account on social media. Spain is also calling for stronger parental control systems to be built into platforms by default. But so far, there's no reliable and privacy-friendly system in place to verify users' ages online. Meta – the parent company of Facebook and Instagram – says responsibility should vest with app stores, calling for checks to be done at that level instead. Several EU laws already require platforms to check the age of their users. The Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) include provisions to shield children from harmful content, while the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) covers data privacy for minors. The proposed Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) regulation, still under negotiation in the Council of the EU, would also require effective age identification to shield children against predators. 'For some movement to be done, we need the European Commission and cooperation. Single countries will not be able to put effective age limitation [in place], whereas together it can be done,' Poland's Education Minister Barbara Nowacka told Euronews. 'It is possible, but it is of course a long-term project.' Youth organisations invited at the Council's table urged the EU to better enforce existing laws – such as the DSA, AVMSD and the 'Better Internet for Kids' strategy – which already contain tools to protect younger users but are often under-implemented. European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef, told Euronews that several new initiatives are in the pipeline, including EU-wide guidelines on child protection, an action plan against cyberbullying, and a new study into the mental health impact of social media – due to be published before the end of 2025. Syria has agreed to take back any of its citizens who are intercepted trying to reach Cyprus by boat, the Mediterranean island country's deputy minister for migration has said. Nicholas Ioannides confirmed that two inflatable boats each carrying 30 Syrians were turned back in recent days in line with a bilateral agreement agreed by Nicosia and Damascus. Cypriot navy and police patrol boats intercepted the two craft after they put out a call for help. The boats were subsequently escorted back to Syria. Ioannides told private TV station Antenna that there's been an uptick of migrant vessels trying to reach Cyprus from Syria, unlike in recent years when boats would primarily depart from Lebanon. Cyprus and Lebanon have a long-standing agreement to send back migrants. Cyprus' deputy migration minister said his government and their Syrian counterparts are trying to fight back against people traffickers who are supplying an underground market for labourers. According to Ioannides, human traffickers are cutting deals with local employers to bring in Syrians. This is despite laws that prevent asylum-seekers from working prior to the completion of a nine-month residency period. "The message we're sending is that the Cyprus Republic won't tolerate the abuse of the asylum system from people who aren't eligible for either asylum or international protection and just come here only to work," Ioannides said. The Cypriot government decided last week not to automatically grant asylum to Syrian migrants, but to examine their applications individually on merit and according to international and European laws. This came six months after the ousting of dictator Bashar al-Assad in Syria. From a total of 19,000 pending asylum applications, 13,000 have been filed by Syrian nationals, according to Ioannides. After al-Assad was toppled in December last year and a new transitional government took power, some 2,300 Syrians have either dropped their asylum claims or rescinded their international protection status, while 2,100 have already left Cyprus for Syria. Both the UN refugee agency and Europe's top human rights body have urged the Cypriot government to stop pushing back migrants trying to reach the island by boat. Cyprus denies doing anything wrong. Meanwhile, four people, including two small children, have died during an attempt to cross from Africa to Europe, a German charity has said. The nonprofit group RESQSHIP said that dozens of migrants had departed western Libya on a flimsy rubber boat with a failing engine. On Saturday afternoon, the group's civilian vessel NADIR found 62 of them in international waters where Malta is responsible for search and rescue. By the time the group reached them, two children aged three and four were dead and a third person was found unconscious and died later, it said. Frontex, the European border and coastguard agency, and the Maltese Armed Forces did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Mediterranean Sea is the world's deadliest migration route, with nearly 32,000 recorded fatalities since 2014, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Carter boosts Dragons for Stormers trip
United Rugby Championship: Stormers v Dragons Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town Date: Saturday, 10 May Kick off: 17:15 BST Coverage: Watch live on S4C & BBC iPlayer. Dragons have captain Ben Carter back to face Stormers for Saturday's United Rugby Championship (URC) game in Cape Town. The second row is one of three changes made by head coach Filo Tiatia for the penultimate league fixture of the season, with full-back Huw Anderson and centre Harry Wilson both making returns. Back row Dan Lydiate makes his 150th league appearance. Damian Willemse will play his 100th game for Stormers, lining up at centre alongside Wandisile Simelane, with Ben Loader on the wing in the only other change to the starting backline. Prop Brok Harris will not feature against his former side due to a knee injury, but will be in attendance at the DHL Stadium as he ends his career with more Stormers caps than any other player. Ex Dragon Harris denied 'fitting' send off - Jones Regions in jeopardy unless WRU deal is signed Dragons confirm De Beer signing from Cardiff Dragons name fly-half Lloyd Evans among the replacements, alongside recalled hooker James Benjamin, prop Paula Latu, scrum-half Dane Blacker and wing Ashton Hewitt. Tiatia said: "We're happy to be in South Africa and we are under no illusion to the challenge against a very good Stormers side. "They are pretty good at getting gain line, second in those league stats, so they like to play. "We are trying to build two weeks of bringing some clear identity of how we want to finish and how we want to play. "This group is also not going to be the same moving to next season, so it is important that the players finish strong, and we control what we can control, which is our preparation to help with performance. "The players have galvanised after a couple of disappointing results. To come over here and play in Cape Town against a good Stormers side is a good challenge." Stormers: Warrick Gelant: Ben Loader, Wandisile Simelane, Damian Willemse, Seabelo Senatla; Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Stefan Ungerer; Vernon Matongo, Joseph Dweba, Sazi Sandi, Salmaan Moerat (capt), Ruben van Heerden, Paul de Villiers, Marcel Theunissen, Evan Roos. Replacements: JJ Kotze, Ali Vermaak, Zachary Porthen, Connor Evans, Louw Nel, Paul de Wet, Dan du Plessis, Suleiman Hartzenberg. Dragons: Huw Anderson; Harry Rees-Weldon, Harry Wilson, Aneurin Owen, Jared Rosser; Angus O'Brien (co-capt), Rhodri Williams; Rhodri Jones, Brodie Coghlan, Chris Coleman, Ben Carter (co-capt), Ryan Woodman, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Dan Lydiate, Aaron Wainwright. Replacements: James Benjamin, Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, Paula Latu, Joe Davies, Barny Langton-Cryer, Dane Blacker, Lloyd Evans, Ashton Hewitt. Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR) Assistant referees: AJ Jacobs (SARU), Hanru van Rooyen (SARU) TMO: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
