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Nottingham attacks: Triple killer's sentence not unduly lenient - judges - BBC News | 2024-05-14 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Valdo Calocane was given a hospital order after admitting manslaughter by diminished responsibility. | Nottingham | Valdo Calocane was sentenced to a hospital order in January after admitting manslaughter
The sentence of a man who stabbed three people to death in Nottingham was not unduly lenient, judges have ruled. Valdo Calocane killed Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and 65-year-old Ian Coates on 13 June 2023. He was given an indefinite hospital order after prosecutors accepted a plea of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Mr Webber's mother, Emma Webber, said the Court of Appeal ruling came as "no surprise" to the victims' families. The attorney general referred the sentence in February, arguing it was unduly lenient.
Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar died at the scene of the attacks
Speaking at the hearing on Tuesday, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr concluded there was "no error" in the approach taken by Mr Justice Turner at Nottingham Crown Court in January. She said Calocane was in the "grips of a severe psychotic episode" at the time. Mr Justice Turner came to the "reasonable conclusion" that the aim of protecting the public would be best served by a hospital order, she added.
In a statement following the hearing, Mrs Webber said the ruling illustrated the need for "urgent reforms" in UK homicide law. "Despite the fact that the attorney general herself feels that Valdo Calocane did not receive the appropriate sentence, today's outcome proves how utterly flawed and under-resourced the criminal justice system in the UK is," she said. "So far, there have been no less than eight individual reports, reviews and investigations. "We do not believe that there is any chance these can be cohesive enough to ensure a full and detailed outcome, and therefore call for a public inquiry."
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Dr Sanjoy Kumar, father of Ms O'Malley-Kumar, said the attacks were "entirely preventable". "It is the missed multiple opportunities to prevent the Nottingham attacks and the murder of our children and Ian Coates, is what has led us here today," he said. "We will continue to pursue agencies that failed us and hold them responsible for the Nottingham attacks so that no other family is made to suffer like ours." Calocane, 32, had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia before the attacks. In addition to killing Mr Webber, Ms O'Malley-Kumar and Mr Coates, Calocane stole Mr Coates's van and used it to drive at three pedestrians, who were all left seriously injured. The sentence review was held by the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Justice Edis and Mr Justice Garnham.
In short, the Court of Appeal said there was no legal reason why they should interfere with the sentence that the trial judge in Nottingham handed down to Valdo Calocane in January. It's very difficult for a sentence in the criminal court to be overturned by the Court of Appeal. It's not just a simple case of the judges having a look at the evidence for themselves and coming to a different conclusion. The court has to be satisfied that the judge fell into "gross error" - that somehow the judge completely missed something that was critical in the case. During the short ruling this morning, Baroness Carr made very clear that when the trial judge looked at the evidence of what happened on that appalling day last June, that there was no dispute that Calocane was in the midst of an acute episode of psychosis.
In summing up their conclusion, Baroness Carr said: "Had the offender not suffered the mental condition that he did, the sentencing judge would doubtless have been considering a whole-life term. "But neither the judge nor this court can ignore the medical evidence as to the offender's condition which led to these dreadful events or the threat to public safety which the offender continues to pose." During the hearing, Calocane watched on from a unit in Ashworth High Secure Hospital. He did not respond when asked to confirm he could hear the ruling - but a member of hospital staff indicated that the judgement could be heard via the video link.
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Deanna Heer KC, representing the attorney general's office, had previously argued Calocane should have received a hospital and limitation direction, through which he would be treated in hospital before being transferred to prison. While not criticising the approach of the original sentencing judge, she said psychiatrists who gave evidence to the court had not commented on the need for custodial action. Peter Joyce KC, representing Calocane, agreed the offender is "likely to spend the remainder of his days" in a hospital, but said it would be "wrong" if he was "to be punished for being mentally ill". "He is never likely to see the light of day again," he said.
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Since the attacks, a government-ordered rapid review into Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been launched, as well as Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) reviews into both Nottinghamshire Police and Leicestershire Police, and a wider NHS England review. A review also found that prosecutors were right to accept Calocane's manslaughter pleas, but said the case could have been handled better. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has met the victims' families, but has not yet committed to a public inquiry into the case.
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-68975895 |
Kristi Noem: Trump VP hopeful outlawed on six Native American reservations - BBC News | 2024-05-14 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Six Native tribes have banned Kristi Noem from their reservations over remarks she made. | US & Canada | Kristi Noem has faced bipartisan criticism over the past few weeks
Two Native American tribes in South Dakota have barred its governor, Kristi Noem, from their land as she doubles down on derogatory commentary against tribal leaders and reservation life. The latest bans add to existing exclusions from four other reservations this year. Ms Noem is now banned from nearly one-fifth of state territory. It comes after the Republican cut short a disastrous national media book tour. Ms Noem was once a frontrunner to be Donald Trump's running mate this year. Less than three months ago, she topped a poll of candidates to run as vice-president for the November election. However, a crop of recent controversies, including a story of how she shot a pet dog, have drawn bipartisan criticism. The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and Yankton Sioux tribes on Friday passed separate resolutions to prohibit Ms Noem from setting foot in their territory. The tribes joined the Cheyenne River Sioux, Oglala Sioux, Rosebud Sioux and Standing Rock Sioux tribes in making the state's chief executive an outlaw on their lands. It means six of South Dakota's nine Native tribes are now refusing her entry. Tribal governments have a sovereign right to exclude non-tribal members from their lands, with tribal law enforcement prepared to act if necessary. A secretary for the Yankton Sioux, however, clarified to local media that the tribe has not "officially" banned the governor by a vote of its general council, but one by its business and claims committee, the main elected body. As governor, Ms Noem, 52, has often been at odds with these authorities. While tribal and federal authorities have criminal jurisdiction over reservations, she has sought to expand state power. She was banished in 2019 by the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council after signing anti-riot legislation in response to Native-led protests against the Keystone XL pipeline, and then again earlier this year over rhetoric linking illegal immigration to crime on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The governor also ignored tribal objections to a 2020 fireworks display over Mount Rushmore and clashed with tribal leaders after they set up coronavirus checkpoints to control visits to their reservations. Most recently, she alleged Native children "don't have any hope" because of absentee parents and suggested without evidence that tribal leaders were "personally benefitting" from drug cartel operators. "Governor Kristi Noem's wild and irresponsible attempt to connect tribal leaders and parents with Mexican drug cartels is a sad reflection of her fear-based politics that do nothing to bring people together to solve problems," Janet Alkire, chairwoman of the Standing Rock Sioux, wrote in a lengthy five-page rebuke in March. A spokesman for Ms Noem told the BBC that "banishing Governor Noem does nothing to solve the problem... she calls on all our tribal leaders to banish the cartels from tribal lands".
Ms Noem was an early endorser of Donald Trump's re-election
It is the latest embarrassment for the former rising star of the Republican party. In her new book, No Going Back, Ms Noem recounts how she shot dead her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, for bad behaviour. She also killed a goat she said smelled and was mean. The governor said the shootings were examples of her willingness to do things that were "difficult, messy and ugly". In another passage, later removed, Ms Noem claimed she had been to the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea and "stared down Kim Jong Un". No public record of either action exists. She also claimed she had been "slated to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron" during a visit to Paris but nixed their sit-down over alleged "pro-Hamas" comments he made in the press. A French government official said there was no record of a scheduled meeting or even an invitation. Ms Noem has hit back at what she calls left-wing "spin", but her attempts at damage control have failed across the political spectrum. Several interviews have since been cancelled. Last week, Mr Trump acknowledged Ms Noem has had "a rough couple of days" but said he liked her "a lot" and noted she "has been supportive of me from the beginning". According to US media, however, Trump insiders say she has "killed her chances" of being his vice-president. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69004304 |
Iranian film director Mohammad Rasoulof flees after jail sentence - BBC News | 2024-05-14 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Mohammad Rasoulof was sentenced over his new film, which is to be premiered at the Cannes festival. | Middle East | Award-winning Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof says he has fled the country after receiving a jail sentence for making his latest film in secret.
In an Instagram post, he said he was in a "safe place" after people "risked their lives" to help him cross borders.
His film The Seed of the Sacred Fig is to be premiered at the Cannes festival, which opens on Tuesday.
Rasoulof won the top prize at the 2020 Berlin Festival with There Is No Evil, a film about the death penalty in Iran.
"I am grateful to my friends, acquaintances, and people who kindly, selflessly, and sometimes by risking their lives, helped me get out of the border and reach a safety after a difficult and long journey," he wrote in his post on Monday.
His lawyer Babak Paknia told AFP news agency: "I can confirm that Mohammad Rasoulof has left Iran and will attend the Cannes festival."
The Iranian authorities had tried to force him to ask organisers to withdraw The Seed of the Sacred Fig from the event, but he refused to do so.
Rasoulof, 51, gave no details about his escape route. He also posted a video of a snow-covered mountain, suggesting that he crossed the border either into Iraq or Turkey with the help of smugglers.
Last week a court sentenced him to eight years in jail on charges of "collusion against national security".
In his statement posted on Instagram, he said: "The scope and intensity of repression has reached a point of brutality where people expect news of another heinous government crime every day."
Rasoulof has repeatedly run afoul of Iran's Islamic courts. In 2019 he was sentenced to a year in jail over his film A Man of Integrity, which won a prize at the 2017 Cannes festival.
After There is no Evil in 2020, the director was convicted of anti-government propaganda and given another one-year sentence. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-69006043 |
France prison van ambush gunmen seen from passing bus - BBC News | 2024-05-14 | null | At least two French prison officers were killed in the incident, with the inmate currently on the run. | null | Footage shared on social media shows two hooded gunmen in Normandy, France, after a police van was ambushed on Tuesday.
At least two French prison officers have been killed in the incident. The prisoner - who has been named by prosecutors as Mohamed Amra - was being taken from court to a prison and escaped after the attack.
Read more on this story here. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69011699 |
Americast - Keeping up with the Kennedys: RFK Jr’s run for the White House - BBC Sounds | 2024-05-14 | null | Robert F Kennedy Jr could steal votes from main parties. | null | Keeping up with the Kennedys: RFK Jr’s run for the White House Keeping up with the Kennedys: RFK Jr’s run for the White House | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001yxr6 |
Neom: Saudi forces 'told to kill' to clear land for eco-city - BBC News | 2024-05-14 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | An ex-intelligence officer tells the BBC he was permitted to shoot dead those resisting eviction. | Middle East | The Line is at the heart of Saudi Arabia's mega-project, Neom
Saudi authorities have permitted the use of lethal force to clear land for a futuristic desert city being built by dozens of Western companies, an ex-intelligence officer has told the BBC. Col Rabih Alenezi says he was ordered to evict villagers from a tribe in the Gulf state to make way for The Line, part of the Neom eco-project. One of them was subsequently shot and killed for protesting against eviction. The Saudi government and Neom management refused to comment. Neom, Saudi Arabia's $500bn (£399bn) eco-region, is part of its Saudi Vision 2030 strategy which aims to diversify the kingdom's economy away from oil. Its flagship project, The Line, has been pitched as a car-free city, just 200m (656ft) wide and 170km (106 miles) long - though only 2.4km of the project is reportedly expected to be completed by 2030., external
Dozens of global companies, several of them British, are involved in Neom's construction. The area where Neom is being built has been described as the perfect "blank canvas" by Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman. But more than 6,000 people have been moved for the project according to his government - and UK-based human rights group ALQST, external estimates the figure to be higher. The BBC has analysed satellite images of three of the villages demolished - al-Khuraybah, Sharma and Gayal. Homes, schools, and hospitals have been wiped off the map.
Your device may not support this visualisation
Col Alenezi, who went into exile in the UK last year, says the clearance order he was asked to enact was for al-Khuraybah, 4.5km south of The Line. The villages were mostly populated by the Huwaitat tribe, who have inhabited the Tabuk region in the country's north-west for generations. He said the April 2020 order stated the Huwaitat was made up of "many rebels" and "whoever continues to resist [eviction] should be killed, so it licensed the use of lethal force against whoever stayed in their home". He dodged the mission on invented medical grounds, he told the BBC, but it nevertheless went ahead. Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti refused to allow a land registry committee to value his property, and was shot dead by Saudi authorities a day later, during the clearance mission. He had previously posted multiple videos on social media protesting against the evictions. A statement issued by Saudi state security at the time alleged al-Huwaiti had opened fire on security forces and they had been forced to retaliate. Human rights organisations and the UN have said he was killed simply for resisting eviction. The BBC was not able to independently verify Col Alenezi's comments about lethal force. But a source familiar with the workings of the Saudi intelligence directorate told us the colonel's testimony - regarding both how the clearance order was communicated and what it said - was in line with what they knew about such missions more generally. They also said the colonel's level of seniority would have been appropriate to lead the assignment. At least 47 other villagers were detained after resisting evictions, many of whom were prosecuted on terror-related charges, according to the UN and ALQST. Of those, 40 remain in detention, five of whom are on death row, ALQST says. Several were arrested for simply publicly mourning al-Huwaiti's death on social media, the group said. Saudi authorities say those required to move for The Line have been offered compensation. But the figures paid out have been much lower than the amount promised, according to AlQst. According to Col Alenezi, "[Neom] is the centrepiece of Mohamed Bin Salman's ideas. That's why he was so brutal in dealing with the Huwaitat."
Col al-Enezi now lives in the UK for his own safety
A former senior executive of Neom's ski project told the BBC he had heard about the killing of Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti a few weeks before leaving his native US for the role in 2020. Andy Wirth says he repeatedly asked his employers about the evictions, but was not satisfied with the answers. "It just reeked of something terrible [that] had been exacted upon these people… You don't step on their throats with your boot heels so you can advance," he said. He left the project less than a year after joining it, disenchanted with its management. A chief executive of a British desalination company who pulled out of a $100m (£80m) project for The Line in 2022 is also extremely critical. "It might be good for some high-tech people living in that area, but what about the rest?" said Malcolm Aw, the CEO of Solar Water PLC. The local population should be seen as valuable assets, he added, given how well they understand the area. "You should seek that advice to improve, to create, recreate, without removing them." Displaced villagers were extremely reluctant to comment, fearing that speaking to foreign media could further endanger their detained relatives. But we spoke to those evicted elsewhere for another Saudi Vision 2030 scheme. More than a million people have been displaced for the Jeddah Central project in the western Saudi Arabian city - set to include an opera house, sporting district, and high-end retail and residential units. Nader Hijazi [not his real name] grew up in Aziziyah - one of approximately 63 neighbourhoods affected by those demolitions. His father's home was razed in 2021, for which he received less than a month's warning. Hijazi says the photos he had seen of his former neighbourhood were shocking, saying they evoked a warzone. "They're waging a war on people, a war on our identities." Saudi activists told the BBC of two individuals arrested last year in connection with the Jeddah demolitions - one for physically resisting eviction, the other for posting photos of anti-demolition graffiti on his social media. And a relative of a detainee in Jeddah's Dhahban Central Prison said they had heard accounts of a further 15 people being held there - reportedly for staging a farewell gathering in one of the neighbourhoods marked for demolition. The difficulty of contacting those inside Saudi prisons means we have not been able to verify this. ALQST surveyed 35 evicted people from Jeddah neighbourhoods. Of those, none say they had received compensation, or sufficient warning, in accordance with local law, and more than half said they had been forced out of their homes under threat of arrest.
Col Alenezi is now based in the UK but still fears for his security. He says an intelligence officer told him that he would be offered $5m (£4m) if he attended a meeting at London's Saudi embassy with the Saudi interior minister. He refused. We put this allegation to the Saudi government but they did not respond. Attacks on critics of the Saudi government living abroad are not without precedent - the most high-profile being that on US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, murdered by Saudi agents inside the country's Istanbul consulate in 2018. A damning US intelligence report concluded Mohamed Bin Salman approved the operation. The crown prince has denied any role. But Col Alenezi has no regrets about his decision to disobey orders regarding Saudi's futuristic city. "Mohamed Bin Salman will let nothing stand in the way of the building of Neom…I started to become more worried about what I might be asked to do to my own people." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68945445 |
Dublin-NY portal temporarily shut due to 'inappropriate behaviour' - BBC News | 2024-05-14 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Organisers say they are working on solutions to address bad behaviour near the art installation. | US & Canada | An art project that links Dublin and New York via a live video "portal" has been temporarily shut after less than a week due to "inappropriate behaviour".
The Portal offered a continuous live stream that was displayed on a circular screen in both cities.
However some users have displayed swearwords and flashed body parts, while video of the 11 September attacks was transmitted to New York viewers.
Organisers say they are trying to come up with ways to prevent bad behaviour.
The flashing of the 11 September attack footage by a Dublin user was filmed on the New York side. The footage has since been posted and viewed millions of times on social media.
Dublin City Council said that the installation was turned off on Monday and Tuesday, while the Flatiron Nomad Partnership in New York said it was paused until 03:00 EST (08:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
"While we cannot control all of these actions, we are implementing some technical solutions to address this and these will go live in the next 24 hours," said the Dublin City Council in a statement on Monday.
The Flatiron Nomad Partnership said it would install software updates "to limit such behaviour appearing on the livestream".
It added that it would station more staff and barriers at the site outside the Flatiron Building in Manhattan to prevent people from stepping on the Portal.
The partnership said that the "overwhelming majority of visitors have behaved appropriately and experienced the sense of joy and connectedness that this work of public art is intended to evoke."
Inappropriate behaviour has come from "a very small minority", it added.
The Portal was originally intended to remain on display until the autumn. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69006674 |
Trump's lawyer attacks Michael Cohen in hush-money trial - BBC News | 2024-05-14 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The defence team questioned the credibility of Trump's former lawyer, who said he lied for the ex-President. | US & Canada | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: The BBC's Nada Tawfik walks through the defence's strategy in Michael Cohen's cross-examination
Donald Trump's legal team sought on Tuesday to dismantle the credibility of the star witness in the ex-president's criminal trial, Michael Cohen. Mr Trump showed no reaction as his lawyer, during cross-examination, cast Cohen as a man with a personal vendetta against his former boss. Throughout the legal showdown weeks in the making, Cohen remained calm. He also said he hoped Mr Trump would be found guilty of fraud in the hush-money case. Cohen was on the stand for a second day of blockbuster testimony. He was called by prosecutors to testify about making a $130,000 (£104,300) hush-money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election, to prevent her from telling a story about an alleged sexual encounter with Mr Trump. Donald Trump now faces 34 counts of business fraud for allegedly disguising reimbursements for the payment to Cohen as legal expenses. The former president pleaded not guilty to the charges and denies having sex with Ms Daniels. At one point, his lawyer Todd Blanche asked bluntly if Cohen wanted to see Mr Trump convicted in the case. After being pressed, Cohen responded: "Sure." Over the course of two hours, Mr Blanche tried to undermine Cohen, who was imprisoned after pleading guilty to tax evasion, fraud and campaign finance violations. He brought up his guilty plea for lying to congress, and sought to portray Cohen as being motivated by hate and fame. He also sought to show that Cohen seeks to profit from the legal woes of a man he blasts daily in public. The lawyer dredged up Cohen's prolific social media posts, podcasts, and media appearances attacking Donald Trump, often in unprintable language.
BBC News reporters are in the Manhattan courtroom covering the historic first criminal trial of a former US president. You'll find their updates and analysis on the BBC news website and app, and across TV, radio and podcasts.
At the start of the cross-examination, Mr Blanche asked about a comment Cohen made about him on social media. Is it true, Mr Blanche asked, that Cohen had called him a "crying little [expletive]". Cohen quickly replied: "Sounds like something I would say." Justice Juan Merchan swiftly struck the answer from the official record, but the exchange set the tone for the afternoon. Mr Blanche later displayed some of Cohen's podcast merchandise, including a t-shirt that showed Mr Trump in an orange jumpsuit, handcuffed. But by the close of Tuesday's session, the lawyer had not cross-examined Cohen on the most damaging testimony he had given prosecutors: that he had kept Mr Trump informed at every stage of the payment to Ms Daniels, and that the former president had approved the allegedly fraudulent reimbursement plan. Despite previous witnesses testifying to Cohen's belligerent nature, Cohen remained composed under cross-examination. Jeffrey Levine, an attorney who represents Cohen, said in a statement that "my understanding is Mr Cohen came across credibly." His testimony will continue when court is back in session on Thursday.
Prosecutors took a risk calling Cohen, given his online posts and criminal record. But as the man who actually carried out the hush-money payment to Ms Daniels, his testimony was crucial for the New York district attorney's case. Prosecutors also hope he will help prove another part of their case - that allegedly covering up the payment was election interference. In a pivotal moment, prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Cohen why he made the payment. "To ensure that the story would not come out, would not affect Mr Trump's chances of becoming president of the United States," he told the court. Ms Hoffinger asked on whose behalf he committed that crime.
Although Cohen said he didn't regret working for Donald Trump or his organisation, he said he had "violated my moral compass" in order to do Mr Trump's bidding. The FBI raided Cohen's apartment in April 2018. He spoke to then-President Trump, who told him "stay tough, you're going to be OK." "I felt reassured because I had the president of the United States protecting me," Cohen testified. But it was the last direct conversation between the two men. Cohen - who once said he would "take a bullet" for Mr Trump - testified that, after speaking to his family about being targeted by a federal investigation, he decided not to continue lying on behalf of his most famous client. After court wrapped up on Tuesday, Mr Trump told reporters that his team had "a very good day" and criticised a gag order limiting what he can say publicly about the judge's family and others involved in the case. A number of Mr Trump's Republican allies and possible running mates for November's election have attended the trial this week. House Speaker Mike Johnson, currently the top Republican in the US government and in line to succeed the president after the vice-president, was present on Tuesday and spoke to reporters outside. Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and Representative Byron Donalds of Florida also attended the trial.
Prosecutors indicated during arguments on Tuesday that Michael Cohen would be the last witness they call. Donald Trump has indicated that he wants to take the witness stand to testify in his own defence - but whether he actually does so remains to be seen. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69012587 |
Boy and grandad find dinosaur footprint in Irchester - BBC News | 2024-05-14 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Experts say the footprint probably belongs to a megalosaurus. | Northampton | Cody, aged three, made the discovery with his grandfather Steve, a keen fossil hunter
A man and his grandson have uncovered physical evidence of dinosaurs roaming the earth. Keen fossil hunter Steve was exploring Irchester Country Park, Northants, with three-year-old Cody when they found an unusually shaped rock partially buried. Experts from London's Natural History Museum confirmed the find as being a dinosaur footprint cast. It is thought it belonged to a megalosaurus that stood six metres (20 feet) in length. Steve said: "These casts formed as a result of a dinosaur making a footprint in soft ground, which then gradually filled in with local sediment. "It then solidified over eons, eventually leaving a cast of the footprint long after the actual footprint disappeared. "We left the rock, which was 55cm (22in) in length, where it was after visually examining it to confirm it was a sedimentary rock, an essential requirement if we were to prove that we had found evidence of dinosaurs." He said the next step was to research the local geology. "After all, if the local geology showed that the area was pre-historically covered in a massive ocean, then it would have been impossible for dinosaurs to have walked on the land," he said. But studies of maps from the British Geological Survey clearly showed that the spot in Irchester sat right on an ancient shoreline - overlooking a large inlet.
An artist's impression of how Victorian palaeontologists thought the Megalosaurus looked (right) and how modern scientists understand it to have looked (left)
• None It lived in England between 166.1 and 168.3 million years ago
• None Charles Dickens imagined meeting a Megalosaurus on the muddy streets of London in the opening lines of Bleak House. They are also mentioned in Conan Doyle's Lost World
Conservative-controlled North Northamptonshire Council, which runs Irchester Country Park, said it hoped the dinosaur footprint cast would later go on display. Harriet Pentland, executive member for climate and green environment, thanked Steve for the "unique and major find". She said: "Our country parks are extremely popular with residents, but it is a wonderful glimpse into our area's past to know that 170 million years ago, dinosaurs were roaming the land and that a moment in time could result in a footprint preserved in stone forever."
Experts say that the footprint probably belonged to a megalosaurus
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-69004135 |
Canadian writer and Nobel prize winner Alice Munro dies at 92 - BBC News | 2024-05-14 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Canadian writer was known as the "master of the contemporary short story". | US & Canada | Canadian author Alice Munro, a 2013 Nobel Prize winner for literature, has died at the age of 92.
Munro wrote short stories for more than 60 years, often focusing on life in rural Canada.
She died at her home in Port Hope, Ontario on Monday night, her family and her publisher have confirmed.
Munro was often compared to Russian writer Anton Chekhov for the insight and compassion found in her stories.
"Alice Munro is a national treasure - a writer of enormous depth, empathy, and humanity whose work is read, admired, and cherished by readers throughout Canada and around the world," Kristin Cochrane, the CEO of Penguin Random House Canada, said in a statement.
Her first major break-through came in 1968, when her short story collection, Dance of The Happy Shades, about life in the suburbs of western Ontario, won Canada's highest literary honour, the Governor General's Award. It was the first of three Governor General's Awards she would win in her lifetime.
Munro has published thirteen collections of stories as well as one novel, Lives of Girls and Women, and two volumes of Selected Stories.
In 1977, the New Yorker magazine published one of Munro's stories, Royal Beatings, based on punishments she received from her father when she was young. She went on to have a long relationship with the publication.
Munro, the daughter of a fox farmer and a schoolteacher, was born in 1931 in Wingham, Ontario. Many of her stories are set in the area and chronicle the region's people, culture and the way of life.
In her youth, she was named class valedictorian at her high school and received a scholarship to the University of Western Ontario in London. Munro had the the highest standing in English of any student who applied to the university.
While pursuing higher education, Munro said she spent about half her time on academics and the other half writing.
She has published more than a dozen collections of short stories. In the 1950s and 1960s, her stories were broadcast on the CBC and published in several Canadian periodicals.
Some of her stories compared life before and after the social revolution of the 1960s.
"Having been born in 1931, I was a little old, but not too old, and women like me after a couple of years were wearing miniskirts and prancing around," she said.
One well-known story, The Bear Came Over the Mountain, was made into the 2006 film Away from Her, starring Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent.
In 2009, Munro won the Man Booker Prize International Prize for lifetime achievement.
The judges said in a statement at the time: "To read Alice Munro is to learn something every time that you never thought of before."
They added that Munro "brings as much depth, wisdom and precision to every story as most novelists bring to a lifetime of novels".
She later won the Nobel Prize in 2013. Previous winners include literary giants such as Rudyard Kipling, Toni Morrison and Ernest Hemingway.
Munro said in an interview with the Guardian, external in 2013 that she had been "writing personal stories all my life".
"Maybe I write stories that people get very involved in, maybe it is the complexity and the lives presented in them," she told the Guardian in 2013. "I hope they are a good read. I hope they move people."
Her last collection of stories, Dear Life, was published in 2012. It included a collection of partly-autobiographical stories.
She told the National Post newspaper that Dear Life was special because she'd likely not write anymore.
"Not that I didn't love writing, but I think you do get to a stage where you sort of think about your life in a different way," she said. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69011945 |
PMQs: Rishi Sunak challenged over early release of dangerous criminals - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The prime minister insists no-one deemed a threat to public safety is eligible for early release. | UK Politics | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Rishi Sunak is asked to "guarantee" that none of the prisoners released early are considered high risk
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been challenged over the early release of dangerous criminals under a scheme aimed at easing overcrowding in jails. During PMQs, Sir Keir Starmer asked for a guarantee that no criminals considered high risk were freed early. The PM insisted no-one deemed a threat to public safety would be eligible. But the Labour leader pointed to an example of one inmate who posed a danger to children, who had his release date brought forward. The case was revealed in a report on HMP Lewes by the prisons watchdog, external, which was published on Tuesday. The individual had a history of stalking and domestic abuse but was released without a full risk assessment.
The original scheme, introduced last October, allowed "low-level offenders" to be freed from prisons in England and Wales up to 18 days early under strict supervision. This was increased to up to 60 days in March and will be further extended to up to 70 days from 23 May. The government has said no-one convicted of a sexual, terrorist or serious violent offence would be eligible for early release. The prison population has ballooned in recent decades as a result of tougher sentences and court backlogs. Sir Keir said the government had not provided "basic details" about the scheme, including how many prisoners were being released early, where they were and what crimes they had committed. He called for domestic abusers to be exempt from the scheme. In response, Mr Sunak said: "There are strict eligibility criteria in place, with exclusions based on public safety and no-one will be put on the scheme if they were deemed a threat to public safety." The PM said prison governors also had "an absolute lock" over who was put on the scheme. He added that those released were subject to strict conditions and supervision, which he said was in contrast to under the last Labour government. Later, Downing Street denied the government was attempting to pass the buck onto prison governors in managing the move. A Labour spokesman said the party would want to end the early release policy "as soon as possible" if it wins power, but added "we are under no illusion about the scale of the challenge we will face when it comes to the prison capacity crisis that we will inherit". Mr Sunak will be especially eager to maintain the Conservative Party's reputation for being tough on crime in an election year. Under repeated questioning from Sir Keir on the issue he hit back by arguing that the Conservatives believe more than Labour that prison prevents crime. That attack line shows precisely why Mr Sunak is also now vulnerable if Labour can establish the argument in voters' minds that prisoners are being released early who should not be on the streets. In a piece of potentially awkward timing, one of the main pieces of legislation the government still hopes to complete before the general election is a Sentencing Bill, external. The proposed law is partly intended to address the capacity problems by suspending almost all prison sentences of less than a year and expanding home detention. But some prisons campaigners say this is insufficient to deal with the problems in the system, and in other ways the bill is designed to put people in prison longer - with those who commit the most violent murders imprisoned for life, and those sentenced for rape and some other sexual offences required to serve their whole sentence in prison, whereas currently they can in some circumstances be released on licence after two-thirds of the sentence. Downing Street said the government was pressing ahead with the Sentencing Bill, adding: "In order to ensure that we can put the worst offenders away for longer we must make sure that there are sufficient spaces to lock up the most dangerous criminals."
Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor has raised "serious concerns" about the early release scheme. His report highlighted one individual who had been freed early was recalled to custody before the watchdog's inspection of the prison had ended. According to the findings, the inmate had a "significant" drug problem and a record of self-harm as well as experiencing suicidal thoughts, but was freed despite "appeals for the decision to be reversed and staff having serious concerns for his and the public's safety". Meanwhile, some court appearances in England will be delayed in another emergency measure to deal with prison overcrowding. Under Operation Early Dawn, the Ministry of Justice says that it now needs to control the flow of cases reaching this first day in court because of the pressure on cells. In practice, this means some defendants who would expect to be sent from court to a remand prison cell will be told the start of their case is being delayed. That will mean police will have to release some of them on bail with a date to later attend court. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69015911 |
Aerial video shows scene after deadly Florida bus crash - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | null | Eight people are dead and dozens more are injured after a bus carrying farm workers overturned. | null | Eight people are dead and dozens more are injured after a bus overturned on a highway in Florida.
Florida officials said the bus was carrying around 50 people on their way to work at Cannon Farms, in Dunnellon. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69004631 |
Slovak PM Robert Fico wheeled into hospital on stretcher - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | null | Slovak PM Robert Fico is was shot a number of times in what officials call an assassination attempt. | null | Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in hospital after being shot a number of times in what officials are calling an assassination attempt.
He is in a life-threatening condition and receiving treatment in hospital.
Video shows him being wheeled into Banska Bystrica hospital after being airlifted there. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69017530 |
MDH and Everest: Indian spices face heat over global safety concerns - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | India is a global powerhouse of spices. But recent quality concerns have cast a cloud on its position. | India | MDH and Everest products are among the most popular in India and worldwide
"For Indians, spices are like paints in a paint box, external", says Indian actor-turned-food writer Madhur Jaffrey. "We get different shades from the same spice by doing something to the spice." In other words, you can roast the spices or grind them into powders. The diversity of their flavours is mind-boggling. Indian spices enhance pickles and season meat. They flavour savouries and street food. Zesty spices energise local fruit drinks and add a tangy twist to fruits and salads. Unsurprisingly, India has emerged as a global spice powerhouse. It exports more than 200 spices and value-added products to some 180 countries, worth $4bn (£3.1bn), according to the Spices Board of India. The domestic market alone is worth a staggering $10bn, making it the world's largest consumer of spices. But now, concerns are emerging regarding the safety of these renowned spices. Last month, Singapore and Hong Kong halted sales of some spices produced by Indian companies MDH and Everest over suspected elevated levels of ethylene oxide, a cancer-causing pesticide. That's not all. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also investigating products from the two popular brands for potentially containing the pesticide, an FDA spokesperson told Reuters. An analysis done by the news agency of the US regulatory data found that since 2021, an average of 14.5% of US shipments of MDH spices were rejected, external due to presence of bacteria. Both brands insist that their products are safe. The European Union (EU) has raised concerns of its own, discovering the same cancer-causing substance in samples of chilli peppers and peppercorns from India, external. Reports say that the Maldives, Bangladesh and Australian food regulators have also launched investigations.
Indian spices come in a range of varieties
• None India exports nearly $4bn worth of spices, accounting for 12% of global spice exports
• None China, the US and Bangladesh are the biggest markets for Indian spices
• None Other significant markets include the UAE, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the UK, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong
Clearly, it is a disturbing development. For one, both the brands are popular and trusted ones. Delhi-based MDH, an iconic 105-year-old family-run firm, offers a range of more than 60 blended and ground spices. The 57-year-old Everest Food Products, launched by a spice trader, claims to be India's "largest manufacturer of pure and blended spices", exporting to over 80 countries. Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood superstars, have served as Everest's brand ambassadors. To be sure, this is not the first time Indian spices have been found to be contaminated. In 2014, Ipsita Mazumdar, a biochemistry expert, tested popular spice brands in Kolkata which made chilli, cumin, curry powder, and garam masala. She found lead in the food colouring used to give the spices vibrant orange or red hues. And more recently in April, food and drugs control authorities in Gujarat seized more than 60,000kg of adulterated spices - chilli powder, turmeric and coriander power and pickle masala.
Delhi-based MDH, an iconic 105-year-old family-run firm, offers a range of more than 60 spices
So are Indian spices safe? The federal government has instructed all state governments to conduct quality tests. The Spices Board - which has five quality evaluation labs - has issued guidelines to exporters to check for use of ethylene oxide. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is also testing samples. India's health ministry claims, external the country has one of the world's strictest Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) standards, with pesticides' MRLs varying by food commodity and determined through rigorous risk assessments. But something is clearly amiss: in 2022, the FDA highlighted inadequate sanitary facilities, accommodation, and equipment cleanliness standards at a premier Indian spice plant. "India has been a spice exporter for centuries. But this image has been declining in the last few years, with the government's inadequate attention. We do not yet know at which stage the contamination is happening. Ethylene oxide is not used by farmers. It is most probably a post-harvest, post-processing residue," says Narasimha Reddy Donthi, an independent researcher and environmental justice activist. "It is not only the negative attention. Repeated cases of excessive residues can have a long-term effect. In the past, mango exports to the US suffered for years due to pesticide residues," Mr Reddy adds. Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) believes the recent quality concerns could threaten half of India's spice exports due to "cascading regulatory actions in many countries". If China questions the quality of Indian spices, over half of India's global exports could be affected, joining five other countries, the GTRI said in a recent report. "The situation could worsen if the EU, which regularly rejects Indian spice consignments over quality issues, follows suits." For spice enthusiasts in the West, the origin of the spices in their food remains unclear. "I don't think most people are aware of where their spices come from. I certainly don't, and I use spices a lot! I live a few blocks from Chicago's main Indian shopping district, Devon Avenue, which is where I buy my spice. l assume they come from India but have never looked into this," Colleen Taylor Sen, author of Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India, told me. In the end, experts say, India must fundamentally overhaul its approach to food safety, prioritising transparency, stringent enforcement and clear communication to safeguard the integrity of its exports. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-68989964 |
Sycamore Gap: Man pleads not guilty to cutting down tree - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, both from Cumbria, are accused of damaging the world-famous tree. | Tyne | Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers appeared at court on Wednesday
A man has pleaded not guilty to chopping down the world-famous Sycamore Gap tree. Daniel Graham, of 38, and Adam Carruthers, 31, were charged with criminal damage both to the tree and to Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland. Mr Graham, of Carlisle, entered pleas of not guilty to both charges before Newcastle magistrates. Mr Carruthers, of Wigton, Cumbria, entered no plea. The tree was cut down in September and the men were arrested in October. The criminal damage caused by the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree has been valued at more than £620,000, according to court documents. Harm to the tree has been valued at £622,191, with £1,144 for the wall. Both offences were alleged to have been committed on 28 September last year.
The tree, which had stood next to Hadrian's Wall since the late-1800s, was cut down in September
The felling of the much-photographed tree, which has stood next to the Roman wall since the late 1800s, caused an international outpouring of shock and dismay. The tree had been popular with visitors and tourists, with millions of people travelling to the Northumberland site. In a nine-minute hearing the men spoke to confirm their names and addresses. District Judge Zoe Passfield said she understood that "feelings are running high in respect of the case". Prosecutor Rebecca Brown said the case would be "instantly recognisable" and the Sycamore Gap tree was "deliberately felled". Both men were bailed until their next appearance, at Newcastle Crown Court on 12 June.
Daniel Graham denied causing the damage and Adam Carruthers entered no plea
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-69011665 |
Starmer and Sunak clash on security and prisoner releases at PMQs - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Labour leader seeks to turn the tables on the PM on the issue of security, quizzing him on prison overcrowding. | UK Politics | Though we didn't have anything quite so dramatic as a Tory crossing the floor (or vice-versa), today's PMQs proved to still be a rather eventful one.
Both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer seemed keen to bill themselves as the great defender on defence spending, whilst simultaneously attacking the other for being too complacent on national security.
But in case you missed any of that, you can read all about it here.
Today's page was written by Emily Atkinson, Emily McGarvey, Sam Francis, Aoife Walsh, Ece Goksedef and Joe McFadden and was edited by Nathan Williams, Marita Moloney and myself. Thanks for joining us. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-69012669 |
Newscast - Weighing Up Diet Drugs - BBC Sounds | 2024-05-15 | null | Obesity jabs 'could reduce heart attack risk' says new study | null | Can Rishi Sunak turn it around?
What was Project Sunak? And what is life like in Number 10? | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0hy0rg9 |
Who won the Kendrick Lamar v Drake beef? - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Fans have been captivated by a mind-boggling, escalating song-based conflict between two modern rap titans. | Entertainment & Arts | Drake and Kendrick Lamar - fans of both rappers have proclaimed their favourite the winner
"Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A-minor." With every second Kendrick Lamar holds on to the last letter of "minor" in Not Like Us, the inflammatory song about his fellow rapper Drake, his raspy vocals reverberate through hip-hop and popular culture. It's an explosive allegation, made without evidence, that calls into question Drake's conduct with young women - an allegation now heard around the world. Drake, one of the world's biggest artists, vehemently denies it. Since its release on 4 May, Not Like Us has been dissected on social media, played at NBA basketball games and boomed from DJ booths at parties from London to Los Angeles; New York to Atlanta, piercing the public consciousness. And it is only one of nine songs that make up a mind-boggling, escalating conflict between two modern rap titans, involving unevidenced accusations of domestic violence, secret children and paedophilia - all denied. This is a cold war that has simmered over the last decade finally boiling to the surface. "I think we've all expected this to happen at some point," says Minou Itseli, also known as Mimi The Music Blogger, a journalist and content creator. "They've been sending indirect shots to each other in their music a lot more than we first thought. But no one could have seen the beef go this far." Both men have been praised and criticised during the feud, and fans of both have proclaimed their favourite the winner. But who - if either - has come out of this looking good?
You'd be forgiven for blinking and missing some of the detail, given how fast this confrontation has moved. It began with Lamar's verse on Like That, by rappers Future and Metro Boomin. Drake responded with Push Ups, belittling Lamar's achievements and status as a rap legend. That track currently sits on more than 70 million streams on Spotify. Doubling down, Drake's controversial Taylor Made Freestyle utilised AI-generated voices of two of Lamar's heroes - Snoop Dogg and the late, great, Tupac Shakur - to goad him into a reply. Drake also claimed Lamar wasn't replying to his taunts for fear of interrupting the release of Taylor Swift's new album. Drake raps: "Taylor Swift is your new top" - meaning Lamar's boss - "and if you boutta drop, she gotta approve." The message was clear. Drake doesn't respect Lamar, who is considered one of the greatest rappers of his generation, and was ready to take him down a peg.
Joseph "JP" Patterson, editor-in-chief of Complex UK and founder of TRENCH magazine tells the BBC: "I might be the only person on this planet with this viewpoint, but Taylor Made Freestyle was pretty dope. I get the rap purist's dismay around him using AI verses but even down to the beat, I was feeling it." And then, fans waited with bated breath anticipating the next move. Those on social media felt Lamar wasn't up for the fight, given he had yet to respond. His rebuttal was Euphoria, a track questioning Drake's parenting skills, rumours that he'd had plastic surgery and his use of AI. Lines as straightforward as: "I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress" resonated with fans because of Lamar's heated delivery, highlighting everything - and he means everything - he dislikes about Drake. It was so impactful that Euphoria was used in an official TikTok video for US President Joe Biden's election campaign against Donald Trump. Itseli believes this track perfectly sums up Lamar's stance: "It's a summary of everything he wanted to say to Drake," she shares. "If anyone wants a short recap of Kendrick's side, you'll find everything in Euphoria."
Music blogger Itseli says Lamar was playing perfectly to his audience throughout the back-and-forth
Lamar's 6:16 In LA followed, where he muses: "Have you ever thought that OVO [Drake's record label] was working for me? / Everyone inside your team is whispering that you deserve it." He threatens to shine a forensic light on Drake's character to bring his reputation into disrepute, with help from inside Drake's own label. Itseli says that Lamar was playing perfectly to his audience throughout the back-and-forth. "Kendrick knew what to bring to the table and went for the kill. He studied Drake's behaviour and catered his songs to every audience. He gave us wordplay, a club hit, conceptual songs. Drake couldn't really compete." And with this one-two punch from Lamar, fans feared the walls were closing in on Drake. But the Canadian rapper went nuclear in response. Family Matters attacks Lamar's family unit, claiming his son is the biological child of Lamar's creative partner, Dave Free, and that he has been physically abusive to his wife, Whitney Alford. Drake sings: "When you put your hands on your girl, Is it self-defence 'cause she's bigger than you?" referencing the height difference between Lamar and his wife. Lamar has denied these claims, but the beef had now entered a new realm - one uncomfortable for many observers. In a culture that prides itself on the boundless nature of lyrical battle, where anything can be said about your opponent, some of the barbs have struck spectators as going too far. Music journalist Alphonse Pierre, writing in Pitchfork,, external said: "You have to consider the women who are the ones who have really suffered, who don't have the agency to speak for themselves. "Drake and Kendrick are not thinking about that at all. To them, this is all just material for jokes and trolling." And the allegations only ramped up from there. Meet The Grahams, Lamar's retort, directly addresses Drake's son Adonis, his mother Sandra, his father Dennis and an alleged secret daughter (denied by Drake) . Lamar tells Drake in a calming, almost therapeutic cadence: "You got gamblin' problems, drinkin' problems, pill-poppin' and spendin' problems." He also highlights Drake's alleged use of the diabetic drug Ozempic to lose weight. According to Lamar, Drake isn't who he says he is, and is a man broken beyond repair.
Though The Heart Part 6 would form Drake's next and - as of now - final rebuttal.
Not Like Us, released later that same day, is packed with accusations about Drake with lines such as "Certified Lover Boy, certified paedophiles" and "say, Drake, I hear you like 'em young, you better not ever go to cell block one" (the suggestion being that Drake would be the subject of physical abuse were he to go to prison). It was an incendiary record, but the world was listening and as of 11 May, Not Like Us was the number one song on Spotify's global chart, with over 57 million streams since its release. "Not Like Us is my favourite Kendrick diss track in this beef; just as brutal as it is a bop!" Patterson says. Though The Heart Part 6 would form Drake's next and - as of now - final rebuttal. The rappers appear done with the battle, ready to move on. Naturally, fans of both have flocked to proclaim each as the winner. Many have praised the lyrics as giving the genre a shot in the arm. Some have said Lamar has forced Drake to up his lyrical game, while others have commended the duo for providing an all-time moment in rap history. "All in all, Kendrick won this battle," Patterson declares. "Both dragged each other to hell with their lyrical jabs, but it's undeniable who came out on top. Drake will remain the superstar rapper that he is - this definitely won't stop his motion - but he'll need to be secure enough to take all the jokes and banter for losing for the rest of his career. Rap music wins, yet again." Itseli agrees on the winner. "This will be remembered as one of the biggest rap beefs of the past few decades. It was about culture: Kendrick caring about and preserving the essence of hip-hop against someone he feels doesn't represent it. "For rap fans, it has confirmed a lot of what they thought about Drake - that he plays a role; he's just a character that shifts to whichever music trends are popular at any time. Kendrick proved he cares about the art of rap music and can do it in his sleep. He's so nuanced in the way he creates that he has earned the respect of many." Elsewhere, rap commentators such as DJ Akademiks and Gillie The Kid have sided with Drake, calling him the winner. "The rules of battle were changed for Kendrick," DJ Akademiks told the Flagrant Podcast. "Drake was called scared for taking two weeks to respond to Like That, but when Kendrick takes two weeks to respond to Drake, everyone says he needs time. "The majority of this battle has been Kendrick Lamar saying, 'I'm going to pick you apart as a man.' But if what he's said is complete lies, it takes away from what he's saying." Whoever you think came out on top, one thing is certain. The beef has entertained the entire world, enhancing the legacies of two generational rap artists.
• None The feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar explained | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68993564 |
King enjoys 'most marvellous' record of Coronation - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | For 700 years there has been a handwritten account of coronations, and this one took 56 days to finish. | UK | The King and Queen were shown the 21-metre long roll, which the King said "goes on for miles"
King Charles has been presented with a beautifully illustrated record of his Coronation, almost a year after the historic service at Westminster Abbey. For at least 700 years, monarchs have been given a "Coronation roll". Stretching for 21 metres, the hand-stitched manuscript was written by calligrapher Stephanie von Werthern-Gill. And there are no nightmare spelling mistakes, bar a single dot missing over an 'i'. "Most marvellous illumination work," said the King, while Queen Camilla said she would need "my specs" to read it.
The Coronation roll is as much a work of art as an official record of events
For the first time, the manuscript did not use any animal skin. But spare a thought for the calligrapher who wrote it. Like a massive roll of historic wallpaper, the roll includes 11,500 elegantly inscribed words, using specially made ink. In an epic achievement of concentration, Stephanie says she kept going for 56 days, without any weekend breaks, determined to keep her rhythm going, phone switched off, her calm sustained by breathing exercises and classical music. "It was very intense," she says, but the outcome "feels like a piece of art". "All the right spelling?" joked the King, when he looked at the huge roll, which he said "goes on for miles".
In fact, there was only a single dot missing on a letter i in the hand-stitched pages of copperplate writing, which she'd managed to spot.
Stephanie von Werthern-Gill focused for 56 consecutive days on her copperplate handwriting of the 11,500-word document
The result was shown to King Charles and Queen Camilla at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, as the King continues his return to duties after more positive news about his ongoing cancer treatment. This is the official state record of a monarch's accession and Coronation, but it is now as much an artwork as a formal document. It includes intricate illustrations by Tim Noad, who must soon be the country's most widely viewed, but least well-credited, artist. Because as well as illustrating this historic document, he is the designer of the King's cypher, the logo that you will begin to see on new banknotes, public buildings, uniforms and eventually on new post boxes.
The digital version of the roll includes an interview with Penny Mordaunt
The roll records the ceremonies, processions and promises of the Coronation service and shows who was there in the Abbey, particularly those with a ceremonial role, as well as the long lists of royal guests, politicians and overseas representatives. But not everyone gets a mention. When the document is finally lodged in the National Archives, there will be no record of Ant and Dec or Katy Perry having been there. And there is not even a hello for Lionel Richie. They have been reduced to a catch-all heading of "Other groups". There is also no mention of the protests by anti-monarchists that day.
Ant and Dec were guests but have not made it into the record of the Coronation
This Coronation roll, the first for 70 years, is intended to be more accessible than its predecessors, so there will be an online video version at www.coronationroll.gov.uk, external with recordings of some of those present, such as Leader of the Commons Penny Mordaunt, famous for her sword-carrying skills. The King and Queen watched the video of themselves at their own Coronation. It was like the most upmarket-ever edition of Gogglebox. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, who presented the roll to the King, said: "For the first time, this Coronation roll will be digitised - bringing the tradition into the 21st Century and giving as many people as possible the opportunity to see it." Also for the first time the official signing of the roll was carried out in front of the cameras, at an event in the College of Arms in London, a venue atmospheric enough to have been used as a location in a James Bond film.
The rolls were once seen as important evidence of allegiance to a monarch, says Sean Cunningham of the National Archives
The finished roll, which travelled in a big covering of unhistoric looking bubble wrap, was carefully signed by the clerk of the crown in chancery, Antonia Romeo. The original documents, signed by the King on the day in Westminster Abbey, in big black ink, are also now stitched into this long scroll. The King, who has an occupational interest in signing things, looked at earlier versions of rolls on shiny parchment and said: "You'd have frightful difficulty signing on that."
The oldest surviving roll is from Edward II's Coronation in 1308
The oldest surviving roll is from the Coronation of Edward II in 1308. It is in remarkably good condition, considering it had been stashed away in the Tower of London for hundreds of years before later being more carefully protected in the National Archives. Until this latest 2024 roll, all the previous versions had been written on materials made from animal skin. But this time the roll has been recorded on high-quality paper, reflecting other modern changes such as the Coronation oils also being made animal-free. Dr Sean Cunningham, from the National Archives, said that rolls once had a very practical political purpose. It was documentary proof of the legitimacy of a reign, with evidence to show rebellious nobles about the promises they had made. "In medieval times when the crown was contested a lot more, these were important records of the authority of an incoming monarch. It's about the loyalty and allegiance to that new king," says Dr Cunningham.
The King and Queen watching the video version of their own Coronation
The rolls have also been crib sheets for how to run a Coronation. Charles II used them to find details "to add lustre and splendour to the solemnity" of his crowning in 1661. Medieval rolls were consulted for James II's Coronation in 1685. The early rolls were written in Norman French and Latin, with the first version fully in English not until 1820 and the Coronation of George IV. Queen Camilla raised the question: "Why are they called rolls not scrolls?", and the answer was because of the Rolls Chapel where they were kept. The roll for King Charles III, an exercise in craftsmanship as much as record-keeping, is expected to go on public display, before being stored in the National Archive, so that future generations can unroll this moment of history.
Sign up here to get the latest royal stories and analysis straight to your inbox every week with our Royal Watch newsletter. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68931958 |
General election 2024 poll tracker: How do the parties compare? - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | How do people say they will vote in the UK general election? Our poll tracker measures the trends. | UK Politics | With the local elections done and dusted, the next major test of voter opinion in the UK will be the general election, writes BBC senior political analyst Peter Barnes.
It's hard to read across from voting in council, mayoral and police elections to what would happen in a general election. But overall the results were deeply disappointing for the Conservatives and do nothing to dispel the picture suggested by national polls.
They remain stable. None of the parties has seen a significant change in their level of support since early March.
Attention will turn to announcements on the economy, including growth figures and interest rates. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68079726 |
'Corrupt ship inspectors demand our food and cargo' - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Seafarers tell the BBC port officials routinely demand bribes before allowing ships through. | Business | Ex-captain Stephen Gudgeon says he was once held at gunpoint after refusing to hand over cigarettes at a port
Seafarers have told the BBC port officials routinely demand cash, cigarettes, food and drink as bribes before allowing ships through. So-called "gratuities" are against international anti-corruption laws. But the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network said it received 5,183 reports in 2023. The International Association of Ports and Harbours is working to tackle it. Ex-captain Stephen Gudgeon said he was once held at gunpoint after refusing to hand over cigarettes at a port in Asia. "They took me ashore at gunpoint and I was locked up. I was photographed and fingerprinted, and I was interviewed by two officials in an empty room with just a chair, which I was locked into," he told the BBC. "And it was when they said to me, 'Would you like us to inform your family of your detention?' that I really got quite worried." Mr Gudgeon said eventually he was released with a $1,500 (£1,200) fine to pay for paperwork irregularities, which he believed were spurious and in retaliation for not handing over the cigarettes. The BBC has been unable to reach the ports authority in question to ask about the allegations. The MACN told the BBC it had received 61,000 reports in more than 1,000 ports across 150 countries since it opened an anonymous helpline in 2011. Cecilia Muller Torbrand, the head of the MACN, said experiences as intimidating as Mr Gudgeon's were uncommon but that the shipping industry was "quite exposed to corruption risks", and that the number of incidents reported would be "the tip of the iceberg". She said this was due to "the combination of frequent government interaction, shipping across multiple jurisdictions and the time element of sailing in and out of ports".
Mr Gudgeon added that some crew are too afraid to report incidents because they are on contracts and fear they will be blacklisted and unable to get another job. The former captain, who sailed for more than 40 years before retiring in 2022 and who is on the council of the Nautilus International union and volunteers for the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network, said crews met with bribery demands faced a difficult decision. "If the company found out you'd done it, you could be in real trouble. They could discipline you for forgiving gratuities when they quite clearly state that you shouldn't be doing it. But if you want the ship to be able to enter and leave port smoothly, then often these things happen." He said he had witnessed officials whose demands for gratuities had been refused helping themselves to the ship's food provisions.
Mr Gudgeon sailed for more than 40 years before retiring in 2022
Filipino officer John Soria told the BBC that when the container ship he was sailing on came into port in Eastern Europe in 2018, inspectors came on board and tried to take a large 5kg block of cheese that was to last the crew of 17 half a month. "He asked me, 'Is it possible to take this home?' I couldn't say no because he was already putting the cheese in the bag." Mr Soria said he called over the cook who negotiated to cut the cheese in half. "Half is for the vessel, half for him - so we settled with that." Prof Helen Sampson, director of the Seafarers International Research Centre at Cardiff University, said: "Sometimes when [crews have] had their provisions raided, they will sail and there won't be enough food left on board for everybody before the next port where they have a chance to resupply."
Guy Platten is the secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping, which is made up of national ship-owning associations, collectively representing 80% of the world's merchant fleet. He said he was aware that bribery demands were "very distressing for seafarers". "What we would encourage them to do is contact their company if they're getting these demands, and then the company can take it from there and can explain that there is not going to be any payment," he said. "We try and make sure that we act as one and progress is being made, but obviously it still happens."
The MACN told the BBC it was working with governments in nine countries to tackle corrupt officials, but conceded there was still much to do. Ms Muller Torbrand said the only way it could be stopped was if a majority of companies took a zero-tolerance approach. "[Captains] should not [say], 'You need to do whatever it takes to get the vessel out.' No, we challenge these practices as an industry." She said the MACN was working to help companies understand the risks, have better articulated policies and better internal escalation channels. The International Association of Ports and Harbours said it was working in partnership with the MACN. In a statement, it said: "Ports and their communities are endeavouring to work with their key stakeholders. "Tangible progress has been made in places such as the Gulf of Suez, the Indian subcontinent and in African countries such as Nigeria, as well as in South America such as Argentina. "This work alone is not enough as corruption in and around ports concerns many stakeholders. Port authorities can be involved, but so can customs authorities, shipping agents, freight forwarders, ship suppliers, pilots, surveyors and in fact any member of a particular port community. "It is only through a deep-rooted approach at combatting corruption across entire port communities and at the interface between ship and shore that an impact can be made in the long term." You can hear more about corruption at ports in Business Daily on the BBC World Service. And find out more about why some seafarers are going hungry in The Food Chain podcast. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68834241 |
Jack O'Sullivan: Why missing student's brother visits last known route daily - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Jack O'Sullivan, a 23-year-old student, never returned home from a house party two months ago. | Newsbeat | Ben O'Sullivan, pictured on the right, says his missing younger brother Jack is his best friend
For 10 weeks, Ben O'Sullivan's days have been spent visiting a Bristol flyover looking for his brother. Jack hasn't been seen since 2 March, when he was pictured walking across a grassy area near Brunel Lock Way in the Hotwells area. Ben's trying to imagine what Jack, who's four years younger, might have been doing and where he might have gone after leaving a party in the early hours. "We know he went to a pub in town and then went on with a few friends to house party in Hotwells," Ben, 27, tells BBC Newsbeat. "There's been a lot of unanswered questions since then. "But going down there has provided us a way of trying to get to the bottom of everything. "So this has become a daily routine almost." The last confirmed sighting of the 23-year-old student was at 03:13 GMT. But a couple of weeks ago, there was a possible breakthrough when CCTV picked up a figure walking over Plimsoll Bridge about 10 minutes later. Then, again, walking along Bennett Way at 03:38. Avon and Somerset Police told Newsbeat these were "likely sightings of Jack".
Other footage shows someone walking along Bennett Way on the north side of the River Avon
Evidence from Jack's phone reveals he tried to call a friend who was still at the party at 03:24, about the time he's believed to have been on the bridge. Ten minutes later, the friend called back but the call was disconnected before Jack had said more than "hello". Jack had been living at home with his parents who noticed he wasn't home by 05:00, even though he'd messaged them around 01:00 with plans to get a taxi. His phone remained active on the Find My Friends app until 06:44. "It was just very, very out of character," says Ben, who describes his brother as a "very smart, loving individual". "He's a best friend of mine, not just a brother." Immediately, the family sensed something was wrong. Before they called the police, Ben came from his home in nearby Clifton, asking people living near the party to check their doorbell cameras for any sightings. "Ever since then it's been every day," he says. "It's been very, very tough just trying to piece together information."
Not watching their rival clubs compete made Jack's absence "hit home", Ben says
Sunday was one of the toughest days so far when Ben's club, Arsenal, took on Jack's beloved Manchester United in the Premier League. "We'd always be watching that game together," says Ben. "And for the first time not being able to do that, it was strange. It's made him more determined than ever to get answers, continuing his daily ritual of trying to trace Jack's steps that night. "It's so surreal," says Ben. "It's like a puzzle but having your brother at the forefront of it, it's horrifying. "But I'm determined, my family's determined, to get the answers that we need."
Jack's family still has hope and Ben says they haven't ruled out any possibilities
Avon and Somerset Police told Newsbeat its officers had recently reviewed more than 100 hours of CCTV, sent specialist dive teams to comb the River Avon and dog teams to to search the local area. "We're still asking for the public's help in reviewing and supplying us with any relevant CCTV, vehicle dashcam, doorbell or mobile phone footage," Det Insp Jason Chidgey added. Officers are particularly focusing on Brunel Way, Brunel Lock Road, Junction Swing Bridge, Plimsoll Swing Bridge and the Portway.
When Ben's been to the Bennett Way flyover, he imagines all the drivers that might have seen his younger brother above the busy road. Police have told him "around about 400 vehicles" would have passed underneath in the time period of the last sightings. "So we're really just trying to appeal to anyone... Any little bit of information could be really useful," he says.
Det Insp Chidgey says Jack's family is going through "an unimaginable ordeal" and officers are committed to supporting them. Detectives are getting help from independent experts too, he adds, to "try and identify any lines of inquiry we still need to progress". For Ben, while the family waits for more information about what happened to Jack that night, the "theories and potential outcomes are endless". "It's hard to come to terms with it just because of what's outstanding," he says. "Until we have concrete answers, no potential option is out of the question. "The hope comes from the fact that this is very open-ended and until things are closed off, we're not going to let it rest."
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
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Video captures moment tornado rips through buildings - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | null | A tornado sent debris flying through the air when it touched down in the US state of Pennsylvania on Saturday. | null | A tornado sent debris flying through the air when it touched down in Venetia, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Local media reported that the storm knocked down trees and prompted people to take shelter. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69004630 |
Court cases delayed after pressure on prison places - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The measures are expected to be in place for about week in some regions in England where there is a lack of cells. | UK Politics | Ministers have triggered a plan which allows the criminal justice system to delay court cases of some suspects because of overcrowding in prisons. The emergency measure means some suspects will be released on bail, rather than sent to a cell, because their trial will be put off. It comes as the prime minister was questioned over the scheme allowing for the early release of some prisoners. Rishi Sunak insisted nobody deemed a public safety threat would be eligible. It is not clear how many suspects will be bailed under Operation Early Dawn, the plan to delay the start of some court cases now in force across England, which was triggered on Wednesday. Officials suggest the plan will remain in place for a week. David McNeill, the public affairs director of the Law Society, told the BBC's World at One programme that he was hearing "quite disturbing accounts" from members in courts describing the situation to delay court cases as "administrative carnage." "We're having victims, witnesses, lawyers and defendants turning up at magistrates' courts today only to find that the case has been cancelled and delayed to some point in the future." Tom Franklin, chief executive of the Magistrates' Association, said this confusion led to "a waste of resources, at a time when there are already large backlogs". Operation Early Dawn is in addition to another emergency measure, originally introduced in October, under which some convicted criminals are already being released to a home curfew, to free up cells. At PMQs on Wednesday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer asked for a guarantee from the government that no criminals considered high risk, including domestic abusers, were freed early as part of this scheme. He pointed to an example of one inmate who posed a danger to children, who had his release date brought forward - a case that was revealed in a new report by the prison's watchdog., external In response, Mr Sunak said: "There are strict eligibility criteria in place, with exclusions based on public safety and no-one will be put on the scheme if they were deemed a threat to public safety." Labour also called on the government to release information about the number of people released so far under the scheme and what their crimes were. A spokesperson for the party said it would scrap the early release system but was "under no illusion" this could be done immediately if Labour won the general election.
The plan to delay sending some cases to court emerged on Tuesday evening when criminal solicitors were informed by officials of the plans. The Ministry of Justice only confirmed the scheme publicly on Wednesday morning. When police and the Crown Prosecution Service charge a suspect with an offence, and they conclude the individual may need to be held on remand before a trial, the case is sent as quickly as possible to a magistrates' court. That court then decides whether or not to remand the individual to a prison while the trial is being prepared. In practice, this means some defendants who would expect to be sent from court to a remand prison cell will be told the start of their case is being delayed. That will mean police will have to release some of them on bail with a date to later attend court. The prison population has ballooned in recent decades as a result of tougher sentences and court backlogs. Government officials say the pandemic is partly to blame, because it led to an increase in the number of people being held in prisons for longer, awaiting jury trial. On Tuesday, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told MPs there were currently nearly 16,000 people in custody awaiting trial and "plainly that has an impact". Under Operation Early Dawn, the Ministry of Justice says that it now needs to control the flow of cases reaching this first day in court because of the pressure on cells. In a briefing sent to criminal solicitors, officials said their aim was to prioritise which defendants are dealt with. Using this mechanism is not unprecedented, but it is acknowledged by those in government to be a significant move in response to a difficult situation. Early Dawn was first implemented in March in north-west England before officials concluded this week that it had to be extended to the whole country.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman admitted magistrates and police were notified late last night due to extreme pressure on the prison system. He told the BBC: "To manage this demand we have brought on thousands of extra places at pace and will introduce strategic oversight of the transfer of remanded offenders from police custody to magistrate courts to maintain the running of the justice system." Shabana Mahmood MP, Labour's shadow justice secretary, said the government was "stalling justice" and "leaving victims in limbo". Ministers have already authorised the extension of a rolling early release scheme for some offenders who are near to the end of their sentence. The scheme will now direct the release to home curfew of some offenders up to 70 days before the end of their jail term - up from 18 days when the scheme was first introduced last October. Separately, about 400 police station cells have been set aside to help prisons deal with overcrowding. Law Society of England and Wales president Nick Emmerson said they had asked the Ministry of Justice for more information "to understand the full implications of this emergency measure". "What is crystal clear is the prison spaces crisis is a consequence of the government's approach to justice including over a decade of underfunding of our criminal justice system," he said. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69014154 |
Crew trapped on Baltimore ship, seven weeks after bridge collapse - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Morale is low for the Dali's crew members, who are stranded on board by the ongoing investigation into the tragedy. | US & Canada | The crew of the Dali remained on-board even as explosives were used to destroy part of the Key Bridge on its hull
As a controlled explosion rocked the Dali on Monday, nearly two dozen sailors remained on board, below deck in the massive ship's hull. The simultaneous blasts sent pieces of Baltimore's once iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge into the dark waters of Maryland's Patapsco River, seven weeks after its collapse left six people on the bridge dead and the Dali marooned. Authorities - and the crew - hope that the demolition will mark the beginning of the end of a long process that has left the 21 men on board trapped and cut off from the world, thousands of miles from their homes. But for now, it remains unclear when they will be able to return home. The Dali - a 948ft (289m) container ship - was at the start of a 27-day journey from Baltimore to Sri Lanka when it struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, sending thousands of tonnes of steel and cement into the Patapsco. It left the ship stranded under a massive expanse of shredded metal. A preliminary NTSB report found that two electrical blackouts disabled equipment ahead of the incident, and noted that the ship lost power twice in the 10 hours leading up to the crash. The crew, made up of 20 Indians and a Sri Lankan national, has been unable to disembark because of visa restrictions, a lack of required shore passes and parallel ongoing investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and FBI. On Monday, the crew remained on board even as authorities used small explosive charges to deliberately "cut" an expanse of the bridge lying on the ship's bow. Ahead of the controlled demolition, US Coast Guard Admiral Shannon Gilreath said that the crew would remain below deck with a fire crew at the ready. "They're part of the ship. They are necessary to keep the ship staffed and operational," Adm Gilreath said. "They're the best responders on board the ship themselves." While the ship is likely to be re-floated this week, it remains unclear when it will be able to make the 2 nautical mile (3.7km) journey to port.
Among those who have been in touch with the crew is Joshua Messick, executive director of the Baltimore International Seafarers' Center, a non-profit organisation that works to protect the rights of mariners. According to Mr Messick, the crew has been left largely without communication with the outside world for "a couple of weeks" after their mobile phones were confiscated by the FBI as part of the investigation.
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"They can't do any online banking. They can't pay their bills at home. They don't have any of their data or anyone's contact information, so they're really isolated right now," Mr Messick said. "They just can't reach out to the folks they need to, or even look at pictures of their children before they go to sleep. It's really a sad situation." The plight of the sailors also attracted the attention of the two unions representing them, the Singapore Maritime Officers' Union and the Singapore Organisation of Seamen. In a joint statement on 11 May, the unions said that "morale has understandably dipped", driven by "unfounded fear of personal criminal liability" and emotional distress. The statement also called for the "swift return" of the crews' phones, noting that losing communication with family members is "causing significant hardship for crew members with young children at home."
Dave Heindel, the president of the Seafarers International Union, said that "however long the investigation takes, the crew's rights and welfare should not be infringed upon". "We call on the authorities to be mindful that seafarers utilise mobile devices to conduct personal business for bill payments, and, more important, transfer money to their home country to sustain families," he said. "Crew members are becoming demoralised without the basic tools we all take for granted." Andrew Middleton, who runs Apostleship of Sea - a programme that ministers to ships coming through Baltimore - told the BBC he visited the sailors two weeks ago and found them in "good spirits" despite constant worries. "Once we broke the ice and got everyone to say their name and what part of India they were from, and talk about if they were married or had children, we got the ball rolling," he said. "They were willing to kind of poke fun at one another a little bit.... we did our best to get them laughing and joking, hopefully to take their mind off things for even a few minutes."
For the time being, the crew has been given SIM cards and temporary mobile phones without data included, according to Mr Messick. They also received care packages from various community groups and private individuals, which in recent weeks have included batches of Indian snacks and handmade quilts. The BBC has reached out to the ''unified command'' overseeing the government's response to Dali and the bridge collapse for clarity on when the sailors might be able to leave the ship and, eventually, be repatriated.
Darrel Wilson, a spokesperson for Synergy Marine, the Dali's Singapore-based management company, told the BBC that the crew is "holding up well" and that company representatives dispatched to Baltimore have been "checking on them constantly, from day one." "All their needs are being met to the best of our ability," Mr Wilson said, adding that shipments of catered Indian food have been sent aboard to allow the cooks to rest. Various religious representatives, including Hindu priests, have been providing services and emotional support to those aboard. "It's small things to us," he said. "But those are big morale boosters." Mr Wilson, however, said he was unable to provide a timeline for the crew to disembark, noting that - in addition to the investigations - "nobody knows the ship better than they do" and that they are integral for it to function. Mr Messick said he expects to be able to board the ship to provide "emotional support" as soon as it is moved out of the shipping channel. After that, he believes that small groups of sailors - perhaps five at a time - will be eligible for shore passes, albeit with heavy restrictions on their movements. They will, for example, likely be required to have an escort for the duration of their time on shore. "I'm trying to find out what the crew wants to do. I don't want to take them to a baseball game if they are going to be bored," he said. "So I've reached out to a local cricket club to see if they can organise a match." Some crew members, such as the ship's captain, expressed an interest in being "somewhere contemplative, in nature", Mr Messick said. "We're just trying to help them breathe a bit," he said. "They've been stuck on board this whole time. They need to enjoy a little more of the freedom that we enjoy every day." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69011124 |
Death by dangerous cycling set to become offence - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Cyclists who cause deaths could face similar penalties to drivers including sentences of up to 14 years. | UK Politics | Causing death or serious injury by dangerous or careless cycling is set to become an offence, after the government agreed to a change in the law. Under the change, dangerous cyclists could face up to 14 years in prison. It followed campaigning by Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith who said cyclists should be accountable for reckless behaviour. The law change will be introduced after Sir Iain proposed an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, which is currently going through Parliament. Speaking in the House of Commons, the former Conservative leader said his proposal was not "anti-cycling". "Quite the opposite, it's about making sure this takes place in a safe and reasonable manner," Sir Iain said.
He raised the case of Matthew Briggs, whose wife died from head injuries following a collision with a cyclist in London in 2016. Sir Iain told MPs that Mr Briggs' attempt to get a cyclist prosecuted "involved a legal process that was so convoluted and difficult" even the presiding judge raised concerns and said the laws "needed to be addressed". His proposed amendment creates an offence of causing death or serious injury by dangerous, careless or inconsiderate cycling. He said it would "achieve equal accountability" adding: "Just as drivers are held accountable for dangerous driving that results in death, cyclists I think should face similar consequences for reckless behaviour that leads to fatalities." Backing the change, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: "Most cyclists, like most drivers, are responsible and considerate. "But it's only right that the tiny minority who recklessly disregard others face the full weight of the law for doing so." Speaking to the BBC earlier this week, Duncan Dollimore from Cycling UK said he had "massive compassion" for people who had lost family members in collisions but that he did not believe there was a "huge gap" in the law. He said incidents were rare but that cyclists who had caused deaths had been charged, convicted and sent to prison under existing legislation. Chris Boardman, the cycling and walking commissioner for Active Travel England, told BBC Radio 5 Live there was a greater need to focus on deaths and injuries caused by motor vehicle collisions. The former Olympic cyclist said: "Everyone should obey the law of the road but there are more people that will be killed by cows and lightning than by cyclists... That's the context and perspective I'd like to put back into this conversation."
During debate of the Criminal Justice Bill, the government also confirmed it was accepting a number of other amendments from backbench MPs including one that strips child rapists of their parental rights. Labour MP Harriet Harman proposed the change after a BBC report of a mother who spent £30,000 trying to prevent the father of her child, a convicted paedophile, from having access to their daughter. Home Office Minister Laura Farris confirmed the government would also accept an amendment introducing tougher sentences for people who sexually abuse dead people. The proposal was brought forward by Conservative MPs Greg Clark and Dame Tracey Crouch - who represent constituencies in the area where David Fuller worked. Between 2007 and 2020, Fuller abused the bodies of more than 100 women and girls in Kent hospitals. Ministers also agreed to calls to create a criminal offence for the practice known as "cuckooing" where a person takes over a vulnerable person's home for illicit purposes. MPs will continue to debate the Criminal Justice Bill,, external after which it will head to the House of Lords.
What is your reaction to the new offence? Get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, external. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk, external. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69016715 |
Georgia: Riot police violently arrest protesters - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | null | Georgia's parliament voted through a law that critics say could be used to threaten civil liberties. | null | Riot police in Georgia have responded with force as protesters attempted to storm the parliament in Tbilisi.
Georgia's parliament voted through a divisive "foreign agent" law that critics say could be used to threaten civil liberties.
Read more on this story here. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69010376 |
Cost of living: Five tips when asking for a pay rise - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Recruiters, a manager and a workplace psychologist give their advice on how to negotiate for more money. | Business | If you feel like you're not getting paid enough, you're probably not alone. Increases in average wages have finally overtaken the pace of price rises, but many of us are still feeling the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. Last year saw waves of strikes, with tens of thousands of workers walking out in disputes over pay, jobs and conditions. Many of these strikes have taken place in the public sector, where workers often do not have the power to negotiate individually.
And whether you work in the public or private sector, even if you do have a conversation with your manager there's no guarantee that it will result in a pay rise. However, there are ways to give yourself the best chance of success. We spoke to recruiters, a manager and a workplace psychologist to get five tips on how to best negotiate for more money.
Jill Cotton, a career trends experts at jobs site Glassdoor, says scheduling a talk in advance will allow you and your boss time to prepare, and means you're more likely to have a productive conversation. "Don't spring this on your line manager," Ms Cotton says. "Be upfront and say that you want to book in a conversation that is specifically about pay." Rowsonara Begum, who helps her brother run Saffron Indian takeaway in Salisbury, says it also needs to be the right time for the business. The takeaway has five members of staff and occasionally takes on additional workers during busy periods.
Rowsonara Begum says workers seeking a pay rise should ask at a good time
She says if workers pick a time when the business is doing well, they will have the best chance of successfully negotiating more money.
If you're asking for a pay rise, you should have lots of evidence of why you deserve one. "Know what you've achieved either from a work setting or what you've done to develop yourself, maybe to support your team, support your line managers. List all the pros of what you've done," says Shan Saba, a director at Glasgow-based recruitment firm Brightwork. This evidence also helps your manager rationalise why you should be paid more, according to Stephanie Davies, a workplace psychologist. "The brain needs a 'why' - why should I pay you this amount?" she says. However, it's not just about bringing a list of all the things you've done. You should also be clear about what you want to do next, says Mr Saba. "If you have aspirations of moving up through your organisation, have a plan of what you're looking to do over the coming year."
When asking your boss for more money, it helps if you're confident and know your worth. That's something Ms Begum has noticed, from her experience of having these talks with staff. "Here in Salisbury, it's quite difficult to get the staff we need," she says. "It's also become harder to recruit from overseas. So workers have negotiating power because they know there's a shortage." Often people don't feel confident because there is a "stigma" around talking about pay, says Glassdoor's Jill Cotton, but it's "an important part of work". Women and people from minority backgrounds can often find it particularly hard to ask for more more, adds psychologist Stephanie Davies. Her advice to them is to ask for a mentor or role model, who can help guide them through those conversations.
Most experts agree it's best to have an exact figure in mind before embarking on a conversation about pay. Do your research, advises James Reed, chair of recruitment firm Reed. "You can go online and look at job adverts and see what other comparable jobs are being recruited for and what the salaries are," he says. Ms Cotton warns the figure should be realistic. "We would all love to be paid millions of pounds every single year. But we are being paid to fulfil a role with the skillset we have," she says.
If the above steps don't result in a pay rise, try not to be disheartened. "Sometimes these conversations can take a while, even months, but it's important to keep the communication open," says Ms Begum. Pay is also not the be-all and end-all, says Mr Reed. "It's not just necessarily about money. You might be able to get more holiday or more flexibility around working hours," he says, adding you could also negotiate extra training and development. And if you don't feel you're getting what you want from your employer, remember, there are other opportunities out there. "You can always look elsewhere, that's the really big lesson," says Ms Davies. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64288791 |
Mike Johnson and Vivek Ramaswamy: Republicans flock to court to show they stand with Trump - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Speaker Mike Johnson's appearance reflects how the fate of the ex-president and his party are intertwined. | US & Canada | Speaker Mike Johnson (left), former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (centre) and Congressman Cory Mills at the trial on Tuesday
When Donald Trump's criminal trial began, his courtroom entourage consisted of a gaggle of lawyers and campaign aides. This week, it's started to look more like a preview of July's Republican National Convention. With Michael Cohen, Mr Trump's former lawyer and pivotal witness for the prosecution, on the stand, the number of prominent Republican officeholders in attendance has expanded dramatically. On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson - the top Republican in the US - met the former president at the courthouse in Manhattan, greeting him with a smile and a nod. Then, while the hush-money trial was still ongoing, he gave a brief statement to the press outside. "I am disgusted by what is happening here," he said, "what is being done to our entire system of justice." Mr Trump denies 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. New York prosecutors are using a novel legal theory to argue that the alleged cover-up amounts to election interference. Mr Johnson called the trial a "sham" and a "disgrace," said Cohen was a proven liar, and claimed that Mr Trump was being targeted by his political opponents to keep him off the presidential campaign trail as he tries to win back the White House. He even boasted about the size of the crowd at Mr Trump's Saturday campaign rally in New Jersey.
It was a dramatic show of support by the man second in line to the US presidency, and it came just a week after Mr Johnson survived a challenge to his congressional leadership from within his own party - a challenge that fizzled, in part, because Mr Trump repeatedly spoke out in his favour. If the mutually beneficial relationship between Mr Trump and Mr Johnson was on full display on Tuesday, it was emblematic of how intertwined Mr Trump's legal fate has become with the fate of the Republican Party during this election year. A parade of US senators and congressmen, top Republican officials, and campaign aides trail in behind the former president each morning as a physical show of political unity.
Senator JD Vance takes a photo as Donald Trump and his lawyer speak during a break in his criminal trial
Many have sat behind the former president in the courtroom or stood nodding while he has given his impromptu press statements before and after the day's trial. They have given their own press conferences, as well, directly challenging the veracity of the prosecution's witnesses and questioning the political motivations of the presiding judge's family. Those are topics Mr Trump is prohibited from addressing because of a court-issued gag order for which the former president has been fined 10 times for violating. Further transgressions could land him in jail for contempt of court. Some Republicans, like Senators Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Rick Scott of Florida, as well as multiple state-level officials, seem content to use their attendance to gain favour with their party's leader and share a portion of the spotlight that the trial has generated. Others may have more immediate interests. This week several rumoured vice-presidential contenders have joined Mr Trump in the courtroom. The VIPs have included Senator JD Vance of Ohio, Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida and former Republican presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. On Tuesday, the latter three filled the first row of benches behind Mr Trump in the courtroom, as if waiting their turn to audition for the party's presidential ticket. (They were gone by mid-morning, perhaps more interested in the cameras outside the courtroom than the testimony inside it.)
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: 'Just do it' - Michael Cohen reveals what Trump told him about payment
Mr Trump's criminal trial is uncharted territory, and there is no playbook for how members of a political party should handle their former president - and their current presumptive presidential nominee - sitting in the criminal dock. In the early days of the trial, few Republicans showed up. But after Senator Scott attended last week, a trickle has turned into a flood, only further blurring the lines between the political and the legal in the New York courthouse. If there was ever any doubt that Mr Trump's trial would turn into a political spectacle, that question has now been firmly answered - and the proceedings are far from over. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69011216 |
Harry and Meghan's charity back in good standing - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | US charity authorities say Archewell's registration is in order after a warning notice. | UK | Prince Harry and Meghan on a visit to Nigeria last week
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's charitable Archewell Foundation is back in "good standing" say US authorities, after a previous warning notice over registration. A spokesman for the couple said the charity was fully compliant with regulators and that payments had been made promptly. It follows an earlier warning letter from State of California Department of Justice over the registration process. But that now has been resolved. "All necessary paperwork had been filed by the foundation without error or wrongdoing," said a statement from Archewell.
Earlier this week a spokesman for Prince Harry and Meghan had said that all the registration documents had been submitted on time, but a cheque that had been sent had not been received. Once Archewell had been notified of the problem, a "new cheque has been mailed", their spokesman had said. The warning letter from the State of California Department of Justice had delivered a "delinquency notice" to the Archewell Foundation, over their registration status. But the US state authorities now say that the "organisation is current and in good standing" with the registry of charities and fundraisers. The issue had not been about tax filings, which a spokesman said had been submitted in full and paid on time. Tax filings for 2022, published last year, showed Archewell had holdings of $11m (£9m) and made donations of $1.2m (£960,000) last year, including $100,000 (£80,000) for the Halo Trust, a mine-clearing charity once supported by Princess Diana. Other funded projects included $200,000 (£160,000) for a "gender justice" project in Washington, $125,000 (£100,000) for a civil-rights charity and $100,000 (£80,000) for a project promoting responsible use of technology. Archewell was founded when Prince Harry and Meghan moved to the US and stepped down from being working royals. Earlier this year there was an overhaul of the couple's operation, with a new sussex.com website, under the title of the Office of Prince Harry and Meghan. The couple have just completed a visit to Nigeria, following celebrations in the UK to mark the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-69018397 |
France prison van attack: Huge manhunt after prison officers killed in ambush - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Armed men rammed a prison van at a tollbooth, opened fire on officers and fled with prisoner Mohamed Amra. | Europe | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Two French prison officers have been killed in an ambush on a prison van near Rouen in Normandy. Prisoner Mohamed Amra - known as "The Fly" - was being taken from court to a prison when a car rammed the prison van at a toll booth. Gunmen then opened fire at prison officers, with two officers killed and two critically injured. Several hundred police officers and gendarmes have been deployed to carry out a manhunt. French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X that "everything is being done to find the perpetrators". Prosecutors identified the inmate who was freed as Mohamed Amra, born in 1994. Amra was convicted of burglary on 10 May and had been indicted by prosecutors in Marseille for a kidnapping that led to a death.
The 30-year-old inmate is said to have ties to a gang in the southern city of Marseille, which has been plagued by drug-related gang violence. At the time of the ambush which led to his escape he was being transported back to jail in the town of Évreux after attending a morning court hearing in Rouen. The ambush took place around 11:00 (09:00 GMT) near a toll booth on the A154 motorway. The officers were shot with "heavy weapons" by the prisoner's accomplices, according to French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti. The attackers escaped in a car which police believe they have now recovered, abandoned near the toll gate where the attack happened.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Hooded gunmen seen in footage taken from passing bus
Roadblocks have been set up across north-west France, with police following up on every tip-off. Speaking to the media following a crisis unit meeting, Mr Dupond-Moretti confirmed that two officers had died. "One leaves behind a wife and two children who were meant to celebrate their 21st birthday in two days. The other leaves a wife who is five months pregnant," he said. "Everything - and I mean everything - will be put in place to find the perpetrators of this vile crime," Mr Dupond-Moretti said, adding that the perpetrators were "people for whom life has no value". They would be found and punished "in a way that is proportionate to the crime", he said. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69008577 |
Elton John on V&A exhibition: 'I collect photos but hate ones of myself' - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The singer was speaking exclusively to BBC News ahead of the launch of a new V&A exhibition. | Entertainment & Arts | Elton John and David Furnish have many photos of Marilyn Monroe in their collection (here preparing for a scene from "The Misfits" in the Nevada desert, 1960)
Sir Elton John has said that even though he collects photographs, he "hates" ones of himself. The singer was speaking exclusively to BBC News ahead of the launch of a V&A exhibition of photographs from his and his husband David Furnish's collection. More than 300 prints from more than 140 photographers are on show in Fragile Beauty. But Sir Elton said: "I would never put myself up on the wall [at home], no thank you." The exhibition spans from the 1950s to the present day and includes portraits of jazz musicians Miles Davis and Chet Baker, and actress Marilyn Monroe.
David Furnish and Sir Elton John with their sons, Elijah and Zachary at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party in 2015
But what's notably absent is any images of Sir Elton himself while performing. "It's extraordinary that I collect photographs because I don't like being photographed," the 77-year-old singer said. "I find it really painful." Sir Elton said that he also doesn't like taking photographs, despite his passion for the art form. "The paradox of someone who appreciates and has a sophisticated eye for photographs yet cannot stand to be photographed is not lost on me," Furnish said with a laugh. "I think what keeps Elton sane is the fact he's able to compartmentalise what he does on stage as a performer versus who he is in his everyday life."
Elton John and David Furnish have championed young artists -- including this one "Simply Fragile", 2022 by Tyler Mitchell, which the singer says is "fabulous and funny"
The exhibition follows their 2016 show from Sir Elton and Furnish's collection at the Tate Modern, which covered the period from 1920 to 1950. It features historic moments from the civil rights movement to Aids activism, and includes works by Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman, William Eggleston, Diane Arbus, Ai Weiwei and others. The majority of the photographs are being displayed to the public for the first time. Sir Elton said he was "absolutely blown away" to see the items on the walls. "We've collected these photographs over many years, and some of them I'd forgotten we had, because you buy photographs and they go straight into storage," he said.
Untitled Film Still #17, 1978 by Cindy Sherman, who David Furnish says shows "what women have to become, the roles they have to play"
Figures from the US Civil Rights movement including Malcolm X, taken by Eve Arnold in Chicago in 1962, feature strongly in the collection
"And a lot of them I haven't seen hung properly or hung at all. And so walking through, it's been hung so beautifully and the different sections and wall colours. I couldn't be happier. I'm just astonished by what we've collected and so proud of what we've collected because we both love photography so much." Sir Elton said that there was also "a lot of pain and grief" on the walls, including images from the events of 11 September 2001. "This is the first time I've ever shown our 9/11 photographs," he said. "Every time we get them out we think, is it going to be OK to show them, is it too raw?" Of the 2,000 images of 9/11 they own, they are exhibiting just four. Sir Elton insisted it was important to collect images of that pain. "The image of the man falling vertically from the World Trade Centre is one of the most beautiful images I've ever seen and yet it's one of the most tragic," he said. "And sometimes in tragic images, whether it's paintings or photographs, there's a lot of beauty. And that's why the show's called Fragile Beauty, because there's beauty in everything."
Robert Mapplethorpe's Poppy,1988, is a metaphor for a brief and fragile beauty
The collection also includes photographs of the storming of the Capitol in Washington DC on 6 January 2021. Sir Elton it was important to "keep a record" of events like that, which are historic. "We live in an age now where people seem to want to rewrite history and want to deny truth," added Furnish. "I think when things are captured photographically, it's irrevocable. It really locks it in time."
Self portrait, 1985 by Robert Mapplethorpe, who died of AIDS
Sir Elton said he never noticed photography "until I got sober in 1990". "I'd had my photograph taken by all the top photographers, mostly anyway, but I never considered photography as an art form," he said. But after he became sober, he was in the South of France and got hooked when he saw a friend buying photographs. "I went, 'oh, these are so beautiful'. And I noticed the art form for the first time. And so from that time, I was bitten, and investigated and read and collected... and bought a lot." A shared love of photography also helped the pair connect when they first met, said Furnish.
Jimmy Paulette and Taboo! In the Bathroom, 1991 by Nan Goldin, who Elton John and David Furnish say captured a big part of what the singer's life was like in the 1980s
"The night we met at Elton's house in Windsor, the thing that we bonded over was photography," he said. "By the end of the night I felt something very special, and I think [he] did too." For the exhibition, curators have created eight thematic sections covering subjects such as fashion, celebrity, the male body and American photography - with the show set to be the largest temporary photography exhibition in the V&A's history.
For this portrait "Egg On His Face" by David LaChapelle in 1991 - Elton John picked up two rubber fried eggs and put them under his glasses as a joke
And two photographs of Sir Elton did make the cut - one of which is particularly unusual. It's a portrait of the singer by David LaChapelle from 1991, which shows him with fried eggs for eyes. "It was completely spontaneous because David was taking Elton's picture and the fried eggs were actually a model on the table," Furnish explained. "And completely spontaneously, Elton picked the plastic eggs up and put them under his glasses. And David grabbed it. "And that for me says more about Elton's personality and his sense of humour and irreverence, than anything. And that's what I love about photography. It can capture a moment and preserve something that isn't immediately obvious." Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection in partnership with Gucci will run from 18 May 2024 to 5 January 2025. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68891314 |
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Zelensky cancels foreign trips as Russia attacks north-east Ukraine - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | As Ukraine says it's pulling back troops from some areas, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announces extra funding in Kyiv. | Europe | Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a news conference today Image caption: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a news conference today
In Kyiv, Anthony Blinken said the US was rushing ammunition to Ukraine’s front lines.
Washington feels the sense of urgency, because it alone has been to blame for the critical delay in sending new American weapons to its ally.
Ukraine is said to burn up about $2.5bn worth of munitions a month.
From last summer the White House tried to get tens of billions of dollars of new funding approved to replenish its arms.
But Congress wouldn’t back it, gripped by partisan divisions in which the right of the Republican Party and allies of Donald Trump, focused on blocking the spiralling budget demands for Ukraine’s defence.
It even became a key factor in them ousting their own speaker of the House Of Representatives last year.
With the deadlock finally broken three weeks ago, and a $60bn package passed, the Biden administration is now trying to make up for lost time and get artillery shells and air defence interceptors urgently onto the battlefield.
That said, Ukraine’s problems aren’t all about a scarcity of arms - it also has a manpower shortage that’s handed more of the advantage to Moscow.
At today’s news conference, a Ukrainian journalist pressed Blinken on whether he would match the British Foreign Secretary David Cameron by saying Ukraine had a right to strike inside Russian territory.
Blinken would not take the bait, repeating his line that the US doesn’t encourage or enable strikes outside of Ukraine - but that the US would still back it with equipment while it made its own decisions on conducting what he called a defensive war.
He is walking right up to this line. But not crossing it. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-69015343 |
Slovak PM Fico attends cabinet meeting before being shot - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | null | Mr Fico was shot a number of times as he was leaving the meeting in the town of Handlova. | null | Footage shows Slovak Prime Minister Fico attending a government meeting in the town of Handlova.
He was shot a number of times as he was leaving the meeting, in what officials called an assassination attempt.
Slovakia's president-elect Peter Pellegrini has said he is horrified by the attack, echoing many other European leaders. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69017193 |
Watch: King Charles greets guests at Buckingham Palace garden party - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | null | Queen Camilla was also in attendance at the first of Buckingham Palace's two annual summer parties. | null | King Charles III waves his top hat and shakes hands with guests at a Buckingham Palace garden party on Wednesday.
He is joined by his wife, Queen Camilla, for the first of two summer parties the Palace will host this year.
The King took a break from public-facing duties after announcing his cancer diagnosis in February. He has since returned to some public appearances while his cancer treatment continues.
Prince Harry is also in London on a flying visit from his home in California, but he will not meet the King. Harry's spokesman said the King's "full programme" prevented the two from meeting. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68980476 |
Mothers of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA allege 'abuse' - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The two spoke out in an interview on behalf of their daughters, whom they say are silenced by NDAs. | US & Canada | The mothers of former Miss USA and Miss Teen USA have spoken out about why their daughters stepped down from their titles.
One mother told a US morning news show that "the job of their dreams turned out to be a nightmare".
Both pageant queens resigned just one day apart from each other last week.
Miss USA and Miss Teen USA said last week that they support the two titleholders' decision to step down and would announce a successor.
Miss Universe, which runs the sister pageants, has not addressed the allegations of abuse and bullying. The BBC has contacted the organisation for comment.
The two mothers told ABC's Good Morning America on Tuesday that they were speaking out on behalf of their daughters as they are bound by non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
Barbara Srivastava, mother of Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava, was interviewed alongside Jackeline Voigt, the mother of former Miss USA Noelia Voigt.
Ms Srivastava told the programme that their families "could not continue this charade".
They alleged their daughters had been "ill-treated, abused, bullied and cornered", and asked for an apology from Miss Universe Organization.
Noelia Voigt was the first of the two to resign on 6 May, citing mental health struggles.
"Never compromise your physical and mental wellbeing," the 24-year-old wrote in a post on Instagram. "Our health is our wealth."
Some fans speculated on the meaning behind her note, which they said seemed to spell out "I am silenced" in the first 11 sentences.
Her mother declined to answer whether the cryptic message was intentional, but said she felt her daughter had been silenced by the organisation.
"And she would be for the rest of her life if this NDA is not [lifted]," she added.
Noelia Voigt's resignation came three days after Miss USA's social media director, Claudia Michelle, announced her own resignation from the brand, citing alleged "workplace toxicity and bullying" and saying that titleholders "should be heard and not silenced".
Just one day after Noelia Voigt's exit, UmaSofia Srivastava resigned from her title as Miss Teen USA. The 17-year-old also made the announcement on Instagram, writing that her "personal values no longer fully align" with the pageant organisation.
UmaSofia Srivastava's mother said in the interview that her daughter was mistreated by the Miss Universe Organization and that her personal social media was surveilled.
She said her daughter's resignation was prompted by Noelia Voigt's exit.
Both mothers called for an end to participation in all Miss USA-affiliated pageants, saying they do not want others to experience the same mistreatment their daughters allegedly faced.
The Miss Teen USA runner-up, Stephanie Skinner, 19, told the New York Post, external on Monday that she doesn't want the crown either.
"I ultimately came to the decision to decline it," she said, adding that she was "standing in solidarity and standing up for female empowerment".
"My integrity and my character will always come before crowns." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69006675 |
London transport: Call for ban of 'floating' bus stops - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The National Federation of the Blind wants an end to the "chaotic and downright dangerous" design. | London | Campaigners have called for a ban of so-called floating bus stops in London. The design, which has a cycle lane between the stop and the pavement, is intended to allow bus passengers to get on and off safely while cyclists can keep moving. Transport for London (TfL), which has funded 160 of the stops, says the likelihood of being injured by a cyclist at a bypass is "very low". The Department for Transport says schemes should be accessible to all. The National Federation of the Blind UK's (NFB) has produced a petition which as been signed by more than 270 organisations and will be handed in to Downing Street later. It comes after a video posted by the NFB , externalthat shows what it describes as "the chaotic and downright dangerous situation" at a bus stop bypass outside St Thomas' Hospital near Waterloo. It showed a pedestrian walking into a cycle lane and falling to the ground after a cyclist knocks him off balance. "These designs are not safe and they need to be urgently halted," it posted.
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Age UK London, the London Sports Club for the Blind and Disability Rights UK are among the signatories of the petition. Last month, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan told the BBC the "floating" stops were installed during his second term because "a disproportionate number of cyclists" had been "injured and killed as a consequence of buses". Sarah Gayton, street access campaign coordinator for the NFB, stressed that the organisation was not calling for the wholesale removal of cycle lanes. "We're calling for a redesign of cycle lanes around bus stops so the bus can pull up directly to the pavement so blind and visually impaired people can board the bus directly without having to cross - or step into - a cycle lane," she said. "Blind people have fewer choices. Cyclists can see and stop. We want the floating bus stops and the shared use bus borders to be removed." Caroline Russell, a Green Party member of the London Assembly, backed the "floating" bus stops due to what she said was "overwhelming" evidence that the design had reduced the number of people killed or seriously injured. Speaking in the assembly, Ms Russell on Monday, she said: "We also have to acknowledge that there are people riding bikes who are inconsiderate. "There are also people driving cars who are incredibly inconsiderate and it's the inconsiderate people in cars who overwhelmingly kill and injure."
This bus stop outside St Thomas' Hospital features in an NFB video
Ms Russsell said that measures like tactile (raised) paving, clear zebra crossings and different coloured tarmac at floating bus stops could make them safer, as well as announcements on buses reminding people when a bus stop bypass is approaching. She added: "It's all about avoiding getting into battle lines, looking at the evidence and making sure you're listening to people and particularly the most vulnerable in that transport hierarchy, which [includes] a blind person walking." Christina Calderato, TfL's director of transport strategy and policy, said: "Keeping everyone travelling in the capital safe is our top priority and we're determined to make the network as inclusive as possible, which is why we have carried out an extensive review of safety at bus stop bypasses. "Our analysis suggests that bus stop bypasses have not led to a reduction in bus stop use by older or disabled customers. "Any moratorium on bus stop bypasses would put at risk the programme of work we are undertaking to improve cycle safety in London and encourage more people to cycle." A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "TfL are responsible for these schemes in London but we expect them to engage with disability groups and follow our guidance which clearly sets out that all infrastructure designs should be accessible for everyone."
Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, external, X, external and Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk, external | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-69001698 |
France prison van attack: 'Unprecedented' manhunt for escaped prisoner - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Hundreds of police officers are deployed in the search for Mohamed Amra and the men who freed him. | Europe | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
An "unprecedented" manhunt is taking place in northern France for a prisoner who escaped during a deadly ambush. Mohamed Amra, known as "The Fly", was being taken back to jail from a court in Normandy on Tuesday when a car rammed his prison van at a toll booth. Armed men then opened fire on the vehicle, killing two officers and seriously injuring three others. The shooting marks the country's first fatal attack on prison staff for more than 30 years. "All means are being used to find these criminals," French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. Mr Darmanin told French media on Wednesday the attack was an act of "cold-blooded barbarity" and that around 450 gendarmes and police officers had been mobilised in the Eure department of Normandy in an "unprecedented" search. President Emmanuel Macron has told France that "everything is being done to find the perpetrators". Meanwhile, French prison officer unions have called for walkouts at institutions across the country on Wednesday in support of the two who died. Hundreds of staff at prison and detention centres across the country have been been staging work-to-rule protests, where they will only perform essential tasks. In a joint statement, the unions demanded urgent measures to improve staff safety - including the "drastic reduction of extraditions" of prisoners to court hearings, by promoting video-conferencing, and an "overhaul" to escort levels. A minute's silence will be taking place on Wednesday at 11:00 (09:00 GMT), and there have been demonstrations outside of French prisons, including in Paris according to local media. French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti has said he would meet with union representatives.
Prison staff have been staging protests across the country after the attack in northern France
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Paris state prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the attack took place just before 11:00 local time when the van carrying Amra crossed the toll barrier in Incarville in the Eure region of northern France and "immediately, a Peugeot vehicle hit it from the front to stop it". "Men with long guns got out, joined by other armed men who got out of an Audi vehicle, which was likely following the prison vehicle." They "fired several times" at the two vehicles, killing and injuring officers, before leaving the scene and taking Amra with them. The Paris prosecutor said two vehicles believed to have been used by the criminals were found scorched, in different locations, later on Tuesday.
Mr Dupond-Moretti told reporters on Tuesday one of the officers killed "leaves behind a wife and two children who were meant to celebrate their 21st birthday in two days". While the second officer killed, aged 34, leaves behind a wife who is five months pregnant. Three other officers were injured in the attack. As reported by local media, Ms Beccuau said the three injured officers are also fathers - aged 48, 52 and 55 years old. "Everything - and I mean everything - will be put in place to find the perpetrators of this vile crime," Mr Dupond-Moretti said, adding that the perpetrators were "people for whom life has no value". They will be found and punished "in a way that is proportionate to the crime", the justice minister added.
Mohamed Amra is known as "The Fly"
Amra was convicted of burglary on 10 May and had been indicted by prosecutors in Marseille for a kidnapping that led to a death. His lawyer, Hugues Vigier, told French news channel BFMTV "he would like to believe that he [Amra] didn't know about the plan to free him". "For me this plan doesn't match with what I know of him. If he's behind it then I failed to understand who he is," Mr Vigier added. According to some French media reports, external, Amra had tried to escape his prison cell earlier this week by trying to saw the cell's bars. Ms Beccuau, the capital's state prosecutor, told a news conference Amra had 13 convictions, with the first one dating back to October 2009 - when he was 15 years old. Although the now 30-year-old was not a "closely watched inmate", the Paris prosecutor said his transportation required a "level three escort". Amra is said to have ties to a gang in the southern city of Marseille, which has been plagued by drug-related gang violence. But his criminal record to date does not contain any convictions for drug offences, the Paris prosecutor said on Tuesday.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69013194 |
Blinken says China helping fuel Russian threat to Ukraine - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The US Secretary of State was speaking to the BBC at the end of a three-day trip to China. | China | US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned Washington will act if China does not stop supplying Russia with items used in its assault on Ukraine.
Speaking to the BBC in Beijing, the US's top diplomat said he had made clear to his counterparts they were "helping fuel the biggest threat" to European security since the Cold War.
He did not say what measures the US was prepared to take.
But Mr Blinken was also keen to stress progress had been made in some areas.
He praised Beijing for making efforts in stopping supplies of the drug fentanyl reaching the US.
China remains the principal source of fentanyl for the US, which the White House has said is causing a public health crisis across the country.
Mr Blinken also stressed he felt Beijing can play a "constructive" role in the Middle East, pointing towards China using "its relationship with Iran to urge" against further escalation in its confrontation with Israel.
The visit - the second in 10 months made by Mr Blinken - forms part of a significant increase in dialogue and diplomacy between these rival powers as they attempt to put relations on an even keel after a period of immense tension last year.
Relations between Washington and Beijing have been strained by China's claims over Taiwan and the South China Sea, and US export bans on advanced tech. They were further damaged by a row over a spy balloon last February.
In recent days, the US passed a law that would force Chinese-owned TikTok to sell the hugely popular video app or be banned in America - something Mr Blinken earlier revealed had not come up in his meeting with China's President Xi Jinping.
Mr Xi - who met Mr Blinken on Friday afternoon in Beijing's Great Hall of the People - agreed the two sides had "made some positive progress" since he met his US counterpart, Joe Biden, in November.
He added the countries should "be partners, not rivals", saying that if the US took "a positive view of China's development", relations could "truly stabilise, get better and move forward".
Mr Blinken told the BBC that one of the key routes for "better relations" between China and both the US and Europe would be for Beijing "or some of its enterprises" to stop providing "critical components" that help Russia make more munitions. The components include items such as "machine tools, micro-electronics, and optics".
"It's helping Russia perpetuate its aggression against Ukraine, but it's also creating a growing threat to Europe because of Russia's aggression," he explained, adding it was "helping to fuel the biggest threat to [Europe's] insecurity since the end of the Cold War".
"We've taken action already against Chinese entities that are engaged in this," he said. "And what I make clear today is that if China won't act, we will."
Mr Blinken - who hinted at sanctions as a possible route - was keen to stress that China was not directly supplying Russia with weapons.
In his interview with the BBC, Mr Blinken said it remained important to see if the two countries could "build greater cooperation in areas where we have mutual interest", including artificial intelligence and military communications. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-68905475 |
Michelle O'Neill 'making a pig's ear of this', say DUP WhatsApps - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | More than 60 pages of DUP WhatsApp messages have been published by the Covid Inquiry | Northern Ireland | More than 60 pages of WhatsApp messages between Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) ministers have been published by the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. The messages give an insight into the thoughts of some of the party's most senior figures as the pandemic spread. The WhatsApp group chat covers the period between January and November 2020. No internal messages between Sinn Féin politicians have been published by the inquiry. Michelle O'Neill, whose WhatsApp messages from this period were wiped from the devices issued to her as deputy first minister, has told the inquiry that she accepts that these messages should not have been deleted. "I accept that I should have kept my additional exchanges, in particular with Arlene [Foster], and anything else that was relevant," she said. But DUP politicians' messages have been published and they are often candid. They include jibes at ministers from other parties in Stormont's executive. On 17 January, six days after the executive was restored following a three-year-hiatus, a person whose name has been redacted by the inquiry wrote: "SF [Sinn Féin] doesn't seem to have matured at all!" Emma Little-Pengelly, who was then a DUP special adviser and is now deputy first minister, replied with apparent sarcasm. "Well, why not - let English taxpayers subsidise our free prescriptions, lower rates, no water charges, lower tuition fees and free prescriptions.. but hey, how dare you guys starve us of funding #Perfidious Albion," she wrote.
Lord Weir, who was education minister at the time, commented on 13 March about the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland writing to him to call for schools to be closed. The DUP minister said of the Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin: "Wasn't aware of his qualifications in virology." A person whose name has been redacted replied: "Write back and tell him we don't live in the South [Republic of Ireland] and that his institution hasn't the best track record of looking out for the welfare of kids." On 14 March, there was criticism of Sinn Féin deputy leader Michelle O'Neill, who was deputy first minister at that time, after she broke ranks with the executive to call for school closures.
Emma Little-Pengelly and Edwin Poots were among those who exchanged messages in the group
Edwin Poots, the DUP agriculture minister at the time, acknowledged that schools would have to close at some point, but said the "response needs to be measured and reassuring". On 17 March, as the pandemic became more acute, Mrs Little-Pengelly proposed a "four-nations press conference" with the prime minister.
"All devolved regions with PM on televised conference to reassure people," she wrote. Mrs Little-Pengelly said the public "need to see leaders speaking", adding that "any confusion compounds panic".
Some messages point towards tensions between executive ministers during meetings to discuss the pandemic. There were several jibes at Justice Minister Naomi Long, leader of the Alliance Party.
On 7 May, Lord Weir said Mrs Long was "hard to listen to", and on 23 July he wrote: "Naomi talking about wind instruments - oh the irony!" On 9 November, Lord Weir said Ms O'Neill was "making a pig's ear of this" to which Mr Poots replied: "Comes naturally."
On 6 August, Lord Weir appeared to refer to an exchange between Mr Poots and Nichola Mallon, at the time the Social Democratic and Labour Party's minister in the executive. A person then wrote: "Edwin you managed to take her from zero to skywards v v quickly!!" Mr Poots replied: "It's a speciality of mine. Enjoying the sour bake on her face now." In another message on 15 June which appears to reference Sinn Féin Junior Minister Declan Kearney, Lord Weir wrote: "Where would we be without Declan's philosophical musings." A person whose name is redacted replied: "At a shorter meeting." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-69017289 |
Slovak PM Robert Fico 'fighting for his life' following surgery - minister - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Robert Fico was shot as he left a meeting in Handlova, central Slovakia - a suspect has been arrested. | Europe | There is so much we still don’t know.
But what is absolutely clear is how this attack - in broad daylight - has sent shockwaves across Slovakia, Europe and far beyond.
We live in a time of growing political polarisation where social media is being weaponised in all too many places.
And it’s now tragically clear that Slovakia was not just deeply polarised, but dangerously so.
Immediate reactions from many capitals have expressed concern for the prime minister’s health but have also described it as a shocking attack against democracy.
Prime Minister Fico is well known in Slovakia and across Europe - a veteran politician whose career spans three decades and the political spectrum. His populist party began on the left and has moved increasingly to the right. His positions have become more strident; anti-EU, against sending aid to Ukraine, against LGBTQ rights.
The shooting came on the day parliament began discussing his government’s proposal to abolish Slovakia’s public broadcaster and replace it with an institution opponents fear will suppress criticism towards him and his allies within the populist-nationalist coalition.
Political arguments are part of democracy - not assassination attempts.
Slovakia’s crisis has sent a chill down the political spine.
This ends our live coverage for now. For further updates click here. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-69016687 |
Duke students walk out ahead of Jerry Seinfeld graduation speech - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | null | Pro-Palestinian students booed the comedian who has been a vocal supporter of Israel during the war in Gaza. | null | During a graduation ceremony at Duke University, pro-Palestinian students staged a walk out and booed Jerry Seinfeld head of his speech at the ceremony. The veteran comedian has been a vocal supporter of Israel during the war in Gaza.
Many students stayed to listen to the speech, with some chanting their support.
Read more on this story here. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69004628 |
Deputy head 'told pupils about incorrect answers on Sats tests' - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Peter Hill said the students were under "excessive and unrealistic" pressures, a report states. | Leicester | Peter Hill resigned from the school in May 2022
A deputy head teacher "gestured" to a "difficult cohort" of pupils over their incorrect answers during Sats tests, a report has said. When one pupil asked Peter Hill for a rubber, he "said 'if I was you I would leave it' or words to that effect". Mr Hill said the students in question were under "excessive and unrealistic" pressures due to mental health and behavioural challenges. But a teaching panel said he was guilty of unacceptable professional conduct. The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) said Year 6 pupils at Belgrave St Peter's Primary School, in Leicester, were sitting English exams in May 2022 when Mr Hill told them he or someone else would point to incorrect answers. During an unannounced visit to the school, which is part of the Rise multi-academy trust, the following day, an observer heard a pupil ask before a test: "Will we be doing that thing where there's pointing at the wrong answers?" Mr Hill told the pupil that would not happen and that it had not happened the previous day, but a group of randomly selected pupils confirmed what had occurred when questioned. Admitting the charges, Mr Hill - who resigned on 31 May 2022, before it was referred to the TRA - agreed his behaviour "may bring the profession into disrepute". In his evidence to the panel he said at the time the head teacher was absent and he had been speaking to Rise trust's director of education, who "wanted the school to raise outcomes for significant numbers of pupils who were working below the expected standard". "Mr Hill described this as a difficult cohort with significant social, emotional, and mental health needs and behaviour challenges," the panel said. "It was Mr Hill's evidence that, as a result, there was an expectation on pupils that was excessive and unrealistic."
Rise said it would "continue to make unannounced visits to all of our schools to ensure exemplary administrations of tests"
While finding his behaviour "fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession", the TRA did not impose a ban, saying Mr Hill "had recognised the seriousness of his actions and demonstrated how such conduct would be avoided in the future". Mark Cole, chief executive of Rise, said it was the trust's staff that "identified the unacceptable professional conduct in question during an unannounced monitoring visit" before they reported it "at the earliest opportunity". "It was the trust's vigilance that highlighted the behaviours in question," he said. "We continue to make unannounced visits to all of our schools to ensure exemplary administrations of tests."
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-69014388 |
Stamford Hill: Woman shot in leg was not intended target - Met Police - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The victim, a 38-year-old woman, was shot in the leg on Tuesday night in north London. | London | No arrests have been made, the Met Police said
A woman who was shot in the leg in north London was not the intended target, the Met Police has said. Officers were called to Reizel Close, Stamford Hill, at about 19:40 BST on Tuesday to reports of a shooting. The woman was taken to an east London hospital where her condition was assessed as not life-threatening. No arrests have been made and officers are not treating it as a hate crime. Anyone with information or footage has been urged to contact police. Det Insp Dave Hickford of the Met's Specialist Crime Command said: "We are working hard to establish the full circumstance surrounding this incident and following initial inquiries we do not believe that the victim was the intended target."
Det Ch Sup James Conway, local policing lead for Hackney and Tower Hamlets, added it was an "extremely concerning" incident which "illustrates just how indiscriminate the danger of gun crime can be". He added: "This incident created additional concern, given the proximity to our large Jewish community in the Stamford Hill area. "I can confirm that there is no indication that this offence was hate-related and it was not directly connected with our Jewish communities or international events." Speaking from the scene on Wednesday afternoon, BBC London reporter Guy Lynn said: "I've seen fingertip searches taking place - many officers crawling on the pavement where we are." One resident said: "It's quite a nice area - very unusual - very safe road here normally." Another local told the BBC she wasn't surprised it had happened but said it was "sad". A third resident said: "It's frightening - but happens all the time in London - it just happens to have happened here last night."
According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, police-recorded gun crime in London has risen by 20%, from 1,009 offences in the year ending December 2022 to 1,208 offences last year. However, figures from the Met Police show it's below pre-pandemic levels, and well below the levels we were seeing 15 years ago. When it comes to homicide, fatal shootings are far less common than stabbings, but three young men have been killed using a firearm this year, and last year there were seven fatal shootings, including the killing of 42-year-old Lianne Gordon in Hackney in December. She is said to have died trying to protect her family. In March, two women were injured by shotgun pellets in Clapham when a weapon was fired by a moped rider being pursued by police, and in January of last year, four women and two children were hurt when a sawn-off shotgun was fired into a crowd of mourners in Euston who had been at a memorial service.
Specialist firearms officers and London Ambulance Service (LAS) responded to the callout. An LAS spokesperson said the woman was treated at the scene before being taken to a major trauma centre as a priority.
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-69013687 |
Jonathan Yeo: Artist reflects on painting Cara Delevingne and Taron Egerton - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Artist Jonathan Yeo reflects on painting figures such as Cara Delevingne, Taron Egerton and Sir Tony Blair. | Entertainment & Arts | Yeo recalls painting a playful Cara Delevingne, who wanted to try on costumes and props from his studio as she was sitting
Artist Jonathan Yeo is one of the UK's best-known portrait painters - an art form, he argues, which is as important as ever in an era where tens of millions of selfies are captured every day. Yeo is best known for his portraits of figures from the world of entertainment, royalty, politics and activism - among them Sir David Attenborough, Idris Elba, Nicole Kidman, Malala Yousafzai, Helena Bonham Carter and Sienna Miller. His other subjects include former US president George W Bush and former prime minister Sir Tony Blair, as well as the former Duchess of Cornwall, now Queen Camilla, and the late Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Phillip. A painted portrait, Yeo says, has the ability to encapsulate more aspects of a sitter's personality than a regular photograph. "A photo is a frozen moment," Yeo tells BBC News. "What you get when you're painting a portrait is a bit of time elapsing. When you're painting a picture, you're working on it one part at a different time, than another. So instead of a static image, you've got lots of different moments captured. "Your relationship with the subject evolves as you get to know them," he continues. "You see them on different days, and people behave differently, they look different on different days, so you can bring different elements of their personality, mixed up in an interesting way. And you're seeing them with two eyes rather than with a camera, which sees them with one."
Yeo says his aim with portraits is to get across the "unvarnished truth" of the sitter
Yeo's entry to the world of portraits was unconventional. "I've been doing portraits for nearly 30 years now," he explains, "but I never went to art school and so I never had any formal training." Instead, the artist developed his own techniques and style. "Portraits are not easy, and it was quite good training because it forced me to figure out how to do it." His self-taught methods led to a successful career, including a show dedicated to Yeo's work at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) and a host of exhibitions in museums around the world. "Yeo, the closest we have to a latter-day society portraitist in the spirit of Joshua Reynolds, paints flattering portraits with an old-fashioned Modernist edge," said Fisun Guner of the Arts Desk in his review of Yeo's NPG show., external The artist is now set to put his decades of experience into teaching. Yeo has recorded a series of lessons for BBC Maestro - a commercial service funded by subscriptions where experts share their skills. Many of Yeo's portraits are of high-profile figures, something which, he says, can be both a blessing and a curse. "In some ways, if people are well known, they're a bit more used to being scrutinised and having their photograph taken," he notes. "Which can be an advantage, because they're not as awkward at first, but it might also be that you have to scratch a bit harder to remove the public face." Here is a selection of some of the big names Yeo has painted:
In the mid 2010s, Cara Delevingne's star was still on the rise. As a model, she dominated fashion pages, but she was also forging a career as an actress and author. Yeo recalls the model, now 31, wanted to have fun and play around more than many of his other sitters - something which ultimately benefitted the resulting portraits he produced in 2015. "She would come in and and she didn't like to sit still," he recalls. "But she did tend to look around, and we had a whole load of things left over from a party, some glasses and goggles, and she started putting all these things on and playing around. "So I ended up doing several pictures of her for a museum in Denmark where she was in a different performance mode in each one." He adds: "My favourite was when she put this Groucho Marks disguise on [pictured top]. So you've got this supermodel who's generally paid quite a lot of money to have her picture taken, and you could barely see that it's her because of these eyebrows."
Of the actors he has painted, one that particularly sticks in Yeo's mind is Taron Egerton - whom he captured while he was portraying Sir Elton John in the 2019 biopic Rocketman. "I thought I'd do something that was more about that idea of elusiveness, and the point where the actor stops and the character starts," he says. "But also, he was portraying someone we know in the real world, Elton John, who's also got the performance Elton and the private Elton. "So I thought it was kind of fun to have this picture of him in character in one of the outfits from the movie, but you've hopefully got this sense of a moving target of where the identity is." Yeo recalls another actor he got on well with during sitting - but who ended up accidentally missing his next show. "Kristen Scott Thomas was great and said she was going to come to my exhibition in Denmark," he recalls. "She showed up a week early, she had got the dates wrong. She ended up helping me hang the exhibition, but missed the opening!"
One of Yeo's portraits which attracted the most attention was that of Jonathan Ive, who was chief design officer of Apple at the time (2018). Ive played a key role in developing the look of the iPod, iPhone, iPad and MacBook. "I was interested in this idea he mentioned one day that he'd always been fascinated by self-portraiture as a kid, and had written his thesis on it," Yeo says. "So I loved that - this guy had been partially responsible for putting cameras on the iPhone and basically indirectly was responsible for billions of selfies, more than had ever been made when he wrote his thesis. "I thought that link was lovely, so in the picture he was sort of making a selfie but we flipped it around a bit."
One artist painting another artist is surely an intimidating proposition. "It's a bit more stressful," Yeo acknowledges. He highlights Grayson Perry, an artist who is also well known for dressing as a woman, as an example. "[Perry] used to come and sit on Wednesdays, that was his day for being [alter-ego] Claire. So I said 'I don't mind what you wear, but it would be helpful if you wore the same thing'. "And of course he totally ignored that," Yeo laughs, "and one day would come in as a Victorian schoolgirl, another day as a power-dressed 80s businesswoman with bouffant hair. "I don't know if it was deliberate and he was playing with me. I could've carried on doing that one for years, I always learn so much from him."
At the time Yeo painted Sir Tony, the former prime minister happened to be wearing a poppy at the time of his sittings, external as it was close to Remembrance Day. The piercing red of of the poppy was noticeable against Sir Tony's grey suit. Yeo recalls Sir Tony as an impressive communicator - something he was able to observe on the campaign trail. "To some extent, I would group politicians with actors because they're often quite sophisticated performers," Yeo says. "Tony Blair was very impressive and was good at projecting what he wanted to project, but he used his body language, the way he said things, to suit the purpose. "I followed some politicians around on an election campaign a long time ago, and you'd see them in different situations, and he would subtly adapt to each situation almost like a mimic would do, taking on the body language and other affectations." Jonathan Yeo: Portrait Painting is released on the BBC Maestro platform on 24 January. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67613307 |
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Real Housewives: Star felt pressure of South Asian representation - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Jessel Taank tells BBC Asian Network about her experiences of being the first South Asian cast member. | Newsbeat | Jessel joined The Real Housewives of New York City in season 14
Between fights, friendships and fame, the life of a Real Housewife can be hectic. And with The Real Housewives of New York City currently filming season 15, viewers can expect to get a peek into the lives of the Big Apple's rich and famous. Current star Jessel Taank spoke to BBC Asian Network about her experiences of being the first South Asian cast member on the reality TV show. "I did feel an immense amount of pressure. It's kind of like all eyes on you," she says. "I just want to focus on being myself and representing what being Indian means to me." Jessel says it didn't help that she felt misunderstood by her cast mates. Her grandparents were born in India, later emigrating to Kenya and then going to London - something she says "was really confusing" for others on the show. "A lot of the cast mates didn't understand that," she says. "They were confused as to why I was from Africa or assume that because I'm Indian, I grew up wealthy."
Jessel says recording the show can be stressful, thanks to the pressure to create drama for viewers. "We are on a TV show and I think watching women be super-nice to each other isn't really entertaining, right? So you do have to turn the heat up. "On my show we all have very strong personalities and there can be a massive clash, so there can be tension. "But obviously we have to elevate and heighten that emotion for television," she says.
The glamorous lives of the Real Housewives will be on show for season 15
With Bravo's Real Housewives franchise being known for cliques and cat fights, Jessel says social media can be a scary place for the cast. "People forget the show is just a snapshot of our lives," she says. "For example, on the show I spoke about not coming from a wealthy background. And someone created a fake website that stated I went to one of the most elite girls' schools in London - which was an absolute lie." Jessel points out that she's worked as a fashion publicist and brand consultant and now runs her own business - something which sets her apart from some previous cast members. "I think the women that have been featured in some of the other Real Housewife shows do come from generational wealth or married into it, so they can be out of touch with reality. "But for my show, one of the biggest things that producers wanted was women who are self-made with an exciting career path and an interesting background," she says.
Despite feeling a sense of pressure as the only South Asian cast member, Jessel thinks it's an important step in the entertainment industry. "I think the viewers really like the dynamic I have with my husband. Some people assume Indians are very reserved, but we're really open about our relationship." Jessel says she and her family have received comments about some of the issues she's spoken about in the show. "How I speak on reproduction and pregnancy struggles and those types of taboo topics that are not really shared publicly and within our community. "I think a lot of Indian women are particularly afraid to talk about taboo topics openly. "So the fact that I was doing it and doing it quite openly was hopefully refreshing and helped a lot of people," she says.
Listen to Ankur Desai's show on BBC Asian Network live from 15:00-18:00 Monday to Thursday - or listen back here. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-69004896 |
'Attack on democracy' - Slovak President Caputova - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | null | Slovakia's outgoing president expressed shock after the shooting of PM Robert Fico. | null | Slovak President Zuzana Caputova has staid that the shooting Prime Minister Robert Fico is an "attack on democracy".
"I am shocked, we are all shocked... The hateful rhetoric we witness in society leads to hateful acts. Please, let's stop it," she told reporters.
She also confirmed that police have detained the attacker and that officials will be providing more information "as soon as possible". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69017195 |
Gaza war: Battles rage as Israeli troops intensify Jabalia and Rafah operations - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Israeli forces and Hamas fighters say they are engaged in fierce clashes in north and south Gaza. | Middle East | The UN said on Tuesday that 100,000 Palestinians had fled the fighting in Jabalia and elsewhere in northern Gaza
Israeli forces and Palestinian groups say there have been intense battles in the northern Gazan town of Jabalia. Israel's military said troops had killed "a large number of terrorists" in Jabalia's refugee camp, while Hamas said it had killed several soldiers. Tens of thousands of civilians have fled Jabalia since Saturday, when the military said it would re-enter the area because Hamas had regrouped there. Fierce fighting is also continuing around the southern city of Rafah. The UN says almost 600,000 people taking refuge have been displaced since the start of an Israeli ground operation in the city's eastern outskirts nine days ago, including 150,000 people in the past 48 hours. With tanks now pushing into built-up areas and the nearby border crossings closed or inaccessible, supplies and medical services are dwindling. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed deep concern about the impact of the Israeli operation, saying there was an urgent need to restore the full operational capacity of the two Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings to make sure humanitarian assistance got into southern Gaza. "What we don't want to see is a situation where we've basically reversed what's happened in recent months - where assistance was working its way through in the south but very little was getting to the north," he said. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against criticism of the military's operation, saying: "The humanitarian catastrophe that has been spoken of has not been realised, nor will it." Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's cross-border attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 252 others were taken hostage. More than 35,230 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Wednesday that troops had begun "an operation against terrorist operatives and infrastructure in the centre of Jabalia camp" overnight. "Over the past day, IDF troops in the area have engaged in intense battles with dozens of terrorist cells and eliminated a large number of terrorists," it added. Hamas's military wing also reported battles inside Jabalia camp on Wednesday and said fighters had targeted Israeli troops with anti-tank missiles and various other explosive devices. It claimed that a dozen soldiers had been killed in attacks on a bulldozer, a tank and a house in the Block 4 area of the camp. The IDF did not report any casualties. The Hamas-affiliated Safa news agency reported that air and artillery strikes had caused widespread destruction in areas where the troops had advanced. Meanwhile, the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, said four people were killed in an overnight Israeli air strike on a house in Jabalia town.
Wafa also said there had been violent shelling of the Zeitoun neighbourhood, in eastern Gaza City, from which Israeli troops withdrew on Wednesday following a separate six-day operation. The IDF said the troops had "eliminated dozens of terrorists in encounters and airstrikes, destroyed terrorist infrastructure and located many weapons". Residents of Zeitoun told BBC Arabic's Gaza Today programme that many had been forced to flee because of the intensity of the bombardment and fighting. "The biggest problem we face in Zeitoun is that no ambulance or civil defence [rescue team] gets here. So, if your son is injured, he will continue bleeding before your eyes until he dies," said Atef al-Mashalti. "Such a thing makes any father feel helpless. Fear has taken hold of my son to the point that he has to repeat the Shahadah [the Islamic declaration of faith] in anticipation of death at any moment." On Tuesday night, Gaza's Hamas-run Civil Defence force said it had recovered the bodies of five people, including a woman and her child, in two Israeli air strikes in Sheikh Radwan and another part of Gaza City. And on Wednesday afternoon, another strike in Gaza City reportedly killed three people who had been among a group waiting outside a shop that provided an internet signal. The IDF said aircraft had struck about 80 "terror targets" across Gaza over the past day, including military compounds and weapons storage facilities. Israel scaled down military operations in the north in January after declaring that it had "dismantled" Hamas's battalions there. But that left a power vacuum in which the group has been able to rebuild. An estimated 300,000 people trapped in the devastated region are also experiencing a "full-blown famine" due to a lack of aid deliveries, according to the head of the World Food Programme. Israel says it needs to send troops into Rafah, in the south, because Hamas's last remaining battalions are based there along with the group's leaders and surviving hostages. The UN and Western powers have warned that an all-out ground assault could lead to mass civilian casualties and a humanitarian catastrophe.
Civilians in Rafah have been told to head north towards areas which the UN says lack essential services
The IDF has ordered the evacuation of a number of neighbourhoods since 6 May, when it began what it called "precise operations in specific areas of eastern Rafah and the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing". On Wednesday, a statement said troops had been targeting a Hamas training compound, "eliminating terrorists in close-quarters combat" and locating weapons and "equipment intended to simulate that of the IDF". Israeli troops reportedly advanced to within less than 1.6km (1 mile) from the centre of Rafah on Tuesday, when an Israeli soldier was killed in the south. The IDF has told displaced residents to head towards an "expanded humanitarian area", which stretches north from the coastal strip of al-Mawasi to the town of Deir al-Balah, in Gaza's Middle Area. Hind Khoudary, a Palestinian journalist in Deir al-Balah, told the BBC that many of those who had Rafah were now sheltering there. "Unfortunately, the Middle Area is overcrowded with people. We're talking about a very small area that is supposed to be suitable for more than one million Palestinians," she said. "They also asked people to go to Khan Younis, but it is completely destroyed and... people don't have access to basic needs, like water." She also noted that some of those still in Rafah could not afford to pay for a vehicle to leave or were waiting for the IDF to tell them to evacuate. "People are tired. They have been displaced more than seven or eight times... So the situation is deteriorating every single minute," she warned. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-69015371 |
Biden plans to send $1bn arms shipment to Israel - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The weapons transfer comes as Israeli tanks were spotted advancing deeper into residential areas of Rafah. | US & Canada | The White House has told Congress it plans to send more than $1bn (£800m) in new weapons to Israel. This comes despite the US being opposed to a full-scale invasion by the Israeli military on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. It said last week it had paused a shipment of bombs to Israel over concerns civilians would be killed if used in densely populated areas. The package can be blocked by Congress if a majority in both chambers object. The package, confirmed by US media, would include $700m in tank ammunition, $500m in tactical vehicles and $60m in mortar rounds, according to the Associated Press news agency. The White House notification is part of a process mandated by federal law when a US arms sales to a foreign nation exceeds a set amount. Last month, Congress approved a package of military aid providing $95bn to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. On Tuesday, Israeli tanks advanced deeper into residential areas in the south-east of Rafah and are thought to be about a mile from the centre. Meanwhile, medical services are dwindling. Aid agency Doctors Without Borders told the BBC they had stopped operating at one of the area's field hospitals because it was too dangerous to stay.
The White House notification is likely to spark objections from some members, although Congress has never successfully blocked an announced arms sale drawn from already approved funds. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen was critical of the decision and told the Washington Post, external the US should not proceed with any additional arms transfers until the Netanyahu government had met President Biden's concerns about Rafah and the provision of humanitarian assistance. A US state department report last week found that some American-made weapons provided to Israel may have been used in breach of international law. While the report was a clear rebuke of some Israeli operations in Gaza, it stopped short of definitively saying that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) campaign had breached international law. It added that assurances it had received from Israel about adhering to the legal use of US weapons were "credible and reliable". The Israeli arms-sale notification to Congress is the first since Mr Biden's administration paused arms transfers to Israel last week. He said he had delayed the shipment of 2,000lb (900kg) bombs to Israel because of how they might be used in such a ground operation. Asked by CNN about the delay, Mr Biden said: "Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs." Weapons transfers to Israel have become a political liability for Mr Biden ahead of this November's 2024 White House election. News of the latest arms package emerged soon after voting ended in a presidential primary election in Maryland, where activists had urged voters to register a protest ballot against what they see as Mr Biden's favouritism towards Israel over the Gaza war. Republican lawmakers in Congress have introduced legislation intended to prevent any further pauses in weapons shipments to the US ally. The House of Representatives this week will vote on a measure that requires the state department and defence department to ensure the "prompt delivery" of military equipment. The White House has vowed to veto the bill, if it manages to pass the Senate, which is unlikely. Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's cross-border attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 252 others were taken hostage. More than 35,170 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 82 in the past 24 hours, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher makes sense of the race for the White House in his weekly US Election Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here, external. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69013279 |
Millions more middle-aged are obese, study suggests - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Using a lower cut-off for obesity would give a truer picture of who is affected, researchers say. | Health | Fat can build up around the waist with age
Millions of middle-aged people have been mistakenly led to believe they are not obese, according to an Italian study that looked at body fat instead of weight related to height. Using a new, lower cut-off for obesity would give a truer picture of who is affected, the researchers say. With age, muscle declines and fat builds up around organs in the waist region, often with no change in weight. The challenge is to find a tool that easily screens for obesity. The standard way of categorising people's weight is by calculating their body mass index, or BMI, which means dividing an adult's weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres.
• None 18.5-25 is said to suggest a healthy weight
• None 25-29 that they are overweight
• None 30 or above that they are obese
It is a quick and easy method, supported by the World Health Organization, external (WHO), and pretty accurate in most people most of the time - but cannot differentiate between fat, muscle and bone. A study of 4,800 adults aged 40-80 years old, external, led by the University of Tor Vergata in Rome, and presented at the European Congress on Obesity, looked at an alternative - measuring body fat percentage. Just 38% of the men and 41% of the women had a BMI above 30 - but when their body fat percentage was calculated using scans, 71% and 64% were found to be obese. "If we continue to use the WHO standard for obesity screening, we will miss many middle-aged and older adults who are at risk for obesity-related diseases including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers," co-author, Prof Antonino De Lorenzo said. A BMI of 27 should be used to define obesity in future, the researchers said. "Establishing this new BMI cut-off point in clinical settings and obesity guidelines will be beneficial to the potential health of millions of older adults," Prof De Lorenzo said.
The study is one of many which have suggested different cut-off points for BMI over the years. Yet it's unlikely BMI will be ditched anytime soon - it's certainly much cheaper than scanning people to quantify their body fat accurately. The researchers admit larger studies in other countries are needed to confirm the results. This study only looked at adults in one region of Italy and didn't look at the distribution of fat in people's bodies - only the percentage of the body made up of fat. It also didn't ask people about their diets or exercise habits to work how why some people might be more at risk from obesity than others. On its own, it's not clear whether body fat analysis would be a definitive measurement either. "We need a simple tool to screen for obesity that can be available for anyone," said co-author Prof Marwan El Ghoch, from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. Prof Naveed Sattar, from the University of Glasgow, said: "Rather than cutting the obesity thresholds to 27, which would mean around half the adults in UK are living with obesity, other definitions of obesity that include also looking at waist circumference, combined with specific signs and symptoms of excess weight, are likely to be more informative." The search for the right tool continues. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-69009787 |
Queen Camilla will buy no more real-fur items - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A letter from Buckingham Palace says the Queen "will not procure any new fur garments". | UK | Queen Camilla's stance on real fur is the latest example of royal sensitivities over animal welfare
An animal-rights group has welcomed a commitment from Queen Camilla that she will buy no new fur products. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) received a letter from Buckingham Palace, saying the Queen "will not procure any new fur garments". "This comes with the Queen's warmest wishes," the letter adds. But the International Fur Federation says the royals "should not be placed under pressure from animal activists". Peta, which says real fur is cruel and unnecessary, said it would be "toasting Queen Camilla with a glass of the finest claret". "It's right and proper for the British monarchy to reflect British values by recognising that fur has no place in our society," managing director Ingrid Newkirk said. Wendy Higgins of the Humane Society International also backed a switch to fake or "faux" fur: "Queen Camilla's decision to 'go faux' reflects the morals and mood of the British public."
The Queen's move follows in the footsteps of Elizabeth II, who, in 2019, indicated she would acquire no new real-fur products. That did not mean she stopped wearing existing items, though - and the Queen's letter to Peta does not rule this out either. Mark Oaten, chief executive officer of the International Fur Federation, rejected the criticism of real fur. "It is the right of everyone to decide what to wear," he said. "Many people still buy fur as they prefer to wear something that's natural and sustainable, unlike plastic-based fake fur. "We hope the Royal Family consider the environment when they decide what to wear - but freedom of choice is the key issue." The Queen's move away from buying real fur is the latest royal response to concerns about animal welfare:
• None The "Coronation roll", the traditional handwritten record of the Coronation, presented to the King and Queen this month, was produced on paper rather than parchment made from animal skin
• None Royal residences do not serve foie gras, made from duck or goose liver, which campaigners say involves cruelty to animals
• None In the Coronation service last year, the oil used for anointing the King was animal free for the first time. Previous versions included civet oil, from the glands of the small mammals, and ambergris from the intestines of whales
The Queen also faced sensitivities over what she wore at the Coronation, with a diplomatic decision not to use a crown containing the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which has had rival international claims to ownership. Earlier this year, actor Stephen Fry called for an end to the use of real fur in the bearskin caps worn by the King's Guard, who are seen on duty outside Buckingham Palace. The Ministry of Defence said the bear fur used was from "legal and licensed hunts". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-69004439 |
King Charles: First official portrait since coronation is unveiled, painted by Jonathan Yeo - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Queen Camilla is said to have looked at the painting and told the artist: "Yes, you've got him." | Entertainment & Arts | Yeo says the butterfly by the King's shoulder symbolises "the beauty of nature and highlights the [King's] environmental causes"
The first official painted portrait of King Charles III since his coronation has been unveiled at Buckingham Palace. The vast oil on canvas shows a larger-than-life King Charles in the uniform of the Welsh Guards. The vivid red work, measuring about 8ft 6in by 6ft 6in, is by Jonathan Yeo, who has also painted Tony Blair, Sir David Attenborough and Malala Yousafzai. Queen Camilla is said to have looked at the painting and told Yeo: "Yes, you've got him." In the new portrait, the King is depicted, sword in hand, with a butterfly landing on his shoulder. Unveilings are always a little nerve-wracking, both for the sitter and the artist, but particularly when one of them is a King. Yeo jokes: "If this was seen as treasonous, I could literally pay for it with my head, which would be an appropriate way for a portrait painter to die - to have their head removed!" In reality, Yeo isn't going to lose his head of course - no executions for a badly received portrait of a monarch, in modern times anyway.
A portrait by Ralph Heimans of the Prince of Wales, as he was then, was unveiled in London's Australia House in 2018
Fortunately, he has also already had a nod of approval from a key royal figure. The Queen dropped in during the final sitting and said the artist had captured the King well. Yeo says the best judge of a portrait is someone who knows your sitter really well because they have instant recognition of whether it feels familiar. The King also got a glimpse of it, says Yeo, in its "half-done state… He was initially mildly surprised by the strong colour but otherwise he seemed to be smiling approvingly". The King was made Regimental Colonel in the Welsh Guards in 1975. In the picture, the red of the uniform fades into the red background, bringing the King's face into even more prominence. Yeo says he wanted the painting to be distinctive and a break with the past. He was aiming for something personal. "My interest is really in figuring out who someone is and trying to get that on a canvas."
Yeo decided to use some of the traditions of royal portraiture - the military outfit, the sword - but aimed to achieve something more modern, particularly with the deep colour and the butterfly. He says he's referencing the tradition of official royal portraits but suggesting that's something "from the past and what's interesting about them is something a bit different from that". "In history of art, the butterfly symbolises metamorphosis and rebirth," he explains, fitting for a portrait being painted of a monarch who has recently ascended to the throne. The butterfly is also a reference to the King's long held interest in the environment, causes "he has championed most of his life and certainly long before they became a mainstream conversation". Yeo says it was Charles' idea after they talked about the opportunity they had to tell a story with the portrait. "I said, when schoolchildren are looking at this in 200 years and they're looking at the who's who of the monarchs, what clues can you give them? "He said 'what about a butterfly landing on my shoulder?'". Yeo began the portrait when Charles was still Prince of Wales, with the first sitting at Highgrove in June 2021.
Jonathan Yeo's signature style is to place greater emphasis on capturing the sitter's character and essence
The King sat four times in all, for about an hour at a time, with the final sitting at Clarence House in November 2023. Did the artist notice any obvious change in the man after he became King? Yeo says he's spotted "a physical change" in politicians he's painted in the past. "They physically look and feel different when they're in high office or out of it." Yeo adds the King "had already been gaining presence and stature by the time I started it, and it went up a level again when he became King, as you'd expect". The sittings ended before the King's cancer was diagnosed. He had a lot going on, says Yeo, with an upcoming speech at the COP Summit, but "didn't seem like someone who was physically exhausted". He was "in good spirits", the painter adds. King Charles posed in his full Welsh Guards uniform and had to stand leaning on his sword for around 40 minutes each time.
Prince Charles was made Regimental Colonel of the Welsh Guards in the 1970s
"He stood impressively still, and didn't get distracted like some sitters do." Yeo won't reveal much of what they talked about during sittings, although he says Charles III has "a great sense of humour" and is a "very engaging person". His interest in art meant Charles wanted to discuss the process of creating the work and the brushes being used. They also talked about "how he'd learned to paint and about some of the pictures on the walls". But Yeo says "there's a sanctity to the portrait process". Your sitters "need to believe what goes on is between the two of you because that way I think they feel more comfortable about opening up". Royal portraits in the past have had an important role to play in signifying power and projecting an image. They were part of the tools used to ensure the survival of the monarch. Some of the most memorable include Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger. The Tudor king employed Holbein as court artist, although only two portraits survive.
This famous portrait of Henry VIII was painted by Hans Holbein the Younger in 1536-1537
But Yeo says our relationship with royalty has shifted since those days. "On the one hand, we know they're real people with quirks and personality traits. We've seen that much more of them. On the other hand, we still want to buy into the mysticism and the fairy tale that they're different from us, that there's a bit of magic there." In his portrait, he was "trying to figure out how to do both at once". Painting a portrait of this size was "quite an operation", says Yeo. Having used his first sittings with the king for photographs and sketches, he did most of the painting between the third and fourth sittings. He then had to hire a truck to transport the canvas and his equipment to Clarence House for the last time he saw the King. As well as easel, painting tables and lighting, they had to "cover all the carpets in sheets so we didn't damage these priceless carpets". Yeo also brought "a dais, a sort of platform, for me to stand on so I was up high enough to paint his face and one for him to stand on so that he's on a level as well". The artist claims not to have been interested in getting involved in the "rigid formality" of royal portraiture previously. But as he turned 50, he began to think about how "you have to see how you measure up against the works of the past". The portrait was commissioned by the Drapers' Company, the City of London livery company which has been collecting royal portraits for centuries. His painting will go up in Drapers' Hall in London surrounded by "a dozen other fabulous, similarly huge portraits of Queen Victoria and various other kings and queens".
This portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Sergei Pavlenko was unveiled at Drapers' Hall in 2000
For him, painting Charles III was different from most previous commissions, where you start from scratch. "All my life I'd known who he was and what he looked like so it was really just a case of deciding what to show and trying to slightly channel who he seems to be now." He deliberately minimized the visual distractions in his portrait to "allow people to connect with the human being underneath". There's a great deal of sympathy for the King, Yeo adds. The portrait "reflects exactly who he is, everything he represents and what he's been through". The portrait will go on public display at the Philip Mould Gallery in London from 16 May until 14 June. It will be displayed at Drapers' Hall from the end of August.
Sign up here to get the latest royal stories and analysis straight to your inbox every week with our Royal Watch newsletter. Those outside the UK can sign up here, external. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68981200 |
Georgia approves controversial 'foreign agent' law, sparking more protests - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The bill targets civil society organisations and independent media that receive foreign funding. | Europe | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: A brawl broke out in Georgia's parliament as MPs prepared to vote through a divisive "foreign agent" law
Georgia's parliament has voted through a divisive "foreign agent" law that has sparked weeks of mass street protests. However, the bill now faces a likely veto by Georgia's president, which the parliament in Tbilisi can override by holding an additional vote. Critics say the bill - which they call the "Russia law" - could be used to threaten civil liberties. After the vote, protesters tried to enter the parliament while crowds also shut down a major intersection Under the bill - which passed its third and final reading with 84 votes against 30 on Tuesday - NGOs and independent media that receive more than 20% of their funding from foreign donors would have to register as organisations "bearing the interests of a foreign power". They would also be monitored by the Justice Ministry and could be forced to share sensitive information - or face hefty fines of up to 25,000 GEL ($9,400; £7,500). Protesters are concerned that the legislation would be used by the government to suppress its opponents. Parallels have also been drawn with an authoritarian bill which came into force in Russia in 2012, and which the Kremlin has since used to clamp down on dissidents. On Monday, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze warned that if authorities backed down at the bill's third reading, Georgia would lose sovereignty and "easily share the fate of Ukraine", without detailing what he meant. Protesters heckled the police - clad in full riot gear - guarding the side entrances to the building. Arrests were made after some tried to break through the iron barriers near the building. The atmosphere was tense inside the parliament too, with physical and verbal altercations taking place between pro-government and opposition MPs. As she walked into the parliament building, President Salome Zourabichvili - an opponent of Mr Kobakhidze - told the BBC she would veto the law. However, Georgian Dream has sufficient numbers in parliament to overrule her, and there are few doubts the legislation will pass.
Protesters staged a rally against the foreign agent bill outside the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi.
Opposition parties say the new law could harm Georgia's attempt to join the European Union (EU), which has given it candidate status. The EU has warned the bill could jeopardise further progress within the bloc. In a post on X, president of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola wrote: "Tbilisi, we hear you! We see you!", adding that Georgians protesting "want a European future". The White House warned it would "reassess" its ties with Georgia following the development, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calling on Georgia's president to veto the law. The UK's Minister for Europe, Nusrat Ghani, said the scenes in Georgia "are shocking". Natia Seskuria, who previously worked for Georgia's National Security Council, told the BBC she believed the protests against the law would continue. The people of Georgia will "rally against this law as long as it takes", she said, adding that the new law represented an "existential threat" to the country's survival.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Riot police in Georgia respond with force as protesters attempted to storm the parliament in Tbilisi
The bill comes just five months before a parliamentary election in the country, which some protestors say offers a chance to vote out Georgian Dream which has held power since 2012. "We are waiting for when we will have a choice to choose a new government", a 27-year old protestor told AFP but declined to give his last name over fears for his safety. Massive rallies against the bill have gripped the Caucasus country for nearly a month. Photos and footage posted online in recent days appeared to show violent altercations between protesters and police. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69007465 |
Moment car rams into French police van in ambush - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | null | At least two prison officers have died after the vehicle - which was carrying a prisoner at the time - was ambushed near Rouen in Normandy. | null | CCTV shows the moment a car crashes into a French police van, starting an ambush in which at least two prison officers have died.
After this video stops, a group of gunmen can be seen surrounding the police van and firing shots.
The vehicle was carrying a prisoner at the time. Mohamed Amra was being taken from court to a prison, and escaped after the attack.
Read more on this story here. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69011700 |
V&A: Elton John and David Furnish's photography collection to go on display - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The exhibition includes images from the civil rights movement and of Marilyn Monroe. | London | Famous jazz musician Chet Baker will be among the celebrities to feature in Fragile Beauty
Photographs from Elton John and David Furnish's private collection are due to go on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) next year. Fragile Beauty will span from the 1950s to today and include portraits of jazz musicians Miles Davis and Chet Baker, and actress Marilyn Monroe. The exhibition will also feature historic moments from the civil rights movement to Aids activism. More than 300 prints from at least 140 photographers will be on show. The news follows a "significant" donation to the museum from Sir Elton in 2019, which led to the V&A renaming one of its galleries after the singer and his filmmaker husband.
For this exhibition, curators have created eight thematic sections covering fashion, celebrity, the male body and American photography - with the show is set to be the largest temporary photography exhibition in the V&A's history.
The couple said the exhibition would take their collaboration with the museum "to really exciting new heights"
In a statement Sir Elton and Furnish said: "Since we first loaned a selection of Horst photographs to the V&A in 2014, our relationship with the museum has grown significantly. "Fragile Beauty takes our collaboration to really exciting new heights, showcasing some of the most beloved photographers and iconic images from within our collection. "We look forward to sharing this exhibition with the public."
Fashion is one of eight topics explored in the showcase
The exhibition is being curated by Duncan Forbes, the V&A's head of photography, as well as Newell Harbin, director of The Sir Elton John Photography Collection, and Lydia Caston, the V&A's exhibition project curator. Mr Forbes said: "We are delighted to be working with Sir Elton John and David Furnish to present highlights from their unparalleled collection: from the playful and surprising, to the contemplative and thoughtful.
A portrait of civil rights leader Malcolm X will be among the photos exhibited
"Fragile Beauty will be a truly epic journey across the recent history of photography, and a celebration of Sir Elton John and David Furnish's passion for the medium." Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection in partnership with Gucci will run from 18 May 2024 to 5 January 2025. All images are subject to copyright.
Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, external, X, external and Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk, external
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-67205468 |
Ukraine in maps: Tracking the war with Russia - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Russian forces make "tactically significant advances" near Kharkiv, with the war now in its third year. | Europe | Fighting has been raging in Ukraine for two years since Russia's invasion, with Moscow's forces edging forwards in recent weeks after months of virtual stalemate. Here are the latest developments:
• None Russian forces have made advances north and north-east of Kharkiv, the second biggest city in Ukraine
• None Russia has also intensified attacks along the eastern front since April although its advances have been described as minor
Russian forces have crossed the international border to the north of Ukraine's second biggest city Kharkiv and have made what analysts are calling "tactically significant advances". US-based analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) say they have advanced in northern areas of the town of Vovchansk and appear to have taken control of Vovchansk Central District Hospital. They have also made small gains in the village of Starytsia and have advanced closer to the village of Lyptsi to the west.
Russia has intensified its attacks on the region following Friday's surprise incursions across the border, seizing several villages and settlements in one of the most significant ground attacks since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Vovchansk, located 74km (45 miles) from Kharkiv, has been heavily bombed in recent days. While it is a significant town in the region, Vovchansk is not of specific military importance, though its capture would be a blow to Ukrainian morale. However, Ukrainian officials say they are stabilising the situation and that the tempo of Russian operations in the area is decreasing. Thousands of civilians have fled towards Kharkiv and there are concerns among Ukrainian commanders about what could happen if Russian troops get within artillery-range of the city. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) assessment is that Russia is "almost certainly attempting to divert Ukrainian resources away from other parts of the front line", but adds: "It is unlikely that Russia has built up sufficient combat power to take the city (Kharkiv) without diverting additional forces into the area." But BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale, who is in the area, says it will be hard to dislodge the Russian forces in the region and that there are believed to be about 30,000 more troops just over the border.
The incursion is some miles from the main front line to the east where Russia has continued its offensive operations and been edging forwards since October 2023. The MoD noted that Russian attacks intensified further in April - up 17% from March - with more than three quarters on the areas around the towns of Avdiivka and Bakhmut.
Russia had a notable success in the town of Avdiivka where Ukrainian troops withdrew in February after months of fighting. Russian forces are now in control of what remains of the town and pushing west.
Avdiivka, which would have been a possible gateway for Ukraine to reach the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk, has been a battlefield town since 2014, when Russian-backed fighters seized large swathes of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Almost all of Avdiivka's pre-war population of more than 30,000 people have left and the town itself is almost completely destroyed. Its fall marked the biggest change on the more than 1,000km-long (620-mile) front line since Russian troops seized the nearby town of Bakhmut in May 2023.
Bakhmut itself remains a flashpoint and has endured some of the heaviest fighting of the war. However, although Ukraine gained some ground in the surrounding areas over the summer, Russian forces have since made advances around the city. The ISW reports that territory to the west and south of the town continues to change hands.
The MoD said attacks on Chasiv Yar, which is situated on high ground to the west of Bakhmut, rose by 200% from March to April and that Russia was probably trying to gain control of the town. "Despite the substantial increase in attacks on this axis, Russia made only minor tactical gains in the area during April and almost certainly sustained heavy losses," the MoD added.
Russia's invasion began with dozens of missile strikes on cities all over Ukraine before dawn on 24 February 2022. Russian ground troops moved in quickly and within a few weeks were in control of large areas of Ukraine and had advanced to the suburbs of Kyiv. Russian forces were bombarding Kharkiv, and they had taken territory in the east and south as far as Kherson, and surrounded the port city of Mariupol.
But they hit very strong Ukrainian resistance almost everywhere and faced serious logistical problems with poorly motivated Russian troops suffering shortages of food, water and ammunition. Ukrainian forces were also quick to deploy Western supplied arms such as the Nlaw anti-tank system, which proved highly effective against the Russian advance. By October 2022, the picture had changed dramatically and having failed to take Kyiv, Russia withdrew completely from the north. Since then, little has changed on the ground.
To indicate which parts of Ukraine are under control by Russian troops we are using daily assessments published by the Institute for the Study of War, external with the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats Project, external. To show key areas where advances are taking place we are also using updates from the UK Ministry of Defence, external and BBC research. The situation in Ukraine is often fast moving and it is likely there will be times when there have been changes not reflected in the maps. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60506682 |
Israel and Egypt row over reopening Rafah border crossing - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Israel says Egypt must reopen the crossing - but Egypt says Israel's military operation there is blocking aid. | Middle East | Palestinians pack their belongings as they prepare to flee Rafah in southern Gaza
Israel and Egypt are locked in a row over the Rafah border crossing, blaming each other for its continued closure as Gaza's humanitarian crisis worsens. Israeli forces have taken control of the Gaza side of the crossing. On Tuesday Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he had told the UK and Germany about "the need to persuade Egypt to reopen" the crossing. But Egypt says it is Israel's military operations in the area which are preventing aid from passing through. Cairo said Israel was trying to shift the blame for blocked aid. Mr Katz said the Palestinian armed group Hamas, which attacked southern Israel on 7 October last year, sparking the current war, could no longer "control the Rafah crossing", citing security concerns over which Israel "will not compromise". "The world places the responsibility for the humanitarian situation on Israel, but the key to preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now in the hands of our Egyptian friends," Mr Katz wrote on X. Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry quickly responded to the comments with a statement that underlined its "categorical rejection of the policy of distorting facts and disavowing responsibility adopted by Israel". Mr Shoukry asserted that Israel was "solely responsible for the humanitarian catastrophe currently endured by Palestinians in Gaza", which he said was "a direct result of indiscriminate Israeli atrocities committed against the Palestinians for more than seven month". He called on Israel to "assume its legal responsibility as the occupying power by allowing aid access through the land ports that are under its control". Egypt has been one of the mediators in stalled ceasefire talks, but its relationship with Israel has been strained since Israel seized the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing on 7 May. Almost 450,000 Palestinians have fled from Rafah over the past week after the Israeli military moved into the area, the UN says. Israeli tanks are reportedly pushing deeper into Rafah city, which is to the north of the border crossing. António Guterres, UN secretary-General, said in a statement that he was "appalled by the escalation of military activity in and around Rafah by the Israeli Defense Forces". Reiterating calls for a ceasefire and for the Rafah crossing to be opened, he continued: "These developments are further impeding humanitarian access and worsening an already dire situation. "At the same time, Hamas goes on firing rockets indiscriminately. Civilians must be respected and protected at all times, in Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza. For people in Gaza, nowhere is safe now." The UN and international aid agencies said closures of the Rafah crossing and the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and southern Gaza had virtually cut the Gaza strip off from outside aid. Last week, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said it was Israel's duty to keep the Rafah crossing open and running effectively. In early May, Cindy McCain, head of the UN food agency, said she believed there was a "full-blown famine" in northern Gaza that was "moving its way south". In its most recent update, Cogat - the Israeli military agency tasked with coordinating aid access in Gaza - said 64 aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday, significantly down on the daily number of trucks that entered in April.
On Sunday the UN said it hoped a newly opened crossing from Israel to northern Gaza would lead to a sustainable flow of aid into the north of the territory. On Monday some Israeli protesters blocked aid trucks destined for Gaza, throwing food packages onto the road and ripping bags of grain open in the occupied West Bank. Also on Sunday Egypt said it would intervene in support of South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the basis of Israel's expanded military activity in Gaza and the impact it was having on civilians. On Friday South Africa asked the ICJ to order Israel to pull out of Rafah as an additional emergency measure in the case, which accuses Israel of acts of genocide.
Israel has said it will proceed with planned military operations in Rafah despite the US and other allies warning that a ground offensive could lead to mass civilian casualties. The Israeli military has told people in Rafah to move to al-Mawasi - a narrow coastal area which Israel calls an "expanded humanitarian zone" - and Khan Younis, which is largely in ruins after a previous Israeli military incursion there. Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza after Hamas's attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 252 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. More than 34,900 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-69012303 |
Slovak PM shot in apparent assassination attempt - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | null | Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been shot, in what officials are calling an assassination attempt. | null | Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been shot, in what officials are calling an assassination attempt.
Mr Fico was said to have sustained five gunshot wounds.
Police arrested a suspect at the scene in Handlova, where Mr Fico had been attending a meeting. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69017531 |
Nottingham attacks: Triple killer's sentence not unduly lenient - judges - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Valdo Calocane was given a hospital order after admitting manslaughter by diminished responsibility. | Nottingham | Valdo Calocane was sentenced to a hospital order in January after admitting manslaughter
The sentence of a man who stabbed three people to death in Nottingham was not unduly lenient, judges have ruled. Valdo Calocane killed Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, and 65-year-old Ian Coates on 13 June 2023. He was given an indefinite hospital order after prosecutors accepted a plea of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Mr Webber's mother, Emma Webber, said the Court of Appeal ruling came as "no surprise" to the victims' families. The attorney general referred the sentence in February, arguing it was unduly lenient.
Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar died at the scene of the attacks
Speaking at the hearing on Tuesday, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr concluded there was "no error" in the approach taken by Mr Justice Turner at Nottingham Crown Court in January. She said Calocane was in the "grips of a severe psychotic episode" at the time. Mr Justice Turner came to the "reasonable conclusion" that the aim of protecting the public would be best served by a hospital order, she added.
In a statement following the hearing, Mrs Webber said the ruling illustrated the need for "urgent reforms" in UK homicide law. "Despite the fact that the attorney general herself feels that Valdo Calocane did not receive the appropriate sentence, today's outcome proves how utterly flawed and under-resourced the criminal justice system in the UK is," she said. "So far, there have been no less than eight individual reports, reviews and investigations. "We do not believe that there is any chance these can be cohesive enough to ensure a full and detailed outcome, and therefore call for a public inquiry."
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Dr Sanjoy Kumar, father of Ms O'Malley-Kumar, said the attacks were "entirely preventable". "It is the missed multiple opportunities to prevent the Nottingham attacks and the murder of our children and Ian Coates, is what has led us here today," he said. "We will continue to pursue agencies that failed us and hold them responsible for the Nottingham attacks so that no other family is made to suffer like ours." Calocane, 32, had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia before the attacks. In addition to killing Mr Webber, Ms O'Malley-Kumar and Mr Coates, Calocane stole Mr Coates's van and used it to drive at three pedestrians, who were all left seriously injured. The sentence review was held by the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Justice Edis and Mr Justice Garnham.
In short, the Court of Appeal said there was no legal reason why they should interfere with the sentence that the trial judge in Nottingham handed down to Valdo Calocane in January. It's very difficult for a sentence in the criminal court to be overturned by the Court of Appeal. It's not just a simple case of the judges having a look at the evidence for themselves and coming to a different conclusion. The court has to be satisfied that the judge fell into "gross error" - that somehow the judge completely missed something that was critical in the case. During the short ruling this morning, Baroness Carr made very clear that when the trial judge looked at the evidence of what happened on that appalling day last June, that there was no dispute that Calocane was in the midst of an acute episode of psychosis.
In summing up their conclusion, Baroness Carr said: "Had the offender not suffered the mental condition that he did, the sentencing judge would doubtless have been considering a whole-life term. "But neither the judge nor this court can ignore the medical evidence as to the offender's condition which led to these dreadful events or the threat to public safety which the offender continues to pose." During the hearing, Calocane watched on from a unit in Ashworth High Secure Hospital. He did not respond when asked to confirm he could hear the ruling - but a member of hospital staff indicated that the judgement could be heard via the video link.
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Deanna Heer KC, representing the attorney general's office, had previously argued Calocane should have received a hospital and limitation direction, through which he would be treated in hospital before being transferred to prison. While not criticising the approach of the original sentencing judge, she said psychiatrists who gave evidence to the court had not commented on the need for custodial action. Peter Joyce KC, representing Calocane, agreed the offender is "likely to spend the remainder of his days" in a hospital, but said it would be "wrong" if he was "to be punished for being mentally ill". "He is never likely to see the light of day again," he said.
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Since the attacks, a government-ordered rapid review into Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been launched, as well as Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) reviews into both Nottinghamshire Police and Leicestershire Police, and a wider NHS England review. A review also found that prosecutors were right to accept Calocane's manslaughter pleas, but said the case could have been handled better. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has met the victims' families, but has not yet committed to a public inquiry into the case.
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-68975895 |
France prison van ambush gunmen seen from passing bus - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | null | At least two French prison officers were killed in the incident, with the inmate currently on the run. | null | Footage shared on social media shows two hooded gunmen in Normandy, France, after a police van was ambushed on Tuesday.
At least two French prison officers have been killed in the incident. The prisoner - who has been named by prosecutors as Mohamed Amra - was being taken from court to a prison and escaped after the attack.
Read more on this story here. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69011699 |
Sacred coronation oil will be animal-cruelty free - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A new version of sacred oil to be used at the King's coronation has been consecrated in Jerusalem. | UK | The sacred oil was consecrated in Jerusalem
The oil used to anoint the King in the coronation is one of the most sacred and mysterious parts of the ceremony - and a new quantity has been prepared. But reflecting modern animal-friendly sensitivities, this oil will not include any ingredients from animals. The "chrism oil" for the coronation was consecrated in a religious ceremony in Jerusalem on Friday. This was carried out in one of the city's holiest Christian sites, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Previous versions have included civet oil, from the glands of the small mammals, and ambergris from the intestines of whales. There had been concerns about animal cruelty and the need to protect wildlife and the latest formula for the holy oil for King Charles's coronation will be animal free.
Although the coronation is seen as a great moment of national pageantry and historic rituals, there is a strong religious element. The anointing of the King has echoes of a christening or the ordination into religious orders, with the monarch being symbolically touched with holy oil on the head, chest and hands.
The silver urn containing the chrism oil for the coronation
This was considered such a sacred moment that the television cameras were not allowed to film it in 1953 - and there has been speculation about whether the anointing will be shown on TV during King Charles's coronation on 6 May. The new oil includes olive oil scented with a mix of essential oils, sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli and benzoin, with orange blossom also added. It also has a royal family significance, partly using olives grown on the Mount of Olives at the Monastery of Mary Magdalene, which is where the King's grandmother, Princess Alice, is buried. In his Christmas message, the King had spoken of his own Christian faith and how much he had been moved when he visited biblical sites, such as Jesus' birthplace in Bethlehem. The oil was consecrated by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where it is believed Jesus died and was buried. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, welcomed the use of oil from the Mount of Olives, a site outside Jerusalem with many biblical connections. "This demonstrates the deep historic link between the coronation, the Bible and the Holy Land," said the archbishop. He added: "From ancient kings through to the present day, monarchs have been anointed with oil from this sacred place." The implements used for the anointing - including a spoon - are rare survivors of the original medieval coronation regalia, most of which were destroyed on the orders of Oliver Cromwell in 1649. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64836101 |
Trump's lawyer attacks Michael Cohen in hush-money trial - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The defence team questioned the credibility of Trump's former lawyer, who said he lied for the ex-President. | US & Canada | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: The BBC's Nada Tawfik walks through the defence's strategy in Michael Cohen's cross-examination
Donald Trump's legal team sought on Tuesday to dismantle the credibility of the star witness in the ex-president's criminal trial, Michael Cohen. Mr Trump showed no reaction as his lawyer, during cross-examination, cast Cohen as a man with a personal vendetta against his former boss. Throughout the legal showdown weeks in the making, Cohen remained calm. He also said he hoped Mr Trump would be found guilty of fraud in the hush-money case. Cohen was on the stand for a second day of blockbuster testimony. He was called by prosecutors to testify about making a $130,000 (£104,300) hush-money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election, to prevent her from telling a story about an alleged sexual encounter with Mr Trump. Donald Trump now faces 34 counts of business fraud for allegedly disguising reimbursements for the payment to Cohen as legal expenses. The former president pleaded not guilty to the charges and denies having sex with Ms Daniels. At one point, his lawyer Todd Blanche asked bluntly if Cohen wanted to see Mr Trump convicted in the case. After being pressed, Cohen responded: "Sure." Over the course of two hours, Mr Blanche tried to undermine Cohen, who was imprisoned after pleading guilty to tax evasion, fraud and campaign finance violations. He brought up his guilty plea for lying to congress, and sought to portray Cohen as being motivated by hate and fame. He also sought to show that Cohen seeks to profit from the legal woes of a man he blasts daily in public. The lawyer dredged up Cohen's prolific social media posts, podcasts, and media appearances attacking Donald Trump, often in unprintable language.
BBC News reporters are in the Manhattan courtroom covering the historic first criminal trial of a former US president. You'll find their updates and analysis on the BBC news website and app, and across TV, radio and podcasts.
At the start of the cross-examination, Mr Blanche asked about a comment Cohen made about him on social media. Is it true, Mr Blanche asked, that Cohen had called him a "crying little [expletive]". Cohen quickly replied: "Sounds like something I would say." Justice Juan Merchan swiftly struck the answer from the official record, but the exchange set the tone for the afternoon. Mr Blanche later displayed some of Cohen's podcast merchandise, including a t-shirt that showed Mr Trump in an orange jumpsuit, handcuffed. But by the close of Tuesday's session, the lawyer had not cross-examined Cohen on the most damaging testimony he had given prosecutors: that he had kept Mr Trump informed at every stage of the payment to Ms Daniels, and that the former president had approved the allegedly fraudulent reimbursement plan. Despite previous witnesses testifying to Cohen's belligerent nature, Cohen remained composed under cross-examination. Jeffrey Levine, an attorney who represents Cohen, said in a statement that "my understanding is Mr Cohen came across credibly." His testimony will continue when court is back in session on Thursday.
Prosecutors took a risk calling Cohen, given his online posts and criminal record. But as the man who actually carried out the hush-money payment to Ms Daniels, his testimony was crucial for the New York district attorney's case. Prosecutors also hope he will help prove another part of their case - that allegedly covering up the payment was election interference. In a pivotal moment, prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Cohen why he made the payment. "To ensure that the story would not come out, would not affect Mr Trump's chances of becoming president of the United States," he told the court. Ms Hoffinger asked on whose behalf he committed that crime.
Although Cohen said he didn't regret working for Donald Trump or his organisation, he said he had "violated my moral compass" in order to do Mr Trump's bidding. The FBI raided Cohen's apartment in April 2018. He spoke to then-President Trump, who told him "stay tough, you're going to be OK." "I felt reassured because I had the president of the United States protecting me," Cohen testified. But it was the last direct conversation between the two men. Cohen - who once said he would "take a bullet" for Mr Trump - testified that, after speaking to his family about being targeted by a federal investigation, he decided not to continue lying on behalf of his most famous client. After court wrapped up on Tuesday, Mr Trump told reporters that his team had "a very good day" and criticised a gag order limiting what he can say publicly about the judge's family and others involved in the case. A number of Mr Trump's Republican allies and possible running mates for November's election have attended the trial this week. House Speaker Mike Johnson, currently the top Republican in the US government and in line to succeed the president after the vice-president, was present on Tuesday and spoke to reporters outside. Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and Representative Byron Donalds of Florida also attended the trial.
Prosecutors indicated during arguments on Tuesday that Michael Cohen would be the last witness they call. Donald Trump has indicated that he wants to take the witness stand to testify in his own defence - but whether he actually does so remains to be seen. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69012587 |
David Copperfield: Magician accused of sexual misconduct - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Lawyers for the illusionist say the allegations are "false and scurrilous". | Entertainment & Arts | Magician David Copperfield has been accused of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour by 16 women.
Some of the alleged offences took place when the women were under 18, the Guardian newspaper has reported, external.
The allegations date from the late 1980s to 2014.
A representative for Copperfield told BBC News the allegations were "false and scurrilous" and "the exact opposite of who David is".
According to the Guardian, three of the women claim the magician drugged them before having sex with them. They said they did not feel able to consent.
In four instances, women alleged the magician groped them or made them touch him in a sexual manner during live performances on stage.
One woman said she met Copperfield in 1991 when she was 15 and he kept in contact with her through phone calls.
When she was 18, she says they had consensual sex, but the woman told the Guardian she believes she was groomed.
Copperfield's lawyers acknowledged the relationship to the newspaper but denied any grooming took place.
In a separate statement to the BBC, his lawyers said: "Everyone that knows David Copperfield will tell you that these recent allegations from one newspaper are the exact opposite of who David is.
"In fact, David has a record of risking his career to help protect women from powerful predators.
"Most of these historic accusations have been made before, and all of them are as false now as they were then. David requested the 'evidence' upon which these false allegations claim to rely and this has not been provided.
"By contrast, whenever US law enforcement has looked into such matters, they have been investigated thoroughly and it has been found that there is simply no case to answer.
"The Guardian's characterization is not who David is, and he continues to support anyone who has experienced any form of abuse or discrimination. The movement must succeed, but false accusations must stop for it to flourish. David will be considering the position with his legal team and will take such steps as may be appropriate over these false and scurrilous allegations."
Copperfield has previously been accused of inappropriate behaviour and in 2018 he denied historical allegations of sexual misconduct.
"I've lived with years of news reports about me being accused of fabricated, heinous acts, with few telling the story of the accuser getting arrested, and my innocence," he wrote on X/Twitter at the time.
Copperfield is one of America's best-known magicians. He has won 21 Emmy Awards and holds 11 Guinness World Records. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-69017797 |
Canadian writer and Nobel prize winner Alice Munro dies at 92 - BBC News | 2024-05-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Canadian writer was known as the "master of the contemporary short story". | US & Canada | Canadian author Alice Munro, a 2013 Nobel Prize winner for literature, has died at the age of 92.
Munro wrote short stories for more than 60 years, often focusing on life in rural Canada.
She died at her home in Port Hope, Ontario on Monday night, her family and her publisher have confirmed.
Munro was often compared to Russian writer Anton Chekhov for the insight and compassion found in her stories.
"Alice Munro is a national treasure - a writer of enormous depth, empathy, and humanity whose work is read, admired, and cherished by readers throughout Canada and around the world," Kristin Cochrane, the CEO of Penguin Random House Canada, said in a statement.
Her first major break-through came in 1968, when her short story collection, Dance of The Happy Shades, about life in the suburbs of western Ontario, won Canada's highest literary honour, the Governor General's Award. It was the first of three Governor General's Awards she would win in her lifetime.
Munro has published thirteen collections of stories as well as one novel, Lives of Girls and Women, and two volumes of Selected Stories.
In 1977, the New Yorker magazine published one of Munro's stories, Royal Beatings, based on punishments she received from her father when she was young. She went on to have a long relationship with the publication.
Munro, the daughter of a fox farmer and a schoolteacher, was born in 1931 in Wingham, Ontario. Many of her stories are set in the area and chronicle the region's people, culture and the way of life.
In her youth, she was named class valedictorian at her high school and received a scholarship to the University of Western Ontario in London. Munro had the the highest standing in English of any student who applied to the university.
While pursuing higher education, Munro said she spent about half her time on academics and the other half writing.
She has published more than a dozen collections of short stories. In the 1950s and 1960s, her stories were broadcast on the CBC and published in several Canadian periodicals.
Some of her stories compared life before and after the social revolution of the 1960s.
"Having been born in 1931, I was a little old, but not too old, and women like me after a couple of years were wearing miniskirts and prancing around," she said.
One well-known story, The Bear Came Over the Mountain, was made into the 2006 film Away from Her, starring Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent.
In 2009, Munro won the Man Booker Prize International Prize for lifetime achievement.
The judges said in a statement at the time: "To read Alice Munro is to learn something every time that you never thought of before."
They added that Munro "brings as much depth, wisdom and precision to every story as most novelists bring to a lifetime of novels".
She later won the Nobel Prize in 2013. Previous winners include literary giants such as Rudyard Kipling, Toni Morrison and Ernest Hemingway.
Munro said in an interview with the Guardian, external in 2013 that she had been "writing personal stories all my life".
"Maybe I write stories that people get very involved in, maybe it is the complexity and the lives presented in them," she told the Guardian in 2013. "I hope they are a good read. I hope they move people."
Her last collection of stories, Dear Life, was published in 2012. It included a collection of partly-autobiographical stories.
She told the National Post newspaper that Dear Life was special because she'd likely not write anymore.
"Not that I didn't love writing, but I think you do get to a stage where you sort of think about your life in a different way," she said. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69011945 |
Russia gives British diplomat Adrian Coghill a week to leave Moscow - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The expulsion of Capt Adrian Coghill comes after his counterpart was removed from Britain last week. | Europe | A British diplomat has been given a week to leave Russia in an escalation of a diplomatic spat over spying. The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement the removal of Capt Adrian Coghill was in response to "unfriendly anti-Russian actions" from Britain. On 8 May, external, the Russian defence attaché was expelled from London for alleged espionage as an "undeclared military intelligence officer". Russia says its response "does not end with this measure". It added the "initiators of the escalation will be informed about further retaliatory steps". It was inevitable following the UK's earlier announcement that Russia would declare Capt Coghill, a Royal Naval officer and Britain's defence attaché based at the embassy in Moscow, persona non grata. Russian statecraft follows closely the principle of reciprocity, which means for every tit, there must be a tat. So British diplomats in Moscow will expect further constraints. All this would have been taken into account when the government decided last week to crackdown on Russian espionage in the UK. Ministers would have decided that the loss of Britain's defence expert in the embassy in Moscow was worth the gain of disrupting Russian activities in the UK. Writing on X, previously known as Twitter, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps called the expulsion by Russia a "desperate move". He said Russia's only issue with Capt Coghill was that he "personified the UK's unwavering support for Ukraine in the face of his illegal and barbaric invasion". The removal of Col Maxim Elovik was among a number of other measures announced by the Home Office, Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence - as part of plans to "tighten defences against alleged malign activity by Russia" across Europe.
In April, five people were charged over conspiring to commit espionage activities in the UK on behalf of Russia under the National Security Act, the first prosecutions of this kind under the new laws. Another of the measures included the removal of diplomatic premises status from several Russian properties in the UK - including in Sussex and Highgate, which officials believe had been used for "intelligence purposes". Russian diplomatic visas were also affected, with restrictions including a cap on the length of time holders can spend in the UK. Last week, Home Secretary James Cleverly said Moscow would make accusations of "Russophobia" while spreading "conspiracy theories and hysteria". Col Maxim Elovik appears to have been in the UK since at least 2014. Prior to his posting in London, Col Elovik served as an assistant military attaché at Russia's embassy in Washington DC. When approached for comment, a Foreign Office spokeswoman directed BBC News to Mr Shapps' X post on the matter. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-69023928 |
East Belfast: Kathryn Parton found dead and murder inquiry begins - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Kathryn Parton, 34, who suffered serious head injuries, was discovered in an east Belfast house. | Northern Ireland | The body of Kathryn Parton was found in a house on Madrid Street in Belfast
A murder investigation has begun after a woman with serious head injuries was found dead in the bedroom of an east Belfast house. Kathryn Parton - known as Kat - was discovered in the house in Madrid Street on Wednesday afternoon. The 34-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene and three people were arrested. Police are continuing to question a woman aged 43 and two men aged 22 and 23 on suspicion of murder.
Forensics officers arrived at the east Belfast property to conduct further examinations of the scene on Thursday. PSNI Det Insp Michelle Griffin said her "thoughts at this time are first and foremost with Kathryn's family, who are left trying to come to terms with their loss". "Our investigation is at an early stage and enquiries are ongoing to establish the exact circumstances," she added. Police have appealed for anyone who may have information to contact them.
Belfast East MP Gavin Robinson described the incident as heart-breaking.
"It is shocking for the local community, a very tight-knit community, and a very good community," he said. "My thoughts are very much with the family and those so deeply affected at this time." Extending its "deepest sympathies to the families and friends of Kathryn" on social media, the charity Women's Aid said Ms Parton was the 19th woman to be killed in Northern Ireland since 2020. "Please know our thoughts are with you all at this incredibly challenging time. We cannot fathom the depth of your pain at losing your loved one," it added. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-69020059 |
Boy, 5, dies in fall from upper floor of east London block of flats - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A neighbour says the boy's parents are "inconsolable" after his death in east London. | London | Police and paramedics were called to Jacobs House on Thursday
A five-year-old boy has died after falling from a tower block of flats in east London. The child fell from the upper floors of Jacobs House in New City Road, Plaistow, at about 06:00 BST. He died at the scene. A neighbour who called the emergency services said the boy's parents were "inconsolable". The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner, the Met Police says. "Our thoughts are with the child's family at this time," a Met spokesperson said, adding they were supporting relatives with specialist officers.
Neighbours have been leaving flowers and cards near the little boy's home
A resident of Jacob's House, who gave his name as JJ, said the boy had lived on the 15th floor. He said he witnessed a man go to the boy and cry out: "No, my son." Another resident, Ansert Davis, said he saw the boy's father "rolling on the floor" and also "saying 'my son'". Mr Davis, who had previously seen the family playing on the swings, said the boy's mother was "distraught".
Emergency crews went to the building in Plaistow
He saw another neighbour run out to try and help: "She came running around, took one look at the child and turned back shaking. "I keep seeing the image in my head. It's so sad, I've got a grandkid about this age. Oh my God, it's like seeing your own kids." Another resident, who did not give their name, said the boy was an Arsenal supporter and described him as "a really nice boy."
People are starting to leave flowers near the spot where the five-year-old boy died. Some people here are still hearing about the news, reacting with a mix of shock and empathy.
Carol said her husband had heard the little boy's family scream early that morning
Carol, who lives near the block, said her husband "woke up this morning and heard the screams" and said something terrible must have happened. "He drove by and saw the ambulance and the police and this is what we woke up to, which is very sad."
A Met spokesperson said "officers, London Fire Brigade, London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance" attended the incident. "A five-year-old boy had fallen from an upper floor of an apartment block. Despite the efforts of emergency services, he sadly died at the scene," they said.
Flowers have been left near the scene
A spokesperson from Newham Council said: "We are deeply sorry to hear about this devastating incident. "We extend our sincere condolences to all those affected. "We have staff at the location to provide reassurance to residents at this difficult time while we work with partners to establish the full facts." The boy was previously reported to have been six years old. This has since been corrected by the Metropolitan Police Service to five years old.
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-69019844 |
Court cases delayed after pressure on prison places - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The measures are expected to be in place for about week in some regions in England where there is a lack of cells. | UK Politics | Ministers have triggered a plan which allows the criminal justice system to delay court cases of some suspects because of overcrowding in prisons. The emergency measure means some suspects will be released on bail, rather than sent to a cell, because their trial will be put off. It comes as the prime minister was questioned over the scheme allowing for the early release of some prisoners. Rishi Sunak insisted nobody deemed a public safety threat would be eligible. It is not clear how many suspects will be bailed under Operation Early Dawn, the plan to delay the start of some court cases now in force across England, which was triggered on Wednesday. Officials suggest the plan will remain in place for a week. David McNeill, the public affairs director of the Law Society, told the BBC's World at One programme that he was hearing "quite disturbing accounts" from members in courts describing the situation to delay court cases as "administrative carnage." "We're having victims, witnesses, lawyers and defendants turning up at magistrates' courts today only to find that the case has been cancelled and delayed to some point in the future." Tom Franklin, chief executive of the Magistrates' Association, said this confusion led to "a waste of resources, at a time when there are already large backlogs". Operation Early Dawn is in addition to another emergency measure, originally introduced in October, under which some convicted criminals are already being released to a home curfew, to free up cells. At PMQs on Wednesday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer asked for a guarantee from the government that no criminals considered high risk, including domestic abusers, were freed early as part of this scheme. He pointed to an example of one inmate who posed a danger to children, who had his release date brought forward - a case that was revealed in a new report by the prison's watchdog., external In response, Mr Sunak said: "There are strict eligibility criteria in place, with exclusions based on public safety and no-one will be put on the scheme if they were deemed a threat to public safety." Labour also called on the government to release information about the number of people released so far under the scheme and what their crimes were. A spokesperson for the party said it would scrap the early release system but was "under no illusion" this could be done immediately if Labour won the general election.
The plan to delay sending some cases to court emerged on Tuesday evening when criminal solicitors were informed by officials of the plans. The Ministry of Justice only confirmed the scheme publicly on Wednesday morning. When police and the Crown Prosecution Service charge a suspect with an offence, and they conclude the individual may need to be held on remand before a trial, the case is sent as quickly as possible to a magistrates' court. That court then decides whether or not to remand the individual to a prison while the trial is being prepared. In practice, this means some defendants who would expect to be sent from court to a remand prison cell will be told the start of their case is being delayed. That will mean police will have to release some of them on bail with a date to later attend court. The prison population has ballooned in recent decades as a result of tougher sentences and court backlogs. Government officials say the pandemic is partly to blame, because it led to an increase in the number of people being held in prisons for longer, awaiting jury trial. On Tuesday, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told MPs there were currently nearly 16,000 people in custody awaiting trial and "plainly that has an impact". Under Operation Early Dawn, the Ministry of Justice says that it now needs to control the flow of cases reaching this first day in court because of the pressure on cells. In a briefing sent to criminal solicitors, officials said their aim was to prioritise which defendants are dealt with. Using this mechanism is not unprecedented, but it is acknowledged by those in government to be a significant move in response to a difficult situation. Early Dawn was first implemented in March in north-west England before officials concluded this week that it had to be extended to the whole country.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman admitted magistrates and police were notified late last night due to extreme pressure on the prison system. He told the BBC: "To manage this demand we have brought on thousands of extra places at pace and will introduce strategic oversight of the transfer of remanded offenders from police custody to magistrate courts to maintain the running of the justice system." Shabana Mahmood MP, Labour's shadow justice secretary, said the government was "stalling justice" and "leaving victims in limbo". Ministers have already authorised the extension of a rolling early release scheme for some offenders who are near to the end of their sentence. The scheme will now direct the release to home curfew of some offenders up to 70 days before the end of their jail term - up from 18 days when the scheme was first introduced last October. Separately, about 400 police station cells have been set aside to help prisons deal with overcrowding. Law Society of England and Wales president Nick Emmerson said they had asked the Ministry of Justice for more information "to understand the full implications of this emergency measure". "What is crystal clear is the prison spaces crisis is a consequence of the government's approach to justice including over a decade of underfunding of our criminal justice system," he said. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69014154 |
Michael Cohen details what life was like as Trump's lawyer - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Cohen said the ex-president told him that people ''have gone down'' because of emails. | US & Canada | Michael Cohen is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger before Justice Juan Merchan as former U.S. President Donald Trump watches
Testifying just a few feet away from his former boss of a decade, Michael Cohen walked a Manhattan courtroom through the highs and lows of working behind-the-scenes for Donald Trump, a man for whom he once pledged to take a bullet. "The only thing that was on my mind was to accomplish the task, to make him [Trump] happy," Cohen told the court on Monday. Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records, relating to a hush-money payment Cohen, his former lawyer and fixer, claims he made to an adult-film star on the former president's behalf. Leading up to Cohen's testimony, Mr Trump and his ex-attorney traded fiery insults on social media. But on Monday, the former friends didn't even glance at each other as Cohen - calm and collected - told the court about their tumultuous past. Over five hours of testimony, he shed light on what being the New York businessman's fixer involved, including burying women's stories that could be damaging and lying when necessary. Monday was one of the few times the two have been in the same room recently, since Cohen, 57, came to work for Mr Trump, 77, decades ago. The son of a Holocaust survivor from Long Island, Cohen never wanted to be a lawyer, he testified, saying his grandmother pressured him into it. But after going to law school, he found himself working at a personal injury firm, where he did some "legal" and "non-legal" work for Mr Trump, he testified. In 2007, Cohen said he accepted a job as Mr Trump's special counsel, a role with a base salary of $375,000 (£298,000). It was a coveted job for Cohen, who would remain in the role for 10 years.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: What Michael Cohen said at Trump's hush-money trial
Mr Trump sent staff to pack up his old office and gave him his daughter Ivanka's office on the 26th floor of Trump Tower, not far from his boss, Cohen said. Eventually he moved to an office even closer to Mr Trump, whom he called "the Boss". It was "an amazing experience in many, many ways", Cohen said, calling the Trump Organization a "big family". He reported directly to Mr Trump, on "whatever concerned him, whatever he wanted", Cohen said, calling his ex-boss a micromanager. "Everything required Mr Trump's sign-off," he said. At the same time, Mr Trump was careful about paper trails, Cohen said. The Trump Organization founder never had an email address, telling Cohen that "emails are like written papers". "There are too many people who have gone down as a direct result of having emails that prosecutors can use in a case," Cohen said Mr Trump once told him.
BBC News reporters are in the Manhattan courtroom covering the historic first criminal trial of a former US president. You'll find their updates and analysis on the BBC news website and app, and across TV, radio and podcasts.
At first, Cohen's work involved negotiating bills from vendors that Mr Trump thought were unreasonable, he said. When he did well, Mr Trump told him so, he said. That left Cohen feeling "on top of the world", he told the court. But working for Mr Trump sometimes required unethical practices, Cohen alleged. Asked by prosecutors whether he would lie on Mr Trump's behalf, Cohen said yes. That was sometimes required to "resolve the task", he said. After Mr Trump announced his run for president in 2015, Cohen's role expanded to include other scandalous practices: facilitating catch-and-kill schemes, which meant buying women's stories of alleged sexual encounters with Mr Trump to ensure they were never published. It was an arrangement designed to boost Mr Trump's chances of winning the election, Cohen testified. The point was to "do everything within our power to protect Mr Trump", Cohen said. But this scheme - and his lies for Mr Trump - would eventually put Cohen behind bars. Mr Trump's former fixer pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 for lying to Congress about his involvement in Mr Trump's foreign real estate interests - and for campaign finance violations related to the hush-money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. He emerged from three years of prison and house arrest an ardent critic of the former president. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69006455 |
Merrick Garland: Republicans back contempt charges over Biden special counsel tapes - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Joe Biden had blocked the release of audio tapes from a special counsel probe, angering Republicans. | US & Canada | US Attorney General Merrick Garland criticised Republicans for "a series of unprecedented and frankly, unfounded attacks" on his justice department
Two panels in the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives have backed holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress. The House Judiciary and Oversight Committees made their recommendations after Mr Garland advised President Joe Biden to defy their legal demands. Republicans had demanded the release of audio tapes from a probe of Mr Biden's handling of classified documents. The findings have raised questions about the president's memory and age. The Judiciary Committee's 18-15 vote and the Oversight Committee's 24-20 vote took place on Thursday entirely along partisan lines. Their actions advance the contempt resolution against Mr Garland to the full House chamber, which means that the country's top prosecutor could face a potential criminal referral. The effort to hold the US attorney general in contempt stems from a 345-page report released by Special Counsel Robert Hur in February, the result of a year-long inquiry into Mr Biden retention of classified documents after leaving the vice-presidency in 2017.
The Garland-appointed prosecutor said that no criminal charges against Mr Biden were warranted, despite the 81-year-old "willfully" retaining classified materials as a private citizen. Mr Hur's report noted that the special counsel believed prosecutors would struggle to secure a conviction against Mr Biden, as jurors would likely view him as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory". That characterisation came after the president sat through five-hour interviews across two days last October with Mr Hur's team. The report says that Mr Biden was unable to recall certain details relevant to the investigation. Mr Hur, a Republican, recounted that Mr Biden had also struggled to recall milestones in his own life, including the years of his vice-presidency and when his oldest son Beau had died from cancer. The report's release was a difficult moment for Mr Biden and his fledgling reelection campaign. It immediately stressed one of Mr Biden's biggest political weaknesses - voter concerns about his age and lucidity. The White House and many Democrats have pushed back on Mr Hur's characterisation, alleging that the special counsel's claims went beyond the scope of his appointment and were misleading. "I'm well-meaning, and I'm an elderly man. And I know what the hell I'm doing," the president said angrily at an impromptu press conference.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Biden responds to special counsel - "I'm elderly and know what the hell I'm doing"
Mr Hur defended his report as "necessary, accurate and fair" during a congressional hearing a month after its release. Congressional Republicans have pushed to learn more about the report, putting pressure on the US Department of Justice to share full transcripts of the interview and other relevant documents. But Mr Garland wrote a letter to Mr Biden on Wednesday that audio tapes of his interview "fall within the scope of executive privilege" - giving the White House legal grounds to withhold their release. Executive privilege is a legal authority that allows the president and others within the executive branch to keep certain records or communications under wraps, blocking Congress or the judiciary's access to them. Mr Garland sent another letter on Thursday to the Republican chairmen of the judiciary and oversight panels. The letter said that the justice department would not release the recordings and criticised the committee leaders for "a series of unprecedented and frankly, unfounded attacks" on his department. Republicans, who allege the Biden administration is "weaponising the government" against former President Donald Trump, have launched a range of probes in recent months. But Mr Garland noted the president had fully co-operated with the department's criminal probe and sat voluntarily for the interview. In later remarks to reporters, he slammed "this effort to use contempt as a method of obtaining our sensitive law enforcement files" as contributing to "an atmosphere that puts our agents and prosecutors at risk". Mr Biden confirmed he was blocking the release of the tapes in a separate letter from his White House counsel to the committee chairmen on Thursday morning. "The absence of a legitimate need for the audio recordings lays bare your likely goal - to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes," it said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Robert Hur defends his report as 'necessary, accurate and fair'
It prompted Republican lawmakers to move ahead with their contempt measure. "The transcript of the interview was released months ago," Harriet Hageman, who sits on the judiciary panel, wrote in a post on X. "What is so damning in the audio that this administration is afraid to release them?" James Comer, the oversight panel's top Republican, said Mr Biden and his advisers "clearly fear" the release of the recordings "because it will again reaffirm to the American people that President Biden's mental state is in decline". Mr Comer's committee did not meet until later on Thursday, as several of its Republican members had travelled to New York to show their support for Mr Trump in his ongoing criminal trial, and descended into a chaotic shouting match ahead of its late-night vote. The contempt resolution now goes to the full House, which Republicans currently control by a single seat. It is unclear if they have the votes to hold Mr Garland in contempt. If they are successful, Mr Garland will join his two recent predecessors - Bill Barr, who served under Trump, and Eric Holder, who served in the Obama administration - to face a contempt charge. Neither of those men ultimately faced criminal charges. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69022395 |
Trump trial: Michael Cohen faces questions about past lies - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Trump's lawyers took aim at Michael Cohen's credibility by focusing on the guilty pleas that once saw him jailed. | US & Canada | We're pausing our live coverage now.
Court isn't sitting on Friday - Donald Trump has been granted the day off to go to the high school graduation of his youngest son, Baron Trump.
So we'll see you again on Monday, when Michael Cohen will be back on the stand for a fourth day of testimony - although it likely won't take up the full day.
For a full wrap of what happened in court today, you can read this article.
This page was edited by Brandon Livesay and Tiffany Wertheimer, and we had Kayla Epstein, Phil McCausland and Nada Tawfik at court in New York. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-69016950 |
Slot machines to go cashless as debit cards allowed - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The government says it will help slot venues compete - but charities warn it could increase addiction. | UK Politics | The government says it intends to let people use debit cards to gamble on slot machines. The move will allow pubs, casinos and slot venues to compete in an increasingly cashless society, ministers argue. Gamblers will still be banned from using credit cards in the machines. And there will also be a cap on how much they can spend in one gambling session, with staff alerted when limits are hit. Systems that require payment authorisation, such as Apple Pay, will be allowed, but otherwise contactless payments will remain banned. The Betting and Gaming Council, an industry lobby group, welcomed the "much needed" changes and called on ministers to set out a "clear timeline" for the relevant legislation.
But Gambling with Lives, a charity that supports families bereaved by gambling-related suicide, said slot venues were "taking over our high streets" and card payments would make machines "even easier" to play. "Anything that increases access to highly addictive machines cannot be seen as a positive," co-founder Liz Ritchie told the BBC. "We instead need to look at how we make these machines safer, by reducing deposit limits and slowing spin speeds".
The changes have been introduced as part of a wider package, which the government says, will level the playing field with online betting. Cashless gambling on gaming machines is currently limited to indirect payments via mobile apps, or by purchasing special tickets for machines. Stake limits have been cut in recent years, with fixed-odds terminals in bookmakers' shops limited to a maximum bet of £2, and £1 for machines in pubs. Direct payments from debit cards are not allowed, under legislation from 2007 designed to produce natural interruptions in play. But the culture department, responsible for gambling laws, says the decline in the use of cash across society could see machines become "obsolete" whilst slot-style games remain "easily available online". It added this would threaten the viability of bricks-and-mortar arcades, which "support jobs and have been adversely affected by the pandemic". The department said it could also arrest a decline in machine income in pubs since Covid, with people increasingly paying for food and drink by card and not carrying cash.
Under the proposals, debit card payments will require authentication, such as chip and PIN or biometric verification of the type used for Apple Pay. Like with cash, there will be a £20 limit on the amount a person can deposit onto a machine in one go, lowered for £2 for low-stake fruit machines, penny falls and crane grabs. The government says players should have to wait at least 30 seconds after a payment is approved before depositing money onto a machine, to "broadly mirror" time to withdraw cash from an ATM. There will also be mandatory limits per session, to be set following a separate consultation by the Gambling Commission, a regulator, triggering a 30-second cooling-off period. Despite objections from the sector, staff working in pubs will be alerted when mandatory limits are hit, along with voluntary limits set by punters themselves. These will not apply to the lowest-stake machines. The changes will be made via a type of legislation that comes into force automatically, and can only be blocked if the House of Commons or Lords objects within a 40-day window. However it will only be drafted once the Gambling Commission consultation, to begin in the coming weeks and lasting three months, is complete. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69021352 |
Rooftop peacock leaves residents sleep deprived in Ossett - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | null | The bird, which escaped from a farm in West Yorkshire, has been waking people up in the night. | null | A runaway rooftop peacock has been waking up residents in a West Yorkshire neighbourhood with its loud cry.
The bird, which escaped from a nearby farm three days ago, has been disturbing people's sleep in Ossett.
Both the RSPCA and RSPB have been called, but as the bird is not injured or in danger the charities are unable to help.
The Watering Hole Farm, where the bird usually lives, said the peacock will return on its own when it is ready. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-69023225 |
Bridgerton: Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan get a 'glow up' in season three - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Colin and Penelope's relationship is at the centre of the third season of Netflix's period drama. | Entertainment & Arts | Colin and Penelope's relationship is at the centre of the third season of Netflix's period drama
Bridgerton is back, with all its glamorous outfits, glittering ballrooms, and of course, gossiping aristocrats. The third season of Netflix's period drama focuses on the relationship between Penelope Featherington, played by Nicola Coughlan, and her long-time crush Colin Bridgerton, played by Luke Newton. But away from tales of love and lust, fans might also notice a change in how both stars look. He said in seasons one and two, Penelope was "young and insecure," and was being forced by her mother to wear bright yellows and bright greens.
Nicola Coughlan's character Penelope breaks away from yellows in the new season
But in season three, she becomes more independent, and starts wearing colours such as dark emerald green, as well as more muted tones. "It's as opposite as we could go." "We also changed her body shape to make her more mature, more sexy, less of a child," Glaser adds. Meanwhile, the initial brief on Colin was that he should be "younger looking" than his two older brothers, "so we kept his colours more youthful," explains Dougie Hawkes, associate costume designer on Bridgerton. But in the new season, Colin has just returned from his summer travels across Europe. "He returns as a man, so the evolution from the boy's colours to the male dominant strength... was a drastic transformation," Hawkes explains. As a result, Colin, who wore paler shades such as baby blue in the earlier episodes, is seen in much more striking hues this time around, such as navy blues and browns. His clothes also allow for more movement and more of a swagger, according to Glaser.
Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton, seen here with his on-screen sister Hyacinth (Florence Hunt)
Based on Julia Quinn's series of novels, Bridgerton is set in the world of Regency London high society and centres around the influential Bridgerton family. It's narrated by the mysterious Lady Whistledown, who writes regular newsletters full of tittle-tattle about the dating exploits of high society. Everyone reads her well-informed takes with fascination - but nobody knows who she is. At the end of season one, her identity was revealed to be Penelope. In the latest season, Penelope appears to have given up her hopes of a romance with Colin. But she has decided she needs to find a husband, and tries to put herself out on the marriage mart. Colin is disheartened to find Penelope giving him the cold shoulder, and so offers to help her in her pursuit of a husband in order to win back her friendship.
Shonda Rhimes brought Bridgerton to the screen for Netflix via her production company Shondaland
Shonda Rhimes, the woman who brought Bridgerton to the screen, has described Penelope's wardrobe as "extraordinary" this season. "So many times I found myself pausing to really examine her gowns because they were done so exquisitely, and they're so perfectly made for her," Rhimes said in press materials for the show. "It's really, really beautiful." Penelope has been on "a tremendous journey," Rhimes continued, adding: "I've always loved the character of Penelope. The idea that she's hiding this entire secret life is amazing to me."
"And what I think is great is that we are watching her step into her own this season. She really tries to come into her own, she starts to stand up for herself, and she owns what it means to be Lady Whistledown. I think, for her, it's a tremendous journey." But Rhimes said that Colin also undergoes an evolution. "I feel that we watch Colin grow up this season. He's always been very boyish, and this season he becomes a man in so many ways," she said. "He's been abroad, he's learned some things, and he comes back with a new attitude, but that attitude really gets tested as his feelings for Penelope grow."
The Bridgerton family are at the centre of the series
On social media, fans have welcomed Penelope's new look. "Penelope looks like a princess with these dresses in blue and green," wrote one Instagram user. "That dress, the colours, so beautiful on her," said another. Coughlan, who plays Penelope, has said the transformation had been "amazing" for her. "It really does make you feel so completely different when you're performing," she said. "In season one, I remember the late great [Bridgerton makeup designer] Marc Pilcher saying to me that the notes they had on Penelope were that she's dowdy, and I completely made my peace with that. But after two seasons, it was so nice to finally be wearing flattering things, and it really helped the character. "She has to grow in confidence, and it helped me grow in confidence, too."
Newton, who plays Colin, also enjoyed his character's development. "He's matured, he's grown up, he's on the hunt for a purpose. His style has changed, his confidence has changed, he's got this element of swagger to him now," he said. He described the last couple of years as a "a mad journey" ever since he found out he and Coughlan were going to be at the forefront of season three. "Finding out that we would be doing our love story and focusing on our book was a really special moment," he said. Showrunner Jess Brownell said makeovers are "a huge trope in the rom-com genre". She compared Penelope's transformation in season three to the iconic moment in the 1999 film She's All That, where Rachel Leigh Cook walks down the stairs in a red dress and is instantly popular and beautiful. But she warned that while Penelope does have her makeover, it doesn't necessarily have the impact that she thought it would. "Sure, her citrus-coloured dresses are not the best, but there's a much bigger internal journey to go on," she said.
The hair, makeup, and costume design have become integral parts of the Bridgertonverse. Fashion historian Jane Walton described the costumes as "wonderfully OTT". "The fashion is used to portray characters, which in drama is a good thing," she told BBC News. She said that period dramas like Bridgerton have helped get younger people interested in history, and also in Regency-era fashion. "The Regency vibe was quite risqué, clingy, they liked to show off the figure," she said. "Fashion in that period still has influence now. It's a style that comes round again and again." So can Bridgerton viewers expect more scandalous attire in season three? Costume designer Hawkes says yes. "[The series] has brought it in, and taken it out, and brought it back in again. Certainly in season three, I think viewers will see the return of the saucy Regency era," he said. "It was quite a debauched era." The first part of Bridgerton's third season is available on Netflix now. The second part will be released on 13 June. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-69008384 |
Slovak PM Robert Fico wheeled into hospital on stretcher - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | null | Slovak PM Robert Fico is was shot a number of times in what officials call an assassination attempt. | null | Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in hospital after being shot a number of times in what officials are calling an assassination attempt.
He is in a life-threatening condition and receiving treatment in hospital.
Video shows him being wheeled into Banska Bystrica hospital after being airlifted there. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69017530 |
Men charged over Leeds mum and daughter crash deaths - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The two men are charged with causing death by dangerous driving over the crash in Leeds last year. | Leeds & West Yorkshire | Justyna Hulboj, 27, and Lena Czepczor, 4, were walking along Scott Hall Road in Leeds when the crash happened
Two men have been charged over a crash in Leeds in which a mother and her four-year-old daughter died. Justyna Hulboj, 27, and Lena Czepczor were hit by an Audi TT while walking on Scott Hall Road on 16 January 2023. Police said Jasskamal Riyat, 35, of Buckstone Avenue, Leeds, and Hardeep Bhachu, 27, of Grant Row, Leeds, had both been charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving. They were released on bail to appear at Leeds Magistrates Court at later dates. Mr Bhachu will appear before city magistrates on 29 May, while Mr Riyat is due to appear on 12 June.
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-69019983 |
Keir Starmer sets out what Labour would do first if it wins election - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Labour leader promises more teachers and more NHS appointments in major pre-election speech. | UK Politics | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Sir Keir Starmer has set out what Labour would do first if it wins this year's general election. The Labour leader unveiled a pledge card with six key policies, including delivering "economic stability" and providing 40,000 more hospital appointments each week. Some of the pledges are more modest in scale than the five "national missions" Sir Keir announced last year. But he said they were the "first steps" towards Labour's bigger plans.
Sir Keir's five missions include making the UK the fastest-growing major economy by the end of a first Labour term in government and achieving clean power by 2030. Speaking at an event in Essex, he rejected claims the party had scaled back its ambitions as an election approached, saying the party had a "big, bold plan" but "we need first steps". The six "first steps" are:
• None Sticking to tough spending rules in order to deliver economic stability
• None Cutting NHS waiting lists by providing 40,000 more appointments each week - funded by tackling tax avoidance and non-dom loopholes.
• None Providing more neighbourhood police officers to reduce antisocial behaviour and introduced new penalties for offenders
• None Recruiting 6,500 teachers, paid for through ending tax breaks for private schools.
Pledges on healthcare, policing and teaching only apply to England as powers over these matters are devolved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Labour will make separate policy pledges for Scotland and Wales. Sir Keir said the steps were about looking "the public in the eye" with a "down payment" on what the party would offer the country. Asked whether the step on NHS appointments could be called a promise despite lacking a specific time scale for delivery, he replied: "It is - from day one, minute one, we'll be working to deliver it." He added that his party was already in discussions with doctors and that Labour would be able to increase appointments "pretty swiftly". He acknowledged that some promises he made when running to be Labour leader had been "adapted and changed" but added "only where circumstances have changed". "I'm not going to make a promise before the election that I'm not comfortable we can actually deliver." The Labour leader rejected being a Tony Blair "copycat" - despite handing out pledge cards, as Sir Tony did before his 1997 landslide election victory, and posing for pictures in a white shirt with rolled up sleeves. But he welcomed comparisons between himself and past Labour leaders who had led the party to general election victories. "Well the first thing I'd say about Tony Blair, other than he took his tie off at big events, is that he won three elections in a row," Sir Keir added. But he insisted the circumstances in 2024 were much different to those experienced by Labour when Sir Tony took power, describing it as a "very different moment to 1997". He said his onstage style, without a jacket and his sleeved rolled up, was about "trying to get across the sort of leader I am and my mind set and who I've got in my mind's eye when I make decisions".
John Prescott - Labour's deputy leader from 1994 to 2007 - displaying the party's pledge cards
Labour has said the six steps are "not the sum total" of the party's election offer and insisted the party also stood by its other policy commitments, such as housing and workers' rights. Conservative chairman Richard Holden said the British public would not be "conned" by Sir Keir, saying the Labour leader had "dumped every pledge that he made during the Labour leadership campaign" and when he was "trying to get Jeremy Corbyn in to be our prime minister". "I think people need to take with an enormous pinch of salt anything that he is putting forward," added Mr Holden. "It's quite clear Labour don't have a cohesive plan." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69016719 |
MP writes to Netflix over Baby Reindeer evidence - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | John Nicolson wants Netflix to substantiate what it told a committee about Baby Reindeer portrayal. | Entertainment & Arts | Jessica Gunning played the stalker Martha in the hit show Baby Reindeer
SNP MP John Nicolson has asked Netflix to substantiate what it told a parliamentary committee about the woman alleged to have inspired the character Martha from the hit show Baby Reindeer. Giving evidence before the Culture Media and Sport Committee last week, Netflix executive Benjamin King said the show was "obviously a true story of the horrific abuse that the writer and protagonist Richard Gadd suffered at the hands of a convicted stalker". But Nicolson believes the evidence Netflix gave may have been inaccurate. The SNP MP told the BBC "it's clear that the evidence given by Netflix to the select committee is disputed". He added that "the charge made - of a conviction - is very important. Journalists can find no evidence to back up the Netflix claim". The MP posted a copy of his letter to Netflix on X, external.
Fiona Harvey has identified herself as the woman portrayed as Martha the stalker in the series. Neither Netflix or Richard Gadd has confirmed this. Harvey said she has not been convicted of stalking and denied stalking Richard Gadd. Baby Reindeer has been watched by 65 million people worldwide. It is a dramatised account of the stalking its writer and star, Richard Gadd, says he suffered. He's since talked about the programme telling his "emotional truth". In its opening episode, the show claims "This is a true story". Baby Reindeer's popularity immediately led internet sleuths to hunt the "real figures" behind the fictional characters. After Ms Harvey was named, she appeared in a lengthy interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored and described the "absolutely horrendous" situation she finds herself in as a result of the programme.
Fiona Harvey, who identified herself as the woman alleged to have inspired the character Martha, told Piers Morgan she had not stalked Richard Gadd
So far, no evidence has been produced that she has a conviction. It has been reported that a writ was filed against her more than 20 years ago in a Scottish court by a lawyer who accused her of harassment. On Piers Morgan, Harvey claimed that never proceeded further. She denied harassment.
Apart from the evidence to the Committee, Netflix has not made any comment since the controversy erupted. Piers Morgan also has questions to answer about his decision to interview Fiona Harvey. She is reported to have said she feels "used". On BBC Radio 4's The Media Show, Piers Morgan told me they "had to think long and hard about the public interest justification in giving her the platform", if she was a convicted stalker who had gone to prison. But he felt it was justified because "I felt there was enough of a question mark surrounding that part of the story". "She is emphatic that there was no court case. There was no conviction. She certainly never pled guilty, she says, and there was no prison sentence." He says the framing of Martha in Baby Reindeer as a stalker who goes to prison is a "serious failure by Netflix" as "nobody's found any evidence whatsoever that she has any criminal record, let alone for anything to do with Richard Gadd."
Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd has asked viewers to stop speculating about the identity of the real-life stalker
Chris Banatvala, former head of standards at Ofcom told The Media Show there is "a duty of care" whenever you make a programme dealing with potentially vulnerable people, "whether that's Richard Gadd or Fiona Harvey". "Has she been portrayed in a way that is unfair to her… did she or did she not go to prison?" He pointed out, for now, the streamer is not governed by Ofcom regulatory codes. "In traditional broadcasting, there's a very good set of rules around fairness, what you can and can't do". The Doctor Who writer, Russell T Davies, said the BBC's editorial compliance processes would have been "much stricter". Writing in The Times, external, he said "compliance and editorial policy drives us mad here but I sleep at night". In his evidence to MPs, King said in making the show, Netflix had taken "every reasonable precaution in disguising the real-life identities of the people involved in that story". Ms Harvey disputed that when she spoke to Morgan in an interview that has been watched more than 11 million times. She has since said she was paid £250 by the programme and now wants £1 million. Morgan told the BBC that "she's not going to get a million pounds from me, no… there's no question about that".
Piers Morgan has rejected claims that he had exploited Fiona Harvey, when she appeared on his YouTube show
He added the show had also paid "for her to have a very nice expensive haircut and we got a very nice car to bring her to and from her home. So I think we treated her extremely reasonably and fairly." He also hit back at claims that his interview was done in the interests of gaining hits above anything else. "As to the question of whether I should feel regretful that it's been successful, I find that a very perverse charge to make". Netflix has been approached for comment. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-69023143 |
Death by dangerous cycling set to become offence - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Cyclists who cause deaths could face similar penalties to drivers including sentences of up to 14 years. | UK Politics | Causing death or serious injury by dangerous or careless cycling is set to become an offence, after the government agreed to a change in the law. Under the change, dangerous cyclists could face up to 14 years in prison. It followed campaigning by Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith who said cyclists should be accountable for reckless behaviour. The law change will be introduced after Sir Iain proposed an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, which is currently going through Parliament. Speaking in the House of Commons, the former Conservative leader said his proposal was not "anti-cycling". "Quite the opposite, it's about making sure this takes place in a safe and reasonable manner," Sir Iain said.
He raised the case of Matthew Briggs, whose wife died from head injuries following a collision with a cyclist in London in 2016. Sir Iain told MPs that Mr Briggs' attempt to get a cyclist prosecuted "involved a legal process that was so convoluted and difficult" even the presiding judge raised concerns and said the laws "needed to be addressed". His proposed amendment creates an offence of causing death or serious injury by dangerous, careless or inconsiderate cycling. He said it would "achieve equal accountability" adding: "Just as drivers are held accountable for dangerous driving that results in death, cyclists I think should face similar consequences for reckless behaviour that leads to fatalities." Backing the change, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: "Most cyclists, like most drivers, are responsible and considerate. "But it's only right that the tiny minority who recklessly disregard others face the full weight of the law for doing so." Speaking to the BBC earlier this week, Duncan Dollimore from Cycling UK said he had "massive compassion" for people who had lost family members in collisions but that he did not believe there was a "huge gap" in the law. He said incidents were rare but that cyclists who had caused deaths had been charged, convicted and sent to prison under existing legislation. Chris Boardman, the cycling and walking commissioner for Active Travel England, told BBC Radio 5 Live there was a greater need to focus on deaths and injuries caused by motor vehicle collisions. The former Olympic cyclist said: "Everyone should obey the law of the road but there are more people that will be killed by cows and lightning than by cyclists... That's the context and perspective I'd like to put back into this conversation."
During debate of the Criminal Justice Bill, the government also confirmed it was accepting a number of other amendments from backbench MPs including one that strips child rapists of their parental rights. Labour MP Harriet Harman proposed the change after a BBC report of a mother who spent £30,000 trying to prevent the father of her child, a convicted paedophile, from having access to their daughter. Home Office Minister Laura Farris confirmed the government would also accept an amendment introducing tougher sentences for people who sexually abuse dead people. The proposal was brought forward by Conservative MPs Greg Clark and Dame Tracey Crouch - who represent constituencies in the area where David Fuller worked. Between 2007 and 2020, Fuller abused the bodies of more than 100 women and girls in Kent hospitals. Ministers also agreed to calls to create a criminal offence for the practice known as "cuckooing" where a person takes over a vulnerable person's home for illicit purposes. MPs will continue to debate the Criminal Justice Bill,, external after which it will head to the House of Lords.
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If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk, external. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-69016715 |
Moment car rams into French police van in ambush - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | null | At least two prison officers have died after the vehicle - which was carrying a prisoner at the time - was ambushed near Rouen in Normandy. | null | CCTV shows the moment a car crashes into a French police van, starting an ambush in which at least two prison officers have died.
After this video stops, a group of gunmen can be seen surrounding the police van and firing shots.
The vehicle was carrying a prisoner at the time. Mohamed Amra was being taken from court to a prison, and escaped after the attack.
Read more on this story here. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69011700 |
Man told he is not British after 42 years in UK - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Nelson Shardey now faces a 10-year wait for "settlement" and a bill running into thousands of pounds. | Liverpool | Nelson Shardey outside his old shop, Nelson's News
A retired 74-year-old Ghanaian man who has lived in the UK for nearly 50 years must wait a decade before the Home Office will let him stay permanently. Nelson Shardey, from Wallasey in Wirral, had for many years assumed he was officially seen as British. He only discovered otherwise in 2019 and, despite paying taxes all his adult life, now faces paying thousands of pounds to stay and use the NHS. The Home Office declined to comment on the ongoing legal case.
Retired newsagent Mr Shardey first came to the UK in 1977 to study accountancy, on a student visa that also allowed him to work. After a coup in his native Ghana his family could no longer send him money for the fees. He took on a series of jobs, making Mother's Pride bread and Kipling's Cakes near Southampton, and Bendick's Chocolate in Winchester, and said no-one ever queried his right to live or work in the UK. He married a British woman and moved to Wallasey to run his own business, a newsagent called Nelson's News. When that marriage ended, he married another British woman and they had two sons Jacob and Aaron. "I tried my utmost to educate them the best way I could, so that neither of them would depend on social or anything," Mr Shardey said. He told his sons to "learn hard, get a good job, and work for themselves", and both went on to university and then careers as a research scientist and a public relations executive.
Nelson Shardey with his two sons when they were young
Mr Shardey said he had never left the UK, as he saw no need to and regarded it as his home. "Nobody questioned me. I bought all my things on credit, even the house. "I got a mortgage. And nobody questioned me about anything," he said. Mr Shardey has performed jury service, and in 2007 was given a police award for bravery after tackling a robber who was attacking a delivery man with a baseball bat.
But in 2019, when he applied for a passport so he could go back to Ghana following the death of his mother, he was told he was not British. The Home Office said he had no right to be in the UK.
Officials told him to apply for the 10-year route to settlement. Over the 10 years it costs about £7,000, with a further £10,500 over the same period to access the NHS. "I cannot afford to pay any part of the money they are asking," said Mr Shardey, who is recovering from prostate cancer. "Telling me to go through that route is a punishment, and it's not fair in any way." "I don't understand why this fuss at all, because I put my life, my whole self into this country. " When he tried to extend his right to stay in the UK online two years ago, he filled out the wrong form. That meant the 10-year process had to begin again in 2023. As a result, Mr Shardey will not be allowed to stay in the UK permanently until he is 84. "I just thought it was a joke. It's just ridiculous," said his son Jacob, who does research in cardiovascular physiology. "Why would he need to go and start this 10-year route when he's been here since 1977? "He's been here longer than the people who are working in the Home Office on his case have been alive."
With the help of Nicola Burgess, a lawyer at Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU), Mr Shardey is now taking the Home Office to court. His case - which his sons are trying to pay for through crowdfunding - is that the Home Office should have treated him as an exception because of the length of time he has been in the UK, and because of his bravery award and service to the community. "We know that at least one caseworker has looked at his file and suggested that he should be granted indefinite leave to remain because there are exceptional facts," Ms Burgess said. "And when you look at it on a personal level, if Nelson was your friend or your neighbour, you would absolutely agree that he should be given the immediate right to settle." A Home Office spokesman said: "It would be inappropriate to comment on active legal proceedings."
Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, external, X, external and Instagram, external? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-69016539 |
Slovak PM shot in apparent assassination attempt - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | null | Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been shot, in what officials are calling an assassination attempt. | null | Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been shot, in what officials are calling an assassination attempt.
Mr Fico was said to have sustained five gunshot wounds.
Police arrested a suspect at the scene in Handlova, where Mr Fico had been attending a meeting. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-69017531 |
Michelle O'Neill 'making a pig's ear of this', say DUP WhatsApps - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | More than 60 pages of DUP WhatsApp messages have been published by the Covid Inquiry | Northern Ireland | More than 60 pages of WhatsApp messages between Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) ministers have been published by the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. The messages give an insight into the thoughts of some of the party's most senior figures as the pandemic spread. The WhatsApp group chat covers the period between January and November 2020. No internal messages between Sinn Féin politicians have been published by the inquiry. Michelle O'Neill, whose WhatsApp messages from this period were wiped from the devices issued to her as deputy first minister, has told the inquiry that she accepts that these messages should not have been deleted. "I accept that I should have kept my additional exchanges, in particular with Arlene [Foster], and anything else that was relevant," she said. But DUP politicians' messages have been published and they are often candid. They include jibes at ministers from other parties in Stormont's executive. On 17 January, six days after the executive was restored following a three-year-hiatus, a person whose name has been redacted by the inquiry wrote: "SF [Sinn Féin] doesn't seem to have matured at all!" Emma Little-Pengelly, who was then a DUP special adviser and is now deputy first minister, replied with apparent sarcasm. "Well, why not - let English taxpayers subsidise our free prescriptions, lower rates, no water charges, lower tuition fees and free prescriptions.. but hey, how dare you guys starve us of funding #Perfidious Albion," she wrote.
Lord Weir, who was education minister at the time, commented on 13 March about the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland writing to him to call for schools to be closed. The DUP minister said of the Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin: "Wasn't aware of his qualifications in virology." A person whose name has been redacted replied: "Write back and tell him we don't live in the South [Republic of Ireland] and that his institution hasn't the best track record of looking out for the welfare of kids." On 14 March, there was criticism of Sinn Féin deputy leader Michelle O'Neill, who was deputy first minister at that time, after she broke ranks with the executive to call for school closures.
Emma Little-Pengelly and Edwin Poots were among those who exchanged messages in the group
Edwin Poots, the DUP agriculture minister at the time, acknowledged that schools would have to close at some point, but said the "response needs to be measured and reassuring". On 17 March, as the pandemic became more acute, Mrs Little-Pengelly proposed a "four-nations press conference" with the prime minister.
"All devolved regions with PM on televised conference to reassure people," she wrote. Mrs Little-Pengelly said the public "need to see leaders speaking", adding that "any confusion compounds panic".
Some messages point towards tensions between executive ministers during meetings to discuss the pandemic. There were several jibes at Justice Minister Naomi Long, leader of the Alliance Party.
On 7 May, Lord Weir said Mrs Long was "hard to listen to", and on 23 July he wrote: "Naomi talking about wind instruments - oh the irony!" On 9 November, Lord Weir said Ms O'Neill was "making a pig's ear of this" to which Mr Poots replied: "Comes naturally."
On 6 August, Lord Weir appeared to refer to an exchange between Mr Poots and Nichola Mallon, at the time the Social Democratic and Labour Party's minister in the executive. A person then wrote: "Edwin you managed to take her from zero to skywards v v quickly!!" Mr Poots replied: "It's a speciality of mine. Enjoying the sour bake on her face now." In another message on 15 June which appears to reference Sinn Féin Junior Minister Declan Kearney, Lord Weir wrote: "Where would we be without Declan's philosophical musings." A person whose name is redacted replied: "At a shorter meeting." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-69017289 |
Slough: Refuse workers seen on CCTV dodging exploding gas canister - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | null | The canister can be seen flying out of the back of a waste lorry after being crushed. | null | Video has been released capturing the moment a gas canister exploded and nearly hit two refuse workers.
The container flew out of the truck in Marcia Court in Slough, Berkshire, on Tuesday, landing between refuse supervisor Tom Conway and acting up supervisor Ray McNally.
Slough Borough Council said it had been wrongly left in a waste bin for collection.
Mr Conway said he did not see the canister fly out, but he ducked when Mr McNally shouted.
"I don't normally listen to him, but I listened to him this time," he joked.
He said when he realised what had happened he was "speechless".
Mr McNally said the canister weighed between eight and 10 pounds (3.6 to 4.5kg) and flew "60 or 70 foot (18.2 or 21.3m) in the air".
"If it had hit [Mr Conway] on the back he... could have been dead," said Mr McNally.
"My kids could be without a dad right now."
Councillor Gurcharan Singh Manku, in charge of environmental services at the authority, agreed that the men had had a lucky escape.
"I would hate to think of what would have happened if they had not reacted so quickly or if there had been a child or even a local resident nearby who ended up being struck," he said.
Follow BBC South on Facebook, external, X, external, or Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2240, external. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-69022553 |
Sycamore Gap: Man pleads not guilty to cutting down tree - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers, both from Cumbria, are accused of damaging the world-famous tree. | Tyne | Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers appeared at court on Wednesday
A man has pleaded not guilty to chopping down the world-famous Sycamore Gap tree. Daniel Graham, of 38, and Adam Carruthers, 31, were charged with criminal damage both to the tree and to Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland. Mr Graham, of Carlisle, entered pleas of not guilty to both charges before Newcastle magistrates. Mr Carruthers, of Wigton, Cumbria, entered no plea. The tree was cut down in September and the men were arrested in October. The criminal damage caused by the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree has been valued at more than £620,000, according to court documents. Harm to the tree has been valued at £622,191, with £1,144 for the wall. Both offences were alleged to have been committed on 28 September last year.
The tree, which had stood next to Hadrian's Wall since the late-1800s, was cut down in September
The felling of the much-photographed tree, which has stood next to the Roman wall since the late 1800s, caused an international outpouring of shock and dismay. The tree had been popular with visitors and tourists, with millions of people travelling to the Northumberland site. In a nine-minute hearing the men spoke to confirm their names and addresses. District Judge Zoe Passfield said she understood that "feelings are running high in respect of the case". Prosecutor Rebecca Brown said the case would be "instantly recognisable" and the Sycamore Gap tree was "deliberately felled". Both men were bailed until their next appearance, at Newcastle Crown Court on 12 June.
Daniel Graham denied causing the damage and Adam Carruthers entered no plea
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-69011665 |
Harrison Butker 'homemaker' speech sparks backlash - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Harrison Butker also attacked "degenerate cultural values" and "the tyranny of diversity, equity and inclusion". | US & Canada | An NFL star has courted controversy by telling female graduates that one of their most important roles in life will be "homemaker".
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker also criticised abortion and LGBT Pride in a speech at Benedictine College, Kansas.
His team has not reacted to the three-time Super Bowl champ's comments. The NFL said it was a "personal" matter.
Nearly 160,000 people have signed a petition for the 28-year-old's firing.
In his 20-minute address last Saturday, he said to women graduates at the Catholic private college that they had been told "the most diabolical lies".
"Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world," he said.
"But I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world."
Butker added that his wife's life had "truly started" when "she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother".
He added that Isabelle Butker had embraced "one of the most important titles of all: homemaker". Speaking about his marriage, he appeared to become emotional.
His speech also attacked IVF, surrogacy, "degenerate cultural values", "dangerous gender ideologies" and "the tyranny of diversity, equity and inclusion".
"Our nation is led by a man who publicly and proudly proclaims his Catholic faith, but... has been so vocal in his support for the murder of innocent babies," he said in a reference to President Joe Biden.
The football league distanced itself from the remarks, saying they were given "in his personal capacity... his views are not those of the NFL".
The LGBT advocacy group GLAAD called Butker's speech "woefully out of step with Americans".
Many social media users also criticised the NFL star.
Stefanie Hills, a former NFL cheerleader for the Chiefs, said on TikTok: "The best part of your speech when you said 'stay in your lane' ten plus times. Bro, take your own advice."
But his remarks were cheered by many conservatives. And even staunchly liberal comedian Whoopi Goldberg defended Butker's right to express his views.
"These are his beliefs and he's welcome to them," she told her co-panellists on ABC's The View.
"I don't have to believe them. Right? I don't have to accept them."
His Chiefs teammates have stayed largely quiet about the uproar. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes told The Pat McAfee Show, a radio programme, that he did not often speak to his teammate.
"Honestly, I don't talk to Harrison all year long, man. I just let him do his thing," Mahomes said.
Meanwhile, Missouri's top prosecutor vowed to investigate the alleged doxxing on Wednesday of Butker through a social media account run by Kansas City's government.
The message, which revealed the neighbourhood in which the Butker family lives, was posted from a public account on X, formerly Twitter, that is controlled by the city.
Attorney General Andrew Bailey said the investigation would look into whether the post had violated the Missouri Human Rights Act and targeted Butker for "daring to express his religious beliefs".
It was deleted after about two hours. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has apologised for the message, calling it "clearly inappropriate".
Butker has played for the Chiefs since 2017. He broke the Chiefs' franchise record in 2022 with a 62-yard field goal and helped the team win its first Super Bowl for 50 years in 2020. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69021543 |
Charithra Chandran: Bridgerton star on fame, family and stereotypes - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Charithra Chandran will make her West End debut in a one-woman play about rollercoaster teenage emotions. | Newsbeat | From Bridgerton to theatre, Charithra will be making her West End debut
"When are you going to get a proper job?" is a question that you probably wouldn't ask an actress who's starred in Bridgerton. But Charithra Chandran says it's one her grandparents only recently stopped throwing her way. As well as playing Edwina Sharma in the Netflix hit, the 27-year-old also appeared in spy thriller Alex Rider and will soon be seen in upcoming Prime film How to Date Billy Walsh. Charithra has a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, but it wasn't enough to pull her away from acting. And while her rise might look rapid, she doesn't necessarily see it that way. "I feel like I'm really hard on myself. I see myself as a failure and I'm constantly failing and trying to dig myself out of a hole," she says. "From the outside it can seem like you're thrust into this crazy world, but for me, it hasn't felt like that." Her success was never guaranteed, and her family haven't always been on board with her chosen profession, even though the signs were always there. "My parents weren't happy... aren't happy, but they also brought it on themselves," she says. "Since I was born, I've always been a performer, whether it's little dances, singalongs, plays, and they loved it. "So I'm like: what did you guys expect?" Although they're slowly coming around to her career choice, Charithra admits her grandparents in India "find it really hard to understand" because of their own upbringing. "Growing up in the 50s and 60s, their mind is stuck on what it was like for an actress back then when, unfortunately, a lot of young girls were exploited," she says. But it's not just her own family's perceptions that Charithra hopes to change.
Charithra and Simone Ashley (left) played the Sharma sisters in Bridgerton
There was praise both for her performance in Bridgerton but also of the show's inclusion of South Asian culture. "To be heard and listened to so early on in my career in such a big show, I felt really grateful," she tells BBC Newsbeat. Her next role is starring in a one-woman play - Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon - based on the book of the same name. Charithra's character navigates the rollercoaster of teenage emotions following the unexpected death of her sister - with themes of grief, eating disorders and mental health. Although it touches on serious issues, Charithra says it's "ultimately a comedy" which shows how you can overcome challenges. The fact that audiences will see a "brown woman on stage" is not lost on her, as theatre is traditionally "seen as something that is very white and middle class". And while Charithra's "really proud" to be offering that representation, she says her character is presented as "just a human being who goes through life" and the play's message is for everyone. "There isn't a right way to process grief and the difficult things that happen in life," she says. "We all handle difficult situations in our own unique way. "I know that when I was a teenager, I used to have these heightened emotions and be so freaked out and think 'God, I'm such a weirdo'."
Charithra says she's felt calm as attention has increased, but she wishes she "had more excitement in the moment"
Charithra hopes the play's positive message reaches audiences in the South Asian community, where discussions on sensitive subjects can be taboo. "I know that a lot of my follower base is brown," she says. "And I think this will enable those difficult conversations to be had, and parents and children to be more honest with each other." Charithra says she feels progress is being made, and sees herself as carrying on the work of other actors who've paved a way for her. "And it's only if I continue doing that work, will people succeed me and more people that look like us will be in the industry," she says. She's also felt the evolution closer to home. Her grandma and grandpa have recently stopped asking her when she'll get that proper job. "I'm celebrating that and just grateful for how far they've come," she says.
She credits her family for keeping things real and grounded - and anyone who follows Charithra on social media will see lots of content related to them and her culture. "One of the most beautiful things about South Asian culture is that we're not super individualistic. I don't see myself as an individual separate from my family," she says. "And I'm so grateful for that, because I live a very normal life." So normal in fact, that Charithra says she sometimes forgets about her glitzy day job - her "reel life" - until she sees herself on a billboard. "But my family and my friends, that's my real life," she says. Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon will be at the Garrick Theatre from Sunday 17 March
Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-68536802 |
India election: BBC journalist gets a call from AI-generated Trump - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | null | The BBC got to see just how easy it is to create a fake phone call between two people. | null | As India goes to the polls, it is impossible to avoid the wealth of AI-generated content being created - from campaign videos to personalised audio messages in a range of Indian languages, and even automated calls made to voters in a candidate's voice.
The BBC got a first-hand look at just how easy it is to create a fake phone call between two people - in this case, our reporter Meryl Sebastian and the former US president Donald Trump. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-68988192 |
Harry and Meghan's charity back in good standing - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | US charity authorities say Archewell's registration is in order after a warning notice. | UK | Prince Harry and Meghan on a visit to Nigeria last week
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's charitable Archewell Foundation is back in "good standing" say US authorities, after a previous warning notice over registration. A spokesman for the couple said the charity was fully compliant with regulators and that payments had been made promptly. It follows an earlier warning letter from State of California Department of Justice over the registration process. But that now has been resolved. "All necessary paperwork had been filed by the foundation without error or wrongdoing," said a statement from Archewell.
Earlier this week a spokesman for Prince Harry and Meghan had said that all the registration documents had been submitted on time, but a cheque that had been sent had not been received. Once Archewell had been notified of the problem, a "new cheque has been mailed", their spokesman had said. The warning letter from the State of California Department of Justice had delivered a "delinquency notice" to the Archewell Foundation, over their registration status. But the US state authorities now say that the "organisation is current and in good standing" with the registry of charities and fundraisers. The issue had not been about tax filings, which a spokesman said had been submitted in full and paid on time. Tax filings for 2022, published last year, showed Archewell had holdings of $11m (£9m) and made donations of $1.2m (£960,000) last year, including $100,000 (£80,000) for the Halo Trust, a mine-clearing charity once supported by Princess Diana. Other funded projects included $200,000 (£160,000) for a "gender justice" project in Washington, $125,000 (£100,000) for a civil-rights charity and $100,000 (£80,000) for a project promoting responsible use of technology. Archewell was founded when Prince Harry and Meghan moved to the US and stepped down from being working royals. Earlier this year there was an overhaul of the couple's operation, with a new sussex.com website, under the title of the Office of Prince Harry and Meghan. The couple have just completed a visit to Nigeria, following celebrations in the UK to mark the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-69018397 |
Afghanistan floods: ‘I found my family's bodies in the streets’ - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | As deadly flash floods hit Afghanistan, whole families and their homes have been swept away. | Asia | The day after the flood waters hit, Noor Mohammed found the bodies of his family in the street and in the fields.
The 75-year-old had been just 100m away from his home in northern Afghanistan when he heard the deadly roar of water approaching.
Noor ran towards the house where his wife, sister, son and two of his grandchildren were resting.
But it was too late.
The sudden torrent of water swept away his family and home. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-69017511 |
Gaza war: Israeli tank fire kills five soldiers in north Gaza, military says - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The reported friendly-fire incident in Jabalia is one of the deadliest since the war began. | Middle East | Israeli forces have gone back in Jabalia months after pulling out
Israel's military says five soldiers have been killed by Israeli tank fire in northern Gaza, in one of the deadliest incidents of its kind since the war against Hamas began in October. An initial probe found that two tanks fired at a building in Jabalia refugee camp where the troops had gathered. Troops went back into the area this week after previously pulling out, saying Hamas had regrouped there. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled the fighting and bombardment. Both the Israeli military and Hamas's military wing said on Wednesday that battles in Jabalia camp and the surrounding town of Jabalia were intensifying. Battles also raged around the southern city of Rafah, from where nearly 600,000 people have fled since the start of an Israeli operation 10 days ago. More than a million displaced people had been taking refuge there.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said five soldiers serving in the 202nd Battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade were killed in Jabalia camp on Wednesday evening "as a result of fire by our forces". Two tanks in the area fired two shells at a building being used by the battalion's deputy commander, according to a statement. "From the initial investigation... it appears that the tank fighters, from the ultra-Orthodox paratrooper company Hetz, identified a gun barrel coming out of one of the windows in the building, and directed each other to shoot at the building," it said. Seven other soldiers were wounded by the tank fire, three of them seriously. The deaths increased to 278 the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the ground offensive in Gaza on 27 October. Another 348 troops were among the 1,200 people killed in Hamas's unprecedented cross-border attack on southern Israel on 7 October, which triggered the war. Some were also taken back to Gaza as hostages. More than 35,270 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. According to the IDF's website, external, 44 of the soldiers killed in Gaza as of Wednesday - 15% of the total - died as a result of what it describes as "operational accidents". Twenty-two of them were killed by "friendly fire", five died because of "firing irregularities", and 17 as a result of "accidents", including incidents involving weaponry and trampling.
On Thursday afternoon, official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that four people, including a pregnant woman, had been killed in an Israeli air strike on a house in the al-Faluja area of Jabalia camp. Earlier, it said there had been intense strikes in the al-Hoja street area, causing its "complete destruction". Hamas's military wing claimed on Thursday that it had fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli troop carrier in the Block 2 area of Jabalia camp and targeted armoured bulldozers with explosive devices east of Jabalia town. The IDF's chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, told troops in Gaza on Tuesday that Israeli forces were "striking widely and strongly" in Jabalia. "We see there attempts [by Hamas] to hold on and rebuild, therefore we need to deal with this again and prove that we will return each time," he added. Wafa also cited medical sources as saying that more than 30 civilians, including 10 children, had been killed in Israeli air strikes on residential buildings in nearby Gaza City. Palestine Post photojournalist Mahmoud Jahjouh and several members of his family were reportedly among the dead. The IDF scaled down operations in Jabalia, Gaza City and the rest of the north in January after declaring that it had "dismantled" Hamas's battalions there. But that left a power vacuum in which the group has been able to rebuild. An estimated 300,000 people trapped in the devastated region are also experiencing a "full-blown famine" due to a lack of aid deliveries, according to the head of the World Food Programme. The US announced on Thursday that it had managed to anchor a floating pier in Gaza as part of efforts to boost levels of humanitarian assistance. But the State Department said the situation in Gaza was continuing to deteriorate and urged Israel to do more to provide sustained aid access to both southern and northern Gaza. Spokesman Vedant Patel said the flow of fuel aid into the territory through the Rafah crossing from Egypt had come "to a complete halt". These comments were echoed by the UN's aid chief, who told the Reuters news agency that the humanitarian operation was "stuck". "Stocks of food which were in place already in southern Gaza are running out. I think we're talking about almost none left," said Martin Griffiths. Meanwhile, in the south of Gaza on Thursday, fresh Israeli air strikes killed at least five people in southern and central Rafah, Wafa reported. The IDF has ordered the evacuation of a number of neighbourhoods since 6 May, when it began what it called "precise operations" against Hamas in "specific areas of eastern Rafah and the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing". Israel says it needs to send troops into the city because Hamas's last remaining battalions are based there. But the UN and Western powers say an all-out assault could lead to mass civilian casualties and a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel's defence minister said on Thursday that the Rafah operation would continue "as additional forces will enter". "Tunnels have already been destroyed by our forces and more tunnels will be destroyed soon. This activity will intensify," he added. "We are wearing Hamas down." He spoke hours before a hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), at which South Africa asked judges to issue additional provisional measures against Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah. The hearing in The Hague is part of a case accusing Israel of carrying out genocide in Gaza. Israel has dismissed the allegation as baseless. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-69019655 |
Elton John on V&A exhibition: 'I collect photos but hate ones of myself' - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The singer was speaking exclusively to BBC News ahead of the launch of a new V&A exhibition. | Entertainment & Arts | Elton John and David Furnish have many photos of Marilyn Monroe in their collection (here preparing for a scene from "The Misfits" in the Nevada desert, 1960)
Sir Elton John has said that even though he collects photographs, he "hates" ones of himself. The singer was speaking exclusively to BBC News ahead of the launch of a V&A exhibition of photographs from his and his husband David Furnish's collection. More than 300 prints from more than 140 photographers are on show in Fragile Beauty. But Sir Elton said: "I would never put myself up on the wall [at home], no thank you." The exhibition spans from the 1950s to the present day and includes portraits of jazz musicians Miles Davis and Chet Baker, and actress Marilyn Monroe.
David Furnish and Sir Elton John with their sons, Elijah and Zachary at the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party in 2015
But what's notably absent is any images of Sir Elton himself while performing. "It's extraordinary that I collect photographs because I don't like being photographed," the 77-year-old singer said. "I find it really painful." Sir Elton said that he also doesn't like taking photographs, despite his passion for the art form. "The paradox of someone who appreciates and has a sophisticated eye for photographs yet cannot stand to be photographed is not lost on me," Furnish said with a laugh. "I think what keeps Elton sane is the fact he's able to compartmentalise what he does on stage as a performer versus who he is in his everyday life."
Elton John and David Furnish have championed young artists -- including this one "Simply Fragile", 2022 by Tyler Mitchell, which the singer says is "fabulous and funny"
The exhibition follows their 2016 show from Sir Elton and Furnish's collection at the Tate Modern, which covered the period from 1920 to 1950. It features historic moments from the civil rights movement to Aids activism, and includes works by Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman, William Eggleston, Diane Arbus, Ai Weiwei and others. The majority of the photographs are being displayed to the public for the first time. Sir Elton said he was "absolutely blown away" to see the items on the walls. "We've collected these photographs over many years, and some of them I'd forgotten we had, because you buy photographs and they go straight into storage," he said.
Untitled Film Still #17, 1978 by Cindy Sherman, who David Furnish says shows "what women have to become, the roles they have to play"
Figures from the US Civil Rights movement including Malcolm X, taken by Eve Arnold in Chicago in 1962, feature strongly in the collection
"And a lot of them I haven't seen hung properly or hung at all. And so walking through, it's been hung so beautifully and the different sections and wall colours. I couldn't be happier. I'm just astonished by what we've collected and so proud of what we've collected because we both love photography so much." Sir Elton said that there was also "a lot of pain and grief" on the walls, including images from the events of 11 September 2001. "This is the first time I've ever shown our 9/11 photographs," he said. "Every time we get them out we think, is it going to be OK to show them, is it too raw?" Of the 2,000 images of 9/11 they own, they are exhibiting just four. Sir Elton insisted it was important to collect images of that pain. "The image of the man falling vertically from the World Trade Centre is one of the most beautiful images I've ever seen and yet it's one of the most tragic," he said. "And sometimes in tragic images, whether it's paintings or photographs, there's a lot of beauty. And that's why the show's called Fragile Beauty, because there's beauty in everything."
Robert Mapplethorpe's Poppy,1988, is a metaphor for a brief and fragile beauty
The collection also includes photographs of the storming of the Capitol in Washington DC on 6 January 2021. Sir Elton it was important to "keep a record" of events like that, which are historic. "We live in an age now where people seem to want to rewrite history and want to deny truth," added Furnish. "I think when things are captured photographically, it's irrevocable. It really locks it in time."
Self portrait, 1985 by Robert Mapplethorpe, who died of AIDS
Sir Elton said he never noticed photography "until I got sober in 1990". "I'd had my photograph taken by all the top photographers, mostly anyway, but I never considered photography as an art form," he said. But after he became sober, he was in the South of France and got hooked when he saw a friend buying photographs. "I went, 'oh, these are so beautiful'. And I noticed the art form for the first time. And so from that time, I was bitten, and investigated and read and collected... and bought a lot." A shared love of photography also helped the pair connect when they first met, said Furnish.
Jimmy Paulette and Taboo! In the Bathroom, 1991 by Nan Goldin, who Elton John and David Furnish say captured a big part of what the singer's life was like in the 1980s
"The night we met at Elton's house in Windsor, the thing that we bonded over was photography," he said. "By the end of the night I felt something very special, and I think [he] did too." For the exhibition, curators have created eight thematic sections covering subjects such as fashion, celebrity, the male body and American photography - with the show set to be the largest temporary photography exhibition in the V&A's history.
For this portrait "Egg On His Face" by David LaChapelle in 1991 - Elton John picked up two rubber fried eggs and put them under his glasses as a joke
And two photographs of Sir Elton did make the cut - one of which is particularly unusual. It's a portrait of the singer by David LaChapelle from 1991, which shows him with fried eggs for eyes. "It was completely spontaneous because David was taking Elton's picture and the fried eggs were actually a model on the table," Furnish explained. "And completely spontaneously, Elton picked the plastic eggs up and put them under his glasses. And David grabbed it. "And that for me says more about Elton's personality and his sense of humour and irreverence, than anything. And that's what I love about photography. It can capture a moment and preserve something that isn't immediately obvious." Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection in partnership with Gucci will run from 18 May 2024 to 5 January 2025. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68891314 |
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Nails found glued sharp-end up on swings and slide in Marcham play park - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Police say they are investigating the discovery at a play park in an Oxfordshire village. | Oxford | Nails have been found glued sharp-end up to a slide, swings and other play equipment in a village park. Parents in Marcham, Oxfordshire, have described being left shocked by the discovery, which was made on Monday following a weekend community event. Thames Valley Police said it was investigating and urged anyone with information to get in contact. Marcham Parish Council, which owns the park, said it was "shocked and saddened" by the incident.
Nails were also found on swings
Parish council chairman Mark Harvie said the nails were found by a "distressed" parent early in the morning and the situation was flagged up on a local Facebook group. It came a day after the Big Marcham Weekend, a family-friendly two-day event held at the park.
"Marcham is a great community, which was reflected in the very positive community event, which is part of the reason why everyone is so shocked," Mr Harvie said. "This is very much out of the ordinary - we've never [previously] had any reports like this." He said the parish council was "very much hoping" it was a one-off incident, and added that people should remain vigilant and check equipment before it was used.
• None How claims about playground nails went viral
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-69015286 |
Duke students walk out ahead of Jerry Seinfeld graduation speech - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | null | Pro-Palestinian students booed the comedian who has been a vocal supporter of Israel during the war in Gaza. | null | During a graduation ceremony at Duke University, pro-Palestinian students staged a walk out and booed Jerry Seinfeld head of his speech at the ceremony. The veteran comedian has been a vocal supporter of Israel during the war in Gaza.
Many students stayed to listen to the speech, with some chanting their support.
Read more on this story here. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69004628 |
‘That was a lie!’ - Trump lawyer clashes with Michael Cohen in hush-money trial - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Tensions boil over on a heated day in court, as the ex-president’s lawyer assails the prosecution's star witness. | US & Canada | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: The BBC's Nada Tawfik dissects the brutal questioning of Cohen
Tensions - and voices - rose on Thursday as Donald Trump's lawyer hit back against prosecutors, accusing their star witness repeatedly of lying. On the most tense day yet of cross-examination, Michael Cohen, Mr Trump's former fixer, described talking to the former president directly about a hush-money payment to an adult-film star. But attorney Todd Blanche all but shouted Cohen's testimony was "a lie." Records, he said, show Cohen called Mr Trump's bodyguard about a prank caller. Mr Blanche's theory of the phone call was designed to sow doubt on Cohen's third day on the stand, as the jury watched the furious exchange with intense focus. Following the heated moment, Mr Blanche stormed back to the defence table and sat down next to his client. When the judge announced an afternoon recess, there was a collective exhale in the room. Mr Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, for allegedly disguising payments to Cohen as legal expenses when they were in fact reimbursements for paying off film star Stormy Daniels, who claims she had sex with him. Prosecutors allege Mr Trump sought to keep damaging information from the public to protect his 2016 presidential campaign. Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts and denied having sex with Ms. Daniels. On the stand Thursday under pressure, Cohen maintained that his previous testimony was true, and that he spoke to Mr Trump about the payout to Ms. Daniels on a call on 24 October 2016. Earlier this week, prosecutors asked Cohen about the call to help establish Mr Trump's alleged direct knowledge of the payoff scheme. Cohen testified that he kept his boss aware during every step of the process of paying Ms Daniels. As the man at the centre of the payout, Cohen's testimony is crucial for prosecutors to prove whether or not Mr Trump had knowledge of the allegedly fraudulent reimbursement plan. But Cohen's criminal record, history of lying to Congress, and profane public criticism of Mr Trump makes him a flawed witness. In 2018, he pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance crimes over the hush-money payment, but maintains that he sent the money at Mr Trump's direction. The defence seized on Cohen's credibility issues for nearly two days and sought to paint him as a liar with a vendetta against Mr Trump. On Thursday morning, Mr Blanche played recordings from Mr Cohen's podcast, Mea Culpa, where the witness expressed a desire to see the former president go through the booking process and said of Mr Trump, "I want this man to go down.'' Mr Blanche also confronted Cohen with an X post where he called the former president "Dumbass Donald." "Does the outcome of this trial affect you personally?" Mr Blanche asked him.
The president's attorney pressed Cohen repeatedly about his guilty plea for lying to Congress, and aggressively questioned Cohen about previous statements that he did not believe prior tax evasion charges he pleaded guilty to were fair. Several hours of similar questioning all led to the dramatic showdown over the 24 October 2016 phone call. Mr Blanche first asked Cohen if he recalled receiving harassing calls in late October 2016. Cohen confirmed he had. Mr Blanche then displayed communications between Cohen and Mr Trump's bodyguard, Keith Schiller, on 24 October discussing how to deal with the prank calls. Amid their discussions about the prank caller, is a call between Cohen and Mr Schiller, that Cohen previously testified he made to discuss the payout to Ms Daniels with Mr Trump. That call lasted a minute and 36 seconds. Mr Blanche expressed scepticism that Cohen could have discussed both the prank caller and the six-figure payout in such a brief period. But Cohen countered that part of that call was about "the 14-year-old" who was behind the calls. He knew that Mr Schiller was with their boss at the time, and the call was about more than just the harassment, he said. Cohen insisted he always ran "everything by the boss" immediately, and that he did so on that call. The response drew a dramatic reaction from Mr Blanche: "That. Was. A. Lie," he declared loudly. Numerous Republican members of Congress filled the benches behind Mr Trump on Tuesday in a show of partisan support.
BBC News reporters are in the Manhattan courtroom covering the historic first criminal trial of a former US president. You'll find their updates and analysis on the BBC news website and app, and across TV, radio and podcasts.
A Trump campaign spokeswoman attended, as did his son, Eric Trump. Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, and Andy Biggs were among the entourage, which was so large that some lawmakers had to sit in the back of the courtroom. Cohen's testimony has piqued public interest. The line to get into court stretched down the block Thursday morning, and journalists and members of the public had hired line sitters to save them a spot overnight. One line sitter, whose employer did not show, offered others in line $400 for her spot. Despite the immense public interest, however, the defendant did not express much enthusiasm in the courtroom: Mr Trump sat back silently in his seat for most of the morning session. At a few points, he focused intently on the cross-examination. Though one of his biggest public nemeses sat just a few feet to his right, most of the time, Mr Trump just stared straight ahead. "I think it was a very interesting day," Mr Trump told the waiting cameras as he left the courtroom. "A fascinating day." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-69024649 |
AI and deepfakes blur reality in India elections - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | As deepfakes and AI-manipulated content circulate in India, experts worry about their implications. | India | Fact-checkers say an avatar of Duwaraka was created digitally for a YouTube stream
In November last year, Muralikrishnan Chinnadurai was watching a livestream of a Tamil-language event in the UK when he noticed something odd. A woman introduced as Duwaraka, daughter of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Tamil Tiger militant chief, was giving a speech. The problem was that Duwaraka had died more than a decade earlier, in an airstrike in 2009 during the closing days of the Sri Lankan civil war. The then-23-year-old's body was never found. And now, here she was - seemingly a middle-aged woman - exhorting Tamilians across the world to take forward the political struggle for their freedom. Mr Chinnadurai, a fact-checker in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, watched the video closely, noticed glitches in the video and soon pinned it down to being a figure generated by artificial intelligence (AI). The potential problems were immediately clear to Mr Chinnadurai: "This is an emotive issue in the state [Tamil Nadu] and with elections around the corner, the misinformation could quickly spread." As India goes to the polls, it is impossible to avoid the wealth of AI-generated content being created - from campaign videos, to personalised audio messages in a range of Indian languages, and even automated calls made to voters in a candidate's voice. Content creators like Shahid Sheikh have even had fun using AI tools to show Indian politicians in avatars we haven't seen them in before: wearing athleisure, playing music and dancing. But as the tools get more sophisticated, experts worry about its implications when it comes to making fake news appear real. "Rumours have always been a part of electioneering. [But] in the age of social media, it can spread like wildfire," says SY Qureshi, the country's former chief election commissioner. "It can actually set the country on fire."
These images of (from left) opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee were created using AI tools by content creator Shahid Sheikh on Instagram
India's political parties are not the first in the world to take advantage of recent developments in AI. Just over the border in Pakistan, it allowed jailed politician Imran Khan to address a rally. And in India itself, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also already made the best of the emerging technology to campaign effectively - addressing an audience in Hindi which, by using the government-created AI tool Bhashini, was then translated into Tamil in real time. But it can also be used to manipulate words and messages. Last month, two viral videos showed Bollywood stars Ranveer Singh and Aamir Khan campaigning for the opposition Congress party. Both filed police complaints saying these were deepfakes, made without their consent. Then, on 29 April, Prime Minister Modi raised concerns about AI being used to distort speeches by senior leaders of the ruling party, including him. The next day, police arrested two people, one each from the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress party, in connection with a doctored video of Home Minister Amit Shah. Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also faced similar accusations from opposition leaders in the country.
AI images of PM Modi and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi created by content creator Sahixd for his Instagram page
The problem is - despite the arrests - there is no comprehensive regulation in place, according to experts. Which means "if you're caught doing something wrong, then there might be a slap on your wrist at best", according to Srinivas Kodali, a data and security researcher. In the absence of regulation, creators told the BBC they have to rely on personal ethics to decide the kind of work they choose to do or not do. The BBC learned that, among the requests from politicians, were pornographic imagery and morphing of videos and audios of their rivals to damage their reputation. "I was once asked to make an original look like a deepfake because the original video, if shared widely, would make the politician look bad," reveals Divyendra Singh Jadoun. "So his team wanted me to create a deepfake that they could pass off as the original." Mr Jadoun, founder of The Indian Deepfaker (TID), which created tools to help people use open source AI software to create campaign material for Indian politicians, insists on putting disclaimers on anything he makes so it is clear it is not real. But it is still hard to control.
In Pakistan, jailed politician Imran Khan used AI to address a rally
Mr Sheikh, who works with a marketing agency in the eastern state of West Bengal, has seen his work shared without permission or credit by politicians or political pages on social media. "One politician used an image I created of Mr Modi without context and without mentioning it was created using AI," he says. And it is now so easy to create a deepfake that anyone can do it. "What used to take us seven or eight days to create can now be done in three minutes," Mr Jadoun explains. "You just need to have a computer." Indeed, the BBC got a first-hand look at just how easy it is to create a fake phone call between two people - in this case, me and former US president Donald Trump.
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Despite the risks, India had initially said it wasn't considering a law for AI. This March, however, it sprung into action after a furore over Google's Gemini chatbot response to a query asking: "Is Modi a fascist?" Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the country's junior information technology minister, said it had violated the country's IT laws. Since then, the Indian government has asked tech companies to get its explicit permission before publicly launching "unreliable" or "under-tested" generative AI models or tools. It has also warned against responses by these tools that "threaten the integrity of the electoral process". But it isn't enough: fact-checkers say keeping up with debunking such content is an uphill task, particularly during the elections when misinformation hits a peak. "Information travels at the speed of 100km per hour," says Mr Chinnadurai, who runs a media watchdog in Tamil Nadu. "The debunked information we disseminate will go at 20km per hour." And these fakes are even making their way into the mainstream media, says Mr Kodali. Despite this, the "election commission is publicly silent on AI". "There are no rules at large," Mr Kodali says. "They're letting the tech industry self-regulate instead of coming up with actual regulations." There isn't a foolproof solution in sight, experts say. "But [for now] if action is taken against people forwarding fakes, it might scare others against sharing unverified information," says Mr Qureshi. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-68918330 |
Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan: Why I hate on-screen vanity, in new show Big Mood - BBC News | 2024-05-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The actress says it was crucial to look "ugly and messy" in her new role in comedy series Big Mood. | Entertainment & Arts | Nicola Coughlan: "There were moments I looked at myself and thought, God, I look really bad"
Bridgerton and Derry Girls star Nicola Coughlan loves getting glammed up for a big event, but is adamant about looking "really bad" for her latest TV series. That's lucky, because for her role as budding playwright Maggie in Channel 4 dark comedy Big Mood, she looks pretty bedraggled in some scenes. In the show, Maggie is joined at the hip with her best friend, bar owner Eddie, played by It's a Sin star Lydia West. But their 10-year friendship is sorely tested when Maggie's bipolar disorder makes an unwelcome return, pitching her from manic highs to deep lows. When she's severely depressed, she's unable to leave the sofa, her flat becomes a tip, and she no longer cares about her appearance. Eddie tries to coax Maggie out of it, but this doesn't really work - it's far more complex.
Eddie and Maggie's friendship is tested when Maggie is feeling low
Coughlan, who plays the coiffured Penelope Featherington in Netflix period drama Bridgerton, says it was crucial to look "ugly and messy" to play Maggie properly. "I really hate vanity on screen," she tells the BBC. "I always think as actors, we have the privilege of going to red carpet events and dressing up and having glam teams. "I'm like, 'Do that in your own time. Don't bring that to the show'." Big Mood's writer Camilla Whitehill has been friends with Coughlan since they met at drama school 15 years ago. "No false eyelashes. And no make-up - don't even think about it," Whitehill laughs, recalling what she wrote in the script notes. Whitehill wrote the series for Coughlan - they make each laugh a lot, cementing a friendship that is clearly still going strong.
Nicola Coughlan got glammed up on the red carpet at the Bata TV Awards in 2022
The actress explains why she thinks it's important to be real for the cameras. "I really feel like audiences are a lot smarter than people give them credit for," she says. "They can sense authenticity, and I wouldn't be doing Camilla's script justice, or the show as a whole justice, if I came in with a level of vanity to play Maggie." That made it easier to get ready for work in the morning - because she made zero effort. "There were moments I looked at myself and thought, 'God, I look really bad'. But I was very comfy." Maggie spends a fair bit of time in pyjama bottoms and slogan T-shirts, and the pair enjoyed choosing which ones she would wear.
Coughlan wore one of her own T shirts on set, bought for her by Whitehill
Although there are a lot of big laughs and deeply cringeworthy moments in the series, it's also got a serious side. We see the huge impact bipolar disorder has not only on Maggie, but those around her. Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that the NHS website, external says affects your moods, which can swing from one extreme to another. It used to be known as manic depression, and symptoms include episodes of:
Coughlan spoke in 2019 about her own mental health issues, telling Glamour magazine, external about a period of depression when she "couldn't get out of bed". She was able to get through this period with "strong support" from her family and friends, and said at the time: "We need to stop the stigma."
Camilla Whitehill and Nicola Coughlan at the 2022 Glamour Women of the Year awards
Working on Big Mood was new territory, though. "When we were reading the scripts, I was like, depression - it's really sad. But it's something most people can relate to. It's awful, but that's just the way the world is. "But the manic episodes are something I didn't really understand, and then imagining how it must feel for her to go from the highest of the high to the lowest of the low, how difficult that must be." Coughlan stresses Big Mood is about Maggie's journey, rather than just about her illness. "She's just a funny woman who happens to have bipolar disorder, so it was more important to me to make her fully feel real. "It's quite uncomfortable because anti-psychotic medication is a lot less palatable for people to talk about. But I think Camilla's done a brilliant job."
Whitehill says: "It's great the conversation around it has started, but I can't stand the term 'mental health'. "You don't talk about cancer, saying 'physical health'. It makes no sense. "Aside from that, it's great we've encouraged conversation around things like depression or anxiety. But there are other mental illnesses and their symptoms can be not as palatable. "If we're going to open up the conversation, then things should be getting better for very, very unwell people in our society that we're still not helping."
Another key theme in the series is female friendships, something Whitehill and Coughlan know a lot about.
Eddie and Maggie get very dressed up at a themed birthday party
Maggie and Eddie adore each other, but it's not an easy relationship. We see the love and depth of their relationship, but also that it can get messy at times. "They love each other, but it's too co-dependent," says Coughlan. Whitehill focuses the show on her age group - millennials, born from the early 1980s through to the turn of the Millennium. "I think female friends, friendships of any kind, just deserve more representation because the impact they have on our lives are huge," she says. "Maybe like in the past, you got married at 22 and then you stayed really family orientated. But now friendships remain a huge part of your life, in a way that I think they didn't used to. "And a rift in a friendship can be as devastating or exciting as in a romantic relationship to me." She calls it "a fun area to write about". "I take my friendships very seriously. I love my friends and it's half a love letter to friendship, and half an exploration of how tricky it can be."
Coughlan, who recently appeared in the box office smash Barbie as Diplomat Barbie, says its success shows how important it is to put women front and centre in the arts. "It's bad business not to cater to a mix of people - if you look at Barbie, which made $1bn, women want to see themselves on screen. "When people were going in their masses to see it and wearing pink, it's not just that we love movies about dolls, it's actually about seeing women's stories on screen." She talks about the success of huge entertainment events like Beyonce's Renaissance tour and Taylor Swift's Eras tour, saying: "Women want to see women doing stuff. "We're crying out for it, but there are a lot of men in suits going, 'I don't really know why people like this'. "We're like, 'Well they do, so just invest in it'."
Nicola Coughlan says she had never played anyone like Maggie before
For Coughlan, one of the best things about co-starring in Big Mood was it presented a fresh challenge after Derry Girls and Bridgerton. "I feel really lucky," she says. "Maggie is so different. I've never played anyone like this. She's really ballsy and strong and complex. "It's the kind of role I think a lot of actors who have writer friends really wish they wrote for them. "I think people will actually take away an awful lot from it." Big Mood is on Channel 4 from 28 March. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68573809 |