Author: BBC

Gérard Depardieu’s trial on charges of sexual assault has been postponed until March because the French actor is in poor health, a court in Paris has said.Depardieu, 75, was absent when the trial opened earlier on Monday, with his lawyer asking for a delay to proceedings, citing his client’s health issues.Depardieu is accused of attacking two women while shooting the 2021 film Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters), in the highest profile #MeToo case to hit France.Prosecutors say he made explicit sexual remarks to, and then aggressively “groped”, two members of the production team. If convicted, he could face five…

Watch: Trump rally speaker calls Puerto Rico ‘a floating island of garbage’A comedian at a Donald Trump rally called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage”, sparking fury from Republicans and Democrats and accusations of racism.The comic, Tony Hinchcliffe, was among the speakers at the Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday. He also made a series of jokes that leant on racist stereotypes.A Trump adviser distanced the former president from the Puerto Rico joke, which was also denounced by Trump’s Democratic rival, Kamala Harris. Harris herself was the target of another Trump warm-up speaker who also sparked controversy.The…

BBCFive times Prof Kevin Fong broke down in tears in a nondescript hearing room in West London, while giving evidence to the Covid inquiry.The 53-year-old has the kind of CV that makes you pay attention: a consultant anaesthetist in London who also works for the air ambulance service and specialises in space medicine.In 2020, as Covid spread around the world, he was seconded to NHS England and sent out to the worst hit areas to support other medics.We’ve long been told that hospitals were struggling to cope during the pandemic. In January 2021, then prime minister Boris Johnson warned the…

There is no special Budget red box commissioned for Rachel Reeves when, mid-morning on Wednesday, she becomes the first woman to brandish one outside Number 11.There will be no such frills, few jokes and don’t expect a big rabbit out of the hat.The number crunchers, bean counters, and abacus economists, so derided by Liz Truss, have taken back control. In that reused Red Box will be a boffin’s Budget.Indeed, it could be defined by being the polar opposite of everything in Truss and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s infamous mini-Budget two years ago.They notoriously declined the offer of an Office of…

Microsoft Activision BlizzardThe Call of Duty series is one of the best-selling games in historyIt has been eagerly anticipated, but this year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has finally dropped for gamers to get stuck into.The Call of Duty (CoD) series is one of the best-selling in history with more than 425 million lifetime sales and has made billions of dollars.But this latest edition comes with a bit of a difference, with it being available straight away to subscribers of Microsoft’s Game Pass service – a first for a game of this size.It means those with the existing Netflix-style…

British superstar Adele burst into tears after spotting Celine Dion at her concert residency in Las Vegas. The two singers then shared an emotional hug in the Colosseum Theater at Caesars Palace, a venue originally built for Dion’s 2003 debut residency. “This truly felt like she was proudly handing the keys to Adele,” Nasser, who was in the audience and filmed the moment on his phone, told BBC News. “And when Adele gave her that hug, everyone felt what they felt.”Adele is known to idolise the Canadian icon, while Dion has also spoken in glowing terms about Adele.

A US singer has apologised after she swore on live TV during a performance of the US national anthem. Loomis prompted mockery on social media when she performed The Star-Spangled Banner at an independent candidate debate on Wednesday which was broadcast live on TV station C-SPAN. On Instagram she called the incident a “mishap” and told the team at Free and Equal Elections, who organised the debate: “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to mess up the national anthem.”

Getty ImagesThe UK’s drug safety regulator is asking doctors to be alert for patients who may be misusing obesity injections, such as Wegovy. It follows reports of some people who are not obese becoming sick, after using the jabs for weight loss.The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) stresses that the drugs are only meant for treating obesity and diabetes.Health Secretary Wes Streeting has backed the call, saying the drugs are “serious medicines” and not “for people to get a body beautiful picture for Instagram”. While most side-effects are mild, some can be serious, says the MHRA. It adds…

Matt PrinceMax shortly before his £250 Child Trust Fund matured into £12.39 after 18 years of being investedWhen Max Prince turned 18 he got the Child Trust Fund his parents opened when he was born – only to discover surprise fees had left him with just £12.39.He was one of about six million babies, born between September 2002 and January 2011, who nearly all received at least £250 from the government to kick start their savings. The idea was the long-term tax-free savings pot would go up in value by their 18th birthdays. When Max’s fund matured, it was administered…

Microsoft’s chief executive Satya Nadella earned $79.1m (£61m) last year, a rise of 63% compared to his compensation the year before.That was despite a request from Mr Nadella to reduce one element of his pay package because of cybersecurity flaws at the tech giant – which resulted in him getting $5m less than he otherwise would have.In common with many tech firms, Microsoft has cut thousands of jobs this year, including many in its gaming division.But in a proxy statement filed with the US financial regulator, the board said the company’s revenue grew by 16% in the year to 30…