Author: BBC

GettyDefinitely, maybe? An Oasis reunion tour could be a huge money spinner for the band.Liam and Noel Gallagher have ramped up speculation that an Oasis reunion could finally be on the cards as the brothers teased that a band announcement could be made on Tuesday.A short clip in the same font and style of the band’s famous logo appeared on the brothers’ social media accounts on Sunday, as well as the official Oasis page.It shows the date “27.08.24” before flickering and then reading “8am”.Fans of the Manchester rock band have pleaded with the brothers to regroup since they broke up…

BBCMarina Waldron, 21, died of complications after being given the AstraZeneca Covid jabThe parents of a young woman who died after being given an AstraZeneca Covid jab have accused the NHS of failing to pass on known safety warnings about the vaccine.Marina Waldron, 21, visited hospital with excruciating headaches three times in the week before her fatal collapse from a brain haemorrhage in March 2021.Max and Liz Waldron said that despite her deteriorating condition, A&E doctors had seemed unaware of the emerging side-effects associated with the jab and warnings that had been issued.Another family whose son, Oli Akram Hoque, died…

ThalesDefence firm Thales won a £223m order for an anti-tank missile system from the UKAfter years of declining defence spending in many Western countries, the war in Ukraine since 2022 has led to a huge increase.While Nato member states are not directly involved in the conflict, support for Kyiv has ramped up production of weapons and other military equipment.And longer-term concerns about Russia has meant that Nato countries are continuing to increase their own armament stockpiles.For defence firms like the UK’s BAE Systems, it has meant a surge in sales over the past three years. This month the company announced…

A “right to disconnect” rule has come into effect in Australia, offering relief to people who feel forced to take calls or read messages from employers after they finish their day’s work.The new law allows employees to ignore communications after hours if they choose to, without fear of being punished by their bosses.A survey published last year estimated that Australians worked on average 281 hours of unpaid overtime annually.More than 20 countries, mainly in Europe and Latin America, have similar rules.The law does not ban employers from contacting workers after hours.Instead, it gives staff the right not to reply unless…

The Reuters news agency has said that one of its journalists covering the war in Ukraine is missing after a strike on an hotel in the east of the country. In a statement, Reuters said its six-person team was staying in Hotel Sapphire in Kramatorsk – a city under Ukrainian control but not far from the eastern front line – on Saturday night when it was hit “by an apparent missile strike”. It said two members of the team had been taken to hospital, with a further three accounted for – but was “urgently seeking more information” on the whereabouts…

BBC/House Productions/Vishal SharmaBethany Asher said filming the series had been “mindblowing”Actress Bethany Asher has said she hopes her leading role in the new series of Sherwood will break down barriers facing other actors with Down’s syndrome.The Nottinghamshire-set crime drama returns to BBC One on Sunday with Asher in a key plotline alongside stars including David Morrissey, Lesley Manville, David Harewood and Robert Lindsay.Asher, from Burbage in Leicestershire, told BBC Radio Leicester filming with the cast of established stars had been a “mindblowing” experience.She also thanked series director James Graham for trusting her with a major part.Getty ImagesShow creator James Graham…

PA MediaJanusz Racz, 67, says he is “open to trying new things”A 67-year-old man has become the first person in the UK to try what doctors hope will be a revolutionary new treatment for lung cancer – a vaccine that tells the body how to fight and kill the disease. It uses the same mRNA technology as some Covid jabs to give instructions to the immune system. The early-stage trial in which Janusz Racz is taking part will check the shot is safe. Some 34 research sites in seven countries, including University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the…

Getty ImagesSome supermarket chains have said they are refocusing on staffed checkoutsAfter years of encouraging shoppers to scan their own groceries, some supermarkets are checking out a move back to traditional tills.Asda said it would put more staff on checkouts, while Morrisons admitted it might have “gone too far” with self-scan. Northern upmarket chain Booths has got rid of them altogether.The dreaded “unexpected item in the bagging area” announcement is among a list of customer complaints about self-service tills.But some shoppers told the BBC they’re happy to skip the queues and the chit chat if it speeds up their shop.The…

Getty ImagesA file picture of an AK47 rifle and ammunitionWeapons dealers in Yemen are openly using the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to sell Kalashnikovs, pistols, grenades and grenade-launchers.The traders operate in the capital Sana’a and other areas under control of the Houthis, a rebel group backed by Iran and proscribed as terrorists by the US and Australian governments.”It is inconceivable that they [the weapons dealers] are not operating on the Houthis’ behalf,” said the former British Ambassador to Yemen, Edmund Fitton-Brown, who now works for the Counter Extremism Project. “Purely private dealers who tried to profit…

A would-be burglar in Rome was caught after stopping to read a book on Greek mythology in the middle of a robbery.The 38-year-old reportedly gained access to a flat in the Italian capital’s Prati district via the balcony but became distracted after picking up a book about Homer’s Iliad on a bedside table.The 71-year-old homeowner is said to have awoken and confronted the alleged thief, who was engrossed in the book.News of the failed robbery attracted the attention of the book’s author, who told Italian media he wanted to send the man a copy so he could “finish” his read.After…