Author: BBC

India is withdrawing its high commissioner to Canada after it said he and other diplomats were named as “persons of interest” in the murder investigation of a Sikh separatist.India said it received the news in a diplomatic communication from Canada on Sunday, and reserved the right to respond, stressing it “strongly rejects these preposterous imputations”. The statement refers to allegations last year by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that India’s government may have been behind the killing on Canadian soil, an allegation Delhi rejects.The row led to a deterioration in ties, with India asking Canada to withdraw dozens of its…

The current undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes says he hopes wrestling bonanza WrestleMania will be hosted in the UK within the next five years.The 39-year-old, known as the “American Nightmare” in the wrestling world, told BBC 5Live: “If I’m aiming, it would be cool to get it [in the UK] in the next five years.”WrestleMania is usually held in the US over two nights between mid-March and mid April and is the longest running wrestling event in professional wrestling history.Rhodes said: “There’s some really big venues over here that could host a WrestleMania,” adding, “I think American fans would jump…

Getty ImagesHanni, from the band NewJeans, has previously raised concerns over workplace harassmentSouth Korean pop star Hanni has made a surprise announcement, saying she will testify to the country’s National Assembly in a hearing about bullying in the music industry.The singer, who is part of the girl group NewJeans, said she had made the decision without telling her managers or her record label, Ador.”I believe going forward is the right thing to do, no matter how much I think about it,” she wrote to fans on social media.It comes after she and the other four members of her band raised…

Tesla boss Elon Musk is to unveil the firm’s long-awaited robotaxi prototype, the Cybercab, at the Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, California on Thursday.Self-driving cars have long fascinated Mr Musk and he has made a series of bold predictions about them – including that they will save lives or earn their owners money, through being rented out for rides or even overnight stays.But when he takes to the stage for the event – which the company has billed We, Robot – he will be under pressure to quell persistent doubts about the electric vehicle maker’s ability to execute on his…

UK pharmaceutical giant GSK says it will pay as much as $2.2bn (£1.68bn) to settle thousands of cases in US courts over claims that a discontinued version of its heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer.The firm announced that it had reached agreements with 10 law firms who represent around 80,000 claimants. The settlements account for 93% of all cases.GSK will also pay $70m to resolve a whistleblower complaint by a laboratory that alleged the drugmaker defrauded the US government by concealing Zantac’s cancer risks.GSK did not admit wrongdoing in any of the cases.The company said in a statement to investors that…

Rebekah Vardy has been ordered to pay Coleen Rooney £100,000 this month towards the money she owes following the high-profile 2022 Wagatha Christie libel case.After losing the case, Mrs Vardy was ordered to pay 90% of Mrs Rooney’s legal costs.At the trial, the judge ruled it was “substantially true” that Mrs Vardy had leaked Mrs Rooney’s private information to the press.Barristers for the pair have been back at the High Court this week in a dispute over the costs, which were originally agreed at £540,779 – but have ended up being £1.8m, more than three times that figure.Mrs Vardy’s lawyers…

Shares in the owner of convenience store giant 7-Eleven jumped on Wednesday after it received a new takeover offer from Canadian rival Alimentation Couche-Tard.Japan’s Seven & i Holdings confirmed the new approach but did not reveal any new details.The announcement came after Bloomberg News reported that the new offer valued the firm at more than $47bn (£36bn) – around 20% higher than previously.In September, Seven & i rejected a $38bn approach from Couche-Tard, saying it grossly undervalued the firm and that any potential takeover would face major regulatory hurdles.Seven & i shares ended the day 4.7% higher in Tokyo after…

The US government says it is considering whether to ask a judge to break up search engine giant Google, in a move that could reshape how technology giants do business.The Department of Justice (DoJ) says the measures may include “structural requirements” to prevent Google from maintaining its internet search “monopoly”.In response, Google warned that the proposed changes could have unintended consequences for US businesses and consumers.The DoJ’s announcement comes after a landmark court ruling in August that found Google had maintained its dominance of online search through illegal practices.The DoJ said in a court filing that it is considering “remedies…

Getty ImagesThe couple say they approached the court because they wanted to carry on their son’s “legacy”A couple in India have said they are “delighted” after a court ordered a hospital to hand over the frozen semen sample of their dead son to them so they could have a grandchild through surrogacy.The landmark Delhi High Court order came after a four-year legal battle.“We were very unlucky, we lost our son. But the court has given us a very precious gift. We would now be able to get our son back,” the mother, Harbir Kaur, told the BBC.Ms Kaur and her…

Coleen Rooney has disputed “misleading” claims made in the High Court by Rebekah Vardy, who is challenging the “sheer magnitude” of costs she has to pay the former as a result of 2022’s Wagatha libel trial.Mrs Vardy lost that case after a judge ruled it was “substantially true” she had leaked Mrs Rooney’s private information to the press, and was ordered to pay 90% of Mrs Rooney’s costs, which has reached more than £1.8m.On Tuesday, Robin Dunne, representing Mrs Rooney in the costs dispute, said claims made in court on Monday about hotel costs incurred by a lawyer representing her…