Author: BBC

EPAActor Bill Nighy said he stole the complete works of William Shakespeare from a library to prepare for his drama school audition.The Oscar-nominated star said he applied for the Guildford School of Acting to impress a girl but had to prepare two pieces for the audition – one from a modern playwright and the other from Shakespeare.Along with his older friend, they “stole the complete works of Shakespeare, and we stole the complete works of George Bernard Shaw which we thought was sort of modern,” Nighy told BBC Radio 4’s This Cultural Life.”We could have borrowed it like everybody else,…

Lawyers hired by MrBeast to investigate claims that his former co-host groomed a teenager have concluded that the allegations were “without basis”, the star YouTuber has said. Ava Kris Tyson stopped working with MrBeast in July after other YouTubers accused her of sending inappropriate messages to a minor, reportedly then 13, when she was 20.At the time, Tyson apologised for her “past actions”, but said her behaviour never “extended beyond bad edgy jokes” and denied ever grooming anyone. The alleged victim – who was named online – also defended her, saying the claims were “massive lies” and that they had…

GPs are calling on the government to protect them from tax rises for employers announced at the Budget, warning it could hit services for patients.The NHS and rest of the public sector are due to be shielded from a hike in National Insurance (NI) contributions from April next year.But GP practices, which deliver NHS services but are mostly run as small businesses, are currently due to be hit by the rise.The government has suggested that the extra cost of higher national insurance contributions paid by GP practices will be taken into consideration when GP contracts are renegotiated later this year.Private…

Two former police officers have been jailed for the murder of Marielle Franco, a prominent left wing politician killed in a drive-by shooting in 2018.Anderson Gomes, Franco’s driver, was also killed in the attack but her press officer Fernanda Chaves, who was in the car, survived. Ronnie Lessa confessed to firing the shots and was sentenced to 78 years and nine months, while Élcio de Queiroz received 59 years and eight months for being behind the wheel.Franco, a gay Black woman, was an emerging light in Brazil’s socialist party, with her death at the age of 38 sparking nationwide protests.…

It is Halloween once again and two things are inevitable – running out of sweets before young crowds of trick or treaters have knocked on your door, and social media feeds being inundated with celebrities in costumes.So to save you some aimless scrolling, here are some of the best celebrity Halloween costumes we’ve seen this year.GettyHeidi Klum and husband Tom Kaulitz dressed as E.T. at Klum’s annual Halloween partyHeidi Klum is famous for both her annual Halloween party and the incredible costumes she wears to them. This year, for the 23rd instalment of the event, Klum and husband, German guitarist,…

Getty ImagesStriking Boeing workers are set to vote on a new offer from the aviation giant, which includes a 38% pay rise over the next four years.The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) union, which represents more than 30,000 striking workers, has endorsed the offer and says it will hold a ballot of its members on Monday.The walkout started on 13 September, leading to a dramatic slowdown in production and deepening a crisis at the firm.The union had previously called for a 40% pay increase and workers have rejected two previous offers, including the last offer of a…

Getty ImagesThe messaging app Snapchat is the most widely-used platform for online grooming, according to police figures supplied to the children’s charity the NSPCC.More than 7,000 Sexual Communication with a Child offences were recorded across the UK in the year to March 2024 – the highest number since the offence was created.Snapchat made up nearly half of the 1,824 cases where the specific platform used for the grooming was recorded by the police.The NSPCC said it showed society was “still waiting for tech companies to make their platforms safe for children.”Snapchat told the BBC it had “zero tolerance” of the…

A mother from Aylesham, Kent, who says she pays £2,000 a month for her daughter’s medicinal cannabis supply has called for greater access to the drug on the NHS.Emma Appleby said her daughter Teagan, 15, uses the drug to manage the daily seizures she suffers due to severe epilepsy.Medicinal cannabis became legal in the UK six years ago, but Ms Appleby said it is still “impossible” to get it from the health service.An NHS spokesperson said many products cannot be prescribed on the NHS because their manufacturers have not engaged with the UK medicines regulatory process.Ms Appleby told the BBC…

EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockIsrael wants the Lebanese army to be deployed in areas around the border in place of HezbollahSenior American officials have returned to the Middle East to try to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as the Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has expressed cautious optimism about a potential deal.Brett McGurk, President Biden’s Middle East co-ordinator, and Amos Hochstein, who has led negotiations in the conflict with Hezbollah, are in Israel for talks with the country’s authorities, although it was not clear whether any progress could be made ahead of the US presidential election, next week.Since the conflict…

GB NewsRishi Sunak appeared on the Q&A in February this yearOfcom has fined GB News £100,000 for breaking impartiality rules with a programme featuring the former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.He appeared on the TV channel on 12 February 2024 as part of a one-hour current affairs special that included a Q&A session.The media watchdog says he was given an “uncontested platform to promote the policies and performance of his government in a period preceding the UK General Election”.A fine of this sum was imposed by Ofcom after “repeated” breaches of its broadcasting code.In a statement, Ofcom also said it has…