Author: BBC

7 hours agoBy Andrew Turner, BBC News, HoltShaun Whitmore/BBCThe picture, owned by Stephen Fry’s mother, was stabbed by a border guard checking people were not being smuggled out of AustriaAn exhibition of art that Hitler tried to ban is to go on show at a Norfolk festival.The Holt Festival, in North Norfolk, is hosting a collection of works titled German Expressionists & The Third Reich from this weekend.It features paintings that were deemed “degenerate” by the Nazi dictator, and includes an artwork owned by Stephen Fry’s mother, Marianne.The painting was damaged when her stepmother’s family fled Austria as border guards using bayonets…

Just nowBy Nadine Yousif, BBC News, WinnipegBBCFamily of Rebecca Contois hold up her photo outside a Winnipeg courthouse following Friday’s verdict Tearful cheers erupted in a packed Canadian courtroom on Thursday as a judge found a serial killer guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of four indigenous women. But in the court gallery, Jeremy Contois’ reaction was reserved.His younger sister, Rebecca, was one of the women killed in the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba two years ago.“I feel a little sense of relief,” Mr Contois said, but will not get full closure until the killer, Jeremy Skibicki, is formally sentenced.In his oral…

3 hours agoBy Ian Youngs, Culture reporterGetty ImagesShelley Duvall spent 20 years out of the Hollywood spotlightUS actress Shelley Duvall, known for films like The Shining, Annie Hall and Nashville, has died at the age of 75.Her partner Dan Gilroy confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter. “My dear, sweet, wonderful life partner and friend left us. Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley,” he said, according to the outlet.She died in her sleep of complications from diabetes at her home in Texas, Gilroy said.Duvall’s other credits included 1977 drama 3 Women, directed by Robert Altman, for which…

Liverpool footballer Darwin Núñez was involved in an altercation with fans after his national team Uruguay were beaten by Colombia. Disorder broke out close to where friends and family members of the Uruguay team were located, according to local media reports. Video shows the striker physically confronting Colombia fans in the stands after the final whistle in the Copa America semi-final, which was being held at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Uruguay captain José María Giménez said the players were trying to defend their families, Reuters reported. Núñez is yet to comment publicly on the incident.…

The government will no longer defend a decision, made by the previous government, to allow a controversial new coalmine in Cumbria.The new Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner, has accepted there was an “error of law” in the decision to grant planning permission for the mine in December 2022.Consequently, the government will not now be defending two legal challenges next week against the mine – by Friends of the Earth and South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC).It has instead informed the court that the decision to grant planning permission should be quashed.BBC News has…

A group of reality TV stars turned social media influencers have appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to charges related to online investment schemes.The stars, including The Only Way is Essex’s Lauren Goodger, Love Island’s Biggs Chris and Geordie Shore’s Scott Timlin, have been charged with promoting an unauthorised investment scheme to their followers on Instagram.They face up to two years in prison if convicted.The trial has been set for 2027, the earliest date Southwark Crown Court could accommodate the case.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) brought charges against the stars, alleging they were paid to promote a high-risk trading…

Burkina Faso’s military junta has announced a ban on homosexual acts, making it the latest African state to crack down on same-sex relations despite strong opposition from Western powers. Homosexuality was frowned upon in the socially conservative West African state, but it was never outlawed. Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala said the junta’s cabinet had now approved legislation to make it a punishable offence, but he did not give further details. The military seized power in Burkina Faso in 2022, and has pivoted towards Russia after drastically reducing ties with former colonial power, France. Homosexual acts were decriminalised in Russia…

2 hours agoBy Sophia Seth, BBC NewsBBCLaxmi Thapa was held in police custody before medical checks showed she had not harmed her baby The mother of a six-month-old baby said she was treated “like a criminal” after her son’s birthmarks were mistaken for bruising.Laxmi Thapa’s son was born with blue spot – blue-grey markings common on babies with brown or black skin.After being referred to hospital in Basingstoke she was arrested when medical staff and police followed procedures for suspected child abuse.Campaigners have called for better awareness of the condition and said misdiagnosis can be “devastating” for wrongly accused families. Laxmi ThapaLaxmi…

Kenya’s under-fire President William Ruto has dismissed with “immediate effect” all his ministers and the attorney-general, following the recent deadly protests that led to the withdrawal of an unpopular tax bill.The president said the move came after “reflection, listening to Kenyans, and after holistic appraisal of my cabinet”.He has said he will now consult widely in order to set up a broad-based government.The dissolution of his cabinet does not affect the deputy president, who can’t legally be fired, and the prime cabinet secretary who is also the foreign affairs minister.He has not indicated when he will name a new government.In…

Price rises in the US cooled in June, building hopes that the world’s largest economy is moving on from the bout of high inflation that hit after the pandemic.Prices rose 3% over the 12 months to June, as lower petrol prices helped to deliver the slowest price inflation in a year, the Labor Department said. It marked the third month in a row that inflation has fallen, easing financial pressures on households and potentially clearing the way for the US central bank to cut interest rates as soon as September. The Federal Reserve’s key lending rate has stood at more…