Author: BBC

AFPIndian PM Narendra Modi (right) shakes hand with Canada’s Justin Trudeau ahead of the G20 summit in September 2023India and Canada have expelled their top diplomats amid escalating tensions over the assassination of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil, marking a new low in a historically cordial relationship. While past disagreements have strained ties, none have reached this level of open confrontation.In 1974, India shocked the world by detonating a nuclear device, drawing outrage from Canada, which accused India of extracting plutonium from a Canadian reactor, a gift intended solely for peaceful use.Relations between the two nations cooled considerably –…

Getty ImagesIf convicted, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces up to life in prisonSean “Diddy” Combs, one of the most successful rappers and music moguls in the US, will soon be on trial for sex trafficking and racketeering charges.At a hearing attended by Mr Combs, a judge ruled his trial will begin on 5 May next year.Mr Combs, wearing a creased beige prison uniform, sat next to his attorneys as the judge discussed imposing a gag order that would prevent attorneys or prosecutors from discussing the case publicly or with the media. Members of Mr Combs’s family lined seats in the courtroom.…

PA MediaSir Keir Starmer has not ruled out a National Insurance increase for employers in the Budget, in a BBC Breakfast interview.The prime minister side-stepped questions over whether Labour’s manifesto promise not to raise taxes for “working people” covered employers’ National Insurance (NI).The Labour Party’s 2024 manifesto ruled out raising National Insurance, income tax and VAT.Speaking in Downing Street, Sir Keir said this month’s Budget was “going to be tough” but would “focus on rebuilding our country”.Sir Keir said Labour had been “very clear in the manifesto that we wouldn’t be increasing tax on working people”.He added: “It wasn’t just…

Google has signed a deal to use small nuclear reactors to generate the vast amounts of energy needed to power its artificial intelligence (AI) data centres.The company says the agreement with Kairos Power will see it start using the first reactor this decade and bring more online by 2035. The companies did not give any details about how much the deal is worth or where the plants will be built.Technology firms are increasingly turning to nuclear sources of energy to supply the electricity used by the huge data centres that drive AI.”The grid needs new electricity sources to support AI…

Lisa HawkerThe family of a young girl say her life was saved after a pioneering study was able to diagnose her incredibly rare genetic disorder, leading to better treatment.Jaydi Hawker, 11, has a form of dwarfism thought to affect fewer than 50 people in the world.There are thousands of such genetic disorders and, collectively, they affect one in 17 people in the UK.Jaydi was part of a study pushing the limits of genetic analysis to get families a diagnosis.The disorders are caused by mutations in our DNA, which damage crucial instructions for how our bodies should work. Parents and doctors…

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…