Author: BBC

12 hours agoBy Manish Pandey, BBC NewsbeatGetty ImagesSimon Cowell says “to most people in the world” Zayn is “that guy, a one name artist”Simon Cowell is desperate to find “the next Zayn” in music.The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent boss reckons “the amount of UK artists breaking globally have fallen”.Those thoughts have led to him launching a search for the next big UK boyband – and Simon thinks being in a group can help artist’s solo dreams.Zayn started out as a part of One Direction – a group created on The X Factor in 2010 – and the Pillowtalk singer has…

Tourists will be rewarded with free food and activities if they participate in environmentally friendly tasks while visiting Copenhagen, the city’s tourist board has announced.The trial scheme, which begins on 15 July, will see tourist attractions in the Danish capital offer rewards for activities such as litter-picking or travelling by public transport or bike around the city.Under the initiative, visitors can claim free lunches, glasses of wine and kayak rental in return for their work.The “CopenPay” scheme is designed to offset the “environmental burden” of tourism, according to the Copenhagen tourist board.”When you travel abroad – if you fly to…

Carlsberg has agreed a £3.3bn deal to buy Britvic, the company which makes drinks such as Robinsons squash and J20.The Danish brewer said it would create a single beverage company called Carlsberg Britvic to grow its business in the UK and western Europe.Britvic chairman Ian Durant said the merits of Carlsberg’s takeover offer were “compelling”.The deal will see existing Britvic investors receive £13.15 a share, after a previous lower offer was rejected last month.Mr Durant said the takeover by Carlsberg would create “an enlarged international group that is well-placed to capture the growth opportunities in multiple drinks sectors”.Britvic shareholders will…

8 hours agoBy Ryan Leston, BBC NewsGetty ImagesJoanna Page will return as Stacey in the Gavin & Stacey Christmas SpecialGavin and Stacey star Joanna Page has said she still has not seen the script for the show’s finale. The hit BBC sitcom will return on Christmas Day for one final episode, but Page said: “I don’t know anything.””I’m the same as everyone else back home… I can’t wait to find out what’s happened,” said the 47-year-old. “I just hope, because I’ve not seen anything, that I haven’t signed on to be running around on Barry beach in a bikini.”Gavin and Stacey debuted…

2 hours agoBy Rob Corp & Kyla Herrmannsen, BBC News, in London & KyivVideo posted by President Zelensky shows extensive damage to Ohmatdyt Children’s HospitalA children’s hospital in Kyiv has been hit after Russia launched a wave of missile strikes against cities across Ukraine.Two people died when the Ohmatdyt Children’s Hospital – Ukraine’s biggest paediatrics facility – sustained major damage during the blast. Thirty-one people across the country were killed in the early morning bombardment, officials said.Lesia Lysytsia, a doctor at the hospital, told the BBC the moment the missile struck was “like in a film” with a “big light, then an…

2 hours agoBy Mark Palmer, Assistant editor, BBC Wales News • David Deans, Political reporter, BBC Wales NewsPA MediaVaughan Gething met Sir Keir Starmer in the Senedd for talks on MondaySir Keir Starmer says he has great concerns over the future of Tata Steel as he visited Wales for the first time since becoming prime minister.He met First Minister Vaughan Gething at the Senedd amid worries for employees at the giant Tata steelworks in Port Talbot, where thousands of people are facing redundancy.Sir Keir’s new Labour government has said there was “a better deal available” with Tata but warned newer technologies would employ fewer people.However,…

11 minutes agoBy Ian Youngs, Culture reporterBBCActor Julie Hesmondhalgh has been campaigning to reopen the theatre’s doorsOldham’s Coliseum theatre, which closed amid an outcry in 2023 after more than 135 years, is to reopen after a successful campaign to save it, led by actor Julie Hesmondhalgh.The historic venue, which has been boarded up since last April, will have a £10m refurbishment in order to open its doors again in time for Christmas 2025.Hesmondhalgh, known for roles in TV shows like Coronation Street and Mr Bates vs the Post Office, said she was “absolutely over the moon” at the decision.The Coliseum was forced…

Just nowBy Sebastian Usher, BBC NewsAFPHundreds of Palestinian families have fled after receiving orders to evacuate several areas of Gaza CityPalestinians in Gaza City say they have experienced one of the most intense Israeli bombardments since Israel launched its war on Hamas after the group’s unprecedented 7 October attack.Columns of Israeli tanks are reported to be closing in on the centre of the city from several different directions.The Gaza Civil Emergency Service says it believes a number of people have been killed but has so far been unable to reach them because of fighting in several districts in the east and west…

Interest rates should be held again next month rather than be cut for the first time in more than four years, a Bank of England rate-setter has said.Jonathan Haskel, a member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) which sets the UK’s main interest rate, said he “would rather hold rates” at 5.25% until there is more certainty that inflation pressures had “subsided sustainably”.Interest rates have been kept at a 16-year high in an attempt to slow consumer prices rising, but higher rates have pushed up the cost of borrowing, including for mortgages.The Bank previously appeared to hint that rates…

Mel B will be awarded an honorary doctorate for her charity work supporting survivors of domestic abuse.The Spice Girl will receive the doctorate from Leeds Beckett University at a ceremony next month.Brown has become a campaigner for domestic abuse victims, after leaving what she described as an abusive relationship.In 2018, she was made a patron of Women’s Aid, and in 2022, she received an MBE for services to charitable causes and vulnerable women.Speaking in a statement, the singer called the doctorate “an incredible honour”.Brown has also been studying at the university in her native city and said she had completed…