Author: BBC

A lawyer representing victims of two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes has told the BBC that the US government is preparing to offer the plane maker a “sweetheart plea deal”.Paul Cassell, who says he got the information “directly from the Justice Department”, added that the deal includes a small fine, three years of probation and independent safety audits.Boeing did not immediately reply to the BBC’s request for comment, while the Justice Department (DoJ) declined to provide a statement.Last month, US prosecutors recommended that the DoJ bring criminal charges against the plane maker.That was after the DoJ said Boeing had violated…

Some of Taylor Swift’s personal items are to go on display at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum this month. Cowboy boots, dresses, music awards and storyboards will be included in the free exhibit, featuring as part of a temporary collection. Taylor Swift: Songbook Trail will offer visitors a chance to see costumes and archival material up close, with many items on display for the first time, the V&A said. The Grammy-winning singer is currently on her blockbuster Eras Tour, with recent performances in Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cardiff, London and Dublin.The collection, which opens on 27 July and closes on 8 September,…

Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, one of Sri Lanka’s most prominent politicians and a veteran campaigner for the country’s Tamil minority, has died at the age of 91.Sampanthan, a lawyer and one of the country’s longest serving MPs, died in the capital Colombo late on Sunday. For the past 23 years, he had led a diverse coalition called the Tamil National Alliance (TNA)- the main political group representing Tamils of Sri Lanka’s north and east.Since the defeat of Tamil Tiger separatists in 2009 he continued to demand equal rights for his often marginalised ethnic group. His death was confirmed by TNA leader MA…

The boss of the world’s most valuable pharmaceutical company has told the BBC that the UK’s planning system puts companies off investing in the country.Dave Ricks, chief executive of the obesity drug manufacturer Eli Lilly, said he had considered building a factory in the UK in the last decade, but chose another country instead.He warned current planning processes were an “impediment” to building factories at speed, unlike in the US and Ireland.”Mostly what they do is they pre-reserve land, they promise to cut through the red tape and layers of government,” Mr Ricks said.Eli Lilly, along with its Danish rival…

58 minutes agoBy Mark Savage, Music Correspondent Getty ImagesSZA received a mixed response to her Sunday headline slotAfter Dua Lipa and Coldplay’s sleek and efficient sets, Glastonbury’s Sunday night headliner had a tough act to follow.After a rumoured appearance by pop queen Madonna fell through, the slot eventually went to US R&B star SZA.One of the most-streamed artists in the world, she’s a vibrant, confident performer, whose complex, messy dissections of modern relationships have endeared her to millennial fans.But their passion failed to ignite any magic on the Pyramid Stage.The star drew the smallest audience I’ve ever seen for a Glastonbury headliner,…

35 minutes agoBy Tesfalem Araia & Netsanet Debessai, BBC TigrinyaNerayo Ghebru TesfamichaelLuwam Gebru said people smugglers were taking her across Sudan’s war zone to LibyaMihret Gebru was recently watching with concern two viral videos on her phone which showed people from the Horn of Africa being beaten and assaulted by armed men in Sudan – and was then horrified to spot her sister among the captives.“Instantly I was able to identify Luwam, who is wearing the orange scarf I know very well – and her shoes, which can be partly seen,” she told the BBC.The sisters are from Eritrea – and like…

Just nowBy Michelle Fleury, North America Business correspondentBBCQcells is investing billions in a solar panel factory in GeorgiaThe former “carpet capital of the world” is getting a multi-billion-dollar makeover.Here in the rural Georgian town of Dalton, once known for its fabric floor coverings, a Korean company called Qcells is spending $2.5bn (£2bn) to expand its solar panel factory, with another in the works.It’s a bold initiative that will create 2,500 quality jobs in the next 12 months, in an area where the average household income is roughly 27% below the national average. It is hoped the project will revitalise a corner of…

1 hour agoBy Annabel Rackham, Culture reporterBBCAvril Lavigne’s pop-punk set drew one of the biggest crowds The Other Stage has ever seenAvril Lavigne is the original pop-punk princess and she certainly showed it when she played to a huge Glastonbury crowd on Saturday evening.Her angsty teenage heartbreak anthems still resonate more than two decades after they were released.She played some of her biggest tracks including Complicated, Sk8er Boi and My Happy Ending.”I can’t believe its taken me 22 years to finally play Glastonbury, but it was amazing,” she tells the BBC.”The audience were incredible, everyone was up on shoulders, holding signs and…

The far-right National Rally (RN) has pulled off another victory and is now well on the way to its goal of turning French politics on its head.There will be much talk in the coming days of centrist and left-wing candidates standing aside in round two in order to concentrate the anti-RN vote – and much wailing about the disappearance of the old Front Républicain (when the other parties used to agree to keep out the far-right).But it would take an upset of monumental proportions to overturn the only conclusion that can be drawn from this first round of voting, which…

53 minutes agoBy Huw Thomas, BBC Wales business correspondent Getty ImagesUnite workers are set to start striking on 8 July over Tata’s plans to cut 2,800 UK jobsTata Steel has offered to meet unions for fresh talks on the condition strike action in south Wales is called off.In a letter to the UK Steel Committee, which represents the Community, Unite and the GMB unions, the company is believed to have offered to discuss future investment in Port Talbot.But the unions would be required to suspend future industrial action.Unite general secretary Sharon Graham told BBC Wales: “They suspend closure, we suspend action.”Unite workers…