Author: BBC

2 hours agoBy Lewis Adams, Laura Foster, BBC News, at Chelmsford Crown CourtGetty ImagesHolly Willoughby will not be giving live evidence at the trial A security guard accused of plotting to abduct, rape and murder Holly Willoughby admitted to a court his thoughts about the TV personality were “dark”.Gavin Plumb, 37, said messages allegedly describing his “ultimate fantasy” were “not the sort of route I would normally go down”.Giving evidence at Chelmsford Crown Court, Mr Plumb said that with hindsight his online chats were “massively regrettable” and carrying out those fantasies was “something I knew that was never going to happen”.The defendant, from…

Georgia’s path to EU membership has come to a standstill because of a controversial foreign influence law, European leaders said at a summit in Brussels. They said the law amounted to “backsliding” on Georgia’s path to membership, “de facto leading to a halt of the accession process”.Georgia was only granted EU candidate country status last December after being given a list of steps it needed to take to proceed, including justice reform. EU leaders meeting in Brussels expressed their “steadfast solidarity with the Georgian people” and called on the government in Tbilisi to reverse its “current course of action”.European Union…

Getty ImagesAer Lingus have now cancelled almost 400 flightsAer Lingus has confirmed it is cancelling a further 122 flights up until 7 July due to the ongoing industrial action by pilots. The airline has now cancelled almost 400 flights as a result of an indefinite work-to-rule and strike action by pilots. The work-to-rule means not working over time or carrying out any other out-of-hours duties.An eight-hour strike from 05:00 -13:00 local time is planned for Saturday.Aer Lingus said that due to the “indefinite nature” of IALPA pilots’ industrial action it “must cancel” additional flights up to 7 July.The disputes committee…

8 hours agoBy Sammy Jenkins & PA Media, BBC News, WiltshirePA MediaThe shoes had been verified by a close friend of Presley and a leading authority on the singerBlue suede shoes worn by Elvis Presley could fetch £120,000 when they are sold at auction.Known as the king of rock and roll, the singer, wore the pair on and off stage during the 1950s, including during an appearance on the Steve Allen television show.The shoes are expected to fetch between £100,000 and £120,000 when they are sold by auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, Wiltshire, on Friday.Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: “They are…

4 hours agoBy Wedaeli Chibelushi & Charles Gitonga, BBC NewsLatif MadoiLatif Madoi says this is the first time his daughter has seen him without dreadlocksA prominent Ugandan fashion designer whose dreadlocks were cut off after he was arrested has told the BBC he plans to grow them back “for as long as [he] lives”.Latif Madoi, who has made clothes for celebrities like late South African reggae icon Lucky Dube and Jamaica’s Busy Signal, spent just over six weeks in detention.He has not been convicted of any crime but the prison authorities nevertheless insisted on cutting the dreadlocks he had been growing for…

Brinkhoff-MoegenburgThe musical has transferred to London from BroadwayIn 2004 film Mean Girls, Regina George – queen of the Plastics – told her fellow clique member Gretchen: “Stop trying to make fetch happen.”Two decades on, it seems writer Tina Fey has made fetch happen with her West End musical adaptation.The Telegraph said the show has “a rare combination of warmth, goofiness, snarky wit and perceptiveness” in a four-star review.”This snarky adaptation never allows a dull minute, even if its general thrust is cosily predictable,” wrote Dominic Cavendish.Another four-star review from the i newspaper called the show a “whooping hit” filled with…

Donald Trump has refused to explicitly say whether he will accept the result of November’s US presidential election.During his first debate with President Joe Biden on Thursday, Trump was asked three times whether he would accept the outcome “regardless of who wins”, finally answering: “If it’s a fair and legal and good election, absolutely.”Trump lost his shot at a second presidential term to Mr Biden in the 2020 election. He has since consistently claimed that the vote was rigged against him, without providing any evidence.During Thursday night’s debate, Trump repeated these claims, and played down his role in the 6…

48 minutes agoBy Bonnie McLaren, Culture reporter Getty ImagesSZA is closing Glastonbury’s main stage on Sunday nightFor the first time in history Glastonbury has two female headliners. After Dua Lipa’s set on Friday, US R&B star SZA will close the main stage on Sunday.With billions of streams under her belt, the 34-year-old is one of the most-listened to artists on the planet. Her 70 million monthly Spotify listeners put her within touching distance of fellow headliners Coldplay. It’s fair to say she isn’t as well-known as them for UK audiences… But that could be about to change.Here’s everything you need to know…

North Korea is carrying out a widespread crackdown on everything from wedding dresses to slang as it seeks to counter the South’s influence, a new report has revealed.The report – released by South Korea’s Unification Ministry – is based on the testimony of hundreds of defectors.It includes the case of a 22-year-old who was executed after admitting listening to South Korean music and distributing films, first reported by the BBC last year.North Korea described last year’s report as “slander and fabrication”, but has yet to respond to the new document.According to the collected accounts, searches of homes have increased since…

Customers of HSBC and Nationwide have been hit by glitches affecting their banking services.HSBC said it was aware that customers were “having issues accessing personal online and mobile banking”.Nationwide said on X that some customers had not received salary payments. Virgin Money reported similar problems earlier on Friday, but said they have since been resolved.HSBC and Nationwide have been contacted for further comment. Source link