Author: BBC

A rocket that accidentally launched after getting separated from its launch pad crashed in China on Sunday.Footage on social media shows the Tianlong-3 rocket falling back to Earth and exploding in a hillside in central China’s Henan province.The company responsible for the rocket, Tianbing Technology said the rocket “broke away” from the launch pad during a ground test. It has blamed structural failure for the incident. It added that there were no casualties from the incident as people in the area had been evacuated.The Tianlong-3 is Chinese designed and manufactured and intended to be a reusable rocket. Source link

High mortgage rates mean affordability is still “stretched” for many home buyers, according to the Nationwide.The building society said that while earnings had been rising faster than house prices in recent years, this had not been enough to offset the impact of more expensive mortgages.Its comments came as it said house price growth had been “broadly stable” in June, with prices up 0.2% from the previous month.The average house price is now £266,604, the lender said.Prices were up 1.5% from a year earlier, but Nationwide said activity in the housing market had been “broadly flat” over the past 12 months,…

Forget the baked potatoes and lentil curries, hundreds of people at Glastonbury Festival have been tucking into a Sunday roast. Deluxe Diner have been offering them since 2016, and they have grown in popularity over the years, selling out in just 55 minutes in 2024.Festival goers paid £36 for meat, vegetables and all of the trimmings – served on “real plates”. Video journalist: Alex Howick Source link

11 minutes agoBy Paul Kirby, BBC News in ParisREUTERS/Yves HermanFirst-round victory was sweet for Marine Le Pen and her National Rally partyFrance’s far right is in pole position after the first round of parliamentary elections that confirmed their dominance in French politics and brought them to the gates of power.Supporters of Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration National Rally (RN) cheered as she said the president’s “Macronist bloc has been all but wiped out”.RN won 33.1% of the vote, with a left-wing alliance behind on 28%, and the Macron camp behind on 20%.“I aim to be prime minister for all the French people, if…

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…