Author: BBC

The UK’s main stock market retook its crown as Europe’s most valuable for the first time in nearly two years, data shows.The total value of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) hit $3.18tn on Monday, overtaking the $3.13tn total value of companies listed in Paris, according to Bloomberg data.Both valuations have shifted since and remain close, but analysts describe it as a milestone.They say the French market has slumped because of the uncertainty around its election, while the UK market is recovering after several years of underperformance.The LSE had been Europe’s largest stock market for many years before…

Just nowBy Mark Savage, Music correspondentDario GDario G was the stage name of Crewe musician Dario GDance producer Dario G, whose hits included Sunchyme and Carnaval de Paris, has died at the age of 53.The musician, whose real name was Paul Spencer, had been diagnosed with stage four rectal cancer last year.”He was positive until the end but this was one battle he could not fight any more,” wrote his family on his official Instagram page. “He leaves behind a wonderful musical legacy and many happy memories.”Fellow musicians paid tribute underneath the post.”Lost for words,” wrote dance duo Phats and Small. “One…

An Indian man accused of plotting to assassinate a Sikh separatist on US soil is expected to appear in a New York court on Monday on murder charges.Nikhil Gupta was extradited to the US over the weekend after he was arrested last year in the Czech Republic.He is charged by US authorities with trying to hire a hitman to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen.US prosecutors allege Mr Gupta was directed by an unnamed Indian government official. India denies having anything to do with the alleged plot.Last month, the Czech Constitutional Court rejected a petition…

23 minutes agoBy Colletta Smith, Cost of Living correspondentBBCDina Smith is worried about what future generations will say about pylons in Wales’ green valleysFrom the end of Dina Smith’s driveway, there is green as far as the eye can see. Sunlight touches the rolling hills and moorland peaks.”Just look at it,” she says as we take it all in. “This is beautiful, untouched Mid Wales.”But this could all change if plans for a huge wind turbine project get the go-ahead.For Dina, the valley is a “really special place”, where her, her daughters and their families live and where her grandfather grew up.Towy…

BBCEd Sheeran has topped the list for the seventh time in nine years British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has been named the most played artist of 2023.The Suffolk-raised musician, 33, has topped the list of music – used across UK radio, TV and in public places – for the seventh time in nine years.He beat megastar Taylor Swift, who placed second on the list compiled by music licensing company PPL. Sheeran said: “Thank you for naming me the most played artist for last year. Thank you to my team, not just for me, but for all the other artists you work…

At least six people have been killed in landslides in the central Ecuadorean city of Baños.Several homes were buried underneath tonnes of mud which careered down a hillside following days of torrential rain.More than a dozen people were injured and a main road was cut off.A state of emergency has been declared in Baños.Some 30 people who had been reported missing after the landslide have been found alive, officials said. Heavy machinery has been sent to the area to clear roads which have been blocked by rocks and mud. Local media reported that of the six people confirmed to have…

Just nowBy Tom Gerken, Technology reporterGetty ImagesOne of America’s most senior health officials has called on the country to impose smoking-style warning labels on social media platforms.Writing in the New York Times, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said social media increased the risk that children would experience symptoms of anxiety and depression.He wants people who visit these platforms to be shown a message warning that they are “associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents”.He said such a label would “regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe”.The BBC has approached Youtube, TikTok, X and Meta, which owns…

6 minutes agoBy Mark Savage, Music correspondentAnna LeeColdplay are one of the world’s biggest-selling bandsColdplay say they are aiming to make the most eco-friendly album yet, with their newly-announced 10th record, Moon Music.Each vinyl copy of the album will be pressed onto discs made from nine plastic bottles, recovered from consumer waste.A special “notebook” edition will also be comprised of 70% river plastic, taken from the Rio Las Vacas in Guatemala.The band say this will reduce carbon emissions by 85% and prevent the manufacture of more than 25 metric tonnes of virgin plastic. The group has been at the forefront of the…

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved his six-member war cabinet, a widely expected decision that follows the departure of centrist opposition leader Benny Gantz and his ally Gadi Eisenkot.Israeli media report that sensitive issues about the war with Hamas in Gaza will now be decided by a smaller forum.Since Mr Gantz quit eight days ago over what he said was the lack of strategy for the war, there have been calls from far-right ministers to take his place.By dissolving the war cabinet, Mr Netanyahu avoids a tricky situation with his coalition partners and international allies.A spokesman for the Israel…

18 minutes agoBy Henry Zeffman, @hzeffman, Chief Political CorrespondentReutersLabour has accused the Conservatives of proposing unfunded tax cuts after Jeremy Hunt suggested key manifesto promises on welfare cuts had already been announced.The Conservative manifesto is funded in large part by proposed cuts to spending on benefits, which the party says are not currently government policy.But the chancellor wrote in a newsletter to constituents last week that the tax cuts in the Conservative manifesto would be funded by savings from “an enormous back to work programme (which I announced in the Autumn Statement last year)”.Labour seized on his comments as evidence that the welfare…