Author: BBC

1 day agoBy Lewis Adams, BBC News, EssexSky DocumentariesDavid Holmes and Daniel Radcliffe have been close friends since the first Harry Potter filmA former stuntman who became paralysed on a Harry Potter film set said he felt “shame, regret and a whole lot of pain” after falling victim to a telephone scam.David Holmes, from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, said “a lot of money” had been stolen from his bank account.The 41-year-old had been called by a person purporting to be from NatWest who had all of his personal details.A NatWest Group spokesperson said: “The safety and security of our customers is our top priority.”…

A man tried to smuggle more than 100 live snakes into mainland China by stuffing them in his trousers, according to custom officials.The unnamed traveller was stopped after passing through the “nothing to declare” gate at the crossing between semi-autonomous Hong Kong and the city of Shenzhen, officials said.Upon inspection, he had 104 snakes in “six canvas drawstring bags” inside his trousers, a statement from China Customs said.“Each bag was found to contain living snakes in all kinds of shapes, sizes and colours,” it added.Video released by Chinese customs shows a pair of agents peering into transparent plastic bags filled…

Lena Dunham has dropped out of directing a film about the Polly Pocket dolls, saying she didn’t think she could replicate what Greta Gerwig achieved with Barbie.The actor and director told The New Yorker: “I’m not going to make the Polly Pocket movie. I wrote a script, and I was working on it for three years.”Dunham, who created and starred in US TV comedy Girls, was enlisted to direct the Polly Pocket film in 2021.It was also announced that Emily In Paris star Lily Collins would play the lead doll.Robbie Brenner, the producer who runs toy company Mattel’s film division,…

The Israeli military has told all residents of Gaza City to evacuate south to the central Gaza Strip, amid an intensified offensive there. Leaflets dropped by aircraft instruct “everyone in Gaza City” to leave what is described as a “dangerous combat zone” via designated safe routes – marked as two roads that lead to shelters in Deir al-Balah and al-Zawaida.The UN has said it is deeply concerned about the evacuation orders being given. Over the past two weeks, Israeli forces have issued evacuation orders for and re-entered several areas of Gaza City where they believe Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad…

1 hour agoBy Amy Walker & PA Media, BBC News, South EastGETTY IMAGESSouth East Water is already on the watchdog’s watch list for financially at-risk companiesSouth East Water says it needs more cash from investors to stay afloat ahead of a ruling on its future spending plans by water regulator, Ofwat. The water firm, which supplies about 2.3 million customers in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire, said it was in discussions with lenders and shareholders in a results statement published on Wednesday.It is already on watchdog Ofwat’s watch-list for financially-at-risk companies, alongside Thames Water.“If it is not possible to raise the…

58 minutes agoBy Manish Pandey, BBC NewsbeatGetty ImagesKaran Aujla has more than 13 million listeners on SpotifyWhen Punjabi rapper Karan Aujla reflects on his journey so far, he admits it is “hard to process”.Born in Punjab, his parents died when he was a child and he later moved to Canada “with just this skill of writing”.The 27-year-old will be touring the UK and Canada in months to come, and his recent release Tauba Tauba will appear in Bad Newz – the first time he has a track in a Bollywood film.”I’m blessed,” he tells BBC Asian Network’s Haroon Rashid.”Coming from such a…

The first Democratic senator has publicly questioned President Joe Biden’s election chances, after seven congressman broke cover and urged the 81-year-old to step aside.Senator Michael Bennet told CNN he expected the president to lose to Donald Trump by a “landslide”, but stopped short of telling him to end his candidacy.Questions have been raised about Mr Biden’s fitness for office after a stumbling presidential debate performance against Trump late last month.The president insists he can beat his adversary, and continues to hold support among key allies after congressional Democrats met to debate his leadership on Tuesday. The US president is in…

3 hours agoBy Huw Thomas, Business Correspondent, BBC WalesPA MediaJonathan Reynolds, who visited Port Talbot with First Minister Vaughan Gething during the election campaign, said a “better deal” was availableNew negotiations with Tata Steel over its restructure will be “difficult”, the business secretary has said.But Jonathan Reynolds said the UK government has “got to try” to change plans which will cost 2,800 jobs.The company will close the second of its Port Talbot blast furnaces in September, citing losses of £1m a day.Mr Reynolds is meeting unions on Wednesday to discuss efforts to reach a “better deal” with the company.The previous government had…

1 hour agoBy Bonnie McLaren, Culture reporter BBCDyer also spoke about going to rehab in 2016Danny Dyer has spoken about having a “major panic attack” after forgetting his lines on stage following a night taking drugs.The former EastEnders actor played a waiter in Harold Pinter’s Celebration, which transferred from London to New York’s Lincoln Center in 2001.Speaking on Elizabeth Day’s How To Fail podcast, Dyer said he was “very excited” because he had never been to New York, and “took a lot of drugs out there”.”I’d heard about people that had dried on stage because it’s a massive thing, and it never…

A Deputy US Marshal shot a would-be carjacker while he was guarding Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s home in Washington DC, authorities said.The man was shot after approaching the car the officer was sitting in and tapping the window with a gun. The deputy fired several times, hitting the suspect in the mouth. A second deputy also opened fire, but did not hit the man, police said.Justice Sotomayor’s home is not believed to have been a deliberately targeted.The suspected carjacker, named in charging documents as Kentrell Flowers, 18, is being treated in hospital and faces carjacking and firearms charges. The…