Author: BBC

Top comedian-turned-politician Micheal Usi has been sworn as Malawi’s vice-president at a ceremony held in parliament in the capital, Lilongwe.The 55-year-old replaces Saulos Chilima, who died in a plane crash earlier this month, along with eight other people.Dr Usi received a standing ovation when he spoke after his inauguration, saying he accepted the role with a mixture of sadness and gratitude.He promised to honour his predecessor’s memory and thanked President Lazarus Chakwera for believing in him as he takes up his position as vice-president in the power-sharing government.His appointment has certainly left Malawians divided.Some have been sharing clips of his…

If Labour wins the general election it will need an “effective opposition” in Parliament, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has told the BBC. Mr Hunt is the latest senior Conservative to publicly acknowledge his party could be on course for defeat. He urged people not to vote for Reform UK, claiming this would result in fewer centre-right MPs. Earlier, Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said opinion polls suggested Labour was heading towards “the largest majority virtually in the history of this country”.And last week Grant Shapps urged voters not to give Labour a “supermajority”, with the party’s power “unchecked”. With the…

9 minutes agoBy Bonnie McLaren, Culture reporter Getty ImagesSabrina Carpenter’s Please Please Please has overtaken her own hit EspressoSabrina Carpenter is number one and two on the UK singles chart. Please Please Please, her latest single, has overtaken smash hit Espresso, which has been at the top for five weeks.Please Please Please and Espresso are both from Carpenter’s forthcoming sixth album Short ‘n Sweet.The video to Please Please Please stars Carpenter – a former Disney actress – alongside her love interest and real-life boyfriend, Saltburn star Barry Keoghan, as they pull off Bonnie-and-Clyde-esque crimes. Carpenter also visited Radio 1’s Live Lounge earlier…

10 minutes agoBy Vicky Wong, BBC News Getty ImagesA 58-year-old man has been killed in a suspected bear attack in Japan.Construction worker Yasuhiro Kobayashi was found in a forest in Nagano Prefecture on Friday afternoon. He had large wounds on his head and back, a spokesperson from Nagano Central Police Station confirmed. This is the latest incident in a surge of attacks by the animals, which are increasingly venturing into populated areas.Mr Kobayashi was found by a colleague who went looking for him when he failed to return to work after visiting a construction site, Japaneses broadcaster NHK reportedAccording to newspaper Asahi…

The families of victims in two Boeing 737 Max plane crashes have asked for prosecutions and a fine of $24.8bn for “the deadliest corporate crime in US history”. The families’ lawyer Paul Cassell said the amount was “justified and clearly appropriate” given “enormous human costs of Boeing’s crimes”. In a 32-page letter seen by the BBC, Mr Cassell said that the US government should prosecute those leading the company when 346 people were killed in two crashes in 2018 and 2019. The letter cited the apology by Boeing’s chief executive Dave Calhoun on Tuesday while he gave evidence to Congress.…

Just nowBy Aurelia Foster, Health reporter, BBC NewsJoseph KjorstadDylan Kjorstad, 14, has had chemotherapy twice a month to shrink the tumour, ahead of planned surgery this monthA 14-year-old boy with cancer is among hundreds of hospital patients whose medical procedures have been postponed following a cyber-attack on an NHS provider.Dylan Kjorstad was scheduled to have a tumour on his ribs removed on 6 June at London’s Royal Brompton Hospital, but the operation has been put back due to concerns about delays in blood supplies.A ransomware attack on the blood-testing firm Synnovis on 3 June led to disruption to clinical procedures at several…

The BBC has said on-screen presenters are “regularly reminded” of its guidelines relating to clothing, after an incident in which Gary Lineker appeared to breach those rules by wearing outfits from his own fashion range.During England’s opening Euros game on Sunday night, the Match of the Day host wore a green T-shirt and jacket which appeared to be from the Next range he endorses.BBC guidelines say presenters must not appear on-air wearing clothing which they have agreed to promote.Lineker has been approached for a comment, but has yet to respond.The former footballer was fronting the BBC’s coverage of England’s match…

People placed under restraining orders for domestic violence do not have a right to own guns, the Supreme Court has ruled.The 8-1 decision upholds a 30-year-old law that bars those with restraining orders for domestic abuse from owning firearms. At the centre of the case was Zackey Rahimi, a Texas man who was indicted under the 1994 law but filed an appeal after the court significantly expanded gun rights in a 2022 ruling.In that ruling, the court decided the US constitution’s guarantee of the right “to keep and bear arms” protects a broad right to carry a handgun outside the…

About 1,500 Tata Steel workers will begin an indefinite strike next month over the company’s plans to cut thousands of jobs, the trade union Unite has said.The move is the first time in more than 40 years that steel workers in the UK have taken strike action, the union added. About 2,800 Tata Steel workers will lose their jobs when the company closes both blast furnaces in Port Talbot by the end of September.The strike will begin on 8 July at Port Talbot and Tata’s Llanwern site in Newport.Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said Tata’s workers were “not just fighting…

Justin Timberlake’s lawyer says he looks forward to “vigorously defending” the singer after he was charged for driving while intoxicated.Timberlake, 43, was arrested just after midnight on Monday for running a stop sign and failing to stay on the right side of the road.The incident occurred in Sag Harbor, in the Hamptons, a popular holiday destination for celebrities in New York.He was released without bail after being formally charged, and is scheduled to appear virtually in court on 26 July, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office confirms.”I look forward to vigorously defending Mr Timberlake on these allegations,” his lawyer Edward Burke…