Author: BBC

Best friends Kathy and Stella host a true crime podcast. When their favourite author is murdered they are thrown into a thrilling ‘whodunnit’ of their own.The team behind the murder-mystery musical comedy ‘Kathy & Stella Solve A Murder!’ includes Fleabag producer Francesca Moody. She spoke to BBC London alongside the stars of the show, Bronté Barbé and Rebekah Hinds, at the Ambassadors Theatre. Video journalist Claudia Redmond Source link

Dutch voters have begun four days of voting across the European Union, with exit polls suggesting a tight race between a left-green alliance and the party of anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders.Right-wing and far-right parties are widely expected to make big gains in many of the EU’s 27 member states, and that appears to have been borne out in the Netherlands, to an extent.Although the Green-Labour alliance is set to take more seats in the European Parliament according to the exit poll, Mr Wilders’ Freedom Party is on course for big gains. But he has not repeated the runaway victory of…

After pushing borrowing costs sharply higher in recent years to try to quell soaring prices, countries around the world are shifting gear.The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday announced its first interest rate cut in five years, dropping its main lending rate from an all-time high of 4% to 3.75%.It came a day after Canada took a similar step and followed a flurry of similar moves in recent months from countries including Sweden, Switzerland, Brazil and Mexico.Officials in the UK and US, where borrowing costs now stand at the highest rate in years, are expected to hold off on any…

6 hours agoAnnabel Rackham,Culture reporterBBCMichael Mosley appeared on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg in 2023TV star Michael Mosley has gone missing while on holiday on the Greek island of Symi.He was last seen on Wednesday, when he left his wife on the beach to go for a walk.Officers were unable to find the 67-year-old so requested help from the Greek fire department in Athens.But who is the man who has been a fixture on our TV screens for more than two decades?Mosley is a familiar face to many, mostly due to his numerous TV and radio appearances, where he mostly talks…

Hunter Biden’s ex-girlfriend has testified that she “panicked” when she searched his car and found a gun – a moment that set off a chaotic string of events that has brought the president’s son to a federal courtroom.Hallie Biden, who is also the widow of the defendant’s late brother, said she discovered the revolver amid piles of clothes and litter in the console of Hunter Biden’s truck. Ms Biden, 50, also told the court she was “embarrassed and ashamed” to have started smoking crack cocaine herself after Mr Biden, 54, introduced her to the drug.It is the first trial for…

British tech tycoon Mike Lynch has been cleared of fraud charges he faced in the United States over the $11bn (£8.6bn) sale of his software firm to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.A jury in San Francisco found him not guilty on all counts, a stunning victory for Mr Lynch, who had been accused of inflating the value of his firm, Autonomy, ahead of its sale.Mr Lynch, who faced more than 20 years in prison if convicted, had denied the charges, taking the stand to defend himself.In his testimony, he maintained he had focused on technology, not accounting, distancing himself from other executives,…

More than £3 million has been spent so far by the BBC on a report about the alleged misconduct of one of its former DJs.The external review is to examine the BBC’s knowledge of, and response to, complaints, allegations and concerns about the misconduct of the former Radio 1 and 1Xtra DJ Tim Westwood.A freedom of information request by BBC News revealed that the BBC has spent more than £3.1m on the review.Mr Westwood has denied claims of misconduct, commenting: “It’s all false allegations.”Several women have accused the presenter of predatory and unwanted sexual behaviour and touching, in incidents between…

Moscow says it has detained a French citizen accused of gathering information about Russia’s military activities and failing to register as a “foreign agent”.”Such information, if obtained by foreign sources, may be used against the security of the state,” said Russia’s Investigative Committee (SK).It also posted footage purportedly showing the arrest of the unnamed male suspect in a Moscow cafe. A Switzerland-based NGO later said its adviser Laurent Vinatier was held in the Russian capital.”We are aware that Laurent Vinatier, an adviser at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), has been detained in Russia,” a spokesman for the non-government organisation…

The UK’s statistics watchdog has criticised the prime minister over claims around the tax burden families could face if Labour wins the general election.The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) said anyone who heard Rishi Sunak say that Labour tax rises would amount to just over £2,000 per working household would have no way of knowing that was a sum totalled over four years.It was referred to several times by the prime minister during the first live TV debate between himself and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on Tuesday.The BBC has approached the Conservative party for comment.In Tuesday’s debate Mr Sunak…

40 minutes agoShehnaz Khan,BBC News, West MidlandsStratford Literary FesivalDavid Nicholls, Mary Beard and Patrick Grant were all on the line-up for Stratford Literary Festival, which took place last monthInvestment firm Baillie Gifford has ended its sponsorship of Stratford Literary Festival after 10 years.Festival organisers said they were “saddened” the company had decided not to continue sponsoring the event, which took place last month.It comes after similar announcements from a range of other festivals, including Edinburgh Book Festival and the Hay Festival, both of which recently ended their deals with the firm.Stratford’s festival director Annie Ashworth, said they were “enormously grateful”…