Author: BBC

Pixar’s Inside Out 2 has broken box office records over the weekend as it brought in an estimated $295m (£232.6m) around the world.That makes it the strongest global opening by an animated film of all time, parent company Disney said.In North America, ticket sales hit about $155m, dethroning Dune: Part Two as the holder of this year’s top box office opening weekend.It marks a big win for cinemas, which have seen lacklustre box office takings for some new movies this year.Inside Out 2’s first weekend was much stronger than the original movie, which brought in $90m in its opening weekend…

10 hours agoBy Steven McIntosh, Entertainment reporterBBCPatricia Franquesa’s laptop was stolen during a business trip to Madrid in 2019When hackers threatened to leak a film-maker’s nude photos stored on her stolen laptop, she turned the cameras on herself to document her ordeal.Spanish director Patricia Franquesa was sitting in a café in Madrid when thieves made off with her laptop in 2019.Three months later, hackers got in touch with her demanding money, threatening to leak the intimate photos she had stored on the device if she didn’t pay up. Franquesa didn’t know for sure – and still doesn’t – whether the person attempting…

32 minutes agoBy Yasmin Rufo, BBC NewsGetty ImagesDaniel Radcliffe won his first ever Tony Award on Sunday nightHarry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has picked up his first ever Tony Award at Sunday’s ceremony in New York.Radcliffe won the award for best actor in a musical for his role in the revival of Stephan Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along.The play picked up a further three awards at the event which celebrates the best of theatre on Broadway.In his acceptance speech, the 34-year-old wished his father a happy Father’s day and thanked his girlfriend Erin Darke. “My love Erin, you and our son are…

Chinese officials appear to have blocked a formerly imprisoned journalist from the view of cameras at an event between Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra.Cheng Lei, who was imprisoned by Beijing for three years, later said she believed two embassy officials had stood in front of her to prevent her from “saying” or “doing something” that they thought “would be a bad look”.Mr Li’s visit – the first by a Chinese premier since 2017 – has been seen as another step in the thawing of tensions between the two nations after a string of…

A third food manufacturer has recalled products over fears of possible contamination with E. coli.Manufacturer THIS! is recalling its plant-based chicken and bacon wrap, which is only sold at WH Smith.The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said it was a “precautionary step” and E. coli “has not been detected in the product”.It comes days after two other suppliers, Greencore Group and Samworth Brothers Manton Wood, announced recalls of at least 60 types of pre-packed sandwiches, wraps and salads sold in major supermarkets. It is understood these were items containing salad leaves.More than 200 people across the UK are known to have…

Sir Paul McCartney has announced his first UK tour dates since 2018, with shows in Manchester and London this December.They will be the first British shows of his long-running Got Back Tour, which sees the star playing hits from across his career – from the Beatles’ debut single Love Me Do, to Wings’ Band On The Run, and solo hits like Coming Up and Dance Tonight.The tour kicked off in April 2022 and has so far made more than $200m (£158m) at the box office. Sir Paul said he was “excited to be ending my year” back at home.”It’s always…

1 hour agoBy Paul Kirby, BBC NewsJULIEN DE ROSA/AFPSocialists, Ecologists, Communists and France Unbowed have formed a left-wing allianceFrance’s left-wing political parties say they have united to form a “New Popular Front” to go head to head with the far right in snap parliamentary elections at the end of this month.President Emmanuel Macron called the two-round vote after the anti-immigration National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella won a resounding victory in European elections last Sunday.The latest opinion poll for Le Point website puts RN on 29.5% of the vote in the first round on 30 June and the…

Chinese electric cars may become pricier in the European Union (EU) after politicians called them a threat to its own industry.It has “provisionally concluded” that Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers will face tariffs from 4 July “should discussions with Chinese authorities not lead to an effective solution”.The EU’s announcement comes as it continues an investigation into what it claims is a flood of cheap, government-subsidised Chinese cars into the trade bloc.China alleged the tariffs violated international trade rules and described the investigation as “protectionism”.EV makers who co-operated with the investigation, which the EU’s governing European Commission launched in October, will…

James May has told the BBC that another motoring series with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond is unlikely to happen.The trio had huge success on the Top Gear then The Grand Tour, with the final episode of the Amazon show set to arrive in September.Asked by Amol Rajan for the Today Podcast whether he had any plans for another series or episode, May said: “We’re not going to make another series together about cars.”He added that “you should never say” never – but that it was “pretty unlikely”.Reflecting on his legacy, May said the trio had been working together for…

South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) and the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) have agreed to form a government of national unity, along with two smaller opposition parties. This follows weeks of speculation about who the ANC would partner with after losing its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years, in last month’s elections.It got 40% of the vote, while the DA came second with 22%.The agreement paves the way for ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa to remain president.The newly elected MPs will elect a president later on Friday, as the National Assembly meets for the first time…