Author: BBC

The winner of Britain’s Got Talent is set to be named in Sunday night’s grand TV final.There are 10 finalists, including a choir, a magician, a Ghanaian dancing duo and a Japanese skipping group.The judges of the ITV show, Simon Cowell, Bruno Tonioli, Alesha Dixon and Amanda Holden, will return for one last time, alongside hosts Ant and Dec.The winner of the 17th series of BGT will receive a cash prize of £250,000 and the chance to perform at the Royal Variety Performance.Public votes will open during the live show, with viewers at home encouraged to have their say.The series…

Flooding and landslides caused by monsoon rains in Sri Lanka have killed at least seven people, the country’s Disaster Management Centre (DMC) has said. In Sitawaka – outside the capital, Colombo – three members of the same family died when their house was flooded. Supplies of electricity have been cut off in several areas and schools ordered to remain shut on Monday.Landslide warnings have been issued in nine districts.DMC Director Pradeep Kodippili told the BBC’s Sinhala service that the risk of flooding was rapidly increasing in Colombo and other areas of the south. “Many areas have reportedly received more than…

16 hours agoEvan Davis,Presenter, The Bottom Line, @evanhdBBCYou want to step out of the world of wage slavery, and set up a business of your own? Preferably a business that will be more than a mere lifestyle for you – one that you can sell and from which you can retire on the proceeds?Well, in thinking about your chances of success, it helps to look at those who have trodden that path and ended up with a flourishing enterprise to their name.In the interview series The Decisions That Made Me a Leader, we spoke to half a dozen successful entrepreneurs…

An “ultra-sensitive” new blood test can predict if breast cancer will return years before the disease shows up on scans, researchers say.It picks up traces of a tumour’s DNA before a full relapse and was found to be 100% accurate at predicting which patients would see their cancer return.It is hoped that the test can allow treatment to start earlier and improve survival rates.The UK research has been branded “incredibly exciting” by experts but is still in its early stages.Breast cancer is the most common form of the disease worldwide, with 2.26 million women diagnosed in 2020 and 685,000 deaths…

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has married for a fifth time in a ceremony at his Californian vineyard.Mr Murdoch, 93, tied the knot on Saturday with his new wife Elena Zhukova, 67, a retired Russian biologist.He was rumoured to be dating Ms Zhukova soon after his engagement to ex-police chaplain Ann Lesley Smith was abruptly called off in April 2023.Australian-born Mr Murdoch, who has six children, is chairman emeritus of News Corporation, which owns Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, the Sun and the Times.He stepped down as chairman of Fox and News Corp last year, leaving his son Lachlan to…

EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockItamar Ben-Gvir (left) and Bezalel Smotrich reject the US-backed ceasefire dealTwo far-right Israeli ministers have threatened to quit and collapse the governing coalition if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees to a Gaza ceasefire proposal unveiled by US President Joe Biden on Friday.Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said they were opposed to striking any deal before Hamas was destroyed.Opposition leader Yair Lapid has pledged to back the government if Mr Netanyahu supported the plan.The prime minister himself insisted there would be no permanent truce until Hamas’s military and governing capabilities were destroyed and all hostages released.But…

8 hours agoDeborah Weitzmann,Business reporterGetty ImagesEuropean retailers are rushing to place their Christmas orders early as soaring shipping costs and trade route disruption threaten holiday deliveries, experts say.For the last few months, vessels belonging to Western firms have been attacked in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels backing Hamas in its war with Israel, driving shipping prices up.Container prices, which peaked in January and briefly declined, have rebounded sharply in recent weeks.One business told the BBC that increased costs were likely to feed through to the price of big-ticket items such as white goods.Nick Glynn, boss of the Buy It…

10 hours agoGuy Lambert,Entertainment Reporter, @guybertieGettyUS supermodel sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid are donating $1m (£785,000) to support Palestinian relief efforts.A representative for Bella said the money has been earmarked for equal distribution among four humanitarian organisations that have a focus on children and families affected by the conflict in Gaza.The sisters, whose father is Palestinian property tycoon Mohamed Anwar Hadid, have been vocal in their support for the people affected.In an Instagram post in May, Bella said she was “devastated at the loss of the Palestinian people and the lack of empathy coming from the government systems worldwide”.Getty ImagesThe…

5 minutes agoAbdujalil Abdurasulov,BBC NewsGetty ImagesUkraine is now allowed to use Western weapons to hit targets inside Russia. What will this decision change and how will it affect the front line in Ukraine?Up until now, Western countries restricted the use of their weapons to military targets located inside Ukraine, including Crimea and occupied territories. They were concerned that attacking targets across the internationally recognised border with weapons provided by Nato countries would escalate the conflict.But the latest Russian advance in the north-eastern Kharkiv region convinced Kyiv’s allies that in order to defend itself, Ukraine must be able to destroy military…

Saliva tests carried out at home are better at identifying men who are at higher risk of prostate cancer than the standard blood test, new research suggests.The at-home test could identify genetic factors which make men more likely to develop the disease which claims around 12,000 lives a year in the UK.The study was carried out by the Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.They hoped the findings could “turn the tide on prostate cancer”.The research has not yet been published in a specialist journal.The UK does not have a national screening programme for prostate…