Author: BBC

Animal rights protesters have attacked a portrait of King Charles, which has been on show in a London art gallery.Two protesters had stuck posters on the glass over the painting.The Philip Mould gallery said that no damage had been done to the portrait.The painting by Jonathan Yeo was the first official painting of the King since his coronation.The Animal Rising group said that two of its supporters had attacked the painting in a way that they claimed was “light-hearted”.They pasted over the royal portrait with a picture of Wallace, a character from the Wallace and Gromit animations.They were criticising the…

The mayor of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has said that the situation there has been “calmer” since Russian missile launchers shelling it were hit by Ukrainian fire.Ihor Terekhov’s comments came nearly two weeks after the US and other Western nations gave the go-ahead for Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia near Kharkiv. He was speaking at a conference in Germany attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky which is aimed at encouraging European nations to support and invest in Ukraine.Russia says it has captured two Ukrainian villages as it continues its offensive begun in May.The defence ministry said Tymkivka in Kharkiv…

9 hours agoBy Johnny O’Shea, BBC News, in St IvesBBCAbout 540,000 day-trippers visit the town every year, according to the St Ives Tourism AssociationThe Cornish seaside town of St Ives attracts thousands of visitors, drawn each year to its beautiful beaches and thriving art scene. But for those who live and work here, ordinary life in a tourist hotspot brings huge challenges they are demanding politicians address.”It’s a lovely place to be… but I don’t think I will ever be a homeowner.”Ben Hodgkinson is busy scanning the harbour in the midday sun, trying to catch the eye of passers-by and sell them…

Katie Piper was forced to pull out of her ITV breakfast show at the last minute this weekend because of an “unexpected medical procedure”.The presenter and campaigner made the announcement on Saturday morning on Instagram, adding that the host Charlotte Hawkins would be stepping in for her.Piper, 40, was left with serious injuries and permanent scarring after an acid attack in 2008.In her post, she assured fans “all is well”, adding: “I hope after some rest I’ll be back in the hot seat next weekend.”Fellow presenters were quick to offer their support to Piper following her announcement.Hawkins, who is usually…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that if a ceasefire plan backed by the US and UN does not progress, Hamas will be to blame.Mr Blinken reiterated his call for Hamas to accept the plan as outlined by President Biden 11 days ago.He said the onus was on “one guy” hiding “ten storeys underground in Gaza” to make the casting vote, referring to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Mr Blinken said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “reaffirmed his commitment” to the proposal when they held talks in Jerusalem on Monday.Mr Netanyahu has not publicly endorsed what Mr Biden…

3 days agoBy Douglas Fraser, Business and economy editor, ScotlandPATaylor Swift is not just a musical phenomenon, but a business unicorn too. The Eras tour which has arrived in Edinburgh is reckoned to be pushing her wealth well north of $1bn (£785.51m).Forbes, the money magazine, reckons she is worth $600m (£471m) from performance and her back catalogue is worth as much, while she has around $125m (£98.2m) worth of real estate.Other musicians who have reached such heights have done so by investing their musical earnings in other ventures.This daughter of Pennsylvania, and of a financial broker, mints money with astute leverage of…

Under-16s will be banned from buying high-caffeine energy drinks in England, if Labour wins 4 July’s general election.Drinks such as Monster, Prime and Red Bull would be blocked from sale, to protect children’s health – but Coca-Cola and Lucozade would not be covered by the ban.The proposal was welcomed by TV chef Jamie Oliver, who said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “You would be amazed if you saw how many kids have breakfast in the form of an energy drink.”Children were “bouncing off the walls” in the classroom, so teachers had to resort to “plan-B or plan-C” lessons, he…

60 minutes agoBy Ian Youngs, Culture reporter, BBC NewsGetty ImagesAlexander Morris claims he was put in a straitjacket and subjected to racial discriminationA member of US soul group the Four Tops is suing a hospital, claiming doctors halted emergency treatment and ordered a psychological evaluation because they did not believe him when he told them he was famous.Alexander Morris, who joined the long-running group in 2019, says he went to Ascension Macomb Oakland Hospital, in Detroit, with difficulty breathing and chest pain, in April 2023.Mr Morris’s legal action claims he was racially profiled and doctors assumed he was mentally ill when he…

Malawi’s Vice-President Saulos Chilima has died at the age of 51 after a military aircraft he was flying in crashed in a forest in the north of the country.He had been vice-president for 10 years, initially under former President Peter Mutharika, who picked him from the business sector for the second most senior post in government.He was described as a “performer” and “workaholic” but he was perhaps defined by being at the centre of corruption allegations in government.First as an accuser, and then as an accused.Before Dr Chilima became vice-president in 2014, he was the managing director of the country’s…

The Conservatives have pledged almost £730m to expand NHS mental health treatment in England as part of moves to cut rising welfare costs if they win the general election.Funding talking therapies such as counselling services for an extra 500,000 people would help save the economy £12bn a year by ensuring more working age people currently claiming benefits have a job, the Conservatives said.Since the pandemic, the number of people inactive for health reasons has increased by 33% to 2.8 million, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS). Before the election prime minister Rishi Sunak made tackling what he saw…