Author: BBC

Post Office inquiry live updates: Ex-Post Office chair Alice Perkins giving evidence – BBC News BreakingBreaking newsClose breaking news SummaryAlice Perkins, former chair of Post Office Ltd from 2011 to 2015, is giving evidence to the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal for a second dayPerkins led a Post Office board sub-committee, codenamed “Project Sparrow”, which included Paula Vennells and other senior officialsA secret plan to sack independent forensic accountants Second Sight was revealed in the minutes of two Project Sparrow meetings in 2014More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted for stealing because of incorrect information from a computer system called…

Just nowAileen Moynagh,BBC News NI health reporterBBCJunior doctors took to picket lines at Altnagelvin Hospital earlier this yearJunior doctors across Northern Ireland are taking further strike action over the next two days in a dispute over pay.The 48-hour full walkout runs from 07:00 BST on Thursday 6 June until 07:00 on Saturday 8 June.The Department of Health (DoH) said patients are advised to expect “widespread disruption” to normal services.The move will coincide with the launch of a new IT system in the Belfast Trust on Thursday, but the trust anticipates “minimal problems” on that day.Dr Johnny Cash is chief clinical…

16 hours agoGiancarlo Rinaldi,South Scotland reporterWigtown Book FestivalWigtown Book Festival has ended its 14-year association with Baillie GiffordAnother Scottish book festival is ending its partnership with sponsors Baillie Gifford following pressure from climate change protesters.Wigtown Book Festival confirmed the move following similar announcements by the Edinburgh International Book Festival and the Borders Book Festival.A short statement from the board of the Dumfries and Galloway event said it was making the move “with regret”.The company has been a supporter of the festival – staged this year from 27 September to 6 October – for more than a decade.The festival in Scotland’s…

1 hour agoJonathan Head & Burmese Service ,BBC NewsGetty ImagesFighting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army has been raging in in Rakhine State for monthsAt least 50 people were killed by Myanmar soldiers in a raid on a village in Rakhine State last week, say local residents and opposition forces. Warning: You may find some of the details in this piece disturbingEyewitnesses told the BBC the village was subjected to two-and-half days of terror as soldiers blindfolded and beat them up, poured burning petrol on their skin and forced some of them to drink their urine. They were looking…

5 hours agoNadine Yousif,BBC News, TorontoPresident’s Choice/YouTubeLoblaw’s former president Galen Weston appearing in an advertisement for the grocerCanada is searching for an international grocer to enter its domestic market, after years of anger from shoppers over high food prices, much of it directed at one of the big players. But would an Aldi or a Lidl solve the problem?Late last year, Emily Johnson took to Reddit to share her frustration with how expensive food in Canada has become.She fixated on one grocer in particular: Loblaw, the dominant food retailer in Canada, boasting nearly 2,500 stores.Her Reddit group – named LoblawsIsOutofControl…

46 minutes agoPhilippa Roxby,Health reporter, BBC NewsGetty ImagesOne out of every six people have symptoms when they stop taking antidepressants – fewer than previously thought, a review of previous studies suggests.The researchers say their findings will help inform doctors and patients “without causing undue alarm”.The Lancet Psychiatry review looked at data from 79 trials involving more than 20,000 patients.Some had been treated with antidepressants and others with a dummy drug or placebo, which helped researchers gauge the true effect of withdrawing from the drugs.Some people have unpleasant symptoms such as dizziness, headache, nausea and insomnia when they stop taking antidepressants,…

Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) will make its debut at Glastonbury Festival on the iconic Pyramid Stage. The performance of what BRB described as a “powerful and moving abstract ballet”, Interlinked by Juliano Nunes, will take place on Sunday 30 June.Birmingham Royal Ballet’s director, Carlos Acosta said: “We are honoured to be bringing ballet to the iconic Pyramid Stage at this year’s Glastonbury Festival. “All of us at Birmingham Royal Ballet are ready and raring to bring Glastonbury festival-goers a performance to be remembered.”The performance at Glastonbury follows on from the sell-out success of Black Sabbath – The Ballet in 2023.It…

Footage shows rivers of volcanic ash and debris following an ‘explosive eruption’ at Mt Kanlaon on Monday.The eruption sent a plume of ash kilometres into the sky, and caused dozens of flights to be cancelled and hundreds of people to be evacuated.Authorities said further eruptions were possible. Source link

2 days agoMark Savage,Music CorrespondentGetty ImagesDua Lipa will headline the opening night of the festivalMore of the line-up for this year’s Glastonbury festival has been revealed, with acts like The Snuts and The Zutons joining previously-announced headliners Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA.Other acts added to the bill include Nigerian star Tems, rising indie artist Rachel Chinouriri and Manchester legends James.The festival kicks off in three weeks, with gates opening on Wednesday, 26 June.Tickets sold out in October, but full coverage will be available on BBC radio and television as well as BBC Sounds and iPlayer.Highlights are expected to include country…

46 minutes agoSteve Rosenberg,Russia editor, @BBCSteveRGetty ImagesRussia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 not only sparked international outrage. It also triggered a wave of sanctions designed to weaken the Kremlin’s ability to wage war against its neighbour.Russia’s assets abroad were frozen, its economy cut off from the global financial system, its energy exports targeted.I can remember Western officials and commentators describing the sanctions as “crippling”, “debilitating” and “unprecedented”. With adjectives like these filling the airwaves, the situation seemed clear. There was surely no way that Russia’s economy would withstand the pressures.Faced with the prospect of economic collapse, the Kremlin…