Author: BBC

1 day agoWedaeli Chibelushi,BBC News, LondonLarkin DureyAboudia’s work has been shown in exhibitions held in Abidjan, London, New York and Tel AvivBack in September, global art experts were taken aback by the name topping a fresh list of the world’s best-selling artists.Aboudia, a graffiti-inspired artist from Ivory Coast, had beaten well-known names, like Damian Hirst and Banksy, to sell the most pieces at auction the previous year.According to the Hiscox Artist Top 100, Aboudia, real name Abdoulaye Diarrassouba, had flogged 75 lots. One of these canvasses had gone for £504,000 (£640,000).Leading online marketplace Artsy called Aboudia’s triumph “striking”, while The…

A couple of “magnet fishing” enthusiasts say they pulled up a safe containing an estimated $100,000 (£78,000) from a New York lake. James Kane and Barbie Agostini threw a rope with a magnet into a lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens on Friday and pulled up the safe. Upon opening the secured box, they said they found it stuffed with bundles of water-damaged $100 bills.They told NY1 police told them the safe wasn’t linked to any crime and that they were allowed to keep the money. The BBC has approached the New York Police Department (NYPD) for comment.…

9 minutes agoDavid Silverberg,Business reporterAngela JiangAngela Jiang swapped living in a tall apartment tower for a converted fourplexAngela Jiang says she is much happier since she moved out of a high-rise apartment building.She used to live on the 68th floor of a condo tower in downtown Toronto, but five years ago she relocated to a four-unit residential building called a fourplex, in the city’s more low-rise midtown area.Either a new-build, or the conversion of an existing single home, fourplexes are one building, typically detached, split into four separate apartments.“I loved how the neighbourhood was more residential, how I didn’t need…

20 hours agoIan Youngs,Culture reporter80s Casuals/MeadUnseen footage and photos of the seminal gig will be used in a new documentary and bookIt is remembered as one of the legendary gigs in British music history. But the Stone Roses’ full performance at Spike Island in 1990 was not thought to have been captured on film.However, a video recording of the entire concert, which took place in front of 28,000 fans in Cheshire, has now come to light – shot by a crew member who then stored the tape in a box for years.Martin Cornell’s three hours of footage – which also…

The US government has “every expectation” that Israel will accept a ceasefire proposal that would begin with a six-week cessation of hostilities in Gaza if Hamas takes the deal, according to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. The three-part plan unveiled by President Joe Biden last week would also be a “surge” of humanitarian aid, as well as an exchange of some hostages for Palestinian prisoners before a permanent end to the war. The proposal, however, has met with vocal opposition from some members of Israel’s government. The negotiations come as fighting continues in Rafah, which came under intense Israeli…

David Beckham has said he swapped “beekeeping tips” with King Charles at a recent meeting.The former England captain said the pair met at the monarch’s Highgrove home in Gloucestershire to discuss the work of the King’s Foundation.Beckham has now been made an ambassador of the charitable foundation to help promote its work.He said he was “excited” to be taking on the role, adding: “I’m particularly looking forward to supporting the foundation’s education programmes and its efforts to ensure young people have greater access to nature.”Photographs released to mark the announcement show Beckham with the King on the doorstep of Highgrove.He…

15 minutes agoVanessa Buschschlüter,BBC NewsReutersClaudia Sheinbaum (left) and her rival Xóchitl Gálvez are battling it out to become Mexico’s first female president Mexicans are voting in an election which is almost certain to see the country’s first female president elected. Both the front runner, Claudia Sheinbaum, and her main rival, Xóchitl Gálvez, are far ahead in the polls of the only male candidate, Jorge Álvarez Máynez.Voters will also elect all members of Mexico’s Congress and governors in eight states, as well as the head of Mexico City’s government.The campaign has been overshadowed by violent attacks, which the government says have…

Actor Toby Jones, who played the lead role in the TV series about the Post Office scandal, has said he “played a hero” in the drama.He starred as Alan Bates in the ITV show Mr Bates vs the Post Office, which tells the story of hundreds of sub-postmasters who were wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting.Many of the reported losses in branch accounts which led to prosecutions were actually caused by faults in Horizon – the Post Office’s computer system.Jones, speaking at the Hay Festival, said Bates – a former sub-postmaster himself, who led the victims’ campaign to…

A police officer who was left in critical condition after a mass stabbing in the German city of Mannheim on Friday has died, local authorities say.The 29-year-old was one of six people, including anti-Islam activist Michael Stürzenberger, to be wounded by the attacker, who was detained at the scene. The police officer was stabbed several times in the head. Despite undergoing emergency surgery, he succumbed to his wounds on Sunday afternoon.”This news has shaken me to the core,” said the leader of Baden-Württemberg, the state in which Mannheim is located.”All our thoughts are with the officer’s family, relatives and colleagues,”…

Michael Ball has paid tribute to Steve Wright, calling his legacy “immeasurable”, as he took over the the late DJ’s Sunday Love Songs programme on BBC Radio 2.Ball, a West End star who has presented on Radio 2 since 2008, was named as the show’s new host after Wright died in February.The 61-year-old said Wright was “missed”, adding: “He created Love Songs, and I am so, so proud to be carrying the baton for him into the future.”Wright joined the BBC in the 1970s, and went on to host shows on Radio 1 and Radio 2 for more than four…