BBC When US President Joe Biden walked through Kyiv in February 2023 on a surprise visit to show solidarity with Volodymyr Zelensky, his Ukrainian counterpart, air sirens were wailing. “I felt something… more strongly than ever before,” he later recalled. “America is a beacon to the world.” The world now waits to see who takes […]
Former Conservative MP Aaron Bell has been reprimanded by Parliament’s behaviour watchdog for “brazen and drunken” sexual misconduct. Bell was found to have touched a woman “on her left thigh, waist and bottom inappropriately and without her consent” in one of Parliament’s bars in December 2023. The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) concluded that if Bell […]
Indie rock band Cast have announced that they will be supporting Oasis on their upcoming tour. The Liverpool band, who were part of the Britpop explosion in the 1990s, are the second support act to be revealed for the reunion tour. The band, led by frontman John Power, will join Oasis for the 19 sold-out […]
The surging global popularity of TikTok has seen the co-founder of its parent company, ByteDance, become China’s richest person. According to a rich list produced by the Hurun Research Institute, Zhang Yiming, is now worth $49.3bn (£38bn) – 43% more than in 2023. The 41 year old stepped down from his role in charge of […]
Hezbollah has announced the group’s deputy secretary general will become its new head. Naim Qassem replaces long-term leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in Beirut last month. He is one of the few senior Hezbollah leaders who remains alive, after Israel killed most of the group’s leadership in a series […]
Getty Images MPs are due to vote on a bill next month that could make the process legal in England and Wales The health secretary has said he is worried that legalising assisted dying could risk ill people feeling “guilt-tripped” into ending their own lives. It emerged last week that Wes Streeting had privately told […]
TT-Line Spirit of Tasmania IV has to be moved from a Finnish shipyard because it could be damaged by pack ice A huge newly-constructed ship is to be mothballed in Edinburgh as result of a “ferries fiasco” on the other side of the world. The 212m-long (695ft) Spirit of Tasmania IV will be stored at […]
A boy fell ill after coming into contact with Sergei Skripal the day he and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with Novichock, it has been revealed. The Dawn Sturgess Inquiry was yesterday shown CCTV of Mr Skripal interacting with the child, handing him bread to feed ducks in Salisbury. The boy, along with two others […]
PA Media Alex Salmond will be laid to rest near his Aberdeenshire home Alex Salmond’s funeral will be a “dignified and fitting” tribute to his life, says the minister who will lead the service later. The Reverend Ian McEwan, a family friend, will lead the private ceremony at 13:00 in Strichen Parish Church, near the […]
Getty Images The highest domestic rates bill in Northern Ireland is currently about £4,200 Northern Ireland’s 8,000 most valuable houses are to face higher rates bills under proposals from Stormont’s finance minister. Rates are a tax paid by households and businesses, based on property values. The rateable value of houses is currently capped and the […]