Samira Hussain South Asia correspondent BBC A British woman accused of attempting to smuggle a large quantity of cannabis into Sri Lanka has appeared in court in the country. Charlotte May Lee, 21, from south London, was arrested earlier this month after authorities allegedly found 46kg of the drug in her suitcases when she arrived...
A 30-year-old man from Exeter accused of sending malicious communications to local schools has been transferred to a secure hospital from a jail, where he was being held on remand during legal proceedings. Alfie Pilkington, of Redlands Close, Exeter, had been remanded into custody after being charged with two counts of sending malicious communications on...
Nick Thorpe Central Europe correspondent SBU Ukraine said it uncovered a Hungarian espionage network earlier this month A spate of arrests, diplomatic expulsions and public humiliations has plunged relations between war-torn Ukraine and its prickly Nato neighbour Hungary to a new low. At the heart of the row are accusations that Viktor Orban’s Fidesz government...
Getty Images Diego Maradona pictured months before his death in 2020 at the age 60 A judge in Argentina has stood down from the trial of Diego Maradona’s medical staff after being criticised for taking part in a documentary about the case. Seven members of the legendary footballer’s medical team have been charged with negligent...
Yesterday, Harvard revoked the tenure of a well-known researcher named Francesca Gino who studies ethics and honesty. Ironically, she has been accused of fabricating data. This is the first time Harvard has stripped a professor of tenure in 80 years. Harvard University revoked the tenure of Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino after years of...
Former Aston Villa midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo has been accused of provoking Roma’s youth-team players – with two of them reportedly “struck” following a match on Monday. The alleged incident happened after Fiorentina’s Under-20s beat their Roma counterparts in the Italian Primavera semi-final. Zaniolo – who joined Fiorentina on loan from Galatasaray in February, having left...
A British national has been arrested in Namibia for allegedly sexually molesting minors and taking nude photographs of them. Douglas Robert Brook is also accused of touching the children inappropriately while on a holiday in central Namibia. Police said the suspect targeted young boys and girls from the indigenous San community in the central Otjozondjupa...
A man charged with murder after a stabbing inside a city centre bank will provisionally stand trial in the New Year. Haybe Cabdiraxmaan Nur, 47, of Western Road, Derby, was charged with the murder of Gurvinder Johal, 37, who was stabbed inside Lloyds in St Peter’s Street just after 14:30 BST on Tuesday. Appearing via...
A woman accused of having an illegal abortion has been cleared by a jury. Nicola Packer, 45, cried as she was acquitted of “unlawfully administering to herself a poison or other noxious thing” with the “intent to procure a miscarriage”. Her trial at Isleworth Crown Court heard she took abortion medicine at home during the...
Duncan Leatherdale BBC News, North East and Cumbria Prosecutors allege a video was filmed of the moment the Sycamore Gap tree was felled Two men chopped down the world famous Sycamore Gap tree as a “bit of a laugh” and then feared becoming public enemy number one, prosecutors have told jurors. The tree had grown...
Four anonymous housekeepers are suing Motown legend Smokey Robinson for $50 million (£37 million), accusing him of sexual assault. A complaint filed in Los Angeles superior court accuses the 85-year-old of sexual battery, false imprisonment, negligence and gender violence, in addition to a number of labour violations related to wages, breaks, meal times and overtime...
Duncan Leatherdale BBC News, North East and Cumbria Watch the video shown to the jurors above A second man accused of felling the world famous Sycamore Gap has told jurors he was amazed at the public’s reaction as he thought it was “just a tree”. The tree had grown in a dip on Hadrian’s Wall...
Lucy Williamson Middle East correspondent Reporting fromNorthern Syria BBC General Security Forces personnel have been deployed in Latakia city One of the men accused of taking part in a wave of sectarian violence against Syria’s Alawite minority two months ago has told the BBC that he and other armed civilians who travelled to the area...
Duncan Leatherdale BBC News, North East and Cumbria Watch the video shown to the jurors above One of the men who denies cutting down the world famous Sycamore Gap tree has told jurors his co-accused “best pal” admitted doing it. The tree had grown in a dip on Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland for more than...
Michael Buchanan Social affairs correspondent BBC Richard Stanton and Rhiannon Davies campaigned for a review into maternity services after their baby daughter died in 2009 Campaigners have questioned Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s commitment to maternity safety after his department watered down funding levels. Almost £100m was invested into improving maternity safety annually following the publication...