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Who is Russell Brand, the comedian and actor accused of rape and sexual assault?
By Steven McIntosh Entertainment reporter Russell Brand, who has been accused of sexual assault by four women, is a comedian and broadcaster who helped shape pop culture in the late noughties. The 48-year-old, who was born in Essex, surged to fame as the host of Big Brother’s Big Mouth, and went on to star in…
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Derna: ‘There’s a smell of decay and death in the air’
Rescuers in Libya’s Derna have told the BBC that bodies are continuing to wash up in the sea, a week on from the devastating floods which swept through the eastern city. A Turkish team said they removed three bodies from the water just on Saturday morning. There are fears for survivors in the city, with…
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Russell Brand posts video denying ‘serious criminal allegations’
Russell Brand has released a video in which he denies “serious criminal allegations” that he says will be made against him. The actor and comedian said he had received letters from a TV company and newspaper, containing “a litany” of “aggressive attacks”. The BBC understands that a number of women will make serious allegations about…
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Lampedusa: Italy recovers body of newborn baby from migrant boat
By Rob Corp BBC News The body of a newborn baby has been recovered from a boat carrying migrants during a rescue operation off the Italian island of Lampedusa. The mother is thought to have given birth during the journey from North Africa, the Ansa news agency says, and the death is being investigated. More…
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Ukraine’s Crimea attacks seen as key to counter-offensive against Russia
By Paul Adams Diplomatic correspondent, in Kyiv This week saw spectacular Ukrainian attacks on the Crimean Peninsula, hitting Russian warships and missiles. Estimates of the damage done ran into billions of pounds and raised the question: is Ukraine getting ready to retake Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014? Crimea is a Russian fortress, so it…
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American bully XLs will not be culled under ban, says chief vet
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. By Emma Harrison BBC News There will not be a cull of American bully XLs, the UK’s chief veterinary officer has said, after Rishi Sunak announced the dogs will be banned. Christine Middlemiss said instead there will…
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Actor Hugh Jackman and wife Deborra-Lee Furness to separate after 27 years
By Rob Corp BBC News Actor Hugh Jackman and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness are to separate after 27 years of marriage, US media have reported. According to celebrity magazine People, the Australian couple said they had been “blessed to share almost three decades together”. “Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate…
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Historical Ukrainian sites in Kyiv and Lviv added to UN danger list
By Kathryn Armstrong BBC News Major historical sites in two Ukrainian cities are in danger of destruction due to the ongoing war with Russia, according to the United Nations’ heritage body Unesco. They include the iconic Saint Sophia Cathedral in the capital, Kyiv, and the medieval buildings of the city’s Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery site. The…
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Ovidio Guzmán-López: El Chapo’s son extradited to the US
A son of the infamous drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has been extradited to the US on drug trafficking charges, the US Attorney General has said. Ovidio Guzmán is suspected of leading, along with his brother, the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel his father founded. Ovidio is also accused of having ordered the murder of…
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Brazilian butt-lifts: Why have one?
By Zoe Applegate and Helen Burchell BBC News, Norfolk Buttock enlargement surgery – also known as a Brazilian butt-lift (BBL) – is the fastest-growing cosmetic surgery procedure but also one of the most dangerous. This week, a coroner said she would write to the government to try to prevent any more deaths after Melissa Kerr,…