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Teen dies after being struck by lightning while hunting
By Nadine Yousif BBC News A teenage girl who was struck by lightning while hunting with her father in the US state of Florida has died. Baylee Holbrook, 16, and her father were both hit after lightning hit a tree on Tuesday, Putnam County officials said. Her father lost consciousness but later woke up to…
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Lizzo asks judge to dismiss dancers’ harassment allegations
By Paul Glynn Entertainment reporter Lizzo has lodged her first legal response to the lawsuit brought by three of her former dancers. In August they claimed they had been subjected to sexual harassment and a hostile work environment while on tour with the US singer, which she denies. The star and her Big Grrrl Big…
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Rotterdam shootings: Hospital was warned of ‘psychotic’ suspect
By Anna Holligan in Rotterdam & Michael Ertl in London BBC News Dutch prosecutors knew about the gunman who killed three people in Rotterdam and had warned the hospital where he shot one of the victims, an email from them has revealed. Fouad L, 32, had shown “psychotic behaviour”, the hospital was told. He was…
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Eswatini election: The vote in a kingdom where parties are banned
By Gloria Aradi BBC News People in Eswatini, Africa’s last absolute monarchy, are voting in parliamentary elections where candidates are not allowed to run for a political party. This is the first poll there since 2021’s deadly pro-democracy protests. Critics have dismissed the elections as a farce meant to legitimise the absolute monarchy. But King…
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Norwegian family finds Viking-era relics while looking for earring
By George Wright BBC News A family in Norway were searching for a lost gold earring in their garden when they decided to get their metal detector out. They did not find the earring but did stumble upon something else: artefacts dating back more than 1,000 years. The Aasvik family dug up a bowl-shaped buckle…
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Gulnara Karimova: Swiss say Uzbekistan ex-leader’s daughter ran huge crime network
Swiss prosecutors have charged Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Uzbekistan’s former president, with running an international crime syndicate that laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes. The authorities have seized assets worth SFr 780m (£700m; $857m) in the probe, covering the period 2005-2013. Karimova has been in jail in Uzbekistan since 2014, convicted of…
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‘It gave such comfort’ – loss of Sycamore Gap tree touches lives
EPA/EFECopyright: EPA/EFE “It’s so grim, I felt sick, as so many people did, when I saw it,” says writer and environmentalist Prof Robert McFarlane. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme earlier , he explained the symbolism of the iconic tree: “It was a film star, it was a tree that ashes were scattered under,…
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Evergrande: Anxious Chinese home buyers reel from crisis
By Yan Chen, Frances Mao and Britt Yip BBC News “When I think about it, I cry,” says Mrs Guo about the home she had bought. “It’s hard, and I feel sorry for my son and myself.” In 2021, just months before the Chinese property giant Evergrande showed the first signs of crisis, Guo Tianran…
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Pakistan: At least 20 killed, dozens injured in Mastung blast
By Kelly Ng & Usman Zahid in Singapore and Islamabad At least 50 people have been killed and more than 50 injured in an explosion in Pakistan, police tell the BBC. The blast happened near a mosque in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Friday as people gathered to celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad.…
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Sycamore Gap: Hopes shoots could regrow from felled tree
By Alison Freeman Reporter There are hopes shoots could still grow from one of the UK’s most famous trees which was deliberately chopped down. The landmark at Sycamore Gap, beside Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, was felled overnight on Wednesday. National Trust general manager Andrew Poad told BBC Breakfast the stump was “healthy” and they might…