A nature writer who has transformed a former cricket field into a wildlife meadow has said anyone can get involved in increasing biodiversity, even if they have a box window. James Canton says it has taken him 15 years to transform two acres of land at Little Maplestead, on the Essex-Suffolk border, from concrete and overgrown grass to a fully functioning ecosystem. In that time, the 58-year-old has created a “paradise” home to nightingales, butterflies and bumble bees, as well as an abundance of thriving wildflowers. Mr Canton said: “There was nothing living there, it’s very difficult for any biodiverse…
Author: dmnews
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar on a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal have stalled after three days of indirect talks, a Palestinian official has told the BBC. The official said key sticking points included how aid would be distributed during the ceasefire and Israeli troop withdrawals. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting the US and hopes of a deal had been raised as he had an unscheduled second meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday. US special envoy Steve Witkoff also said they were now “down to one” unresolved issue at the Doha talks and…
Gregg Wallace has been sacked as MasterChef presenter as a result of an inquiry into alleged misconduct, BBC News understands. It comes as 50 more people have approached the BBC with fresh claims about the TV presenter – including allegations he groped one MasterChef worker and pulled his trousers down in front of another. Wallace denies the claims. The inquiry into allegations against him, conducted by an independent law firm on behalf of MasterChef’s production company Banijay, is expected to report back imminently. In a lengthy statement on Instagram on Tuesday, Wallace claimed he had been cleared by that report…
Gregg Wallace has been warned by one of the country’s most senior barristers not to say the women coming forward with claims against him are making things up. The comments from Baroness Helena Kennedy, who chairs a watchdog aimed at improving standards of behaviour in the creative industries, come after 50 more people contacted BBC News with claims about the TV presenter, which he denies. An inquiry into allegations of misconduct against him, conducted by an independent law firm on behalf of MasterChef’s production company Banijay, is expected to report back imminently. BBC News has not seen that report, but…
For more than 100 years, the sign has been a Los Angeles landmark both in real life and on the silver screen. In 1978, Alice Cooper told the BBC why he was helping to restore the dilapidated icon. Perched high on Mount Lee overlooking Los Angeles, the Hollywood sign is one of America’s most instantly recognisable cultural icons. “[It] is like our London Bridge, our Big Ben,” US shock rocker Alice , The Old Grey Whistle Test, in 1978. “In Hollywood, we don’t have a landmark except for the Hollywood sign.” The exact date the monument went up is contested,…
With so many famous cities and coasts to explore, most visitors to Italy never think to stop by its national parks, but these wild landscapes produce epic Italian culinary adventures. Whenever we visit my husband’s family in Calabria, at the tippy toe of Italy’s boot, we invariably take the train; it beats the six-hour drive down an autostrada (motorway) full of lorries. But this time, we’re taking the car since we’ll be making a detour to a national park. For us, and for many Italians, that means one thing: we’re bringing back food. Italy has so many renowned cities and coastlines that…
Back in 2000, a French film was vilified for its tale of two women embarking on a drug-fuelled killing spree. But 25 years on, it’s considered revolutionary by some. When a certain French thriller first arrived in May 2000, premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, it generated a maelstrom of controversy. The film had already been threatened with censorship in France, and some audience members at Cannes reportedly donned T-shirts in solidarity with its writer and co-director Virginie Despentes. Others walked out in disgust. And that was just the beginning of the storm. Warning: This article contains descriptions of violence and language and content that some…
Donald Trump has said the US will send more weapons to Ukraine after an announcement last week that Washington would halt some shipments of critical arms to Kyiv. During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said he was “not happy” with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and that Ukraine was “getting hit very hard”. Trump also indicated the US would send primarily “defensive weapons” to help Ukraine’s war effort. Among the armaments reported to have been placed on pause last week were Patriot air defence missiles and precision artillery shells. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky had appealed for the shipments to…
US President Donald Trump has said he thinks talks to end the war in Gaza have been “going along very well”, as he hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington DC. Trump also expressed confidence that Hamas was willing to end the 21-month conflict. “They want to meet and they want to have that ceasefire,” he said in unexpected remarks to reporters at the White House. The meeting came after the latest rounds of indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in Qatar ended without a breakthrough, though negotiations were expected to continue this week. In Monday’s remarks, Trump…
The Israeli military says it has carried out air strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in response to repeated missile and drone attacks on Israel. The military said the targets were the Red Sea ports of Hudaydah, Ras Issa and al-Salif, a nearby power station, and the cargo ship Galaxy Leader. The ship, hijacked by the Houthis in November 2023, was being used to monitor international shipping, according to the military. The Houthis’ military spokesman said the Iran-backed group’s air defences “successfully” confronted the Israeli attack. There were no reports of any casualties. Following the strikes, two missiles were launched…