‘I twisted myself into a pretzel to please people’
BBC Lauren Mayberry: “A song can have terrible production but a great story, and I’ll listen to that all the live long day” Lauren Mayberry is a peacemaker. Since 2011, she’s been frontwoman of the Glaswegian band Chvrches, topping festival bills and the album charts with a trademark barrage of distorted synths and razor-sharp melodies. […]
Scotland-only folic acid plan ruled out
Thinkstock The head of Scotland’s food watchdog has said it is unlikely Scotland would be able to go it alone and add folic acid to flour products such as bread. Ross Finnie of Food Standards Scotland said the evidence was clear that fortification could help prevent birth defects such as spina bifida. However, he said […]
Kit Symons: Wales boss Robert Page adds coach to Euros staff
Wales manager Rob Page has added former national team coach Kit Symons to his European Championship backroom staff. Symons, 50, served as a coach for Wales under Chris Coleman and also won 36 caps as a defender in his playing days. Page takes charge of Wales this summer after national manager Ryan Giggs was charged […]
Harassment case against Lizzo dropped
Lizzo has won a key ruling in her ongoing legal battle with a stylist who claims she was subjected to racial and sexual harassment and a hostile work environment by members of the singer’s management team while on tour in 2023, as well as unpaid over time. A Los Angeles federal judge ruled on Monday […]
P&O stops transporting calves following BBC investigation
Eyes on animals Three-week-old calves are being transported to Europe A ferry operator has said that it will stop carrying calves to Europe after animal welfare concerns were raised by a BBC Scotland investigation. P&O said it was ending the practice with immediate effect following the broadcast on Monday of “Disclosure: The Dark Side of […]
Sweden has long opposed nuclear weapons – but it once tried to build them
Alamy (Credit: Alamy) In the years after World War Two, neutral, peace-loving Sweden embarked on an ambitious plan – build its own atomic bomb. Sweden hasn’t fought a war since 1814. But for more than 20 years after the end of World War Two, this formerly neutral northern European country pursued a plan to equip […]
Sophie Day: Cricket’s artist who shone at the Women’s Big Bash League
Many cricket lovers see the sport as one of art’s truest forms. That is true for Melbourne Stars spin bowler Sophie Day perhaps more than it is for almost anyone else. By night, Day, 25, has starred with the ball in hand, but by trade she is used to having a paintbrush in hand as […]
The Hundred: Alex Griffiths glad to put the Welsh into Fire
One of Welsh Fire’s big-hitters in the competition was Australian batter Georgia Redmayne. As well as her classy performances on the pitch, she was also one of the top performers in Griffiths’ Welsh classes. “Georgia Redmayne was especially keen to learn Welsh,” Griffiths said. “She’s smashed out a bit of Welsh town names, which has […]
Actor sues TikTok for using her voice in viral tool
BBC Bev Standing felt violated when she discovered how her voice was being used An actor is suing TikTok for using her voice in its text-to-speech function. It converts writing into speech, which can then be played over videos uploaded to the app, often for comedic effect. Bev Standing recorded about 10,000 sentences of audio […]
J-pop star and actress found dead at 54
Japanese actor Miho Nakayama was found dead in a bathtub in her Tokyo home on Friday. She was 54. Ms Nakayama found success as a singer in the 1980s and 90s – at the height of J-pop’s influence – but was best known for starring in the 1995 film Love Letter. An acquaintance discovered Ms […]