united-kingdom

Doctor Who: New star Jodie Whittaker hopes fans embrace her casting

Whittaker, 35, breaks a tradition back to the start of the television series in 1963 that the Doctor is a man, travelling the universe as a "time lord" in a telephone box to protect the weak and combat evil aliens.

"I hope, you know, my gender isn't a fearful thing for the fans," Whittaker told the BBC, in her first broadcast interview since her casting was announced last month.

Princess Diana documentary relives the worst of the royal family

It was promoted as the princess at her "most candid, natural and charismatic".

There was plenty of emotional music, news clips, quotes from close friends and of course the tapes she'd recorded with her voice coach.

It was also brutally raw in parts.

And as it was being aired The Sun newspaper was reporting more salacious details that it says came from a BBC cameraman.

The Sun reports: "Princess Diana claimed she once spied on Prince Charles on the toilet having 'phone sex talk' with his now wife Camilla Parker Bowles."

Tolkien book Beren and Luthien published after 100 years

Beren and Luthien is about the fate of two characters — a mortal man and an immortal elf — taken from Tolkien's fictional world, Middle Earth.

The story centres on a series of daunting quests and forbidden love, as the lovers together try to steal from the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor.

It was edited by his son Christopher Tolkien, who is now 92, and contains versions of a tale that became part of The Silmarillion.

Manchester attack: How mums and dads helped their kids escape the carnage

At least 22 people were killed and 59 others taken to hospital after a suicide bomber blew himself up in the Manchester Arena.

Europe correspondent Steve Cannane spoke with a number of parents who described the harrowing scenes as they tried to usher their children to safety.

'I saw two little girls screaming with no parents'

Manchester attack: First victims named

Twenty-two people were killed and 59 others injured when a suicide bomber struck as thousands of people streamed out of an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena.

Many of the victims were teenagers or children who had been seeing the pop superstar perform.

Among them was eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos.

Pippa Middleton ties the knot with James Matthews as royal family watches on

Some of the youngest members of the royal family played important roles on the day — three-year-old Prince George and two-year-old Princess Charlotte arrived with their mother Catherine and acted as a page boy and a flower girl respectively.

Ms Middleton arrived in a open-top car accompanied by her father, waving to crowds gathered near St Mark's church in Englefield, about 80 kilometres west of London.

Prince William walked up to the church with his younger brother Prince Harry.

Daily Mail forced to pay first lady "millions" over false escort claims

US President Donald Trump's wife, 46, had sued the publisher of the Daily Mail in Britain and also filed a $US150 million ($200 million) lawsuit against it in New York, claiming the article had cost her millions of dollars in potential business.

The article, which ran in the newspaper under the headline "Racy photos and troubling questions about his wife's past that could derail Trump", was published last August.

Ian McKellen reveals why he didn't play Dumbledore

Some even probably thought it was him.

But renowned actor Sir Ian McKellen has revealed he turned down the role of Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series because the original actor, Sir Richard Harris, did not approve of him.

Speaking on BBC HARDtalk, the British actor who famously played the white wizard Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings franchise and villain Magneto in the X-Men films, said the late Sir Richard was not critical of his acting skills, but believed he lacked passion for the art.

Superbugs: WHO says new drugs urgently needed to fight 12 bacteria families

The United National health agency said many of the bacteria have already evolved into deadly superbugs that are resistant to many antibiotics.

The bugs "have built-in abilities to find new ways to resist treatment" the WHO said, and can also pass on genetic material that allows other bacteria to become drug-resistant.

Governments need to invest in research and development if new drugs are to be found in time, because market forces cannot be relied upon to boost the funds needed to fight the bugs, it said.