Tuesday, 17 June 2014

Peaches Geldof 'begged bereaved father to keep her name out of friend's death'

The father of Freddy McConnel, who died of a drug overdose, tells how Peaches Geldof begged him not to tell her father of her involvement

'My wife and I saw the signs': Freddy McConnel and his father James - The evil drug menace that killed Freddy McConnel cannot go unpunished

Freddy McConnel (Lt) and his father James Photo: DAVID ROSE

12:19PM BST 09 Jun 2014

The father of a teenage drug addict who died of an overdose has told how Peaches Geldof begged him not to tell anyone about her involvement, fearing her family would be “furious”.

James McConnel, whose son Freddy died of a heroin overdose in 2011, said he had felt “terribly sorry” for Miss Geldof, who worried her father, the singer Bob Geldof, would be angry.

_{Peaches Geldof (PA)}

Saying he felt “no poetic justice” following her death earlier this year, he added: “I know the acute pain her father is going through right now.”

Mr McConnel’s son was found dead from an overdose in his London flat aged 18, surrounded by drug paraphernalia.
Months earlier, he had written in his diary: “Peaches is coming over later and I am going to inject for the first time. Perhaps I will die. I hope I don’t.”
In an interview with the Sunday Times Magazine, Mr McConnel and his 19-year-old daughter Daisy have now spoken of Freddy’s life and legacy.
Speaking of the day a family friend discovered his body, after police broke into the flat fearing the worst, Mr McConnel said: “It sounds awful, but I had the most appalling sense of relief.
“I feel guity saying those words, but every time my phone rang, I though ti t would be bad news.
“The horror was immeasurable, but it was marginally lessened because we were expecting it. Daisy was in floods of tears. She played Chopin at his funeral. I was just numb."
He added: "Peaches telephoned me the day after Freddy died, begging me not to mention her name bcause her father would be furious.
“I felt terribly sorry for her then and I had absolutely no sense of poetic justice when she died in April.
“I know the acute pain her father is going through right now.”
The family have now contributed to a Channel 4 documentary, Addicts Orchestra, which will see them write a score for ten drug addicts to perfect and perform with the London Symphony Orchestra.
The idea was inspired by Freddy, who before his death had suggested his father set up a music treatment centre for addicts.

Dead Woman Gets New Orleans Funeral Party With Her Corpse Holding Beer & Cigarettes [Photos]

NEWS, PHOTO OPS, GALLERY

» by Cecil Lennox Jun 13 2014, 2:58pm

A 53-year-old New Orleans woman known as party animal amongst her friends and family, was thrown a funeral party that resembled the way she said lived her life.
Miriam Marie Burbank died on June 1 and her two daughters wanted to send their “Mae Mae” home in style. Together with the Charbonnet Funeral Home, they called up their friends and had her mummified with beer and cigarettes in her hands as the guests danced by her on looking corpse.
Reports WGNO:

With a case of Busch beer by her side, a menthol cigarette in her hand, and a disco ball flashing overhead Miriam Burbank attended her last party.
Burbank’s two daughters, who call their mom Mae Mae, said she was full of life and they wanted her funeral to reflect that. So they told the funeral home directors at Charbonnet Funeral Home what she liked and came up with this.
As side from the beer and menthol cigarette, Burbank is sitting at a table in a living room type setting. Also the Saints lover has her fingernail painted black and gold.
Burbank’s daughters said other family members seemed to enjoy this fitting goodbye.
Burbank is not the first New Orleanian to have an unusual send off. In April, philanthropist and socialite Mickey Easterling causally sat on an iron bench and greeted guests with champagne and a magnificent hat.

They probably could have just held a reception with a picture of Burbank hanging up, but to each their own.
Take a look at the flicks from the New Orleans funeral party in the gallery below and let us know your thoughts on it in the comments. As Phonte says, it was “Weekend At Bernadette’s.”

- See more at: http://hiphopwired.com/2014/06/13/dead-woman-new-orleans-funeral-party-beer-cigarettes-photos/?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=widget&utm_campaign=hiphopwired.desktop.global#sthash.gHOsJJH1.dpuf

Dead Woman Gets New Orleans Funeral Party With Her Corpse Holding Beer & Cigarettes [Photos]

NEWS, PHOTO OPS, GALLERY

» by Cecil Lennox Jun 13 2014, 2:58pm

With a case of Busch beer by her side, a menthol cigarette in her hand, and a disco ball flashing overhead Miriam Burbank attended her last party.
Burbank’s two daughters, who call their mom Mae Mae, said she was full of life and they wanted her funeral to reflect that. So they told the funeral home directors at Charbonnet Funeral Home what she liked and came up with this.
As side from the beer and menthol cigarette, Burbank is sitting at a table in a living room type setting. Also the Saints lover has her fingernail painted black and gold.
Burbank’s daughters said other family members seemed to enjoy this fitting goodbye.
Burbank is not the first New Orleanian to have an unusual send off. In April, philanthropist and socialite Mickey Easterling causally sat on an iron bench and greeted guests with champagne and a magnificent hat.

Rania Alayed case: Wife murdered by 'jealous' husband

A mother of three from Manchester was murdered by her "jealous" husband because he believed she was "too westernised".

Rania Alayed was killed by Ahmed Al-Khatib, 35, from Gorton, whom her uncle Ali Aydi described as a "murderous monster".
She went missing last June. Her body has not been found.
Det Ch Insp Peter Marsh, who has led the search for her body, said he will not "be comfortable until we've found her".
Abbie Jones reports.

Protests over Thameslink rail franchise

Protests were held in London, Sussex, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire

Rail campaigners have held protests in London and Sussex after the Thameslink rail franchise was awarded to Govia.

Unions said people would see "flashy" new trains but safety would be at risk - while Govia said it never compromised on safety and the government said the unions were scaremongering.
The new Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise will run for seven years from this September.
Protests were also held in Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.
Nick Child, from the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association, said: "They [passengers] might see flashy new trains, more carriages, but they're going to get less personal service. There'll be less staff on trains. Trains will be less safe."
'Busiest stations staffed' Unions including the RMT have claimed fares in London will go to subsidise fares in France because Govia is a joint venture between French company Keolis and Go Ahead.
They also said the government was allowing cuts in the number of guards on trains, introduction of driver-only trains and reductions in station staff.
But a spokeswoman for Govia said: "We never compromise on safety. The safety of passengers and staff is always of paramount importance."
She said many services were already "driver only", and the new franchise would see the busiest stations staffed from the first to last train.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: "This is irresponsible scaremongering by the rail unions and their actions show no regard for passengers."
He said the franchise would see 1,400 new electric carriages, providing 50% more capacity and 10,000 extra seats every weekday into London during the morning peak by the end of 2018.

Fire-fighters strike causes toast ban at hospital

Managers at 1,000-bed University Hospital of North Staffordshire decided to switch off toasters in every kitchen ward - for fear of triggering a fire alarm - during the 24-hour walkout

University Hospital of North Staffordshire Photo: Paul Pickard/ Alamy

By Tom Brooks-Pollock

8:10PM BST 17 Jun 2014

8 Comments

Toast was taken off the breakfast menu for hospital patients as a unexpected consequence of last week's fire-fighter strike.

Managers at 1,000-bed University Hospital of North Staffordshire decided to switch off toasters in every kitchen ward - for fear of triggering a fire alarm - during the 24-hour walkout.

Patients were forced to opt for cereal, porridge, or simply go without, while the fire service ran a reduced service as a result of a dispute over pensions.

Antony Wood, who was being cared for on the hospital's cardiac ward, was denied his favourite-toast and-marmalade by staff, who said toasters were not being used on 'health and safety' grounds.

A spokesman for the hospital said that its fire safety manager had decided to switch off the toasters as a precaution during the strike.

Aspirin can't help a million heart patients

Previous NHS advice is reversed as people with a common heart condition are told not to take aspirin to guard against stroke

The National Institute of Health and Care says a new generation of drugs is far better than aspirin at reducing the danger for such patients and is less likely to cause side effects Photo: Alamy

By Laura Donnelly, Health Editor

10:00PM BST 17 Jun 2014

Comments

More than than a million people with a common heart condition have been told not to take aspirin to guard against stroke, in a reversal of previous NHS advice.

New medical recommendations warn that the pills are ineffective in reducing the danger for those suffering heart rhythm disorders and that the risk of side-effects outweighs their benefits.

Up to 7,000 strokes and 2,000 premature deaths a year could be prevented if patients were put on new drugs instead, experts said.

Until now, adults suffering from atrial fibrillation have been advised to take a daily dose of aspirin – a blood thinning drug – as the heart condition often causes clots, leading to a risk of stroke that is five times higher than in other people.

But revised guidance from the National Institute of Health and Care (Nice) says a new generation of drugs is far better than aspirin at reducing the danger for such patients and is less likely to cause side effects including internal bleeding.

Patients are advised to seek advice from their GP before stopping their current medication, but the guidance recommends that anticoagulant drugs which prevent clots forming should be prescribed instead.
Several of the medications have only recently been recommended for NHS use, and medical advisers said thousands of lives could be saved if patients were switched to them. The advice recommends so-called “novel oral anticoagulants” including dabigatran etexilate and rivaroxaban as the best medication for those suffering from atrial fibrillation.
The condition becomes more common in later life, with one in 10 pensioners diagnosed with the disorder. It occurs when electrical impulses in the heart become jumbled, so that blood is pumped less effectively, increasing the chance of clots, which can cause strokes.
However, experts said aspirin remained the best drug for thousands of other patients, such as 1.5 million heart attack survivors, who are usually prescribed it alongside other medications, and for heart disease sufferers assessed with a high risk of stroke.
Prof Mark Baker, Nice’s director of clinical practice, called for significant changes in prescribing to save thousands of lives.
He said: “We know that around 7,000 strokes and 2,000 premature deaths could be avoided every year through effective detection and protection with anticoagulant drugs that prevent blood clots forming. Unfortunately only half of those who should be getting these drugs are.
“This needs to change if we are to reduce the numbers of people with AF who die needlessly or suffer life-changing disability as a result of avoidable strokes.”
Dr Campbell Cowan, chairman of Nice’s guideline development group, said: “Aspirin has been a bit of a smokescreen to anticoagulation. We now know it is not safer and it’s questionable whether it has any effect at all.” Nice said atrial fibrillation led to an estimated 12,500 strokes each year.
“Any stroke occurring in a patient with atrial fibrillation is a tragedy because it was preventable,” Dr Cowan said.
He said that patients with the heart problem should not take themselves off aspirin, but should make an appointment with their GP to find out which treatment is best for them.
The Nice guidelines, updated for the first time since 2006, suggest some patients with atrial fibrillation could still be given Warfarin, an earlier anti-coagulant. However, it suggests many patients will benefit from the new drugs, which need less monitoring and many of which have been introduced in this country since 2012.
Amy Thompson, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “The new Nice guidelines reflect the growing body of evidence that warfarin and the newer anticoagulants are much more effective at preventing stroke than aspirin.
“But this does not mean aspirin is not an effective means of preventing heart attacks and strokes in other circumstances.”
The charity stressed that the advice from Nice relates specifically to the impact of aspirin on patients with atrial fibrillation, who have a high risk of clots within the heart, where anticoagulant drugs have been found to be more effective. Aspirin is still effective in reducing the risk of strokes from other causes, they stressed.
The drug is recommended by GPs for heart disease sufferers at high risk of stroke. However it is not usually advised for those assessed as low risk, because it can cause ulcers and bleeding.
The causes of atrial fibrillation are not fully understood.
The condition affects more men than women, becoming more common with age, and in those with other heart conditions such as high blood pressure or clogged arteries.
Most sufferers will have some symptoms ranging from palpitations to dizziness but as many as a third have no obvious signs of the condition, research for the new guidelines showed.

Tuesday, 20 May 2014

Gabby Logan admits tax avoidance but vows to pay it back

A former gymnast, Logan now presents sports coverage for the BBC and ITV reality show Splash!

Gabby Logan is the latest household name to admit being part of the tax avoidance scheme used by Gary Barlow and Colin Jackson.

The sports presenter invested thousands into Icebreaker, a company which purported to support young musicians.

However, a recent court ruling said the firm was "understood by all concerned to be a tax avoidance scheme".

Logan says she invested in the scheme in "good faith" and vowed "to pay any tax" she owes.

She added that she pulled out of the scheme in 2012.

“Start Quote

"I have been completely open and honest with HMRC and I have never hidden anything”

Gabby Logan

Logan issued the following statement on her website, following press speculation about her involvement in the scheme.

"I was advised about a business opportunity six years ago (2008) and I invested in good faith.

"It was explained to me as a way of funding new acts in the music industry. Because of information which came to light in 2012, I decided the investment was not right for me.

"With new professional help and advisors, I have for some time been working to resolve the issue and I fully intend to pay any tax which should have been paid, had I not entered the business.

The presenter said she had been "completely open and honest" with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), adding: "I have never hidden anything."

Gabby Logan and James Jordan on Strictly Come Dancing

Logan took part in the fifth series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2007

Take That singer Gary Barlow - along with band-mates Howard Donald and Mark Owen, and manager Jonathan Wild - were among about 1,000 people who put money into the Icebreaker scheme.

Since March 2010, the four men have been directors of Larkdale LLP - one of 50 partnerships that Icebreaker arranged to harness tax reliefs that the government had intended would support those in creative industries.

The tribunal found that shortly after money was put in to Larkdale LLP, it reported huge losses of more than £25m.

Those losses could then be offset against tax, reducing the men's tax bills.

Howard Donald, Gary Barlow and Mark Owen

Some press reports have speculated Take That's tax bill could be as high as £20m

In total, around 50 partnerships with hundreds of members invested in Icebreaker, which claimed total losses of £336m.

Last week, former Olympic hurdler and BBC broadcaster Colin Jackson admitted to being in one such partnership, Sparkdale LLP, along with a number of dentists and lawyers.

He defended his decision to invest in the loss-making scheme, telling the BBC he was proud to have supported struggling musicians.

"If it means you have to take a hit then I'll happily take a hit," he said.

"People have invested in me in the past to help me get to the top of my game. I'll still invest in people to help them get to the top of their game."

HMRC pursued Icebreaker through the courts after the Times newspaper first exposed the scheme in 2012.

Its members have until 2 July to decide whether they want to appeal. HMRC said it would be seeking payment of the tax in the meantime.

UK house prices up 8% in a year, says ONS

Activity in the housing market varies in different parts of the country

Your Home

UK house prices rose by 8% in the year to the end of March, official figures show, as the prime minister says he will consider changes to Help to Buy.

The annual increase slowed compared with a 9.2% year-on-year price rise to the end of February.

However, the latest official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that the annual property price increase in London stood at 17%.

Excluding London and the South East of England, prices were up by 4.7%.

The wide range of activity was shown with prices in Northern Ireland increasing by 0.3% on a year-on-year basis, and by 0.8% in Scotland.

Help to Buy (mortgage guarantee)

Covers all UK
Covers "second-hand" homes up to £600,000
Began October 2013.
Ends December 2016.

In the East of England, property prices were up by 6.6% annually, and by 6.1% in the South East of England.

Help to Buy

The ONS said that prices fell by 0.5% in March compared with February, matching other surveys, making the average home worth £252,000. This was the first month-on-month drop for over a year.

However, house price data from the Halifax and Nationwide, based on their lending, have also shown fairly sharp rises in prices on average over the last year, despite the regional differences.

This has prompted some commentators to call for the second phase of the government-backed Help to Buy scheme in the UK - which supports new homebuyers who might have struggled to get a mortgage - to be scaled back.

Prime Minister David Cameron told the BBC: "Of course, we will consider any changes that are proposed by [Bank of England governor] Mark Carney.

“Start Quote

An unaddressed bubble in London will pump up bubbles in adjacent regions, as buyers feel compelled to look for value and affordability elsewhere”

Robert PestonEconomics editor

Read more from Robert

"But, as he said, this is a well-targeted scheme and it has helped tens of thousands of people get on the housing ladder and to have mortgages."

The shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, said the Help to Buy scheme was simply too high: "We've said it should come down much closer to average house prices. A number below £400,000 would make much more sense than £600,000 which is far too big a house price for the taxpayer to be guaranteeing mortgages. "

The Treasury minister - Andrea Leadsom - said there were a number of issues for the government to consider: "The thing is it's a fine balance. In London prices are rising quite fast. In the rest of the country - and in the country as a whole - they remain 15% in real terms below their pre-crisis peak. "

Rate fear

Mr Carney said he was watching the housing market closely. Although there was a shortage of homes, which the Bank could do nothing about, it did have influence on lenders and would tell the chancellor if changes needed to be made to the government's housing market schemes.

Mortgage rules have been altered recently, that is thought to be lengthening the time it takes to get a home loan. This has reduced the number of mortgage approvals in recent weeks.

The Bank of England also has the power to control interest rates, and a separate report suggests a rise in the Bank rate could hit hundreds of thousands of mortgage holders hard.

BBC housing calculator

Lets you see where you can afford to live - and if it would it be cheaper to rent or buy
Enter how many bedrooms, which end of the market and how much you want to pay each month
As you move the payment slider, parts of the UK light up to show you where you can afford
Based on pricing and rental data from residential property analysts Hometrack

BBC housing calculator

The Resolution Foundation estimates that 770,000 vulnerable households could be "imprisoned" by a limited ability to switch to another mortgage deal were interest rates to rise. That represents about one in 10 mortgage holders in the UK.

The Bank rate is at a record low of 0.5%, but analysts are predicting a rise in the rate at some point in 2015.

"Many borrowers have enjoyed spectacular savings over recent years, with mortgage rates falling to historic lows, and most will be able to ride the tide of gradually rising interest rates," said Matthew Whittaker, chief economist at the Resolution Foundation and author of the report.

"But for around one in four, even modest rate rises could create financial difficulties. Those at greatest risk are members of this group who also find themselves unable to access the best deals in the market today.

"Almost one in 10 households are doubly exposed: facing the prospect of their mortgage becoming increasingly unaffordable in the future and with the market offering them limited, if any, choice today."

The report suggested that homeowners in London and eastern England were most exposed to an interest rate rise.

The cost of living, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index, rose to 1.8% in April from 1.6% in March. This was the first rise in inflation for 10 months and pushed the annual change in prices slightly higher than the annual change in average earnings.

Are you struggling to get on the housing ladder? Please let us know your experiences. Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with 'House prices' in the subject.

Nigeria bombings: 'Death toll passes 100

Nigeria bombings: 'Death toll passes 100'

The BBC's Will Ross: "For the last two years Jos has been fairly free of attacks"

Nigeria under attack

The bodies of at least 118 people have now been recovered from the sites of twin bombings in the central Nigerian city of Jos, the nation's emergency management agency says.

The first blast was in a busy market, the second outside a nearby hospital.

No group has said it was behind the attack but Boko Haram militants have carried out a spate of recent bombings.

Jos has also seen deadly clashes between Christian and Muslim groups in recent years.

A spokesperson for the regional governor told AFP news agency that most of the victims were women. The market and bus terminal are part of the commercial centre of Jos.

The second blast was some 30 minutes after the first and killed some rescue workers.

Journalist Hassan Ibrahim told the BBC that tension was rising in the area, with youths blocking some roads. Religious leaders are appealing for calm.

National Emergency Management Agency coordinator Mohammed Abdulsalam said: "We've now recovered 118 bodies from the rubble. This could rise by morning, as there is still some rubble we haven't shifted." He said 56 people were injured.

Analysis by Will Ross, BBC News, Abuja

Prostate cancer 'may be a sexually transmitted disease'

By Michelle RobertsHealth editor, BBC News online

Prostate cancer may be a sexually transmitted disease caused by a common yet often silent infection passed on during intercourse, scientists say - but experts say proof is still lacking.

Although several cancers are caused by infections, Cancer Research UK says it is too early to add prostate cancer to this list.

The University of California scientists tested human prostate cells in the lab.

They found a sex infection called trichomoniasis aided cancer growth.

“Start Quote

There are still no known lifestyle factors that seem to affect the risk of developing the disease - and no convincing evidence for a link with infection”

Nicola SmithCancer Research UK

More research is now needed to confirm the link, they say in the journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Sex infection

Trichomoniasis is believed to infect some 275 million people worldwide and is the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection.

Often, a person will have no symptoms and be unaware that they have it.

Men may feel itching or irritation inside the penis, burning after urination or ejaculation, or a white discharge from the penis.

Women may notice itching or soreness of the genitals, discomfort with urination, or a discharge with an unpleasant fishy smell.

This latest research is not the first to suggest a link between trichomoniasis and prostate cancer. A study in 2009 found a quarter of men with prostate cancer showed signs of trichomoniasis, and these men were more likely to have advanced tumours.

The PNAS study suggests how the sexually transmitted infection might make men more vulnerable to prostate cancer, although it is not definitive proof of such a link.

Prof Patricia Johnson and colleagues found the parasite that causes trichomoniasis - Trichomonas vaginalis - secretes a protein that causes inflammation and increased growth and invasion of benign and cancerous prostate cells.

They say more studies should now follow to further explore this finding - particularly since we still do not know what causes prostate cancer.

Nicola Smith, health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: "This study suggests a possible way the parasite Trichomonas vaginaliscould encourage prostate cancer cells to grow and develop more quickly.

"But the research was only done in the lab, and previous evidence in patients failed to show a clear link between prostate cancer and this common sexually transmitted infection.

"There's been a lot of research into prostate cancer risk and we're working hard to piece together the puzzle.

"But there are still no known lifestyle factors that seem to affect the risk of developing the disease - and no convincing evidence for a link with infection.

"The risk of prostate cancer is known to increase with age."

Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer in men in the UK - about one in nine men will get it at some point in their lives.

It is more common in men over 70, and there appears to be some genetic risk since the disease can run in families.

Michael Jackson hologram stars at Billboard Music Awards

Click to play video

Michael Jackson hologram stars at awards show

The pop legend made a digital appearance as a hologram performing at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas.

The late Michael Jackson has made a stunning but not-so-surprising "appearance" at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on Monday as a hologram, while two Australian acts also performed at the event, which is one of music's big showcases.

The cat was out of the bag last week that Jackson's holographic image would feature after two companies which own patents to the technology – used to digitally resurrect the image of late rapper Tupac Shakur in 2012 at the Coachella music festival – attempted to take out an injunction in the United States to stop the awards. They failed after lawyers for Jackson's estate and the producers of the awards argued doing so would cause them irreparable harm.

Jackson's hologram was used as the centrepiece to a spectacular but rather creepy performance of the single Slave to the Rhythm which included the late singer's trademark 'moonwalking' dance moves. The song was released by Sony Music recently as part of the posthumous Jackson album Xscape, which was based on music made by Jackson but not released during his lifetime.

Michael Jackson's hologram takes the stage.

The digital image of Jackson was dressed in a signature gold-embossed jacket, white T-shirt, gold belt and red trousers and looked inspired by Jackson in his early 30s.

Jackson died in June 2009 aged 50 from acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication after a heart attack. The singer's death was ruled a homicide and his physician Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in jail.

Reaction on social media was mixed with many fans shocked at how life-like the hologram looked, while others were split between commenting the performance kept his legacy alive and feeling Jackson’s memory was disrespected by it.

The holgram danced to the new Jackson single ''Slave to the Rhythm''.

The hologram danced to the new Jackson single ''Slave to the Rhythm''.

Others took it as a chance for gallows humour. American writer Gloria Fallon wondered if Michael Jackson’s brothers were ‘‘desperately trying to figure out how to trick a hologram into going on ‘‘just 1 more tour’’ with them [sic]’’. Several younger users reasoned if Jackson could perform at the Billboard awards that way then surely they could attend school as holograms too.

Xscape was released last week to mixed reviews. It went to number one in the United Kingdom and number three in Australia and is expected to vie for the number one spot on America's official Billboard charts. But many critics panned the album's release as distasteful, arguing that if Jackson had wanted to release the music he would have done so.

Fairfax Media reviewer Bernard Zuel wrote "There is no getting around the simple fact that this is an album which shouldn't have come out."

Justin Timberlake was the big winner at the awards, collecting seven awards including top artist, top album and top male artist. The recovering Kiwi teen superstar Lorde won two awards, top new artist and top rock song for Royals, which might surprise people who think of rock music as a little rougher than Lorde's terrific slice of savvy pop.

Five Seconds of Summer, from Sydney, played their worldwide smash hit She Looks So Perfect at the ceremony which was held at the MGM Grand after their fans deluged Twitter in the lead-up to the event. The hashtag #5SOSBBMAs trended around the world, with a huge 430,000-plus uses in 24 hours. Australian rapper Iggy Azalea also performed, dueting with Ariana Grande on the song Problems

Tuesday, 17 June 2014

The father of Freddy McConnel, who died of a drug overdose, tells how Peaches Geldof begged him not to tell her father of her involvement

Dead Woman Gets New Orleans Funeral Party With Her Corpse Holding Beer & Cigarettes [Photos]

Dead Woman Gets New Orleans Funeral Party With Her Corpse Holding Beer & Cigarettes [Photos]

Managers at 1,000-bed University Hospital of North Staffordshire decided to switch off toasters in every kitchen ward - for fear of triggering a fire alarm - during the 24-hour walkout

Aspirin can't help a million heart patients

Previous NHS advice is reversed as people with a common heart condition are told not to take aspirin to guard against stroke

Tuesday, 20 May 2014

Gabby Logan admits tax avoidance but vows to pay it back

Related Stories

“Start Quote

UK house prices up 8% in a year, says ONS

Help to Buy (mortgage guarantee)

“Start Quote

BBC housing calculator

Nigeria bombings: 'Death toll passes 100'

Nigeria under attack

Prostate cancer 'may be a sexually transmitted disease'

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“Start Quote

Michael Jackson hologram stars at awards show