The Ed Sheeran Foundation is initially funding North South Sounds 2026, which is bringing 50 young musicians from Belfast and Cork together.
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Any comic book fan knows that Spider-Man’s secret identity is Peter Parker, a science nerd who gained superhero powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider.
But in the latest installment from the Marvel cinematic universe, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Parker – played by Tom Holland – is not the only star in disguise.
The action takes place in New York City but much of the movie, which premiered in London this week, was filmed more than 3,000 miles away in Glasgow.
Filming almost brought the city centre to a halt last summer, when fans gathered to watch Holland in an action sequence in full superhero mode.
It was the latest in a long line of Hollywood blockbusters to have been filmed in the city in recent years.
And next month Glasgow is expected to double as Gotham City, when filming starts on the sequel to The Batman.
Screen Scotland said the city’s Victorian architecture, wide avenues and grid layout make it an “incredibly versatile stand-in” for many US cities.
During the trial, Barrientos had told the court that he had “fancied” the woman when they met at the concert venue.
Barrientos, who was born in Colombia and brought up in the UK, had been in the VIP area while she leaned over the barrier from the general area.
He denied touching her inappropriately.
“I recall putting my hand on her waist,” he told the court. But he said he had not put his hands down her pants or touched her breast.
He said the “vibes were good” between him and the woman when they arrived at his hotel later.
His security guard took the woman’s phone away – “standard practice” to protect their privacy, according to Barrientos.
The court heard that the pair had engaged in consensual sex in his hotel room before Barrientos turned violent and the young woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told him to stop.
The woman accused the social media star of biting, bruising and even trying to choke her. Photos of bruises and bite marks on her face and neck were shown in court.
Barrientos denied the woman had repeatedly asked him to stop, but did acknowledge that he bit her several times, explaining that he gave her a “love bite”.
During the trial’s closing arguments, prosecutor Danielle Clarke said Barrientos was an “entitled” man with a “moderate degree of fame” who had violated the fan “in the most intrusive way possible”.
His defence lawyer argued that the accuser’s evidence was full of “inconsistencies, embellishments and outright lies”.
Barrientos is known for his work with the YouTube collective Beta Squad, and has appeared in the celebrity version of Bake Off on Channel 4 and presented BBC Three shows.
In addition to his 1.8 million YouTube subscribers, he has three million followers on TikTok and and 2.4 million on Instagram.
Holland and Zendaya were just 20 and 19 years old years old when they first met in 2016, on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming, during the film’s casting and initial production.
The film showed British actor Holland as Peter Parker balancing high school life with being a superhero – Spider-Man – for the first time.
It also introduced US actress Zendaya as MJ, his awkward but intellectual classmate.
The on-screen chemistry was clear from the start and the film received good reviews but the pair denied rumours of a romance, insisting they were just close friends while promoting the movie.
They even took to Twitter [now X] to make light of the rumours. She posted: “Wait wait … my favourite is when it says we go on vacations together HA! I haven’t been on a vacation in years! hbu @TomHolland1996 ???”
Holland responded: “Does the press tour count?”
Olivia Dean’s campaign to collect every major music award in existence continues, with a nomination for this year’s Mercury Prize.
The star is among the favourites to win the £25,000 prize, which recognises outstanding albums, after her second record, The Art of Loving, won album of the year at both the Brits and the Mobo Awards.
Sir Paul McCartney also receives his first ever Mercury nomination, aged 84, for the nostalgia-laden The Boys of Dungeon Lane, while Suede, Jade, Raye and Nia Archives are also in contention.
But there was a surprise omission for Lily Allen, whose scathing break-up album, West End Girl, was one of the biggest critical and commercial successes of the last 12 months.
The record examines the collapse of her marriage to actor David Harbour in unvarnished detail. Reviews praised its candour and musical invention, calling Allen’s work “breathtaking and heartbreaking”, external and “a brutal, tell-all masterpiece”, external.
Artists submit themselves for the prize, making it impossible to determine whether Allen was snubbed or simply not in contention – but she was previously nominated for her 2018 album No Shame.
Other notable omissions include Harry Styles’ Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally and Gorillaz’ sweeping meditation on grief, The Mountain.
A US man who is already serving 25 years in prison for attempting to kill Sir Salman Rushdie has been convicted of additional charges, including providing material support to a terrorist group.
Hadi Matar was convicted in a New York federal court on Wednesday of providing assistance to Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed faction which is designated as a terrorist group by the US, UK and many other countries.
Prosecutors argued that Matar had been motivated by a fatwa, a religious edict, issued by Iran’s religious leader in 1989 for Sir Salman’s death.
The award-winning author testified during the trial, describing the attack and crediting a firefighter with saving his life by providing medical care.
The jury convicted Matar of engaging in an act of transnational terrorism and providing material support to Hezbollah.
During the trial in the New York city of Buffalo, prosecutors argued that he had been motivated by a 2006 speech by the then-leader of Hezbollah, calling for the fatwa against Sir Salman to be enforced, and that he had plotted the attack for two years.
“The defendant decided no one was going to do it, so he had to do it,” Assistant US Attorney Timothy Lynch said in his closing statement, according to The Buffalo News, external.
“The defendant is the one who answered that call.”
They also played videos made by Matar, 28, and interviewed Sir Salman on the witness stand about being stabbed 15 times, including to his cheek, chest, eye, neck and thigh.
“I was on the stage, lying down, with an enormous pool of blood all around me,” he testified, adding: “It was an enormous and expansive lake of blood.”
He also lifted the darkened lens on his glasses to reveal the wound to his eye, which has left him partially blinded, saying the attacker’s knife had come “within millimetres from my brain”.
Defence attorneys argued that Matar’s attack had not been motivated by terrorism, and questioned the author about whether he should have expected a backlash to his controversial 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.
“I don’t believe the book is on trial,” Sir Salman responded. “Somebody else is on trial.”
Matar is already serving a 25-year year sentence after being convicted of attempted murder by a state court in 2025. He could now face life in prison in the federal conviction.
The National Theatre is marking 50 years of its South Bank home with a free outdoor installation telling 50 stories from the building’s history.
Stories Start Here: 50 Stories for 50 Years will open on the Queen’s Walk in October 2026. The wooden structure is inspired by the amphitheatre seating of the Olivier Theatre and faces the building itself.
Visitors will be able to sit and listen to memories, anecdotes and reflections from actors, writers, directors, designers, past and present staff, and audience members.
A story station inside the theatre will print the stories on eco-friendly paper as a memento, and the recordings will be available worldwide through the Bloomberg Connects app.
A music festival has banned revellers using camping stoves at their tents and disposable barbecues anywhere on site due to the hot weather and “dry ground conditions” expected this weekend.
Camp Bestival, which takes place from Thursday to Sunday at Lulworth Castle near the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, has instead introduced campsite cooking areas and free access to hot water.
Organisers said they were working with Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service “to keep everyone safe”. Fireworks, flares, sparklers, lanterns and smoke canisters are among banned items., external
There have been several wildfires in the region this summer because of the hot, dry weather. A drought was also declared on Wednesday.
On 17 July, part of the Rustic Stomp festival near Wareham, Dorset, was destroyed by a fire that started when a camping stove set fire to a tent. An area of heathland measuring 100m (330ft) by 40m (130ft) was destroyed.
The Duke of Sussex and other high-profile claimants who lost their High Court privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail face a potential legal bill of millions of pounds.
The group – which includes Sir Elton John, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Elizabeth Hurley – sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over claims of unlawful information gathering.
But earlier this month, all their claims were dismissed by Judge Mr Justice Nicklin following an 11-week trial.
At the High Court on Wednesday, the parties in the case began a two-day hearing to decide who will pay what legal costs for the mammoth trial.
In written submissions, lawyers for the Duke of Sussex and the other claimants described the costs incurred by the Daily Mail’s publisher – almost £34.5m as of 9 July – as “eye watering”.
They claimed that ANL had exceeded its approved costs by over £18.6m, and added the group was insured to cover some of the publisher’s costs.
Nicholas Bacon KC for the claimants told the court the group took out insurance cover in the sum of £16.2m, and that ANL had “overspent what they’d told us they’d actually spent”.
The total bill the claimants could face has not been decided.
But the “current level of cover would be insufficient to meet their total costs exposure, possibly to the tune of many millions of pounds.”, the court was told.
ANL has argued the claimants should pay back full costs incurred by the publisher and has applied for the costs to be paid on an indemnity basis – a more favourable financial payout.
The publisher has argued the claimant’s side acted unreasonably during the case – a conduct clause which could trigger indemnity cover.
In written submissions, lawyers for ANL said: “Where claims involve wide-ranging allegations of dishonesty and serious criminal conduct against named individuals, a focused, responsible and proper approach is required as the norm.
“The Claimants’ conduct of this litigation wholly disregarded these key disciplines. In many cases this was in the face of repeated warnings by the court as to the proper approach to be taken.”
Hollywood power couple Tom Holland and Zendaya have been dominating red carpets all summer.
And the pair were back at it on Wednesday evening at the London premiere of their latest film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with scores of fans turning out for a glimpse of two of the biggest young stars on the planet.
It’s been a busy year for the couple, who recently got married and are also starring in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster, The Odyssey.
But when asked by BBC News if she has any tips for working together with your husband, Zendaya replied: “I think when you’re best friends, it’s pretty easy.”
Holland reprises his role as Peter Parker and his superhero alter-ego in the latest instalment, while Zendaya plays his onscreen love interest, MJ.
As ever, Zendaya stole the show with a floor-length Tamara Ralph champagne silk crepe gown with spider webby straps, matching the white carpet in Leicester Square. The 29-year-old has been ruling the fashion world in recent months with her method dressing, where actors match their outfits to the themes of their films.