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The two most surprising political phenomena of this year have been the rise of Donald Trump and the success of the Leave Europe camp in Britain's referendum on Brexit. Few pundits saw either coming (and full disclosure, I include myself here, particularly on Trump) - but we should have and now would be a good chance to make up for past oversight by looking at how the two are linked. Next week, polls suggest, Britain may pull out of the European Union. Opinion polls currently have the 23 June referendum too close to call but the Brexit camp (those in...

The BBC has warned English football fans not to dress as crusaders when attending the Euro 2016 tournament this summer as they might cause offence to Muslims. The advice comes via their ‘iWonder’ website, aimed at a younger audience, which asks such pressing questions as “Was Shakespeare a feminist?” and “How green is my commute?” Posing the question: “Is it wrong to dress as a crusader for an England match?” the answer appears to be a resounding “yes”. “Crusaders were the perpetrators of violent attacks across Europe and the Middle East on Muslims, Jews and pagans,” the website intones, suggesting...

#BREAKING Port Authority says unspecified threat made to plane due to land at EWR this hour. 219 people onboard flight from London. 3 retweets 0 likes

At least 10 percent of BBC employees should be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transsexual (LGBT), a government policy paper has said. The target is nearly twice that of broadcasting rival Channel 4, which, as a broadcaster tasked with promoting diversity, has a target of 6 percent. Most large employers report that between two and five percent of their workforce are LGBT, a figure thought to be roughly in line with the population at large, although the precise figure is difficult to assess as it relies on self-identification.

Fresh from the huge success of their adaptation of War & Peace, work has begun on the BBC's latest literary drama. To Walk Invisible: The Bronte Sisters, written and directed by the award winning Sally Wainwright (Happy Valley, Last Tango In Halifax), has begun shooting, with the streets of York transformed this week for the one off, two hour drama. Finn Atkins, who plays Charlotte Bronte and Charlie Murphy, who has been cast as her younger sister Anne, were both spotted on set on Thursday in their elaborate 19th century costumes.

The BBC’s religious output is too Christian, an internal review by the Corporation has concluded, opening the way for more programmes on other faiths. One Muslim leader suggested the review could lead to Friday prayers from a mosque being broadcast in the same way that Christian church services currently feature in the BBC’s schedules. The report is now being considered by Lord Hall, the director general, who could make changes to make religious output less “disproportionate”, the Sunday Times (£) reported. Ibrahim Mogra, of the Muslim Council of Britain, said the BBC could televise Friday prayers from a mosque and...

BBC correspondent in North Korea detained over reporting North Korea detained a BBC journalist and ordered his expulsion over his reporting, the broadcaster said on Monday, as a large group of foreign reporters cover a rare congress of the country's ruling Workers' Party. Posted 09 May 2016 12:55 Updated 09 May 2016 13:40 PYONGYANG: North Korea detained a BBC journalist and ordered his expulsion over his reporting, the broadcaster said on Monday, as a large group of foreign reporters cover a rare congress of the country's ruling Workers' Party. Rupert Wingfield-Hayes was detained on Friday as he was about to...

BBC staff will be asked to disclose details of their family income and upbringing, as part of new plans to ensure that the corporation is not dominated by the middle classes. The BBC will announce today that all new employees will be asked to answer a range of questions about their socio-economic background, including whether they were entitled to free school meals as a child, which the broadcaster says will allow it work out whether its workforce reflects modern Britain. The BBC has faced pressure from ministers, during the ongoing talks over the corporation’s new royal charter, to increase the...

A huge leak of confidential documents has revealed how the rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth. Eleven million documents were leaked from one of the world's most secretive companies, Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. They show how Mossack Fonseca has helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax. The company says it has operated beyond reproach for 40 years and has never been charged with criminal wrong-doing. The documents show links to 72 current or former heads of state in the data, including dictators accused of looting their own countries. Gerard Ryle, director of the...

A BBC department that produced a radio drama giving practical tips to would-be migrants on how to cross from Somalia to Europe received nearly £90 million of British tax payers’ money. The drama, broadcast to Somalia and Kenya at the height of the migrant crisis, featured one character advising a woman to travel only with small luggage to make the illegal crossing easier. Another character is later advised that “this current time is the best opportunity to reach Europe”.

In the US there are currently more guns than humans, between 300m and 350m registered firearms. Each year they are responsible for about 34,000 deaths. Many of those are suicides, some are accidents, but that still leaves approximately 14,000 homicides a year. So what drives people to own guns? BBC News visited Richmond, Virginia, and the Florida Everglades to meet gun enthusiasts and get beneath the surface of America's passion for arms.

It's the BBC's dream PC line-up! New Top Gear hosts revealed and the internet is quick to notice there's 'a black guy, a woman and a foreigner' (and, of course, a ginger) Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3441885/Full-Gear-line-unveiled-Eddie-Jordan-join-Chris-Evans-Matt-LeBlanc.html#ixzz3zsJiYGBI Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

In her disappointment, Kristina was driven to watch the 1967 Soviet epic that won director Sergei Bondarchuk an Oscar. "The interiors, the decor, the Moscow winter and the war scenes especially are ideal there," she told the BBC. "Of course Field Marshal Kutuzov and all the fighting were shot with such expense you wouldn't expect any flaws." No effort and no expense were spared in providing the Soviet film-makers with what they needed. 3,000 Soviet soldiers were drafted for one battle scene 57 museums donated exhibits for the shoots More than 40 state firms were enlisted to produce replica weapons...

The most trusted and powerful broadcasting organization in this world is the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). In the 1930s, it had a shameful history with Winston Churchill. Mr. Churchill was doing everything possible to warn and SAVE his country and the world from Adolf Hitler. Britain almost lost World War II. The world came dangerously close to being slaughtered and enslaved by Nazi Germany. A Churchill biographer, Henry Pelling, wrote that the BBC had kept him off the air on controversial questions in the 1930s. Those controversial questions included his strongest warnings about the dangers of Nazi Germany! The BBC...

The opening scene of War and Peace, the first two hours of which screened on A&E, Lifetime, and History Channel on Monday night, was specifically constructed with the purpose of allaying fears that the screen version would not be faithful to Leo Tolstoy’s 1800-page magnum opus.

Police in Britain have begun an investigation into an on-air phone call to a BBC radio program, in which a caller ranted for 13 minutes against "Zionist Jews" and their "rule" over British society. During BBC London's Simon Lederman program on December 22, the man, introduced as “Andy from St. Margaret's," said the world was controlled by "Zionist Jews," including "the Rothschilds, the people who own the Bank of England, the people who own the Federal Reserve." He then continued with a long tirade in which he complained of an obsession with the Holocaust and said, "we are dominated by...

The first episode of the BBC's new costume drama War and Peace was watched by more than six million viewers. The drama, which stars Paul Dano, Lily James and James Norton, has also won rave reviews. The adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novel averaged 6.3 million viewers, peaking at 6.7 million. It was up against ITV's Endeavour and spy drama Deutschland 83 on Channel 4, which averaged 4.4 million and 1.2 million viewers respectively. snip - Downton Abbey star James plays Natasha Rostov in the drama, with Dano - who starred in 12 Years a Slave - as Pierre Bezukhov and...

With Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen surging in the polls in the US and France, comparisons between the two politicians have been popping up all over the place. "Donald Trump is now America's Marine Le Pen." declared a headline in the New Yorker this week........ When it came to Donald Trump's call for s "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the US" Ms Le Pen asked a television interviewer: "Seriously have you ever heard me say something like thst?"......

Republican leaders are currently thrashing about - holding secret meetings, issuing confidential memos and making public denunciations - as they approach a state of near panic over what Donald Trump is doing to their party. It's enough to make some believe that Mr Trump may not have the Republican establishment's best interests at heart. Could Donald Trump be a secret double-agent, sent by Democrats to destroy their party from within?Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who has borne the brunt of more than a few Trump barbs, seems to think there's a possibility."Maybe Donald negotiated a deal with his buddy Hillary...

Nicholas Smith, the actor who played store manager Mr Rumbold in the BBC sitcom Are You Being Served?, has died aged 81. He had been the last surviving member of the original cast. "It is with great sadness we can confirm that our client passed away yesterday," his agents at Michelle Braidman Associates said. "He was a lovely man and a terrific actor. He will be much missed by all who knew him."