58 m. ago Patrick Kielty carries mother’s coffin as mourners gather for funeral

Mary Kielty died at the weekend at her home in Dundrum, Co Down, aged 84.

Politics

2 h. ago Athol Fugard was a dreamer, listener and master storyteller – on stage and at home | Barney Norris

The South African writer, who has died aged 92, was grateful for his extraordinary life and wrote out of love rather than angerI feel that Athol Fugard and his wife, Paula Fourie, changed my life in the autumn of 2022 when I visited South Africa to spend time with them and their daughter Halle. We were supposed to be working on a book together, and we did; but our time became so much more than that. There were lunches in the house or the restaurant round the corner; walks in the woods; a braai that went on past midnight.Over coffee in the mornings I’d sit with Athol and we’d use an app on his phone to identify the calls of all the birds in the garden. Then he might tell me a story from his life – the awe he felt when he asked Yvonne Bryceland to smash a chair to bits during rehearsals for Antigone and she proceeded to do so for a full 30 minutes; the journey he made by sea at 18 from Cairo to Japan, when an illiterate Somalian sailor used to watch him every night as he wrote a novel...

Politics

2 h. ago Inside Gene Hackman's final days as autopsy uncovers heartbreaking detail

Gene Hackman died at the age of 95 at his Santa Fe mansion, at least a week after his wife, Betsy Arakawa, succumbed to a rat-borne virus, and an autopsy has now unveiled more details

Politics

6 h. ago Doctor Who and Harry Potter star dies age 63 as tributes pour in

Simon Fisher-Becker, who starred in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, has sadly died.

Events

6 h. ago Harry Potter and Doctor Who star dies aged 63 as tributes pour in for the beloved actor

He is best-known for starring alongside Matt Smith in the fifth and sixth series of the BBC sci-fi franchise and for his role in the 2001 adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Events

8 h. ago South Africa's giant playwright Athol Fugard, whose searing works challenged apartheid, dies aged 92

Athol Fugard, South Africa’s foremost dramatist who explored the pervasiveness of apartheid in such searing works as “The Blood Knot” and “'Master Harold’

Events

17 h. ago Prince dies aged 22 after brave battle with rare genetic condition

Prince Frederik of Luxembourg was diagnosed with POLG Mitochondrial disease in 2014

Events

18 h. ago Scots boxing great Dick McTaggart dies aged 89 as tributes paid to Olympic hero

Heralded as one of the greatest boxers the country has ever produced, the Dundonian boasted a remarkable 610 wins from 634 fights.

Events

21 h. ago Prince Frederick dies age 22 after long health battle with rare genetic condition

Prince Frederik of Luxembourg had suffered from a rare disorder known as POLG Mitochondrial disease since the age of 14 and passed away from it earlier his month

Events

23 h. ago Royal family's pain as 'superhero' prince, 22, dies after saying goodbye in room

Prince Frederik of Luxembourg, the youngest son of Prince Robert and Princess Julie, has died at the age of 22 after a long battle with a rare genetic condition

Events

23 h. ago Prince Frederik dies aged 22: Luxembourg royal passes away after health battle with rare genetic condition

Prince Robert of Luxembourg revealed his son died on March 1, following a long battle with rare genetic condition, POLG Mitochondrial disease.

Events

23 h. ago Athol Fugard, South African political dissident playwright, dies aged 92

A giant of political drama, Fugard captured the injustices of apartheid in works such as Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The IslandThe South African playwright and director Athol Fugard, whose works included the plays Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The Island and the novel Tsotsi, has died at the age of 92.A major political dissident playwright of the 20th century, Fugard wrote more than 30 dramas including Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act (in 1972) and “Master Harold” and the Boys (1982). Both of those drew upon the time in the 1950s when he could only find employment as a clerk in one of the courts where black South Africans were charged (and inevitably convicted) of breaches of the “pass laws”, designed to control the movements of a racially segregated population under the apartheid system. There, he witnessed hourly the dehumanisation of those who had chosen the “wrong” streets or people. Continue reading...

Events

24 h. ago Prince William's friend Pastor Mick Fleming reveals childhood horror when his sister died aged 20 the day after he was raped by a stranger in a park

In his new book, Walk In My Shoes, due to be released in early March, Mick, from Burnley, opened up about a 'massive' heart attack which led to him having a near-death experience.

Events

47 h. ago Princess of Wales marks International Women's Day with poignant tribute to 'resilient' photographer who died aged 17

Kate Middleton has marked International Women's Day with a poignant tribute to 17-year-old photographer Liz Hatton - who died of cancer late last year.

Politics

49 h. ago Mao Zedong’s first Little Red Book had blue cover and less propaganda

Rare early editions of book by communist party chairman, who shunned the idea of wealth, set to fetch £1m at auctionThe thoughts of Mao Zedong, published in 1964 under the title Quotations, are considered the blueprint for Chinese communism and a guidebook to the Cultural Revolution. The collected soundbites from his speeches and writings have become known the world over as the Little Red Book.But the red-covered Quotations of the former Chinese Communist Party chairman, who died in 1976, aged 82, went through many ideological iterations before the official version was settled on. The original cover was also a different colour – in fact, had some of those earlier thought experiments been declared the final draft, we could now be talking about Chairman Mao’s Little Blue Book. Continue reading...

Politics

52 h. ago Singer and founder of iconic band dies aged 64 after 'committed battle'

D'Wayne Wiggins, a founding member of the iconic RnB group Tony! Toni! Toné!, has died at the age of 64 after a health battle, his family has confirmed

Events

66 h. ago 'Beloved' and 'stunning' young teacher suddenly dies in her sleep aged 24 as boyfriend pays tribute

A 'beloved' and 'stunning' young teacher in Wales suddenly died from a cardiac arrest in her sleep - her boyfriend has paid tribute to her following the tragic death

Events

67 h. ago D'Wayne Wiggins dead at 64: Tony! Toni! Tone! guitarist and former Beyoncé mentor dies after cancer battle

D'Wayne Wiggins, a founding member of the R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, has died at the age of 64 after a private battle with bladder cancer .

Events

67 h. ago Iconic 90s band known for smash hit song back in studio for first time in 31 years

It's been 31 years since 4 Non Blondes took to the studio and the stage as a band. And now they are back and in the studio as a photo the What's Up singer, 59, shared on her Instagram Stories.

Events

68 h. ago D’Wayne Wiggins death: Tony! Toni! Toné! singer and guitarist dies aged 64

Wiggins founded the hit R&B group with his brother, Raphael Saadiq

Events