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BBC News with Roisin Hastie.
A jury in the United States has found a former gang leader guilty of orchestrating the drive-by killing of the rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996. Jurors in Las Vegas took three hours to convict Duane "Keffe D" Davis of murder. Tupac was 25 when he was shot near the Las Vegas strip 30 years ago. Shaimaa Khalil reports. Duane Davis showed no reaction as the guilty verdict was announced. The 63-year-old sat with a neutral expression before being led from the courtroom by officers. For more than two weeks, jurors heard from former gang associates, eyewitnesses and police detectives about Tupac's killing and what led to it. Prosecutors said David orchestrated the attack after Tupac and his entourage assaulted his nephew at a Las Vegas casino. They said he supplied the gun and repeatedly admitted his involvement in interviews and a memoir. His lawyer had argued those accounts were fiction, told for fame and money, and said there was no physical evidence placing Davis at the scene. But the jury rejected that defense. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the construction of a ballroom in the White House can proceed while lawsuits for and against the $400 million project are thrashed out. In a 5-4 ruling, the judges granted the Trump administration's emergency request to block lower court rulings that would have halted work on the above-ground portion. The German finance minister Lars Klingbeil has objected to the presence of his Russian counterpart Anton Siluanov at the G20 ministerial meeting in the United States. Mr. Klingbeil noted that there had been a recent escalation of Russian attacks on Ukraine and people were dying every day, adding, "You cannot simply return to normality." "The signal of receiving the Russian finance minister here is one that I find quite disconcerting because I would have liked some clarity from the American side as well, that he wouldn't be received here just like any other guest." Reports from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv say a series of loud explosions have been heard across the city. The Ukrainian air force warned on Telegram that several missiles were heading towards the capital and urged people to take shelter. City authorities say four people were injured, two of them children. Kyiv and its surrounding areas have come under sustained pressure from Russian attacks in recent weeks, including from jet-powered drones. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission says it's suing the e-commerce giant Amazon, alleging it manipulated prices for advertisements on its platform. Together with 22 U.S. states, the FTC claims Amazon deceived advertisers by secretly raising the minimum price they had to pay to place ads promoting their products. The company is alleged to have profited by tens of billions of dollars over a seven-year period. Amazon said the lawsuit was patently false. BBC News. Intense rescue efforts are continuing at hydropower tunnels in Nepal where it's believed hundreds of workers could be trapped. They've been missing since a torrent of water in debris devastated parts of the country last week. On Monday, officials said they'd made progress using controlled explosions to clear debris. Hopes that some of the workers have survived have been buoyed by reports of available oxygen supplies inside. But Sumnima Udas, a Nepali MP, says the rescue work remains extremely tough. "The terrain is incredibly challenging, particularly in Rosuwa, which is the ground zero of this flash flood, if you will. Rosuwa remains still completely cut off. Helicopters have to literally queue up to go in one by one through very narrow ridges and gorges. The land has also become like a swamp, so heavy equipment like diggers and excavators simply cannot reach many of these areas." The White House says the U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down after 18 months in the role in the latest departure of a top military leader during the Trump administration. No reason was given, but U.S. media have referred to tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Mr. Driscoll is a friend of Vice President J.D. Vance. A tanker has reported being struck sailing out of the Strait of Hormuz. The British Maritime Trade Operations agency said the incident happened east of the Omani port town of Khasab. No casualties were reported. Iran's continued to target ships that pass through the strait without its permission. Nigeria's anti-corruption agency says it's dismissed more than 40 employees for corruption and financial misconduct over the past three years. The head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, said the commission could not credibly demand accountability from Nigerians, while shielding corrupt officials within its own ranks. BBC News. |