The Other Viewpoint

Directors including Ron Howard, Francis Ford Coppola and Michael Mann have paid tribute to actor Val Kilmer, following his death aged 65.

Kilmer starred in some of the biggest movies of the 1980s and 90s, including Top Gun and Batman Forever.

Coppola described Kilmer as “a wonderful person to work with and a joy to know”, while Howard praised his “awesome range as an actor”.

Singer Cher, a former girlfriend of Kilmer’s, summed him up as “funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND” and “brave” during his illness.

![The expansion plans include a new terminal building for the Bedfordshire-based airport](Image source, Luton Rising) Image caption: The expansion plans include a new terminal building for the Bedfordshire-based airport

London Luton Airport hopes to almost double annual passenger numbers to 32 million by 2043 after the government approved expansion plans, including a new terminal.

It came despite the Planning Inspectorate recommending Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander rejected them over environmental concerns.

By Fergus Walsh, Medical editor & Camilla Horrox, Global health producer

It’s 10am, and in a little over two hours, Wayne Hawkins will be dead.

The sun is shining on the bungalow where the 80-year-old lives in San Diego, California with his wife of more than five decades, Stella.

I knock on the door and meet his children - Emily, 48, and Ashley, 44 - who have spent the last two weeks at their father’s side.

A British couple are fighting deportation from Australia following the diagnosis of one partner’s multiple sclerosis (MS). Jessica Mathers, 30, and her boyfriend Rob O’Leary are facing the prospect of being forced to leave the country they’ve called home since 2017.

The situation began in 2023 when Ms. Mathers’ visa application for permanent residency was rejected due to concerns about the potential cost of treating her condition under Australia’s healthcare system, Medicare. The couple met while backpacking in Australia in 2017 and Mr. O’Leary has since established a carpentry and construction business.

Image source, Facebook Image caption, Andrew and Dawn Searle moved to France from Musselburgh

French officials investigating the deaths of a British couple in their home in south-west France have said it was murder followed by suicide.

The bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle, who previously lived in East Lothian in Scotland, were found on 6 February at their home in Les Pequies, about a hour north of Toulouse.

Mrs Searle’s body was found in the garden with severe wounds to her head, while her husband’s body was found inside.

Image source, Alamy

Matt McGrath and Mark Poynting BBC Climate & Science Published 9 April 2025, 00:03 BST

The UK government is investigating a fast-growing “green fuel” called HVO diesel amid claims of significant fraud, the BBC has learned.

HVO is increasingly popular as a transport fuel and for powering music festivals and its backers say it can curb carbon emissions by up to 90% as it can be made from waste materials like used cooking oil.

Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless, like water! you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle you put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.

Tesla sales have plummeted to their lowest level in three years after a reaction against its boss Elon Musk.

The electric car maker delivered almost 337,000 electric vehicles in the first three months of 2025, a 13% drop from a year ago.

Tesla shares tumbled in early trading on Wednesday after the release of the unexpectedly low sales numbers.

The cars face increasing competition from Chinese firm BYD, but experts believe Musk’s role in the Trump administration has had an effect too.