The actor, best known for playing Gollum in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, will read the entire JRR Tolkien novel

Andy Serkis is to give a continuous, live reading of The Hobbit – lasting around 12 hours – in aid of charity. The actor, best known as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, will read the entire book from start to finish with no breaks.

Money raised from the performance will be split equally between NHS Charities Together and Best Beginnings.

Taking down the fossil fuel industry requires taking on the institutions that finance it. Even during a pandemic, this movement is gaining steam

1970 was a simpler time. (February was a simpler time too, but for a moment let’s think outside the pandemic bubble.)

Simpler because our environmental troubles could be easily seen. The air above our cities was filthy, and the water in our lakes and streams was gross. There was nothing subtle about it. In New York City, the environmental lawyer Albert Butzel described a permanently yellow horizon: “I not only saw the pollution, I wiped it off my windowsills.” Or consider the testimony of a city medical examiner: “The person who spent his life in the Adirondacks has nice pink lungs. The city dweller’s are black as coal.” You’ve probably heard of Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River catching fire, but here’s how the former New York governor Nelson Rockefeller described the Hudson south of Albany: “One great septic tank that has been rendered nearly useless for water supply, for swimming, or to support the rich fish life that once abounded there.” Everything that people say about the air and water in China and India right now was said of America’s cities then.

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Two supporters of the so-called Islamic State group have been handed substantial jail sentences after sending money to help fighters in Iraq.

Greta Thunberg has donated $100,000 in prize money to the United Nations children's fund to help its coronavirus support campaign.

Disney has said it will donate one million face masks to children in vulnerable communities to help fight the spread of coronavirus.

Kenyans are afraid that money set aside to tackle the virus is being misspent, writes Waihiga Mwaura.

1. ICICI Bank tags $100 mn Singapore Hin Leong exposure as NPA, makes provisions  Moneycontrol.com
2. ICICI Bank Q4 net up 26% at ₹1,221 cr but misses estimates on virus provisions  Livemint
3. ICICI Bank Q4 Results: Profit Rises 26% Even As Provisions Nearly Triple  BloombergQuint
4. ICICI Bank Q4 profit grows by 26%, misses estimates on COVID-19 provisions; NPAs dip  Moneycontrol.com
5. ICICI Bank Q4 net profit likely to jump to ₹3,510 crore  Livemint
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Explained: How government’s extra Rs 4.2 trillion borrowing will affect you  Moneycontrol
2. Government to borrow 54% more than estimate, fiscal deficit may hit 5.5%  Times of India
3. Government Sharply Increases Borrowing To Rs 12 Lakh Crore  NDTV Profit
4. Centre to borrow Rs 12 lakh crore in FY21: 10 key questions answered  Moneycontrol
5. Chidambaram welcomes Centre's decision to borrow additional 4.2 lakh cr  Economic Times
6. View Full coverage on Google News

Celebrate VE Day with Mike Newell's 2018 WW2 film.

A trio of Senate Democrats wants to give $2,000 per month to individuals through the end of the health emergency. One Senate Republican suggests covering payroll for companies that rehire workers.

In his latest series, Ryan Murphy turns his attention to the post-war 'golden age' of Tinseltown, where a glossy facade concealed racism, sexism and homophobia

Tomlinson appears in a bathtub wearing nothing but a shower cap in the cover video

Fancy an Olympic torch? Or perhaps a four poster bed? You've come to the right place...

Stuck With U will be released later this month

Looking to get the most out of your tech? Here are a dozen software or hardware tips, tricks and shortcuts that might save you money, time and aggravation.

In our tests, Lyft savings ranged from $3 to as much as $8 depending upon how long the ride was.

Coronavirus: The Symptoms

All profits from the £20 bag will go directly to NHS Charities Together, a not-for-profit conglomeration of 250 good causes attempting to raise £1 million every day for hospitals

From smart car insurance to virtual credit cards, these little tech tricks add up over time

Going live on social media? Add a donation sticker while you're at it

Romesh Ranganathan plays Andy Murray at crazy golf and much more. Plus: a forensic look at our guts. Here’s what to watch this evening

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has taken to Instagram to dismiss a report claiming he will sign for Inter Milan in the summer... and that he paid bail money to get former teammate Ronaldinho out of prison.

Manchester United have been warned that Odion Ighalo could be set to land a 'big money move' to one of their major European rivals if they do not sign him permanently this summer.

Barcelona have put the title rights for the Camp Nou stadium up for sale as they bid to raise funds for the battle against coronavirus.

Former Manchester United defender Rafael da Silva has warned the club against making the same old mistakes in the transfer window.

The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) have confirmed they will help support Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs financially following the cancellation of the season with a state-guaranteed loan to cover lost television rights money.

The money earmarked for sports will go to national and provincial organizations, Canadian sport institutes and Indigenous sport groups.

A former Scotland rugby captain, who suffered life changing injuries in a car crash, is walking to raise money for the NHS.

Samuel Clarke knows withdrawing his retirement savings early is not ideal, but he says the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent loss of business has left him no option.

Westpac joins ANZ in deferring its interim dividend as it braces for the financial impact of COVID-19, but mounting issues around money laundering and tax reporting may cost it almost as much.

The financial regulator has asked ME Bank to explain why it has taken cash from accounts linked to its customers' home loans to reduce the risk of mortgage default.

It's a difficult time for all footy clubs and everyone involved with suspended seasons — but if you're a holder of a club membership who wants a refund, you might be left disappointed.

AbbVie may be working through COVID-19, but it's pressing ahead with its Allergan merger, too—and taking stock of products hit by pandemic lockdowns. That puts Allergan’s aesthetics business top of mind, but AbbVie CEO Rick Gonzalez figures customers are ready and able to return quickly for treatment.

A federal indictment was unsealed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon charging Harold James Nicholson, 58, of Sheridan, Ore., and Nathaniel James Nicholson, 24, of Eugene, Ore., with two counts of Conspiracy, one count of Acting as Agents of a Foreign Government, and four counts of Money Laundering.

Rodrigo Molina, 33, a Brazilian national who resided in Miami, was found guilty by a federal jury on 11 of 16 charged counts related to a $13.5 million money laundering conspiracy. Molina was found guilty on Feb. 25, 2009, following a seven-day jury trial in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The sister of a U.S. Army officer has pleaded guilty for her participation in a money-laundering scheme related to bribes paid for contracts awarded in support of the Iraq war. Carolyn Blake, of Sunnyvale, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy after accepting more than $3 million in bribe proceeds on behalf of her brother, Major John Cockerham.

Two former National Century Financial Enterprises (NCFE) executives were sentenced today for their roles in a scheme to deceive investors about the financial health of NCFE. NCFE, formerly based in Dublin, Ohio, was one of the largest healthcare finance companies in the United States until it filed for bankruptcy in November 2002.

A federal grand jury has returned an 18-count superseding indictment charging Thomas E. Parenteau of Columbus, Ohio; Dennis G. Sartain of Hilliard, Ohio; and Bonnie Helt-Adams of Dublin, Ohio, with tax fraud, bank and wire fraud, money laundering and obstruction of justice.

Marsha K. Parenteau of Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Parenteau appeared before Judge Michael H. Watson in Columbus.

Two former managers of the Bank of China and their wives were sentenced today after their convictions on Aug. 29, 2008, by a federal jury in Las Vegas on charges of racketeering, money laundering, international transportation of stolen property as well as passport and visa fraud.

The president of a Miami-Dade County, Fla.,-based intermediary and the former controller of a Miami-Dade County-based telecommunications company both have pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in a conspiracy to pay and conceal more than $1 million in bribes to former Haitian government officials.

A former executive of Bennett Environmental Inc. (BEI), a Canadian-based company that treats and disposes of contaminated soil, pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to pay kickbacks and commit fraud at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated Superfund site, Federal Creosote, located in Manville, N.J. The former executive also pleaded guilty to participating in a money laundering conspiracy and impeding a proceeding before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The niece of a U.S. Army major pleaded guilty today for her role in a conspiracy to cover up her uncle’s role in accepting more than $9 million in bribes as a contracting officer in Kuwait. Nyree Pettaway, 37, of Houston, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to one count of conspiring with her uncle, John C. Cockerham, Carolyn Blake (her aunt and Cockerham’s sister) and others, to obstruct the investigation of money laundering related to Cockerham’s receipt of bribes.

A New Jersey accountant pleaded guilty today to laundering portions of more than $300,000 stolen from the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in the Republic of Iraq and brought back to the United States by his wife, a former U.S. Army lieutenant colonel.