The secretive jury took the decision to cancel this year's prize, citing a lack of trust in the academy
Hello, this is Anna getting you caught up on Friday's top stories around the world
Today's headlines
No Nobel literature prize
The Swedish Academy announced on Friday morning that there would be no Nobel laureate for literature selected in 2018, as it grapples with huge controversy over its links to a man accused of sexual assault. For the first time since 1949, the jury that hands out the world’s most prestigious literary award will not unveil a winner, instead it will reveal two winners in 2019. The decision comes after a string of sexual assault allegations made against the French photographer Jean-Claude Arnault, who is married to academy member and poet Katarina Frostenson. The Swedish Academy said that it took the decision ‘in view of the currently diminished academy and the reduced public confidence in the academy’.
India braces for more dangerous weather
Indian authorities have warned people to brace for five days of thunderstorms and high winds, after dangerous weather left more than 114 people dead across northern parts of the country. Since Wednesday, fierce winds and lightning strikes created by a powerful dust storm have led to the deaths of dozens of people in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, and injured hundreds more, according to local officials.
Volcano erupts in Hawaii
Mount Kilauea volcano has erupted near a residential area on Hawaii's largest island, prompting a local state of emergency and the evacuation of 1,700 residents. Extremely high levels of dangerous sulphur dioxide gas have been detected in the evacuation area, the Civil Defense Agency tweeted. The eruption follows a series of strong earthquakes over recent days.
Cosby and Polanski out
Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski have been thrown out of one of Hollywood's most important organisations, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. The group is behind the Academy Awards and has voted to expel the actor and director from its membership, according to a statement from the organisation. Cosby was found guilty last week on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Polanski fled the US in 1978 after being charged with statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl. He has continued filmmaking in Europe.
Supermodel accused of ‘blackface’
Gigi Hadid is facing a backlash over her ‘unrecognisable’ May 2018 Vogue Italia cover image. The picture shows a heavily bronzed Gigi in the arms of male model Justin Martin, shot by photographer Steven Klein. Some fans have said that the photo makes the Californian model look completely unrecognisable. The supermodel has also faced accusations of ‘excessive photoshop’ and even ‘blacking up’.
