Tobacco firm describes the damages as ‘grossly excessive’

America’s second biggest cigarette maker has vowed to fight a Florida jury verdict of $23.6bn (€17.4bn) in punitive damages in a case filed by the widow of a smoker who died of lung cancer.

A man has agreed to plead guilty to hacking into the email accounts of celebrities such as Christina Aguilera, Mila Kunis and Scarlett Johansson, whose nude photos eventually landed on the internet, according to court documents filed in Los Angeles.