Author: Darren Smith

A French court has ordered a 67-year-old Senegalese migrant to compulsory hospitalisation in a secure psychiatric unit after he stabbed an 18-year-old shop worker to death over a €93 phone bill, ruling he cannot be held criminally responsible due to mental illness. Ousmane Diallo will remain in the psychiatric facility for difficult patients until he recovers, following a determination by experts that he suffered from an “abolition of discernment” at the time of the attack. The legal ruling of criminal irresponsibility means Diallo faces mandatory confinement rather than prison for killing Théo. The victim’s family and their lawyer Catherine Mabille…

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to rid India of the “psychological impact” of the British Raj by 2035, with the removal of British architect Edwin Lutyens’ bust from the presidential palace representing the latest step in an accelerating campaign to eliminate colonial-era symbols. The statue removal, railway uniform bans, naval insignia changes, renaming of major thoroughfares and introduction of Hindi-language medical degrees form part of Modi’s Five Pledges unveiled on India’s Independence Day in 2022. The Prime Minister vowed to eradicate India’s “mindset of slavery” within a decade whilst reducing dependence on adopting other countries’ educational, economic and governmental…

An Arsenal supporter was arrested shortly after kick-off during Sunday’s north London derby against Tottenham after police claimed he used an illegal word whilst confronting rival fans, with footage of the incident going viral on social media. The fan, identified as streamer J2Hundred, was filmed shouting at Spurs supporters as they walked past before officers intervened. A police officer was heard stating: “He’s used the word ‘y**’, which is illegal.” The arrest occurred as Arsenal sought to extend their Premier League lead to five points following Manchester City’s victory over Newcastle United on Saturday night that had closed the gap…

Vegan activist Tash Peterson has faced accusations of hypocrisy on social media after footage showed her removing fishing equipment from a father and son at Bondi Beach, with critics pointing to previous incidents where she complained about people touching her protest materials. Facebook users highlighted the apparent contradiction between Peterson taking the fisherman’s property whilst previously objecting when people attempted to grab her megaphone or placards during demonstrations. “So she can take off with someone’s fishing rod, but it’s assault when someone tries to take her loudspeaker?” one user wrote. Another added: “Yet someone grabs your sign in public, and…

A detective constable who served as one of the first responders to the 2017 London Bridge terror attack has been sacked for gross misconduct after using offensive language about Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people in WhatsApp messages, despite claiming humour helped him cope with the trauma. Detective Constable Mark Luker of British Transport Police was dismissed after a misconduct panel ruled he was likely aware his language was “especially offensive” to a minority community, rejecting his defence that jokes represented a coping mechanism for dealing with the terror attack. Luker stated he did not intend to be offensive when using…

Seventy firefighters battled a major blaze at King’s Hall Methodist Church in Southall for three hours on Sunday evening after more than 20 emergency calls alerted the London Fire Brigade to flames consuming the historic West London building. Ten fire engines raced to South Road from stations in Southall, Ealing, Heston and surrounding areas following the first reports at approximately 9.30pm. The brigade deployed two 32-metre turntable ladders, allowing crews to direct water onto the burning structure from elevated positions as the inferno tore through the 108-year-old place of worship. At the fire’s peak, flames had consumed the majority of…

West Midlands Police are reviewing CCTV footage and conducting enquiries across Smethwick after an 18-year-old boy died from stab wounds outside a mosque on Oldbury Road whilst two other men survived knife injuries during disorder on Friday evening. Officers have opened a murder investigation following the fatal stabbing during Ramadan celebrations, though the force stated the incident is not being treated as religiously or racially aggravated at this stage. Two men aged 19 and 22 were rushed to hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening. A West Midlands Police spokesperson confirmed: “We’re working to establish the full circumstances and…

Video footage recorded in February 2026 shows young women in hijabs singing the Islamic declaration of faith “There is no god but Allah” inside Saint-Jean-Baptiste Catholic Church in Molenbeek, Brussels during this year’s Ramadan, marking the second consecutive year the church has hosted such an interfaith Iftar event. The February 2026 incident follows a previous gathering on 23 March 2025 when the Art Deco-style Lasallian-run church first hosted a Ramadan fast-breaking meal attended by over 500 people from diverse backgrounds. The church has now permitted similar events during Ramadan for two years running. Both events were organized by Molenbeek for…

Firefighters and police responding to a fire alarm at a University of Iowa fraternity house discovered 56 shirtless pledges lined up along a basement wall, many blindfolded and covered in what appeared to be food and liquids during what authorities identified as an illegal hazing ritual. Bodycam footage released from the 15 November 2024 incident shows officers bursting into the Alpha Delta Phi frat house basement where the young men stood immobile and silent when authorities arrived. Many were barefoot and drenched in substances whilst standing in darkness. “This is the police department, this stops here. Who is in charge?”…

Disturbing photographs have emerged showing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling and talking to an unidentified toddler clutching a breast-shaped ball inside Royal Lodge, with the bizarre images apparently taken in 2011 at his grand Berkshire royal home. The never-seen-before pictures were published just hours after Andrew’s arrest by police following a raid on Sandringham on Thursday. The then Duke of York is shown grinning with the child on a sofa in one image, whilst another captures the toddler picking up the lewd sphere off the plush dark wood parquet floor. It is not known who the child in the pictures is. Andrew’s…