Author: Darren Smith

The Cockroach Janta Party says its main leaders were held before a planned march to Jantar Mantar, as press freedom groups demand the release of reporters detained while covering the demonstration. Police in Delhi have detained leaders of India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) ahead of a major protest the group had called in the capital. Ajinkya Shinde, who was handed responsibility for leading the demonstration after the arrests, urged supporters to keep marching towards Jantar Mantar. Journalists from several Indian outlets were also detained while covering events, though they were later released. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on…

Portugal’s Ministry of Justice has reversed the removal of the Football Leaks founder from the programme, saying he was not properly told why it was being terminated or given a chance to challenge it. Rui Pinto, the Portuguese hacker behind the Football Leaks disclosures that helped prompt the Premier League’s investigation into Manchester City, will remain in witness protection for now. He was due to leave the programme on Saturday. In a statement on Friday, Portugal’s Ministry of Justice said the decision to end his protection had been suspended. Pinto, 37, had earlier said the ruling put him in a…

Police say the gunman is also dead and there is no continuing threat to the public, but have released few details about what happened on Perry Street. Nine people, including two children, are reported to have died after a shooting and an hours-long stand-off in Erie, northern Pennsylvania, on Friday 9 October. Police were called to Perry Street at about 5pm local time after witnesses said they saw a man firing a gun before he went into a house. Two women were found dead in the street, and further victims were found inside the home. Police said the suspect was…

Frost is possible tonight and Tuesday could reach the low 20s, but forecasters say severe gales and more than 100mm of rain could hit parts of Scotland midweek. The Met Office has forecast a mixed few days for the UK, with conditions swinging from “relatively balmy” to “relatively cool”. Saturday begins with showers, Sunday is expected to be dry and bright for many, and rain and wind return from Monday. Wednesday could bring severe gales across the Western Isles of Scotland. Parts of the Highlands may see more than 100mm of rainfall over 48 hours. Saturday and Sunday A Met…

The Northern Ireland Secretary says talks between Orangemen and Garvaghy Road residents failed to produce a local agreement, and that changed circumstances mean the march cannot go ahead as approved. Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant has said he will ban the Drumcree parade, bringing a stand-off between Orangemen and nationalist residents of the Garvaghy Road in Portadown towards a conclusion. The dispute has lasted almost two weeks. Sir Chris said he spent the past fortnight trying to broker a mutually acceptable deal, including hosting several rounds of negotiations at Hillsborough Castle last week. He said it had not been…

The mother of one of Elon Musk’s children says attacks on the left-wing influencer distract from a genuine rise in progressive politics, as his past remarks about 9/11 feature in a Michigan Senate race. Ashley St Clair, 28, has defended the left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, describing the backlash against him as “hysteria”. In an interview with CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, she argued that criticism of Piker, 35, distracts from a wider rise in progressive politics. Piker has been the subject of Republican attack advertising in Michigan’s Senate race over remarks he made in 2019 about the September 11 attacks, for which…

James Deller, the force’s Special Chief Officer, was sacked without notice after an accelerated misconduct hearing, and will now be placed on the College of Policing’s barred list. The Metropolitan Police’s Special Chief Officer, James Deller, has been dismissed without notice after an accelerated misconduct hearing on Friday 9 October. The hearing found that on two occasions in July and August 2025 he used his police-issued work phone to photograph intimate images of a woman. The images had been sent to his personal device. His conduct came to light during Project Galatasaray, a week of action by the force to…

The Government says eight new hubs will give businesses and public services practical help to adopt robotics, from surgical assistants in hospitals to automated fruit-picking machines on farms. A network of eight Robotics Adoption Hubs, backed by £40m, is being rolled out across the UK from Friday 9 October. The Government says the hubs will offer expert advice, tailored support and hands-on demonstrations to organisations that want to use robotics and autonomous technology. Among the technologies highlighted are robotic surgical assistants, which could help patients recover more quickly, and automated harvesting machines for farmers. The programme aims to make UK…

The Environment Agency says prolonged dry weather has depleted water sources across the region, and a very wet winter may be needed for conditions to recover. The Environment Agency has declared a drought in Yorkshire, citing low water levels in reservoirs and rivers after long dry spells in the spring and summer. The announcement follows a summer in which much of Britain spent extended periods in drought conditions and many households faced hosepipe bans. Water companies said demand had outstripped supply, with reservoirs and other key infrastructure falling well below their ideal capacity. The agency has warned that the effects…

A cold snap could push UK storage towards empty by the end of winter, according to a new report, raising the prospect of higher bills as the country leans on imported liquefied natural gas. Britain could exhaust its stored gas by the end of winter if severe cold weather arrives in the coming months, according to a report by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSOG). The report warns that UK reserves could fall to zero. The UK relies on backup storage in the EU when its own stocks run low, but those stocks are also depleted.…