Author: Darren Smith

King Harald V, who reigned as Norway’s monarch for more than 35 years and became known for helping modernise the country’s royal institution, has died at the age of 89, the palace confirmed on Friday, with his son Crown Prince Haakon now succeeding him to the throne. King Harald of Norway has died at the age of 89, the palace confirmed on Friday. His son, Crown Prince Haakon, has now succeeded him as Norway’s monarch, bringing to an end a reign that lasted more than 35 years, from 1991 until his death. No official funeral or burial arrangements have yet…

Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese avant-garde artist whose hallucination-inspired dot patterns and immersive mirror rooms made her one of the world’s most recognisable living artists, has died aged 97, according to an announcement on her official website. Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese avant-garde artist renowned for her immersive mirror rooms and dot-covered artworks, has died at the age of 97. An announcement on her official website confirmed she died on 14 August, though no cause of death was given. Over the course of her career, Kusama became known for transforming lifelong hallucinations into art, producing signature dot-covered paintings and pumpkin motifs that…

Flash floods and mudslides triggered by an earthquake have swept away buildings, bridges and roads along the Nepal-Tibet border, leaving at least eight people dead and hundreds unaccounted for, including 12 Britons, as rescue teams struggle to reach the worst-affected areas. Hundreds of tourists, including 12 Britons, are missing after devastating floods and mudslides swept away buildings and bridges along the Nepal-Tibet border. Houses and roads were destroyed across Nepal, while officials in Tibet said they feared “major casualties” in the county of Gyirong, after a mudslide struck a land crossing between the two countries. Terrifying footage captured a wall…

A murder investigation has been launched after two people died in a house fire in Grangetown, Middlesbrough, with police keeping an open mind over a possible link to organised crime following Saturday’s fatal A66 crash, which killed five young people and two police officers. Two people have died following a house fire in Middlesbrough, with police launching a murder investigation amid concerns it could be connected to Saturday’s A66 crash, which killed seven people including two police officers. Armed officers from Cleveland Police attended the scene in Grangetown, close to South Bank where the collision took place, after being called…

England fast bowler Brydon Carse has been stood down from the second Test against Pakistan after footage emerged showing him handcuffed by police outside a nightclub in Derby, with cricket’s independent regulator now investigating the incident following a referral from the ECB. England cricketer Brydon Carse has been withdrawn from the squad for the second Test against Pakistan following an incident at a nightclub in Derby on Saturday night. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed the decision after footage emerged showing the fast bowler handcuffed by police outside the venue. The Cricket Regulator, an independent body responsible for…

Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has been convicted of historical child sex abuse following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow, after a jury heard evidence relating to two children abused years apart, allegations Dott had denied throughout the proceedings. Former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has been found guilty of historical child sex abuse. Dott, 49, stood trial at the High Court in Glasgow accused of lewd, indecent and libidinous practices and behaviour towards two children, with the allegations spanning two separate periods: 1993 to 1996, involving a girl, and 2006 to 2010, involving a boy. Both…

Sean Grayson, the former Illinois sheriff’s deputy convicted of fatally shooting Sonya Massey inside her own home in 2024, has died in prison just weeks after his request for compassionate medical release was rejected, his attorney has confirmed. Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy convicted of fatally shooting Sonya Massey after she called 911 to report a prowler, has died in prison, his attorney said on Sunday. Daniel Fultz, who represented Grayson during his murder trial, said he died at around noon, six months into a 20-year sentence for second-degree murder. Grayson, 32, had been diagnosed with Stage…

PC Matthew Blades has been pictured following the devastating A66 collision that claimed the lives of two Cleveland Police officers and five young men travelling in a car that had been driven the wrong way along the road. PC Blades, 38, and his colleague PC Tom Clough, 37, died after a Volkswagen Passat travelling in the wrong direction on the A66 collided head-on with their marked police vehicle during the early hours of Saturday morning. The five occupants of the Passat were also pronounced dead at the scene. As tributes continue across Teesside, PC Blades has been remembered as a…

The five young men who died in the A66 crash near Middlesbrough have been named as Makai Saddington, 18, Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Jacob Matusiak, 23, Cole Robert Worthy, 16, and Theo Rae, 17, with tributes now emerging from friends and family as the police watchdog continues its investigation into the collision that also killed two officers. The five young men killed in the crash on the A66 near Middlesbrough have been formally named by police. Makai Saddington, 18, Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Jacob Matusiak, 23, Cole Robert Worthy, 16, and Theo Rae, 17, were all travelling in the Volkswagen…

PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough have been named as the two Cleveland Police officers killed alongside five others in a crash on the A66 near Middlesbrough, as investigators examine CCTV footage and questions over the police pursuit that preceded the collision. Tributes have poured in for two “brave” police officers who died in a crash on the A66 that claimed the lives of seven people in total on Saturday morning. PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way down the dual carriageway near Middlesbrough collided head-on with…