Author: Darren Smith

Plans to turn a student accommodation block in Leeds into a hostel for asylum seekers have been rejected by the local council, in a decision that leaves the Home Office with the option of submitting a full planning application. The Home Office applied last August for a Certificate of Proposed Lawful Development for Mary Morris House on Shire Oak Road in Headingley, a building currently occupied by students. The certificate route would have allowed a change of use to proceed without a full planning application, but Leeds City Council determined that the proposal represented a material change of use and…

NHS surgeon Rahmeh Aladwan has been charged with multiple counts of inviting support for Hamas, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed, in a development that follows her suspension from medical practice last year over social media posts deemed to have shared support for violent action and terrorist organisations. Aladwan, 31, a British Palestinian trainee trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, was suspended by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service for 15 months in November after the tribunal found her posts “may impact on patient confidence” and could discourage patients from seeking treatment from her. She has denied making racist or hateful comments, and her…

A serial robber who threatened to decapitate Songs of Praise presenter Aled Jones and left a Bridgerton actress traumatised has pleaded guilty to a further machete robbery, with a judge warning him a “substantial custodial sentence” awaits when he is sentenced in June. Zacariah Boulares, now 19, from Feltham, south London, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday and admitted attempting to steal a Rolex watch from Neil Tallantire outside a Waitrose in Porchester Road, Bayswater, on 19 August 2023, while armed with a machete. The attack took place in broad daylight, was captured on CCTV, and occurred just six…

A sophisticated international police operation has brought down a Romanian criminal network responsible for defrauding cash machines nationwide, with nine men receiving prison sentences totalling more than 25 years. The Eastern Region Special Operations Unit worked alongside Romanian authorities to dismantle the organised group, which carried out over 3,300 fraudulent withdrawals from more than 50 ATMs during an 11-month period in 2024. According to Detective Inspector Dan Barker, the operation required “extensive work both here and overseas” to track the gang’s movements and uncover the technology enabling their crimes. The investigation culminated in arrests at Luton Airport in December 2024,…

Donald Trump has launched his most pointed public attack yet on Britain and NATO allies, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of offering aircraft carriers “when the war is over” and declaring the entire alliance a “paper tiger” that has consistently failed to support the United States when it matters. Speaking at a cabinet meeting in Washington, Trump said he was “very disappointed” in NATO, claiming the alliance had “done absolutely nothing” throughout the conflict with Iran. He said he had warned as far back as 25 years ago that NATO would never come to America’s rescue despite the US repeatedly defending…

The International Olympic Committee has announced that all female category events at the Olympic Games and other IOC competitions will be restricted to biological females, determined through a one-time gene test, in a significant policy shift that brings the organisation into line with a US executive order on women’s sports. The new eligibility rules apply across both individual and team sports and cover any IOC-sanctioned event, not solely the Games themselves. The policy change means transgender women will no longer be eligible to compete in the female category at Olympic level. The decision aligns with an executive order signed by…

National Savings and Investments has apologised to customers and promised compensation after errors affecting tens of thousands of Premium Bond holders came to light, with bereaved families among those who say they were wrongly denied funds belonging to deceased relatives. Pensions Minister Torsten Bell updated the House of Commons on the matter, confirming that NS&I was prioritising reuniting affected customers with their money “as soon as possible” and that compensation where appropriate would be paid. He was clear that the burden of resolving the situation rested with NS&I rather than customers themselves. The scale of the problem emerged after the…

Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Iran’s leadership, telling them there will be “no turning back” if they fail to engage meaningfully in peace negotiations, as the Pentagon is reported to be preparing a range of military escalation options including a potential ground operation. Writing on Truth Social, Trump said Iranian leaders were “begging” to reach a deal despite Tehran’s public rejection of a 15-point US peace proposal that was passed to Iranian officials via Pakistan. “They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t…

A 25-year-old woman left paraplegic following a suicide attempt has died by euthanasia in Barcelona on Thursday, after Spanish courts rejected a series of legal challenges brought by her father in an attempt to prevent the procedure going ahead. Noelia Castillo, from Barcelona, underwent the procedure at the Sant Pere de Ribes assisted living facility where she had been residing. Her request for euthanasia had been approved by the Catalan government in July 2024, but was delayed for more than a year and a half as her father, backed by the ultraconservative Catholic group Christian Lawyers, pursued appeals through multiple…

A transgender woman sentenced to 14 months in prison for stalking the surgeon who carried out her gender reassignment procedure is being held at a women’s jail in Surrey, prompting scrutiny from a Conservative MP who says she is urgently looking into the placement. Vivienne Taylor, 28, pleaded guilty to causing serious alarm or distress and stalking at Isleworth Crown Court last March, following a four-year campaign of harassment against consultant urological surgeon Dr Tina Rashid. The offending began shortly after Taylor underwent reassignment surgery in Putney in 2021, initially sending the surgeon a cake as a gesture of thanks…