Author: Darren Smith

Flights to and from Manchester Airport faced average delays of around 50 minutes on Saturday after one of its two runways was temporarily closed, with the airport citing routine maintenance work. Manchester Airport experienced widespread flight delays on Saturday after one of its two runways was taken out of service for a period during the day. Travel data provider Inrix reported that departing flights were facing average delays of around 50 minutes as a result, and advised passengers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport. An airport spokesperson told the Manchester Evening News that the closure had…

Five Mexican nationals have been charged by the National Crime Agency over an alleged methamphetamine production operation uncovered on remote farmland in Warwickshire, amid wider concerns that specialist overseas expertise is being drawn into Britain’s drug trade and fuelling the country’s growing chemsex scene. Five Mexican men have been charged following an alleged methamphetamine production operation discovered on farmland near Furnace End in North Warwickshire. The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the suspects, all accused of conspiracy to produce a Class A drug, were arrested on 13 August 2026. The case has drawn attention to wider concerns among investigators that…

Two men were left stranded on a tree limb above the Hillsborough River after their boat overturned and drifted away, prompting a rescue operation by sheriff’s deputies and wildlife officers in an area known for frequent alligator sightings. Two men in Florida were rescued after their boat capsized on the Hillsborough River, leaving them stranded on a tree branch surrounded by alligator-infested waters. The pair had been travelling downstream through Morris Bridge Park on Tuesday when their vessel tipped over and drifted out of reach, leaving them with no means of returning to shore. Footage released by the Hillsborough County…

Fazli Qadeer, 25, who was studying in Bristol on a student visa, carried out a sustained sexual attack on a vulnerable, bedbound woman he was employed to care for, then falsely claimed to jurors that she had assaulted him. A carer from Pakistan has been jailed for 12 years after being convicted of raping a bedbound woman in her own home while working a care shift. Fazli Qadeer, 25, from Peshawar, had moved to Bristol on a student visa to attend university, following his brother, and was working as a carer at the time of the attack. Bristol Crown Court…

Chancellor John Healey is understood to be weighing changes to small business rates relief that could exempt thousands of firms from the tax entirely, as part of a package of measures aimed at reviving Britain’s struggling High Streets. Thousands of small businesses could be exempted from paying business rates altogether under changes being considered by Chancellor John Healey ahead of his first Budget on 28 October. The proposals, which form part of a wider package of tax and incentive measures for High Street firms, come as the cost of doing business in Britain is expected to be a central theme…

Sharifa Nicole Henderson, 34, has been indicted on federal charges after allegedly sending a series of death threats to the family of murdered Texas teenager Austin Metcalf during the trial of his convicted killer, Karmelo Anthony. A woman from Missouri has been charged federally after allegedly sending repeated death threats to the family of Austin Metcalf, the Texas teenager who was stabbed to death at a high school track meet in April 2025. Sharifa Nicole Henderson, 34, is accused of threatening the Metcalf family on at least three occasions in June 2026, during the trial of Karmelo Anthony, the teenager…

An investigation by Britannia Daily has uncovered adverts on an Albanian-language social media account offering a package described as allowing customers to fly to Ireland or directly to the UK for “4.5k,” alongside separate posts claiming to remove London ULEZ and Congestion Charge fines. Screenshots obtained by Britannia Daily show an Albanian-language social media account advertising a travel package that promises customers passage to Ireland or directly to the UK, quoted at a price of “4.5k.” The adverts have drawn attention because of Ireland’s position within the Common Travel Area (CTA), which allows for movement between Ireland and the UK…

Sultani Bakatash, 29, was convicted of five sexual offences after grooming one victim online and plying both girls with alcohol at his Bolton flat before raping them while they were unconscious. An Afghan national has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after being convicted of raping two 14-year-old schoolgirls at his flat in Bolton. Sultani Bakatash, 29, had groomed one of the girls online before inviting her and a friend to his address in December 2025, Bolton Crown Court heard. Prosecutors said he gave both girls alcohol and raped them while they were unconscious. Following a four-week trial, a…

Facebook’s independent oversight board has ruled the platform was wrong to leave up AI-generated videos falsely depicting a Scottish Labour councillor and a Muslim health campaigner, warning that Meta’s protections against deepfakes are “consistently and fundamentally inadequate.” Meta’s independent oversight board, often described as the company’s “supreme court,” has ordered the removal of deepfake videos targeting a UK politician and a young Muslim campaigner from Facebook, while calling on the tech giant to strengthen its approach to AI-generated fake content. The board ruled that a fabricated video showing a Labour councillor in Scotland making inflammatory remarks about refugees should never…

The three-year-old’s heartbroken father has paid tribute to his son as “the sweetest and most innocent little boy,” after more than 1,300 volunteers joined a 24-hour search that ended when his body was recovered from Decoy Pond in Brantham. Suffolk Constabulary has confirmed that the body discovered on Wednesday is that of Noah Woods, the three-year-old from East Bergholt who had been missing since Tuesday afternoon. Noah disappeared at around 3pm after becoming separated from a relative, believed to be his grandfather, while at a playground in Merriam Close, Brantham. His body was recovered from nearby Decoy Pond by officers…