Author: Darren Smith

News, Science & Sport Darren Smith is a freelance reporter specialising in general news, science, and sport. His work covers breaking stories, scientific research, and major sporting events.

Donald Trump has claimed 48 leaders have been killed in US and Israeli strikes on Iran, as Israeli media reports former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is among the dead following Saturday’s coordinated attacks. “Nobody can believe the success we’re having, 48 leaders are gone in one shot,” President Trump told Fox News. “It’s moving along. It’s moving along rapidly. This has been this way for 47 years.” Ahmadinejad, who served as president of the Islamic Republic from 2005 to 2013, was killed in the airstrikes according to Israeli media. The former Tehran mayor’s tenure was defined by a hardline stance on…

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Benjamin Netanyahu has stated “all indications show this tyrant is no longer with us” in reference to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, stopping short of explicitly confirming his death following Saturday’s coordinated US-Israeli airstrikes. The Prime Minister addressed Israelis in a Saturday evening press conference, stating airstrikes have destroyed the Supreme Leader’s compound and declaring “there are signs” Khamenei is dead. Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied the claim earlier in the evening, with a spokesperson telling Sky News the Supreme Leader and president were both “safe and sound” following the morning strikes. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated Khamenei is alive “as…

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Four people have been hospitalized following a missile strike on Dubai’s Fairmont The Palm hotel as Iran launched retaliatory attacks across the Middle East targeting US bases in Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Jordan. Dubai’s Media Office confirmed the fire at the five-star Palm Jumeirah hotel is now “under control” after emergency services were deployed to the scene. Footage captured from an opposite building shows the moment the missile made contact with the luxury hotel, with blackened smoke billowing into the sky as amber flames roared at the entrance. City authorities confirmed the injured have been taken to hospital for…

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Donald Trump has offered Iranian government officials “total immunity” if they surrender or “certain death” if they resist, as dozens of American warplanes launched strikes alongside Israel in what the US president described as “major combat operations” aimed at eliminating threats from the regime. In an eight-minute Truth Social address, Trump called on Iranian citizens to “take over your government” following the military action, stating: “This will be probably your only chance for generations. This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass.” The operation was planned for months with the launch date decided weeks ago, an Israeli…

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Voice notes recovered by the National Crime Agency showed Kashid Rashid discussing the need to create false invoices to support fraudulent Bounce Back Loan applications that netted his family £150,000 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Rashid, 53, from Ilford, his wife Noreen Malik, 46, nephew Rehaan Mohammed, 32, and brother Rizwan Haider, 61, were sentenced today at Southwark Crown Court after being convicted by a jury following a five-week trial on 28 November 2025. The group used three businesses to successfully apply for three Bounce Back Loans totalling £150,000, submitting one further unsuccessful application that would have secured another £50,000. They…

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Ian Huntley has been given just a five percent chance of survival after triple murderer Anthony Russell allegedly beat him around the head three times with a metal spike at HMP Frankland in County Durham, an insider has revealed. The 52-year-old Soham killer remains in a medically induced coma in hospital following the Thursday morning attack. A Durham Constabulary spokesperson confirmed this morning: “There has been no change in the 52-year-old man’s condition overnight – he remains in hospital in a serious condition.” An insider stated: “It is miraculous he is still alive. Medics have worked miracles on him and…

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A Metropolitan Police officer has been dismissed after failing to mention in his statement that he punched a man in the face during an arrest in an attempt to conceal his use of excessive force. PC Peter Odusote will be placed on the College of Policing barred list following the misconduct hearing which concluded on Thursday, 26 February. The list prevents individuals from being employed by police, local policing bodies, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, or His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services. The panel heard PC Odusote, attached to the Central West Basic Command Unit,…

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Bill Clinton has become the first former president ever compelled to testify before Congress against his will, appearing for a historic deposition near his Chappaqua, New York home after being threatened with contempt charges. The 79-year-old opened his Friday testimony by furiously attacking Republicans for forcing his wife Hillary to appear before lawmakers, stating: “Before we start, I have to get personal. You made Hillary come in. She had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. Nothing. She has no memory of even meeting him. She neither traveled with him nor visited any of his properties.” Hillary told lawmakers on Thursday…

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A student broke her back after leaping 10ft from a window to escape Valdo Calocane in May 2020, three years before he fatally stabbed three people in Nottingham, a public inquiry heard. Feven, identified only by her first name, fractured her vertebrae and required surgery after jumping from her flat when the paranoid schizophrenic attempted to kick down her door. She was 22 years old at the time of the attack. Police visited her a week after hospital discharge and told her: “They told me I had been very brave. If I had not jumped out of the window many…

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Police are investigating whether a 21-year-old woman charged with two murders claimed additional victims after discovering she posted social media selfies with “follow me” and “DM for follow back” hashtags on the day her second alleged victim died. The woman, identified only by her surname Kim, faces two counts of murder after men in their twenties died under similar circumstances at Seoul motels on 28 January and 9 February. Authorities arrested her on 11 February following the deaths. Mobile phone evidence revealed Kim allegedly asked ChatGPT: “What happens if you take sleeping pills with alcohol?” She also questioned how much…

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