Author: Darren Smith

Israel has launched a fierce denunciation of The New York Times after the paper published a column alleging widespread sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners by Israeli security forces, with the government’s foreign ministry describing it as one of the worst “blood libels” to appear in the modern press. The piece, written by Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and published on Monday, was titled “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians.” In it, Kristof interviewed 14 individuals who alleged they had been sexually abused while in Israeli detention. Several sources claimed to have been raped repeatedly with batons by prison guards;…

The World Health Organisation has warned that further cases of hantavirus are likely to emerge among passengers from the stricken Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, while stressing there is no sign of widespread community transmission and that the global risk remains low — as repatriation flights scatter passengers across more than 20 countries and health authorities begin the complex task of tracing everyone who may have been exposed. As of 11 May, the WHO had confirmed seven cases of Andes hantavirus linked to the outbreak, with two additional probable cases awaiting laboratory results. Three people have died — two confirmed…

Brandon Clarke, a forward who spent his entire NBA career with the Memphis Grizzlies, has died at the age of 29, the club and his representatives have confirmed. Clarke’s agency, Priority Sports, confirmed the news in a social media post on Tuesday. The cause of death was not disclosed. The Memphis Grizzlies issued a statement saying: “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke. Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organisation and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten. We express our deepest condolences to his family and loved…

Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia will deploy its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile — which he described as the world’s most powerful nuclear weapon — by the end of this year, in a move that combines a significant military statement with what analysts see as a carefully timed show of strength. Speaking in televised comments, Putin said the Sarmat had a nuclear yield more than four times that of any Western equivalent and a range exceeding 21,750 miles. “It has the ability to penetrate all existing and future anti-missile defence systems,” he declared. State television broadcast footage of missile force…

A young man has died after falling approximately 150 feet from a phone mast in rural Cambridgeshire, in an incident that has prompted fresh warnings about the dangers of climbing telecommunications structures. Cambridgeshire Constabulary were called to Black Dyke in Newton-in-the-Isle, a small village near Wisbech, at around 11pm on Sunday following reports of a sudden death. A force spokesperson said: “We were called at about 11pm yesterday with reports of a sudden death at Black Dyke, Newton-in-the-Isle. Emergency services attended. A man in his 20s was pronounced dead at the scene. The death is not being treated as suspicious.”…

A Catholic school run by nuns in southern Lebanon has sustained significant damage amid Israeli strikes on the surrounding area, sparking outrage among Lebanese Christians and drawing fresh attention to the human cost of the continuing conflict in the region. Footage circulating on social media shows extensive destruction around Antonine Sisters College in Nabatieh — a major town in a Hezbollah-heavy area near the Israeli border — with sections of perimeter walls collapsed, buildings pockmarked and rubble scattered across the compound. The school is run by the Antonine Sisters, a Catholic religious order, and serves a mixed student body that…

A Russian man has become an unlikely internet sensation after waking up covered head-to-toe in coal dust on a freight train bound for Siberia — with no memory of how he got there and his immediate priority being to call off work. Dmitry, a young man from Yekaterinburg, had blacked out during a heavy night at a local club before apparently climbing into an open coal freight car and passing out. He woke up bruised, filthy and roughly 330 kilometres from where he had started, on a train heading to Tyumen in western Siberia. Rather than panic, he picked up…

Four Palestine Action protesters convicted of smashing their way into an Israel-linked defence factory with crowbars and sledgehammers could be sentenced as terrorists next month, after a judge’s pre-trial ruling found the raid had a “terrorist connection” — despite none of the defendants facing any terrorism charges. Charlotte Head, Samuel Corner, Leona Kamio and Fatema Rajwani were convicted of criminal damage last week at Woolwich Crown Court following the nighttime raid on the Elbit Systems UK site near Bristol on 6 August 2024. The four drove into the facility using an old prison van, smashing computers and drones, spraying red…

A man in his 40s has been shot dead by police in Bedford following an armed standoff that lasted through the night and into the following morning. Officers were first called to reports of vehicles being damaged at around 10.40pm on Monday. On arrival they found a man who had barricaded himself inside a property and was making threats. Armed officers, police negotiators and other emergency services attended the scene and spent several hours attempting to resolve the situation peacefully. Despite those efforts, Bedfordshire Police said the man “presented a weapon” shortly after 9.30am on Tuesday, at which point officers…

A video showing a Croatian woman repeatedly punching and slamming a migrant man to the ground outside a sports shop in Zagreb has gone viral, dividing opinion online over whether the violent confrontation constituted legitimate self-defence or a brutal and disproportionate assault. The approximately 50-second clip, filmed on a handheld device in early May, shows a physically imposing blonde woman delivering repeated blows to a smaller Asian man, forcing him against a shop window before taking him to the ground and continuing to strike him as he lies on the pavement. Throughout the footage, the man appears largely defensive —…