Author: Darren Smith

Norwich is bracing for fresh protests this evening as seven Afghan asylum seekers accused of running a child rape gang appear at Norwich Crown Court, with police preparing for demonstrations both outside the court and later at the city’s City Hall. The defendants, six aged 20 and one aged 21, are expected to enter pleas at the hearing. Collectively they face 40 charges, including 33 counts of rape or conspiracy to rape, against two victims who were in their early to mid-teens at the time of the alleged offences. The offences are said to have taken place in Norwich between…

At least 18 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon overnight, in some of the heaviest bombardment of recent weeks, casting fresh doubt over the fragile US-Iran peace agreement just days after it was signed. According to Lebanon’s health ministry, the death toll has risen to 18 following Israeli airstrikes and shelling that hit several towns in the Nabatieh district overnight and into the early morning. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency described the bombardment as among the most intense seen in recent weeks. Residents and local media reported strikes across multiple sites in the area. Israel’s military…

Mercedes have withdrawn their Right of Review submission relating to the penalty served by George Russell during the Monaco Grand Prix, the team confirmed in an official statement posted to social media. The submission had been lodged in relation to a pitlane speeding penalty handed to Russell, which Mercedes believed had a significant impact on his eventual race result. The team’s decision to seek a review followed the FIA’s separate decision to rescind a time penalty issued to Pierre Gasly, prompting Mercedes to explore “all available options” to address what they considered an inconsistency in how penalties from the Monaco…

A huge brawl erupted on a busy South-East London high street outside a branch of Nando’s, with dramatic footage showing one man knocked to the ground with a sucker punch as dozens of people scrapped in the middle of the road shortly after England’s World Cup victory over Croatia. The violence broke out just after 11pm on Wednesday on High Street in Beckenham, with witnesses filming the chaotic scenes as they unfolded. Footage shows several individuals already trading blows before one man is punched from the side, unable to defend himself, and falls to the ground. Another person is then…

A woman in her 20s was allegedly raped in Weymouth town centre in the early hours of Thursday morning, with Dorset Police now appealing for witnesses and CCTV footage as they carry out an extensive investigation. Officers were called to the scene at 2.44am following reports of the attack, which is alleged to have taken place between 2am and 2.30am at the corner of Gloucester Street and Turton Street. The victim is being supported by a specialist team. Detective Chief Inspector George Graham, of Dorset County CID, said: “Officers are supporting the victim in this matter and we are carrying…

Britain could record its hottest ever June day next week, with temperatures forecast to reach 34C, as the UK Health Security Agency issued amber heat health alerts and officials warned of a fresh spike in water-related deaths after 17 people drowned during last month’s heatwave. The Met Office said there is a 40 per cent chance the heatwave will break the current UK June temperature record of 35.6C, set in both London in 1957 and Southampton in 1976. Temperatures are expected to climb steadily through the coming days, with the South and South East reaching 32C on Sunday before pushing…

Australia has recorded its first suspected case of bird flu on the mainland, with a single migratory wild bird testing positive in Western Australia for a strain that authorities fear could be the deadly H5N1 virus responsible for millions of animal deaths worldwide. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins confirmed the detection but said it was too early to confirm whether the bird was carrying the concerning H5N1 strain, with further test results expected on Saturday. Mainland Australia remains the only continent yet to detect the killer strain, making the suspected case a significant moment for the country’s biosecurity authorities. “There is…

A three-year-old boy thrown into a crocodile enclosure at a Cambridgeshire zoo suffered a broken arm and pelvis in the fall, with witnesses left in tears after watching the zoo owner’s wife leap into the pit to pull him to safety. The boy was looking at reptiles inside the tropical house at Johnsons of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon, when he was thrown approximately 15ft from an elevated viewing platform into the enclosure below. Tracey Johnson, who runs the zoo with her husband Andy, rescued the child, who remains in a critical but stable condition at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. It…

Grammy-nominated record producer Tay Keith, whose beats powered some of the biggest rap hits of the past decade including Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode” and Drake’s “First Person Shooter,” has been found dead at his Nashville home aged 29. Police performing a welfare check discovered the producer, whose real name is Brytavious Chambers, unresponsive in his Martin Street apartment in Nashville on Thursday afternoon, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department confirmed. No foul play is suspected. His death is pending autopsy results. NBC News said it had reached out to his representative for comment. Keith, who hailed from Tennessee, had risen from…

A three-year-old boy is in a critical but stable condition in hospital after being thrown into a crocodile enclosure at a zoo in Cambridgeshire, with a 30-year-old man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Police were called to Johnsons of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon, just before 1.30pm today. The child was rushed to hospital with serious injuries following the incident, which is understood to have occurred in front of other visitors at the zoo. Cambridgeshire Police said the arrested man, from Norfolk, is not believed to be known to the child or his family. The force is now speaking to…