Author: Darren Smith

Thousands of people in Sweden have voluntarily had tiny microchips implanted in their hands, allowing them to unlock doors, pay for goods and access public transport with a simple wave of the wrist — a trend that has been circulating online for years but continues to spark fresh waves of alarm and conspiracy theories each time it resurfaces. Around 4,000 to 6,000 Swedes are estimated to have undergone the procedure since it first gained traction around 2015, according to industry figures — a niche but growing community of tech enthusiasts drawn by the convenience of ditching keys, cards and gym…

Videos have emerged of people from across Europe and America recording pledges of allegiance to a secretive Islamic doomsday sect based in Crewe — just as its heavily fortified headquarters was raided by hundreds of police officers investigating allegations of rape, forced marriage and modern slavery against its self-declared “new Pope” leader. The TikTok videos show would-be converts from Poland, Spain, France and the United States reading out formal statements declaring their faith in Imam Mahdi, professing that the Mahdis are “the proof of Allah” and pledging their allegiance to the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, known as AROPL.…

A 77-year-old man has been left seriously injured after a thug wielding a machete attacked him in broad daylight on a Glasgow street, with shocking footage capturing the moment the knifeman hacked at the elderly victim after stabbing him inside a parked car. The attack took place on Auckland Wynd in Dalmarnock at around 12.10pm on Tuesday 28 April, when the pensioner was reportedly stabbed inside a black Mercedes before the attacker turned on him in the street. Video footage of the incident shows the assailant, dressed entirely in black, attempting to open the boot of the car to retrieve…

The Daily Wire, the conservative media company co-founded by Ben Shapiro, has confirmed significant layoffs across multiple teams as third-party analytics data point to a dramatic collapse in the outlet’s digital reach and financial position. The restructuring, announced on 1 May 2026, was confirmed to The Wrap by a company spokesperson, who said cuts were “largely concentrated” at its Nashville production office. No official headcount figures were provided, though independent industry tracker layoffhedge.com estimated approximately 100 roles were eliminated, representing roughly half of the remaining workforce. The announcement drew an immediate public dispute. Candace Owens, who was herself fired from…

A video showing a man in Hull calmly asking two young men to leave a poppy-adorned war memorial has gone viral, dividing opinion between those who praised his measured stand for respect and those who questioned the assumptions behind the approach. The clip shows the man walking up to the memorial — inscribed with dedications and decorated with red poppy wreaths of the kind placed during Remembrance commemorations — where two young men are seated on the steps. His tone throughout is civil and unhurried. “Excuse me lads, would you mind sitting somewhere else?” he says. “It’s our war memorial,…

A Reform UK candidate standing for two Essex council seats next week has been exposed for posting a series of deeply racist messages online, including referring to white people as the “master race,” making pseudoscientific claims linking race to brain size and calling for a “purge” of what he termed “third world invaders.” Stuart Prior, 54, a property director, is contesting seats on both Essex County Council and Rochford District Council in the 7 May elections. A joint investigation by the Daily Mirror and HOPE not Hate identified posts from a now-deleted X account under his name, dating from late…

An easyJet flight from Gatwick to Antalya was forced to divert to Kosovo after a drunken woman began spitting at a fellow passenger and a man threatened to kill anyone who complained about their behaviour, in an incident that has brought calls for a blanket ban on disruptive flyers across all UK airlines a step closer. The chaos erupted on the Airbus A320 after a woman was seen drinking directly from a bottle of vodka during the flight, according to passengers who spoke to The Sun. A man — who was not travelling with her but began flirting after the…

Boris Johnson has sparked a fierce backlash by welcoming declining birth rates as “the best bit of global news in a long time,” arguing that a smaller global population will ease pressure on the planet — and dismissing concerns about workforce shortages as problems that artificial intelligence can solve. Writing in the Daily Mail, the former Prime Minister made a characteristically contrarian case against what he called “doom-mongering” about falling fertility, framing the global baby bust not as a crisis to be managed but as a welcome correction after decades of rapid population growth. Since his own birth, Johnson noted,…

Footage showing Ukrainian military recruitment officers wrestling a man to the ground and dragging him into a vehicle outside what appears to be a kindergarten in Lviv has gone viral, offering a stark and deeply uncomfortable window into the human cost of Ukraine’s intensifying mobilisation drive. The video, which began circulating rapidly on X and social media platforms on Thursday, shows uniformed officers from Ukraine’s Territorial Recruitment Centres confronting a man near playground fencing in a residential area of the western Ukrainian city. The man resists, a struggle ensues, and he is physically forced into a black SUV which then…

A group of diners has walked out of a Miller & Carter steakhouse without paying a bill of nearly £540, prompting police to release CCTV footage in an appeal to identify those responsible. The incident took place at the Miller & Carter branch in Kettering, Northamptonshire, on 6 April, when a party spent around two hours at the popular steakhouse between 5pm and 7.10pm before leaving without settling their £539.70 bill, The Sun reports. Northamptonshire Police are now investigating and have urged anyone who recognises the individuals captured on CCTV to contact officers on 101, quoting incident number 26000213409. The…