Author: Darren Smith

A 30-year-old Argentine man has been arrested and charged with human trafficking and sexual exploitation after allegedly deceiving dozens of young women into appearing in explicit videos by falsely promising the footage would never be distributed in their home country — a lie that devastated lives when the content spread rapidly across Argentina and internationally. Gianfranco Gaspar Núñez, from the city of Rosario, operated through Instagram accounts presenting themselves as legitimate casting agencies, approaching young women — predominantly aged 18 to 22 — with offers of around $200 in cash and the promise of professional exposure in the audiovisual industry.…

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has declared that he would vote for Scottish independence if he were Scottish, saying Scotland had been “screwed over by Westminster governments for a long time” and that the UK Government had no right to block a second referendum on the country’s future. Speaking at an event in Glasgow on Thursday evening, Polanski launched a direct attack on Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who recently reaffirmed that the Labour government would refuse to grant a second independence referendum even if the SNP wins a majority at Scottish Parliament elections on 7 May. “Who the hell does…

A second round of peace talks between the United States and Iran is expected to take place in Islamabad after Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi is set to travel to Pakistan tonight, a Pakistani government source has told Sky News. The senior Iranian diplomat is expected to arrive with a small delegation, with a US logistics and security team already on the ground in the Pakistani capital ahead of the resumed negotiations. The development follows intense mediation efforts by Pakistan, whose government has been working to bring both sides back to the table after direct talks between Washington and Tehran…

The British government has issued a firm and unusually direct rebuttal to Washington after reports emerged that the United States is considering withdrawing its support for the UK’s claim to the Falkland Islands — a move reportedly being contemplated as punishment for Britain’s refusal to back America’s military campaign against Iran. According to Reuters, an internal US government email identifies a reassessment of the Falklands position as one of a range of options being explored to pressure NATO allies that have declined to support the Iran war. The report prompted an immediate response from Downing Street, with the Prime Minister’s…

American defence officials are preparing contingency plans that could see senior Iranian military figures targeted for elimination — including the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — should the current ceasefire between the United States and Iran break down, sources familiar with the planning have told CNN. The options being developed extend well beyond tactical military targets. Officials are said to be considering so-called “dynamic targeting” strategies focused on Iran’s fast attack boats, minelaying vessels and other asymmetric maritime capabilities operating in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the southern Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. These assets…

A 34-year-old man has been charged with murder following the death of a headteacher who was knocked from his bicycle during a collision in Altrincham, Cheshire, on Monday evening. Simon Richardson, of no fixed abode, faces a total of five charges — murder, manslaughter, dangerous driving, failing to stop after a collision and driving without insurance — in connection with the incident, which took place at around 6.10pm. He was remanded in custody and is due to appear at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court. The victim, Michael Mullins, 56, from Northwich, was the headteacher of Stretford Grammar School. He was…

BREAKING: Nearly 270 firefighters and EMS personnel are battling a five-alarm fire that has ripped through the First Reformed Church of Astoria in Queens, one of the oldest places of worship in New York City, after flames spread from an attached residence and broke through the church’s roof on Thursday evening. The Fire Department of New York confirmed the first emergency call came in at 6.46pm local time, to an address on 12th Street between 27th Avenue and Main Avenue, close to the historic 19th-century church building. What began as a fire at a rectory or residence attached to the church…

An award-winning chef who was once named Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation has been charged with murder after allegedly admitting to police that he deliberately beat his wife to death inside a hotel room on a Massachusetts university campus. Jeffrey MacDonald, 36, was arrested on Wednesday evening after officers from the UMass Amherst Police Department responded to a 911 call reporting an emergency at the Hotel UMass, located on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, just before 8pm. Upon arrival, officers encountered MacDonald and were immediately met with violent resistance. He allegedly threw objects…

The British criminal investigation into Peter Mandelson has been effectively stalled by the refusal of Donald Trump’s justice department to release key Epstein-related evidence to Scotland Yard, a delay that now looks likely to push any charging decision out to 2028. The impasse, first reported by The Telegraph, has drawn fresh attention both to Washington’s handling of the Epstein archive and to the political sensitivities that continue to surround it on both sides of the Atlantic. What American officials are refusing to do At the heart of the dispute is a tranche of redacted material, held by the US Department of…

A Church of England vicar who groomed and sexually abused multiple young girls at a youth group in Britain before emigrating to Australia took his own life last November after allegations of child sexual misconduct against him were formally substantiated, an independent investigation has found. The Reverend Kesh Govan, 50, from Bolton, served in the Dioceses of Manchester and Lichfield before relocating to Brisbane, where he became known locally as the Singing Vicar. Following his death, the Anglican Church Southern Queensland commissioned an independent review into his conduct, which concluded that he had “groomed and sexually abused multiple female children…