Author: Darren Smith

More than 700 migrants crossed the English Channel in a single day on Monday, the highest daily total recorded so far this year, as fresh questions were raised about the effectiveness of Britain’s £660 million deal with France to prevent small boat crossings. The Home Office confirmed that 710 migrants were picked up mid-Channel from 11 dinghies and brought into Dover by UK Border Force, surpassing the previous 2026 high of 610 set on 25 February. Monday’s figure was also the largest since 803 arrived on 20 December last year. The all-time daily record remains 1,305, set in September 2022.…

Jeffrey Epstein made at least three attempts to take his own life before he was found dead in his cell in August 2019, with nooses discovered on multiple occasions and warnings from his cellmate dismissed by guards, according to a bombshell investigation by the New York Times. The paper’s report, based on interviews with former inmates and prison records, offers the most detailed account yet of events inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York in the weeks before Epstein’s death — circumstances that have been the subject of intense public speculation ever since. At the centre of the account…

A French tourist has sparked a police investigation and local outrage after allegedly scattering human ashes into Venice’s St Mark’s Basin from a public waterbus, in footage that has gone viral and highlighted the strict rules governing where remains can be dispersed in the city. The unnamed woman was filmed emptying a bag containing what appears to be human ashes over the side of the vessel as it passed the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Fellow passengers can be heard shouting in the clip as the ashes are released into the water. A fellow traveller captured the incident on camera,…

Emma Hayes described Cape Verde’s historic goalless draw against Spain as a “victory for immigration” as the African nation produced one of the tournament’s biggest shocks so far, holding the reigning European champions in their opening World Cup match in Atlanta. Cape Verde, appearing at the FIFA finals for the first time and with a population of just 529,000, defied all expectations against Luis de la Fuente’s side at the Atlanta stadium in Georgia on Monday night. Spain dominated possession and created numerous chances, amassing 23 shots at goal with eight on target, but were repeatedly denied by goalkeeper Vozhino,…

The government has confirmed that a social media ban for under-16s is coming to the UK, but significant questions remain about which platforms will be included, how the rules will be enforced and whether the whole thing can realistically be in place by early next year. Which gaming platforms will be covered? The government has named Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X as platforms covered by the ban, and has said it will closely follow Australia’s approach, which also includes Kick, Reddit, Threads and Twitch. But that still leaves a major question mark over Roblox and similar gaming sites,…

A Florida couple who gave birth to another family’s baby following an IVF mix-up have been granted permanent custody of the girl they have raised since her birth, after a judge approved a custody agreement that will allow them to remain her parents while preserving the rights of her biological family. Tiffany Score and Steven Mills, who are white, welcomed baby girl Shea, who is black, in December after a different family’s embryo was mistakenly implanted during fertility treatment at the Fertility Center of Orlando. The couple had spent five agonising years trying to conceive before turning to IVF using…

A 16-year-old girl has died after being hit by a car in Gateshead on Friday night, with a 19-year-old man arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. The collision occurred at around 10.40pm on Lobley Hill Road, close to the junction with Schoolhouse Lane, when the teenager was struck by a silver Ford Fiesta. Paramedics treated her at the scene before she was taken to hospital with serious injuries, where she died a short time later. Her next of kin have been informed. The 19-year-old man arrested in connection with the incident has since been released on police…

One of the men charged in connection with the death of a 21-year-old woman thrown from a Brazilian bridge without a safety rope was previously filmed performing a terrifying stunt from the same location with a child clinging to him, footage shared on social media has revealed. Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, one of three men charged with homicide with implied malice over the death of Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, shared numerous videos of reckless jumps from Skeleton Bridge in Limeira, São Paulo on social media, some posted as recently as April. One clip, filmed in 2023, shows him…

The FBI and its law enforcement partners have foiled an alleged terror plot targeting last weekend’s UFC Freedom 250 event held on the South Lawn of the White House, with five people in custody and investigators identifying up to 23 people as part of a suspected network of plotters, officials have revealed. According to officials, the group planned to deploy explosive-laden drones to strike buildings near the event, deliberately triggering a mass evacuation and funnelling panicked crowds towards a pre-positioned sniper team waiting to open fire on those fleeing. A second wave of attackers was then allegedly planned to storm…

An Italian interpreter who reportedly worked for King Charles has been found dead in his Milan flat with serious head injuries, with police investigating a suspected robbery that may have followed a meeting arranged through a dating app. Roberto Guerrino, 60, was discovered on the floor of his apartment on Saturday after the alarm was raised by his ex-partner, who lived in Genoa. Unable to contact Roberto for several hours, his ex-partner sent his niece to the flat, where she found the body. Neighbours said they had last seen Roberto alive at around 10.30pm on Friday. Police found a blood-covered…