Author: Darren Smith

Ukraine has struck a thermal power plant and major fuel infrastructure across Russian-occupied Crimea, knocking out electricity to large parts of the peninsula and triggering a civilian fuel ban as Kyiv’s campaign to turn Crimea into an isolated “island” intensifies. Electricity went out in Feodosia, Kerch, Sevastopol and several other areas of occupied Crimea following a series of overnight drone and missile strikes. The Tavriiska thermal power plant sustained damage in the attack, with a burned-out tank visible on the station’s premises, a charred and deformed façade on a nearby building, and a hole recorded in the wall of the…

A man has appeared in court charged with five counts of attempted murder linked to terrorism, following a series of alleged anti-Muslim attacks across Edinburgh that left two men stabbed outside a mosque and three more injured on one of the city’s main streets. Lewis Hawkes, 36, appeared in private at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and was remanded in custody without entering a plea. He was also charged with assault and robbery, breach of the peace and culpable and reckless conduct. Counter-terror officers are leading the ongoing investigation into the incidents, which took place across multiple locations in the capital on…

Two young men who mounted a cyber attack on Transport for London that cost the organisation £29 million and forced all 28,000 of its staff to reset their passwords in person have pleaded guilty on the first day of their trial at Woolwich Crown Court. Thalha Jubair, 20, from East London, and Owen Flowers, 18, from Walsall, West Midlands, were both members of the notorious online criminal collective known as Scattered Spider. They infiltrated TfL’s network between 31 August and 3 September 2024 in an attack that caused widespread disruption to one of the UK’s most critical pieces of public…

A Montreal police officer has been injured after responding to reports of shots fired in the city’s Côte-des-Neiges district on Monday, with an emergency alert issued warning residents that an armed and dangerous suspect remains at large. Montreal police say one of their officers has been injured in the central neighbourhood after responding to reports of shots fired. Public safety officials issued an emergency alert about an armed and dangerous suspect in the Côte-des-Neiges district. The police operation began around 11:30am and remained ongoing at the time of writing. Montreal police are urging residents in Côte-des-Neiges to stay indoors, lock…

Britain faces a genuine chance of breaking its all-time temperature record this week, with a Met Office meteorologist warning that the humidity accompanying the heatwave makes it “much more extreme and more dangerous” than the record-breaking conditions of July 2022. Red and amber warnings for extreme heat have been issued for the next four days, with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 41C in parts of the country. The most likely peak is 39C, but the Met Office puts the possible range between 37C and 41C — and says there is a 20 per cent chance the all-time UK…

Reality TV star Barrie Drewitt-Barlow, who made history as one of Britain’s first gay dads, and his husband Scott Hutchinson have been charged with 18 further offences including rape and paying for the sexual services of a child, as they appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court to face a growing list of serious allegations. Drewitt-Barlow, 57, and Hutchinson, 32, were remanded in custody at today’s hearing without being asked to enter pleas. A further hearing has been scheduled for 7 September, at which they will be asked to do so. A trial has been set for January 2027, with an estimated…

Three brothers have been sentenced to a combined 40 years in prison for sexually abusing five women who were children when the crimes took place, as survivors told Sheffield Crown Court that the abuse had left them serving “a lifelong sentence” they never agreed to. Amar Ilyas, 41, was sentenced in his absence to 27 years in prison for 20 sexual offences against five women, including rape. He fled to Pakistan while on court bail and failed to appear for his trial in September 2025. National Crime Agency officers are now carrying out enquiries to locate and arrest him. Anyone…

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, has been found guilty of rape and a series of other serious sexual offences spanning more than two decades, following a trial in which both of his victims gave evidence that they had been abused as children. The 63-year-old, who denied all charges against him, was convicted by a jury of rape, 13 counts of indecent assault and four counts of gross indecency. The offences relate to two women and span the period from 1985 to 2008. Donaldson himself testified during the trial at Newry Crown Court. His wife,…

A construction worker has died after being found in a confined ceiling area at the Denver Broncos’ new $175 million practice facility, prompting the suspension of work at the site while an investigation takes place. The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the man was discovered at the construction site on Monday night. The facility, currently under construction, is set to become a state-of-the-art, 205,000-square-foot complex. Fire rescue crews responded to the scene and were able to reach the man, but he was pronounced dead at the location. His name has not yet been released, and a cause of death has…

A 15-year-old girl and two boys, aged 14 and 15, have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a teenager was stabbed to death in Battersea, south London, with police confirming the victim’s identity as the investigation continues. Officers were called to reports of a stabbing in the early hours of Saturday morning. A 17-year-old boy was found with serious injuries and died at the scene. Police have now named him as Jamal Coombes. All three suspects remain in custody as the investigation continues.