Author: Darren Smith

The RAF flypast marking King Charles’s official birthday is set to take place over Buckingham Palace at around 1pm today, the centrepiece of the Trooping the Colour celebrations after a procession down the length of The Mall. The flypast is expected to last approximately six minutes, concluding at 1.06pm with the arrival of the Red Arrows. A range of military aircraft will take part, including Chinook helicopters, Typhoons and Lightning fighter jets, though the Ministry of Defence has cautioned that the specific line-up remains subject to change depending on “weather, aircraft serviceability, and operational commitments.” According to the MOD, the…

Thousands of people gathered in central Seoul on Saturday for the annual Seoul Queer Culture Festival, while a conservative Christian group held a counter-rally nearby, in a now-familiar standoff that reflects South Korea’s continuing divide over LGBTQ rights. According to organisers and police, the festival’s organising committee set up a stage and around 70 booths from 11am local time, with the main festival beginning in the afternoon. The parade, the centrepiece of the event, was scheduled to begin at 4pm and run for approximately 3km along central Seoul. Organisers told police they expected around 50,000 people to attend, Yonhap News…

A photograph appearing to show President Donald Trump standing alongside a group of unidentified figures in elaborate red coats, gold trim and white wigs has gone viral after social media users claimed it had been briefly posted online and then quickly deleted — though the image has now been identified as an AI-generated hoax. The image, which shows Trump outdoors facing three tall, platinum-blonde figures in red, theatrical-style uniforms resembling British redcoats, was shared widely on X, with one post from user @ImBreckWorsham racking up 14.5 million views. “Posted and then almost instantaneously removed. What the literal hell is this?”…

Motorists are being warned they could face a £100 fine and three penalty points this week for breaching a Highway Code rule many drivers are unaware even exists, as UK Bike Week gets underway and more cyclists take to the roads in the warmer weather. The warning centres on advanced stop lines, commonly known as bike boxes, found at many signal-controlled junctions across the country. These marked areas allow cyclists to position themselves ahead of other traffic while waiting at red lights. According to the Highway Code: “Some signal-controlled junctions have advanced stop lines to allow cyclists to be positioned…

Navigating London’s transport network can be baffling even for seasoned locals, but a handful of stations sharing identical names across different lines and operators have created a particular headache for visitors trying to find their way around the capital. Canary Wharf is perhaps the clearest example. The area is served by three separate stations, all carrying the same name, after the Elizabeth line opened in 2022 and adopted the existing name shared by the DLR and Jubilee line stations already in place. Compounding the confusion, nearby stations including West India Quay, Heron Quays, South Quay and Westferry sit packed closely…

A 20-year-old McDonald’s worker who suffered third-degree burns after a colleague allegedly threw hot cooking oil over him has spoken from his hospital bed about the painful recovery process, as the man accused of the attack remains in custody without bail. Jacob Smith was scalded during his shift at the Sacramento-area restaurant on 30 May. The Sutter County Sheriff’s Office initially issued an at-risk missing-person alert for Jalani Bluett, 23, the worker accused of pouring the oil over him. Bluett was arrested the following day and now faces charges of causing bodily injury, battery and assault with a deadly weapon.…

London is dotted with unfinished towers, empty construction sites and “Coming Soon” billboards advertising neighbourhoods that were never built, the legacy of a wave of Chinese investment that transformed swathes of the capital’s skyline before collapsing and leaving councils, developers and residents to deal with the fallout. The issue was thrust back into the spotlight earlier this year during weeks of heated debate over plans to convert the Royal Mint near Tower Bridge into a 600,000 square foot Chinese super-embassy. That row, however, also drew attention to a much broader and less visible legacy of China’s relationship with London —…

A wave of urgent product recalls has been issued this week, covering food and drink items sold at major UK supermarkets as well as more than a million Jeep vehicles worldwide over fire risks, with the Food Standards Agency warning consumers not to eat or use the affected products. A mass vehicle recall has been issued by global carmaker Stellantis, affecting more than one million Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator models built between 2021 and 2025, with many already pulled from UK roads over fears of spontaneous combustion caused by faulty wiring in their electric hydraulic power steering pumps. A…

A man has died and a young girl is missing after a small boat was found drifting on the Parramatta River in Sydney’s inner west, prompting an urgent search operation involving specialist police resources. Emergency services were called to Bayview Park on Burwood Road, Concord, just before 11.45am on Saturday following reports that a man’s body had been found in the water. He has not yet been formally identified. Police were told the man had been seen in a small boat with a child shortly before the discovery was made. The girl, believed to be around six or seven years…

Scientists have captured the first ever footage of a live goblin shark in its natural deep-sea habitat, more than a century after the species was first discovered, in a breakthrough that has dramatically expanded scientists’ understanding of where the elusive predator lives. The footage was captured using a remote baited camera in the South Pacific Ocean’s Tonga Trench, one of the deepest parts of the sea, in 2024, according to a study published last month. Until now, goblin sharks had only ever been seen when accidentally caught by fishermen. “The Goblin Shark is one of these deep-sea charismatic animals that…