Author: Darren Smith

Millions of Facebook users in the United States are set to receive a second payment from the landmark $725 million class-action settlement stemming from the Cambridge Analytica data scandal — with payouts beginning on Tuesday 9 June and continuing for four weeks. Around $100 million has remained unclaimed in the settlement fund since the first round of payments went out in September 2025, and a California court approved a second distribution last month. The settlement administrator estimates that more than 15 million people will share in the remaining money, which amounts to approximately $95 million after $5 million in administrative…

A 20-year-old McDonald’s employee is fighting through excruciating pain in a California hospital burn unit after a colleague doused him in boiling oil during a shift, leaving him with second-degree burns across his face, neck, arm and back in an attack that has shocked his community and prompted a fundraising appeal approaching $40,000. Jacob Smith was working at a McDonald’s branch in Yuba City, Northern California, when the attack took place. His colleague, identified by police as Jalani Bluett, 23, threw hot oil over him before fleeing the restaurant ahead of police arriving at the scene. Jacob was rushed to…

A 17-year-old soccer goalkeeper who had just graduated from high school and secured a place at college to pursue his dream of playing the sport he loved was killed when a car plummeted 25 feet from a San Francisco overpass in the early hours of the morning — just days after what should have been one of the proudest milestones of his life. Lenin Homer Silva, known to his family as Len, had graduated from Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, California on 28 May and committed to playing soccer for Skyline College in San Bruno. Two days later, in…

A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake has struck the southern Philippines, killing at least four people, injuring more than 200 others and setting off a tsunami that sent metre-high waves crashing onto nearby coastlines — forcing thousands to flee to higher ground and prompting tsunami warnings across the region. The quake struck at 7.37am local time on Monday, centred approximately 13 kilometres southwest of General Santos, a city of more than 700,000 people that serves as a major hub for tuna processing and commerce in the Mindanao region. The earthquake, caused by movement in the Cotabato Trench at a depth of…

A Gulfstream private jet has exploded into a towering fireball after skidding across a runway during an emergency landing attempt in the Dominican Republic, with two pilots feared dead in one of the most dramatic aviation disasters to be captured on camera in recent years. Footage of the crash at La Romana International Airport shows the Gulfstream jet touching down on its rear wheels before violently bouncing and erupting into a massive orange fireball that engulfed the aircraft within seconds. The mangled wreckage was left strewn across the runway as emergency crews rushed to the scene, with operations at the…

One of Australia’s most wanted fugitives has been arrested at a rural Greek farmhouse after nearly three decades on the run — undone not by a painstaking international manhunt but by a routine roadside police check during which he allegedly gave false information and then confessed he was wanted in Australia. James Dalamangas, 56, was detained on Sunday by Greek authorities at a property in Aigialeia, in central Greece’s Achaia region, where he had been living under several aliases and working as a farmer since fleeing Australia in 1999. He is accused of the fatal stabbing of father-of-two George Giannopoulos…

A Birmingham TikTok creator who spent years defending Islam to more than 100,000 followers has spoken exclusively to Britannia Daily about his decision to embrace Christianity — describing the theological doubts, death threats from former supporters and a series of vivid dreams involving Jesus that he says ultimately changed the course of his spiritual life.Before publicly embracing Christianity, Kieos had spent years creating Islamic content and defending the faith to an audience of more than 100,000 followers on TikTok. Growing Up Without Religion Unlike many people who move between faith traditions, Kieos says religion played almost no role in his…

The United States has doubled down on its hardline stance toward Iran’s World Cup squad, refusing to back down over strict visa conditions that bar Iranian officials from entering the country and require players to arrive and depart on the same day as their matches — amid an explosive diplomatic backdrop that saw Iran fire missiles at Israel on Sunday. The US State Department denied entry to approximately 15 Iranian officials, including the head of the football federation, his deputy and a media director, while those permitted to enter for Iran’s three group stage matches face the extraordinary requirement of…

A Metropolitan Police detective inspector has been sacked and permanently barred from rejoining the force after saving naked pictures of a junior female colleague on not one but two official police-issued work phones — despite the images having been shared consensually during a romantic relationship. Detective Inspector Ben Coogan, 49, who had served with the Metropolitan Police for more than 26 years and held a senior role as strategic lead for domestic abuse investigations across three London boroughs, was dismissed without notice following an accelerated misconduct hearing in April. The decision was published on 26 May. The hearing found that…

Lewis Hamilton sent a tender public message to girlfriend Kim Kardashian from the Monaco Grand Prix podium on Sunday — blowing her a kiss as he collected his second-place trophy — just hours after the reality star had been widely condemned for blanking legendary Sky Sports reporter Martin Brundle on live television. The moment, captured in a clip shared on the official F1 Instagram account, showed Hamilton, 41, lifting his trophy aloft after finishing behind 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli, before turning to blow a kiss in Kardashian’s direction. She responded with a beaming smile and applauded her partner as he stood…