Author: Darren Smith

Australia’s most prolific convicted paedophile has lost his bid to have his 27-year minimum sentence reduced, with the Queensland Court of Appeal dismissing his claim that the term was “manifestly excessive” — clearing the way for him to face a fresh wave of charges in New South Wales. Ashley Paul Griffith, a 48-year-old former childcare worker, pleaded guilty in 2024 to 307 child sex offences against 65 victims aged between one and nine, including 28 counts of rape against girls mainly aged three to five at Queensland childcare centres between 2007 and 2022. He received a life sentence with a…

A former Wetherspoons pub that has stood empty for almost a decade is finally set to reopen this summer, with major renovation work underway to transform the long-abandoned Trowbridge landmark into a modern venue while preserving its historic name. The Sir Isaac Pitman, located next to Castle Place Shopping Centre in the Wiltshire town, closed in 2017 as part of a wave of closures announced by the JD Wetherspoon chain. Once a popular meeting spot known for its friendly atmosphere and affordable food and drinks, the building has sat empty ever since, leaving residents wondering whether it would ever return…

The US Secretary of Homeland Security has defended the decision to deny entry to a Somali referee selected for the World Cup, dismissing global criticism of the move as he insisted the case involved unspecified “criminal ties” rather than discrimination against Somalia. Omar Artan, named Africa’s best referee in 2025 and selected as the sole referee from Somalia for the tournament, was turned away by US Customs and Border Protection at Miami International Airport on Saturday after arriving on a flight from Istanbul. CBP said he had been “determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry,”…

A 10-year-old California girl is being hailed a hero after her quick thinking saved six members of her family from a devastating house fire that destroyed their home of 14 years and killed three of their pets. Elizabeth “Lizzy” Morgan was awake playing video games in the early hours of 9 June at the family’s home in Oakley, around 50 miles east of San Francisco, when the power suddenly cut out at approximately 3am. “She freaked out and looked out the window to see what was going on,” her mother Nena Morgan told CBS. Lizzy quickly realised the outage was…

A potentially historic “super” El Niño is now under way in the tropical Pacific, with US scientists warning it could rank among the strongest ever recorded and push 2027 into contention as the hottest year the planet has experienced. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed in May that El Niño conditions had emerged, after sea surface temperatures in the central and tropical Pacific crossed the 0.5C-above-average threshold used to define the phenomenon, with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center placing the chance of the event reaching strong or very strong intensity by October at around 65 per cent. Forecasters have…

A Pakistani asylum seeker who raped an 18-year-old woman in a Nottinghamshire park, less than a year after arriving in the UK, has been jailed for ten years following a trial that was initially subject to reporting restrictions concealing his immigration status. Sheraz Malik, 28, previously of Bath Street in Sutton-in-Ashfield, was found guilty of two counts of rape by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court in January, following the attack on 29 June last year in Sutton Lawn park. On Thursday he was sentenced to 10 years in custody plus four years on extended licence, after Judge Simon Ash…

A 19-year-old police officer has died after being struck by a car while attending the scene of an earlier collision on the A189 near Cramlington, Northumberland — just months after joining the force. PC Jess Turnbull died in hospital on Wednesday, surrounded by her loved ones, Northumbria Police’s Chief Constable confirmed. She had only joined the force in September last year. The incident began shortly after 11.10pm on Monday 8 June, when officers responded to a two-vehicle collision on the southbound carriageway of the A189 Spine Road near Moor Farm Roundabout, involving a silver Land Rover Freelander and a white…

Healey Quits As Defence Secretary Over Funding Row John Healey has resigned as Defence Secretary in protest at the government’s long-delayed Defence Investment Plan, warning Sir Keir Starmer that the funding settlement would leave the Armed Forces less ready to fight and put personnel “at increased risk” at a moment of heightened threat from Russia. In a resignation letter posted on social media, which he said he “never expected to write,” Healey told the Prime Minister that a 3 per cent of GDP defence spending headmark by 2030 was what Britain “must set,” and that the commitment would have “strong…

Nottingham could become the first UK city centre to ban balaclavas, as council leaders draw up plans to prosecute and fine anyone caught wearing the face coverings amid growing concern over masked criminals terrorising the streets on e-bikes. Nottingham City Council is consulting on a new Public Spaces Protection Order targeting nuisance and anti-social behaviour in the city centre, including busking and begging. While a balaclava ban is not currently part of that order, council leader Neghat Khan has indicated a separate, smaller consultation could follow if public support is strong enough. Khan was direct about the reasoning behind the…

A Michelin-starred London restaurant has gone public with footage of a man it accuses of breaking into the venue during dinner service and stealing a personally engraved magnum of champagne it had been awarded for being named one of the UK’s top dining destinations. John Chantarasak, who runs AngloThai in Marylebone with his wife Desiree, said the man entered the restaurant at the height of dinner service on the evening of 5 June, rummaging through cupboards and attempting to open locked doors before locating and stealing the bottle from the restaurant’s private dining room. Footage shows a well-dressed man appearing…