Author: Darren Smith

The ex-wife of a Dubai prince and her three children have been “abducted” by Emirati police in an early morning raid on their home, her British human rights lawyer has claimed — the latest development in an explosive custody battle that he says has subjected the mother to years of systematic abuse, threats and a travel ban that left her effectively imprisoned in her own home. Zeynab Javadli, 34, had been locked in a bitter dispute with the family of Sheikh Saeed, 49, since their divorce in 2019. Her lawyer David Haigh says she was ambushed in the early hours…

Satellite images have captured thick plumes of smoke rising from a Russian warship at the Kronstadt naval base near St Petersburg after Ukrainian drones struck Putin’s home city in one of the most embarrassing and strategically significant attacks of the conflict — timed to land just hours before dignitaries gathered for Russia’s own version of the Davos economic forum. The corvette Boyky, which had been engaged in escorting Russia’s shadow fleet and was undergoing scheduled repairs at the time, was struck by at least two Ukrainian drones in the assault, with a fire subsequently breaking out aboard the vessel. Satellite…

A 21-year-old Welsh university student who was on a gap year trip around India has been left fighting for life with serious brain injuries after a scooter crash in Goa — with her family having spent more than £7,000 in three weeks on flights, hotels and private medical care after her travel insurance was invalidated because she was not wearing a helmet. Olivia North, from Aberystwyth, was travelling alone in northern Goa when she failed to return to her hostel one evening at the beginning of May. Her family raised the alarm after losing contact with her, eventually tracking her…

A man at the centre of a murder investigation into his wife’s disappearance from a boat in the Bahamas may have fled the United States into Mexico, sources have told Fox News — as GPS data from his phone contradicts the story he gave investigators and divers search a new area of water after authorities admit they may have been looking in the wrong place. Brian Hooker, 58, has maintained since April that his wife Lynette, 55, fell overboard from a dinghy in rough conditions off Elbow Cay in the Abaco Islands on 4 April, and that he paddled for…

The murder trial of Karmelo Anthony, the 19-year-old accused of fatally stabbing a teenage football star at a Texas track meet, has begun with no black jurors on the panel — after defence attorneys raised a legal objection claiming the final three black prospective jurors were removed by prosecutors because of their race. The 12-person jury and six alternates were selected from a pool of approximately 500 prospective jurors questioned over several days, with District Judge John Roach Jr ultimately siding with the prosecution when the defence challenged the removals. Prosecutors argued the three individuals were struck not because of…

A district judge has been removed from office after sending a colleague a “highly sexualised image,” making unwanted physical contact with staff and referring to himself and fellow judges in what investigators described as “highly inappropriate terms” — with the Lord Chancellor and Lady Chief Justice overruling a disciplinary panel that had recommended a lesser sanction. District Judge Andrew Simpson, who was based in Newcastle, was dismissed for gross misconduct after the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office received a complaint alleging he had “behaved inappropriately towards a number of staff.” The JCIO’s investigation found a pattern of behaviour that included contacting…

A coroner has ruled that a full jury inquest will examine whether Hampshire Police officers caused or contributed to the death of Henry Nowak — the 18-year-old student stabbed to death in Southampton after his killer used a false racism allegation to ensure Henry was handcuffed by officers as he lay dying. Hampshire’s area coroner Jason Pegg told Winchester Coroner’s Court on Thursday that because Henry was under arrest and in police custody when he died, Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights — the right to life — had been engaged, requiring a public investigation into the…

The crisis entered a dangerous new phase on the fourth consecutive day of demonstrations, as protesters broke through metal barricades and surged toward the Prime Minister’s office in Tirana — with police responding with water cannons and tear gas as crowds refused to disperse and demands escalated to calls for Edi Rama’s resignation. The scenes marked a significant escalation from the largely peaceful gatherings of previous days. According to our sources, protesters tore through the metal barricades separating them from the Prime Minister’s building as riot police deployed water cannons against the advancing crowd. The demonstrators did not retreat, gathering…

A 28-year-old Long Island man died in his father’s arms after a longtime friend allegedly stabbed him in the neck while he slept — with the woman found still hiding in the victim’s basement when police arrived, the murder weapon reportedly still in her possession. Bobby Carragher, an autobody shop worker from Massapequa, had spent several hours watching television with Kristin Sculley, 22, in his basement bedroom before falling asleep, according to NBC New York. Nassau County police say it was at that point that Sculley allegedly carried out the attack, stabbing Carragher in the neck with a pocket knife.…

Thousands of Albanians are set to take to the streets of Tirana for a second consecutive evening to protest a vast luxury resort development linked to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law — as the country’s anti-corruption prosecutors opened a formal investigation into how a protected coastal wetland was stripped of its legal status to make way for the project. The second day of protests is set to begin at 6pm at Skanderbeg Square in the capital, with demonstrators planning to march towards the Prime Minister’s office. The call to return was amplified by well-known Albanian comedian and mayoral candidate Florian…