Author: Darren Smith

Every animal at a beloved children’s mini zoo in Hertfordshire has been killed after a devastating fire tore through the soft play centre that housed them in the early hours of Wednesday morning, leaving staff and the local community devastated. The blaze at The Jungle Box on the Watermill Industrial Estate in Buntingford broke out at around 3am, with ten fire engines rushing to the scene as flames engulfed the building and thick black smoke billowed into the night sky. Residents nearby were urged to keep their windows and doors closed. No people were injured. Among the animals that perished…

A teenage Norwegian hitman who flew to Britain to carry out an assassination for an Iran-linked organised crime network smiled at armed police, pretended to shoot an officer and asked “You happy Kev?” when arrested at a hotel in his boxer shorts — before officers found two loaded guns and 12 rounds of ammunition in his room. Johannes Natland, then 18, had arrived in the UK from Stavanger two days before his arrest at the Briar Court Hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, on 19 March last year, the Old Bailey has heard. Body-worn camera footage shown to a jury captured…

Seven men have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man in his 20s was stabbed to death in Southall, west London, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Police were called to North Road at 12.41am following reports of a stabbing, after the London Ambulance Service alerted officers to the incident. On arrival, police and paramedics found two men with injuries. Despite efforts to save him, one of the men — who was in his 20s and had suffered a knife wound — was pronounced dead at the scene. Enquiries are ongoing to trace his next of kin.…

A Democratic congresswoman has sparked fierce backlash after suggesting Karmelo Anthony was justified in stabbing Austin Metcalf to death and appearing to dismiss the grief of Metcalf’s family by claiming Black mothers live in a fear the Metcalfs “probably never spend a day living.” Texas lawmaker Jasmine Crockett, 45, a former public defender, livestreamed an episode of her online show Clock It with Crockett in the hours after Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Tuesday for the April 2025 killing of Metcalf, 17, at a high school track meet in Frisco, Texas. Crockett referenced the defence team’s…

American inflation has surged to its highest level since early 2023, jumping to 4.2 per cent in May as the ongoing war with Iran continues to push energy costs higher and squeeze household budgets — with wage growth failing to keep pace and President Donald Trump’s latest threat against Tehran sending oil prices rising again on Wednesday. The Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show inflation rising 0.5 percentage points from April to reach 4.2 per cent year-on-year in May — outstripping wage growth, which was tracking at just 3.4 per cent in the most recent jobs report, a pace that…

Two young women who went together for moral support when one tried to break up with her boyfriend were shot dead by him at the end of a 30-minute police chase through Kentucky — and will now be buried “side by side” to honour the bond they shared in life and in death. Jedance Hale, 18, and Lila Asher, 19, had gone together on Saturday so that Hale would not have to face the confrontation alone. Asher had accompanied her friend to break up with James Priddy, 21, earlier that day — but the situation spiralled catastrophically when Priddy refused…

Shocking drone footage shown in court has captured French maritime authorities pulling alongside a dangerously overcrowded Channel crossing boat and handing out life jackets to the migrants on board — before sailing away and leaving the vessel to continue its journey to the UK, in scenes that will intensify questions about France’s commitment to the £662 million border deal signed with Britain just weeks earlier. The footage, which it hasn’t been made public available, was shown at Canterbury Crown Court during the sentencing of two men who admitted piloting small boats across the Channel. Alnour Mohamed Ali, 26, a Sudanese…

Three people have been arrested following the violent disorder that swept Belfast after a Sudanese asylum seeker allegedly stabbed Stephen Ogilvie and left him without an eye — with the Security Minister warning rioters they will be caught and face the full force of the law, as the Northern Ireland Secretary raised questions for the Irish authorities about how the suspect entered the UK. Security Minister Dan Jarvis told the House of Commons that three arrests had been made following Tuesday night’s disorder but made clear that number would grow. “Our message to those responsible for last night’s disorder is…

A United States Air Force aircraft has declared a mid-flight emergency off the coast of Wales, transmitting the international distress code before turning back toward Cardiff, flight tracking data shows. The C-130H Hercules transport aircraft activated a 7700 squawk code — the universal aviation signal indicating a general emergency on board — shortly after departing Cardiff. Flight tracking technology showed the aircraft initially heading west before altering course and turning back in the direction it had come from. The 7700 code is transmitted by pilots to alert air traffic controllers that an emergency situation is unfolding on board, prompting immediate…

Lionel Messi and the entire Argentina squad have had their passport details accidentally leaked in a major data breach before a pre-World Cup friendly, after the official team sheet was published with sensitive personal information left fully visible and subsequently reproduced by multiple media outlets. The embarrassing security failure occurred ahead of Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Iceland in Alabama on Wednesday morning, watched by 88,000 fans. When nations submit team sheets before kick-off, they sometimes include passport numbers alongside player details — but that private information is ordinarily blurred or removed before being distributed to the media. On this occasion…