Author: Darren Smith

Harry Maguire has escaped to Barbados with his wife Fern after being left “shocked and gutted” by his exclusion from England’s World Cup squad — with his family’s very public fury at Thomas Tuchel’s decision prompting a pointed response from the England manager, who described Maguire’s reaction as “not necessary.” The Manchester United defender had been widely expected to make Tuchel’s 26-man squad for the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada, but found out last week he had not been selected. Photographs shared on Instagram showed Maguire making the most of his extended summer break in Barbados, enjoying…

Staff at the British Embassy in Warsaw have removed a portrait and candles placed outside the building in memory of Henry Nowak — a 18-year-old British student of Polish descent whose murder has gripped both the United Kingdom and Poland — in scenes that have drawn widespread condemnation and been amplified by politicians including Nigel Farage. Video footage captured by Republika TV reporter Michał Gwardyński shows embassy staff removing the tribute, which had been placed outside the diplomatic building in Warsaw as a simple act of remembrance for Henry, who was stabbed to death in Southampton in December 2025. Gwardyński…

A driver who used his car as a weapon to target e-bike riders has been jailed for life with a minimum of 30 years after killing a 16-year-old boy who happened to be walking along the pavement in the wrong place at the wrong time. Zulkernain Ahmed was driving on the wrong side of Staniforth Road in the Darnall area of Sheffield on 4 June last year when he struck Abdullah Yaser Abdullah Taleb with such force that the teenager was thrown into the air. Abdullah, who was entirely uninvolved in the dispute that had brought Ahmed and his brother…

A man in his fifties has been rushed to hospital in a serious condition after being shot with a crossbow at the University of Surrey, with a 21-year-old former student from Saudi Arabia arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at the scene. Emergency services were called to the Manor Park Student Village in Guildford after reports of the crossbow attack, with a significant police presence remaining at the location as detectives launched an investigation into the circumstances of the assault. The victim’s family is being supported by specialist officers. Surrey Police confirmed the former student was detained at the scene…

A man who chased down and stabbed a 20-year-old Saudi student to death in a random street attack outside his Cambridge accommodation has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years and six months. Chas Corrigan, who had been drinking and taking drugs and was described as “behaving crazily” at a local pub earlier that evening, approached Mohammed Algasim as he sat on a low wall outside his student accommodation in Cambridge on 1 August last year. CCTV showed Corrigan, wearing a hi-vis jacket, speaking to Mohammed before walking away toward the train station — only to…

A Bulgarian tourist has suffered serious bite wounds after a mother bear smashed through his car window and tried to drag him out of his vehicle on a mountain road in Romania — an attack he admits was his own fault after he stopped to feed the animal. Georgi Bizhev, 46, a sports official and former football club president, was driving along a mountain road near the Vidraru Dam in the Carpathian mountains last Wednesday when he spotted a mother bear and her cub and pulled over. He threw food scraps at the animals and began filming them on his…

NATO fighter jets have intercepted six Russian military aircraft over the Baltic in a single operation this week — with France’s armed forces disclosing the interceptions are running at a higher-than-usual rate, and suggesting Moscow may be deliberately flexing its muscles during its annual showcase economic summit in St Petersburg. Two French fighters departed from Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania on Tuesday, operating alongside two Swedish aircraft, to intercept the Russian planes as part of the alliance’s Baltic Air Policing Mission. According to NATO Air Command, the six Russian aircraft comprised a Sukhoi Su-35 fighter, an Ilyushin Il-76 airlifter, a…

Henry Nowak’s family have appealed for politicians to rebuild public trust in the police and urged the nation not to let anger over their son’s murder tear communities apart — as they prepared for a private meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at Downing Street on Thursday. The 18-year-old student’s mother, father and stepmother first met Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, before heading to Downing Street to speak directly with Sir Keir. Badenoch said the family had asked for “work across political parties and religions to rebuild trust in the police” in the aftermath of the case, and that they…

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…