Author: Lucas Bennett

The United States has moved to dismiss reports that Washington was considering a review of Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisting the proposals amounted to nothing more than “an email” that had been blown out of proportion. The diplomatic flare-up centred on a leaked internal Pentagon memo, apparently drafted by a junior adviser, which suggested the US could reassess its position on Britain’s “imperial possessions” in retaliation for Sir Keir Starmer’s refusal to grant American jets access to Diego Garcia and mainland UK bases at the outset of the Iran war. Speaking to…

Nine people have been arrested on suspicion of serious sexual offences, forced marriage and modern slavery following a major police operation targeting a religious group in Cheshire. More than 500 officers took part in dawn raids at three addresses in Crewe linked to the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, known as Arpol. The operation, which began at around 08:50 BST, also drew in support from Europol, with officers from Ireland and Sweden assisting their British counterparts. Cheshire Police said it was alerted last month to allegations dating back to 2023 concerning one woman who was a member of the…

Donald Trump has drawn King Charles into the politics of the recent Iran war for a second day running, claiming the monarch “would have probably helped” the United States with its military operation had the decision been his to make. Speaking in the Oval Office about the ongoing state visit, the US president was asked about the King’s address to Congress, in which Charles made what observers described as pointed remarks about the weight carried by American actions on the world stage. Mr Trump praised the relationship between the two men, telling reporters: “The King is fantastic. We spent a…

The United Arab Emirates has announced it is leaving Opec and the wider Opec+ alliance of major oil producing nations after almost six decades, in a move analysts say marks the beginning of the end for the cartel.The Gulf state, which joined the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in 1967, said the decision reflected its “long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile”. Its departure will leave Opec with 11 members.The UAE’s energy minister said operating outside the group, free of its production obligations, would give the country greater flexibility over its output. The exit is widely regarded…

Pavement plaques warn Londoners as 61,000 phones snatched in 2025 Police have begun painting “blue plaques” onto London pavements in a striking new attempt to alert pedestrians to the soaring threat of phone snatchers, as fresh figures reveal tens of thousands of devices are being torn from unsuspecting hands across the capital each year. The warning markings have been rolled out alongside intensified patrols and rapid-response tactics, with City of London Police disclosing that officers tracked down and arrested a suspect just 40 minutes after he allegedly struck in the street. The 34-year-old was detained in the early hours of…

Life sentence for Walsall rapist who abused Sikh victim in her home A man who carried out a prolonged and racially motivated rape on a Sikh woman in her own home has been sentenced to life imprisonment, with a High Court judge setting a minimum term of 14 years before he can be considered for release. John Ashby, 32, of no fixed address, changed his pleas on the second day of his trial at Birmingham Crown Court, admitting charges of rape, robbery, intentional strangulation and religiously aggravated assault. Sentencing him on Friday, Mr Justice Pepperall told Ashby that remarks made…

The US Department of Justice has abandoned its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a move that removes one of the most politically charged obstacles to the Senate’s confirmation of Kevin Warsh as his successor. The decision was announced on Friday by Jeanine Pirro, US Attorney for the District of Columbia, in a post on X — just three days after Mr Warsh appeared before the Senate Banking Committee for his nomination hearing. It marks a striking reversal: as recently as Wednesday, Ms Pirro had publicly insisted she was committed to pursuing the probe. What has changed, and…

Anthropic’s Mythos AI jolts Washington into rethinking cyber defence A new artificial intelligence system built by Anthropic has unsettled governments and industry alike, forcing the Trump administration to confront the near-term cyber risks posed by frontier AI models and re-energising a debate over how powerful systems should be governed. The tool, known as Mythos, is designed to locate software vulnerabilities with a speed and precision that early testers say represents a substantial leap over anything previously available. Its arrival has prompted a rapid response inside the White House, triggered a fresh scramble in foreign capitals, and tilted the political dynamic…

Organised criminal networks operating from West Africa are blackmailing British teenage boys and young men at an accelerating rate, using social media platforms, dating apps and gaming sites to extract explicit images before demanding money under threat of public exposure. The scale of the problem, charities and law enforcement bodies warn, is now such that secondary school and university students in the UK are being approached by scammers on average almost twice a week. What ‘sextortion’ looks like on a British teenager’s phone The pattern, described by investigators and victims’ families, is strikingly consistent. A stranger, typically posing as a…

The musician known as D4vd has been charged with first-degree murder in Los Angeles after a coroner’s report concluded that 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez was stabbed to death and her body subsequently dismembered. David Anthony Burke, 20, entered a courtroom in Los Angeles on Monday for his first appearance, where his defence lawyer lodged not guilty pleas on his behalf to all counts. In addition to the murder charge, he faces allegations of lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14 and of mutilating a body. What the autopsy found The autopsy report, obtained by the Daily Mail, sets…