Author: Darren Smith

President Trump has fired all remaining commissioners from the US Election Assistance Commission, leaving the country’s only federal agency dedicated to election administration unable to function months before the midterms, prompting accusations from Democrats that the move is designed to “rig” the vote. Donald Trump has been accused of attempting to manipulate the upcoming US midterm elections after dismissing the final three members of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), an independent federal agency responsible for supporting election administration nationwide. The move leaves the bipartisan body without a quorum, meaning it can no longer take any formal action, at a moment…

A 26-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering former Conservative minister Ann Widdecombe as detectives continue their investigation into her death. Devon and Cornwall Police say the suspect remains in custody while specialist officers gather evidence, with investigators stressing there is currently no indication the case is linked to terrorism or political motives. Officers have also urged the public not to speculate online as enquiries continue. Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman confirmed the arrest was made at an address in Newton Abbot on Friday afternoon. He said the suspect, described as a white British national, remains in police…

King Charles formally launched the UK Space and Defence Gateway at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, meeting astronauts Tim Peake and John McFall as he called for better stewardship of the space environment through his Astra Carta sustainability initiative. King Charles officially opened the UK Space and Defence Gateway at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire on Friday, a new hub designed to bring together government, industry, academia and international partners to accelerate innovation across the UK’s space and defence sectors. During the visit, the King unveiled a commemorative plaque marking the launch, viewed models of…

A High Court judge has ruled that vehicles from Renault, Nissan, Ford and most Mercedes and Peugeot-Citroën models did not contain illegal emissions-cheating devices, in a landmark judgment affecting a lawsuit brought by 1.6 million UK motorists, though claimants say the ruling still identifies unlawful software in specific Mercedes and Peugeot-Citroën vehicles. A High Court judge has largely cleared five major car manufacturers of installing illegal emissions-cheating technology, in a ruling that forms part of one of the largest group legal actions in UK history. Lady Justice Cockerill handed down her 369-page judgment following a ten-week trial examining 20 sample…

Health experts have issued a warning over counterfeit weight-loss pills following the UK launch of the Wegovy tablet, urging consumers to buy only from registered pharmacies after data revealed more than one in five people on weight-loss medication have suspected their pills were fake but taken them anyway. Experts are warning the public to be alert to counterfeit weight-loss pills as the Wegovy semaglutide tablet becomes available across the UK. The medication, approved for UK use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in June, is designed to be taken daily by adults with a body mass index…

Kai Wegner has withdrawn from Berlin’s mayoral race ahead of the September election, conceding that a controversy over playing tennis during a major power blackout has made it impossible for him to communicate his political agenda to voters, despite defending his actual handling of the crisis. Berlin’s mayor Kai Wegner has abandoned his campaign for reelection after months of mounting pressure over what German media dubbed “tennis-gate,” a scandal stemming from his decision to play tennis while large parts of the capital endured a major power blackout in January. Wegner announced on Friday that he would not stand in Berlin’s…

England’s World Cup quarter-final against Norway on Saturday night is expected to be the busiest night for British pubs since the 2018 semi-final, with licensing hours extended to 2am and an estimated 22 million viewers tuning in as the country weighs the prospect of a bank holiday should Thomas Tuchel’s side go all the way. Pubs across England and Wales will stay open until 2am on Saturday as England take on Norway in the World Cup quarter-final, with fans expected to drink around 42 million pints across the night. The match kicks off at 10pm amid an ongoing heatwave, with…

Duc Quang Ta and Sarfaraz Sardarzehi have been sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court over their roles in a people smuggling operation that hid Vietnamese migrants in the backs of HGVs to reach the UK, with an investigation revealing the group used coded slang to evade detection while moving tens of thousands of pounds in cash. Two men convicted of smuggling Vietnamese migrants into the UK concealed inside lorries have been sentenced following an investigation by the National Crime Agency. Duc Quang Ta, 36, from Reading, and Sarfaraz Sardarzehi, 58, from London, were found guilty of people smuggling and money laundering…

Britney Spears caused a stir on Los Angeles’s 101 Freeway on Thursday after standing through the sunroof of a moving SUV at around 45mph, in the latest attention-grabbing moment since she resolved her DUI case earlier this year. Britney Spears turned heads on one of Los Angeles’s busiest freeways on Thursday, photographed standing through the moonroof of a black Mercedes SUV as it travelled along the 101 Freeway near Studio City, having set off from Thousand Oaks. The 44-year-old singer stretched both arms across the roof of the moving vehicle and threw her head back in a pose reminiscent of…

A young fox suffered cuts and swelling to its neck and face after spending almost two days trapped with its head inside a discarded plastic bottle in Glasgow, prompting the Scottish SPCA to renew warnings about the dangers litter poses to wildlife. A fox cub has been treated for injuries after being rescued in Glasgow with its head stuck inside a plastic bottle for nearly two days. The Scottish SPCA was called to the scene after a member of the public spotted the young male fox trapped, but rescuers were initially unable to catch him as he kept retreating into…