10 h. ago ‘He changed the rules for all of us who came after’: Lee Child remembers Frederick Forsyth

Forsyth did away with the conventions of thriller-writing and still kept readers enthralled. He reset the whole genre, the author of the Jack Reacher novels writes• Frederick Forsyth, Day of the Jackal author and former MI6 agent, dies aged 86I remember two things about the first full week of January 1972. I passed my driving test on the Monday, and on the Friday I made my weekly trip to the library and borrowed The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth. I had no idea I would one day be a writer myself – at that point I was merely an insatiable reader – but in retrospect that Friday marked an important way station on the journey from one to the other.I gobbled up the book and thought it was fantastic – fast, pacy, exciting, suspenseful and laced with detail and intrigue. Then I thought, wait, what? How was this book working? It was a twin-track thriller – an assassin hunts his target while law enforcement hunts the assassin. But the intended victim was Charles de Gaulle, a real per...

Politics

11 h. ago Kickboxer, 15, had fought man, 34, week before fatal bout, inquest hears

Alex Eastwood collapsed after a kickboxing match in Wigan and died three days later.

Events

23 h. ago "Come and get me" Mob boss Mark Richardson's pal taunted Mr Big's men before latest attacks

A Transit van was blown up at a home linked to Richardson's pal Paddy Beatson on Niddrie Marischal Crescent in Edinburgh in the early hours of Monday morning.

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31 h. ago Father of kickboxer, 15, breaks down in tears at inquest as he reveals how 'beautiful son' suddenly collapsed moments after unsanctioned fight and died three days later

Stephen Eastwood, 40, from Liverpool, said he stayed with his son Alex Eastwood at his hospital bedside until he passed away three days after the fatal bout.

Sport

32 h. ago Bus driver high on drugs who fell asleep at wheel and killed girl, 9, is jailed

Ada Bicakci, 9, died in hospital on August 5 last year, two days after the collision in Bexleyheath, south-east London, which left her with 'catastrophic injuries'

Events

32 h. ago Final days of little boy with 'killer grandparents' before they 'murdered him while his mother was upstairs' is shown to jury

Ethan Ives-Griffiths was last caught on camera with his grandparents at Broughton Retail Park on August 13, 2021, just days before he collapsed and died.

Events

33 h. ago Frederick Forsyth, The Day of the Jackal author, dies aged 86

British novelist and former MI6 agent died after a brief illness

Events

33 h. ago Frederick Forsyth dies: Day of the Jackal author and former MI6 agent passes away aged 86

Day of the Jackal author Frederick Forsyth has died after a brief illness at the age of 86.

Events

33 h. ago Frederick Forsyth dead: The Day of The Jackal author dies, aged 86

We'll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story.

Events

34 h. ago Frederick Forsyth, Day of the Jackal author and former MI6 agent, dies aged 86

Writer used his experience reporting on De Gaulle’s France to plot his thriller, and continued to draw on real-world research for subsequent bestsellersFrederick Forsyth, the author who turned his adventures as a journalist and work with MI6 into bestselling thrillers, has died after a brief illness aged 86.Forsyth brought a reporter’s eye to his fiction, transforming the thriller genre with a series of novels including The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File and The Dogs of War. Combining meticulous research with firecracker plots, he published a series of novels that sold more than 75m copies around the world, and won him honours including a CBE in 1997 and the Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger award. Continue reading...

Events

38 h. ago Heckmondwike house fire: Girl, 9, among two killed in West Yorkshire blaze as 11

Medics tried to save man’s life but he died at the scene - while young girl was taken to hospital but died later that day

Events

39 h. ago Schoolboy, 14, pleaded 'I don't want to die' as he was held by passers

The tearful parents of a 14-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in broad daylight yesterday have left a picture of him outside the pub in north Manchester where he was brutally attacked.

Events

48 h. ago Pal of father killed 'when drunk Brit backpacker ploughed into him' calls for ban on e

Alicia Kemp, 24, was arrested and charged for allegedly riding the hired e-scooter on a footpath and knocking down engineer Thanh Phan (pictured) on May 31, who died of brain injuries two days later.

Events

67 h. ago Death of newborn 'Baby C' at women's prison to be investigated by bosses

Prison bosses are set to investigate the death of a newborn baby who died one day after being born at HMP Foston Hall in Derbyshire on October 16, 2023, officials have confirmed

Events

3 d. ago Tragic tot 'was already dead' when mum got call from nursery

Little Genevieve Meehan died in hospital after being rushed from Tiny Toes Children’s Day nursery.

Events

3 d. ago Second Brit tourist found dead and 'naked' in Albufeira holiday resort horror

The tourist is believed to have died in a drunken fall in the Algarve holiday resort just days after a Scottish tourist was found dead in the same location earlier this week

Events

4 d. ago Noblewoman may have ordered brazen murder of priest outside St Paul’s in 1337

Historian mapping medieval murders has evidence John Ford’s stabbing was revenge hit by impenitent ex-loverAlmost 700 years ago, in a busy London street in the shadow of St Paul’s Cathedral, a priest called John Ford was brazenly stabbed to death in a crime notable both for its public nature and its ferocity.It was early evening, just after vespers on 4 May 1337, and the street in Westcheap would have been bustling with passersby. In full view of them all, one man sliced Ford’s throat with an anelace, a foot-long dagger, while two others used long knives to stab him in the belly. Was someone trying to make a very public example of the victim? Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Boy, 6, dies after inhaling helium from balloon just eight days after his birthday

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT Following Gunner's death last month a coroner has warned the public about the “unrecognized” dangers of the large, child-sized balloons

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6 d. ago A&E 'should have been warned' by paramedics about seriously ill 21

“Caring” Bethan Amy James was admitted to hospital by ambulance and died the next day

Events

6 d. ago Man denies manslaughter of woman who died after golf course collision

Suzanne Cherry, 62, died in hospital four days after she was hit on a golf course by a van that was being followed by police.

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