9 h. ago Scots gang war arrests hit 62 as five more people charged in Operation Portaledge

A further five people have been arrested and charged over recent months in connection with Operation Portaledge, bringing the total number of arrests to 62.

Events

11 h. ago Cocktails and checkmates: the young Britons giving chess a new lease of life

Laid-back clubs proving a hit in London, Birmingham and elsewhere as people look for new ways to socialiseOne of the liveliest spots on a Tuesday night in east London’s Brick Lane isn’t a restaurant or a streetwear brand pop-up, it’s a chess club – or chess club-nightclub hybrid, to be exact.Knight Club is the unlikely crossover between chess and London’s fervent nightlife scene. It was started by Yusuf Ntahilaja, 27, who began his first chess club in August 2023 at a smaller bar in Aldgate, not too far from the current location at Café 1001 on Brick Lane. Continue reading...

Politics

33 h. ago Valencia president Carlos Mazón resigns over botched handling of deadly floods

Leader of Spanish region’s People’s party had clung to power despite calls for him to stand down over 2024 disaster‘Mud on our hands; blood on his’: fury lingers one year after deadly floodsCarlos Mazón, the embattled president of the eastern Spanish region of Valencia, has bowed to public fury and political pressure by resigning over his botched handling of the deadly floods that killed 229 people in the area just over a year ago.Mazón, a member of the conservative People’s party (PP), had hung on despite calls for him to stand down after it emerged that he spent more than three hours having lunch with a journalist as the floods hit and people were drowning in their homes, garages and cars. Continue reading...

Events

36 h. ago ‘I took mushrooms before my audition’: Smiths drummer Mike Joyce on wild gigs, Marr’s jim

Breaking dancefloors, recording in the dark, crying at I Know It’s Over, winning in court, splitting over chips the musician relives his tumultuous years in ‘the best British band ever’‘It was terrifying,” says Mike Joyce, sitting in the palatial suite of the Stock Exchange hotel in Manchester. The drummer is talking about his favourite gig with the Smiths: the night in July 1986 when The Queen Is Dead tour hit Salford Maxwell Hall. “They weren’t taking ticket stubs off people coming in. So they were giving their tickets back out through the bog window.” The show ended up at double capacity. “They had to evacuate the bar downstairs because the sprung dancefloor was collapsing. Delirium! There were people crying their eyes out, strangers hugging each other – and that was before E!”Joyce, garrulously upbeat company, has just written a warm, engaging memoir, The Drums, celebrating the Smiths. It’s a “right place, right time” story of his memories as the great indie band tore down the b...

Politics

4 d. ago Glam drug dealing sisters snared as £10k package sent to neighbour 'by mistake'

Glam sisters Paris and Destiny pleaded guilty to drug charges after their 'large scale operation' was outed when £10,000 worth of drugs as one sister told the other 'you're sniffing more than you sell'

Economics

4 d. ago Six arrested after €12m armed raid on gold refining lab in France

Robbery in Lyon left five employees slightly injured after explosion in latest high-profile incident to hit country Six people armed with military-grade weapons have used explosives to break into a gold refining laboratory in Lyon, slightly injuring five employees in the latest high-profile daytime heist to hit France.The audacious raid took place on Thursday afternoon, with police quickly arresting the suspected perpetrators and recovering the loot estimated to be worth €12m (£10.5m), officials said. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Serial killer who inspired Dexter murdered own father and then cut out his heart

Pedro Rodrigues Filho, known as Pedrinho Matador, claimed to have killed more than 100 people over five decades - his story would later inspire the hit TV show Dexter

Events

6 d. ago Celebrity Traitors star Joe Marler's technique for spotting liars

Former England rugby star Joe Marler revealed how he spots people not telling the truth before filming the hit BBC show Celebrity Traitors

Politics

7 d. ago The number of people in Scottish jails has hit a record high, prison chiefs have said

The overall total of inmates hit 8,430 last Tuesday, above the previous high of 8,420, with the fluctuating figure remaining above 8,400 for the whole week.

Events

7 d. ago Prison death of drug gang killer who punted heroin for kingpin to be probed

Ronald Harrison was found dead at HMP Addiewell in West Lothian.

Events

7 d. ago Gang of men attack woman in £15k jewellery heist at Scots home

Police have launched a probe after the incident happened on Laundry Lane in Stepps, North Lanarkshire.

Events

7 d. ago Thousands of families hit by pause of lifeline refugee visa route as scale of crackdown revealed

Exclusive: More than 6,000 children will be hit by shutdown after Labour said route was being manipulated by people-smuggling gangs

Events

8 d. ago Gang which ‘ruthlessly’ exploited vulnerable women in brothels jailed

Ring-leader described as ‘smirking, winking pimp’ given extended sentence comprising 20 years in custody and four years of supervision

Events

8 d. ago Ringleader of Romanian grooming gang filmed smirking and winking to 50 Cent song 'PIMP'

Mircea Marian Cumpanasoiu, 37, Christian Urlateanu, 41, Alexandra Bugonea, 35, Remus Stan, 35, and Cataline Dobre, 45, gave victims drugs and alcohol at brothels in Dundee.

Politics

8 d. ago Romanian grooming gang led by 'smirking pimp' are jailed for grooming vulnerable Scottish women and forcing them to take part in 'sex games'

Ringleader Marian Cumpanasoiu, 38, and four associates drugged their victims - aged between 16 and 30 - at flats across Dundee between 2021 and 2022.

Events

8 d. ago Inside filthy brothel where grooming gang members plied vulnerable woman with drugs and whisky

Pictures released after the trial show a dirty bed with a stained mattress and what appears to be a glass with alcohol on the floor.

Events

8 d. ago Grooming gang who sexually exploited 10 vulnerable women caged for 68 years

Mircea Cumpanasoiu, 37, Christian Urlateanu, 41, Alexandra Bugonea, 35, Remus Stan, 35, and Cataline Dobre, 45, were convicted following a six-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

Events

1 week ago London lawyers and accountants ‘targeted in new £2bn tax raid’ as Rachel Reeves prepares Budget

Rachel Reeves is reportedly considering a new tax hit on more than 190,000 people who use limited liability partnerships

Economics

1 week ago Cheerleader, 18, is wheeled through packed hospital to donate her heart and lungs after she was shot by stranger, 27, at party

Kimber Mills, 18, of Cleveland, was one of four people who were hit with bullets close to a highway near Palmerdale on Saturday.

Politics

2 w. ago Scots cops charge three youths after firebug set blaze and gang disturbance

That brings the total of people charged to eight.

Events