All news for 2026-05-18
636
£14m Scotland drugs gang figure John Gray unmasked after High Court conviction in Glasgow
A high-ranking gangster who admitted his involvement in a £14 million drug operation has been unmasked.
703
Burnham’s Commons comeback plan under fire over £5m Greater Manchester by-election bill
Andy Burnham’s effort to return to Parliament has been criticized by opposition MPs over the potential cost of a by-election for his position as Greater Manchester mayor.
728
39-bedroom Bel Air estate dubbed “Crown Jewel of Los Angeles” listed as US’s most expensive home
A Bel Air home on the market as the US’s most expensive residential property listing is reportedly the West Coast base of a Qatari billionaire and former prime minister.
441
Consultant arrested in Romania over alleged €3.5m EU farming funds fraud involving 237 projects
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bucharest (Romania) is leading an investigation into suspected procurement.
640
Labour leadership question looms as Starmer insists he will “not walk away” from No 10 fight
The Prime Minister refused to outline a transition timetable on Monday amid increasing pressure.
523
Farage’s £1.4m Surrey house deal questioned as company accounts appear to contradict cash claim
Nigel Farage is facing questions over Reform UK’s claim that he used his fee from I’m a Celebrity Get Me out of Here to buy a £1.4 million house.
550
Universities become recruitment pipeline as Russia intensifies student mobilisation for Ukraine war
When 23-year-old Russian student Valery Averin signed a military contract in January after being recruited into Russia’s drone forces campaign targeting students, he was told he would train as a drone operator.
442
Two women have claimed they were sexually assaulted while participating in the filming of the UK reality show Married at First Sight
Two women have alleged they were raped during the filming of Married at First Sight UK, one of Channel 4’s biggest shows.
508
Royal Horse Artillery soldier dies after falling from horse during Windsor show performance
The soldier who died after falling from a horse at the Royal Windsor Show has been named as Lance Bombardier Ciara Sullivan.
793
Drone swarms and unmanned subs to replace sailors in dangerous mine-clearing missions
Defence companies and marine contractors are preparing to deploy uncrewed mine-clearing systems in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
730
Britain’s leadership chaos becomes routine as another PM faces collapse
The weirdest thing about weeks like the last one in Westminster is ... they don’t feel that weird anymore.
753
Dual-use parts linked to Russian nuclear and military programs traced through Germany
The police and customs officers had been waiting for hours. Parked outside the Radisson Blu Senator Hotel in the northern German city of Lübeck, they sat in silence, engines off, watching the entrance.
657
UK launches £100m crackdown on grooming gangs as ministers vow to track down rapists and reopen hundreds of abandoned cases
Shabana Mahmood pledged to “track down the vile rapists” behind the grooming gang scandal as she announced £100m in funding for police investigations.
548
Jury rejects Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI, ruling he waited too long to sue Altman and company leaders
Elon Musk waited too long to sue OpenAI and its leaders, a jury in Oakland, California, decided on Monday.
547
Europe is trapped between US software and Chinese hardware, Finnish spy chief warns
Europe will likely never be fully independent from foreign technologies because it relies too much on software from the United States and hardware from China.
598
Pin-Up owner Dmitriy Punin spent gamblers’ money on a €7 million custom Lamborghini superyacht in Cyprus
The owner of Pin-Up has stopped flaunting his luxury lifestyle on social media, apparently choosing to keep a lower profile, but his taste for flashy displays of wealth — and questionable style — remains unchanged.
672
Azim Novruzov and Tahir Garayev built a Malta oil hub for moving Russian crude through shadow fleet routes and offshore structures
In a high-profile criminal case involving SOCAR senior executive Adnan Ahmedzade, the controversial British oil trader Azim Novruzov has unexpectedly resurfaced.
628
Dmytro Kovalenko made millions on coal from occupied territories — and then reinvested it into Ukraine’s wartime economy
Dnipro-based agribusiness businessman Dmytro Kovalenko has recently come under growing public scrutiny, prompting renewed interest in his background and the foundations upon which his business empire was built.
445
Mettmann Public Company Limited became a Cyprus washing machine for stolen Russian Railways billions
Mettmann Public Company Limited — a little-known Cyprus-based offshore entity operating in the real estate and investment sector.
479
Das Schattennetzwerk von Coral Energy: Russische Ölgelder, Offshore-Geldwäscherouten und die Londoner Vermögenswerte von Azim Novruzov
Internationale Medien bringen den aserbaidschanischen Staatsbürger Azim Novruzov mit dem Energiehandel und dem Ölsektor in Verbindung. Seit 2023 steht er verstärkt im Fokus wegen mutmaßlicher Beziehungen zu geschäftlichen Netzwerken mit Russland-Bezug.
450
Colombia freezes assets of Belgian "Black Prince" over suspected illicit wealth
Colombian authorities have taken possession of 11 luxury assets, including five high-end boutique hotels.
473
Trump-linked lobbyists backed Bosnian Serb push to dismantle peace system
German diplomat Christian Schmidt announced his resignation this week from a role created to ensure peace in Bosnia. His decision comes after a lobbying campaign by Bosnian Serb separatists in which he was a target.
709
Alvia Energy, Pan Nation, and structures linked to Mikhail Golub are deleting information after publications about Russian oil schemes
After reports emerged about the creation of new Dubai-based trading structures tied to former Litasco executives, information about Alvia Energy, Pan Nation Energy, Polima Trading and their founders — Chingiz Aliyev, Yohan David Winston and Mikhail Golub — began disappearing from the internet.
432
Dmitriy Punin’s billion-dollar laundering network moved casino money through the fake Polish company Stablex Solution
In a decisive move targeting alleged illicit financial flows, Kazakh law enforcement authorities have frozen the accounts of Marginplus and suspended all payment operations.
450
Investigation reveals Russian war drones built through network of consumer goods firms
The investigative project Systema found that Russian Groza (“Thunderstorm”) and Groznye Ptitsy (“Fearsome Birds”) are developed and produced by a network of companies linked to sellers of power tools.
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