All news by author Sophia Martinez

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UK court awards Varsha Gohil £6.6m after 23-year fight over hidden £28m fortune
A 23-year divorce fight between an Indian-origin couple in the UK has concluded with a court awarding Varsha Gohil £6.6 million after years of litigation over a concealed £28 million fortune.
508
New Zealand bank ASB fined $6.7m after failing to vet billions in transactions
The $6.7 million fine ASB has agreed to pay for insufficiently vetting billions of dollars of transactions for money laundering is putting the spotlight on the law in New Zealand.
520
Starmer announces under-16 social media ban as parents cheer historic crackdown
All children under the age of 16 will be banned from using social media, Sir Keir Starmer has announced.
509
Oliver Tree dies in Brazil helicopter crash days after joyful tour clips
Oliver Tree’s final days before his tragic death in a horror helicopter crash have been revealed in heartbreaking videos.
616
Farage accused of fuelling division after claiming UK is rigged against white people
Nigel Farage should take his “nasty hate, anger and division” elsewhere, a Cabinet minister has said, after the Reform UK leader published a long essay about Britain being a two-tier state against white people.
602
New defence secretary Dan Jarvis vows to secure military funding after Healey quit
The UK’s new defence secretary has said he is “absolutely determined” to provide the armed forces with the funding needed.
689
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor seen with lingering bruise before King’s birthday parade
Disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was seen just hours before the King’s official birthday parade, with his mysterious bruise still noticeable.
683
Taliban commander jailed for 42 years over kidnapping of US journalist David Rohde
Haji Najibullah appeared unbothered as he walked into Manhattan federal court earlier this week to learn whether he would face life behind bars for his role in brutal violence during his time as a Taliban commander – including the 2008 kidnapping of US journalist David Rohde.
718
SpaceX soars past $2 trillion in Nasdaq debut and makes Elon Musk world’s first trillionaire
SpaceX shares jumped 19% in their Nasdaq debut on Friday, sending the company’s value past $2 trillion to make it the sixth-biggest U.S. company by value and turning Elon Musk into the world’s first trillionaire.
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CCTV shows arsonist setting fire to Bolton Islamic teacher’s family home
CCTV footage shows the man, dressed in dark clothes, approaching the house on Eastgrove Avenue, Bolton, on Wednesday evening, before pouring liquid on a cloth and setting it alight.
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Sierra Leone first lady loses London council flat after OCCRP tenancy fraud probe
The council of London’s Southwark borough has repossessed a subsidized flat from Fatima Bio, Sierra Leone’s first lady, following a 12-month investigation launched after OCCRP and The Times last year revealed she had kept her tenancy at the property even after moving to the presidential palace in her home country.
661
"Captagon King" Hassan Daqqou released from Lebanese prison after seven-year sentence
A notorious Syrian-Lebanese trafficker widely known as the “Captagon King,” has been released from a Lebanese prison after completing a seven-year sentence for drug manufacturing and trafficking. Judicial sources confirmed the release of Hassan Daqqou to Daraj, OCCRP’s Lebanese partner.
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Belfast families flee homes as racist mobs revive old loyalist intimidation tactics
The message circulating on WhatsApp listed 26 locations in and around Belfast with an unambiguous instruction: “Forward to all men of the age 18 and over.
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Railway bridge collapses after lorry crash between Nuneaton and Rugby
Passengers are facing disruption through Friday after a bridge collapsed in a lorry crash.
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Al Carns tells Starmer to focus on defence spending after Ministry of Defence revolt
The Prime Minister must focus on defence spending, former armed forces minister Al Carns told LBC after his resignation along with that of the defence secretary plunged Sir Keir Starmer’s Government into a fresh crisis.
649
World Cup fans rage over empty seats as South Korea beat Czech Republic
World Cup fans were frustrated after the second match of the tournament was played with a significant number of empty seats in the stands.
693
Asylum seekers removed from Essex hotel after fire safety concerns
All residents at The Bell Hotel in Essex, a site that has been used to house asylum seekers and was the location for protests last year, have been removed, Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) has confirmed.
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Healey attacks Starmer’s defence plan as resignation exposes £28bn funding gap
John Healey has dramatically quit as defence secretary, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of failing to provide enough funding for the defence spending plan.
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Asylum appeal backlog reaches nearly 87,500 cases in fresh blow to Labour
The backlog of asylum appeal cases has reached a new record high, according to Ministry of Justice figures.
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Teenage police officer killed on A-road after responding to crash in Northumberland
A rookie cop who landed her dream role just last year was killed after stopping at a suspicious road crash.
635
US-Iran peace hopes fade after Apache downing and strikes on alleged water sites
Trying to settle on a Memorandum of Understanding to end the US-Iran war has first been complicated by the Hezbollah threat to Israel.
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Belfast unrest enters second night as police face petrol bombs and burning vehicles
Twelve police officers have been injured and 16 people have been arrested in Northern Ireland following a second night of disorder in the wake of the Belfast knife attack.
548
Historic Welsh canal-side boat house with industrial past goes on sale for £1.25m
A historic canal-side building with links to Wales’ industrial past has gone on the market for £1.25 million.
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Belfast firefighters caught fighting each other as riots rage around them
Two firefighters putting out fires started during the Belfast riots were caught fighting one another yesterday.
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UK government pressured to ban London event accused of marketing illegal settlement land
The UK government is under mounting pressure to ban an event that has advertised the sale of illegally occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank.