All news by author Sophia Martinez

631
Kemi Badenoch’s top team oversaw departments that lost £20,000 a minute to fraudsters
New analysis reveals that since 2019, over £44 billion of taxpayer money was lost to fraud in departments under the Tories - often while they were run by members of Ms Badenoch’s Shadow Cabinet.
716
Trump imposes tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, citing unfair treatment
President Donald Trump has announced he will hit Mexico, Canada and China with tariffs starting tomorrow.
763
Billionaire plans to construct a statue of the Virgin Mary that surpasses the height of Christ the Redeemer
An iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil could soon be dwarfed by a new statue of Jesus’s mother.
713
Stuart MacMillan and Monat reach a settlement in the ’mafia family’ lawsuit
Former Monat President Stuart MacMillan and owners Luis and Rayner Urdaneta have settled the legal dispute against them.
877
Encrypted chats reveal rival factions within Serbia’s ruling party
KRIK reports that energy deals feature prominently in encrypted messages between a drug trafficker and his associates, including a pro-government businessman.
673
Body found in River Dee during search for missing sisters in Aberdeen
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti’s disappearance earlier this month sparked a major search operation. Police Scotland previously said there had been nothing to suggest "suspicious circumstances or criminality".
1060
Sweden plans new law allowing police to wiretap children amid rising gang violence
Sweden is grappling with a gang crime wave involving teenagers hired for everything from vandalism to bombings and murder.
766
European court condemns Italy for mafia’s toxic waste dumping
The vast amount of toxic waste in the area led to increased rates of cancer, the court found.
724
Air traffic over a large part of Europe halted due to glitch
Chaos has crippled Belgium’s skies, grounding all flights amid a critical air traffic control failure.
568
Couple who scattered woman’s body parts in UK park sentenced to life imprisonment
A human bone belonging to Sarah Mayhew was found by a dog in April last year, before police found arms, legs, and a head nearby - more than a month later her limbless torso was found in a river.
876
Dirty schemes, gambling, and divorce: How Vasiliy Melnik is getting rid of his wife—but not his money
Vasiliy Melnik filed a lawsuit in the Riga City Court against his wife Irina, demanding the annulment of the gift and the return of property rights to him.
725
In Washington, a priest finished his speech with a ’Zig Heil’ gesture
The clergyman concluded his address in Washington with a confident ’Roman salute.’
804
Famous Italian blogger may be imprisoned for five years
Italy’s biggest influencer Chiara Ferragni could face up to five years in jail if she is found guilty of fraud over allegedly misleading her followers with the sale of limited edition Christmas cakes and Easter eggs.
707
Retailers report that shoplifters are becoming increasingly brazen and out of control
Retail crime is "out of control" and shoplifters are carrying out increasingly brazen and violent acts of theft because they do not fear any consequences, an industry body has told the BBC.
873
Sanctioned Russian oligarch held stake in Musk’s SpaceX via trust
Citigroup administered Heritage Trust and decided it didn’t need to block the trust’s assets after Suleyman Kerimov was sanctioned in 2018, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
767
Two Tory donors contribute £25,000 each to attend Reform fundraising dinner
Bassim Haidar says Nigel Farage’s party ‘worth considering’ and Mohamed Amersi says energy at event was ‘electric’.
633
Tesco to cut hundreds of jobs following announcement of a major supermarket overhaul
Tesco is to cut hundreds of jobs in a bid to ‘simplify’ the business, following in the footsteps of Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons.
719
Mother holding baby slips £2,000 worth of drugs to prisoner during hug
A mum holding her baby slipped £2,000 worth of drugs down an inmate’s trousers while giving him a hug. Rebecca Gray was caught passing over the drugs parcel worth £2,000 at HMP Berwyn in Wrexham.
727
BBC star Michael Baggott, 65, passes away after heart attack
The announcement of his death comes after Baggott shared a series of videos from hospital in December, sparking concern among fans.
805
Microsoft investigates if DeepSeek-linked group improperly accessed OpenAI data
Microsoft (MSFT.O), and OpenAI are probing if data output from the ChatGPT maker’s technology was obtained in an unauthorized manner by a group linked to Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.
944
Why the crypto bull market may be ending for Britain
While crypto markets have dipped in recent days after the release of Deepseek shook US tech firms, UK companies are struggling to keep the momentum of digital finance going.
933
Roman Abramovich might owe the UK £1bn due to tax evasion that financed Chelsea FC
Sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich could owe the UK up to £1bn after a botched attempt to avoid tax on hedge fund investments, evidence seen by the BBC suggests.
573
King Charles renames £1.5bn HMS Agincourt submarine, overruling late Queen Elizabeth
King Charles stepped in to overturn the £1.5billion submarine’s original name, which had been given the green light by Queen Elizabeth in 2018, and rename it HMS Achilles.
597
Google renames Gulf of America on Maps in response to Trump, marking another victory for him as tech giants align
Donald Trump has notched up yet another victory as now even Google has caved into his demands.
860
Woman re-arrested after car crash at school kills two eight-year-old girls
A driver has been arrested for the second time after two girls were killed after a Land Rover crashed into a school in Wimbledon.