A police officer who slapped a 16-year-old boy with mental health difficulties “multiple times in the face” as he was being transported to a hospital in London has been found guilty of assault. The judge, Briony Clarke, found Metropolitan police constable Sevda Gonen guilty of assault for striking the boy “multiple times in the face…
WhatsApp claimed legal victory over the maker of Pegasus spyware late on Friday. The Israeli company, NSO Group Technologies, was accused in a lawsuit by Meta’s messaging app of infecting and surveilling the phones of 1,400 people over a two-week period in May 2019 via its notorious Pegasus software. The judge in the case, Phyllis…
The party is over at Party City, once the largest supplier of balloons and other fun-time supplies in the US, as the company announced Friday it was closing down all of its stores, ending nearly 40 years in business. Barry Litwin, the Party City CEO, told employees that the chain was “winding down” operations immediately…
Donald Trump is still a month away from returning to the White House and already his relationship with Republicans on Capitol Hill is fraying, signalling trouble ahead for both sides. The president-elect’s inability to intimidate members of his own party in the House to back a spending resolution just to keep the government open ahead…
Two new baby lizards have hatched at the Los Angeles zoo, the first of their species to be bred there, zoo officials said on Thursday. Perentie lizards, or Varanus giganteus, are native to Australia and are among the world’s largest lizards, dwarfed only by the Komodo dragon and a few others. “It is incredibly rewarding…
At least one person killed and several injured in Germany Christmas market attack At least one person has been killed and several others injured after a car was driven into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Germany, according to local media reports. The driver has been arrested following the incident in the…
Peter Mandelson has been formally unveiled as the UK’s ambassador to Washington, with a series of ministers hailing him as a political heavyweight who will be a reliable conduit into a potentially chaotic second Donald Trump administration. Some Labour MPs were, however, less enthusiastic, questioning why Keir Starmer would reward and trust a figure who…
A children’s charity has rejected a Christmas donation from the archbishop of Canterbury, who resigned over the Church of England’s failures in dealing with a serial child abuser. In an embarrassing snub, the Children’s Society said accepting a donation from Justin Welby would “not be consistent with the principles and values that underpin our work”….
Federal aviation authorities have extended a month-long drone ban over New Jersey to parts of New York state as mysterious overflights continue to roil the population despite official efforts to tamp down wild speculation about their origins. A new temporary ban covers parts of Brooklyn, Queens and two communities on Long Island. New York’s governor,…
Zoe Ball’s final BBC Radio 2 show was a spectacle of laughter and tears, as the presenter was flooded with messages of support, including a surprise message from her son. Saying that she hoped she “managed to bring some sunshine and light” to listeners when they most needed it, the radio presenter thanked all her…
