Five-year prison sentences for advertising illegal migration routes on social media are coming into force under new powers.
Changes under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act will be enforced from Monday. Police and border officers will no longer need to prove online adverts led to crossings, as was required previously, and can now prosecute proactively when they identify postings. Border Security Minister Alex Norris told the PA news agency his message to smugglers was clear: “We are coming for you.”
Lord Mandelson has resigned his membership of the Labour Party, saying he does not want to “cause further embarrassment” due to his links with the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The former cabinet minister, who was sacked as US ambassador last year because of past connections to Epstein, appeared in the latest batch of files released by the US Department of Justice on Friday. Documents suggest Epstein made seventy-five thousand dollars, around fifty-five thousand pounds, in three separate twenty-five thousand dollar payments to Lord Mandelson between 2003 and 2004. In his letter to Labour’s general secretary, Lord Mandelson said he regretted being linked to the controversy surrounding Epstein over the weekend and apologised for the situation.
A major incident has been declared after a fire caused significant damage at Southampton General Hospital.
Fire crews were called to the site at five thirty am. More than two hundred patients were moved to other parts of the hospital, including corridors, according to a University Hospital Southampton update. Staff identified patients able to be discharged on Sunday and families were contacted to arrange collection.
Donald Trump has said the United States will hopefully make a deal with Iran after its leader warned of regional conflict if Washington attacked.
Asked about comments from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the US president said he was unfazed and questioned why such remarks would not be made, adding American ships were positioned nearby.
A Russian drone strike on a bus in Ukraine has killed at least twelve people, emergency services have said.
Several more were wounded in the attack on the bus, which was carrying mineworkers in the southeastern city of Dnipro. Ukraine’s emergency service said a fire broke out after the strike but was later extinguished by firefighters.
Donald Trump has addressed the latest release of Epstein files for the first time overnight.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew to Florida, the US president said the documents had cleared him of allegations about his links with Jeffrey Epstein. “I didn’t see it myself but I was told by some very important people that not only does it absolve me, it’s the opposite of what people were hoping, you know, the radical left,” he said.
Yellow weather warnings for ice have been issued for the South West of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The warnings say icy patches may form on untreated surfaces, with a risk of injuries from slips and falls. One Met Office warning covering most of Wales and the South West lasts from ten pm on Sunday to nine am on Monday, while another for Northern Ireland runs from seven pm on Sunday until nine am on Monday.
Jeffrey Epstein made seventy five thousand dollars, around fifty five thousand pounds, of payments to accounts linked to Lord Mandelson, according to bank statements released by the US Department of Justice.
Between 2003 and 2004, three separate twenty five thousand dollar payments appear to reference Lord Mandelson. The sums form part of millions of documents released on Friday, the largest disclosure by the US government since a law required publication last year. Lord Mandelson said he had no record or recollection of receiving the payments and was unsure whether the documents were authentic.
A woman has been stabbed to death in a busy area of London in a concerning attack.
Police were called to Pound Lane in Willesden at around four pm on Saturday. A fifty year old woman was found with stab wounds and died at the scene. A thirty year old man, believed to have been known to the victim, has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Carlos Alcaraz has become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam after defeating Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final.
The Spanish star beat Djokovic in four sets, denying the veteran an unprecedented twenty fifth Grand Slam singles title. The world number one secured the only major that had eluded him, achieving the feat aged twenty two years and two hundred and seventy two days.
A major incident has been declared after a fire broke out at a hospital in Hampshire.
Fire crews were called to Southampton General Hospital at five thirty am. Patients were evacuated as a precaution and roads around the site were closed by emergency services. The hospital said the fire is now contained, no injuries have been reported, and the cause of the blaze remains unknown.
At least thirty Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday, according to hospitals in Gaza.
Officials say the dead included two women and six children from two different families. Hospital sources say it was one of the deadliest days in the territory since a ceasefire was agreed in October. The hospitals said bodies were brought in after strikes across different areas on Saturday.
A second woman is alleging she was sent to the UK by Jeffrey Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, her lawyer has told the BBC.
The alleged encounter took place at Royal Lodge in two thousand and ten, when the woman, who is not British, was in her twenties. Her lawyer says she later toured Buckingham Palace and had tea. The lawyer said the account was provided by his client to investigators during interviews.
Members of a cancer charity received a surprise visit from their royal landlord during a Parkrun event.
King Charles the Third attended the five kilometre run at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk as a spectator. Once a month the event is organised with the Move Against Cancer five K Your Way group. Organisers said they were speechless again.
