News 11/03/26

A woman has been jailed for four and a half years after falsely accusing ten men of raping her.

Stacey Sharples, thirty one, from Farnworth in Bolton, pleaded guilty at Bolton Crown Court to ten counts of perverting the course of justice. The false allegations were made between twenty thirteen and twenty nineteen. Greater Manchester Police said most of the men were arrested and spent time in custody, with some undergoing intimate examinations. Several lost jobs or partners, were disowned by family or friends, or suffered declines in mental health after being falsely branded rapists.

A van has been driven into a barricade near the White House in Washington DC.

Police say the driver has been arrested and no injuries were reported. Officers were called at about six thirty seven in the morning local time after the vehicle went through a barrier at Connecticut Avenue and H Street Northwest. The Secret Service said the man crashed into a temporary security barrier shortly before six thirty, which was half past ten in the morning in the UK.

Sir Keir Starmer was warned that Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein posed a reputational risk before he was confirmed as US ambassador.

Government documents show advice sent to the prime minister saying the relationship continued after Epstein’s conviction in two thousand and eight. Chief secretary Darren Jones said the due diligence process fell short and weaknesses had already been addressed. Files also suggest Mandelson discussed a severance payment of more than five hundred thousand pounds after he was sacked, although it is understood he disputes that claim.

Documents released ahead of Peter Mandelson’s appointment show what Prime Minister Keir Starmer was told, highlighting concerns described as particularly embarrassing.

The due diligence report runs to just under one hundred and fifty pages and offers insight into what Starmer knew in advance. Early pages detail risks raised by various figures, with the relationship with Jeffrey Epstein not mentioned until the second page, giving a clear picture of the warnings received before the appointment.

A man charged with murdering Soham child killer Ian Huntley has appeared in court.

Anthony Russell, aged forty three, faces a charge of murdering fifty two year old Huntley at HMP Frankland near Durham. He appeared before Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday via videolink. Wearing a grey sweatshirt, Russell spoke only to confirm his name and that he understood the proceedings.

WhatsApp, the messaging service owned by Meta, will allow under thirteens on its platform if parental consent is given.

Parents will sign children up and link accounts with parental controls, which must remain until the child’s thirteenth birthday. Parents may delay unlinking for up to twelve months. These accounts will be limited to messaging and calls only, without access to Meta AI, statuses or channels. The update is set to roll out over the coming months.

One of three ships hit by unknown projectiles in the Iran controlled Strait of Hormuz this morning has been confirmed as a Thai flagged bulk freighter.

The Thai navy says three crew members are missing and twenty others have been rescued. An explosion in the stern caused a fire in the engine compartment where the missing crew had been working. The rest of the crew abandoned the vessel in a lifeboat and were rescued by the Omani navy.

A boy has been arrested after a teenage girl was stabbed at a school near Norwich.

Police were called to Thorpe St Andrew School on Laundry Lane at ten twenty four on Wednesday morning after reports that a girl had been attacked. Norfolk Police say a sixteen year old boy has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. He has been taken to Wymondham police investigation centre for questioning.

Petrol and diesel prices jumped again yesterday despite oil costs dipping from spikes earlier in the week.

Petrol has risen by six point one two pence since the start of the war to an average of one hundred and thirty eight point nine five pence per litre, more than one penny higher than the previous day. Diesel now averages one hundred and fifty five point one two pence per litre, up twelve point seven four pence since the twenty eighth of February, blamed on shutdowns and supply blockages in the Middle East.

A teacher who sent five hundred pounds to a former pupil and spent about one thousand pounds on fast food for vulnerable students has been barred from teaching.

Roger Towersey, a geography teacher at Ditton Park Academy in Slough, admitted sending payments and messages to a former pupil. A Teaching Regulation Agency panel heard the behaviour amounted to unacceptable professional conduct and risked bringing the profession into disrepute between October twenty twenty three and April twenty twenty four.

A UK ticket holder has won Tuesday’s £181 million EuroMillions jackpot, the National Lottery operator has confirmed.

One player matched all five numbers, twelve, fourteen, twenty seven, forty four and fifty, along with the two Lucky Star numbers, four and twelve, to take the prize. The win, worth more than one hundred and eighty one million pounds, is the third largest in UK National Lottery history. Senior winners’ adviser Andy Carter described it as life changing and urged anyone who bought a ticket to check it carefully.

Travel disruption is possible over the next few days as strengthening winds move across the United Kingdom.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for Wednesday covering northern and western Scotland, where gusts of up to eighty miles per hour are expected. Conditions will become more widely windy for many areas on Thursday. Temperatures are then forecast to fall into Friday, bringing a return to colder conditions with the risk of snow on higher ground in some places.

US B1 bombers were seen taking off from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on Tuesday, as tensions in the Middle East continue.

The flights followed a warning from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that Iran could face what he described as the most intense day of strikes, involving the most fighters, bombers and attacks. In talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper stressed the need for close coordination on security. Britain has not taken part in strikes but has allowed US use of bases for defensive purposes.

The first government documents about Peter Mandelson are expected to be released on Wednesday.

Chief secretary to the prime minister Darren Jones will make a statement after Prime Minister’s Questions, before hundreds of papers are published online. The Conservatives demanded the release of all material connected to Mandelson’s appointment as the UK ambassador to Washington in December twenty twenty four. He later resigned from the role in September twenty twenty five after months of political pressure.

A woman has been charged with the attempted murder of Rihanna after shots were fired at the singer’s home in Los Angeles.

Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, aged thirty five, from Orlando, Florida, appeared in court after the incident on Sunday afternoon. Rihanna was at home with her partner A$AP Rocky, their three young children and her mother at the time, but nobody was injured. Ortiz also faces ten counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and three counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling.

The government has approved a request from the Metropolitan Police to ban a march planned in London on Sunday.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the decision was taken to prevent serious public disorder linked to the annual Al Quds Day event, often described as pro Iranian, although organisers say it supports Palestine. She said a stationary protest could still take place under strict conditions. The Met said the decision followed careful consideration.

An inquiry into grooming gangs must examine London specifically, according to a group of MPs.

Eight Conservative MPs and three London Assembly members have written to the Home Secretary and the Mayor of London calling for urgent action. The letter follows a recent investigation which found girls as young as fourteen were being targeted by gangs in the capital.
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