Crime

Filming for the new series of the popular crime drama is officially in full swing.

The series first broadcast back in 2021.

Since its debut, Irish drama KIN has been a huge hit with viewers over the years and features the likes of Aidan Gillen, Charlie Cox, Clare Dunne and Ciaran Hinds.

It also features Emmett J Scanlan, known for his roles in Peaky Blinders, Hollyoaks and Fool Me Once. The 47-year-old plays the role of Jimmy Kinsella in the hit show.

KIN follows a fictional Dublin family who are at war with a drug cartel. The second series aired back in 2023 with fans eager to see more of the tense moments and gripping scenes.

The programme, which was originally broadcast on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player in Ireland before it was acquired by the BBC, is currently filming it’s third series, which is expected to air next year.

Actor Emmett Scanlan shared an update on his social media, sharing that they are currently in production, reports Belfast Live.

In a video, he confessed that it had been ‘years in the making’, before sharing how ‘utterly grateful’ he was that the programme was back in production.

He shared that it was ‘day one’ of season three, before adding, “the feeling is good”.

It wasn’t long before people commented on the post, with many thrilled that series three was on the way.

One person said: “Yess!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally!” Someone else wrote: “I absolutely loved kin.. I’m so ready for season 3”

Another fan added: “Have to rewatch seasons 1 & 2. Bl**dy loved both and can’t wait for 3!”

Someone else wrote: “Bro, is this real. Don’t play with my emotions like this…… I have been praying for season 3. The best of Irish tv hands down. What a cliffhanger season 2 was.”

He captioned the post: “Day 1. KIN. Season 3. As you were.”

While the official cast list is yet to be revealed, it looks as though Emmett will be reprising his role as the villainous Jimmy Kinsella.

Kin seasons one and two are streaming on BBC iPlayer in the UK.

In the days since he charged a Los Angeles police officer with a crime for capturing evidence of his co-workers’ racist remarks, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman has been the subject of withering criticism from Mayor Karen Bass, former cops and even some of his own prosecutors.

The chorus of voices decrying the filing of 16 counts of felony eavesdropping against Officer Daniel Flores — who caught fellow officers on tape using slurs and making derogatory remarks about Asians, Mexicans, Black people and women in the LAPD’s Training Division in 2024 — say the charges will dissuade other officers from reporting corruption and raise questions about Hochman’s commitment to police accountability.

“The bottom line is that the alleged racist, sexist, and homophobic comments made are outrageous and unacceptable,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement to The Times on Tuesday. “While I understand that it is inappropriate and a crime to record colleagues without their consent, those charges certainly send the wrong message that calling out egregious behavior could land you in prison.”

Six L.A. County prosecutors — all speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the case candidly — also said in recent days they were shocked by Hochman’s decision to charge Flores.

One referred to the filing as “insane,” while another suggested Flores’ case should have been dismissed in the interest of justice.

On Friday, the district attorney’s office made public a 27-page motion asking for a lengthy preliminary hearing in the case. The filing alleged Flores deceptively edited the recordings to hide his own insensitive remarks. Several of the officers whom Flores taped said he often talked about wanting to win the “LAPD lottery,” meaning he intended to sue the department and retire on his winnings, according to the motion.

“[Flores] often starts the recordings in mid-conversation,” the district attorney said in an interview Friday. “Many people talk about the fact that he initiated some of these discussions, that he participated in some of these discussions. You’ll hear references to comments he made. Usually he has edited out his comments.”

The motion — which relies heavily on representations made by the officers whose comments Flores exposed — alleges Flores “manipulated conversations by initiating or participating in discussions about a particular topic before activating the recording device, then ceasing his own participation.”

Hochman said the recordings contain evidence that Flores made sexist remarks and referred to a group of people as “f—ing Crips.” It was not clear how referencing the infamous L.A. gang was, on its own, racist.

Flores’ attorney, Alan Jackson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Flores is due in court for an arraignment on Monday.

Some of Hochman’s own prosecutors said the charges look bad considering the district attorney’s suspect record in police accountability cases.

“Optics are terrible,” one prosecutor said, questioning whether Hochman was pressured to act by police unions, which made heavy contributions to his 2024 campaign.

Since taking office, Hochman has moved to dismiss a number of violent use-of-force cases against police and resolved others with lenient plea deals. He also either dismissed charges or offered no-jail plea deals to four former Torrance police officers who had been accused of crimes after they were implicated in the department’s infamous racist text scandal.

One prosecutor also said the Flores case is unwinnable and will certainly fail before a jury.

“Just because a law is broken doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to get 12 jurors in L.A. to convict,” the prosecutor said.

Flores turned over 122 recordings of his colleagues’ commentary to the LAPD Office of the Inspector General early last year, according to the motion filed Friday. An amended criminal complaint submitted in late July suggested the recordings were then used as evidence against Flores by LAPD officials who sought to punish him.

Flores has said he heard co-workers refer to Black people as “monkeys” who like grape soda and eat watermelon between basketball games, according to a retaliation lawsuit he filed last year. The suit claims Flores also heard colleagues call female officers “bitches” who couldn’t be trusted and alleged a supervisor said Mexican L.A. Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela died of septic shock because he “ate too many” tacos.

In the motion made public Friday, Hochman argued that Flores made the recordings, in part, to support his civil suit. Several of the officers quoted in the motion said Flores said he had anxiety about wearing a police uniform or going on patrol and wanted to retire to become a “stay at home Dad,” according to the motion.

The motion also provided more information about the alleged insensitive discussions than has been previously reported. One of the officers recorded by Flores admitted to describing a potential LAPD recruit as “rapeable” because they were “someone who could be taken advantage of,” according to the motion.

“The use of the phrase ‘rape’ was not in a sexual context,” the motion read.

The officers also suggested in the D.A.’s motion Flores was a habitual liar. He became embarrassed after he was caught fabricating or embellishing stories about playing college baseball, responding to protest scenes and an award he won in the police academy, according to the motion.

The motion said that an internal affairs sergeant found many of the allegations Flores made concerning officers in the recruitment unit improperly disqualifying candidates based on appearance and falsifying time sheets were not supported by evidence.

When he announced the charges last week, Hochman said that while the comments captured by Flores were deplorable, he couldn’t turn a blind eye to a blatant violation of the state’s two-party consent recording statute. With few exceptions, it is a crime in California to record a conversation without the consent of all parties involved.

Hochman said Friday that Flores is not protected by whistleblower laws because, although the recordings exposed bigoted speech, they did not prove evidence of a crime by any of the other officers. He also said the comments were not hateful in nature. At multiple points, the motion refers to the comments as “locker room” talk.

Many of the officers told investigators they made the crude comments “in a sort of joking, sort of locker room banter context. In hindsight these things are insensitive … but you’ll have for instance a Black individual making comments about Blacks,” Hochman said. “You’ll have an Asian individual making insensitive stereotypical comments about Asians.”

Hochman said the prosecution was meant to deter rogue police actions rather than silence whistleblowers. He likened what Flores did to a detective using illegal means to record a drug dealer or gang member.

Hochman said Flores should have reported his colleagues’ misconduct to internal affairs or the LAPD’s inspector general. But California Department of Justice records show there were 4,878 allegations of racial bias made against LAPD officers in the last decade, and the department upheld only three of those complaints.

Presented with those statistics at a news conference Thursday, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell did not respond directly to a question about how Flores could possibly have faith in an internal probe. McDonnell said Flores’ complaint triggered an investigation into 18 other officers, all but one of whom faced sustained disciplinary complaints.

He declined to say what sanctions the officers faced. An LAPD spokesperson declined to elaborate.

The district attorney’s office has been less aggressive in prosecuting those who made surreptitious recordings in the past.

When asked to pursue charges against those who secretly recorded several City Council members making racist remarks during a meeting at the L.A. County Federation of Labor’s headquarters, the district attorney’s office found a crime had been committed but referred the case to the L.A. city attorney’s office for misdemeanor filing in 2024. Ultimately, no charges were filed.

Last year, the D.A.’s office opted not to bring charges in a different case involving an LAPD officer in possession of a secret recording.

In that case, the ex-girlfriend of Brandon Tilford provided the department with an audio recording he had texted her in January 2024, according to a rejection memo by prosecutors. In the recording, an unidentified police officer is heard saying, “Officer walks through processing and goes, man, this is f— Planet of the Apes in here” in an apparent reference to Black inmates. Tilford texted his former girlfriend, “That’s my sgt btw lol.”

But prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to bring charges because the girlfriend couldn’t identify the officers in the recording or say who made it. Thus, prosecutors reasoned that they could not prove Tilford created the recording and did so without the others’ knowledge.

Retired LAPD Cmdr. Lillian Carranza said she understood why Flores “might feel compelled to gather evidence to substantiate serious allegations,” given how the department has handled past whistleblower cases.

“For me, the difficult question is not whether evidence should be gathered, but where the line should be drawn,” said Carranza, a 36-year department veteran who successfully sued the city several times for misogyny and sexual harassment. “Gathering evidence over days or even weeks to document ongoing misconduct is one thing. Doing so over many months raises different legal and ethical questions.”

Hochman said the sheer volume of recordings, and the fact that Flores is a sworn law enforcement officer, played a role in the decision to file felony charges.

The union that represents front-line public defenders also seized on the controversy, saying in a statement that Hochman’s decision sent a clear message to others who may want to report wrongdoing: “keep quiet, or you will be the one facing trial.”

The department has long had a policy that forbids retaliation against officers who report misconduct.

But in practice, LAPD insiders say, those who come forward with compromising information get little support. The department is facing scores of lawsuits by officers who claim they faced retaliation after speaking out in the form of poor job evaluations, harassment, demotions and even termination.

Authorities say they broke up one of the largest criminal networks running migrant smuggling in the Western Mediterranean.

Spanish authorities, working with Europol and police in France, Portugal and Poland, have dismantled what they say is one of the largest criminal networks for migrant smuggling, illegal drugs and weapons trafficking across the Western Mediterranean.

Launched by Spain’s Civil Guard and National Police in 2023, the operation culminated in an “action day” on June 16, Europol said on Friday, leading to 78 arrests and the seizure of assets, including 18 high-speed boats.

Officials described the crossings as extremely dangerous, with migrants crammed into overcrowded boats travelling at high speed through rough seas, often without lighting or life jackets.

Authorities said passengers were sometimes tied down to keep them from falling overboard, and that the organisation used extraordinary violence against migrants, its own members and police.

The operation “successfully dismantled one of the ⁠most complex, active and dangerous transnational criminal networks detected to date in the Mediterranean,” Spain’s Civil Guard said in a statement.

Of those detained, 77 were arrested in Spain and one in Algeria, including three high-value targets. Most were Algerian nationals with ties to criminal groups in France, Belgium, Portugal, Italy and Poland.

As part of the operation, 17 locations were searched in Spain, including in Alicante, Almeria, Cartagena and Murcia.

The announcement on Friday comes a week after a mass migrant surge into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta drew international attention to migration pressures in the region.

The criminal network, described as operating like a logistics company for organised crime groups, managed two-way maritime smuggling routes between Europe and Algeria, according to Europol.

The network allegedly moved synthetic drugs southward and migrants northward to Spain’s southeastern coast and the island of Ibiza.

Investigators say the network carried out at least 64 migrant-smuggling operations, bringing more than 2,000 people into Spain and generating over €24 million ($27m) in profits, charging as much as €12,000 ($13,800) per migrant and packing up to 50 people onto a single boat.

Authorities also found that the network provided a wide range of services to other criminal organisations, including vessel storage, transportation, refuelling, maritime transfers, boat maintenance and counter-surveillance.

The network reportedly moved money through informal hawala networks, making it difficult for investigators to trace illicit funds.

At least eight people, including students and teachers, were killed and 15 others injured after a student opened fire inside a school in Thailand. Police said the gunman later died by suicide.

Ruby Franke is at the heart of tonight’s BBC true crime doc The Devil in the Family.

A BBC true crime doc investigates the truth behind the case of Ruby Franke.

The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke aired this evening, Thursday, August 6, on BBC Two, with the three-part special investigating the life and crimes of Franke.

Speaking to those who knew the 44-year-old best, this third episode delves into the truth which “proves far worse than anyone imagined”.

Who is Ruby Franke?

Ruby Franke is an American former family vlogger who ran the controversial YouTube channel 8 Passengers.

She started the channel in 2015 and ran it with her then-husband Kevin, documenting their lives with their six children with 8 Passengers attracting almost three million subscribers.

While it was popular, 8 Passengers received plenty of online criticism as it promoted strict parenting rules and harsh disciplinary tactics. When the channel started to decline, and was eventually suspended, Franke teamed up with mental health counsellor Jodi Hildebrandt.

Together, they launched their joint Instagram profile and podcast Moms of Truth which similarly talked about extreme parenting but also the idea that children who didn’t follow their rules were possessed or acting under dark influences.

Franke and Hildebrandt were also business partners who ran an online life-coaching service named ConneXions.

In August 2023, Franke was arrested after her 12-year-old son escaped a home in Utah, now known to be Hildebrandt’s, and asked a neighbour for help.

Police discovered that her two youngest children were extremely malnourished with physical injuries and bondage wounds.

Franke pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse and was sentenced to four prison terms of one to 15 years each to run consecutively.

This means she will serve a total prison sentence of four to 30 years which was the maximum penalty under Utah law. Hildebrandt also received this sentence for her involvement in the abuse.

The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Suspects recruited via encrypted app and offered money for violent acts, Toronto police reveal after arrests.

Toronto police have announced two arrests in connection with the shooting at the US Consulate last month, calling the suspects “criminals for hire.”

Authorities on Thursday said they arrested a 19-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy in the second shooting at the United States Consulate in five months.

The latest shooting in July followed a March 10 attack on the diplomatic mission that also occurred before dawn. Police arrested two people in that case in June.

No one was injured in either event, but police described both as “national security” incidents, and the initial shooting on March 10 prompted beefed-up protection for US and Israeli diplomatic buildings in multiple Canadian cities, as war gripped the Middle East.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also opened a parallel investigation, treating the shooting as a national security incident.

Police on Thursday said they believe the suspects were recruited through an encrypted messaging app and were offered money to open fire on the consulate.

“There has been significant public interest and speculation about who is behind these crimes,” Police Chief Myron Demkiw said. “That remains a key focus of our investigation.”

Police identified the adult suspect as 19-year-old Xen-Ul-Abdeen Syed, who faces multiple firearm, arson and stolen-property charges, as well as a charge of attacking the premises of an internationally protected person. A 15-year-old was also charged but cannot be identified under Canadian law.

Since the first shooting, police have maintained a visible presence outside the consulate. The July 27 shooting occurred despite a marked police cruiser stationed nearby.

Police said a white Honda Accord pulled alongside the consulate at about 4:46am (08:46 GMT) and a single shot was fired, striking the front of the building. A brief police chase followed, but the chase was called off when the driver was travelling at excessive speed.

Toronto Police Chief Superintendent Joe Matthews of Detective Operations said investigators believe shootings, homicides and arsons are increasingly being commissioned through online apps, with suspects offered varying amounts of money depending on the crime.

Individuals are hired to shoot at various targets and record the shootings for payment. The targets the police have mentioned included synagogues, Jewish schools, a waste management company, and the US Consulate.

“In many circumstances we know they are not getting paid,” Matthews said.

Police also allege the two suspects were involved in setting fire to a vehicle in a community outside Toronto three days before the latest consulate shooting.

Two men, aged 18 and 19, were arrested in June as part of the investigation into the March shooting. Police said the men were recruited to carry out violent acts, but did not provide further details.

24-year-old TikToker Cesar Gastelum, was shot dead while livestreaming with friends outside a fast-food restaurant in Culiacan, Mexico. The city is at the centre of a gang turf war between two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel.

An airport employee spotted the drone carrying what authorities described as ‘an unknown explosive device’.

German authorities have launched an investigation after police removed the detonator from an explosive device attached to a drone found at Leipzig/Halle airport.

The airport’s north runway reopened on Wednesday after being closed for about two hours, while the south runway remained out of use due to scheduled maintenance.

Several flights, including a passenger aircraft, were diverted to other airports after a flying object was reported near the airport shortly before midnight. Police deployed an explosives-disposal robot to examine the object.

Authorities later said an airport employee discovered the drone near the runway carrying what they described as “an unknown explosive device”. Police examined it and removed its detonator, but did not provide further details about the nature of the device.

The probe is being led by prosecutors in the eastern state of Saxony who are responsible for politically motivated and “extremist” crimes, although authorities have not identified any suspects or attributed responsibility.

Meanwhile, an apparent second flying object collided with a freight aircraft after it aborted its landing because the runway was closed.

The aircraft diverted to Hannover airport, where officials found slight damage during an inspection. Authorities have not said whether the second object was connected to the drone found near the runway.

Authorities said there was no danger to travellers or airport employees, and flights were operating normally on Wednesday.

Photos from the scene showed police technicians working with an explosives-disposal robot near a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft parked at the airport, although authorities have not indicated the aircraft was the intended target.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to fire US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, after she said the government would not press ahead with criminal charges of vandalism of Washington’s Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool against former Olympic athlete David Hearn.

The reflecting pool project is one of several changes to the landscape of Washington, DC that Trump has pursued during his second term in office.

But following a multimillion-dollar refurbishment ahead of the 250th anniversary of US independence this year, parts of the lining of the pool were seen floating on the surface, and algae turned the water from blue to green, which Trump claimed was caused by vandalism.

Hearn, 67, was among a number of people arrested for suspected criminal damage to the “American flag blue” lining of the pool.

Pirro, however, acknowledged last week that the pool’s peeling sealant appeared to be the result of a “botched installation”, putting her at odds with the US president.

On Monday, Trump sharply criticised Pirro, who he had appointed as attorney for the District of Columbia in May last year, saying she had “choked” under pressure from a judge and “folded like an umbrella”.

Pirro met the president on Monday as he pondered firing her, but sources familiar with the matter told US broadcaster CNN late on Monday that Trump held back from firing his long-term ally.

Who is Pirro, and why has the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool become a flashpoint in her relations with Trump?

Here’s what we know:

Why was Hearn arrested for vandalism?

David Hearn, who said he only visited the reflecting pool to find out what the fuss was about, was among at least seven people arrested or cited over alleged damage to the pool.

He says he had put his hand into the water to examine a piece of lining which had started peeling away on June 19. But he was accused of pulling the lining away, causing more than $1,000 in damage. He was charged with destruction of government property, an offence that carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

His indictment was announced at a news conference held by Pirro on July 2. The prosecutor accused Hearn, an Olympic canoeist, of “forcefully and violently” ripping the newly installed liner of the reflecting pool, part of a renovation project Trump had championed.

She described his actions as “an affront to the dignity of our shared history” and warned that Hearn could face up to 10 years in prison for the destruction of government property.

Then, this week, the charges were dropped when Pirro announced the damage had most likely been caused by faulty installation of the lining.

The pool has since been drained.

Who is Pirro?

Born to Lebanese-American parents in June 1951 in Elmira, New York, Pirro is currently the US attorney for the District of Columbia. She was hand-picked by Trump in May last year for an interim period, and her position in the Senate was confirmed in August 2025.

According to the US government, Pirro has worked in the legal field for several decades, having started as an assistant district attorney for Westchester County, New York, in 1975 and later working as the first female judge in the Westchester County Court from 1990 to 1993.

She also became the first woman elected to serve as Westchester County district attorney for three consecutive terms from 1994 to 2005 and was the first female president of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York.

Pirro also played a key role in starting the first domestic violence unit in a prosecutor’s office in the US and has authored eight books.

Besides politics, Pirro has also appeared on television in the US true crime series The Jinx, which aired in 2015, as well as hosting the reality show You the Jury, which aired in 2017.

What has Trump said about Pirro?

When Trump hand-picked Pirro as the attorney for the District of Columbia, he said he was confident she would improve Washington, DC.

“Jeanine Pirro, I have no doubt will be an exceptional US attorney for the District of Columbia, one of the truly most important positions in our country of any position, where she will restore public safety in our nation’s capital, break up vicious street gangs and criminal networks, and ensure equal justice under the law. You’ll see very, very big improvements in the DC area, that I can promise you,” Trump said when he appointed her on May 8, 2025.

Pirro, a Trump ally, vowed to tackle violence in the city and said DC would “again become a shining city on the hill in an America that President Trump has promised to make great again and will make safe again”.

But now, relations with Trump have frayed after Pirro refused to support the US president’s claim that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool had been vandalised.

In a motion filed on Friday afternoon, Pirro acknowledged that the accusations levelled against Hearn did not appear to be substantiated.

“The damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism, as initially represented by [the Department of the Interior],” Pirro wrote.

Pirro emphasised she had not received the “new information” until after the criminal indictment against Hearn had been returned. She blamed, in part, the “barebones police reports” her office had received.

“It was not until after the return of the indictment, that the DOI [US Department of the Interior] provided additional documents to the [US Attorney’s Office for Washington, DC] indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor,” Pirro wrote.

She added that the pressure to finish the reflecting pool renovation project before the Independence Day holiday – marking the 250th anniversary of the US – contributed to the renovation’s failure. Trump had planned several events for the occasion.

“The rush to complete the project led to hasty and botched work that was not remediated before the project was finished and the fencing removed,” Pirro explained, citing delayed installation work, inclement weather and repeated testing failures.

Why is Trump so angry with Pirro?

Trump has aggressively pushed claims that the algae and tears to the lining in the reflecting pool are the result of vandalism.

“We caught some people vandalising our beautiful reflecting pool,” Trump said at a news conference in June. “They took a cutter, a box cutter, or something very sharp. Can you imagine? Where do these people come up with this? And they threw a little fertiliser in the water.”

Separately, he suggested those responsible should face “years in jail” for their alleged crimes.

After Pirro’s announcement, Trump said she should have continued pursuing the case.

“Pirro made a mistake. It was vandalism,” Trump said, adding he was “really disappointed” in Pirro and that “she folded like an umbrella”.

According to US media reports, he has also considered firing Pirro over the reflecting pool saga.

In a post on his Truth Social Platform on Saturday, Trump said: “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the reflecting pool. I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM.”

Trump and Pirro spoke by phone on Saturday, according to CNN. Sources familiar with the call said their conversation “wasn’t pretty”.

Following an in-person meeting with Pirro on Monday, sources told CNN that Trump had held back from firing her.

Neither the White House nor Pirro’s office has commented.

What happened to the reflecting pool?

The 618-metre (2,028-foot) Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has served as the backdrop for many iconic moments in US history, including the 1963 March on Washington, when civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

It sits between the Washington Monument, a large obelisk, and the Lincoln Memorial, two popular tourist sites mere blocks from the White House. But the pool had long struggled with leaks along its granite edge and concrete bottom.

In April, Trump abruptly announced he would address the problem by relining the reflecting pool with swimming pool coating in the colour of the “American Flag Blue”.

The Trump administration granted a $13.1m contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a company the president claimed to have worked with as a real estate developer, and which is led by one of his donors. The deal was struck without taking competitive bids, as is standard, on the basis that the renovation was necessary immediately.

By early June, Trump had announced the project was complete. But within days, a thick layer of green algae had appeared on the surface of the pool, and the blue coating appeared cracked, with sheets of paint flapping in the water.

On June 11, a National Park Service engineer observed that the reflecting pool’s new lining had begun to peel, Pirro said in her announcement.

Citing the engineer’s report, Pirro wrote that the damage to the pool appeared to have been caused by “over spraying and delamination”.

The beloved crime drama first aired on the BBC back in 2001 and ran for seven years before coming to an end.

A popular BBC programme based on a bestselling book series has been hailed ‘one of the best of all the Brit mysteries’.

Over 20 years ago, BBC viewers saw a new detective duo hit the screens as actors Nathaniel Parker and Sharon Small took on the roles of DI Thomas “Tommy” Lynley and DS Barbara Havers.

The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, which is based on the crime novels by author Elizabeth George, follows the unlikely duo as they solve complex murder cases.

With DI Lynley coming from an aristocratic background and DS Havers hailing from a working-class life, the pair frequently butt heads due to their conflicting personalities.

Originally, the show aired in 2001 and ran for seven years and features a range of odd cases.

Over the years, viewers saw public school disappearances, political conspiracies and aristocratic family murders.

Speaking about the show coming to an end, actor Nathaniel shared that the actors didn’t know the series wasn’t coming back when they filmed.

He told Entertainment Weekly in the past: “Well, it’s kind of strange because when we shot it we didn’t know it would be the end. They canceled the series after we finished shooting, so there is no tie-up to it.

“There’s been quite a sweet response, a wonderful response really, here and in Europe. I mean around the world, really. Lots of petitions and things like that sent to the BBC.

“It’s been slightly embarrassing. I was asked by a bunch of people in Amsterdam — 17,500 viewers — to accept their petition to take back to the BBC. But I think the BBC would look at me and say, “God, you must be really desperate for work!”

Although the series came to an end in 2008, with a revival airing last year, its still remained a beloved show with BBC viewers.

On IMDb, one person said: “A magnificent duo – up there with Holmes & Watson, Morse & Lewis […] Both characters are utterly convincing and indeed inspiring as people. There are many duos as detectives, but this is one of the best.”

Someone else wrote: “Better than the books by far. Having seen the television version before reading the books, I can heartily recommend the video version over the print one.”

Another shared: “One of the best of all the Brit mysteries. Everything about this show works well — the plotting, the acting, the direction, the sets — but what is truly above average is the relationship that slowly develops between the two stars, making this show both a mystery program and a character-based one. Watching these two actors grow into their roles while solving well-written cases is deeply satisfying.”

While a fourth commented: “Very Enjoyable Series. I find this series very satisfying. It is character-driven and has compelling dialogue between Lynley and Sgt Havers. Havers is the real star of the show.”

Inspector Lynley Mysteries is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

MEGAN McKenna was violently attacked in her own home by three machete wielding thugs who tore her jewellery off her hand as she begged them not to kill her.

The three men left the TV star fleeing the UK for Germany with her now husband, Union Berlin footballer Oliver Burke.

Megan, who is mum to 22-month-old Landon, reveals she confronted the robbers after they used a baseball bat to break into her locked bedroom and pleaded with them to leave.

Speaking on Jamie Laing’s Good Company podcast, Megan said: “I was robbed really badly in my own home.”

The incident happened in 2024, with the men going on trial last year.

Opening up about the robbery, Megan said to sleep alone in her home in London while Oliver was away in Germany.

Read more on Megan McKenna

FIRST WED

Megan McKenna reveals second secret wedding ceremony & snaps of unseen dress

MC GRILLED

Megan McKenna cruelly mumshamed by trolls for giving son, 1, McDonalds

Megan, 33, explained: “I must have fallen asleep within the first 15 minutes.

“I woke up to my whole house shaking. I was such a disorientated mess.

“They were inside my house, but I lock my bedroom door every night because I always worry about something happening to me when I’m on my own.

“The next thing I know, my mirror has come off my wall, and they’re hacking a hole through my wall with a baseball bat.

“They’re three masked men with machetes and baseball bats, and they managed to hack a hole in my wall because it was a fake wall going onto my dressing room, linked to my bedroom

“ And if my door wasn’t locked, actually, they probably would have woken me up and probably killed my dog.”

Megan immediately called the police who told her not to speak to the masked raiders.

But fearing for her dog, Megan said she confronted them.

She added: I went over to them. I was naked.

“I was talking to this man in a balaclava, and he grabbed my hand and he took jewelry off of me.

“Like I actually was holding hands with the robber, and they had a conversation outside the wall, and they made a phone call.

“I was shaking. I’d cut my foot. There was blood everywhere. It was like a bloody murder scene.

“And then I’m standing naked, and they just left with nothing, with nothing else.”

Megan said she believes the men had always planned to attack her.

She said: “It was obviously targeted.

“[The police] wanted me to go on trial.

“And I just said to them, like, I actually can’t physically do that. Go through it.”

Despite the men being jailed, Megan said she was horrified to learn they had been released not long after being locked up.

Megan explained: “They got caught, and then they went on trial, and then a year later, they just got let out.

“They’re just roaming the roads.”

Megan, who found fame on Towie and Celebrity Big Brother before pursuing a career as a singer, said she will now not stay in the UK alone.

She added: “It scared me so much to be in the UK and to live in the UK on my own, because obviously Ollie’s in Germany.”

Police said at least three people were killed several others were wounded in a shooting at an In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho on Saturday afternoon. Footage captured the suspected gunman firing several shots into a vehicle before he was killed.

The crime series, which dropped on Netflix today, is perfect for fans of gripping police dramas like Line of Duty and The Wire.

Netflix fans are urged to tune into ‘the best cop drama’ ever which is leaving viewers ‘glued until the end’.

The ‘excellent’ series, which comes from legendary Law & Order creator Dick Wolf, quietly arrived on Netflix today.

The police show is perfect for fans of Line of Duty and Blue Lights, while it has already been called ‘as good as’ US procedurals like The Shield and The Wire.

The popular drama is also a part of a larger franchise created by Wolf, which follows the fire fighters, police officers and medical staff working in the busy heart of Chicago, USA.

Named Chicago P.D., the 2014 show is the second installment of Wolf’s Chicago franchise after Chicago Fire (2012) and has since been followed up by Chicago Med (2015).

Chicago P.D. holds an impressive 8.1/10 score on IMDb and is set to return for a 14th season later this year.

The cast is led by the charismatic Jason Beghe, who plays fan favourite character sergeant Hank Voight.

The synopsis explains that the show “follows the lives of the personnel of the fictional 21st District, which houses both uniformed officers and the department’s elite Intelligence Unit as they fight every day to keep the city of Chicago, Illinois safe”.

Other cast members include Jon Seda as Senior Detective Antonio Dawson, Sophia Bush as Detective Erin Lindsay, Jesse Lee Soffer as Senior Detective Jay Halstead, Patrick John Flueger as Officer Adam Ruzek and Marina Squerciati as Detective Kim Burgess.

Taking to the reviews section of IMDb, fans shared their thoughts on Chicago P.D.

One person wrote: “Easily the best cop drama I’ve ever seen. I love this show because it’s so smartly written. There are none of those yelling at your TV moments when the cop goes in without backup or lets his guard down at the worst moment or tries to be a hero all by himself. In this show the characters act like a real cop should.”

Get Netflix free with Sky

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

£5.99

£0

Sky

Get the deal here

Sky is giving away a free Netflix subscription with its new Sky Stream TV bundles, including the £15 Essential TV plan.

This lets members watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like Stranger Things and The Last of Us.

Another agreed: “Of all the police shows, Chicago PD is the best show I’ve ever seen. Chicago PD captures your attention from the start and keeps you glued to the show until the end.”

A third echoed: “Excellent!! Best ever crime drama. Writing and acting are exceptional. Thank you NBC. I am totally involved…”

Another fan compared the show to other highly-rated police procedurals, commenting: “I put PD in the same category as Streets of San Francisco, Hill Street Blues, The Shield and The Wire to name a few. That is the best TV available.”

However, not everyone is a fan, with one person calling it “cheap entertainment” and another complaining: “It started off brilliant, but last few years it’s gone down hill.”

Meanwhile, some viewers took the time to praise Beghe’s performance, with one enthusing: “The best show on television to me. Jason Beghe who plays Sgt. Hank Voight is like no other. He brings the whole show together.”

Another concurred: “Best show on TV! There are many good cop shows on tv but this one never fails. It has amazing actors and always entertaining plots. Beghe is my favorite!”

Chicago P.D. is available to stream on Netflix now.

In 2011, the Philippines’ government promised to deliver one of the world’s most ambitious regreening projects.

The idea was simple: pay locals to restore forests and cultivate barren land by planting and tending millions of trees.

But 15 years on, a joint investigation by 101 East and Lighthouse Reports reveals how the National Greening Program has failed to meet most of its targets.

Satellite imagery shows that instead of being protected, some forests are being destroyed, while some Indigenous communities fear losing the land their livelihoods depend on.

101 East investigates how the Philippines is failing its forests.

CREDITS

For Al Jazeera

Natashya Gutierrez, reporter

Lee Ali, cinematographer

Badrul Hisham, picture editor

Susan Kim, digital producer

Nicole Revita, local producer

David Boyle, graphics

Liz Gooch, senior producer

Nick Olle, supervising producer

Sharon Roobol, executive producer

For Davao Today

Lucelle Bonzo, reporter/local producer

For Lighthouse Reports

Min Lawi Lun, lead data investigator

Eva Constantaras, data editor

Margot Gibbs, lead supply chain investigator

Viktoriia Maksymova, data fellow

Paul Nicholas Soriano, project manager

HM Passport Office has issued fresh advice on what to do if you find a lost passport

Brits heading abroad this summer are being warned that finding a lost passport is not simply a case of popping it in a postbox or trying to hand it back yourself. But there is one thing you have to do when you do eventually send it off.

HM Passport Office has issued fresh advice explaining what people should do if they come across someone else’s British passport – with officials warning that handling it properly could help protect the owner from identity fraud. The reminder comes at one of the busiest times of the year for overseas travel, when airports, railway stations, beaches, hotels and tourist attractions are packed with holidaymakers and the chances of passports being misplaced increase.

In a message on X, HM Passport Office said: “Found a British passport? A few simple steps can help us keep it safe.”

A passport is far more than a travel document. It is one of the UK’s most important forms of identification and, in the wrong hands, could be used by criminals attempting identity fraud or other forms of financial crime. That is why officials are urging anyone who finds a passport not to simply leave it where it is or attempt to return it themselves if they are unsure who the owner is.

Instead, HM Passport Office says it should be returned through the official process so it can be dealt with securely. People who find a British passport in the UK should complete the Government’s official Recovered British Passport form and send it together with the passport to HM Passport Office using the Freepost address provided.

Now for that one thing. The guidance advises cutting off the top right-hand corner of the passport before posting it. This prevents the document being used if it is intercepted while in transit, while still allowing officials to identify it and deal with it appropriately.

Anyone who finds a British passport outside the UK should send or take it to the nearest British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate. The official form asks where and when the passport was found, along with details from the document to help officials identify its owner.

The finder does not have to provide their own personal details if they do not wish to. According to HM Passport Office, following the official process gives the best chance of the passport being dealt with safely and helps reduce the risk of it being misused.

What to do if you find a British passport?

• Complete the Government’s official Recovered British Passport form.
• Send the passport and form to HM Passport Office using the Freepost address.
• Cut off the top right-hand corner of the passport before posting it, as instructed in the official guidance.
• If you are overseas, send or take it to the nearest British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate.
• You do not have to include your own personal details if you do not want to.

More details here.

The US Department of Justice has moved to dismiss its case against Olympian David Hearn over damage to the Reflecting Pool in Washington DC. The DOJ says new evidence points to flawed installation by the contractor, not vandalism.

The three part documentary has finally been released in the UK

True crime fans cannot stop talking about a brand new documentary that has been dubbed a “disturbing” watch.

Don’t Date Brandon has this week been released on Channel 4, with all three episodes airing last night (July 30) as it explores two chilling relationships.

Viewers are plunged into the moment that two women discover that they have dated the same man that they met online, but despite things seemingly appearing well, dark secrets are soon uncovered.

Amber Rasmussen and Athena Klingerman bravely open up on how they were manipulated by con man Brandon Johnson as the three part series exposes his elaborate web of lies and past abuse.

A Channel 4 synopsis reads: “True crime series. When Amber finds out that her husband’s a liar, she starts a podcast with his ex-wife. But as more women come forward, they discover that Brandon isn’t just a cheat; he’s dangerous.”

First airing on Paramount+ last year, Don’t Date Brandon has just been released on Channel 4, with all three episodes available to stream online for free. Despite its release in 2025, viewers are only just discovering the harrowing watch now as they say it is a must watch for everyone.

Taking to TikTok, one true crime fan said in a video: “I promise you definitely won’t want to miss this one because it is an absolutely wild ride.”

They went on to say: “As you’re watching this documentary it becomes more and more dark and more and more terrifying. What unfolds at the end of it is truly quite chilling and there are actually some very disturbing scenes in this so be aware of that.”

In another video, another viewer said: “It’s quite good.” One person commented: “Just finished Don’t Date Brandon. Started it last night – had horrible nightmares about my ex last night.”

Taking to their own video, one person admitted they were not “prepared for this documentary” as they captioned their post: “Craziest one in a while”.

Another stated they have been “waiting for the longest time” for the UK release, adding: “I cannot wait to watch this, I’ve heard great things from those of you who have already seen it.”

One person replied: “Don’t Date Brandon is amazing I watched it on YouTube crazy.”

When it was released in the USA last year, one viewer said it was one of the “most horrifying” documentaries they had watched, adding on TikTok: “Episode 3 is incredibly hard to watch.”

Don’t Date Brandon can be streamed for free on Channel 4

Shon Barnes steps down amid questions over authorities’ handling of the shooting at a popular food festival.

Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes has resigned less than a week after a deadly shooting at one of the US city’s largest summer festivals as questions have mounted over the authorities’ handling of its aftermath.

Mayor Katie Wilson announced Barnes’s resignation on Thursday and named Deputy Chief Andre Sayles, a police officer with more than two decades of law enforcement experience, as interim chief.

The move came after three people were killed and four injured, including a two-year-old boy, in a shootout on Sunday at the annual Bite of Seattle food festival.

Dozens of police officers were already providing security at the event, and court documents said at least one officer saw a 15-year-old suspect firing into the crowd and quickly persuaded him to surrender. Police are still searching for at least one other suspect.

The shooting unfolded while Barnes was attending a law enforcement conference outside the city in the northwestern state of Washington.

While Wilson praised officers’ response at the scene, saying it likely saved lives, she said the city’s communication with the public in the hours that followed fell short.

Police posted about the shooting on social media shortly after it began but then went nearly five hours without providing another public update, leaving residents uncertain about whether there was an ongoing threat. The city also failed to send alerts through its emergency notification system while Wilson herself mistakenly announced that two suspects had been taken into custody before later retracting the statement.

“What I did not fully understand in that moment was how little information had reached the public or the press since the incident began,” Wilson said in a video statement on Thursday. “Had I known that, I would have pushed for an immediate briefing rather than waiting for a press conference to be organised.”

Barnes, in a statement released by the mayor’s office, described serving as Seattle’s police chief as “an honor” and said he hoped the transition would allow the department to refocus on “addressing youth gun violence and preventing more tragedies”.

The resignation followed hours of speculation over Barnes’s future with supporters saying he had resisted calls from Wilson to step down. Earlier in the day, Barnes told The Seattle Times that whether he remained chief was “up to the mayor”.

Several Black community organisations, including the Seattle NAACP and the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, urged Wilson not to make Barnes, the city’s second Black police chief, “a scapegoat for the complex challenges of public safety”.

They credited him with improving relations between police and the community, reducing gun violence and strengthening the department’s operations. Several City Council members also backed Barnes, pointing out that Seattle has now had four police chiefs in less than three years.

Barnes was appointed in late 2024 by former Mayor Bruce Harrell after leading the Madison Police Department in the northern state of Wisconsin. When Wilson, a democratic socialist who had previously supported defunding the police, took office this year, she kept Barnes in the role, signalling she did not plan to dramatically change the city’s public safety strategy.

Barnes’s resignation was announced as Seattle prepares for another major weekend event with the annual Seafair festival set to begin on Friday.

A French teenager has been fined about $465 after pleading guilty to a public nuisance charge in Singapore for licking a straw. Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien went viral when he posted a video of himself licking the straw and placing it back in a juice vending machine.

Ghana is facing an opioid addiction crisis, with a flood of cheap, synthetic drugs destroying lives and communities. In the northern city of Tamale, a group of civilians, frustrated by what they see as the inaction of local authorities, are taking the law into their own hands. The ‘anti-drug task force’ patrols the streets, seeking out dealers and users and meting out its own brand of justice. Some government officials condemn the vigilantes, while others embrace them as a useful tool in the fight against illegal drugs. As word spreads about the success of Tamale’s task force, some question whether civilians can properly replace state services – and warn about the dangers of vigilante justice.

Karen Thomas, a detective constable investigating the murder of Joanna Yeates, has shared that she never thought Christopher Jefferies had a motive after he was wrongfully arrested, revealing the moment she knew the killer was Vincent Tabak instead.

One of the police officers investigating the murder of Joanna Yeates has said that she “never thought there was a motive” for Christopher Jefferies, who was wrongfully arrested for her death. Jefferies, who was then 65, was arrested on suspicion of murdering Yeates, 25, on December 30, 2010.

Over 15 years later, Karen Thomas, a detective constable involved in the investigation, has recalled what she thought at the time – of Jefferies, the real killer Tabak, and of how her bosses reacted when she brought her suspicions to them.

Speaking in Disney’s new docuseries, Britain’s Most Notorious Crime Investigations, Thomas shared that she didn’t think Jefferies had a reason to kill Yeates, but could see why her colleagues were insistent that he had.

“I never thought there was a motive for Christopher Jefferies to kill Jo,” she said. “Having said that, we’ve sat with many people in custody who we thought maybe were the wrong people and were the right people, so as long as there was a reason to keep him in custody, it was justified.”

Jefferies was arrested just five days after Yeates’ body was discovered in Failand, Somerset, and 13 after she was first reported missing. The primary evidence against him was a speck of blood on one of his trainers, which police later discovered did not match Yeates’ DNA.

While he was in custody, Thomas was sent to Holland to take the witness statement of Vincent Tabak, Yeates’ neighbour, who claimed Jefferies had moved his car around the time that she went missing.

Thomas explained that Tabak’s statement troubled her. He claimed he had driven to an Asda in Bedminster for crisps and beer, even though there was a Tesco “down the road”. He asked questions about DNA and said he had knocked on Yeates’ door, despite having never offered that information before.

The detective said it seemed like Tabak was trying to “stitch up” the man they had in custody. “Inside, my heart was going ten to the dozen. I was sitting there thinking this could be our guy, this could be our killer.”

After flying back to the UK, Thomas took the statement straight to her bosses. She said: “In fairness, there was a lot coming from a lot of different angles and he’s trying to keep everything going, so I said ‘Boss, if you do nothing else, please prioritise his DNA’.”

But she later implied that she did think there was an issue with the investigation: “We took longer than we should have to catch Vincent Tabak. I think there’s always a danger that an officer can become fixated on a suspect and want the evidence to fit that.”

Tabak’s DNA was a match for the samples found on Yeates’ body. Jefferies was released two days after his arrest, and Tabak was taken into custody on 20 January.

He eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter, saying he strangled Yeates whilst trying to silence her when she screamed after he tried to kiss her. He was found guilty of her murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

20/20: Britain’s Most Notorious Crime Investigations is available on Disney+ now.

ICE deported a married couple back to Guatemala who had sought safety in the US. Their bodies have been found tied up and shot, with their 14-month-old daughter left alive beside them.