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Anthony Joshua: Case against driver in fatal crash adjourned until March

The driver of the car involved in a fatal crash in which British heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua was injured has appeared in court in Nigeria.

Joshua’s personal trainer, Latif Ayodele, and strength coach, Sina Ghami, died on 29 December after their vehicle collided with a stationary lorry near Lagos, Nigeria.

The former world heavyweight champion, 36, was treated in hospital for his injuries.

Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, who was driving Joshua when their car crashed, has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, reckless and negligent driving, driving without due care, and driving without a valid driver’s licence.

The 46-year-old appeared at Sagamu Magistrates Court in Ogun state near Lagos on Wednesday, when the case was adjourned until 13 March.

Prosecutors told the court they needed further time to prepare evidence.

Joshua was discharged from hospital two days after the Lexus SUV crashed on the busy Lagos-Ibadan expressway, in south-west Nigeria. Ghami and Ayodele were both pronounced dead at the scene.

Kayode, who was making his second appearance at court, is yet to enter a plea.

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Arvid Lindblad: Britain’s youngest ever F1 driver on his Indian and Swedish heritage and reaching F1 aged 18

We’re talking at the plush hotel Racing Bulls have picked as their base for the two pre-season tests in Bahrain, which followed a ‘shakedown’ in Spain. It’s not long past 8am, and his next appointment is an engineering meeting, before going out on track later in the day.

Asked if he feels ready for the big time in F1, he says: “Yeah, I think so. Obviously, it’s a big step from F2, especially this year. There’s regulation changes and everything is very different.

“But I’ve been working really hard with the team on the sim (simulator) at the factory, obviously also trying to utilise these three tests that we have.

“That’s a big benefit for me this year. Normally, there’s only one, whereas this year there’s three. So that really helps me to get up to speed. I’m really trying to utilise these tests, and I’m looking forward to getting on track in Melbourne.”

Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane, who has worked with a multitude of top drivers, including Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, has been full of praise so far.

“He’s done a fantastic job,” Permane says. “People often ask me, ‘What do you look for? What do you need in a young driver?’ And of course, the first thing you need is for them to be quick. We’re very comfortable with that, we know he’s got the speed.

“But also on top of that, he’s bringing lots of inquisitiveness, he’s asking many questions, his debriefs are great, he’s doing everything we ask of him at the moment.”

F1 is a brutal business, with little sentiment. Drivers either achieve or they’re out. And nowhere is more ruthless than Red Bull.

You might expect Lindblad to be feeling a little pressure mixed in with the obvious excitement. But he says not.

“I wouldn’t really say pressure,” he says. “If I’m being honest, this is what I’ve worked towards my whole life.

“So I’m excited to be here, and all I’m really thinking about at the moment is trying to work with the team, trying to understand the cars to get the best performance I can, trying to extract the most out of the package from the beginning.”

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The Voice Kids star, 19, killed in horror hit-and-run while crossing road as cops hunt driver who fled the scene

An image collage containing 1 images, Image 1 shows Young Nicole Valeria Vargas poses in a light blue shirt and red polka dot skirt, making a peace sign

A TEEN singer who starred on The Voice Kids has been killed after she was struck by a hit-and-run driver who fled the scene.

Nicole Valeria Vargas Gomez, 19, died in the horror crash in Quindio, Colombia.

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Young Nicole Valeria Vargas starred on Colombia’s version of of The Voice Kids in 2019.Credit: Newsflash

She appeared on Colombia’s edition of The Voice Kids in 2019.

William Andres Paipa, 40, also died in the collision.

Cops said the pair were crossing the road when an unidentified vehicle smashed into them out of nowhere.

The impact threw them through the air onto the opposite side of the road.

Local police confirmed that the driver did not stop the help William and Nicole, but fled the scene.

They are now hunting down the vehicle which caused the deadly crash.

Nicole was studying Business Administration student at the University of Quindío.

The university said in a statment: “Nicole was a young woman committed to her academic training and to the cultural life of our alma mater.

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“From the classrooms and also from the stages, she left her mark through her discipline, sensitivity and deep love for art.

“As a member of Coranto, she always carried the name of the University of Quindio with honour to every meeting and performance.”

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New law puts Kansas at vanguard of denying trans identities on official documents

Kansas is set to invalidate about 1,700 driver’s licenses held by transgender residents and roughly as many birth certificates under a new law that goes beyond Republican-imposed restrictions in other states on listing gender identities in government documents.

The new law takes effect Thursday. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the measure, but the Legislature’s GOP supermajorities overrode it last week as Republican state lawmakers across the U.S. have pursued another round of measures to roll back transgender rights.

The bill prohibits documents from listing any sex other than the one assigned birth and invalidates any that reflect a conflicting gender identity. Florida, Tennessee and Texas also don’t allow driver’s licenses to reflect a trans person’s gender identity, and at least eight states besides Kansas have policies that bar trans residents from changing their birth certificates.

But only Kansas’ law requires reversing changes previously made for trans residents. Kansas officials expect to cancel about 1,700 driver’s licenses and issue new birth certificates for up to 1,800 people.

“It tells me that Kansas Republicans are interested in being on the vanguard of the culture war and in a race to the bottom,” said Democratic state Rep. Abi Boatman, a transgender Air Force veteran appointed in January to fill a vacant Wichita seat.

Kansas’ new law enjoyed nearly unanimous GOP support. It is the latest development in what has become an annual effort to further roll back transgender rights by Republicans in statehouses across the U.S., bolstered by policies and rhetoric from President Trump’s administration.

Trump and other Republicans attack research-backed conclusions that gender can change or be fluid, which they frame as radical “gender ideology.” GOP lawmakers in Kansas regularly describe transgender girls and women as male, and say that in doing so they are protecting women.

Like other Republicans, Kansas Senate Majority Leader Chase Blasi said Trump’s reelection and other GOP victories in 2024 show that voters want “to return to common sense” on gender.

“When I go home, people believe there are just two sexes, male and female,” Blasi said. “It’s basic biology I learned in high school.”

Kelly supports transgender rights, but GOP lawmakers have overridden her vetoes three of the last four years. Kansas bans gender-affirming care for minors and bars transgender women and girls from female sports teams, kindergarten through college.

Transgender people can’t use public restrooms, locker rooms or other single-sex facilities associated with their gender identities, though there was no enforcement mechanism until this year’s law added tough new provisions.

Transgender people have said carrying IDs that misgender them opens them to intrusive questions, harassment and even violence when they show it to police, merchants and others.

In 2023, Republicans halted changes in Kansas birth certificates and driver’s licenses by enacting a measure ending the state’s legal recognition of trans residents’ gender identities. Though the law didn’t mention either document, it legally defined male and female by a person’s “biological reproductive system” at birth.

However, a lawsuit led to state court decisions that permitted driver’s license changes to resume last year.

Legislators in at least seven other states are considering bills to prevent transgender people from changing one or both documents, according to a search using the bill-tracking software Plural.

But none would reverse past changes.

The extra step by Kansas legislators reinforces a message “that trans people aren’t welcome,” said Anthony Alvarez, a transgender University of Kansas student who works for an LGBTQ+ rights group.

Kansas is likely to notify transgender residents by mail that their driver’s licenses are no longer valid and they need to go to a local licensing office to get a new one, said Zachary Denney, spokesperson for the agency that issues them.

The Legislature hasn’t earmarked funds to cover the cost, so each person will be charged for it — $26 for a standard license.

Alvarez already has had four IDs in four years as he’s changed his name, changed his gender marker and turned 21.

He’s always planned to stay in his native Kansas after receiving his history degree this spring.

But, he said, “they’re just making it harder and harder for me to live in the state that I love.”

Hanna writes for the Associated Press.

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Video evidence again contradicts official accounts of shootings

Federal authorities announced an investigation Friday of two immigration officers who appeared to have made untruthful statements under oath about a shooting in Minneapolis last month.

It is among at least five shootings in which initial descriptions by the immigration officials were later contradicted by video evidence. Those included the fatal Minneapolis shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in which bystander video quickly raised questions about how federal officials initially described the incidents.

The inquiry announced Friday came hours after a federal judge dismissed felony assault charges against two Venezuelan men who were accused of beating an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel on Jan. 14. The officer, who is not named in court filings, fired a single shot from a handgun that struck one of the men, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, in the thigh.

In an unusual reversal, prosecutors asked to dismiss the cases because they said new video evidence contradicted allegations made against the men in a criminal complaint and at a hearing last month.

Here is a look at how the five shootings were initially described and what was later learned:

Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis

Date and location: Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis.

What federal officials said initially: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the immigration officer was “ambushed” by Sosa-Celis and others, and fired a “defensive shot” out of fear for his life. “What we saw last night in Minneapolis was an attempted murder of federal law enforcement,” she said.

What came out later: Investigators have not released the new evidence that led charges to be dropped, but cracks were already apparent in a Jan. 21 court hearing. The immigration officer’s testimony recounting the moments before the shooting differed significantly from that of the defendants and three eyewitnesses. Available video evidence did not support the officer’s account of being assaulted with a broom and shovel.

Renee Good

Date and location: Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis.

What federal officials said initially: Noem described the incident as an “act of domestic terrorism” carried out against ICE officers by a woman who “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle.” She said the immigration agent shot “defensively” to protect himself and the people around him. Good died of gunshot wounds to the head.

What came out later: Videos filmed from multiple angles challenged the administration’s narrative. Shortly before the shooting, Good is seen at the wheel of her SUV that is parked diagonally on a street. She tells an immigration officer, “I’m not mad at you.”

Seconds later, another immigration officer grabs at the driver’s side door while Good’s wife urges her to “drive, baby, drive.” It’s unclear in the videos whether the SUV makes contact with ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who shoots while standing near the front of the driver’s side of the SUV and then twice more while quickly moving to the driver’s side as the vehicle pulls forward.

Alex Pretti

Date and location: Jan. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis.

What federal officials said initially: Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Pretti approached Border Patrol officers with a handgun and he “violently resisted” when they tried to disarm him. An agent feared for his life and fired “defensive” shots, she said. Pretti was pronounced dead at the scene. Border Patrol senior official Greg Bovino claimed Pretti intended to “massacre law enforcement,” and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller described him as “a would-be assassin.”

What came out later: None of the half-dozen bystander videos collected by investigators showed Pretti brandishing his gun, which he had a permit to carry. The videos showed Pretti was holding his mobile phone as a masked Border Patrol officer opened fire.

In a tense hearing Thursday in Washington, Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky made leaders tasked with carrying out Trump’s mass deportation agenda watch a video of the shooting while he repeatedly scrutinized the forceful tactics used by immigration agents. Paul argued that Pretti posed no threat to the agents and said it was clear from the video that he was “retreating at every moment.”

Silverio Villegas González

Date and location: Sept. 12, 2025, in suburban Chicago.

What federal officials said initially: Homeland Security officials said federal agents were pursuing a man with a history of reckless driving who entered the country illegally. They alleged that Villegas González drove at officers and dragged one with his car. The Department of Homeland Security said the officer fired because he feared for his life and was hospitalized with “serious injuries.”

What came out later: Body-camera videos from local police contradicted the Trump administration’s account. Footage showed the agent who shot Villegas González walking around afterward and dismissing his own injuries as “nothing major.”

An autopsy made public in November declared Villegas González’s death a homicide. The report showed he was shot at “close range,” with wounds to his neck and fingers.

Marimar Martinez

Date and location: Oct. 14, 2025, in Chicago.

What federal officials said initially: A Homeland Security Department news release asserted that Martinez and the driver of another car involved in a crash with a Border Patrol officer were “domestic terrorists.” An FBI agent said in court documents that she was chasing the Border Patrol vehicle and drove at one of the officers after they got out of the vehicle. The officer was forced to open fire, the FBI agent alleged, striking Martinez seven times. She was treated at a hospital and arrested on felony assault charges.

What came out later: Videos emerged that her attorneys said showed agent Charles Exum steering his SUV into her truck.

In a text message presented during a Nov. 5 hearing, Exum appeared to brag about his marksmanship. “I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys,” the text read.

The case against her was dismissed.

Schoenbaum writes for the Associated Press.

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South Korea’s bitsensing launches aftermarket driver assistance kits

South Korea’s radar solutions provider bitsensing has launched an aftermarket advanced driver assistance system kit. Photo courtesy of bitsensing

SEOUL, Feb. 5 (UPI) — South Korean radar solution company bitsensing said Thursday it launched an aftermarket advanced driver assistance system kit that can be installed in existing commercial vehicles.

The company said that the kit, which is composed of radar sensors and cameras, would enhance safety and driving awareness by providing real-time alerts for collision risk and blind-spot hazards.

bitsensing is targeting commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks, which the firm claims are more prone to road accidents due to longer braking distances and larger blind spots compared to passenger cars.

Commercial vehicles account for 14% of all fatal road crashes in the European Union and 9% in the United States, according to data from transportation authorities in those regions.

The Korean company said that it has been conducting pilot tests of the new product since November in partnership with Koreawide Express Group, the country’s bus operator.

Under the collaboration, bitsensing’s driver assistance kits were installed across Koreawide’s fleet of intercity and city buses in real-world road environments, with plans to expand deployment to more than 500 buses.

“Commercial vehicles operate in some of the most demanding road environments, yet many fleets still lack access to modern driver warning systems,” bitsensing CEO Lee Jae-eun said in a statement.

“The ADAS kit was developed to close that gap, delivering a complete, system-level ADAS solution that can be deployed on existing vehicles without redesigning the vehicle platform,” he added.

Observers point out that aftermarket safety systems continue to gain traction as fleet operators seek cost-effective ways to upgrade older vehicles.

“Newer commercial vehicles tend to be equipped with advanced safety features, but many conventional vehicles lack such systems, making them more vulnerable to accidents,” Daelim College automotive professor Kim Pil-soo told UPI.

“To deal with such problems, aftermarket solutions are necessary to help commercial vehicles navigate increasingly complex urban driving environments more safely,” he said.

Kim said he expects an increasing number of ADAS kits to compete in the market, including LiDAR sensor-free solutions, such as bitsensing’s products that can be competitively priced.

Short for Light Detection and Ranging, LiDAR is a costly sensing technology that enables vehicles to perceive their surroundings in three dimensions with very high precision.

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