A nursery worker from west London has been sentenced to eight years in prison for a string of child cruelty offences involving 21 babies. Roksana Lecka, 22, from Hounslow, admitted to seven counts of cruelty to a child under 16 and was convicted of a further 14 offences after a trial. She was cleared of three additional charges. The abuse, described in court as “gratuitous” and “sadistic,” took place at two nurseries between October 2023 and June 2024. Most incidents occurred at Riverside Nursery in Twickenham, which has since closed, while one count related to Little Munchkins in Hounslow.

A petition opposing the UK Government’s controversial plan to introduce mandatory digital identity cards has surged past one million signatures, sparking a major political row over civil liberties. The Labour Government’s proposals were first reported on Thursday, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirming on Friday that ministers intend to press ahead with making digital IDs compulsory for all UK adults.

A Christian pastor is recovering in hospital after his iPhone was snatched by an e-bike gang during a live-streamed sermon in east London. Apostle Isaac Anderson, a Ghanaian-born preacher, fell heavily while chasing the thieves and has since urged his supporters to pray for him. “Thieves, burglars, and robbers are everywhere,” he warned. “This is London. You never know who is around you and what they’ll do to you.”

Nigerian chef and culinary star Hilda Baci has once again earned global recognition after Guinness World Records (GWR) confirmed her new feat: cooking the largest serving of Nigerian-style jollof rice. The milestone was set during a marathon cooking event at Eko Hotels and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos.

Burkina Faso’s transitional, unelected parliament has approved a law outlawing same-sex relationships, marking a sharp turn in the country’s legal stance on LGBTQ+ rights. The measure, passed unanimously on Monday, introduces prison terms of up to five years and monetary fines for those found guilty.

Nigerian-born Abiola Abidoye, an eighteen-year-old student from Ipswich, has captured national attention after securing the highest A-Level score in law across the United Kingdom. The gifted scholar, a pupil at One Sixth Form College, earned A* grades in all four of his chosen subjects—mathematics, further mathematics, law, and physics—cementing his reputation as an outstanding all-rounder.