Newly released images lay bare the devastating impact of the horrific avalanche that barreled down a Lake Tahoe-area mountainside and buried eight mothers alive, in one of the deadliest backcountry disasters in California history.

The haunting photographs, released by the Sierra Avalanche Center, show the scarred slope at Castle Peak where a powerful ‘storm slab’ fractured without warning and roared 400 vertical feet down the mountain. 

The images, together with detailed incident maps and timelines, underscore the sheer force of the snowslide that killed nine skiers and sent shockwaves through the tight-knit Sierra community.

According to the center’s report, a group of 15 backcountry skiers was below Perry’s Peak at around 11:30am on February 17 when the avalanche broke loose on a north to northwest-facing slope at 8,260 feet. 

Classified as ‘large’ on the danger scale, the slide completely buried 12 members of the party.

Three skiers who escaped the clutches of the avalanche and were not buried immediately began digging in a desperate race against time.

They managed to pull out three people before professional rescuers could reach the remote terrain. But the scale of the disaster quickly became apparent.

Search and rescue teams arrived later on Tuesday afternoon, battling high-intensity storm conditions as daylight faded. 

Perrys Peak at 8320ft. The site of the avalanche that occurred on Tuesday February 17, 2026

Helicopters operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company were deployed with 5,500-pound, 660-gallon water buckets.

This is the slope where the Perry’s Peak Avalanche occurred on Tuesday, February 17. The photo was taken three days after the avalanche on February 20. By that time, the storm had covered up any signs of the avalanche or its debris. The photo was taken prior to mitigation efforts on the slope

Crews worked into the night, excavating eight of the nine deceased victims while evacuating six survivors under their own power to Frog Lake Huts.

From there, the survivors were transported for medical care, according to the avalanche center’s report.

After the storm subsided, avalanche mitigation operations began on February 20.

Helicopters operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company were deployed with 5,500-pound, 660-gallon water buckets. 

The buckets were dragged across the slope and used for full-load water drops in multiple areas in an effort to stabilize the fragile snowpack and prevent further slides.

Only after those mitigation efforts could rescuers safely continue.

Five additional bodies were recovered, and another buried victim was located before nightfall. 

Rescue operations concluded on Saturday February 21 with the retrieval of the final four victims.

The buckets were dragged across the slope and used for full-load water drops in multiple areas in an effort to stabilize the fragile snowpack and prevent further slides

Fifteen skiers led by Blackbird Mountain Guides were on Castle Peak late Tuesday morning when they were hit by a slide and a huge storm dumping heavy snow

The Avalanche happed at Castle Peak

A man reacts as he signs on heart-shaped memorials for each of the victims of the deadly avalanche in the Sierra Nevada mountains before a candlelight vigil for them, in Truckee, California

Mourners attend a candlelight vigil for victims of a deadly avalanche on Sunday night

The guiding company leading the tour, Blackbird Mountain Guides, confirmed what it called the ‘devastating loss’ of three of its guides: Andrew Alissandratos, Niki Choo and Mike Henry.

Six mothers, part of a close-knit group of friends, were also among the dead: Carrie Atkin, Kate Morse, Danielle Keatley, Kate Vitt, and sisters Caroline Sekar and Liz Claubaugh. 

All six were experienced backcountry skiers and knew how to navigate the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada mountains, their families said in a joint statement honoring the women.

The words remembered them as devoted parents and friends whose bond extended from their families to the mountains they loved.

The six ‘extraordinary women’ lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, Idaho and near Lake Tahoe. The mothers had ‘connected through the love of the outdoors,’ the statement said.

A closed sign is partially buried at the entrance to the Castle Peak trailhead in Soda Springs

A vehicle with rescuers stands next to a closed sign along a trail that leads to the site of the deadly avalanche in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Soda Springs, California

Atkin, 46, ran a leadership coaching business and had a storied career in the Bay Area before she and her husband moved their family to the Sierra Nevada mountains to live out their ‘dream life.’

Morse, 45, was a mother to two daughters and one son, and most recently served as vice president of commercial strategy at Septerna, a Bay Area-based biotechnology company.

Keatley, 44, also lived in the Bay Area and ran a natural winemaking business alongside her husband Dave, whom she first met at a vineyard in Napa. 

Vitt, 43, a SiriusXM executive and mother-of-two was the first avalanche victim to be named. A neighbor said she was ‘lovely’ and had ‘verve and zest for life.’ 

Sekar, 45, and Clabaugh, 52, were sisters. Sekar was a mother of two who lived in San Francisco and Clabaugh worked for St. Luke’s Health System in Boise, Idaho.

The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office publicly identified all nine victims as mourners gathered for a vigil in downtown Truckee, where candles flickered in the winter air and grieving loved ones embraced.

Of the six survivors, only one has been publicly identified: Jim Hamilton. He was rescued nearly six hours after the avalanche struck.

His wife, Beth Hamilton, described the agony of waiting in a Facebook post: ‘I thought I had lost you forever,’ she wrote. ‘The not knowing whether you survived was a pain I cannot put into words.’

The 15 skiers began their three-day trip just as warnings about the storm were intensifying. They had spent the weekend staying along Frog Lake in high country huts accessible only by challenging trails.

The Sierra Avalanche Center had issued an avalanche watch on the morning of the first day of the trip, indicating a high risk of large avalanches. The tour company’s website says the trek was intended for intermediate to expert skiers.

The four guides were employed by Blackbird Mountain Guides, which offers mountaineering and backcountry ski trips as well as safety courses.

Carrie Atkin, 46, ran a leadership coaching business and had a storied career in the Bay Area before she and her husband moved their family to the Sierra Nevada mountains to live out their ‘dream life’

Biotech executive Kate Morse, 45, was one of the six mothers killed in the California avalanche on Tuesday. She is survived by her husband Eric, their two daughters and son (seen together)

Danielle Keatley, 44, also lived in the Bay Area and ran a winemaking business alongside her husband Dave, whom she first met a vineyard in Napa

Kate Vitt was the Vice President of Product Operations and Customer Success at SiriusXM

Caroline Sekar, 45, was a mother of two who lived in San Francisco

Sekar’s sister Liz Clabaugh, 52, was also killed in the deadly avalanche

The guiding company leading the tour, Blackbird Mountain Guides, confirmed what it called the ‘devastating loss’ of three of its guides: Andrew Alissandratos, left, Niki Choo, center, and Mike Henry, right

Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement that it launched an investigation and was mourning the loss of three of its guides.

The guides with the group were trained or certified in backcountry skiing, and were instructors with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education. 

What the guides and their tour company knew about the warnings and risks from a powerful winter storm that blasted the mountains during the trip and why they pressed on is now part of investigations. 

Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said authorities will investigate why the guides proceeded with the tour despite the forecast.

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, a state agency that regulates workplace safety, is also investigating to determine if the company violated California law.

By RACHEL BOWMAN, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and KATELYN CARALLE, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER and VICTORIA CHURCHILL, US POLITICAL REPORTER and PHILLIP NIETO, US POLITICAL REPORTER

Updated: 20:28 EST, 24 February 2026

President Donald Trump will address the nation during his State of the Union speech from the US Capitol building tonight at 9pm ET.

He previewed his highly-anticipated address during a traditional, off-the-record lunch with network news anchors today. 

‘[Trump] said Iran wants a deal more than I do, but they just can’t say the magic words, which he said was that they won’t build a bomb,’ ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl said of the lunch.

He is expected to address his policies to supercharge the US economy as well as the president’s rewiring of global trade and tax cuts. At the same lunch, he told reporters that he would ‘advocate for a form of tax cuts, corporate and mostly personal.’

Earlier, the president warned that his speech would be lengthy, and he is expected to boast about the economy, arguing that the country is ‘strong, prosperous and respected’ as it enters its 250th year.

‘It’s going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about,’ the Trump said on Monday.

Meanwhile, Democrats have unleashed a sabotage plot to stage walk-outs during Trump’s speech as he prepares to reset his agenda.

Follow along for the latest updates.

Trump previews speech with reporters

Donald Trump previewed his speech to reporters during a traditional, off-the-record lunch with network news anchors.

CNN’s Jake Tapper and ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl revealed what they learned at the lunch.

‘He gave us a little bit on the record about some of what he’s going to say tonight, including plans to advocate for a form of tax cuts corporate and mostly personal, he said, and to announce deals with AI and tech firms for data centers that consume so much electricity from local communities,’ Tapper said.

‘On the record he said, tonight’s pitch would be that, quote, the country is about to have the best three years economically in the nation’s history, and it’s already started. Unquote.’

Trump reportedly revealed the ‘magic words’ Iran refuses to say to prevent a strike

‘He said Iran wants a deal more than I do, but they just can’t say the magic words, which he said was that they won’t build a bomb,’ Karl said of the lunch on X.

Tapper added, ‘Amid the massive US military buildup and threat of conflict with Iran, the president said that Tehran wants to make a deal more than he does but so far, the Iranians have been unwilling to say explicitly the sacred phrase that they will not build nuclear weapons,’ Tapper said.

Trump’s make-or-break State of the Union: Join the Daily Mail and 2WAY LIVE for the president’s historic speech

The eyes of America – and much of the world – will be fixed on Donald Trump on Tuesday night as he strides to the Speaker’s rostrum to deliver his historic fifth State of the Union.

It comes at a moment of explosive global tension. The standoff with Iran is edging toward boiling point.

Cartel violence is tearing through Mexican tourist hotspots. And back home, the White House is sharpening its message with the high-stakes November midterms looming large.

RFK Jr. enters the Capitol

US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. arrives.

US jets land in Israel ahead of Trump’s speech

Several US military planes landed in Israel on Tuesday as Donald Trump prepares for his first official State of the Union address of his second term.

US officials confirm that about a dozen US Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jets landed in Israel amid threats from the president of impending strikes in Iran if they don’t strike a nuclear deal.

Trump is expected to delivery a lengthy speech where he will tout his hawkish approach to dealing with Iran.

WATCH: Fox’s Brian Kilmeade urges Trump to avoid mentioning SCOTUS

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick enters the building

Attorney General Pam Bondi turns up

Tulsi Gabbard arrives

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has arrived at the US Capitol.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives

Hegseth and his wife Jennifer Rauchet have arrived at the US Capitol for Trump’s speech.

Al Green plans to attend Trump’s address after being kicked out last year

Democratic Representative Al Green is in the chamber for Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech and appears to be planning to attend the remarks after reserving his seat with a hand-written cardboard note.

Green avoided the question when asked earlier this month if he would attend after his antics last year.

Just minutes into Trump’s address to the joint session of Congress on March 4, 2025, Green interrupted to protest the president’s plans to cut Medicaid by repeatedly shouting: ‘You have no mandate!’

The Texas Democrat was forcibly escorted out of the House chamber by the Sergeant-at-Arm after he refused to comply with Speaker Mike Johnson’s orders to stop the interruption.

Inside Trump’s prep for his most anticipated State of the Union EVER

President Donald Trump is preparing his most dramatic and possibly longest State of the Union address yet for Tuesday, as he is putting finishing touches on his planned speech after just one year in his second term.

‘It’s going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about,’ Trump previewed to reporters during a White House event, touting the ‘greatest economy we’ve ever had.’

For top advisors and presidential speechwriters, the president’s speech is their Super Bowl, as they spend time with the president drafting and fine-tuning the speech for the big night.

The five Team USA hockey stars who turned down Trump’s invite

While 20 members of the 25-strong squad were in attendance, five players chose not to go to America’s capital to continue the celebrations.

A hero soldier previously honoured for bravery played a key role in helping recover ‘priceless’ altar plaques stolen from Napoleon III’s tomb, it has emerged.

The wooden prayer frames, two of three stolen in a 2014 burglary at a Hampshire abbey, were identified and returned to their rightful home – with assistance from a 33-year-old episode of TV show Lovejoy.

Grace Gostelow, a sergeant in the Royal Horse Artillery, came across the two items in a plastic bag in a storage unit on her base after they had been discovered by soldiers on a nearby training area.

Realising her antique dealer father might be able to help, the 37-year-old – currently instructing trainee soldiers at Pirbright Barracks, Surrey – asked her chain of command for permission send the artefacts to Paul Gostelow.

Mr Gostelow, 68, then enlisted the help of a metal detectorist friend for help to identify them.

It was he who recognised the Napoleonic crest after remembering a 1993 episode of the comedy-drama, starring Ian McShane.

Mr Gostelow, speaking from his home in Derbyshire, said: ‘It all happened because of my daughter. She said the frames looked a bit interesting and she asked permission if she could bring them here.

‘They had been found by soldiers digging a shell scrape, where they shelter on open ground during an exercise, on the training area at Pirbright.

Sergeant Grace Gostelow, pictured leading a gun salute in Green Park, came across the prayer frames at her barracks and arranged for her antique dealer father to examine them

‘The frames had been put into a cage with equipment and that’s where Grace found them.’

The prayer frames were last week returned to St Michael’s Abbey, near Farnborough, Hampshire, which houses Napoleon III’s tomb – from where they were stolen 12 years ago.

Sgt Gostelow – then a Lance Bombardier – received the Major General’s Award for Bravery after saving the lives of spectators from a runaway gun carriage pulled by six spooked horses.

The freak accident occurred during a rehearsal in Charlton Park, London, in 2016.

She was left on her own after other riders were unsaddled – managing to steer the gun carriage and horses away from onlookers but broke her neck after hitting a tree.

The soldier returned to the saddle for Queen Elizabeth’s Accession Day Gun Salute in Green Park in February 2019, after lengthy rehabilitation.

Last May she was presented with a silver salver by King Charles at Royal Windsor Horse Show after leading the best turned out gun team.

Mr Gostelow told how the prayer frames were identified by the Napoleonic ball and crown emblem.

The two ‘priceless’ prayer frames were among three stolen in 2014 from Napoleon III’s tomb

Paul Gostelow sought advice from a metal detectorist friend, who recalled the Lovejoy episode

He said: ‘It was my friend who identified the emblem after remembering an episode of Lovejoy where he comes across a commode with the Napoleonic crest.’

In the 1993 episode of the BBC comedy-drama, Ian McShane’s roguish antique dealer discovers a commode allegedly owned by Napoleon Bonaparte and tries to flog the dubious item after getting into trouble over his taxes.

Meanwhile, Lovejoy’s friend Tinker Dill attempts to forge the emblem for use on other items.

Mr Gostelow and his friend found an old news article which was still online, from the Anglo-Zulu Times, reporting how the frames had been stolen.

It is not known how they came to have been dumped in the countryside.

After contacting police in Surrey, officers from Hampshire Police came to collect the frames last week and return them to the abbey.

Mr Gostelow, who turned to antiques dealing after 27 years as a policeman, most recently Derbyshire Constabulary’s Physical Training Instructor before retirement in 2003, said: ‘I’m just heartened that, because the frames are of significant interest, they have been returned to their rightful owners and can adorn the walls of the tomb again.’

The married father of two believes the damp conditions the frames had ended up in ‘helped keep them together’ while away from the abbey.

Mr Gostelow with the 1993 Lovejoy episode, The Napoleonic Commode, on his tablet computer

Lovejoy star Ian McShane pictured with dubious artefact in The Napoleonic Commode

He said he was approached with the frames ‘because of my interest in antiques’, to help identify their origin.

Hampshire Police said that after ‘some investigation with the International Stolen Arts Register confirmed that they were indeed the (stolen) items’.

A force spokesman said: ‘In February 2014 the Crypt of Napoleon Bonaparte III, last Emperor of France, was burgled and three unique, historically important and priceless altar plaques were taken.

‘After 12 years they were thought to have been lost, until a chance call from Mr Gostelow, who said he had two of the stolen plaques.

‘Remarkably, Paul knew them to be from the Napoleonic era due to the ball and crown in the corner of the frame – recognised from an episode of the 1990s’ TV series Lovejoy.

‘Officers travelled to Derbyshire to recover the items, and PC Mark Webb (the force’s heritage crime specialist) was able to return them to St Michael’s Abbey in Farnborough for restoration and return to their place in the crypt.’

Police are still following ‘a number of lines of inquiry’ to locate the missing third plaque.

Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, fled in exile to England in 1871 after losing the Franco-Prussian war and being captured by the Germans. He died in 1873 after surgery for bladder stones.

Paul Gostelow, left, with his daughter Grace, right, one of his two children

Mr Gostelow, right, with PC Mark Webb, of Hampshire Police, who came to collect the frames

Grace on second horse on right, with King Charles at Royal Windsor Horse Show in 2025

In 1880, his widow, Empress Eugenie, bought a house in Farnborough and built St Michael’s Abbey as a monastery with the Imperial Mausoleum for the remains of her husband and her son, Napoleon, who died in the Zulu War in 1879.

When their son’s body was retrieved from the battlefield, a number of handwritten prayers were found in his wallet which Eugenie had engraved and mounted to form the prayer frames stolen in the burglary.

Brother Aelred Cuthbert of Saint Michael’s Abbey, spoke of the joy shared by the monastery upon hearing of the prayer frames’ recovery.

He told The Daily Telegraph: ‘We had almost forgotten about them.

‘We were all very excited because visitors would often ask, ‘Did you ever hear what happened to the altar cards?’, so it was always a bit of a gut-punch.

‘It was so long ago that we thought we’d never see them again.’

Melania may have featured some hits from the Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson, but according to producer Marc Beckman, some big-time artists denied permission for their music to be used in the documentary.

Beckman, who also serves as an advisor to the first lady, spoke with Variety about the music that was most difficult to license, citing instances where “there was music that [they] tried to get, but sadly, there were politics to it.”

“For example, the guys from Guns N’ Roses split down the middle politically,” he explained. “There was a beautiful song we wanted to use, and one of the guys — I don’t want to name, it’s not fair —said, ‘You got it. Go.’ And the other one was basically like, ‘There’s just no way.’ We needed everybody’s approval to get it in the film. So Guns N’ Roses was definitely a disappointment for us; we all have a lot of respect for Guns N’ Roses.”

Beckman mentioned that they also wanted to use a song from Grace Jones, who he said they have “a tremendous amount of respect for” as well.

“She apparently couldn’t get over the political hurdle, notwithstanding the fact that the film is not a political film,” he shared. “So that was disappointing, too. It’s disappointing when people put politics so far ahead, and that happened a little bit with the film, for sure.”

DECIDER reached out to representatives for Guns N’ Roses and Jones, but did not hear back by time of publication.

According to Beckman, they also were unable to secure rights to Prince‘s music, claiming that they were “ready to go” before the lawyer managing the late artist’s estate “was like, ‘Prince would never want his song associated with Donald Trump.’”

“And we’re like, ‘But it’s not a Donald Trump film! He comes into the movie once in a while, but this is all about Melania. It’s not political.’ And that guy blocked it. It’s so ridiculous,” Beckman told Variety.

The controversial documentary from director Brett Ratner did not receive the warmest of reviews from critics, including DECIDER’s own Jesse Hassenger, who deemed the film “a disingenuous documentary that misfires by mistaking the First Lady’s fame for star power.”

As for when the documentary, which was distributed by Amazon MGM Studios, may arrive on Prime Video, Beckman said that they are “still working out the date with Amazon as far as the launch goes.”

“We’re pretty much almost done with it on the post-production side now,” he added. “I think, conservatively predicting, mid-summer we’ll launch. We haven’t definitively picked a date yet, but it should be around then.”

ISIS bride Shamima Begum is plotting an attempt to return to the UK using people smugglers, texts from inside her camp reportedly reveal.

Begum, who was stripped of her British citizenship after leaving London to join the terror group in 2015, is currently being held at al-Roj – a filthy, violent camp in north-east Syria. 

The 26-year-old, who was 15 when she travelled from Bethnal Green, east London, into IS territory, has made multiple legal bids to return to the UK but they have all failed.

It has now been claimed that there is a plot brewing to sneak her back into Britain via people smugglers. 

The audacious plan comes after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) questioned the UK’s decision to strip Begum’s citizenship and called for the Government to consider whether she was a victim of trafficking.

Filmmaker Andrew Drury, who has interviewed Begum six times in al-Roj, has revealed he has been contacted from inside the camp by an American former jihadi who wants to escape with Begum.

Mr Drury, 60, has received several messages from Begum’s camp best friend Hoda Muthana – an American woman who also lost her citizenship after joining ISIS.

Hoda – appearing to act as a fixer for Begum – begged Mr Drury for thousands of US dollars using the code word ‘gummies’ and British pounds using the term ‘mints’.

They appear to be plotting to cross the border into nearby Turkey to ‘get to our embassies’ and that they believe the UK will be forced to take Begum back ‘once Turkey deports her’.

ISIS bride Shamima Begum (pictured in 2019) is plotting an attempt to return to the UK using people smugglers, texts from inside her camp reveal

Begum is still living at the al-Roj camp in northern Syria (pictured in 2021)

In messages seen by The Express, Hoda writes: ‘Bring five thousand gummy bears with u, the American brand, is better. S (Shamima) also likes mints, about the same amount, but better u come and give it so half the bag isn’t taken.’ 

When Mr Drury told Hoda, ‘The UK won’t let her back’, the ISIS bride replied: ‘They eventually will once Turkey deports her which is what they do.’

The two former jihadi brides also admit to planning interviews, with Hoda adding: ‘SB (Shamima Begum) already promised certain networks to be the first to interview her outside the camp, and in the UK when she finally gets repatriated.’ 

However, when pressed on who the networks might be, Hoda claimed Begum has not agreed with anyone yet and ‘she has people in mind who she thinks will do a fair story.’

In other messages, Hoda tells Mr Drury: ‘Imagine it as an investment.’

She adds: ‘We finally get out of here begin our process. We’re not asking to hide or run away. We just want to get to our embassies. And you’ll be the first to know and see her.’ 

Mr Drury did not send any money to the camp and informed his local MP and MI5. But he claims he has not received a response from the security services.

Speaking to The Express, the filmmaker said: ‘I’m not going to give a terrorist, or somebody I consider as a terrorist, money.

‘I understand her wanting to get out of the camp in desperation, but she and Hoda seem to be trying to manipulate people financially to help them, who knows who they are paying money to.

‘What’s worrying as well is they appear to be saying they are negotiating media interviews for when and if they manage to get to Turkey and they claim they will be repatriated if they reach their embassies.

‘But imagine if the people smugglers help Shamima so she ends up crossing the Channel in a small boat and reaching Britain that way. There’s plenty of asylum seekers who have taken that route from Syria and Iraq through Turkey.’

It is claimed that Begum is already receiving money from ‘unknown sources’ and is plotting to escape from the camp amid tension in the area.

The camp s controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who also oversee several other camps housing more than 9,000 ISIS fighters and around 40,000 women and children.    

The SDF has now lost almost all of its territory to forces loyal to Syria’s president Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The Londoner was 15 when she and two friends travelled from Bethnal Green to Syria to join Islamic State. 

Shamima Begum (pictured in February 2023) was stripped of her British citizenship after leaving London to join ISIS 

Begum, who married an ISIS fighter and had three children who all died, was found in a Syrian refugee camp in 2019 and her citizenship was immediately revoked by then-home secretary Sajid Javid on national security grounds, kickstarting her lengthy legal challenge.

But in late December, the ECHR formally asked the Home Office whether it broke human rights and anti-trafficking laws – after Begum was stripped of her UK citizenship.

The latest intervention sparked a major backlash, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood vowing to defend the Government’s decision at the time.

Begum lost an appeal in February 2023 against the decision to revoke her citizenship after the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) ruled this was lawful.

She then lost a Court of Appeal bid in February 2024, before she was most recently denied the chance to challenge it at the Supreme Court in August 2024.

However, Begum’s lawyers warned at the time that they could still take her case to the ECHR – which they later did.

The Home Office has now been told by the European court to answer four questions about her citizenship.

One asks: ‘Has there been a violation of the applicant’s rights under Article 4 of the Convention by virtue of the decision to deprive her of her citizenship?’

Another says: ‘For the purposes of the Article 4 complaints made in the application, was the applicant at all material times within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom, within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention?’

Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights relates to the ‘obligation to respect human rights’, while Article 4 relates to ‘freedom from slavery and forced labour’.

A further question asks: ‘Did the Secretary of State for the Home Department’s decision to deprive the applicant of her citizenship engage her rights under Article 4 of the Convention?’

A FCDO spokesperson said: ‘Protecting our national security is the first priority for the UK Government.

‘That is why we are continuing to work with the Syrian and Iraqi Governments, as well as other partners, to protect our shared security interests in the region, and ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh.

• An earlier version of this article stated that judges of the European Court of Human Rights had come to Shamima Begum’s defence and that Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights relates to the ‘protection of property’. In fact, the court’s request for further information from UK authorities is in line with its usual procedure following receipt of an application alleging violations of the Convention and does not constitute support for Ms Begum. Article 1 relates to the ‘obligation to respect human rights’. The article has been amended to reflect this.

By KATHERINE LAWTON, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and MATT STRUDWICK, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER

Published: 10:04 EST, 24 February 2026 | Updated: 12:51 EST, 24 February 2026

A new video shows the moment a Christian preacher was pushed by a masked man and had his equipment attacked in Whitechapel before a police officer stepped in to defend his freedom of speech. 

The evangelist is seen in the footage being surrounded as he tries to speak through a microphone on Whitechapel Road in East London on February 16 a the day before Ramadan began. 

Part of his equipment is kicked by a man wearing grey tracksuit bottoms and a puffer coat, before another manically shouts in his face, ‘where you come from?’ 

As the preacher replies ‘London’, the second man continues to scream and make gestures with his hands, before a third Muslim wearing a mask approaches the Christian from behind and pushes him with force. 

A female police officer was forced to step in and defend the preacher’s freedom of speech after the group of males surrounded her to complain the evangelist was ‘in a Muslim area’. 

Speaking after the incident, a local Muslim in the area today told TalkTV that people who say ‘bad things’ about those who follow Islam should be punished.  

‘Muslim people live around this area,’ he said, adding: ‘If [people] are saying bad things [about Muslims], the police knows how it goes. They will take it seriously. Maybe he is arrested, maybe they will give him a chance to not say that thing.’ 

Footage shows the moment a Christian preacher’s equipment is kicked in Whitechapel 

Another man (centre) starts shouting in the Christian preacher’s face and gestures with his hands 

A masked man then comes up behind the preacher and pushes him with force

In separate footage, as the Christian preacher tries to speak, a Muslim man wearing sunglasses and a tracksuit repeatedly bellows ‘we don’t want to worship a Jewish man’.

He then quips, ‘we don’t believe in a Jew’ amid the chaotic encounter which was captured by YouTuber Auditing Britain. 

‘Why do you come here and want us to worship a Jewish man? I don’t understand. Listen, we don’t want to worship a Jewish man,’ the man says to the preacher.

‘You come here and want to tell us to worship a Jewish man. Yeah, go and worship your Jewish man.

‘You believe in a mystical dying God. A man God. We don’t believe in a Jew.’

The Christian argues he has come to the area to ‘preach true salvation’. He continues to speak through a microphone, where he quotes extracts from the Koran and questions Islam.

In response, the Muslim man repeatedly shouts: ‘Your god is a Jew. We have some slaves of Jews here.’ 

After the incident, Nigel Farage added to the growing voices in support of the female officer who was widely praised for how she handled the row.

The man wearing sunglasses and a black, blue, and white tracksuit top repeatedly bellows a derogatory remark

The Christian preacher (pictured) argued he came to the area to ‘preach true salvation’. He continues to speak through a microphone, where he quotes extracts from the Koran and questions Islam

Speaking after the incident, one local Muslim in the area told TalkTv today that people who say ‘bad things’ about those who follow Islam should be punished

Speaking on Jeremy Kyle’s Breakfast Show on Talk, the Reform UK leader said: ‘She deserves to be honoured. I watched that video. She was calm, she was logical. Goodness me, what a credit she was to the Metropolitan Police.

‘What a credit she was to herself, and what a credit she was to plain common sense and what we like to think of as a free country. She did absolutely brilliantly. I wish more were like her.’

The confrontation saw the officer being surrounded by males and telling them: ‘In this country, we have freedom of speech.’

She continued: ‘I understand that you guys don’t want to hear it, so I would just recommend that you walk away and don’t listen to him. He’s not in your home.’

The Daily Mail has contacted the Met Police for comment today.  

By OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER

Published: 10:19 EST, 24 February 2026 | Updated: 11:34 EST, 24 February 2026

Two British cousins have been charged with attempted murder after a man was stabbed in the neck during a Valentine’s Day row in Venice.

The pair, aged 19 and 20, allegedly followed a young woman between bars near the Rialto Bridge after the older cousin contacted her on Instagram, before an argument later escalated into violence.

When a 22-year-old Venetian man stepped in between the cousins and the woman, the older cousin allegedly pulled out a 10cm switchblade and passed it to his relative. 

In seconds, the younger suspect is said to have grabbed the knife and stabbed the local man in the neck as he turned to walk away following the exchange.

He was rushed into emergency surgery with a damaged artery.

According to local media reports, the confrontation began with a tense exchange in English.  

Witnesses said one of the British men declared: ‘She’s my girlfriend, I love her. The problem is, unfortunately, she doesn’t love me.’ 

The Venetian is said to have replied: ‘You are in Italy, my home.’

Those present said the British man then whispered something to his cousin before a blade was snapped open and the Venetian was stabbed in the neck. 

Two British cousins have been charged with attempted murder after a man was stabbed in the neck during a Valentine’s Day row in Venice

The pair, aged 19 and 20, allegedly trailed a young woman between bars near the Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal after one of them became infatuated with her on Instagram. Pictured: Police divers are continuing to search the Grand Canal for the knife

When a 21-year-old Venetian man stepped in between the cousins and the woman, the older cousin allegedly pulled out a 10cm switchblade and passed it to his relative

Local outlets described scenes of panic, with screams and people fleeing as emergency services were called to the bar area near Campo Bella Vienna in the early hours of February 14. 

The attack, dubbed by Italian media as the ‘attempted murder of San Valentino’, is said to have been witnessed by several members of the victim’s group, including the young woman at the centre of the dispute. 

She told investigators she had been in contact via Instagram with one of the suspects, who introduced himself as ‘Adam’, and that they had been messaging for some time before arranging to meet. 

He had told her he was staying in the Venice area with his cousin for about a month, having arrived on January 30 with a return ticket to London dated February 28, according to reports. 

Local media said prosecutors believe the switchblade was passed between the cousins moments before the stabbing – an exchange allegedly seen by those present and captured on security cameras.

After the attack, the two suspects fled, reports said. Local reports said the wounded Venetian pulled the blade from his neck before collapsing. 

Then, amid the confusion of the rescue efforts, one of the two Englishmen returned to retrieve the weapon, abandoned on the floor of the bar. 

Prosecutors believe he returned to retrieve the weapon in an apparent attempt to cover his tracks, unaware he was being filmed on surveillance cameras, local media reported.

Local media said the two cousins were tracked down by officers from Venice’s Flying Squad, supported by police from San Marco, at an apartment in the historic centre.

The pair were arrested and brought before prosecutors. British officials were notified of their detention. 

After a court hearing to confirm the arrests, they were remanded in pre-trial custody. 

Police divers are continuing to search the Grand Canal for the knife.

Reports said the two had travelled to Venice for a holiday, arriving at the end of January and were due to return to England in the coming days on a pre-booked flight. 

The Crown court backlog will take the ‘best part of a decade’ to improve under plans published today, ministers have admitted.

Justice minister Sarah Sackman said things would ‘get worse before they get better’, with the backlog rising from its current record level of 80,000 to hit 100,000 in a year’s time.

Crown courts in England and Wales are ‘on the brink of collapse’, she said, insisting that ministers will press ahead with plans to introduce judge-only trials for offences likely to attract less than three years’ imprisonment.

The measures, first outlined at the end of last year, will see thousands of defendants a year lose the right to trial by jury.

The proposals have faced grave opposition from some Labour backbenchers and the legal profession.

Ms Sackman said: ‘I have got to level with victims that the scale of the crisis that we have inherited, and which is growing, is not going to change overnight.

‘By the end of this Parliament we’ll start to see it heading in the right direction, so they can have confidence the government is doing everything it can, but it will take the best part of a decade for the timeliness of their trials to improve.

‘Things will get worse before they get better – but they do begin to get better by the end of this parliament under this plan.

‘By my reckoning it will hit 100,000 cases before we begin to see a reduction in the backlog.’

Justice minister Sarah Sackman (pictured) said things would ‘get worse before they get better’, with the backlog rising from its current record level of 80,000 to hit 100,000 in a year’s time.

She added: ‘I fully appreciate that is not good enough for victims who are in the system in the here and now, but at least what they can see is leadership from a government that is prepared to tackle the problems, rather than sit idly by watch it run out of control.’

Some trials already being listed for 2030.

But asked how long victims would have to wait for justice when the system reaches its peak backlog, the minister said: ‘I’m not going to put a figure on it.’

Despite potential rebellions by Labour backbenchers and expected opposition in the House of Lords, Ms Sackman said the reforms – including judge-only trials – are expected to be in place by 2028.

‘We have an ambition for Royal Assent by the end of the year so we can start implementing by 2028,’ she said.

Asked if the government would make any changes to the proposals for judge-only trials, the minister said: ‘We are sticking to the plan. What we put forward in the Courts Bill will be very much in line with what we’ve set out in previous months.’

The chief critic on Labour’s backbenches – Karl Turner MP – vowed to continue to fight the plans, which he said were ‘not acceptable’.

‘There is deep and growing concern across Parliament that the plan to do away with jury trials is unnecessary and there is no evidential link between the juries and the cause of the backlog,’ Mr Turner said.

‘How much time would actually be saved through the reduction of a right to trial by jury?

‘What are the unintended consequences of such a move for trust in the justice system? Would other measures be more effective?

‘I remain firmly committed to voting against any changes that weaken the right to trial by jury, and I know many colleagues stand ready to do the same in defence of this fundamental right.’

The reforms will apply retrospectively to cases already in the system, meaning defendants who have already opted for jury trial could find their cases being heard by a judge only.

Ms Sackman said barristers’ professional bodies who argue the backlog can be tackled quickly enough just by increasing court sitting days and improving court efficiency were being ‘unrealistic’.

Justice Secretary David Lammy criticised barristers and MPs who have opposed the reforms.

He said the Bar ‘can sometimes be a conservative profession’ and it had previously ‘opposed changes to the double jeopardy rule’.

Those reforms – introduced in 2005 to allow a previously-acquitted defendant to face a second trial for the same offence – were ‘what delivered partial justice to the Lawrence family’, he added, referring to the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993.

He added that parliamentary opposition to his plans tended to ‘sound quite patrician, quite old fashioned, quite male’ and did not place enough emphasis on how victims of crime were ‘often vulnerable, often minorities, sadly children and very often women’.

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy said: ‘There is no hiding the fact that Lammy is rushing ahead with his plans to abolish jury trials.

‘Labour have no mandate to do this and there is no need for it either.

‘Lammy still has not explained how he will improve court efficiency around issues like recruitment and retention, courtroom productivity, and case management.

‘At a time when confidence in the criminal justice system is fragile, what we need is a practical plan to tackle the backlog, not Lammy’s ideological drive to scrap juries.’

A new Courts Bill setting out the reforms is due to be published tomorrow.

The Ministry of Justice issued what it described as a ‘doom graph’ – based on new statistical modelling – which predicted the backlog will soar to 200,000 by 2035 if ministers fail to act.

Ministers insisted changes to court processes are necessary to bring the backlog down to manageable levels, in conjunction with efficiency measures and investment in the number of days courts can hold trials.

The new modelling data – to be published in full tomorrow – is designed to convince critics that changes to jury trial are necessary.

But lawyers immediately attacked the Government’s plans. 

Past president of the Law Society, Richard Atkinson, said: ‘The Government’s proposals go too far in eroding the longstanding right to be judged by a jury of our own peers.

‘They allow a single judge to determine guilt in serious, lifechanging cases which could significantly affect people’s liberty and reputations.

‘Lasting reform requires sustained funding for court capacity and the legal profession, not rushed legislation that risks weakening confidence in the justice system.’