Chao Xu, of Greenwich, admits 24 offences against six women and police say there could be scores more victims

A businessman who concealed cameras in his home and drugged women has pleaded guilty to a string of sexual offences, and police fear the full scale of his offending may be “vast”.

Chao Xu, 33, pleaded guilty at a pre-trial hearing on Friday to 24 offences against six young women in London over three years, including rape, digital penetration, sexual assault, administering a substance with intent and voyeurism.

Gena Heraty was abducted at orphanage she ran along with seven Haitian colleagues and a three-year-old child

An Irish aid worker and eight fellow captives have been released nearly a month after they were kidnapped in Haiti.

Gena Heraty, a missionary who ran the Our Little Brothers and Sisters orphanage in the hills outside Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, was abducted on 3 August along with seven Haitian colleagues and a three-year-old child.

As leaders at Centers for Disease Control quit after director’s firing, Kennedy stokes controversy with pet theories

In a week of chaos at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Donald Trump’s health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has continued to make questionable medical and health claims – and has been slammed for them by experts and lawmakers alike.

In recent days, Kennedy has been facing increasing calls for his resignation following the Trump administration’s firing of the CDC director, Susan Monarez, which in turn prompted four other top officials to quit the agency. The chaos across US health agencies also comes as Kennedy released a slew of controversial and contradictory rules surrounding Covid-19 vaccines.

Coastguard reports boat carrying about 160 people capsized in sight of town 50 miles north of Nouakchott

Sixty-nine people drowned when a vessel full of migrants overturned off the coast of Mauritania earlier this week, coastguard officials said on Friday.

The accident occurred late on Tuesday after passengers on the boat spotted the lights of a coastal town about 50 miles (80km) north of the capital, Nouakchott, prompting the occupants to press to one side of the boat, causing it to capsize, Mohamed Abdallah, the head of the coastguard, told reporters.

Ferrari and property owned by Arif Patel, tax fraudster who has been on the run since 2011, will be sold at auction

A self-styled clothing tycoon who sold counterfeit socks and pants while operating an extensive fraud ring will have all his UK assets seized after the Crown Prosecution Service won a court order to confiscate up to £90m worth of property and luxury cars.

Arif Patel, 57, from Preston, Lancashire, who has been on the run since 2011, will have homes and business premises he owned taken from him after a confiscation order granted by a judge at Chester crown court on Thursday.

• Spaniard triumphs after Thursday collapse in Pyrenees

• Torstein Træen retains overall lead from Vingegaard

The Spaniard Juan Ayuso showed a remarkable recovery after his collapse in the Pyrenees only 24 hours previously to go it alone on the climb to the finish and triumph in stage seven of the Vuelta a España.

Torstein Træen retains the red jersey, holding a 2min 33sec lead over Jonas Vingegaard, who moved from fifth to second in the standings but without closing the gap to the Norwegian.