Three Nigerian sisters who drowned in the sea off Brighton, southern England, have been ruled to have taken their own lives following an inquest into their deaths.

The sisters, Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, lived together in Greenford, west London. They had become increasingly withdrawn following the death of their mother in 2010.

The inquest heard that the sisters visited an area of Birmingham close to where their mother died on May 11 before travelling to Brighton the following day.

According to report, they were later seen on the town’s eastern seafront in the early hours of May 13, when they entered the sea in difficult conditions. None of the sisters could swim.

Their father, Joseph Jacobsen, described the loss of his three daughters as heartbreaking.

Coroner Penelope Schofield said the court could not speculate on the reasons behind the sisters’ actions.

Evidence presented at the inquest showed that a taxi carrying the sisters arrived in Brighton at 10.21pm on May 12. The driver reportedly noticed that they were quiet during the journey.

Closed-circuit television footage later showed the sisters on Brighton’s eastern seafront. They were last seen alive at 2.42am on May 13.

The inquest also heard that police examining Christina’s laptop found 227 references to water and 179 references to suicide. Christina had reportedly experienced anxiety and depression following their mother’s death.

Rebecca’s medical records contained no significant information relevant to the inquest, while Jane was not registered with a doctor.

Toxicology tests found no evidence of drugs or alcohol in the sisters’ systems, and investigators found no evidence of violence.

Jane was brought ashore by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and pronounced dead. Christina was recovered by an RNLI lifeboat, while Rebecca’s body was later washed ashore. Both were pronounced dead by paramedics.

The inquest examined the circumstances surrounding the deaths and the sisters’ movements in the hours before they entered the water.

Portugal’s Economy Minister, Manuel Castro Almeida, says Cristiano Ronaldo matters to Portugal in ways that reach far beyond football. “Many people know Portugal only because of Cristiano Ronaldo,” he stressed.

His comments land as the fallout from Ronaldo’s sudden exit from the national team camp continues to dominate the headlines.

Speaking in remarks carried by the Portuguese website The Resident from the Now channel, the minister painted Ronaldo as a huge asset for Portugal’s image on the world stage. “Cristiano Ronaldo has an enormous impact in promoting and highlighting Portugal’s image,” he said. He went further still, likening the Portugal star to “the most famous company in Portugal”

On the row between Ronaldo and coach Jorge Jesus, Castro Almeida pleaded ignorance. He insisted he was “not an expert” and refused to judge who was in the right.

His focus stayed on Ronaldo’s wider worth to Portugal and its standing abroad.

That global recognition, the Economy Minister argues, makes Ronaldo “a value and an asset” to the country. “It would be good if Portugal could continue to rely on this asset,” he said.

He added: “From the angle of enhancing Portugal’s image and reputation, Cristiano holds extremely important value, and it would be very good for Portugal to continue to benefit from this potential.”

A woman accused of spying for China on Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s son and his family was arrested Sunday in the United States, US and Taiwanese officials said.

Wanying Zhang, 34, was detained by the FBI at Los Angeles airport “attempting to depart for China”, First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said in an X post.

Zhang is accused of acting as an unregistered agent of China and spying on a “close relative of a Taiwanese government official” in the United States, Essayli said.

The woman allegedly surveilled Lai’s “son and his family — filming their home, vehicles, and reporting information back to (People’s Republic of China) handlers”, the FBI said on its rapid response account on X.

China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex the island.

Zhang traveled to Seattle in 2025 and, acting at the direction of Chinese officials, sent “photos, videos, and license plate information to those officials”, Essayli said.

FBI Director Kash Patel cheered the arrest in an X post, warning foreign adversaries that “America is no longer a safe place to run your espionage operations.”

“Allegedly surveil a foreign leader’s family on US soil for the PRC — and try to catch a flight back to Shanghai? Not happening,” Patel said.

Lai, who was elected president in January 2024, has been an outspoken defender of Taiwan’s sovereignty and is detested by Chinese leaders.

Lai’s office condemned the “barbaric acts”, which it confirmed had targeted the president’s family, and said it was a case of “transnational repression.”

“Such behavior should not be tolerated in the civilized world,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo said in a statement, thanking US judicial authorities for “their assistance and protection of our citizens.”

Taiwan’s government has warned Taiwanese people of growing risks to their safety in China and elsewhere after Beijing’s ethnic unity law took effect in July.

The Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress aims to forge a “shared” national identity among ethnic groups.

But overseas campaigners have argued it will further degrade the rights of ethnic minorities, like Uyghurs and Tibetans, that Beijing is accused of persecuting.

They also point to a clause stating that people can be held liable for violating the law even when outside China, saying it gives the Chinese government more justification for targeting its opponents abroad.

Zhang, who resides in Irvine, California, “coordinated the trip with an associate and used tradecraft to avoid detection,” Essayli said.

Zhang is expected to make her initial appearance in federal court on Monday.