London: Four people were stabbed in central London's Covent Garden area on Wednesday, and a woman has been arrested in connection with the incident, police said.The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the stabbings occurred around lunchtime in Covent Garden, one of London's busiest districts and a major destination for tourists, shoppers and theatregoers.Authorities have not yet released details about the circumstances surrounding the attack, the condition of the victims or the identity of the suspect.A woman was arrested following the incident, according to police.Emergency services responded to the scene as officers secured the area and launched an investigation.The Metropolitan Police said further information would be provided as inquiries continue.Covent Garden, located in the heart of London's West End, is one of the city's most popular visitor destinations, known for its shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and historic market area.

Dubai: In one world, exists Sarah Brook. A woman who volunteered in Malawi, Africa, at age 18, and was completely transformed by her experience – so much so, she founded her own nonprofit organisation to help orphans and children in the country.In another world, exists Violet Matimati, Brook’s first friend in Malawi and the person who opened her eyes to a whole new world; a woman whose unbreakable resilience saw her through immense hardships, from teenage pregnancy, to divorce, and single parenthood.Both worlds collided in March 2026, when the old friends bumped into each other on a street in Malawi.Brook said: “I was walking alongside the road with my daughter and a friend, and Violet went past on a motorbike. She pulled over on the road and came running towards me. I was so shocked to see her and even more overwhelmed by the embrace, and the emotions we felt at seeing each other, and her meeting my daughter Rosanna for the first time.”Overcome, the two friends held each other for a long time on the side of the road.To understand why their reunion was so meaningful, you’d have to pull the curtains back on 18 years of history and friendship.Brook and Matimati came from completely different worlds. Picture credit: SuppliedBeing transformed by MalawiBrook, a 36-year-old British national based in Dubai, volunteered at an orphanage in Malawi during her gap year, when she was just 18.But why Malawi? For Brook, it was just pure luck – or perhaps destiny. She said: “At 18, I literally pointed at a map, and my finger landed on Malawi.”Matimati, who is just a month younger than Brook, had a cousin at the same orphanage, and she would often visit. Brook said: “I remember… she was the only person who really spoke English. So, we immediately hit it off. I was there for several months and we just kept meeting up and then she asked me to come and visit her family.”Matimati was unlike anyone she’d ever met. She introduced Brook to the reality of life in Malawi, and how people – especially women – persisted, despite poverty and daily struggles.Brook said: “When I met her, she was a teenager carrying a baby on her back. A teenage pregnancy had changed the direction of her life completely, at an age when she should have had every door still open. We bonded over the two things that made us both who we are – a love for helping people, and a deep, slightly obsessive love for netball.”Brook said: "When I met [Violet], she was a teenager carrying a baby on her back." Picture credit: SuppliedOver time, Brook and Matimati became inseparable, and regularly stayed in touch, even when Brook travelled back to the UK.Something happened, however, that changed the course of Brook’s life forever. She developed a twisted bowel, known as a volvulus, a serious medical emergency that happens when part of the intestine twists around itself and its supporting tissue.The local doctor had never performed surgery for the condition before, and her alternative was going to a private hospital two hours away. Brook said: “I was unconscious… the doctor told my friend, ‘she might die before she gets there’.” Her friend took that chance - Brook got the surgery, and remained in the private hospital for nearly a month.Brook said: “When I woke up from the operation, the doctor told me that at the local hospital, they prioritised me, and I was seen to first, despite about 300 people waiting in a queue.”Brook was shaken. She said: “That realisation changed the course of my life and I made a promise to change as many lives as possible. I spent the next 18 years building [on that promise].”A dream come trueIn 2015, Brook established The Sparkle Foundation, a sustainable community organisation providing education, nutrition and medical support to thousands of orphans and vulnerable children in Malawi.She said: “Working in Malawi has changed everything about who I am. It's taught me that resilience is often simply taking the next step… and that community is built on genuine relationships, generosity and looking after one another – values I think much of the world has lost. Above all, it's shown me that real change isn't measured by numbers, but by knowing that because of our work, even one child's life has a better future.”While she was busy setting up her foundation, Brook leaned on Matimati for support.She said: “I lived with Violet for several months, eating, laughing, joking together daily.” Matimati and her then-husband even asked Brook to name their newborn child, and she named him Joshua.In the early years of The Sparkle Foundation, Brook invited the couple to help oversee her nonprofit organisation. It worked out wonderfully initially. However, over time, things gradually started to fall apart: “We discovered that her ex-husband had not been completely honest, either with the project or their marriage… I still remember to this day, Violet crying, and me crying, and us saying, “What now?”. They both left the project, I removed my things from their house, and we went our separate ways. We exchanged few messages after that and then eventually lost contact.”Brook moved back to the UK in 2018, and then to Dubai in 2022, and has since been travelling between Malawi and the UAE.It took her three years to register her foundation in the UAE, because it was quite small at the time. Brook said: “Eventually, I was given a chance by the Ministry of Economy - they recommended that I be given a humanitarian visa.” Dubai Humanitarian, the city’s only non-profit, independent, humanitarian free zone authority, gave The Sparkle Foundation one year to prove itself.She said: “What started with one spontaneous decision has become my life's purpose. Moving to the UAE completely transformed The Sparkle Foundation. It gave us the platform to become a registered charity, connect with thousands of supporters, and partner with incredible organisations. I never imagined Sparkle would grow to impact over 30,000 lives or that I'd end up working full-time in the NGO sector – my dream has always been to build an organisation that can thrive beyond me.”Brook said her foundation’s success is the perfect example of the Dubai-it movement: “It couldn’t be more apparent. We doubled in size, we’re now working with over 25,000 students across the UAE. Our offices were donated to us by McCone Properties, our furniture was donated, we had a car donated to us. People have just helped in every single way - they just came together for us. If it hadn’t been for them, Sparkle wouldn’t have been where it is today.”Brook said she has made incredible connections and is now looking to expand Sparkle into other countries, “all because of the UAE - 100%”.The other side of the coinWhile Brook was building her dream, Matimati was struggling with the reality of divorce, poverty and raising a family by herself.She was struggling to survive.Brook said she visited her friend on one of her work trips to Malawi, after they reconciled, and was “shocked” to see the change in her circumstances.Matimati’s ordeal put life into sharp perspective for her and taught her “what women have to go through in Malawi, what hardship looks like, what access to a passport and education does, how culture and where you are born changes everything. If Violet had been born in the UK, her life would have been completely different. She has had to fight for everything. It also showed me something about loyalty because she never went back to her husband, and suffered greatly without his financial support, but her values meant more to her than that, and she is inspirational in that sense.”But Matimati didn’t surrender to her situation. Over time, she built up her resourcefulness and resilience to pull through. She started driving a motorbike, became involved with charity work, and turned financially independent.Matimati told Emirates 24/7: “I just thank God for all the setbacks, problems, challenges and struggles, because all of these shaped me and fuelled me to believe that I must keep going forward. At that time, I was young, coming from a poor family, entering into marriage at a tender age, and going through a lot in life.”She said at one point, she sat with her struggles and tried to think of what she could do to alleviate her suffering: “That’s when I thought of going back school.” It was a decision that unlocked doors, and gave her the ability to provide for herself and her family.Today, Matimati works for Villages in Partnership, an international nonprofit organisation that is implementing development programmes in Malawi, and addressing issues like lack of access to clean water, food insecurity, poor health care, inadequate education, insufficient infrastructure, and lack of economic opportunities.Two worlds, one purposeTheir shared passion for Malawi, and their love for helping the most vulnerable, is one of the reasons the two remain friends after 18 years of ups and downs. Picture credit: SuppliedWhen Brook and Matimati bumped into each other again, years later, on that fateful March day, they didn’t focus on the things that had gone wrong in their relationship – they went back in time to when they were 18-year-old girls. When they were best friends, with their future beckoning, and their dreams waiting.Brook said: “I didn't know then that the girl with the baby on her back, and the girl who had come to Malawi not quite knowing why, were both going to spend the next two decades trying to change the same corner of the world.”How did two people from completely different backgrounds find a kindred spirit in each other, and a shared life’s purpose?Brook has a theory: “I don't believe it was a coincidence at all. I think we were put into each other's lives for a reason, and our shared passion for Malawi and helping the most vulnerable is probably why we connected so naturally in the first place. I'm incredibly proud that despite everything that happened, Violet carved out her own path.”Now, reconnecting with Matimati, Brook feels a sense of hope: “Her story is proof that, with the right mindset and determination, your circumstances don't have to define your future. She reminds me that believing in someone, encouraging them and standing alongside them can have a lasting impact, and I hope I played a small part in her journey, just as she's been part of mine.”