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Ross Wilson attacked the woman on three occasions while being abusive and controlling for around five years of their relationship.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the 36-year-old was medically discharged from the military due to the impact his service had on his mental health.

Annelise Haugstad, prosecuting, said: “The relationship was experiencing difficulties primarily because the defendant was using alcohol and that led to arguments where he would blame her.”

The court heard how Wilson grabbed the victim by the throat twice while verbally abusing her and on one occasion it happened in front of the victim’s son.

Ms Haugstad on another occasion the defendant punched her in the face when she refused to go out during the night to get him more booze.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said his behaviour had turned her life upside down.

She said: “I became unable to make simple decision for myself without seeking reassurance that it was the right one.”

Wilson, of Longlands Drive, Houghton-le-Spring, Wearside, pleaded guilty to coercive and controlling behaviour between December 2017 and November 2022.

Cainan Lonsdale, mitigating, said his client had began drinking heavily during Covid as he struggled with his mental health as a result as his time in the military.

He added: “He has always shown a degree of remorse in this case and when I was reading his messages to him, he asked me to stop and became quite upset by that.

“He understands that the victim didn’t have the same luxury, He is ashamed by the way he spoke to her at that time and how he treated her during the relationship.”

Mr Lonsdale said the former serviceman was in the process of securing a place at a residential rehabilitation centre.

Recorder Ayesha Smart sentenced Wilson to 15 months in custody suspended for 15 months and ordered him to attend 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

“This offence took place over a prolonged period of five years,” she said. “It was committed in an intimate relationship, which started off well, but soured particularly when you consumed alcohol.

“You assaulted your partner three times during that period.”

Wilson was ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation and court costs.

He was also made subject to a 15-year restraining order.

South Korea’s Kospi plunged 5% and Asian shares fell sharply after the U.S. and Iran threatened to target crucial infrastructure as the Iran war entered its fourth week.

In early Asian trading on Monday, Kospi tumbled as much as 6.3% before paring back some losses, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 by 4.3% to 51,088.30.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.8% to 24,580.11, while the Shanghai Composite index was down nearly 2% to 3,879.86.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that the U.S. will “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global oil supply, was not fully opened within 48 hours. Iran on Sunday said if the threat was followed through, it would retaliate by attacking key energy and infrastructure assets.

Gloriously, it is anything but. It’s an open-armed place, one that welcomes anyone and everyone, so long as they’ll buy a drink. Lemonade is permitted; tomato juice raises a wry eyebrow. The Wrotham does, however, love its rhythm and blues; it loves music of all kinds, from wailing harmonicas to screaming guitars and sea shanties, to men in denim doing their best Leonard Cohen. You might hear Mark Knopfler’s Local Hero being given a workout. Apt.

He will be cremated with no service or mourners before his ashes are taken to a top secret location

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Soham murderer Ian Huntley will have no funeral, with his body to be cremated and his ashes scattered in secret.

The child killer died earlier this month following a savage attack in jail, where he had been serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years for murdering best friends Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002.

The 52-year-old died on March 7 after he was allegedly bludgeoned with a metal bar in a workshop at HMP Frankland on February 26 by a fellow inmate. Huntley, who never regained consciousness after suffering head injuries, had previously survived multiple attacks. His life support was switched off on March 6 and he died the following day.

Now The Sun reports he will be cremated with no service or mourners before his ashes are taken to a top secret location with his family declining a state-funded funeral out of respect for his victims’ families.

On funding cremations, the latest Ministry of Justice guidelines for prisons stipulate: “Prisons must offer to pay a contribution towards reasonable funeral expenses of up to £3,000. The only exceptions to this are where the family has a pre-paid funeral plan or is entitled to claim a grant from other government departments e.g., Department of Work and Pensions.”

On funding cremations, the latest Ministry of Justice guidelines for prisons stipulate: “Prisons must offer to pay a contribution towards reasonable funeral expenses of up to £3,000. The only exceptions to this are where the family has a pre-paid funeral plan or is entitled to claim a grant from other government departments e.g., Department of Work and Pensions.”

Reasonable fees would include undertaker charges, coffin expenses, hearse hire, cremation or burial costs and religious or belief leader payments. The contribution cannot cover headstones, floral tributes, obituary advertisements or wake expenses.

A source told The Sun: “There will be no service, no memorial, no mourners, nothing. It is as it should be. There will be no funeral. How could there be after what he did?

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“He will simply be cremated and his ashes handed to his family. They have always been utterly appalled by what he did. It was unforgivable and, for those reasons, they could not in good conscience hold a funeral.”

His ashes will reportedly be scattered in secrecy amid fears of reprisals.

It comes after Huntley’s daughter Samantha Bryan said the killer should “burn in hell” and didn’t deserve a funeral. She said: “We should flush his ashes down the toilet.”

Rathlin is home to Northern Ireland’s biggest seabird colony, with more than 250,000 birds including puffins, razorbills, guillemots and Manx shearwaters

A “world-first” conservation scheme has successfully eradicated feral ferrets from a Northern Irish island to protect thousands of seabirds.

Rathlin Island, off the north coast of County Antrim, is home to Northern Ireland’s biggest seabird colony, with more than 250,000 birds including puffins, razorbills, guillemots and Manx shearwaters breeding and nesting there each year and providing a major nature tourism draw.

It is also home to a population of corncrakes – a ground-nesting bird which is extinct in the rest of Northern Ireland.

But the birds have been under severe pressure from a population of feral ferrets, which have been on the island since being introduced in the 1980s and which prey on eggs, chicks and even adult birds.

The “LIFE Raft” partnership, led by the RSPB and working closely with the community on the island, has used trapping, camera and thermal drone surveillance and a detection dog called “Woody” to eradicate the animals, a domesticated relative of polecats.

While island eradication programmes have previously targeted the likes of invasive rats on South Georgia and invasive mice on Gough Island, in the Atlantic, to protect native birdlife, the team said it is the first time in the world a scheme has successfully removed ferrets from an inhabited island.

The LIFE Raft scheme is also working to remove brown rats – another threat to ground-nesting birds – from Rathlin Island.

LIFE Raft programme manager Erin McKeown said the “large-scale, ambitious partnership”, which has operated with significant involvement and support from the island’s community of around 150 people, had been years in the making.

Before the eradication there were an estimated 100 ferrets on Rathlin Island, with the potential to do serious damage to bird populations – with evidence of one animal getting into the puffin colony and killing up to 27 birds in a two-day period.

“They put a really high pressure on this place the seabirds have to breed and raise their young,” Ms McKeown said.

They also affected the local community, with ferrets getting into chicken coops on the island.

The project to eradicate them officially started in 2021, and has involved 30 staff and 60 volunteers, working mostly in the autumn and winter to avoid disturbing breeding seabirds and facing cold, wet, icy and stormy conditions.

Five years on, it has been declared a success, with efforts now focused on biosecurity – keeping ferrets and any other non-natural predators off Rathlin.

Already positive signs include Manx shearwaters breeding on the island for the first time in 20 years.

“From a wild bird perspective, this is one of the most robust, critical lifelines we can give our seabirds on our islands across the UK and the island of Ireland,” Ms McKeown told the Press Association.

She said seabirds were declining across the globe, and on Rathlin Island there had been a 74% decrease in the puffin population since 1999.

“If we don’t act now in this way, we could lose some of these island populations.

“This is one of the most urgent things we can do, and we know the benefits will be far-reaching for the community too,” she added.

Joanne Sherwood, RSPB NI director, said: “This is an extraordinary moment for Rathlin, for Northern Ireland, and for conservation globally.

“The successful, world-first eradication of ferrets means that puffins and other seabirds can now nest and raise their young more safely on Rathlin for the first time in generations.

“We are already seeing encouraging signs of recovery, and we expect to see populations rebound in the coming years.”

And she said: “This project is a testament to community and would not have been possible without the incredible support and commitment of the people of Rathlin, who have embraced this vision for their island’s future, ensuring protection of nature and the island’s heritage for generations to come.”

Marina McMullan, chairwoman of Rathlin Development and Community Association, said islanders would be able to raise poultry again, while the programme had provided employment, boosted local trade and brought new skills.

“It will be a delight to see some of those once-familiar birds able to flourish in the fields and cliffs of our island again,” she said.

“It’s much more than the excellent environmental win – it’s been a genuine boost to our community spirit,” she added.

The £4.5 million project received funding from the EU LIFE scheme, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), and the Garfield Weston Foundation.

It was led by RSPB NI, in partnership with the Rathlin Development and Community Association, Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust, DAERA and the Causeway Coast and Glenns Borough Council.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Ways to secure National Insurance credits without claiming Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits have been revealed. National Insurance credits may be able to boost your state pension entitlement.

National Insurance credits can fill gaps in your National Insurance record, which determines your state pension entitlement. Usually, these credits are awarded to individuals on certain benefits such as Carer’s Allowance and Child Benefit, ensuring carers don’t forfeit state pension rights whilst looking after family members.

However, there are four methods people can obtain National Insurance credits without claiming any benefits. Some of these aren’t automatically granted, meaning individuals must make their claim or risk losing out.

Training courses

People aged 18 or over who have been enrolled on a government-approved training course by Jo Centre Plus should automatically receive Class 1 National Insurance credits. This only applies if the course doesn’t exceed one year, reports Birmingham Live.

If you’re over 18 and taking part in a government-approved training course that lasts no more than one year without being referred by the Job Centre, you may still qualify for credits but will need to apply. This involves writing to HMRC, specifying the period for which credits are being claimed and demonstrating your eligibility.

Jury service

Those who are not self-employed and have been summoned for jury service may be eligible for National Insurance credits for the duration of their court duty. To secure these Class 1 credits, a written application must be submitted to HMRC.

Partners of armed forces personnel

If you are married to or in a civil partnership with someone serving in the armed forces and have accompanied them on an overseas posting, you may qualify for National Insurance credits.

For those who departed for their assignment after April 6, 2010, and have since returned to the UK, Class 1 credits may be claimed. If your overseas deployment took place after April 6, 1975, you reached state pension age on or after April 6, 2016, and you’re not receiving Class 1 credits, then you may apply for Class 3 credits instead.

Wrongfully convicted

If your conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal, or Court of Criminal Appeal in Scotland, you can apply for Class 1 credits. You must write to HMRC, providing your National Insurance number along with details explaining your entitlement.

Information on how to apply and where to send applications for these credits can be found on the Gov.uk website.

LONDON (AP) — “Saturday Night Live” has crossed the pond with a mild splash.

A British offshoot of the 51-year-old U.S. comedy institution has debuted to generally positive reviews, defying doomsayers who doubted the show would survive the trans-Atlantic journey.

The format of the first episode of “Saturday Night Live UK” stuck closely to the U.S. original. The 75-minute show opened with a skit showing Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeking help from a Gen Z adviser about how to talk to President Donald Trump, before the proclamation: “Live from London, it’s Saturday night!” Trump posted the skit on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, without comment.

“SNL” veteran Tina Fey was the host, taking questions during her opening monologue from celebrity audience members Michael Cera, Graham Norton and “Bridgerton” star Nicola Coughlan, who jokingly warned Fey that “British people tend to root for the failure of others.”

Certainly, many in Britain had predicted the show would fail, and reviews expressed surprise that it was — largely — pretty funny. The Telegraph newspaper called it “shockingly competent” and “occasionally hilarious.”

There was widespread praise for the cast of largely little-known comics: George Fouracres, Hammed Animashaun, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean, Celeste Dring, Ania Magliano, Annabel Marlow, Al Nash, Jack Shep, Emma Sidi and Paddy Young.

As in the original, the show featured topical comedy, offbeat sketches, fake commercials and the “Weekend Update” spoof of the news, as well as a guest musical act, the English band Wet Leg. Some of the humor was mildly edgy, including jokes about pedophiles, the Epstein files and disgraced royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Apart from the accents, one difference from the American original was the expletives. British broadcasting rules allowed for a liberal sprinkling of F-words.

Since its debut in 1975 “SNL” has become a pop-culture institution and helped launch the careers of generations of comedians, from Bill Murray to Eddie Murphy and Gilda Radner to Kristen Wiig.

Efforts to replicate its success in other countries, such as France, Japan and Italy, have typically been short-lived, though a version of the show remains on the air in South Korea.

The U.K. offshoot, which has “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels as executive producer, airs on the relatively little-watched channel Sky One and the NOW streaming service. But social media may bring a much bigger audience for clips. Fey’s monologue had more than 730,000 views on YouTube by Sunday afternoon.

The initial run is only eight episodes, and it remains to be seen how the cast fares without Fey’s assured guidance. Future guest hosts include Jamie Dorman and Riz Ahmed.

Nick Hilton in The Independent said the first episode’s sketches included “a handful of hits,” but also moments when it seemed like “tepid cosplay” of the U.S. original.

Charlotte Ivers in The Times of London felt that “the spark is not there yet,” but The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan praised the program’s ambition.

“It did not fail. And in the coming weeks, let’s hope, it can build toward real success,” she wrote.

Having started with just seven cuisines in the UK 20 years ago – Italian and pizza, Indian, burgers, Chinese, kebabs, fish and chips, and chicken – Just Eat said it has now expanded to offer more than 100 options on its platform, with additions including Bangladeshi, Brazilian, Greek and Nepalese food.

Parents have said new screening tests for Spinal muscular atrophy are a “game-changer”.

Scotland has become the first part of the UK to screen babies for a rare condition that causes progressive muscle wastage in a move parents have described as a “game-changer”.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) can result in muscle weakness, breathing and swallowing issues and a loss of mobility in children. If caught early, the most devastating effects of the condition can be avoided.

On average, three to four babies a year are born with SMA in Scotland. All parents will now be offered SMA screening for their newborns through the existing blood spot test which is taken around day four after birth.

Tony and Carrie Pearson’s daughter Grayce was around six months old when she stopped being able to move her legs and began losing her strength. After several referrals, doctors in 2024 confirmed it was SMA type two. Since then, the parents have been campaigning for a national screening programme.

Carrie told the Press Association: “We wish it came out sooner, obviously, but we are grateful now that every other child isn’t going to go through all those issues. They’re going to get treatment sooner and be able to meet their milestones, and all families aren’t going to have to go through that anxiety and stress that we did, and other families went through.”

She said it was “only logical that the rest of the UK falls behind” Scotland before adding: “Can you really put a price on a child’s life?”

Tony said the pilot is “history being made in Scotland”. He went on: “It’s £4 to test a baby for SMA. Is a child’s life worth £4? Definitely.” He said he hoped the rest of the UK would follow Scotland, adding: “It’s a gamechanger.”

Dr Sarah Smith, director of the screening laboratory in Glasgow where all the tests will be conducted, said the aim of the pilot was to reveal whether a baby has SMA before they showed any symptoms and before any muscle wastage took place. The lab, next to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, already screens for 10 disorders and the new scheme would add SMA to that list.

Dr Smith said: “It will mean these babies are picked up pre-symptomatically. With SMA, unfortunately, once the symptoms are present, you can’t easily reverse them. Our aim is to stop the symptoms from actually happening in the first place.

“So, we’ll be able to pick up the baby as having SMA pre-symptomatically, and we’ll be able to put them on treatment, and then hopefully they won’t present with some of the symptoms that this disease can have, so they’ll have a much better quality of life.”

Giles Lomax, chief executive officer of SMA UK and the father of twins living with SMA, said the project was a “huge moment for the SMA community”, who he said have been campaigning for newborn screening for a decade.

He added: “With all three treatments now routinely available through NHS Scotland alongside newborn screening, the future for anyone diagnosed with SMA is very different compared to their peers who were diagnosed symptomatically. These babies will now have the opportunity to grow up without lifelong health care needs and the complexity and challenges of living with SMA.”

The two-year scheme is being funded by the Scottish Government, which will provide £95,000, and the pharmaceutical company Novartis, which will provide £435,000.

Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “SMA can have devastating implications for babies and their families, and this investment demonstrates our commitment to early detection through our screening programme. I thank SMA UK and local campaigners who have worked so hard to highlight this issue, and Novartis for its funding. By detecting SMA before symptoms develop, screening could allow earlier treatment which could be life-changing and help secure the best possible care and support for babies and families.”

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