A prisoner in Wrexham who was jailed for seriously injuring a baby could lose a testicle after he was brutally attacked by four inmates. Qasim Afzal was set upon in his cell at HMP Berwyn while the attackers filmed the beating they inflicted upon him.

Caernarfon Crown Court heard the attack was so severe one of the victim’s testicles had “died” and may have to be surgically removed.

In February 2024 the pre-planned attack was carried out by the inmates because Afzal had attacked and injured a four-month-old baby, Judge Timothy Petts said.

On Friday, April 17, Zayn Abu-Manahim, 30, of HMP Berwyn, Zaheer Hussain, 28, of HMP Berwyn, Farhar Khan, 29, of HMP Oakwood, and Russell Lloyd, 34, of HMP Berwyn, were sentenced after admitting causing grievous bodily harm without intent.

Oliver King, prosecuting, told the court the defendants entered the victim’s cell and then kicked and punched him. “He had no escape,” said Mr King.

Abu-Manahim filmed the attack on a mobile phone. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here.

The court heard Abu-Manahim had 53 convictions for 85 offences including battery, ABH, attempted robbery, possession of a weapon, robbery, affray, and assaulting an emergency worker.

Hussain had 16 convictions for 33 offences including battery, assault, wounding with intent, and possession of a blade.

Lloyd had 21 convictions for 39 offences including robbery and attempted robbery, ABH, battery, and making threats to kill. Khan had four convictions for 12 drug-related offences.

Gareth Morley, representing Abu-Manahim, said there had been a long delay bringing the case to court and said his client had played a different role in filming the incident as no violence was attributed to him.

Euros Jones, for Hussain, said he was 20 years old when he entered custody and was now 28. He told the court the defendant’s 71-year-old mother was in poor health. He said he had completed a programme on committing violent offences and wanted to move on.

John Wyn Williams, representing Russell, said he had been in custody for seven years and used his time to improve himself. He added that he was a father to three children with whom he had regular contact.

Buntry Bantra, defending Khan, said there had been a long delay in the case coming to court and said he had no convictions for violence. He detailed how in custody he had completed numerous courses to improve himself and he said he was being bullied in HMP Berwyn and had instructed a solicitor to get him moved.

During sentencing Judge Petts said: “It is clear the four of you went into his cell, that this was planned, and there was a plan to film it and share it on WhatsApp.

“This was clearly planned as a punishment to him and serve as an example to others.”

Judge Petts said the victim had been made aware of the attack. “He didn’t know when but somebody had given him an improvised weapon to try and defend himself”.

The judge said he didn’t see the filming as any less culpable than the attacking.

He described the injuries as “severe”. He added: “The most serious came from a stamp to his right testicle, which has effectively died and is likely to need surgical removal.”

Judge Petts sentenced the four to a further two and a half years in prison, consecutive to their current sentences, which will result in delays to their earliest release dates and time on licence when released.

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Sir Keir said: “We welcome the announcement that was made during our meeting, but we need to make sure that that is both lasting and a workable proposal and, if anything, it reinforces the need for the work that we’ve been doing this afternoon, because we’re very clear that the mission that we’re putting together is a defensive mission, and that comes after a ceasefire.”

The Blue Trail offers a bold and refreshing vision of ageing – one driven by agency, quiet defiance and profound transformation. Set against the awe-inspiring landscapes of north-west Brazil, the film weaves together dystopian sci-fi with a striking “coming-of-old-age” journey, redefining what it means to grow older.

The film follows 77-year-old Tereza (Denise Weinberg). She lives in a chilling near-future where a totalitarian regime forcibly removes anyone over 75, relocating them to remote colonies without consultation or consent.

Faced with this looming threat of unwanted exclusion and invisibility, Tereza refuses to comply. Instead, she embarks on a surreal journey along the Amazon river to chase one final dream before she is “put out to pasture”.

On her picturesque journey through the Amazon, Tereza meets Cadu (Rodrigo Santoro), an enigmatic boat navigator with shady origins, and Ludemir (Adanilo), a fickle pilot with a clouded sense of judgment. Most importantly, however, she meets Roberta (Miriam Socarras), a secretly atheist preacher who sells Bibles. Roberta is older than Tereza, and brings an exciting and alluring sense of hope and freedom to her otherwise oppressive reality.

The two women connect in a powerfully intimate way, sharing new experiences and arriving at unexpected revelations. Together, they embody an almost Thelma and Louise-like bond. The Blue Trail is a thoroughly original story, in which two older women are capable of newness, independence and transformation against all odds.

Interrogating ageism

Amid its dystopian backdrop, the film reveals moments of astonishing beauty through its fantastical visual language – drifting between surreal, dreamlike images of the Amazon’s waterways, northern Brazilian river towns and striking urban jungles.

The collision of water and land, as well as jungle and urban environments, serve as powerful visual expressions of the story’s underlying tensions. Tereza’s character experiences her greatest sense of escape and liberation when she is at one with nature.

The film also lingers on stunning close-ups of animals, their presence quietly echoing Tereza’s journey in unexpected ways. Most notably, the fictional blue drool snail serves as a driving force in the plot. Often dismissed as slow and unassuming, the snail is reimagined in director Gabriel Mascaro’s world as a creature capable of profound and unexpected things.

At its core, the film serves as a critique of ageist assumptions, imagining an Orwellian future where today’s stereotypes calcify into authoritarian policy. In this world, the supposed logic of care mutates into control, unsettlingly blurring the line between protection and punishment.

We see Tereza subjected to a series of legal and social infantilisations. She is ordered to rest, despite having no desire or need to do so. She must obtain her daughter’s consent for everyday tasks like booking travel or buying lunch. She is forced to wear adult nappies despite being fully continent. These humiliations reveal the harm in treating old age as a singular, generalised state.

In this way, the film powerfully exemplifies the influential claim made by anti-ageist activist Margaret Gullette that we are “aged by culture”. It exposes how the acceptance of reductionist attitudes towards ageing can materialise as harmful, systemic ageist practices.

Despite these harsh realities, Mascaro constructs a character who commands our admiration rather than our pity. This creative choice feels particularly significant in a cultural landscape where older people are too often framed as weak, dependent, or diminished in capacity.

Tereza is presented as both physically and mentally capable – strong-willed, perceptive, and open to the possibility of a different future. Her age never defines the limits of her identity.

Instead, her quick wit becomes a subtle-yet-entertaining form of resistance, particularly when she turns ageist assumptions about incontinence back on those who impose them, gaining the upper hand in the process. These moments also offer brief light-hearted relief within the film’s broader narrative.

A final striking element of Mascaro’s film is his use of lingering close-ups on Tereza’s face. These moments showcase an intimacy rarely afforded to ageing women’s bodies on the big screen.

Through both characterisation and visual style, The Blue Trail quietly but powerfully resists the notion of ageing as taboo, and challenges the cultural tendency to overlook or erase older people altogether.

The One Show presenter Alex Jones shared an emotional tribute after a devastating death.

Tonight’s The One Show saw Alex Jones pay tribute to a BBC star at the close of the programme.

Presenters Alex Jones and JB Gill were joined on the sofa by guests Ross Kemp, Jessie Ware and Kiell Smith-Bynoe.

As the show drew to a close, they took a moment to honour Andy Kershaw, who has passed away at the age of 66.

The former BBC Radio 1 DJ and Live Aid presenter died on Thursday evening, as confirmed by his family. It had been revealed in January that Kershaw had been diagnosed with cancer and had lost the ability to walk.

After the news of his death, his sister Liz, who also forged a career in broadcasting, posted on X: “Thank you for all your messages of affection for our Andrew and kindness today. I’ve lost my best friend.”

READ MORE: David Haye hits out at ‘unwell’ I’m A Celebrity co-star in tense rowREAD MORE: Strictly’s Vito Coppola issues four-word response about future on show

Bringing tonight’s The One Show to an end, Alex said: “Before we go, we wanted to take a moment to mention today’s sad news that DJ Andy Kershaw has died,” reports the Mirror.

“He was best known for Radio 1 and Live Aid, and also presented a number of films for The One Show in the past.

“Our thoughts, of course, go out to his family and friends.”

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Earlier in tonight’s programme, Alex was left holding her head in her hands and exclaiming ‘I can’t cope’ following a misunderstanding.

The Welsh presenter had been quizzing Ross about his EastEnders comeback, as he returns to his role as Grant Mitchell.

The game show host will be reuniting with Steve McFadden as the Mitchell brothers come together for a moving storyline centred around dementia.

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However, Alex mistakenly fumbled her words, confusing ‘Mitchell’ with ‘Michelin’, the famous tyre company whose mascot is a large stack of tyres.

She started: “Grant is coming back! This is the first time the Michelin…”

Recognising her error, Alex buried her face in her hands, exclaiming: “I can’t cope,” while Ross quipped: “I’m not that big, am I?”

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“I can still get in the same leather jacket I got in 35 years ago,” he chuckled.

She continued: “The Mitchell siblings! I don’t know what I was thinking!”

Discussing his comeback, Ross went on to describe the “rollercoaster” he experienced during filming, transitioning from an emotional scene “sobbing your heart out” to a more cheerful moment.

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Addressing the ongoing dementia storyline centred on another character, Ross added: “It was a real honour to be asked to be a part of all the work they’ve done for the last 17 months, and Steve, in particular, I have to say, thank you, because he is a wonderful actor.

“He’s been there for 35 years, Steve and I joined a long, long time ago, and if he didn’t open the door for me, I couldn’t do anything, and he is one of the most giving and one of the most talented actors I’ve ever worked with.”

The One Show airs weeknights at 7pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

The readout, which took the form of an email sent by Sir Keir’s Principal Private Secretary Dan York-Smith on Wednesday, also said: “There is some discretion for departments to proceed with clearance and the FCDO had exercised it in this case, granting Mandelson vetting clearance.

‘Mr Starmer is right to be furious but it must be a moment of reckoning for the Prime Minister – he needs to toughen up and learn from this’

He needs a firmer grip

Keir Starmer admits he made a serious mistake making Peter Mandelson US ambassador. But what matters just as much is he was not given the full facts.

Being kept in the dark about security vetting concerns being raised and then overruled by the Foreign Office points to a troubling breakdown at the heart of government.

He is right to be furious. But it must be a moment of reckoning for the Prime Minister. Mr Starmer needs to learn from this, toughen up and impose a far tighter grip on how decisions are taken in his name.

No leader can afford to be shielded from critical information or left exposed by those around them. Authority must be asserted – clearly, consistently and without hesitation.

As global tensions flared during the Iran conflict, Britain saw the value of steady leadership. Mr Starmer refused to be dragged into war, demonstrating a calm, measured approach when it mattered most. Now he must bring that same steel to his own ranks.

Canine crisis

We cannot ignore the horror unfolding in Britain’s homes.

Three fatal dog attacks in a single week is no coincidence. It is a crisis unfolding before our eyes. Deaths tripled in a year, with thousands more injured. This is no longer rare; it is a serious and growing public safety threat.

Ministers must act. Tougher enforcement is not cruelty to animals, it is basic protection for people. Sympathy alone is not enough; reckless owners must face real consequences. Without decisive action, more families will suffer, and more warnings will come too late.

Spiteful splash

A wedding day should be about brides in white dresses, not someone seeing red and turning them black. The paint attack on Gemma Monk by her sister-in-law was petty revenge at its ugliest.

Family feuds are one thing, but this crossed a line. No bride should have her big day splashed with spite.

Adam Thomas has been battling a health condition, brought on by an autoimmune disease, which means he struggles to walk and was enduring ‘pretty unbearable’ pain

Adam Thomas has been battling a health condition, brought on by an autoimmune disease, for years. During a conversation on I’m A Celebrity tonight, boxer David Haye will be seen trying to get Adam to take taking part in the Termite Terror, unable to accept that the former soap actor just isn’t feeling up to it.

Trying to sleep, Adam admits it would be hard to get through it today because he is feeling dehydrated, but David is seen raging: “Dehydrated?! We’ve all got the same amount of water! Adam is doing it and that’s it!”

David’s co-stars continually try to remind him that their campmate isn’t feeling well enough to get through it, but he becomes hellbent on trying to force Adam into it. He continues: “When is your top form gonna come? Why aren’t we forcing this dude to go and do it? Coincidentally, every time there’s something to do, he’s not feeling well!”

It is at that point that Scarlett, clearly in despair at the situation developing, says: “Stop it David, he’s not well!” Adam previously said he had been in pain every day since his diagnosis – but he had finally found something that would help.

“I’ve been struggling with this autoimmune disease now for about two and a half years. It’s been tough. I’m not overexaggerating when I say this but literally within two and a half years, every day I’ve been in pain,” he explained.

“It’s difficult but now I feel like I’ve found – because I’ve been on so many different meds and trying so many different things, back and forth from doctor’s and hospitals.” Back in 2024, Adam explained that he could “barely walk” and was enduring “pretty unbearable” pain due to his arthritis. Adam took to Instagram and told his followers: “The pain is pretty unbearable at the moment, it’s as if my whole body is seizing up!! The pain was bad before, but it’s a lot worse now… how why???

“Now I wish I never came off the methotrexate because I would take that pain to this every day of the week! I’ve just started my new medication today which takes 12 weeks to take effect and even then it might not work so am not too sure what I can do to ease the pain until then?? I’ve had my steroid injections and it literally lasted a week …

“Going to check in at the hospital tomorrow to see what pain relief I can get, because I can’t carry on like this!” Arthritis is a common ailment causing pain and inflammation in the joints, according to the NHS. Main treatments include lifestyle changes, physiotherapy, medication, and in severe cases, surgery. However, there’s no known cure.

An orthopaedic surgeon said that arthritis can be “very debilitating” and may appear in unexpected areas. He explained that while people often think of hips and knees being affected, they don’t usually consider the hands.

Talking about the pain which is often overlooked, Dr Tom Naylor said that “when you’ve got arthritis pain in the thumb right there (video below) it affects so much of what you do on a daily basis. And it really is debilitating for people who have this”.

Speaking on BBC Morning Live, he explained arthritis as a term that causes pain, stiffness and inflammation in the joints. He said: “It literally means inflammation of a joint.”

Talking about CMCJ, which stands for Carpometacarpal joint, he said that it was all to do with the “joint down at the bottom of the thumb and what happens is the joint starts to wear away and the cartilage starts to get more and more worn.

“Even a deformity can start to form and it impacts everything that you do with your hands.” Speaking about treatments for this type of arthritis, the doctor said: “With all types of arthritis, we tend to follow was called a stepwise approach to treatment.”

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The two-car crash happened in Farnworth at 4.30pm this afternoon (April 17), blocking Bradford Road in both directions.

The incident closed the road for almost two hours and happened just before the junction with Minerva Road leading towards Royal Bolton Hospital.

There were reports that ambulances heading to the hospital were forced to turn around when they reached the junction, unable to get past the crash.

Ambulance crews were quickly on scene and checked-up on two men but no major injuries were reported.

The Bee Network said that buses on routes 22, 36 and 501 were affected with traffic diverted onto Bishops Road.

(Image: Phil Taylor)

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said: “Officers were called to a collision between two vehicles on Bradford Road, Farnworth at 4.30pm.

“The road is blocked from both directions.

“Ambulance is also at the scene seeing to two men, no major injuries have been reported at this time.”

Cllr Nadeem Ayub, of Farnworth North, warned drivers to avoid the area as it remained shut into the evening.

The Labour councillor said it was the second crash of the day and there have been calls for speed cameras to be installed.

He said: “The earlier one was due to the weather, it was a bit heavy, but this one is affecting road users at peak times.

“The earlier one was due to the weather, it was a bit heavy, but this one is affecting road users at peak times.

“Having two accidents is unusual, however, we do have problems on this road regarding speeding cars and we’ve considered speed cameras here.

“I would just tell people to avoid the area if they can at this moment in time.”

The road was cleared shortly after 6pm, with both cars taken away by recovery crews and traffic would soon return to normal.

The Lyrid meteor shower will peak on Tuesday, April 21, 2026, and will be visible across the UK – here’s everything you need to know to catch the display

The oldest-recorded meteor shower is set to light up the night sky next week, as Earth passes through debris left in the wake of comet Thatcher during its journey around the sun centuries ago.

Stargazers can expect between 10 and 15 meteors per hour at the shower’s peak, though those particularly fortunate may witness an outburst potentially producing up to 100 meteors per hour.

Named after the constellation Lyra, from which the meteors appear to originate, the shower will run from April 16 to April 26 and reach its peak next Tuesday, April 21. With the moon in a waning crescent phase and setting late in the evening, conditions for viewing should be ideal.

People living in Peterborough may be lucky to see it, as it is set to appear over the city. For those wanting to see it, it’s advised they head to darker places to experience it at its best. The clearer the sky, the higher the number of meteors you are likely to spot, reports the Irish Mirror.

The constellation is generally straightforward to locate as it contains Vega, one of the brightest stars visible in the night sky. While the radiant point marks where the meteors appear to stem from, they will streak across the entire sky, lighting it up brilliantly. For the best experience, allow your eyes sufficient time to adjust to the darkness; this will ensure you can pick them out immediately.

The Lyrid meteors will be strikingly bright and may on occasion even outshine the planet Venus at their most dazzling. The vivid colours are produced by minuscule dust particles, no bigger than a grain of sand, as they interact with the molecules and ions present in Earth’s atmosphere. The luminous display becomes visible as these fragments heat up and ionise, with the characteristic streak appearing as the meteor cools and fades from view.

While the shower originates from debris left behind by Comet Thatcher, it is in fact impossible to observe the long-period comet itself.

First identified by scientists in 1861, the comet takes roughly 415 years to complete a single orbit around the sun. It will reach its furthest point from the sun at around 2070, before making its return to our skies sometime in the vicinity of the year 2283.

“While Booth’s imprisonment cannot change what happened that night, I hope it brings some comfort to Dylan’s loved ones.”

A man has been jailed for live over the “shocking and violent” murder of another man in Aberdeen. Dylan Geddes died after being found seriously injured in Tillydrone on Thursday July 10, 2025.

The 24-year-old had been involved in a disturbance at a property on Coningham Terrace with Brandon Booth, 25, who pled guilty to his murder at the High Court in Glasgow. Detectives described the incident as “shocking and violent”.

Dylan was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary after he was found seriously injured nearby on Pennan Road but was pronounced dead a short time after arriving. In a statement released after his death, his family said: “Dylan was a much-loved son, grandson, brother and nephew.

“He will be sorely missed every day by all who knew him. The family is absolutely devastated by what has happened and would like privacy at this difficult time.”

Detective Inspector James Callander said: “This was a shocking and violent incident and the impact on Dylan’s family and friends has been devastating. While Booth’s imprisonment cannot change what happened that night, I hope it brings some comfort to Dylan’s loved ones.

“I’d like to thank the local community for their assistance throughout this investigation. I want to reassure the public that violent incidents such as this will not be tolerated in our communities, and our officers will continue to work tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice.”

A spokesperson for Police Scotland: “A man has been jailed for life in connection with the murder of Dylan Geddes in Aberdeen. Brandon Booth, aged 25, pled guilty to murder at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday, April 17. He received a life sentence.

“In the early hours of Thursday, July 10, 2025, 24-year-old Dylan Geddes was found seriously injured in the Pennan Road area, following a disturbance at a property in Coningham Terrace. He was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.“

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