Rogue barber shops, vape stores, mini-marts and sweet shops across the region linked to organised crime will be hit

Police are to be given a funding boost in a major crackdown on ‘dodgy’ shops across Greater Manchester. Organised crime gangs operating across the region will be hit by the new offensive as part of the national plans to shut down the illegal operations.

The Home Office said rogue barber shops, vape stores, mini-marts and sweet shops across Greater Manchester linked to organised crime will face raids, closures and seizures. It is part of the £20 million of funding for the High Street Organised Crime Unit for the national crackdown on money laundering and illegal working.

The unit is to provide national backing to the immediate funding for UK regions with the some of the highest levels of high street organised crime, which includes Greater Manchester as well as the West Midlands, Kent and Essex, it was announced.

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Across Greater Manchester, additional funding will support enforcement activity in Rochdale, Bury, and Bolton. They are the areas identified as containing the highest levels of high street organised crime activity by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Under Operation Machinize, Greater Manchester Police carried out more than 120 visits to high-street premises, made 14 arrests, and disrupted dozens of illicit businesses across the region.

It comes just days after a major new report highlighted the staggering number of high streets which are believed to have become awash with illegal activity, with shops being used as a front for illicit purposes.

According to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, up to half the number of ‘mini-marts’ and vape shops in parts of the UK are estimated by trading standards officials to have links with organised crime. Around a third of ‘American’ sweet shops and a quarter of fast food takeaways are also estimated to have links with organised crime in some areas.

And the NCA estimates at least £12bn of criminal cash is generated in the UK. Money is often laundered through high street shops like mini-marts, barber shops, vape stores and sweet shops to hide profits. Some businesses are also connected to the sale of fake goods, tax evasion, illegal working and illegal drug supply.

The move is expected to see thousands of businesses raided, with hundreds of arrests made and millions in cash seized nationally.

Security Minister, Dan Jarvis, said: “Criminal groups are using seemingly legitimate businesses across Greater Manchester as fronts for serious organised crime, money laundering, and illegal working.

“We are backing Greater Manchester Police with new funding, better intelligence, and more officers to target these criminal enterprises.

“The High Street Organised Crime Unit will bring together law enforcement, government, and local authorities to put these criminal groups out of business and restore confidence on our high street.”

For most of the 20th century, the model of human origins was a tree: with the trunk dividing into branches, and then twigs. Each species of human relative (hominin) was a neat, single branch.

As an undergraduate, I was taught that Homo sapiens was one of these branches that emerged in Africa, spread across the world, and displaced every archaic human it encountered.

Neanderthals, Homo erectus, and other ancient relatives were evolutionary dead ends – unfortunate cousins who left no descendants. In the 30 years since I left university, those early lessons are now radically revised.

That neat replacement story is now comprehensively wrong, largely thanks to studies like the one published in Nature this week by Qiaomei Fu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and colleagues. The paper achieves something that would have seemed impossible a decade ago: it recovers meaningful biological information from H. erectus fossils far too old for DNA.

Instead of genetic sequences, the team extracted ancient proteins from the enamel of six teeth from three Chinese sites – Zhoukoudian (which, in the early 20th century, produced fossil remains known as “Peking Man”), Hexian and Sunjiadong – all dating to around 400,000 years ago.

Homo erectus is widely regarded as the first hominin to leave Africa; the evidence suggests this species had moved into Eurasia nearly two million years ago. It remains the most geographically widespread human ancestor that ever lived. The new study indicates that Homo erectus exchanged genes (probably through interbreeding) with Denisovans in East Asia roughly 400,000 years ago.

The study suggests that some of that genetic legacy, it now appears, was passed on to living people in the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and across south-east Asia.

Tooth enamel is the hardest tissue in the body, and its proteins survive long after DNA has degraded beyond recovery. What the team found in those proteins is striking. All six specimens share a previously unknown amino acid variant – a tiny molecular signature, a single letter changed in the protein sequence, never seen in any other hominin alive or dead.

This variant clusters these east Asian H. erectus into a distinct group, confirming their identity and settling a long-running debate about whether the unusual Hexian fossils were H. erectus at all. A second variant they share, however, is not unique to H. erectus.

It also appears in Denisovans – a mysterious archaic (non-Homo sapiens) human group known mainly from a cave in Siberia. The corresponding genetic variant turns up in living people at frequencies of 21% in the Philippines and about 1% in India, distributed in a pattern that matches what we’d expect if it entered modern humans via Denisovan ancestry.

The most reasonable interpretation is that H. erectus populations in east Asia passed this variant to Denisovans through interbreeding, and Denisovans later passed it on to the ancestors of modern south-east Asians and Oceanians. This transfer of genetic material from one species to another is known as introgression.

The lineage we once thought was a dead end has, it turns out, left a small but detectable trace in living human genomes – a molecular thread connecting a Peking Man tooth to living people in Asia.

A pattern repeated

But the significance of today’s paper extends well beyond the specific variant or the specific populations involved. What it really shows is that interbreeding between archaic human lineages was not exceptional. It was routine.

Every major hominin lineage we have been able to examine genomically shows admixture. Modern humans outside Africa carry roughly 2% Neanderthal DNA. Papuans and Aboriginal Australians carry an additional 2–5% Denisovan ancestry.

West African populations carry genetic signatures from an unidentified archaic lineage. Even Denisovans themselves, as today’s study adds further weight to, received gene flow from something older and more diverged — likely H. erectus.

A 2019 review in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology documents at least three distinct introgression events from Denisovan-like populations into south-east Asian and Oceanic ancestors alone, some occurring as recently as 20,000 years ago. The picture is not one of clean lineages but of a tangled web of contact and exchange extending across millions of years.

The implications are far-reaching. Our genomes are not the product of a single unbroken lineage emerging from Africa. They are mosaics, assembled from contributions by multiple archaic groups, each adapted to its own regional environment.

Some of the Denisovan-derived variants in Papuan genomes, for instance, appear to influence immune function. The H. erectus-derived variant identified today has unknown functional consequences – that remains an open question – but the precedent from other gene variants that have introgressed (genes that have passed from one species into another) suggests that adaptation to new environments may have been part of the story.

Ghost populations

Perhaps most intriguing is what the new paper implies about all the populations we cannot yet study. H. erectus survived in Indonesia until perhaps 100,000 years ago. Homo floresiensis, the diminutive “hobbit” species, was present on Flores when modern humans arrived. Another human lineage, Homo luzonensis, occupied the Philippines.

None of these populations have yielded DNA, and until today none had yielded any molecular data at all. Were they also absorbed, at least partially, into the human populations that replaced them? The genomic evidence from living people has not, so far, detected their signal clearly – but the tools available until recently were blunt instruments.

The proteomic approach demonstrated in today’s paper offers a way forward. If proteins can be recovered from H. erectus enamel at 400,000 years, the same approach applied to floresiensis or luzonensis material might finally reveal whether those lineages, too, contributed something to the humans who came after them.

The old metaphor of a tree – a single trunk branching into distinct species – has been quietly replaced in the scientific literature. It might be better to consider the process as a braided river, with many channels running partly together and partly apart, exchanging water continuously.

This new study is one more confirmation that when ancient human populations disappeared, they left traces of themselves behind.

Police have urged members of the public to stay away from the area

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Five people are dead following a shooting at an Islamic Center, it has been reported. Police officers were dispatched to a mosque, one of the largest in the area, following reports of an ‘active shooter’ situation.

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said two suspects are dead, adding that three people died at the Islamic Centre. The incident is currently being treated as hate crime.

The suspects were teenagers, police have said, with their bodies being found in a car near the mosque, reports The Express.

San Diego police officers rushed to the Islamic Center of San Diego, in Clairemont Mesa, on Monday afternoon, to respond to reports of an active shooter. The message added: “Please avoid the area”.

San Diego Police Department officials began receiving reports of the incident at around 11.40am local time. They later said the threat “has been neutralised”, without immediately providing further details. A spokesperson for Sharp HealthCare of Sharp Memorial Hospital said “reports indicate multiple injured people”. Nearby schools were placed on lockdown as the incident was unfolding.

Three victims were killed outside the San Diego Islamic Center and two teenage suspects were found dead blocks away from self-inflicted gunshot wounds as police now try to piece together what led to Monday’s mass shooting.

“We are safe. The entire school is safe. All the kids, all the staff and the teachers are safe,” Taha Hassane, the center’s director, said in a video recorded outside the building as police lights flashed.

The names of the suspects have not been released and police did not detail a motive. The names of the victims have not been released either, but one was a security guard at the center, who police said “played a pivotal role” in preventing more deaths.

At around 3 p.m. ET, San Diego police started to receive calls about shootings at the center, located in the neighborhood of Clairemont. Authorities said they were on the scene and urged nearby residents to avoid the area.

Aerial footage of the scene showed dozens of police vehicles lining a street and yellow caution tape cordoning off the area. Heavily armed officers were seen entering the building as people dispersed from the area, some holding hands.

Photos taken outside the center captured anxious onlookers, several of them talking on their phones.

At 3:53 p.m., police provided an update stating that the scene was “still active but contained,” adding that “significant resources” had been deployed.

FBI Director Kash Patel, California Governor Gavin Newsom and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria released statements saying they had been briefed on the situation and were coordinating with local law enforcement. And a spokesperson for an area hospital told NBC News that patients had been transported to them.

Shortly after 4 p.m., police said the threat at the center had been “neutralized.”

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl confirmed in a press conference soon after that three adult men were found dead at the scene and that no officers were involved in the shooting.

Authorities also located a vehicle a few blocks away containing two deceased male teenagers, believed to be 17 and 19, who were identified as suspects. They died from self-inflicted wounds.

A security guard at the center was among those killed, Wahl said, adding he he believed the guard “played a pivotal role in assisting from this being much worse.”

Wahl noted that the center is equipped with security cameras, which officials will review for evidence.

President Donald Trump described the shooting as a “terrible situation” on Monday afternoon, adding: “I’ve been given some early updates, but we’re going to be going back and looking at it very strongly.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim-American civil liberties organization in the U.S., released a statement condemning the shooting.

“No one should ever fear for their safety while attending prayers or studying at an elementary school,” CAIR said. “We are working to learn more about this incident and we encourage everyone to keep this community in your prayers.”

According to its website, the Islamic Center is the largest mosque in San Diego County, which has an estimated population of some 3.2 million people.

“Our mission is to serve the religious needs of the San Diego Muslim population and work with the larger community to serve the less fortunate, to educate, and to better our nation,” the website states. The center hosts five daily prayers, sermons and various educational seminars.

As of May 18, there have been 186 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2026, according to the website Mass Shooting Tracker, which defines mass shootings as those in which four or more people are shot.

There was a moment of controversy in the capital when Havertz tried to recover with a sliding challenge on Ugochukwu as the Burnley midfielder broke away, but instead of sliding, the goalscorer threw himself at the Frenchman, planting his studs high up the calf the former Chelsea man’s standing leg.

Bolton is set for a mixed but largely pleasantspring Bank Holiday weekend as thousands of Wanderers supporters prepare to head to Wembley for Sunday’s League One Play-Off Final.

The warmest and driest weather is expected to arrive on Saturday, May 23, with temperatures forecast to reach between 21C and 23C.

Sunny intervals are expected through much of the day, although there remains around a 30 per cent chance of showers and south-westerly winds could gust up to 24mph.

(Image: PA)

Sunday’s weather looks encouraging for Bolton Wanderers fans in London for the 1pm kick-off against Stockport County at Wembley Stadium.

Forecasters predict temperatures of around 19C to 21C in both Bolton and London, with a mix of cloud and sunny spells throughout the day.

Rain chances during the match remain relatively low at between 10 and 20 per cent, while winds are expected to stay light.

Fans arriving in the capital on Saturday could enjoy even warmer conditions, with London forecast to reach around 24C alongside prolonged sunny spells.

Bank Holiday Monday, May 26, looks set to be the warmest day of the long weekend, with forecasters predicting temperatures could soar into the mid-20s across the region.

The Met Office has suggested temperatures could potentially reach 25 to 26C as high pressure dominates, bringing less cloud, more sunshine, and lighter winds.

Despite some changeable conditions, forecasters say the bank holiday weekend should remain considerably drier than earlier in the week, when heavier rain is expected across parts of the North West.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump ‘s allies who believe they have been wrongly investigated and prosecuted could soon have access to a $1.7 billion dollar compensation fund, the Justice Department announced Monday in a move slammed by Democrats as unconstitutional and corrupt.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement that “Anti-Weaponization Fund” will represent “a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.” Blanche’s statement made no mention of how investigations and prosecutions of Trump’s political opponents under his watch have exposed the Justice Department to the same claims of politicized law enforcement that he has said he opposed.

The fund was announced as part of a deal to resolve Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns.

The fund is in keeping with Trump’s long-running claims that the Justice Department during the Biden administration was weaponized against him, even though then-President Joe Biden himself was scrutinized during that time. The fund would represent not only a highly unorthodox resolution but also a further demonstration of the Trump administration’s eagerness to reward allies who were investigated and in some cases charged and convicted before Trump came to power.

Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday the fund is dedicated to “reimbursing people who were horribly treated.”

Democratic lawmakers who are teeing up a legal challenge to the move argue that it will become a taxpayer-funded “slush fund” for Trump allies and supporters who claim political persecution. They also question whether the president should be able to direct money for the fund without explicit congressional approval.

Here’s what to know about the fund:

Justice Department casts fund as redress for political targeting

The fund was announced after Trump and his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., and the Trump Organization agreed to drop their lawsuit against the IRS and the Treasury Department. The lawsuit alleged that a leak of confidential tax records caused them reputational and financial harm and negatively affected their public standing, among other allegations.

According to the Justice Department announcement, the fund is meant to provide a formal process for people or entities who say they were unfairly targeted by the government for political, ideological or personal reasons.

“The use of government power to target individuals or entities for improper and unlawful political, personal, or ideological reasons should not be tolerated by any administration,” Justice Department official Trent McCotter said in the statement announcing the fund.

The money itself would come from the federal judgment fund, which pays out court judgments and compromise settlements of lawsuits against the government.

The fund will be able to review claims of alleged government political targeting, will issue formal apologies and award monetary compensation to approved claimants, the Justice Department said.

The claims of a weaponized Justice Department during the Biden administration overlook the fact that President Joe Biden himself was investigated for the potential mishandling of classified information, and his son Hunter was charged with gun and tax crimes.

Justice Department has not said who could qualify for compensation

The Justice Department did not identify anyone by name who could theoretically benefit from the fund, but there were multiple investigations of Trump allies during the Biden administration where targets could look to obtain payouts.

Prosecutors, for instance, charged about 1,500 people in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Trump on his first day in office of his second term either pardoned them, commuted their prison sentences or dismissed the cases.

It’s unclear whether those entitled to compensation would include Jan. 6 defendants who were convicted of attacking officers with makeshift weapons such as flagpoles, a hockey stick and crutch. More than 250 people were convicted of assault charges, with the attacks in many cases captured on surveillance or body camera footage.

Asked Monday if individuals who committed violence that day should receive compensation from the fund, Trump said, “It’ll all be dependent on a committee.” He added: “I didn’t do this deal. It was told to me yesterday.”

Other prominent Trump supporters who were investigated and charged include Steve Bannon, who served a prison sentence for defying a congressional subpoena, and Peter Navarro, who was similarly convicted of contempt. Both have denied wrongoing.

Blanche-appointed commission would oversee claims

The Justice Department says the fund will receive $1.776 billion from the federal judgment fund, to operate through Dec. 15, 2028, and will be overseen by a five-member commission appointed by Blanche, with one member chosen in consultation with congressional leadership. According to the Justice Department, the president can remove any member.

It was unclear how the commission would determine who should be awarded compensation.

Critics warn fund could reward Trump loyalists

Democratic lawmakers and ethics watchdogs slammed the creation of the fund, saying it was corrupt, untransparent and had the potential to become a “slush fund” for the president and his allies.

A group of nearly 100 members of Congress filed a brief teeing up a legal challenge to the case.

“This case is nothing but a racket designed to take $1.7 billion of taxpayer dollars out of the Treasury and pour it into a huge slush fund for Trump at DOJ to hand out to his private militia of insurrectionists, rioters, and white supremacists, including those who brutally beat police officers on January 6, 2021, and sycophant accomplices to his election stealing schemes,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called the fund “corruption on steroids.”

Last month, she and a group of other Democratic lawmakers introduced the Ban Presidential Plunder of Taxpayer Funds Act, which would ban the sitting president and vice president from collecting settlement payments from the U.S., among other things.

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Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.

Unwanted rodents can be removed without harm, according to the RSPCA.

The charity has shared advice on humane ways to deter rats and mice from homes and gardens to prevent property damage.

Rats and mice can be inconvenient visitors but they don’t have to die or be harmed if they invade your space – here’s how you can get rid of them.

Rats can cause costly damage to properties (Image: Getty)

The charity explains on its website: “Rats and mice commonly live in gardens and parks in the UK as they’ll have easy access to food sources, such as food put down for other animals.

“They can be attracted to spilt wild bird food, scattered by birds from feeders or tables. Compost heaps can also be a major attraction as they offer food, shelter and warmth.

You can find out more about rats and mice via the RSPCA website.

How to get rid of rats in your garden humanely

1 – Remove food sources

The RSPCA advises that you reduce or remove any food sources that are accessible to the rodents and you should make sure that any food containers or bins are airtight and rodent-proof.

If you feed wildlife in your garden, you’ll need to make sure you clean up any food and sometimes, it could be a good idea to stop leaving food out for a little while.

2 – Grow plants rats don’t like

You can also keep rodents at bay by planting wood hyacinth, allium and daffodils in your garden – these act as repellents.

3 – Remove possible shelter

If you’re unsure whether rats have made their way into your home or garden, pest control company Rentokil has shared some things to look out for.

These include rat droppings, rub marks and gnaw marks.

You might also spot small footprints, rat holes or even nests.

The experts advise acting fast if you have noticed any of these signs of a rat infestation.

Have you ever had rats in your home or garden? Let us know in the comments below.

Ysgubor Llwynneuadd is a beautiful barn conversion located in the heart of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park and has many guests wishing they can stay longer

With travel uncertainties looming, those looking to book a getaway might want to consider a holiday cottage escape in the UK. Wales is one of the UK’s most scenic staycation destinations, offering everything from rolling countryside to beautiful coastlines. Holiday cottages provide the ideal base for exploring the beautiful surrounding locations or to simply just unwind somewhere peaceful.

Positioned for exploring the breathtaking surroundings of the Brecon Beacons, the Ysgubor Llwynneuadd is a stylish countryside barn which sits in a secluded spot near the village of Sennybridge, known for its welcoming country pubs.

Guests can enjoy scenic walks through the Welsh countryside, keep an eye out for the area’s famous red kites, or climb up Pen y Fan.

The Ysgubor Llwynneuadd is currently available to book through holidaycottages.co.uk , with discounted offers available throughout the summer.

Inside, the spacious open-plan living area is bright and inviting, with floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing the valley views. There’s a cosy lounge with a Smart TV, a relaxing sunroom, and a fully equipped kitchen complete with everything needed for family meals. Love dreamy Welsh homes? Sign up to our newsletter here

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Sleeping up to ten guests, the Barn features four comfortable bedrooms, including doubles, twins and additional pull-out beds, alongside multiple bathrooms for convenience. Outside, guests can make the most of the enclosed garden and seating area, an ideal place to sit back and take in the scenery.

Another beautiful barn-conversion is the Y Granar located in Powys which can sleep up to six guests and is available to book on Sykes Cottages. It is a three bedroom, three bathroom property that has beautiful countryside views.

Another holiday homes site worth checking is Luxury Cottages which features beautiful Welsh properties within stunning locations, for example the Mill House in Powys which is dog-friendly and can sleep up to 10 guests.

Those who have stayed in the Ysgubor Llwynneuadd praised the holiday home highly. The most recent review states: “Beautiful cottage great location very comfortable and spacious for 6 adults and 2 dogs . Fully recommended.”

Another pleased visitor said: “We had an amazing time staying at the barn. The property itself is well thought out, the layout is great with so much space. Everything we needed was provided, and more! The enclosed garden was great for the dogs, allowing them some space to run around. The location is absolutely stunning – we miss waking up to those views each morning! It was amazing being so close to so many beautiful places.”

A third reviewer of the Ysgubor Llwynneuadd called it “a great place excellent for families to stay with great views. The barn is beautifully designed and well equipped. “

The visitor went on to say: “We only stayed for 3 nights but would definitely love to visit again and plan for some local walks. Would highly recommend this place to anyone who is thinking of booking this place.”

The swearing-in ceremony, held at the Scottish Parliament, marked the first formal business of the new parliamentary session, with all 129 MSPs taking the oath or affirmation of allegiance.

Angela Constance has been officially sworn in as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Almond Valley following her re-election, marking her fifth consecutive term representing the constituency.

The swearing-in ceremony, held at the Scottish Parliament, marked the first formal business of the new parliamentary session, with all 129 MSPs taking the oath or affirmation of allegiance.

Speaking after the ceremony, Ms Constance expressed her gratitude to constituents and reaffirmed her commitment to serving the people of Almond Valley.

She said: “I am incredibly grateful to everyone who placed their trust in me, and I will work hard every day to represent all constituents across our communities.”

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“Almond Valley is one of the best places to live, work, raise a family, and grow old, and my constituency team and I will continue to assist residents with a range of issues, including access to public services, cost of living concerns, transport, healthcare matters, and other local issues affecting our communities.”

Ms Constance also acknowledged the ongoing pressures faced by households, particularly rising living costs.

She added: “I am aware that living costs, especially food and energy bills, continue to affect households across Almond Valley. That is why over the course of this Parliament, the Scottish Government has set out ambitious plans for the next five years.

“For parents, childcare provision will be significantly expanded, while first-time buyers will benefit from up to £10,000 in support towards their house deposit.

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Following the removal of peak rail fares, we will also introduce a nationwide £2 cap on bus fares across Scotland. In addition, measures will be put in place to help with food costs, including a price cap on a basket of essential items.

“Livingston will also benefit from a new walk-in GP centre, open seven days a week, making it easier to access care when it is needed most.”

Constituents seeking assistance can contact Angela Constance MSP’s constituency office by either emailing angela.constance.msp@parliament.scot or by Telephoning: 01506 460403 open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

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